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Breast Tissue Migration: Fact or Fiction?
By Ali Cudby
Recently, a bra blogger asked if a particular fit problem could be attributed to breast tissue migration. That question prompted me to research the topic, because we owe it to our customers to understand the fit issues being discussed in the world.
Breast tissue migration has not been covered in my online bra fit school for professionals, The FabFit Academy, because I didn’t previously have an informed opinion on the topic. After speaking with both the bra blogging community and the medical community, I have a better understanding of what breast tissue migration is (and isn’t) and how it affects the subject that is the core of your business as a lingerie retailer, namely, how bras fit.
Breast tissue migration seems to be most commonly defined as “breast tissue that is semi-permanently redistributed to the armpit and/or back area, as the result of an ill-fitting bra.” Overall, the argument is that wearing a properly fitting bra over a period of weeks or months will redistribute breast tissue from its migrated position to its natural home in the “cup” area of the breast and, by extension, the bra.
The origin of the breast tissue migration theory seems to stem from Polish bra bloggers. The earliest reference I found was from the Venusian Glow blog in September 2009. The blog post states that, “the breasts sneak out of the too-small cups into the armpit area. Presto! Instant armpit rolls! Very often, migration doesn’t stop here. Breast tissue, unchecked by the loose band, wanders further away…and ends up as back rolls.” Venusian Glow author Eternal Voyageur shared that the phenomenon is widely discussed in Polish bra blogging circles. She directed me to a Polish blog (also from 2009) that walks through the breast tissue migration phenomenon.
Since these blog posts, American bra bloggers and many consumers have shared robust support for the theory.
My understanding is that breast tissue migration suggests three components, all of which must exist in order to prove the theory.
1) An ill-fitting bra can cause breast tissue to spill into non-cup areas of the body
2) This “spillage” can go a) toward the armpit/underarm areas and/or b) find its way to a woman’s back
3) The effect is actually a semi-permanent migration, reversed only by wearing a properly fitting bra for
several weeks.
Let’s break these claims down, one by one:
Claim #1: An ill-fitting bra can cause breast tissue to spill into non-cup areas of the body
This notion makes perfect sense. When a bra cup is too small, the excess breast tissue has to go somewhere. After all, it boils down to basic scientific principles. If you are trying to put more units of volume into a container that is too small, there will be overflow. In this case, breasts encased in a too-small cup will spill into a variety of places, including the underarm.
Claim #2: Spillage can go toward the armpit/underarm area
According to Rebecca Kaltman, MD Oncologist at George Washington University, there is a biological basis for seeing breast tissue under the armpit area. Says Kaltman, “Under normal conditions, breast tissue extends up toward the axilla (the under arm) and is called the ‘Axillary Tail of Spence.’ This is not ‘migrated breast tissue,’ just actual breast tissue that extends beyond where most people feel the breast tissue might go.” So claim #2a seems to pass the sniff test, as well, since it’s reasonable to find breast tissue under the armpit and in the fold between the shoulder and the chest wall.
Let’s look at claim #2b, the notion that rolls on the back are actually breast tissue. A look at the photos in the Venusian Glow blog post from 2009, reveals some excellent examples of ways that bra fit itself can impact bodily appearance. A band that’s too loose can ride up, pushing the flesh on the back into rolls that appear to be “back fat.” It’s the fit that creates the unflattering look. (photos via Venusian Glow)
A band that’s too thin can further complicate fit issues
to create unsightly bulges.
(photos via Venusian Glow)
This back flesh is not breast tissue, migrated or otherwise. There is simply no biological basis for breast tissue to travel to the areas of the back indicated in these photos. A properly fitting bra can alter the appearance of back flesh, but does not redistribute it in any real sense of the word.
Claim #3: Breast Tissue Migration is actually a semi-permanent migration
The crux of the breast tissue migration theory is that the movement is a physical manifestation from years of wearing ill-fitting bras. The bra blogger community’s, “proof for [breast tissue migration] is that when women get their first perfectly-fitting bras and are taught to regularly scoop and swoop, often after a few weeks they need to go up a cup size. Obviously new bras don’t make breasts grow, so the only explanation is that the migrated tissue has returned to the cup,” according to Suchocka-Mohr.
Elisabeth Dale, breast expert and Founder of The Breast Life, is skeptical. “If a bra could, by way of lifting, improve our breasts, then why would any woman ever have a lift? A bra can’t do much but make you look better in your clothes. And any woman who has worn a push-up or padded one knows it’s all an optical illusion.”
Dale’s observation raises an excellent point. If an improperly fitting bra creates a negative effect, then the biology should work both ways. If breast tissue is “moldable,” it would seem to suggest that we could migrate breast tissue up and in after wearing a push up bra for an extended period of time. Or make the breasts pointy by wearing a bullet bra. But nobody is making that argument about breast tissue.
One caveat from the medical side is an observation from Plastic Surgeon Byron Poindexter, of Austin Weston Center for Cosmetic Surgery in Virginia, “from the surgical perspective we can see patients after surgery that are in a more ‘moldable’ state and garments or clothing that they wear after surgery can have a more permanent effect on their shape. But these patients have had a temporary disruption of the normal skin and fat structures that hold us all together that allows this to happen.”
When asked about the idea of other, unaltered breast tissue behaving in the same way, Dr. Poindexter unequivocally does not see it as a possibility . “I do see patients who have concerns of ‘hangover’ of tissue in the armpit area, or on the back,” says Dr. Poindexter. “This is not breast tissue that has been permanently pushed there. Rather, it is breast tissue or fat that is naturally there that may be temporarily exaggerated due to and while wearing garments like poor-fitting bras. I am not aware of any evidence to support this type of ‘migration.’ It also doesn’t really fit with what we know about the breast anatomically or how it changes through time. We would love it if there were a way to utilize a garment to permanently restructure an area, but it just doesn’t happen. Breast tissue really just wants to go one way, and that is down where gravity is pulling it. If an ill-fitting bra worked to migrate tissue out into an armpit, then a good fitting one would be able to migrate it up and keep it on the chest.”
In summary, the medical community and the bra blogger community disagree about the existence of breast tissue migration as a semi-permanent manifestation of wearing an ill-fitting bra
After having thought about the topic for an extended period of time, there are aspects of the breast tissue migration theory that are troubling. The theory – and several of the bra blog posts I’ve seen on the topic – seems to suggest that women should have no armpit flesh or bulges in any location near their bra. That seems like an unrealistically high standard with too much potential for body shaming. Women already suffer from body image issues. The byproduct of believing in breast tissue migration could end up exacerbating the problem.
There are simply too many differences in women from body to body. I have seen plenty of women who wear properly fitting bras and who also have some extra flesh in the armpit region. If we send the message that bras “should” reverse what biology decrees, do we run the risk of undermining both women’s self-confidence and our own mission as fitters?
What’s your take on breast tissue migration? |
Let’s just get this out of the way: lots of people are going to say that The Peripheral is William Gibson’s return to science fiction. But what do they mean when they say that? Is it that he’s gone back to writing about some future time decades ahead of our own, extrapolating current technology into a future world where cheap consumer goods are made to order on 3D printers and paparazzi operate through tiny drone cameras?
Sure; by that definition, yes, Gibson is writing science fiction again. But he never really stopped. Although what’s variously known as the Blue Ant trilogy or the Bigend trilogy is set in the first decade of the twenty-first century (9/11, the Iraq war, the financial crisis), it’s rendered in queasily paranoid tones that make “our” world nearly as unfamiliar and otherworldly as cyberspace might have seemed in 1984 or portable VR goggles in 1993. Gibson is of the school of thought that science fiction is necessarily about the present in which it’s written, and The Peripheral, future setting notwithstanding, is in keeping with that philosophy. There are damaged young war veterans, a pervasive surveillance state, drones of all kinds, drastic economic inequality, and a powerful sense of impending manifold catastrophe.
The Peripheral is built on a mystery-thriller plot in the tradition of Blow-Up or The Conversation. Flynne Fisher, the latest of Gibson’s likable, resilient, and deeply moral heroines, lives in an unnamed small town somewhere in rural America—perhaps the South or Appalachia—where she looks after her chronically ill mother and drifts from one job to the next. It’s the mid-twenty-first century; five thousand dollars pays for two bags of groceries, and there are only so many ways to earn it. “Builders” are a cornerstone of the local economy—cooking up drugs. Otherwise, you can join the military, but you might come back with the not-quite-PTSD glitches and shivers that Flynne’s brother Burton suffers as a result of the haptic tattoos that USMC Haptic Recon 1 “put there to tell him when to run, when to be still, when to do the bad-ass dance”, or you might be missing a limb or three, like Burton’s best friend Conner. You might run a store where shoes, phones, and holiday decorations are constructed on 3D printers, or quietly gin up illegal copies of same.
Or you might play video games for a living: multiplayer shooters for wealthy people to bet on, your pay based on how long you survive in the game. Flynne quit that line of work after a run on a World War II game called “Operation Northwind”; her sense of justice outraged by a “rich fuck” who enjoyed eliminating Flynne’s fellow players who needed the money, she went on a stimulant-fueled three-day revenge hunt in-game, and after beating her opponent, she never went back. But her experience as a gamer is why Burton asks her to fill in for him on a sideline she didn’t know he had—a beta test of a drone surveillance game, developed by a company called Milagros Coldiron. While she’s doing Burton’s job, Flynne sees something in the game that is either a grim-dark twist in the game’s plot or a murder. Matters escalate to a carful of hitmen at the end of her street, and it only gets worse and weirder from there.
It’s not immediately obvious what Flynne’s story has to do with a glib, alcoholic PR man named Netherton, or his attempts to manage a loose-cannon performance artist-cum-ambassador on a mission to a scary, cannibalistic colony in the middle of the Pacific Garbage Patch. Netherton inhabits a casually luxurious London of glass and steel “shard” skyscrapers and creepy technology like the “peripherals” of the title: remote-controlled drone bodies with direct sensory experience for the controller, used to go to the opera or have a face-to-face meeting in another country, for instance. (Gibson fans will remember Case accessing Molly’s sensorium in Neuromancer; this is similar, with added physical control of what is effectively an entire prosthetic body.) Everyone knows Gibson’s maxim that “the future is here—it’s just not very evenly distributed”; the distribution between Netherton’s London and Flynne’s rural town is as uneven as you can get before you factor in the poorest of third-world countries.
Describing the nature of Flynne and Netherton’s inevitable collision and Coldiron’s true agenda will reveal pleasures of Gibson’s narrative that I’d rather leave for the reader to discover on their own. Without getting into spoiler territory, one can safely say that this may be one of Gibson’s most political works to date. Economic disparity is no new subject for him, but there’s a distinct thread of anger against the wealthiest of the wealthy who enjoy enormous levels of power and manipulation over others. Among the worst, their power is inversely proportional to their concern for the lives that they damage in pursuit of more money, more power, or even just a little advantage over someone they don’t like.
Some writers might resort to the “particular flavor” of histrionics of which Gibson described his distrust in his essay “Time Machine Cuba”—like when H.G. Wells announces that his epitaph “will manifestly have to be ‘I told you so. You damned fools.’” Gibson doesn’t do shrillness. He does do atmospheric dread, and that quality communicates the anger well enough. The Peripheral is infused with the awareness that catastrophe is no single apocalyptic moment, but a series of events that most people stumble blindly through, only seeing the entirety of the disaster clearly in hindsight. If you’re rich, your money will insulate you, but if you’re unlucky, poor, or otherwise marginalized, those events will mow you down.
Flynne and her family would be among those mowed down, but as they and their allies find their roles in the world changing, they must protect themselves with drastic measures against increasingly high stakes; tension mounts, violence ensues, daring gambits are played by highly-trained specialists. Gibson brings his narrative threads to an abrupt, explosive conclusion over an oddly anticlimactic macguffin—though the sheer meanness and pettiness of it only underlines the villains’ banal venality.
This conclusion depends on a character whose abilities nearly make them a literal deus ex machina, and whose manipulations carry other characters along like corks floating in a river. It seems too easy and neat, as does the Shakespearian level of matchmaking that ties up events after the big showdown. But further consideration of events suggests sinister undercurrents; while matters may seem pleasantly assured for the characters for the time being, there are uncomfortable questions about how they got there, and what the unintended consequences might be.
Nevertheless, The Peripheral isn’t a polemic, and polemics aren’t what you go to Gibson for anyway. You show up for the theatre of ideas, and for the detailed art direction and his magnificently precise, descriptive language. Flynne’s brother lives in an antique Airstream trailer lined inside with a Vaseline-colored polymer that traps dirt and artifacts like fossils in amber: “a legally sold cigarette, older than she was … a rusty jeweler’s screwdriver, and somewhere else a 2009 quarter”. A programmer’s user interface devices are a set of finger rings, “gotten up like the rusty magic iron of imaginary kings, set with dull pebbles that lit and died as her white fingers brushed them”. Flynne’s phone isn’t described in detail, but we know that she can bend it to wear on her wrist and or to use it as a game controller—just one example of many judiciously deployed signifiers of technological proximity or distance.
Similarly, the near-future slang is just different enough to be slightly disorienting—counterfeit goods and corrupt officials are “funny”, and Homeland Security—a term encompassing all law enforcement here—is simply known as “Homes” (and accepted by everyone, with some resignation, as an omnipresent fact of life). And Gibson’s evocations of setting are note-perfect. Flynne’s home town (curiously distant from our culture wars, it seems) is a backwater where strip malls sit half-empty and everyone knows each other the way their parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents did; Netherton’s London is a cold, eerie bubble of extreme wealth, where no hobby is too esoteric if you have enough money.
Gibson has argued that the “dystopia” of Neuromancer had a lining of optimism in positing a world where the USA and USSR hadn’t actually blown everything up. The crack through which the light enters in The Peripheral is Flynne, who resists the worst temptations of power and learns that “evil wasn’t glamorous, but just the result of ordinary half-assed badness, high school badness, given enough room, however that might happen, to become its bigger self.” In her own world, she is peripheral, existing on the far edges of power, barely existing to the great and not-so-good until she calls attention to herself. Her home town and her family are, from a certain point of view, a statistic. But seen up close, they are human and vital, their struggles are real—and given the opportunity, they can make a difference. Possibly only for a little while, but perhaps that’s better than nothing.
I have much, much more to say about The Peripheral, but to go any further requires a spoiler warning. For that, a second post will be coming soon.
The Peripheral is available October 28th from Penguin Books.
Karin Kross hasn’t updated The Gibsonian Institute in a while, but is excited about all the potential material from The Peripheral. She can be found elsewhere on Twitter and at hangingfire.net. |
The Venture Bros. entered into its fifth season with its characters in a state of uncertainty. Dean Venture, the oft-cloned son of Dr. Rusty Venture, had discovered his past as a freak of science with dubious claims to reality; Rusty was struggling with how to raise his sons the right way after years of adventuring and fatalities; Sgt. Hatred, the family’s former arch-nemesis and current bodyguard, had to face shifting physical realities; and Hank Venture was, well, Hank Venture. But the fifth season also found Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer, the creative team behind the series, at the top of their game. Mixing a rich, complex mythology inspired by comic books and pulp serials with complex, vulnerable leads, the co-writers managed to find a new balance for show’s ongoing storylines without betraying anything that had come before. With its teen angst, super-villain conspiracy, gender-bending, and robot dating, the fifth season could get a little messy, but the core concern with character, one of The Venture Bros.’ hallmarks, remained. The A.V. Club talked to Publick and Hammer recently about how the shorter episode order affected their approach to writing for the show, their views on best way to serialize, and how to find the success inside of failure.
The A.V. Club: At nine episodes, this season was the shortest the show has done so far. What prompted that?
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Jackson Publick: It was shorter by design and as part of our new contract once we decided to do a fifth and sixth season. We actually asked to do only 10 episodes each time, because 13 was kind of killing us, and other shows seem to do them in, like, nine- or 10-episode spurts. So we figured that would be a better way to not get us overwhelmed during the season, and also to try to shorten the space between seasons. But then we ended up airing one of them early, and we ended up combining two of them into an hour-long episode, so it looks like it’s eight. But it’s still 10 half-hours. And it was easier to produce. But we ran out of episodes. We kind of wished we could’ve had 12, honestly. By the time we got to the end, we were like, “Shit, we’ve got a huge thing we want to do that would take two episode slots.”
Doc Hammer: If we’d had 12, people would’ve said, “How come there are only nine episodes?”
JP: [Laughs.] Yeah, yeah. Because that one would’ve been an hour long also.
DH: So, we’d still get yelled at.
AVC: Did the shorter episode order change your approach to structuring the season?
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JP: A little? I don’t think it had anything to do with the 10-episode thing, but we did kind of plan out the season a little more than we usually do. We had the big board going. And also knowing that we had a season six kind of planned—because we knew where we wanted to go with season six, even before we started season five—and where that sort of midpoint is, and where the changes happen, is something we thought about. But when you’re actually going and you’re writing, it’s like, a script is always due, and there’s a lot of pressure, and once you’re actually in production, you’ve just got to write the one you can—not the one that necessarily should be next. So we write out of order. One or two stories sort of popped up out of nowhere, and we did them, and they weren’t necessarily part of the “plan,” but they were writable, and we wanted to write them.
AVC: Like what?
JP: “Bot Seeks Bot” was like a joke, you know? It was almost a dare. It was something we had joked about wanting to do an episode about. We didn’t have a story. We were like, “Wouldn’t it be funny to get those two robots together, and just drag people through a whole episode of them?” It was just kind of a running joke with us. And then one day, a story literally popped into my head, and I went, “Oh my God, I got it.” [Laughs.] So that one had to be written.
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AVC: How important to the season was letting Dean know that he was a clone?
DH: Well, Jackson and I had it written out on the big board, which is just a giant dry-erase board in the AstroBase, that Dean finds out early, and Hank finds out near the end. That was how we did it. The Halloween episode was written to be an early episode, but it ended up being a special. So Dean found out before the season started that he was a clone. But in our original concept, in the way we were writing it, Dean found out very early.
JP: Because of what we did with him in the prom. We knew that Dean was going to spend the season in a black speed suit being really upset. And it seemed natural to give him a better reason than just he had his heart broken in the prom episode.
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DH: It helps to have a really dividing motivator for Dean. Our constant battle is turning the boys into very separate entities. If you watch the pilot, they’re the exact same person. Throughout the first season, they’re very similar. They’ve just been kind of dividing ever since. So this season, there’s a clear division between these two boys. Hank’s got a very steady voice, and Dean now has a steady voice. So when we go into the sixth season, the boys can be separate, which is fun for us.
JP: Yeah, Hank had his rebellion season in season four, and then came back around to who he always was in a way.
DH: Yeah, this is Hank’s try-out season.
JP: But he is two minutes older, so of course he’d go through his rebellious phase first.
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AVC: Given how much of the show’s humor has come from the Venture brothers’ obliviousness, how did you decide to leave that behind?
DH: It’s hard to keep it around. I mean, that is something that’s hard to write for forever. The show evolved as we evolve.
JP: I mean, we did make a conscious decision at the end of season one to start making them much more individual. But as far as pulling them away from some of the dopiness, or at least finding a different angle on it, that was just natural; you just don’t want to write for two idiots all the time. And also, they’re teenagers—like, you want them to be capable of sarcasm and stuff like that with each other. They’ve got to feel like real people, even if they’re heightened.
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DH: You get a lot of space when you murder them. [All laugh.] At the end of season one, we actually killed them, so at that point—
JP: Right, so when we bring [Henchman] 24 back, he’ll be a very different character. He’ll have grown a lot.
DH: Yeah. In season six, which is all prequel. [Laughs.]
AVC: Dean was more negative this year than he’s ever been on the show: dressing in black, being openly sarcastic to his dad, while still being the same old Dean. How hard was that to balance?
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DH: I wouldn’t call it “hard,” but we had a lot of discussions about that.
JP: It’s the same thing with, like, Henchman 21. We made him a badass, and we put him through his shit, but he’s still who he is underneath it. It’s how we naturally write for these guys; we’re just shading their circumstances a little different and letting them breathe just a little more.
DH: And with 21, he had a whole season to become competent, badass, and then eventually leave. Then [he] spent this season returning to who he is, so you never get this sense that he just changes who he is and becomes a completely different person. He’ll always be that person. Dean’s the same thing. When people go through rebellion, they don’t change and become somebody else. They just take all those things that have happened and incorporate it into who they are. They’re still the same person. Dean is systemically the same person.
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JP: Joe Piscopo became a bodybuilder, but he stayed funny.
DH: Same with Carrot Top. They’re hilarious. When Dean works out, that’s the end of Dean. [Both laugh.] He’ll hit 40 and start working out.
AVC: Did you ever consider having Dean confront his father about the fact that he’s a clone?
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DH: Oh, it’s been considered, but we’re not finished writing the show. I mean, his rebellion is going to keep moving forward, and I’m sure it’s going to start settling, because you’re not always in a stage of rebellion.
JP: Right. And now that Hank knows … There was a scene from one episode that got cut, actually, where there was a bit of a confrontation. But it just wasn’t time yet.
AVC: One of the season’s best episodes, “Momma’s Boys,” brought back Myra, the former bodyguard convinced she’s Hank and Dean’s mother. The lack of maternal presence in this show has been important in shaping these characters. Do you think you’ll ever reveal who the Venture brothers’ mother is?
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JP: Well, I’m not going to answer that—
DH: See, what we’re going to do in the future is impossible for us to answer. But we like other motherless worlds. It comes from this kind of ’70s-cartooning motherlessness. Like Jonny Quest just had a lack of females, and any female that was there was just somebody’s love interest and vaguely—even those that weren’t voiced by a man, you watch them, you get a sense they might as well have been voiced by a man.
JP: [Laughs.] Right, like Jade from Jonny Quest.
DH: Yeah, anybody could just go, “Ohhhhh.” It isn’t necessary to have a female show up.
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JP: I think there’s a lot going on with that. It’s inspired by the boy-adventure stuff when there were no moms around, but once we became aware of it, I mean, it’s part of why these people still live in this kind of adolescent world. They’re unsupervised, and they grew up like that.
DH: Rusty had no mom, and his boys have no mom, and that’s two generations. And Jonas, we haven’t said yet. That’s not a lot of moms, and the women that are in the Venture universe are either completely unhinged or the most stable characters on the show. Everything is very schmucky and middling with these guys, and the women just bookend it. It’s a strange thing. I don’t even think we did it intentionally. It’s just where a woman’s voice plays into our stories is to be either very dominant or a really upheaving voice, like Myra. She comes in and makes a complete fucking mess and then disappears.
JP: Because if there were any genuine women in this world, if any of them got real wives or girlfriends, they’d stop doing this stuff, with the exception of the Monarch, the way the rest of us stop reading comic books when that happens. [Laughs.] But now it’s cool for girls to read comics, so.
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DH: The strange lack of women—we have a very strange dominance of gender-role-shifting. Three of our characters have breasts; we have a large homosexual cast. The amount of just messing around with stereotypical gender roles without women there—we do it to a degree that’s strange. I’m surprised more people don’t speak of it. We really do mess with masculinity and femininity, even with the women. Our biggest female character has an incredibly masculine voice that people seem to be okay with. People seem to be okay with Hunter’s removing of his penis and putting his penis back, missing being a woman; Hatred’s sexuality is a complete catastrophe. It’s not just the obvious women or lack thereof on our show. It really is just the gender roles on our show are insane, and therefore very sane, in my opinion.
JP: It’s a sexual Lord Of The Flies.
[pagebreak]
AVC: Would Hank’s use of the “sexy” female body armor, starting in “SPHINX Rising,” be part of this?
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DH: Oh that falls into both Hank having breasts and Hank completely not caring about his gender role. And the fact that Hank plays dress up more than anybody.
JP: It’s also like getting the best bike ever. It just happens to be a lady’s bike. He doesn’t need that bar in the middle; he’s fine with it.
DH: When you’re a Hank, and somebody gives you a new bike and it’s super cool and it’s a lady’s bike, he buys a dress so he can make it fit. [JP laughs.] Because he has the area. He doesn’t care. “Now I can wear a dress. It’s fine.”
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JP: “I can wear a kilt and a dress.”
DH: “I can double my wardrobe, and have the convenience of a dress. It’s a one-garment wardrobe, like a speed suit with no legs, that you can poop out of.”
AVC: By the end of the season, Hank comes across as the most together guy on the show in a lot of ways. That seems to connect with the way the season overall had more success for the characters. Was that a choice, to have more success in a show about failure?
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DH: I don’t think Hank comes off as the most successful. Hank is the most balanced person on the show, but he’s still Hank. He’s still the kind of person that, when the chips are down, he dresses up as Batman. That’s not exactly the most successful.
JP: He’s not sane, but it’s that insane response to an insane world. That was kind of a revelation that we had. We enjoyed writing for Hank because he could be crazy, but then we did realize one day, Hank’s just cool with everything. Probably mostly when we were talking about what’s up with Dean. We realized, you know, what a good kind of counterbalance Hank’s just level-headedness about everything is—his crazy level-headedness. He rolls with the punches. He does enjoy the adventure aspects of their life that Dean is so sick of, and that Rusty hates, that he thinks are a drag; those are the best part.
DH: Hank’s just all in.
JP: He’s in.
DH: It doesn’t matter what the event is. Hatred shares a lot of that with Hank. That Hatred’s excitable, and he’s in.
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JP: That’s probably why they got along after a while.
DH: And why Hatred feels especially affectionate towards Dean, because he is so different. That’s the challenge for Hatred. Hatred’s affection for Hank is incredibly friendly; they’re very similar people. But if you watch the episode, even from when Hatred first shows up, he’s very protective and affectionate towards Dean, because he registers that Dean is kind of a broken kid. And Hatred, of course, has no ability to fix that, which is the joke.
JP: But as far as what you’re saying, that this is just an upbeat season, a little more successful—I don’t know.
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DH: Were you conscious of that, Jackson?
JP: Yeah. I think there were moments where we wanted… I think you and I are both sick of every interview mentioning the “It’s a show about failure” from five years ago. I don’t think we made a conscious effort to fight that or anything, but every year, we push what we do as writers a little more. An area we hadn’t gone into very much was positivity. I mean, all our victories are still satiric, but there are definitely places where we said, “I want to see these guys do something. I don’t want to just have everything fall on its face all the time.” Am I wrong?
DH: No, I get that sense too. But there are still these moments of playing with what failure is. I don’t think our failure was ever, “These people are incompetent.” I think our failure was they’re so terribly human in a world of comic book inhumanness, and that’s kind of our long joke. These people are stuck in a world that could only exist in an inhuman Saturday morning show, and they’re real. It’s a big mess. So you have 21, who I don’t think really succeeded, but you get a sense at the end of the season that he’s a good person, that he’s good at things, and at the end, he just goes back to what he knows. He goes back to what he loves. I don’t see that as a failure, but I don’t see it as a success. I see it as a guy being real in an unreal world.
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JP: I would say we were celebrating humanity a little more? Maybe that’s what you detect is a slight tone of kind of celebrating the humanity, or celebrating the beauty of failure, to go back to that quote. I think the tipping point for us might have been the prom episode, when we realized we could just have kind of a nice ending where everybody was together, and not go, “Here’s a cliffhanger,” or “Here’s a big, horrible thing.” Yes, the fly women are freaking out, and Dean says “Fuck you,” but there was a sweetness to the ending of the prom—a really compromised, Venture-style sweetness.
DH: Yeah, for “Dean’s accidentally in the KKK,” it’s adorable. [Both laugh.]
AVC: “Spanakopita!”—the episode that has Dr. Venture going back to a Greek island where the natives made up a festival for him—seemed like a great expression of this. It’s neither success nor failure; it’s just sort of acceptance.
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JP: Yeah. We were excited about episodes like that, particularly because there’s a deep tragedy to that, at the heart of that episode. [Rusty] was abandoned by his dad, and nobody came to get him, and these poor bastards who kidnapped him tried to make the best of it, in that Life Is Beautiful kind of way, and this idiot kept believing it for 30 years. But he gets to have it. They let him have it.
DH: It’s a sweet delusion. A lot of Doc’s life is a sweet delusion. Ted [the talking teddy bear toy Doc believes is his best friend in “Momma’s Boys”] was a sweet delusion. The Ted episode and “Spanakopita!” were very similar; they both ended with that sense that we lost everything, but it seems to be okay. Also, the sweet delusion. Dr. Venture really is deluded. He’s barely a successful scientist; he’s living off the back of his father, and he always has been, but at the same time, his father threw that crap at him, he destroyed his life, and Doc is doing what he can with it. He’s not a wholly tragic character.
AVC: The Guild versus the O.S.I. seemed to heat up this season.
DH: We would’ve loved to keep going with that, but we ran out of time.
AVC: There was a big buildup that was left hanging by the last episode.
JP: Well, we knew what we were going to do with it, and we were going to do it in the next episode, but there was no next episode. The next episode you see, we’ll deal with that, I think.
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DH: The episode that aired last, which works in a weird, ersatz version of a finale—but that was written as the penultimate episode. We were going to do three that just kind of dovetailed into each other. We keep doing something new every year, do something that we didn’t try before, and our last three episodes were picking up after the last one. So the last two you got to see, it ends, and then it picks up right where it ends, and we were going to do that three times and have a big ending. And then, well, we had to write the première, and the première turned out to be an hour, and there goes an episode.
JP: We had two half hours left, and our options were write a half-hour première and a half-hour finale, write an hour première, or write an hour finale. We had a bunch of business we hadn’t written for the première yet that just had to be done, so we definitely had to do that. Then that story got huge, so it was a more sensible option than trying to cram the finale into a half hour, or trying to write two totally different stories when we were getting really close to the end of our deadlines.
DH: We got okay with the idea that the heat up between The Guild and O.S.I., which is secondary to the show—the show’s really about the Venture family—we figured it would be okay to let that build up and then walk away from that until next season when people can be anticipating the buildup.
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JP: The last episode is really the next day. Whatever shit’s going to go down as a result of the “Bot Seeks Bot” stuff would take more than a day. It was good to bring the focus back to the family for the very last episode, because not a lot of episodes this season were about Doc, Hatred, Dean, and Hank as all carrying equal screen time.
DH: Jackson and I think in episode flows, too. We intentionally write episodes that feel breezy and a little less intensive of plot. We will intentionally write an episode that really moves forward this long arc plot that we have. Some people understand what we’re doing; other people watch it and be like, “I don’t care about this episode,” because it’s not about the long story that we’re telling. But we do it intentionally. It’s the way we like to watch our show is to have it kind of go up and down and flow and return to basics and get heated up and give you things to follow over the long course, and then give you just a small story when you get to see the Monarch again. We’re interested in our show like a book. It has its chapters that go in and out.
JP: Yeah, and we’re not interested in making a 10-part miniseries, just like we’re not interested in making 10 standalone sitcom reset episodes. It’s the mixture of the two that we get off on. When you look back at a full season and you see that, you’re cool with it. Maybe while you’re watching it, you’re like, “Oh man, this episode doesn’t answer my questions.” But as a whole, the seasons work really well. They’re nicely balanced.
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AVC: Serialization has become increasingly prevalent on television in the last two decades. Are there shows you look to as a model for what you do, or do you just follow your own way?
DH: I think we’re more of a part of it than we are using them as a model. I think we just have the same opinion. It’s not necessary that shows have to be like I Love Lucy, where it starts again like it’s the first episode. It’s just not necessary. So we can tell longer stories. At the same time, we don’t write a soap opera. This is not Falcon Crest. So we don’t feel we have to pick up where it goes. There are stories from somebody’s life. You have days where your story is just being right there, it’s what happened that day, and then you have another day when it’s picking up with a story that started earlier. We run it just like life. We pulled out a character who was a semi-main character this season that was in our show six years ago. That’s like life. People come in and out of your life.
JP: We’ve always implied how much shit is going on off-camera. That was part of the joke of the show at one point, which was like, probably the coolest adventures we’re not going to get to see, we’re seeing some of the in-between time. A lot of that was just inspired by the boys’ adventure novels that inspired me early on. It’s as if you’re grabbing book 29 of the hundred-volume Venture Bros. adventure series, and then you don’t necessarily grab book 30 after that. You skip around.
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DH: Sometimes book 29 is the one that they spend all of the time at the kitchen table building a robot.
AVC: This show has a complex mythology. In “O.S.I. Love You,” Monstroso tells Brock Samson that the Sovereign is, in fact, not the real David Bowie, but a shape-shifter who takes on David Bowie’s appearance. Would this count as a retcon? And how much do you try and keep the mythology consistent?
JP: First of all, you don’t even know if he’s lying. So we can’t really talk about it.
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DH: You’ve got to remember that, the first thing when you found out that David Bowie is the Sovereign, he also turned into a bird. I’m a huge Bowie fan, but I’ve never seen him turn into a bird. That just never happens. To say that he’s “David Bowie,” is he David Bowie only from Labyrinth? How is that possible? It’s not a “retcon” at all. And also Jackson is a hundred percent correct. It took us four years for people to stop wondering if Dr. Girlfriend actually had a baboon’s uterus because somebody was mouthing off at a yard sale. What we clearly said was spinning rumors, and our audience, instead of making a comment on rumors, goes, “Fact! It’s a fact!” We have a bunch of real people, and they’re going to say whatever they want to say. Sometimes they lie, and sometimes they’re just plain wrong.
JP: Retconning is the name of this game, man. [All laugh.] In the bigger picture, we’re constantly doing it. As long as we do it smart—you have to keep surprising people, and things are never what they seem, and stuff like that. We’ve done a lot of stuff that we knew a long time ago was going to turn out the way it did, and it just took us forever to reveal things little by little. We’ve built new mythologies inside of what we already did. I’m not going to tell you which ones are which.
DH: I doubt there isn’t an author who doesn’t retcon. Even nature herself retcons. Evolution is based on the idea that you have to roll with the punches and change shit when it works better.
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JP: Ah, evolution’s a theory, my friend.
DH: No, evolution’s been proved by genetics, my friend. Oh, I don’t want to offend all the people who—oh, whatever. [Both laugh.] The way it works, even the normal evolution of a life—that has nothing to do with how the world started, how you evolved as a person—is full of retcon. The only time I think we should talk about retcon is when somebody has a change that becomes impossible because they had stated that that was impossible early on. We’ll try to avoid that. But yeah, we fuck up the show constantly. Any time somebody gets on the Internet and says, “I bet it’s this,” Jackson and I phone each other and go, “Well, it’s not that anymore.”
JP: Yeah, when they guess something we haven’t revealed yet correctly, we look for the nearest way around that.
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DH: And happily consider it a challenge.
AVC: Do you have any idea when the show will be back for season six?
DH: We’re shooting for somewhere in 2015. We don’t want it to go too long. We were trying to get it in the end half of 2014.
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JP: We’re trying to get it to mid-fall of 2014. Very early 2015 might be more realistic, but we may end up with something like we did this time, where we release a special, or we release one earlier, and then rest comes on early the next year. We’re starting production next month. I think we get our first takes of episodes back from Korea in June or July of next year, and you’ve got to go through three takes and 10 episodes, and all of post-production. I think we only start turning finished episodes in to the network in September, so that makes it tricky to put on before the end of the year.
DH: We’re trying.
JP: We’ll figure something out. I would say, the smart money is on January/February of 2015, maybe with some surprise earlier than that.
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DH: That people can remove entirely from our canon and yell at us that our season’s short.
JP: Yeah, and tell us that it doesn’t exist, and that it was five years between seasons.
DH: That we went out of our way to make sure they had something, and then they can tell us, “Unnnnh.”
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JP: We know it was a long wait.
DH: When they complain, we know it really means that they love us, and we like that. We like that they complain that it’s a long time, because it means that there are a bunch of people waiting for us to do it, and that’s kind of a nice compliment. |
Smooth move, Xbox.
Pembroke, Ontario parent Lance Perkins got the shock of a lifetime on Dec. 23 when he discovered his 17-year-old son had racked up nearly $8,000 on in-app purchases through his Xbox video gaming system.
Related: Man sues after losing wife, job to video game addiction
Perkins told CBC News that the credit card his son used was designated for emergencies and to make purchases for the family’s convenience store. According to Perkins, his son thought the bill, which totaled $7,625.88, would be a one-time charge for a purchase he made for a FIFA series soccer game.
Perkins said, “He’s just as sick as I am, [because] he never believed he was being charged for every transaction, or every time he went onto the game.”
Related: Games, hardware, and everything unveiled during Microsoft’s E3 conference
When he reached out to his credit card company, Perkins was told that nothing could be done unless he wanted to charge his son with fraud. Xbox agreed to look into the matter after learning Perkins’ son was a minor, but he hasn’t heard back since.
While the FTC has measures in place that protect consumers in the U.S. from exorbitant billing, the rules in Canada are a bit more lax.
More from FoxNews.com Tech: |
The man at the center of Dennis Hastert's stunning downfall may remain anonymous — for now — in his lawsuit alleging the former U.S. House speaker failed to pay the full financial settlement they agreed upon in exchange for his silence about sexual abuse, a Kendall County judge said Thursday.
Judge Robert Pilmer did not rule on the merits of the breach-of-contract suit, filed just days ago. But, in a brief court hearing, the judge said he will allow the litigation to proceed temporarily under the pseudonym James Doe, until it is refiled, under seal and not open to public inspection, with the man's full name included.
The move would allow more time if Hastert's attorneys choose to object. They did not attend court Thursday, nor did James Doe, known in federal court documents as Individual A.
His attorney, Kristi Browne, acknowledged the possibility her client someday could be compelled to testify. If that happened, Browne said, she "anticipates a quick appeal."
"He's a very private person, and this has obviously changed his life," she told reporters outside court. "He has to relive this trauma every time this is in the news."
The court hearing came the morning after Hastert, 74, was sentenced to a 15-month prison term for a federal banking violation related to the hush money payments to Individual A. At least five students involved in Hastert's wrestling program, including an equipment manager who is deceased, alleged at some point their coach sexually abused them at Yorkville High School in the 1960s and 1970s.
Hastert began his political life in the early 1980s, leaving behind his job as a teacher and coach. His final victim may have been Scott Cross, a younger brother of former Illinois House GOP leader Tom Cross. Now 53, Scott Cross read an emotional victim-impact statement at Wednesday's sentencing detailing a one-time incident in the fall of 1979 in which he said Hastert sexually abused him during a massage after wrestling practice one night in the school's locker room.
U.S. Attorney Zachary Fardon addressed the news media after former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert was sentenced to 15 months in prison on April 27, 2016. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune) U.S. Attorney Zachary Fardon addressed the news media after former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert was sentenced to 15 months in prison on April 27, 2016. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune) SEE MORE VIDEOS
Prosecutors said the statute of limitations kept them from pursuing child molestation charges. Instead, Hastert's undoing came from his efforts to conceal the reason he had agreed to pay another former wrestler — Individual A — $3.5 million. The payments began in 2010 and continued for four years until federal authorities questioned Hastert about irregular bank withdrawals. He pleaded guilty last fall to intentionally illegally structuring the withdrawals to avoid scrutiny.
Individual A, a married father who in the 1970s was a standout student-athlete whose family had close ties to Hastert, argues in his lawsuit that Hastert still owes him $1.8 million — plus accrued interest — as part of the out-of-court settlement agreement. He alleges Hastert rejected his suggestion that they put it in writing and promised "to pay every last dollar," the lawsuit said. But Hastert stopped payment after federal authorities questioned him in December 2014 about his withdrawals.
Hastert has admitted sexually abusing Individual A during a one-time incident when the then-14-year-old boy attended an overnight wrestling camp and hadn't yet started high school. He filed the lawsuit under James Doe, saying the use of his real name would cause "great psychological damage to him in the form of shame and embarrassment."
Individual A has declined Tribune requests for comment. Browne, his lawyer, said his right to privacy given the "highly sensitive" issues in the case outweighs any public interest in knowing his name.
Individual A suffered panic attacks for years that led to "periods of unemployment, career changes, bouts of depression, hospitalization and long-term psychiatric treatment," according to the lawsuit. It said he never connected his problems to Hastert until 2008 when he learned for the first time that his former coach had also allegedly inappropriately touched someone else decades ago.
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Twitter @christygutowsk1 |
Chief scientist Ian Chubb unveils ambitious strategy to secure Australia's future prosperity
Updated
Australia's chief scientist has unveiled an ambitious agenda for change to increase the focus on science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) skills to help secure the country's future prosperity.
Professor Ian Chubb AC has outlined a number of recommendations to the Federal Government in a national science strategy to build a more competitive economy.
His call for action involves a long-term strategic view from the classroom to laboratories and the boardroom to create and foster STEM skills, which he says are relevant to an increasingly wide range of occupations.
The strategy outlines a broad approach across four main areas, including building competitiveness, supporting high-quality education and training, maximising research potential and strengthening international engagement.
Professor Chubb said the strategy begins in the classroom, starting in primary school.
"If we've got young people coming through the system who are interested in science, fascinated by science and understand how awesome science can be, then we'll be better off for it," he said.
He has recommended that every primary school have at least one specialist maths and science teacher – a policy already used in Victoria and South Australia.
"It means we've got to support our teachers – we've got to prepare them better," he said.
If we don't get (a national strategy) soon, then we will be left behind to the point where we would be barely worth cooperating with except in very selected areas. Professor Ian Chubb
"I think we haven't done that well over the last decades, and that's really where the whole thing begins."
Professor Chubb said he hopes the strategy will address the declining numbers of students taking intermediate and advanced maths in years 11 and 12, as well as the shortage of qualified maths and science teachers.
He did not, however, recommend that maths should be made compulsory for students in years 11 and 12.
"There's not much point making something compulsory if it's not actually attractive," he said.
"I would much rather make these subjects so compellingly interesting that students want to do them."
Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane has officially launched the strategy, saying the Federal Government is "very conscious of that fact that science is essential to building the future of Australia".
"We are focused on building the connections between business and science... right at the heart of our industry policy is science and research," he said.
Mr Macfarlane says businesses do not think to collaborate with scientists.
"They just don't think of scientists as being part of their solutions and scientists need to improve your front-foot ability and push your relevance in the community because if you don't, no one else is going to," he said.
He says the Government has been working hard to build those connections but science has allowed itself to get pushed out of the community's awareness.
"If you're feeling a little irrelevant in the community, the answer is make yourself relevant," he said.
"Make people understand that science is more than just fixing sick children. That actually you're solving day to day problems for them every day."
Australia remains only OECD country without science strategy
The chief scientist also recommended incentives, including promotion and remuneration, to boost numbers of qualified teachers, and said students and businesses should be made aware of the value of study in the areas of science, maths, technology and engineering.
Professor Chubb said Australia remains the only OECD country without a science strategy.
He said such an approach needs to be adopted to ensure Australia does not fall further behind other countries.
Sorry, this video has expired Video: National Science Strategy aims at better economy (ABC News)
"I don't think we've left it too late, but I do think that you could leave it too late," he said.
"Nearly every other country we would compare and contrast ourselves with has some sort of strategy, some sort of plan – either for the technology, for innovation, for science, sometimes for all three.
"If we don't get one soon, then we will be left behind to the point where we would be barely worth cooperating with except in very selected areas."
Professor Chubb said Australia must build stronger networks with other countries when it comes to science, research and education, and further develop relationships with the European Union and the United States.
"The opportunity is there to link much more strategically with other countries... I think we've got to be contributors in order to get a profit from work that's been done elsewhere," he said.
Professor Chubb called for the establishment of an Australian Innovation Board, based on a UK model, that would be run by industry collaborating with researchers and distributing finances.
"We don't have a lot of cooperation between our researchers and our businesses. We actually have to make a paradigm shift. This is not fiddling at the margins again and hoping that things will get better," he said
He said Australia has not had a whole-of-government approach in this area and it is something he has been focused on for some time.
"I've talked to a lot of people and nobody has said I'm silly to do this. So we'll just wait and see," he said.
"We need to think bigger. We need to think coordinated, we need to think strategically and we need to learn from what's been done.
"Other countries do it a lot better than we do.
"I'm not into legacies but it would be a good one if I were."
Maths institute says national strategy 'necessary'
The strategy has been welcomed by the Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute.
Institute director Professor Geoff Prince said a coherent national strategy is neccessary.
"We absolutely have to have one. We've got ourselves in the situation we're in through the absence of strategy and absence of strategy is not going to get us out that position," he said.
Professor Prince agreed that mandating maths subjects for year 11 and 12 students would not be productive, but said studying mathematics is beneficial in a number of ways.
"I'd like [students] to [study maths] because they were engaged and because it was something that was going to be good for their life skills and their career skills," he said.
He said the system is under-resourced, with 40 per cent of classes in years 7 to 10 not being taught by qualified maths teachers.
"I think we're actually in that vicious spiral where the numbers of maths graduates are being choked by the declining numbers of kids taking intermediate and advanced maths in year 12," he said.
"That's being choked because of a failure to staff schools with inspiring maths teachers, and inspiring maths teachers can't be had because there aren't enough maths graduates.
"It's at a critical level now and unless we act, it's only going to get worse.
"The consequences, I think, would be absolutely disastrous."
Topics: science, engineering, mathematics-education, federal-government, australia
First posted |
Ms. Knapp was called up to Iraq, but Mr. Dwyer insisted on taking her place, because she was a single mom. He had no children at the time, and besides, he had enlisted right after 9/11 just for this. He went and stunned everybody by getting his picture all over the newspapers and TV.
Photo
A few months later, he was home. He was shy about his celebrity. He was also skinny and haunted. Ms. Minor said he was afraid. Ms. Knapp said paranoid was more like it.
It didn’t help that El Paso looked a lot like Iraq. Once he totaled his car. He said had seen a box in the road and thought it was a bomb. He couldn’t go to the movies anymore: too many people. In restaurants, he sat with his back to the wall.
He said that Iraqis were coming to get him. He would call Angela and Dionne at all hours, to talk vaguely about the “demons” that followed him all day and in his dreams. He became a Baptist, doggedly searching Scripture on his lunch hour — for solace. His friends knew he was also getting high with spray cans bought at computer stores.
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“He would call me in the middle of the day,” Ms. Minor said. “I’d be like: ‘Why are you at Best Buy? Why aren’t you at work?’ I could tell he’d been drinking and huffing again.”
His friends tried an intervention, showing up at his door in October 2005 and demanding his guns and cans of solvent. He refused to give them up.
Hours later, gripped by delusions, he shot up his apartment. He was glad when the SWAT team arrived, Ms. Knapp said, because then he could tell them where the Iraqis were. He was arrested and discharged, and later moved to Pinehurst, N.C. His parents tried to get him help, but nothing worked. “He just couldn’t get over the war,” his mother, Maureen, told a reporter. “Joseph never came home.”
It’s not clear what therapy and medication could have saved Mr. Dwyer. He admitted lying on a post-deployment questionnaire about what he had seen and suffered because he just wanted to get back to his family. Ms. Minor said he sometimes skipped therapy appointments in El Paso. One thing that did seem to help, Ms. Knapp and Ms. Minor said, was peer counseling from a fellow veteran, a man who had been ambushed in Iraq and knew about fear and death. But that was too little, too late, and both women say they are frustrated with the military for letting Mr. Dwyer slip away.
Private Dwyer, who survived rocket-propelled grenades and shocking violence, made his way back to his family and friends. But part of him was also stuck forever on a road in Iraq, helpless and terrified, with nobody to carry him to safety. |
Written by Terri Giuliano Long for indiereader.com
Bookselling This Week just reported that brick and mortar booksellers are making it easier for self-published authors to garner coveted shelf space in their stores. With indies crossing into this and other territory usually staked out by the traditionally published, the battle between self-published and traditionally pubbed authors has heated up. Rumor has it, one big-name author even resorted to rallying fans, fuming about the deleterious effect eBooks have had on her income. Another traditionally published author went so far as to refer to self-publishing as “literary karaoke.”
The lines, it seems, have been drawn.
The “literary karaoke” slur notwithstanding, the stakes are less about the quality of indie books and more about the money indies are grabbing from their traditionally pubbed brethren. From the outcry, you’d think self-publishers were stealing and eating their babies—and, in a way, maybe they are.
While traditional publishers have seen an increase in overall profits, their mass-market and hardcover segments have been hard hit by burgeoning digital sales. According to the Association of American Publishers (AAP), in 2011 e-book sales rose 117%, generating revenue of $969.9 million, while sales in all trade print segments fell, with mass-market paperbacks plunging by nearly 36%.
As sales decline, industry leaders worry that some houses may focus on the more profitable hardback format, publishing paperback editions of only their highest grossing titles. For conventional authors, especially mid-listers, this would be a significant blow. As Rachel Deahl reports in Publisher’s Weekly: “ . . . the shift will kill the much-needed second bite books get at the marketing and publicity apple.”
If e-books are causing the ruckus, why focus all the ire on indies?
Fact is, most people buy a book for one reason: they want a good read. Assuming the book delivers, they don’t care who published it; many don’t even notice. With publishing cachet exerting less influence on purchasing decisions, price has become more of a factor. In a depressed economy, it’s only natural to look for a deal—and indie authors offer one. With greater flexibility and lower overhead, self-publishers can afford to sell their e-books for a fraction of the price charged by large publishers.
Now, in addition to declining paperback royalties, traditional authors face stiff competition from inexpensive self-published e-books. No wonder they’re angry.
Nevertheless, casting aspersions by aggressively promoting the indie stigma is unfair – and unwarranted. “The idea that all self-published books are sub-standard is erroneous,” says literary agent Jenny Bent, founder of The Bent Agency in Brooklyn, New York. Will Clarke, one of Bent’s clients, self-published his first two books, "Lord Vishnu’s Love Handles" and "The Worthy". After Simon & Schuster republished, Bent points out, “he got a full-page rave review for both of them in the New York Times Book Review.”
Self-Published Books ”Refreshing and New”
Naomi Blackburn, founder of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Book, a 400-member Goodreads book club, believes self-publishing has opened the door for new voices and given readers a far greater selection. Ranked #29 on the Goodreads list of top reviewers in the U.S. and #35 globally of all time, Blackburn reads nearly a book a day. She’s grown tired of traditional publishers “shoving dried-up authors down consumers’ throats and subjecting readers to substandard work, especially if they find a ‘cash cow.’” These days, Blackburn veers toward self-published books or works put out by smaller houses. “I usually find the works to be refreshing and new,” she says.
If bestseller lists are any indication, and surely they are, then millions of readers are following in Blackburn’s footsteps. Nowadays, indie titles regularly crack—even top —the NY Times and USA Today bestseller lists. John Locke, Barbara Freethy, Gemma Halliday, and Amanda Hocking have all broken into the million-plus sales club, and well over 100 indie authors have sold more than 50,000 books. No, gorilla-size sales figures do not guarantee the quality of an indie title, any more than huge numbers indicate the quality of a conventionally published book. The numbers do suggest that readers see value in indie books and they’re purchasing indie titles in droves.
Which is perhaps why some offenders have resorted to bullying, aggressively promoting an indie stigma that ceased to be unilaterally credible (if it ever was) around the time The Shack—an indie publication—sat for approximately 172 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list.
With millions of indie titles on shelves, some are bound to be lacking. Sometimes, says Jenn, a book editor and blogger, also known as “Picky Girl,” the lack of quality is immediately evident. “A cover that looks childish, out of date, or amateurish often speaks for the story it houses.” By publicly decrying the need to perfect their craft or bragging about writing and publishing quickly, Indie authors make themselves easy targets, says M.J. Rose, bestselling author and owner of AuthorBuzz.com. “Self-publishing shouldn’t be an excuse to not do the hard work,” Rose adds.
True enough. But not all traditionally pubbed books are Pulitzer-worthy either. The difference is, when a traditional title garners negative reviews, only that book gets panned. No one cites examples of poorly written traditionally published books to support any conclusion about all traditional titles. Besides, lousy books are a non-factor anyway. Readers don’t talk about books they don’t like and retailers don’t put poor selling books in recommendation queues, so the books languish on the shelves.
Nor is it true, as detractors claim, that it’s impossible to separate the chaff from the grain. Jennifer, the blogger at Books, Personally, finds the best indie reads through her Twitter network and blog. Like Jennifer, readers can use their social networks to find fab indie titles. They can also peruse reviews on reader sites like Goodreads, ask their friends for recommendations, or rely on reviews posted by a favorite book blogger. For the most popular current titles, readers can check the IndieReader “List Where Indies Count,” a list of the top 10 best-selling indie books, updated weekly.
Today’s Indie Authors Choose to Self-Publish
No question, traditional publishers play an important role in the publishing world. Still, for better or worse, the days when they were the sole gatekeepers are behind us. Today, rejection by traditional houses says little about a book. “Some wonderful books [are rejected] for various reasons—nothing to do with quality,” says Jenny Bent. A publisher may reject a book because it doesn’t fit into a clear category. A traditional house may also turn down a book if it doesn’t have an obvious audience or if the author has too small a platform or a poor sales track with previous books.
In the old days, determined authors turned to self-publishing—or vanity presses, as they were called—as a last resort. Serious authors, concerned about being black- balled, dared not self-publish. As a result, talented authors like John Kennedy Toole, whose posthumously published masterpiece, "A Confederacy of Dunces," won a Pulitzer Prize (1981), went to their grave believing their work did not measure up.
Today, many talented authors choose the self-publishing route and they do it for a variety of reasons. Jackie Collins recently shocked the literary world with her announcement that she planned to self-publish a new, rewritten version of her novel "The Bitch". “Times are changing,” Collins said of her decision, “and technology is changing, so I wanted to experiment with this growing trend of self-publishing.”
Industry superstars like New York Times bestselling authors Barbara Freethy and C.J. Lyons use self-publishing platforms to market their out-of-print backlists. Other authors are drawn to self-publishing because of its flexibility, the ability to publish within their own timeframe, for instance—perhaps to leverage topical interest or mark an anniversary. Others authors self-publish out of a desire for artistic control.
Self-publishing can also be a practical way to build an audience. Today, publishers expect authors to have a solid platform. By self-publishing, emerging authors can build the fan base necessary to attract a traditional publisher for their next work. Other authors, long-timers as well as newbies, feel they can make more money on their own. At $2.99 a pop, authors earn nearly $2.00 on every eBook sale. Even at 99¢, with average royalties of 33¢ to 60¢, earnings on a hot-selling book can quickly out-pace the meager advance offered to all but the superstars by a traditional house.
These days—insult-hurling aside—traditional and indie authors are more alike than different. Mindful of their increased scrutiny, self-publishers take full advantage of the myriad professional services available to authors. Indies hire experienced editors to copyedit and proofread. For their cover and interior designs, some work with the same graphic artists who design for the traditional houses. Professionals are available and widely used to covert documents to digital and paperback formats, and POD printing has gotten so good that, to the typical untrained eye, print-on-demand books are virtually indistinguishable from books printed on an offset press.
Literary agent and publishing consultant Joelle Delbourgo, founder and president of Joelle Delbourgo Associates, Inc., formerly a senior publishing executive at Random House and HarperCollins, says some self-publishers go a step further and work with a professional publishing partner, a strategy she recommends. A publishing pro with a track record of success can bring an author to the next level, Delbourgo says.
For a few years, Bethanne Patrick, a publicist and media consultant also known as “The Book Maven,” creator of the global reading community Friday Reads, was skeptical of self-publishing. Through her work in social media, Patrick has read more indie titles and gotten to know writers who’ve chosen to self-publish. More and more indie authors, she’s noticed, seek the advice of freelance editors, publicists, and marketing consultants—and she’s intrigued.
As well-educated and experienced writers—emerging authors who’ve honed their craft as well as established and traditionally published authors—increasingly opt to go the indie route, the bar is rising. As with indie musicians and filmmakers, indie authors bring new life to an evolving industry. Today, readers have access to a wealth of funny, poignant, brilliant voices of talented new authors from around the globe—voices that, just a few years ago, might have been silenced by the old guard.
The opportunity to self-publish—to publish their books their own way—has given both emerging and established authors more freedom than ever before. So, yes, now that readers choose which books to purchase and support, dollars may shift and some traditional authors may be forced to give up a slice of the pie. Change is never easy; inevitably, there are bumps and bruises along the way. But, like or not, indie publishing is here to stay. And the publishing world will be all the richer for it.
Terri Giuliano Long is a contributing writer for IndieReader and Her Circle eZine. She has written news and features for numerous publications, including the Boston Globe and the Huffington Post. She lives with her family on the East Coast and teaches at Boston College. Her debut novel, "In Leah’s Wake," began as her master’s thesis. For more information, please visit her website. Or connect on Facebook, Twitter or Blog.
Read more at Indiereader.com |
In contemporary psychology, normal development is contingent on the establishment of a coherent, universal, stable and unitary ‘core gender identity’. The present study assessed the perception of gender identity in ‘normative’ individuals in Israel using the newly constructed Multi-Gender Identity Questionnaire (Multi-GIQ). The Multi-GIQ includes 32 items assessing gender identity (Feeling like a woman, Feeling like a man, Feeling like both a man and a woman, Feeling like neither), gender dysphoria (Contentment with affirmed gender and the wish to be the ‘other’ gender, Contentment with one’s sexed body) and gender performance (Compliance with gender norms in clothing and language). Of the Men (n = 570) and Women (n = 1585) that participated in the study, over 35% felt to some extent as the ‘other’ gender, as both men and women and/or as neither. Although such feelings were more prevalent and on average stronger in Queers (n = 70), the range of scores for all measures of gender identity was highly similar in Queers and non-Queers. A similar pattern was obtained for measures of gender dysphoria and gender performance. Sexual orientation was not a major contributor to the perception of gender identity in both Men and Women. We discuss our results in view of the current debate around the terminology and diagnostic criteria of gender dysphoria (a substitutive category for Gender Identity Disorder) in DSM-V. We conclude that the current view of gender identity as binary and unitary does not reflect the experience of many individuals, and call for a new conceptualisation of gender, which relates to multiplicity and fluidity in the experience of gender. |
Mark Mulder, a two-time All-Star and former staff pillar with the Oakland Athletics and St. Louis Cardinals, is trying to make a comeback.
Mulder, 36, retired in 2009 after two surgeries on his left shoulder had reduced his effectiveness and sapped his hopes of pitching at an elite level again. He's been working as an analyst at ESPN since 2011, and had come to grips with the notion that his big-league days were at an end.
But things changed in October when Mulder watched Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Paco Rodriguez on TV and found something in Rodriguez's delivery that he could emulate. Mulder spent the month of November working himself into shape at a Phoenix-area facility run by former big-league catcher Chad Moeller, and recently threw off the mound for three unspecified teams near his home in Scottsdale.
Though he hasn't pitched since 2009 for the Cardinals, Mark Mulder is attempting a comeback. AP Photo/Tom Gannam
He said scouts clocked his fastball at 89-90 mph. Now he's hoping to audition for more clubs and land an invitation to a spring training camp.
"I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am," Mulder said by phone Tuesday. "To be honest with you, I never anticipated this five or six weeks ago. It was just a flat-out fluke that came from me trying to imitate Paco Rodriguez in my living room."
Mulder, a former Michigan State star, began his professional career with Oakland in 1998 as the No. 2 overall choice in the draft -- one pick after the Philadelphia Phillies selected outfielder Pat Burrell with the top choice. Mulder was 23 years old in 2001 when he went 21-8 with a 3.45 ERA to finish second to Roger Clemens in the American League Cy Young Award balloting.
Mulder, Tim Hudson and Barry Zito -- Oakland's "Big Three'' -- helped lead the Athletics to four straight playoff appearances from 2000 through 2003.
The Athletics sent Mulder to St. Louis in December 2004 in a four-player trade that brought Dan Haren to Oakland, and Mulder went 16-8 with a 3.64 ERA in 2005. But Mulder said his delivery and arm "never worked right'' after he underwent shoulder surgeries in 2006 and 2007.
A fluke viewing of Rodriguez on TV apparently changed that. Mulder had always separated his hands at his delivery at his midsection, but tried raising them near his head similar to the way Rodriguez does. He became convinced he was onto something after playing catch with former Cardinals teammate Kyle Lohse on Oct. 27, when they were hanging out at a birthday party for their daughters. The two pitchers threw from a distance of 150-200 feet, and Mulder was encouraged when Lohse told him he looked like his former self.
"The best way to describe it is, the ball is coming out of my hand better now than at any point when I was in St. Louis," Mulder said. "I wouldn't be trying this is if I didn't think the stuff I was throwing was good enough [to pitch in the big leagues]."
Mulder, who is under contract for two more years with ESPN, plans to put his TV future on temporary hold while he pursues his goal of pitching in the majors again. He expects to audition for several more teams before the end of December, and will see where his comeback takes him.
"So far everything has been awesome," Mulder said. "Why not give it a shot?" |
A proposal to ban the international sale of polar bear pelts, as well as other parts of the animal, has some people in Labrador concerned.
The United States brought the proposal forward, but was rejected by the Convention on International Trade and Endangered Species Secretariat.
However, the subject will be up for another vote in two weeks.
Ronald Webb, a hunter in Nain, said a hunter can get up to $3,000 for a polar bear pelt on the international market.
The meat of the bear also helps feed the community.
"When you get a polar bear, you take the meat back to the community and share it around," Webb said.
"In Nain here, we've got a community freezer here so there's lots of room for it so it's shared around the community."
Webb said that even if the proposal was approved, people would likely continue to hunt polar bear.
"If you couldn't sell a bear, I think we would still carry on with our traditional hunt and use the fur for either rugs or sewing or whatever [for themselves]," Webb said. |
When you walk into the laboratory that houses NIST’s newest coordinate measuring machine (CMM), you might be puzzled at first about how engineers got it into the room.
At about 11 feet cubed (3.3 x 3.3 x 3.4 meters) and almost 20,000 pounds (about 9,000 kilograms), the device – a model called the Xenos – takes up roughly half the volume of the laboratory space. With less than 100 mm (not quite 4 inches) overhead clearance, it nearly scrapes the ceiling.
Getting the instrument into the underground lab on NIST’s Gaithersburg, Md., campus took “some creativity and a lot of patience,” says Vincent Lee of NIST’s Physical Measurement Laboratory (PML). He and his colleagues knew it was too big for the route they normally use to install heavy equipment. “So we had to improvise and lower it down the ventilation shaft in the building,” Lee says. They also had to knock a wall out of the room and bridge a half-meter gap between the outside and inside floors.
The new device came to NIST to help scientists make a measurement of “big G,” the universal constant of gravitation that has eluded precise measurement for centuries. When that experiment is complete, however, the researchers hope to incorporate the instrument into their growing fleet of CMMs, capable of making some of the most precise dimensional measurements in the world.
Coordinate measuring machines like this one use touch probes to measure the distances between points on an object in three dimensions, with billionths of a meter sensitivity for the most accurate machines. Customers who rely on NIST for this kind of measurement include manufacturers of ultra-precision parts, such as bearings for aircraft engines, test artifacts for other classes of measurement machines, and parts or structures for high-accuracy systems. Other customers come from the automotive and electronics industries, and from laboratories that perform calibrations for their own clientele.
With the addition of the Xenos, NIST’s dimensional metrology group now possesses four CMMs in the ultra high-accuracy class.*
This newest machine also has the potential to expand NIST’s measurement capability since its work volume (the area accessible to the probe) is more than twice that of NIST’s other CMM systems – 1.5 x 0.9 x 0.7 meters, about the size of a washer and dryer side by side. Also, it has a probe head that can move in all three dimensions, meaning that, unlike CMMs with a moving table, sensitive parts like those for the big G experiment are less likely to be disturbed during measurement.**
NIST’s Vincent Lee with the new coordinate measuring machine.
So far, tests of the system’s performance are “promising,” Lee says, “but there are a lot of other things we need to learn before we design and perform measurements for the big G experiment.”
One current challenge is controlling the CMM’s environment. Pockets of hot or cool air in the room can warp the machine or even the part being measured. To ensure that the temperature is evenly distributed, the laboratory uses a system that pushes air from the ceiling down through vented floor tiles. But the new CMM is so big that, like a pebble stuck in a garden hose, it restricts this flow, preventing the air from circulating optimally. Lee is currently exploring several solutions to ameliorate the problem.
The big G experiment will start this spring and should be complete within two years. “After that, we plan to start pressing the Xenos machine into service for calibrations,” Lee says.
Meanwhile, he and PML staff will continue to gain a greater understanding of the instrument in order to be able to realize its fullest potential.
The team says that it will take years and years of learning the machine’s quirks, making careful comparisons to its CMMs and other length measurement machines, and performing carefully executed experiments in order to be able to assess the capabilities of this new machine. “It was really a big effort to get it to where it is right now,” Lee says. “And I’m not surprised it will take the same, or even more, to really understand the CMM’s potential.”
-- Reported and written by Jennifer Lauren Lee
* For information about the other three CMMs, see “Meet Bob, PML's Second "Primary" Coordinate Measuring Machine.”
** The big G experiment uses a torsion balance, designed to gauge the twisting of a set of masses suspended by a thin strip of metal. Any table movement would cause the suspended masses to swing, so it was necessary to use a CMM with a stationary table.
NOTE: Any mention or depiction of commercial products within NIST web pages is for information only; it does not imply recommendation or endorsement by NIST. |
Every month, the bills get paid on time. The emails get answered, and any orders filled. Which, for HeavensGate.com, is positively extraordinary. Because as far as the public is aware, every last member of the suicide cult died 17 years ago from a cocktail of arsenic and apple sauce. A few stayed behind, though. Someone had to keep the homepage going.
Today, at first glance, the fully functional, 17-year-old website seems like just one more of the many GeoCities-era relics that litter the internet. Visitor counts, flashing text, Word Art gradients; the whole gang's here and then some. Dig a little deeper, though, and you'll find that almost every link adds yet another layer to a wildly extensive dogma, totally earnest in its interweaving of disembodied space aliens, Jesus, secret UFOs, prophets to whom aliens speak, comets coming to save us, and the suicide it takes to get there.
It's not just text (though there is plenty of that); Heaven's Gate's internet remains also include hours upon hours of video recorded some time between 1993 and 97, the year the majority of the group committed suicide in anticipation of sublimating to the spacecraft that trailed comet Hale-Bopp.
Those recorded statements from "students" before their deaths (as well as their leaders' own testimony) exist not only as videos on the site, but as transcripts. These were intended to last. And they have, thanks to the guardians of HeavensGate.com.
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Today, only a few Heaven's Gate believers remain. Two of them sit on the other end of the website's sole contact email address, and will promptly respond to your inquiries. Which seems odd for a group whose members are all widely believed to be dead.
The people who respond to HeavensGate.com queries refer to themselves simply as "Telah" and "we." They'll answer questions if you ask—that's part of the gig—but they've wearied of the rubberneckers that have passed through ever since their fellow active members committed suicide in 1997. Which is perhaps to be expected when you're the only official contact point for one of the largest, most bizarre mass suicides in human history.
In fact, what's most surprising about the Heaven's Gate website is that for all the hundreds of pages of sermons and prophecies and transcripts held within the site and its advertised wares, the bizarre, often incoherent text really doesn't tell you all that much.
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And what it does tell you isn't half as interesting as the people who are doling it out.
In 1972, Marshall Applewhite had a heart attack. In some bizarre permutation of the Florence Nightingale effect, he then came to the realization that he and his nurse, Bonnie Nettles, were very likely the two witnesses prophesied in Revelation. Bonnie agreed. The unlikely apocalyptic pair changed their names to Bo and Peep (a natural fit for two long-awaited shepherds) before ultimately adopting the monikers Ti (Bonnie) and Do (Marshall). You know, like the notes of a scale.
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The two spent the next several years spreading their message and gaining followers through in-person evangelizing, traveling around the country to give their prophetic talks. But as Robert Balch, a sociology professor at the University of Montana who infiltrated the group during the 70s, explained in his book Waiting for the Ships, "Even during public meetings, members insulated themselves from outsiders."
Ti and Do in the late 70s during one of their many public presentations at college campuses. Image via Robert Balch.
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Contrary to our common assumptions surrounding cults and brainwashing tactics, Ti and Do weren't looking to keep people in the group against their will. They only wanted to associate with people who actively, adamantly wanted to be there. Balch goes on to explain:
Bo and Peep were good salesmen, but people shopping for new cars routinely encounter much more pressure and manipulation. People joined the UFO cult with virtually no pressure to convert, and they enthusiastically adopted group norms even before the socialization process began.
Part of this was to ensure that only true believers stayed with the group, but it was also a clever defense tactic. At least in Balch's eyes, Ti and Do wanted to forestall trouble as much as possible, particularly in the form of a group of family members of cultists who banded together to try to save their loved ones. As he explained to us over the phone:
They were super paranoid about outsiders, and there was a network of the group's outside family that formed in 1980. And even though the woman that started that was about as sympathetic as anybody could have been, I think Ti and Do really feared the worst. They wanted anybody who left the group to leave on good terms.
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And their casual (as far as cults go at least) attitude towards defectors seems to have worked; there has never been a contingent of angry former Heaven's Gate members. Unlike those few remaining members of the similarly infamous Peoples Temple in Jonestown, no ex-Heaven's Gaters have anything particularly horrible to say about their time spent in the group. Most likely because Ti and Do were more than happy to let unbelievers leave, and because once you made that deep of a commitment, it was nearly impossible to claw your way out.
To accept Ti and Do's teachings, you had to accept a lot. Religious zealotry was substantial part of the group's culture, sure, but it was mixed with an odd interplay of technology and science—space travel, in particular. Do even referred to the classroom where he proselytized before his so-called students (many of whom were several generations younger) as "God's astronaut program." This wasn't mysticism. It was evolution.
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Heaven's Gate's own depiction of what you can expect from the Next Level.
The Heaven's Gate doctrine in its entirety is convoluted and, unsurprisingly, not all that consistent, but here are the basics: Earth was about to be recycled (read: wiped clean, Apocalypse-style), and those who wanted to live on needed to reach something called "The Evolutionary Level Above Human," which consisted of a genderless, bodiless, spiritual existence aboard a spaceship. Several of these already-evolved creatures were coming to save those on Earth who had successfully shed attachments to their human "vessel" (i.e. body) enough to satisfy the Next Level's tastes. These beings had visited Earth only once before, though that time they took a human form. You might know him as Jesus Christ.
Ti and Do were, of course, the only ones able to converse directly with the Next Level, so the Heaven's Gate members had to take it on faith when they were told that, as the Hale-Bopp comet approached, a UFO was hiding just out of site behind the comet's tail, ready to snatch them up. And the only way to get aboard this believers-only spaceship? Leaving your vessel behind. In this case, that meant donning matching uniforms all the way down to their Nikes, chasing phenobarbital-flavored apple sauce with vodka, and lying down to await their cosmic, evolutionary reward.
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It's easy to look back and color Heaven's Gate's formative years with what we know now. But for most of the cult's existence, the topic of suicide was rarely even broached, much less seriously considered an option. Ti and Do would ready the group for the spaceships coming to take them away, only to change the narrative when the time to exit Earth came and went without fanfare. When Ti died of cancer in 1985, it cemented the notion in Do's mind and the minds of his followers that death was the only way to send oneself to the next level.
In the years after Ti's death, the group became progressively more reclusive. Do amped up the alienation from modern society, which seems quite a feat considering that, by this point, the remaining members had already chopped off their hair, donned matching, androgynous uniforms, and, in a few cases, subjected themselves to castration. Their corporeal forms were minimized to the absolute essentials and made as uniform as possible. After all, if they wanted to prepare for the imminent Next Level, they were going to need to stifle their human urges as much as possible. There was no privacy, no sex, no freedom from routine. Essentially, there was no individuality whatsoever. The members lived together with the ultimate goal of becoming a singular, buzzing hive, primed for entry into the great beyond. Whenever that might come.
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Until then, though, they needed to make money. Earthly vessels require food and shelter. So several Heaven's Gate cultists looked to what they knew best to sustain themselves: web design.
Of course, the group also comprised cooks, mechanics, waiters, and other rote jobs. That several of them were web-savvy was incidental. But they did introduce Do to the internet's potential, and everything that could mean for disseminating his message.
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The archived home page for the Higher Source web design firm.
They called their business Higher Source, advertising themselves as able to not only build sites that would "enhance your company's image" but to also "make your transition into the 'world of cyberspace' an easy and fascinating experience."
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As far as early 90s web design firms go, Higher Source did it all. And looking back at the archived site for the group's occupational design firm, while they never directly mention their affiliation with the Heaven's Gate cult, subtle references to the company's origins abound. With Higher Source, you were getting "a crew-minded effort" from people who have worked "closely" together for 20 years. Of course, close in this case meant literal bunkmates.
"The Higher Source Difference."
You were getting a lot more than that, though. UFO and suicide cult connotations of hindsight aside, this is one of the most pristine testaments to early internet web design around. Not only could Higher Source program in Java, C++, and Visual Basic as well as use Shockwave, QuickTime, and AVI, they could gradient the hell out of your word art, too.
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One of many sample graphics available on the Higher Source website .
In other words, they seemed like any other enterprising young web design team of the day. According to a Seattle Times article that came out just weeks after the mass suicide took place, one of their former clients "noticed that Higher Source staffers were 'strict in diet and dress.' But they showed 'a good sense of humor, and they were exceptionally smart.'" They also had their marketing lingo down pat, assuring interested parties that "whether using stock or custom photography, cutting-edge computer graphics, or plain HTML text, Higher Source can go from 'cool' to 'corporate' like a chameleon."
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The sample graphics on the Higher Source web page included quite a bit of space imagery.
The matching, sexless outfits and uniform haircuts were Heaven's Gates way of paying as little attention to their earthly bodies as possible. The internet provided that same anonymity as a matter of course.
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Plus, Higher Source was just the side project. The group's real lasting, virtual impact is the website they built for themselves.
Despite growing up in a different era than most of his followers, Do must have had at least an inkling of what the internet would ultimately become. As Balch suggested, it seems that Do saw HeavensGate.com as the group's eternal imprint and his own personal Ozymandias. For someone who'd supposedly done away with base, mortal urges, he certainly had a flair for the dramatic.
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The current Heaven's Gate homepage.
In the group's early days, Ti and Do were adamant that they would eventually fulfill the prophecy in Revelation 11:3 by first being assassinated and, eventually, resurrected. The UFO would come, their death broadcast to the world, and Ti and Do would be free to take their place next to Christ in an updated, UFO-centric pantheon. But when their martyr's death never came despite several decades of opportunity (and after Ti died of cancer), Do did what any self-chose second coming would: Cover a manifesto in word art, stick it on the internet, and SEO the shit out of it.
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That is not a figure of speech; Heaven's Gate was all about search-engine optimization. Scroll to the bottom of the homepage, highlight, and see for yourself.
Though a need for recognition certainly played a part in Do's decision to pursue the earliest form of internet fame, he did still very much believe in what he was doing. Balch contends that, in addition to pursuing a legacy, Do may have also just wanted to ensure that some form of his truth was accessible to anyone who might need it.
In Do's mind, if you or I sincerely recognized the information as being true but didn't exit with the group, our souls would essentially be put on ice until the next opportunity for a harvest on Earth. So that could be a reason why they left it up—just for anybody who was still here and able to recognize the "truth."
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As far as lasting, potentially wide-reaching stores of information go, the internet is as safe a bet as any. At least, it is for as long as you can keep somebody can stick around to pay the web hosting bills. Somebody who, ideally, was fully dedicated to the cause, but also willing to forego the journey to the next evolutionary level. Those people, for Heaven's Gate, were Mark and Sarah King.
After the cult had shed its larger numbers in favor of a leaner, more devout following in the late 80s and early 90s, the increasingly genderless members spent their days paying rapt attention to Ti and Do in a setting they called "the classroom." It was here that they learned how to best emulate the disembodied beings of the next level. How to leave their worldly, self-involved concerns behind in favor of an ever-elusive, greater understanding. In other words, they were learning how to forego every instinct and emotion they had ever known.
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This came easier for some than it did for others. When we asked the people behind the Heaven's Gate email address (listed on the site) why they left, the response was metered and, unsurprisingly, vague:
We left the Group in September, 1987 because we were going to take care of some other things in our lives... Free will and choice are the cornerstone of what anyone does, especially in the Next Level. Individuals in the Group could come and go as those chose to do, and many did just that over the years. We had an open door policy, and it swung both ways. People came and went all the time.
However, another ex-Heaven's Gate member—one of the few ex-members left (the only other we could find traces of was someone named Juan in Venzuela)—named Sawyer was a bit more forthcoming in why the Kings left and who they were. Apparently, Mark and Sarah weren't quite ready for everything the Next Level entailed. Speaking to us over YouTube messages, Sawyer elaborated:
I was there when they were instructed to leave the classroom because one of them did not want to try to abide by the "lesson step" that was called "I could be wrong," a step towards accomplishing what Jesus called "deny yourself." In other word,s giving your will to your Older Members... The other of these two simply decided to side with the other. Do and the crew tried to help the one with this but he wasn't receiving the help so Do instructed them to both take a car and some money and leave the group. When these two were instructed to leave, they were told they could come back whenever they wanted to abide by the "I could be wrong". The way the lesson was given was to preface what we say that is a statement of judgement with "I could be wrong". It would be an extreme to say, for instance, "I could be wrong but it's pouring outside when it was."
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Even though the Kings—who married after leaving the group—were no longer direct members of Heaven's Gate, they still played crucial roles. Under the guise of the TELAH Foundation (a name they still go by, and an acronym for the ever-aspired-to "The Evolutionary Level Above Human"), Mark and Sarah supposedly acted as a "communication and clearing house" for the group's various public appearances and interactions, which became increasingly more prominent towards the end of their time on Earth. In 1993, for instance, they placed a full-page ad in USA Today costing upwards of $30,000.
A copy of the "ad" Heaven's Gate took out in USA Today.
When Do decided that a spaceship hiding behind the Hale-Bopp comet was the group's key to reaching the Next Level, he began preparing Mark and Sarah for the end—or at least, Do's end. As far as Mark and Sarah were concerned, this was training for the rest of their natural lives. As they explained to us over email:
They trained us on how they wanted emails to be taken care of, how to relate to the public, and how to disseminate their information. In March, 1997 our task load increased as they delivered us all their physical, legal, intellectual and personal property over several days as they departed. Their words were "here is your mission, if you chose to accept it" and we did and have for over 17 years. What the Telah Foundation (it's legal entity name) does is provides a system to secure, protect, archive and maintain the Foundation's (Group's) intellectual property and their elements of understanding. What we do each day is answer emails, disseminate information, provide their book and tapes and handle the affairs of the Group.
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The intellectual property in question consists of tapes, still available for a reasonable $3 through the website (which contain each member's "goodbye" statement), and the entirety of Ti and Do's prolific writings.
Copies of the video tapes and book of collected teachings available for purchase on HeavensGate.com (cash mail orders only).
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Today, Mark and Sarah King are the guardians of Heaven's Gate's legacy, tasked with the burden of all that that entails. After all, the only role they played in the website's creation was putting the thing online—and of course, keeping it there. Which, they added, is easier said than done:
The website was created by the Group in the fall of 1996. It has had some issues of crashing in March 1997 due to being overwhelmed. It has also had to be moved due to host servers going out of business. The information on the site is still the same information that gave us in 3.5 disk format on March 25, 1997. We loaded in their departure updates then and it has remained with the same information ever since. When we had to move it a few years ago due to another ISP failure, we used the same 3.5 diskettes to load the information in.
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The original discs used to upload the website in 1997. Image via Mark and Sarah King.
And should they ever have to change hosts again, they will rely on those very same floppy discs given to them back in 1997 to carry on their promise.
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It's not at all surprising why Mark and Sarah were chosen as to run the website. They'll answer your questions, but will never offer any information that hasn't been directly prompted. They're wary—and they have every reason to be. And that quiet reservation is what allows the website—not its keepers—to take center stage. You wouldn't even know anyone was behind the scenes unless you knew where to look.
But why keep HeavensGate.com running? As far as Mark and Sarah are concerned, it seems to be more about keeping a promise than anything else. And if they do know what Do truly had in mind, at least for now, they're keeping their mouths shut. But as Balch says:
[Do] was also very intent on going out with a splash, as one of the ex-members told me. Way back in the very beginning, they believed that they were going to fulfill prophecy by being assassinated and resurrected. Then the UFO would come, the space ship, and they called it a demonstration because this was going to be proof to the world of who they were. More than that, they believed it was going to be witnessed by thousands and broadcast around the world, So when they committed suicide, I think even though they didn't use the term demonstration, it was the same thing. Going out with a splash—and they certainly did. So the website certainly could be the legacy of that.
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The other possibility, of course, is that it simply exists as a light post. A beacon of information to guide future lost souls towards the evolutionary level above human. That's not to say there's going to be a second group; the Kings were incredibly adamant that their goal wasn't to recruit for and recreate Heaven's Gate anew.
Rather, the site simply exists to keep any inquiring minds informed. Or in our case, to act as a reminder of a bizarre, horrible, and heartbreaking act, forever preserved in the amber of internet infamy. As long as someone's there to keep the lights on. |
Pizza may be one of America’s favorite foods. It’s also become more American than Italian, with slices in cities from east to west offering a different take on how to best combine a few basic ingredients: cheese, sauce, and dough.
There’s New York-style, Chicago-style, coal- or wood-fired, Sicilian, and Neapolitan. Some bake up with a thick, doughy crust, while others are prized for being thin and crisp.
In South Florida, where people flock from all areas of the country, we each have our favorites. But there’s still good pizza and bad pizza, no matter how you slice it. To help navigate Broward County’s selections, New Times teamed up with WorstPizza.com founder and South Florida pizza expert Craig Agranoff to find the area’s best slices.
12. Times Square Pizza
2304 E. Oakland Park Blvd., Fort Lauderdale; 954-566-7772, or visit timessquarepizza.net.
It's easy to pass Times Square Pizza as you speed down Oakland Park Blvd in Fort Lauderdale, but if you slow down and pull into the plaza, you might find yourself enjoying one of the area's best slices. The place has been around for over 20 years and its adored by Coral Ridge locals. The decor is a mix of photos of New York City, tossed in with a bit of Miami fanfare, and just a handful of tables. The pizza, however, is all New York. Although the kitchen is about the size of a small guest bathroom, the guys tasked with making the food put out a quality pizza, and prove you don’t need a lot of space to do it. The sauce is smooth — no clumps — and a mix of sweet and spicy. The ratio of sauce to cheese is always perfect, and the crust is strong enough to hold up to all the ingredients without flopping into a limp mess. For Agranoff, it reminds him of the slices he got growing up on Long Island. Head to Times Square Pizza for lunch: it sells two slices with a can of soda for $6.
11. Louie Bossi's Ristorante
1032 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale; 954-356-6699, or visit louiebossi.com.
The heart of the Louie Bossi Ristorante menu is the pizza, a selection of white and red-sauce pies that are baked for 90 seconds in the restaurant's 900-degree wood-burning oven. That oven greets you at the front entrance, visible from every corner of the restaurant. In it, a wet sourdough bakes into thin and chewy crust, blistered black in spots, and delivering a strong smoky essence that can be overpowering or just right, depending on your taste. There are more than a dozen to choose from, but the Margherita is the most approachable, layered with a vibrant San Marzano sauce, basil, sea salt, and imported fior de latte, a soft and buttery buffalo mozzarella.
10. El Tamarindo
712 Atlantic Shores Blvd., Hallandale; 954-456-4447.
El Tamarindo — which celebrated the opening of its fourth location in Lighthouse Point three years ago — is on the growing list of family-owned empires in South Florida. Originally from Fort Lauderdale and Hallandale Beach, chef-owner Néstor "Alex" Amaya is the man behind the magic here. From El Salvador, Amaya, who came to South Florida at age 12, began working in the restaurant industry, starting his career in the kitchen at his uncle's restaurant, Bella Napoli, as a prep chef. In 2003, at just 23, he opened El Tamarindo Cafe in Fort Lauderdale, a contemporary restaurant serving his own brand of Latin American cuisine. Today, his newest location in Deerfield Beach (and now Lighthouse Point) is a coal-fired pizza joint known for its unique, doughy crust smothered in a thick layer of well-baked cheese and sweet tomato sauce.
9. Mauro's Pizza
1904 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood; 954-929-4001.
For a plain slice, nothing beats Mauro's in downtown Hollywood. Your typical late-night slice spot, and one of the few places on this list that will serve a single cheese slice, it's where you go after a round of bar-hopping. This isn't a sit-down type of establishment, but no one's food hangs around long enough to matter. The deck oven pumps out oversized slices with a thin, crispy crust and a perfect ration of cheese to sauce that's never too greasy, while also delivering a ton of flavor. That also means slices that are always fresh, and rarely re-heated. It's a no-frills kind of joint: no forks, knives, gourmet toppings, or Parmesan cheese. No chairs. Instead, you eat with your hands from a paper plate with a few dozen napkins while standing — and, no, the pizza doesn't need that extra cheese. It's also a great place to stop by for lunch during the day, when the line isn't out the door.
8. La Fontana Pizzeria
2890 N. University Drive, Coral Springs; 954-575-5502, or visit lafontanapizzeria.com.
When you think of where to find the most authentic Italian wood oven pizza, Coral Springs probably doesn’t come to mind. But, there — tucked away in The Walk shopping plaza — is a hidden secret. It's called La Fontana, where brothers Tony and Spartak Tare are making some amazing pies. They hail from Ferrara, Italy and their pizza tastes like it Take a bite, close your eyes, and you can imagine yourself overlooking Ferrara's broad streets and palaces. The pizza at La Fontana is a perfect example of wood-fired pies should be done. The crust is nice and thin, yet also crispy, not overloaded with cheese or greens. The brothers insist on using quality tomatoes in their homemade sauce. This is more of a trattoria than just a regular pizzeria, and you can take advantage of an outdoor courtyard to eat under the stars during nice evenings.
7. Villa Rose Pizza
1114 N. State Rd 7, Hollywood; 954-983-7660, or visit villarosepizza.com.
Hollywood's Villa Rose is a family-run place that's been around since 1975, a testament to its fine fare. A small mom-and-pop place, it smells like pizza the moment you walk in the door, even if there's no one cooking at the old-school deck oven. The pies here are considered Chicago-style thin crust, and despite a few signature variations including the Villa Rose special (sausage, mushroom, onion, and green pepper) the plain cheese pie is one of the best around. If you like thin crust, that is. The pie arrives cut in squares, with a smooth layer of hearty, herb-flecked tomato sauce spread beneath a thin veil of bubbly melted cheese. The crust may be thin, but it's also pliant and chewy and cooked just long enough to yield a considerable amount of flavor without any burnt, charred edges.
6. Sicilian Oven
2486 N. Federal Hwy., Lighthouse Point; 954-785-4155, or visit sicilianoven.com.
Like many restaurants, including spots like Anthony’s Coal Fired, the original location is usually the best. This holds true for Sicilian Oven, a local chain that's opened four additional restaurants in South Florida in the past several years. Sicilian Oven is touted for its wood-fired pizza. But not just any wood fired pie: the owners are former Anthony’s Coal Fired pizza-maker Andrew Garavuso and his business partner Ralph DiSalvo, who opened DiSalvo’s Pizzeria in Hollywood. Unlike many restaurants, Sicilian Oven has two wood ovens cooking their pies, which helps the pizza come to the table faster during the busy lunch and dinner rush. Their pies arrive with a chewy, browned crust and just the right amount of caramelized char around the outer edges. The pizza here has more bite than you'll find at other area restaurants that use similar ovens, most likely the result of slower cooking times at other joints. This is a pizza that's certainly worth traveling for.
5. Esposito's New York & Coal Fired Pizza
2221 S. University Drive, Davie; 954-916-5667, or visit espositospizzaonline.com.
If you’re looking for a stellar coal-fired pizza in Broward, look no further than Esposito’s in Davie. It’s the type of pie you would drive miles to taste. The high heat of the oven ensures a charred, crisp crust. A variety of toppings and styles are offered, everything from a classic mozzarella pie to Esposito’s Own, topped with ham, mozzarella, mushrooms, Roma tomatoes, and arugula and drizzled with olive oil. The restaurant family also owns Grande Pizza in Sunrise (where you can find some stellar Detroit-style deep-dish) and Annie’s Pizza in Margate (another top-rated spot), which stands to reason these people know their pies.
4. Osteria Aqua e Farina
1145 S Federal Hwy., Fort Lauderdale; 954-523-1115, or visit osteriaacquaefarina.com.
Being a pizza expert comes with about a dozen emails a week from readers who tell WorstPizza.com’s Agranoff he doesn’t know good pizza simply because he hasn’t had a chance to try their “favorite” yet. Though it would be impossible to try every slice in every city, Agranoff comes close; when the pizza expert receives multiple requests from longtime readers about a single place, he’ll typically go out of his way to try it. That’s how he discovered Osteria Acqua e Farina in Fort Lauderdale. Founded by Giovanni Rocchio, chef/owner of Valentino’s, it made some terrific pies. Though Rocchio is no longer there, good pizza remains. Upon walking into Osteria, you’ll be greeted by a delightful aroma, one that hints at delectability of the pies, each made with topnotch ingredients and a special dough designed by Rocchio himself, tweaked ever so slightly since his departure. Pies arrive with crisp crusts and bubbling cheese. Every once in a while, the pies will be overcooked in the blistering-hot oven, but even so, this place is still one of Broward’s best options.
3. Joe's Old School Pizza
1090 N. Federal Hwy., Hollywood; 954-922-6161, or visit joesoldschoolpizza.com.
With a six-month-old location in Coral Gables, a six-week-old outpost in Cooper City, and the Hollywood flagship about to hit its three-year mark in November, Joe’s Old School pizza is on the rise. Chef/owner Joe Caristo is originally from Brooklyn but has spent the past 25 years in South Florida, enough to make him an honorary Floridian. New York is still in his blood, though, and also in his pizza. Once a certified general contractor, Caristo left the business to open his first restaurant in 2014, revamping an old gas station into a unique indoor-outdoor pizzeria. Today his deck ovens pump out amazing pies. Dough and garlic rolls are made daily from a balance of flour, water, salt, and yeast perfect for the South Florida humidity, Caristo says. He also uses top-grade Grande cheese and a “secret” red sauce that delivers a perfectly sour-sweet tang atop the crisp, thin crust. The best part: You’ll always get a fresh slice. Caristo doesn’t like anything lying around and believes people will wait the eight minutes for a fresh pie even if they’re ordering a single slice.
2. Cafe La Buca
451 S Cypress Rd., Pompano Beach; 954-786-0673.
Cafe La Buca in Pompano Beach isn’t the most elegant red-sauce restaurant, but what it lacks in decor it makes up for with its vibrant, classic Neapolitan cuisine. The menu changes almost daily, with dishes ranging from homemade pasta to fresh seafood and grilled steak. But the wood-fired pizzas are the unsung heroes of this menu — or should we say lack of menu? Daily specials and dishes are presented verbally, including pies that fire up in less than ten minutes, delivering a chewy-thick crust dotted with rounds of fresh, melted mozzarella and a colorful array of fresh herbs and gourmet toppings.
1. Vincent’s Italian Kitchen
106 Commercial Blvd., Lauderdale-by-the-Sea; 954-772-8111.
Every now and then, an Italian restaurant offers pizza on its menu. Usually, it’s nothing to write home about, but this isn’t the case at Vincent’s, which boasts a new Stefano Ferrara wood-burning oven handmade in Naples, Italy. A newcomer to the Commercial Boulevard beachside strip, the restaurant has quickly become a favorite spot for a quick pie throughout the day. Here, executive chef/owner Vincent Foti is putting the same attention to detail into his food as he does at famed Kitchenetta in Fort Lauderdale. Just like its alma mater, Vincent’s strips its dishes to their foundation and then revamps them. For Foti, good pizza isn’t about reinventing the wheel, but paying attention to detail: Homemade dough is made using imported Caputo 00 Italian flour, red sauce is assembled à la minute using Italian tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella is pulled daily. When the pie arrives at the table, tiny pools of olive oil are dotted atop, the final touch for the perfect pizza. Parking isn’t easy, especially on sunny days, but this spot is worth the inconvenience, because it serves easily one of the best pizzas you will try in Broward County — and possibly the entire state. |
For about the last eight months, several suspects operated a sophisticated marijuana operation in a warehouse just 25 feet from the Los Angeles Police Department's Topanga Station in Canoga Park, police said tonight.
Three men were taken into custody earlier today after officers served a search warrant on the warehouse in the 8400 block of Canoga Avenue.
Growers had built three rooms in the building -- one for seedlings, another for medium-sized plants and one where harvesting was apparently conducted, police said. The lights were controlled so they wouldn't overheat, watering systems were automated and oxygen levels were supplemented by carbon dioxide tanks, according to police.
"It was very sophisticated," said LAPD Officer Karen Raynor.
She said the growers used insulation material to seal cracks in the building. But about a week ago, officers in the station's parking lot noticed something out of the ordinary.
"They happened to catch a whiff of it," Raynor said.
A surveillance operation was launched, and officers obtained the warrant. The names of the three men, who appeared to be in their 30s, were not released because they had not been booked.
-- Robert J. Lopez
Photo: Interior growing room of marijuana warehouse. Credit: KTLA |
This blog is about lean. Lean startups, lean marketing, minimum viable products, I get all that. In this post I will argue that processes, systems, and standard operating procedures, though fixtures of pre-internet businesses, are ESSENTIAL to maintaining a lean business and really any business.
Even in the early days of the internet, starting a business was extremely expensive, which meant you couldn’t just stumble into entrepreneurship and hope for the best the way you can today. Then, in 2007, a major shift in business philosophy (4HWW) occurred right under my nose. A rebellious cadre of entrepreneurs took to their laptops and declared an end to archaic business fundamentals. Here are a few examples of this mindset revolution:
Old: Carefully consider your startup expenses. Get a business loan, find a financier, or use your savings.
New: Starting a business on the internet is almost free. Just drop $10 on a domain, $3/mo on hosting and plop WordPress on it. Start posting and you have a business!
Old: Consult with a lawyer and an accountant before determining your business structure.
New: Figure it out later!
Old: Write a business plan detailing every part of your business. Spend weeks on it. Maybe even hire an expensive consultant to do it for you.
New: Just pick a niche and start.
I get why the transition happened. I just don’t think you should be throwing out the baby with the bathwater. The biggest baby I see tossed is the adherence to systems and processes.
Business is Processes
What do you get when you buy a McDonald’s franchise? You buy nothing more than a series of processes. You get a building that looks roughly the same as any other McDonalds, a menu with the same items, training manuals for how to make french fries, burgers, and every other contingency, etc. How else can a bunch of teenagers run a multi-million dollar operation?
Your business IS a process. You are turning inputs into outputs.
If you are a web developer, the input is the client’s description of what they want, and the output is the website.
If you are a car manufacturer, your inputs are the parts and materials, and your output is the car.
If you are an affiliate marketer, your input is the traffic that comes to your site, and your output is taking them to the target site with an elevated intent to buy.
You are turning something into something else, and that is what people are paying you for.
Embedded Processes
Have you ever had this happen to you? You sit down to do SEO for one of your sites or one of your clients’ sites. Five hours later, you’re not really sure what you did. Yeah, me too. It used to happen all the time until I began analyzing and defining each and every process in my business.
This is the framework you need to adopt. Think of your business as the overarching process. Inside this all-encompassing process are intermediary processes that turn intermediary inputs into intermediary outputs.
Here’s a simplified process diagram of an SEO business. Inputs are in green and processes are in yellow:
Let’s zoom in on New Content Creation. Follow through the diagram in terms of inputs and outputs. Red represents a process you have no control over. Note that the output of the previous process is the input for the next.
Let’s go one level deeper and zoom in on keyword research.
This is extremely simplified but it illustrates the strategy well.
You should do this for your entire business. How deep should you go? Once the steps reach absurdity like “double-click on Market Samurai,” or “start your computer” you can stop. Do what’s reasonable and helpful.
Advantages of Processization
1. It highlights what can be outsourced.
When you have your operations so clearly defined, it becomes apparent that you are not really necessary for a giant chunk of your business operations.
2. Increased efficiency
At any given point in time, you and your staff know EXACTLY what to do once you finish performing the current task. Every decision you have to make drains your mental energy. It’s best to reduce decisions so you can focus on the truly important ones.
3. Your business is sellable
Remember that McDonalds is nothing more than a proven and established series of processes? If you ever want to unload your business, processization will make it sellable and increase the price.
4. Consistent quality
Imagine going to your favorite sandwich place and getting an amazing sandwich one day and a crappy one the next day. Even if on the good days, this was the world’s greatest sandwich, you would stop patronizing this business. One of the things you pay for when buying any product is consistency in the quality. Processizing your business ensures that each of your customers is receiving the same quality service. This is also how you avoid bad reviews in Yelp, etc.
5. You can sell the outputs of your processes
Once your processes achieve a certain efficiency and effectiveness you can begin selling them to others who can benefit. Often it’s easier to simply outsource an entire process than building your own team. This is exactly what I do at processmint.com. I offer Process Mint clients the same processes that have been working for me in my business and other clients’ businesses.
Demolish Process Barriers
What are the roadblocks to implementing processes? I hear basically 2 objections:
1. Processes stifle creativity
and
2. My business is too complex to processitize
To the first objection, it’s actually the exact opposite. You’re afraid of the potential monotony that processes create. Processes actually encourage creativity. Running a disorganized business requires so much mental energy, just trying to figure out what to do next will sap your creativity. When standard operating procedures are in place, you can spend your saved energy on creativity.
And furthermore, you can apply your creativity to your process design. Think of ways to constantly improve your processes, to introduce new ones, or to replace ineffective ones.
To the second objection, I usually find that this is an excuse for laziness. It can be a difficult thought exercise to run through your entire business and establish processes.
Remember, some processes are better than none. You might not be able to standardize your entire business, but there are certainly parts you can. Turning even small parts of your business into established processes can have an extremely cathartic effect and reduce the number of headaches.
Also, what exactly is preventing you from turning even creative activities into processes? Writers use predetermined frameworks and outlines. Effective website designers pick from a list of predetermined themes that are relevant to their customers’ needs. Broadcasters have an established delivery method. Interviewers use prewritten questions. Whatever it is you do, you can create processes.
Your assignment
Go to bubbl.us. This is the mindmapping app I used to create the diagrams in this post. Pick a relatively simple process in your business and begin mapping that sh*t. You’ll be glad you did.
Updated June 8, 2015 by Adam Steele |
PITTSBURGH (December 7, 2016) … Research at the University of Pittsburgh’s Swanson School of Engineering focused on developing a new catalyst that would lead to large-scale implementation of capture and conversion of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) was recently published in the Royal Society of Chemistry journal Catalysis Science & Technology.
Principal investigator is Karl Johnson, the William Kepler Whiteford Professor in the Swanson School's Department of Chemical & Petroleum Engineering. Postdoctoral associate Jingyun Ye is lead author. The article “Catalytic Hydrogenation of CO 2 to Methanol in a Lewis Pair Functionalized MOF” (DOI: 10.1039/C6CY01245K), is featured on the cover of Catalysis Science & Technology (vol. 6, no. 24) and builds upon Dr. Johnson’s previous research that identified the two main factors for determining the optimal catalyst for turning atmospheric CO 2 into liquid fuel. The research was conducted using computational resources at the University’s Center for Simulation and Modeling.
“Capture and conversion of CO 2 to methanol has the potential to solve two problems at once – reducing net carbon dioxide emissions while generating cleaner fuels,” Dr. Johnson explained. “Currently, however, it is a complex and expensive process that is not economically feasible. Because of this, we wanted to simplify the catalytic process as much as possible to create a sustainable and cost-effective method for converting CO 2 to fuel – essentially to reduce the number of steps involved from several to one.”
Johnson and Ye focused on computationally designing a catalyst capable of producing methanol from CO 2 and H 2 utilizing metal organic frameworks (MOFs), which potentially provide a pathway to a single-process unit for carbon capture and conversion. The MOFs could dramatically reduce the cost of carbon capture and conversion, bringing the potential of CO 2 as a viable feedstock for fuels closer to reality.
“Methanol synthesis has been extensively studied because methanol can work in existing systems such as engines and fuel cells, and can be easily transported and stored. Methanol is also a starting point for producing many other useful chemicals,” Dr. Johnson said. “This new MOF catalyst could provide the key to close the carbon loop and generate fuel from CO 2 , analogously to how a plant converts carbon dioxide to hydrocarbons.”
This work was supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (Grant No. DE-FG02-10ER16165).
Image above and cover inset: Artist's conception of a catalyst (light blue and gray framework) capable of capturing CO 2 (red and gray molecules on left side) and, along with hydrogen (white molecules) converting it to methanol (red, gray and white molecules on the right).
###
About the Johnson Research Group
The Johnson Research Group at the University of Pittsburgh uses atomistic modeling to tackle fundamental problems over a wide range of subject areas in chemical engineering, including the study of the molecular design of nanoporous sorbents for the capture of carbon dioxide, the transport of gases and liquids through carbon nanotube membranes, chemical reactions with doped carbon nanotubes, development of CO 2 -soluble polymers and CO 2 thickeners, and hydrogen storage with complex hydrides.
About Dr. Johnson
Karl Johnson is co-director of the Center for Simulation and Modeling at the University of Pittsburgh and a member of the Pittsburgh Quantum Institute. He received his bachelor’s and master’s of science degrees in chemical engineering from Brigham Young University. In 1992, he received his PhD in chemical engineering with a minor in computer science from Cornell University.
Author: Paul Kovach, Director of Marketing and Communications, 12/7/2016
Contact: Paul Kovach |
Knoxville, Tenn., may or may not be a great place to live, or to spend a month or a week or a couple of days. I have no idea. Should the need arise, however, I can say it’s the perfect place to spend 18 hours.
I did just that on a recent Thursday, from 7 a.m. to 1 a.m., during a bus trip from New York to Kentucky. Why would I take a bus from New York to Kentucky via Knoxville? That’s a story for next week, but getting to hang out in Knoxville was part of the incentive.
In the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, the third-biggest city in Tennessee is not a particularly flashy town, unless you count the University of Tennessee’s bright orange uniforms. I had no vehicle for getting into the mountains, but I did take in two free musical performances, see an unexpectedly cool museum, and have four good beers and two excellent meals. I made at least one new friend, browsed a record store that also sold laser-discs, wandered a historic district of early 20th-century homes and learned something about Dolly Parton. It cost me almost exactly $50, including an Uber ride. (No sale on those laser-discs, though.)
Morning
Just after 7 a.m., I made the short walk from the bus station to South Gay Street, Knoxville’s main drag, and headed to the Old City section, where I found OliBea, a breakfast place with brightly painted walls and plenty of sunlight. It was as cheery a contrast to the crowded, smelly bus that I had just disembarked as I could imagine. For budgetary purposes (and in part because I had bought an ill-advised bag of Combos during a 3 a.m. rest stop), I skipped the breakfast plates (smoked-trout omelet, carnita tostada) and went à la carte: a bracing cup of coffee ($2.50), a biscuit ($1.99) and duck eggs over easy ($2.49). I had never had duck eggs for breakfast before, but I operate under the general philosophy that everything duck is better than everything chicken, so went for it. I was rewarded with creamy, gooey yolks that made a perfect dipping sauce for a silky biscuit already slathered with house-made jam. |
Probably everyone reading this has heard “functional programming” put forth as something that is supposed to bring benefits to software development, or even heard it touted as a silver bullet. However, a trip to Wikipedia for some more information can be initially off-putting, with early references to lambda calculus and formal systems. It isn’t immediately clear what that has to do with writing better software.
My pragmatic summary: A large fraction of the flaws in software development are due to programmers not fully understanding all the possible states their code may execute in. In a multithreaded environment, the lack of understanding and the resulting problems are greatly amplified, almost to the point of panic if you are paying attention. Programming in a functional style makes the state presented to your code explicit, which makes it much easier to reason about, and, in a completely pure system, makes thread race conditions impossible.
I do believe that there is real value in pursuing functional programming, but it would be irresponsible to exhort everyone to abandon their C++ compilers and start coding in Lisp, Haskell, or, to be blunt, any other fringe language. To the eternal chagrin of language designers, there are plenty of externalities that can overwhelm the benefits of a language, and game development has more than most fields. We have cross platform issues, proprietary tool chains, certification gates, licensed technologies, and stringent performance requirements on top of the issues with legacy codebases and workforce availability that everyone faces.
If you are in circumstances where you can undertake significant development work in a non-mainstream language, I’ll cheer you on, but be prepared to take some hits in the name of progress. For everyone else: No matter what language you work in, programming in a functional style provides benefits. You should do it whenever it is convenient, and you should think hard about the decision when it isn’t convenient. You can learn about lambdas, monads, currying, composing lazily evaluated functions on infinite sets, and all the other aspects of explicitly functionally oriented languages later if you choose.
C++ doesn’t encourage functional programming, but it doesn’t prevent you from doing it, and you retain the power to drop down and apply SIMD intrinsics to hand laid out data backed by memory mapped files, or whatever other nitty-gritty goodness you find the need for.
Pure Functions
A pure function only looks at the parameters passed in to it, and all it does is return one or more computed values based on the parameters. It has no logical side effects. This is an abstraction of course; every function has side effects at the CPU level, and most at the heap level, but the abstraction is still valuable.
It doesn’t look at or update global state. it doesn’t maintain internal state. It doesn’t perform any IO. it doesn’t mutate any of the input parameters. Ideally, it isn’t passed any extraneous data – getting an allMyGlobals pointer passed in defeats much of the purpose.
Pure functions have a lot of nice properties.
Thread safety. A pure function with value parameters is completely thread safe. With reference or pointer parameters, even if they are const, you do need to be aware of the danger that another thread doing non-pure operations might mutate or free the data, but it is still one of the most powerful tools for writing safe multithreaded code.
You can trivially switch them out for parallel implementations, or run multiple implementations to compare the results. This makes it much safer to experiment and evolve.
Reusability. It is much easier to transplant a pure function to a new environment. You still need to deal with type definitions and any called pure functions, but there is no snowball effect. How many times have you known there was some code that does what you need in another system, but extricating it from all of its environmental assumptions was more work than just writing it over?
Testability. A pure function has referential transparency, which means that it will always give the same result for a set of parameters no matter when it is called, which makes it much easier to exercise than something interwoven with other systems. I have never been very responsible about writing test code; a lot of code interacts with enough systems that it can require elaborate harnesses to exercise, and I could often convince myself (probably incorrectly) that it wasn’t worth the effort. Pure functions are trivial to test; the tests look like something right out of a textbook, where you build some inputs and look at the output. Whenever I come across a finicky looking bit of code now, I split it out into a separate pure function and write tests for it. Frighteningly, I often find something wrong in these cases, which means I’m probably not casting a wide enough net.
Understandability and maintainability. The bounding of both input and output makes pure functions easier to re-learn when needed, and there are less places for undocumented requirements regarding external state to hide.
Formal systems and automated reasoning about software will be increasingly important in the future. Static code analysis is important today, and transforming your code into a more functional style aids analysis tools, or at least lets the faster local tools cover the same ground as the slower and more expensive global tools. We are a “Get ‘er done” sort of industry, and I do not see formal proofs of whole program “correctness” becoming a relevant goal, but being able to prove that certain classes of flaws are not present in certain parts of a codebase will still be very valuable. We could use some more science and math in our process.
Someone taking an introductory programming class might be scratching their head and thinking “aren’t all programs supposed to be written like this?” The reality is that far more programs are Big Balls of Mud than not. Traditional imperative programming languages give you escape hatches, and they get used all the time. If you are just writing throwaway code, do whatever is most convenient, which often involves global state. If you are writing code that may still be in use a year later, balance the convenience factor against the difficulties you will inevitably suffer later. Most developers are not very good at predicting the future time integrated suffering their changes will result in.
Purity In Practice
Not everything can be pure; unless the program is only operating on its own source code, at some point you need to interact with the outside world. It can be fun in a puzzly sort of way to try to push purity to great lengths, but the pragmatic break point acknowledges that side effects are necessary at some point, and manages them effectively.
It doesn’t even have to be all-or-nothing in a particular function. There is a continuum of value in how pure a function is, and the value step from almost-pure to completely-pure is smaller than that from spaghetti-state to mostly-pure. Moving a function towards purity improves the code, even if it doesn’t reach full purity. A function that bumps a global counter or checks a global debug flag is not pure, but if that is its only detraction, it is still going to reap most of the benefits.
Avoiding the worst in a broader context is generally more important than achieving perfection in limited cases. If you consider the most toxic functions or systems you have had to deal with, the ones that you know have to be handled with tongs and a face shield, it is an almost sure bet that they have a complex web of state and assumptions that their behavior relies on, and it isn’t confined to their parameters. Imposing some discipline in these areas, or at least fighting to prevent more code from turning into similar messes, is going to have more impact than tightening up some low level math functions.
The process of refactoring towards purity generally involves disentangling computation from the environment it operates in, which almost invariably means more parameter passing. This seems a bit curious – greater verbosity in programming languages is broadly reviled, and functional programming is often associated with code size reduction. The factors that allow programs in functional languages to sometimes be more concise than imperative implementations are pretty much orthogonal to the use of pure functions — garbage collection, powerful built in types, pattern matching, list comprehensions, function composition, various bits of syntactic sugar, etc. For the most part, these size reducers don’t have much to do with being functional, and can also be found in some imperative languages.
You should be getting irritated if you have to pass a dozen parameters into a function; you may be able to refactor the code in a manner that reduces the parameter complexity.
The lack of any language support in C++ for maintaining purity is not ideal. If someone modifies a widely used foundation function to be non-pure in some evil way, everything that uses the function also loses its purity. This sounds disastrous from a formal systems point of view, but again, it isn’t an all-or-nothing proposition where you fall from grace with the first sin. Large scale software development is unfortunately statistical.
It seems like there is a sound case for a pure keyword in future C/C++ standards. There are close parallels with const – an optional qualifier that allows compile time checking of programmer intention and will never hurt, and could often help, code generation. The D programming language does offer a pure keyword: http://www.d-programming-language.org/function.html Note their distinction between weak and strong purity – you need to also have const input references and pointers to be strongly pure.
In some ways, a language keyword is over-restrictive — a function can still be pure even if it calls impure functions, as long as the side effects don’t escape the outer function. Entire programs can be considered pure functional units if they only deal with command line parameters instead of random file system state.
Object Oriented Programming
Michael Feathers @ mfeathers OO makes code understandable by encapsulating moving parts. FP makes code understandable by minimizing moving parts.
The “moving parts” are mutating states. Telling an object to change itself is lesson one in a basic object oriented programming book, and it is deeply ingrained in most programmers, but it is anti-functional behavior. Clearly there is some value in the basic OOP idea of grouping functions with the data structures they operate on, but if you want to reap the benefits of functional programming in parts of your code, you have to back away from some object oriented behaviors in those areas.
Class methods that can’t be const are not pure by definition, because they mutate some or all of the potentially large set of state in the object. They are not thread safe, and the ability to incrementally poke and prod objects into unexpected states is indeed a significant source of bugs.
Const object methods can still be technically pure if you don’t count the implicit const this pointer against them, but many object are large enough to constitute a sort of global state all their own, blunting some of the clarity benefits of pure functions. Constructors can be pure functions, and generally should strive to be – they take arguments and return an object.
At the tactical programming level, you can often work with objects in a more functional manner, but it may require changing the interfaces a bit. At id we went over a decade with an idVec3 class that had a self-mutating void Normalize() method, but no corresponding idVec3 Normalized() const method. Many string methods were similarly defined as working on themselves, rather than returning a new copy with the operation performed on it – ToLowerCase(), StripFileExtension(), etc.
Performance Implications
In almost all cases, directly mutating blocks of memory is the speed-of-light optimal case, and avoiding this is spending some performance. Most of the time this is of only theoretical interest; we trade performance for productivity all the time.
Programming with pure functions will involve more copying of data, and in some cases this clearly makes it the incorrect implementation strategy due to performance considerations. As an extreme example, you can write a pure DrawTriangle() function that takes a framebuffer as a parameter and returns a completely new framebuffer with the triangle drawn into it as a result. Don’t do that.
Returning everything by value is the natural functional programming style, but relying on compilers to always perform return value optimization can be hazardous to performance, so passing reference parameter for output of complex data structures is often justifiable, but it has the unfortunate effect of preventing you from declaring the returned value as const to enforce single assignment.
There will be a strong urge in many cases to just update a value in a complex structure passed in rather than making a copy of it and returning the modified version, but doing so throws away the thread safety guarantee and should not be done lightly. List generation is often a case where it is justified. The pure functional way to append something to a list is to return a completely new copy of the list with the new element at the end, leaving the original list unchanged. Actual functional languages are implemented in ways that make this not as disastrous as it sounds, but if you do this with typical C++ containers you will die.
A significant mitigating factor is that performance today means parallel programming, which usually requires more copying and combining than in a single threaded environment even in the optimal performance case, so the penalty is smaller, while the complexity reduction and correctness benefits are correspondingly larger. When you start thinking about running, say, all the characters in a game world in parallel, it starts sinking in that the object oriented approach of updating objects has some deep difficulties in parallel environments. Maybe if all of the object just referenced a read only version of the world state, and we copied over the updated version at the end of the frame… Hey, wait a minute…
Action Items
Survey some non-trivial functions in your codebase and track down every bit of external state they can reach, and all possible modifications they can make. This makes great documentation to stick in a comment block, even if you don’t do anything with it. If the function can trigger, say, a screen update through your render system, you can just throw your hands up in the air and declare the set of all effects beyond human understanding.
The next task you undertake, try from the beginning to think about it in terms of the real computation that is going on. Gather up your input, pass it to a pure function, then take the results and do something with it.
As you are debugging code, make yourself more aware of the part mutating state and hidden parameters play in obscuring what is going on.
Modify some of your utility object code to return new copies instead of self-mutating, and try throwing const in front of practically every non-iterator variable you use.
Additional references:
http://www.haskell.org/haskellwiki/Introduction
http://lisperati.com/
http://www.johndcook.com/blog/tag/functional-programming/
http://www.cs.kent.ac.uk/people/staff/dat/miranda/whyfp90.pdf
http://channel9.msdn.com/Shows/Going+Deep/Lecture-Series-Erik-Meijer-Functional-Programming-Fundamentals-Chapter-1
http://www.cs.utah.edu/~hal/docs/daume02yaht.pdf
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~crary/819-f09/Backus78.pdf
http://fpcomplete.com/the-downfall-of-imperative-programming/ |
10 steps to bootstrap your machine learning project (part 2)
Thomas Olivier Blocked Unblock Follow Following Nov 2, 2016
In the first article of this series, we defined what the best steps are when working on a new machine learning project.
As a reminder, the first five steps are:
Define your task Define your dataset Split your dataset Define your metrics Establish a baseline
Your baseline is your lower boundary: you want to get better results than this dumb model. You are now looking to another boundary: the human error rate which is the accuracy someone familiar with your task can get easily. You want to reach this human error rate and go beyond it, if possible.
6. Know some absolute metrics about neural nets 📊
Before implementing your neural network, it could be interesting to know some absolute metrics on the computation of your neural network.
As stated by Yoshua Bengio at the Bay Area Deep Learning School (video here), if you have a network with N features and each one need O(K) (an order of K) parameters in the final model, you’ll, at least, need O(K*N) examples for your network to be able to generalize well. That’s an interesting metric as it gives you a first idea of the size of the needed dataset.
A bit more technical metric you can look at is the Vapnik–Chervonenkis dimension (VC dimension), which gives you the complexity of a neural network . It gives you a tool to measure the learning ability of the network. Although it’s not a mandatory step and it’s more used as a theoretical metric, it gives you a sense of what’s happening in terms of learning.
7. Implement an existing neural network model ⚙
You know the kind of neural network you are willing to implement. That is awesome. Don’t rush into developing it from scratch. You will probably be able to download it, already trained. This will make you earn tons of hours (both in engineering and in GPU-time). As Andrej Karpathy says: “Don’t be a hero” 😎.
Set it up with your favorite machine learning framework and run it!
You will also want to fine-tune your model so that it works well with your data. Fine-tuning a model implies playing with hyper-parameters, the size of the network, the processing of your data…
Compute the error on the train and dev datasets, fine-tune it to your specific task and analyse the output errors.
Try to be always close to your data:
Visualize your inputs / outputs (you could plot your data and their computed categories for example)
Collect summary statistics
Play with your hyper parameters and see how they affect your results (on a same graph, plot your error rates computed with different hyper parameters)
8. Other architectures?
If you had some doubts when choosing your model, it’s great to give a try to other architectures and compare their results.
For example, if you plan to translate from a language to another one, you could have a look at the Seq2Seq model, but also to some simpler RNN architectures.
If you are working with words, you could try using different embedding.
For a full list of classic networks, The Asimov Institute came up with an awesome blog post: The Neural Network Zoo.
The Neural Network Zoo
I you do not find anything accessible, you can gain intuition by reading papers related to your problem. It will help you get insights on how a specific task is solved and thus could lead you to try new models.
9. It’s not working, what should I do next? 🤔
To get some understanding on what you should do next, you should first compare the human error level to your model error level, both on the training and the dev sets.
Plot the different error lines on a chart.
In order to know what kind of action we can take, we have to know if we are currently in a high bias or/and a high variance problem.
Remember that we split our dataset into three groups: the training set, the dev (or cross validation) set and the test set.
It’s important not to take the following actions at the same time as one action could solve all your problems. Do the first one, look at the results and see if you are still facing the same issue. If so, try another solution!
If your train error is high, compared to the human level error — high bias:
Try to have a bigger (deeper) model
Add polynomial features / change your hyper-parameters
Train longer your model
New model architecture
If your dev error is high, compared to your train error — high variance:
More data
You could generate more data (add some noise, transpose,…)
Smaller set of features
Try regularization
Early stopping
New model architecture
If your test error is high but your dev error is normal — overfit of your dev set:
Get more dev data by adding more data to your dataset or by changing the split of your dataset
At some point, your machine learning algorithm can be better than the human level error but you can still experience some variance problems.
What you should know is that once you have reached the human lever error, it is harder and harder to get your algorithm better — and reach the Bayes rate which is the the lowest possible error rate for any classifier of a random outcome.
10. To sum it up 🏁
Your goal is now to iterate over different models quickly to beat the baseline and reach your goal metrics.
It’s also important to gain intuition on how neural networks work to avoid doing unnecessary tasks and not to repeat the same mistakes over and over. |
The A-League’s sleeping giant may not be fully awake, but Brisbane managed to rub the sleep from its eyes with a 3-1 thumping of Perth Glory at Suncorp Stadium.
After consecutive losses that had given their pursuit of the A-League premiership the speed wobbles, the Roar played themselves into form with a hat-trick of second half goals against the battling club from the west.
Glory coach Kenny Lowe wasn’t completely enamoured with Brisbane’s effort, labelling the home side ‘toothless’ in the first half before they began to dominate possession and the class rose to the top.
“I thought they were a bit toothless in the first half. They played in front of us and not really through us. But once they got the ascendancy they were good value for the win,” Lowe said. |
Boris Johnson today warned British business it must stop 'mainlining' immigration as the UK quits the EU.
The Foreign Secretary said he was in favour of skilled foreign workers coming to the UK but said the Brexit vote was about 'control' over numbers to ensure British youngsters had a fair chance of work.
Mr Johnson said unlimited immigration from Europe for the past 25 years had left firms addicted to cheap labour from abroad.
Amid a growing row over when the Government should officially start the Brexit negotiations, Mr Johnson also said the process should be underway by May.
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson today warned British business had to stop 'mainlining' immigration instead of investing in British workers
Any later and voters will be faced with electing a new group of MEPs in 2019 because Britain could still be a member of the EU.
Mr Johnson told the BBC's Andrew Marr: 'I want skilled and talented people to come to the UK if they want to fulfill their dreams in our country - I have no problem with that provided we have control.
'In the last figures we had, 333,000 people came net from around the world. That's a huge sum, 175,000 net from the EU, in an uncontrolled way.
'Most people in our country would say that is too high.'
He added: 'We have got to invest in our own young people, we have also got to build up the skills of this country.
'For 25 years UK business and industry have been mainlining immigration like a kind of drug without actually investing enough or caring enough about the skills and the training of young people in our country.'
Mr Johnson was slapped down this week by No 10 after insisting Article 50 - which sets out the rules for countries quitting the EU - should be invoked early in the new year.
Mrs May insisted the decision on timing would be hers and has repeatedly told EU officials Britain will not be rushed as it prepares for the two year negotiation period that will follow Article 50.
Interviewed by the BBC's Andrew Marr, Mr Johnson also said the Brexit negotiations should be underway before May to ensure voters are not forced to elect a new cohort of MEPs in 2019
Critics, led by former chancellor George Osborne, have urged Mrs May to delay until after French and German elections next year.
Mr Johnson today insisted the process would not be allowed to 'drag on'.
He said: 'The opportunity is to do a deal that would be very much in the interests not only of the UK but also for our friends and partners in the EU.
'What I am finding interesting talking to other countries is they are starting to see the opportunities from Brexit.'
Pressed again on timing, after former chancellor George Osborne called for a delay to the end of 2017, Mr Johnson said: 'If you think about it there are obviously euro elections coming down the track.
'I think people will be wondering if we want to send a fresh batch of UK Euro MPs to an institution we are going to be leaving.
'So let's get on with it, we are not going to let it drag on as the PM has rightly said.'
Theresa May has insisted Britain will not rush into invoking Article 50 of the EU treaties and made her position clear in talks this week with European Parliament president Martin Schulz, pictured
The Vote Leave champion refused to be drawn in the interview whether he had 'forgiven' or even spoken to Michael Gove, his former ally, since the Brexit aftermath.
Mr Gove was due to run Mr Johnson's leadership bid to succeed David Cameron at No 10 but stunned Westminster by dumping his colleague and making his own bid for power.
Mr Johnson refused to answer a series of questions on his relationship with Mr Gove but said: 'I am very, very happy to be doing the job I am doing.
'People want us to get on and deliver the agenda Theresa May and the new government have set out.'
Pressed again, Mr Johnson insisted: 'People, if I may say so, are probably more interested in the tragic plight of people in Aleppo than the microcosmographia of the Tory party infighting'.
Mr Johnson refused to comment on his relationship with Michael Gove, his former Vote Leave colleague who detonated his hopes for No 10 in the aftermath of the referendum
In another shot across Mrs May’s bows, International Trade Secretary Liam Fox will suggest in a speech tomorrow that Britain should leave the single market entirely.
The prominent Brexiteer’s comments will come despite the fact the Government has not yet revealed whether it believes the UK should retain access to the market.
He will tell the World Trade Organisation that the UK should take its place as a full independent member, able to negotiate its own deals outside the EU.
At present, Britain is unable to strike free trade agreements with other nations because it is part of the EU’s ‘customs union’, which imposes common tariffs across the bloc. |
TEMPE, AZ—Touting numerous benefits of the practice with a series of loud, slurred remarks, drunk nutritionists from Arizona State University held a press conference Wednesday at which they strongly recommended eating an entire frozen pizza at 3 a.m. “Hey, we strongly advise people to just take the pizza out of the oven, slice ’er up, and shove the pieces right into their mouths as fast as possible,” said nutrition specialist Rebecca Foreht, who swayed slightly and gripped the lectern for balance while clarifying that it was also permissible to tear apart hunks of pizza with your bare hands or simply chew your way through an entire uncut pie, “which is just like a giant huge slice.” “Dude, dude, listen, you should totally blow on the pizba [sic] really quick and then just chow down so it doesn’t [incomprehensible mumbling]. Oh man, the … Anyway, you just gotta do it.” The inebriated nutritionists added that in lieu of frozen pizza, individuals could simply take out a bag of shredded cheddar from the refrigerator and tip it directly into their mouths.
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Angular 4.3 brings us a new easier way to handle http requests with the HttpClient library. It’s available under a new name to avoid causing breaking changes with the current Http library. HttpClient also gives us advanced functionality like the ability to listen for progress events and interceptors to monitor or modify requests or responses.
Make sure you're using Angular 4.3 or above to try out HttpClient
Installation
First, you’ll need to import HttpClientModule from @angular/common/http in your app module:
app.module.ts
import { BrowserModule } from '@angular/platform-browser'; import { NgModule } from '@angular/core'; import { HttpClientModule } from '@angular/common/http' ; import { AppComponent } from './app.component'; @NgModule({ declarations: [AppComponent], imports: [ BrowserModule, HttpClientModule ], providers: [], bootstrap: [AppComponent] }) export class AppModule {}
And then you can use the HttpClient just as you would normally:
some.service.ts
import { Injectable } from '@angular/core'; import { HttpClient } from '@angular/common/http' ; @Injectable() export class DataService { constructor( private http: HttpClient ) {} // ... }
Basic Usage
Making basic GET, POST, PUT, PATCH or DELETE requests is very similar to what you’re used to with the old Http API. One major difference is that a JSON response is expected by default, so there’s no need to explicitly parse the JSON response anymore.
Here’s a sample GET request:
// ... constructor(private http: HttpClient) {} getData() { this.http.get(this.url).subscribe(res => { this.posts = res; }); }
If you expect something else than JSON as the response, you can specify the expected response type using an object with the responseType key:
getData() { this.http.get(this.url, { responseType: 'text' } ).subscribe(res => { this.data = res; }); }
You can also define an interface for the shape of the response and type-check against that interface:
interface Post { title: string; body: string; }; // ... constructor(private http: HttpClient) {} getData() { this.http.get< Post >(this.url).subscribe(res => { this.postTitle = res.title; }); }
By default the HttpClient returns the body of the response. You can pass-in an object with an observe key set to a value of ‘response’ to get the full response. This can be useful to inspect for certain headers:
getData() { this.http.get<Post>(this.url, { observe: 'response' } ).subscribe(res => { this.powered = res.headers.get('X-Powered-By'); this.postTitle = res.body.title; }); }
Post, put and patch requests
Making a POST, PUT or PATCH request is just as easy:
postData() { this.http.post(this.url, this.payload).subscribe(); }
Notice how we still have to subscribe in order for the request to be made. Without the subscribe call, the request is cold. You’ll obviously probably want to handle any response back or error:
postData() { this.http.post(this.url, this.payload).subscribe( res => { console.log(res); }, (err: HttpErrorResponse) => { console.log(err.error); console.log(err.name); console.log(err.message); console.log(err.status); } ); }
A request error is of type HttpErrorResponse and contains, among others, an error name, error message and server status.
Options for passing-in headers or query parameters can also be added to a POST, PUT or PATCH request using the headers or params keys in the object passed-in as the 3rd argument:
updatePost() { this.http .put(this.url, this.payload, { params: new HttpParams().set('id', '56784'), headers: new HttpHeaders().set('Authorization', 'some-token') }) .subscribe(...); }
Notice here the use of the HttpParams and HttpHeaders classes. You’ll need to import these from @angular/common/http as well.
Progress Events
A great new feature with HttpClient is the ability to listen for progress events. This can be done on any type of request and different information will be available during the lifecycle of the request event. Here’s a full example with a GET request:
import { Injectable } from '@angular/core'; import { HttpClient, HttpRequest , HttpEvent , HttpEventType } from '@angular/common/http'; @Injectable() export class DataService { url = '/some/api'; constructor(private http: HttpClient) {} getData() { const req = new HttpRequest('GET', this.url, { reportProgress: true }); this.http.request(req).subscribe((event: HttpEvent<any> ) => { switch (event.type) { case HttpEventType.Sent: console.log('Request sent!'); break; case HttpEventType.ResponseHeader: console.log('Response header received!'); break; case HttpEventType.DownloadProgress: const kbLoaded = Math.round(event.loaded / 1024); console.log(`Download in progress! ${ kbLoaded }Kb loaded`); break; case HttpEventType.Response: console.log('😺 Done!', event.body); } }); } }
We first need to build a request object by creating an instance of the HttpRequest class and using the reportProgress option.
We then subscribe to our request object to initiate the request and listen to the different event types over the life of the request. We can react appropriately depending on the event type. The available event types are Sent, UploadProgress, ResponseHeader, DownloadProgress, Response and User.
In the above example, we get the amount of data downloaded so far from the GET response, and in the case of something like a POST or PUT request we could also get the percentage of the payload uploaded by using something like 100 * event.loaded / event.total . This makes it very easy to show a progress bar to the user.
🤓 This post covered the basics of HttpClient, and next will tackle the use of interceptors, the killer feature of HttpClient. You can also head over to the official docs to go more in-depth. |
The Sochi Olympics are in full swing, but Americans looking to watch the games online need a cable account to check out NBC's coverage. There are ways around it though. Here's what you'll need to do.
You have two pretty solid alternatives to NBC's paid streams from the BBC in the United Kingdom or the CBC in Canada, but Americans can't stream the live video without some workarounds because they're region locked. As NPR pointed out during the last Olympics, using a service to get around this is a bit of a legal and moral grey area, so use them at your own risk.
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You have a bunch of different options for ways to do this that we'll show you at the end, but we're going to take a look at the simplest and most reliable way to watch these live streams, using the same service we used during the 2012 Summer Olympics: Unblock Us. We've tried a ton of different options, and Unblock Us consistently gave us the best quality of streams. It's free for one week or $4.99 a month. Here's how to set it up.
Step 1: Sign Up for Unblock-Us
Head over to Unblock Us and create a free account with your email address. Within a couple of minutes you get an email confirming your account is active, and you're ready to go.
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Step 2: Enable Unblock Us DNS Servers and Restart
Next up you need to run your computer's connection through Unblock Us's DNS servers. Set up is a little different for both Windows and Mac. You can also set up Unblock Us on a ton of other devices like the PS4, Wii, iPhone, iPad, Android devices, smart TVs, and more.
Set Up Unblock Us on Windows 8
Setup in Windows 8 is pretty straight forward. You can either follow the directions below and do it manually, or download an easy setup app to do it in a couple clicks.
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Open Windows Explorer, click on Computer, and then Open Control Panel Select Network and Internet Select Network and Sharing Center Click on the "Change Adapter Settings option Double click your adapter and select "properties" Select IPv4 and click on Properties Add the following DNS servers under "Use the following DNS server addresses:
Prefered: 208.122.23.22
Alternate: 208.122.23.23 Click OK and restart your computer
Set Up Unblock Us on a Mac
Setting up Unblock Us on your Mac is just as easy as it is in Windows.
Open System Preferences > Network Select either Wi-Fi (for wireless) or Ethernet (for wired) Select Advanced > DNS Click the plus symbol and add these two DNS servers:
208.122.23.22
208.122.23.23 Reboot your computer
Step 3: Watch the Olympics
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Now your computer is set and you can watch the Olympics either on the BBC's official landing page, or the CBC's landing page. If you don't want to watch the Olympics on your tiny computer screen, you can always hook your computer up to your TV.
If you're not watching the Olympics, we suggest you turn Unblock Us off and return to your normal DNS settings so you don't slow down your connection. If you want something you can easily flip on and off, you have a few more options.
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Alternate Methods to Watch Other Olympic Streams
The above method is just one of many different services you can use. If you'd like to try a different approach, here are a few suggestions:
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Regardless of which method you choose, the BBC and CBC coverage is a lot more widespread than the NBC's (not to mention viewable without a cable account), so enjoy the show. |
March 28, 2013 at 5:31 PM
Alan Branch wasn’t the most successful of Seattle’s free-agent signings.
He didn’t have the impact of someone like Sidney Rice, who led Seattle with 50 catches last season. He never had a game like tight end Zach Miller, who had 142 yards receiving in the Divisional Playoffs against Atlanta.
But Branch ranked as a thoroughly effective addition, a player Seattle signed to a two-year, $7 million contract in 2011 who then held down a starting spot for two years in the middle of one of the league’s better defenses.
Branch’s success was relatively modest when compared to importing a Pro Bowler from the CFL in Brandon Browner of a fifth-round pick becoming an All-Pro as Richard Sherman did, but it shouldn’t be forgotten that Branch turned out to be a far better player than his previous employer imagined. The Arizona Cardinals drafted him in the second round and concluded after four years he was an underachiever. His two years in Seattle said otherwise.
And now, it’s Seattle’s success with Branch that vouches for the organization’s move to replace him with Tony McDaniel, and if that sounds confusing, well, just hang with us for a second.
You have to put the addition of McDaniel in context with all the other moves that Seattle has made along its defensive line under general manager John Schneider, and that will take some time. See, there have been a lot of those moves whether it was letting Cory Redding leave as an unrestricted free agent in 2010, trading for Kevin Vickerson from Tennessee during the 2010 draft only to subsequently replace Vikcerson with Junior Siavii before the season began. A year later, Branch made the team while Siavii did not and last year came the one-year experiment with Jason Jones.
Where in that string of names do you come across a guy that makes you think, ‘Man, the Seahawks really should have kept him? They sure blew it.’ That’s not to say none of those players had value. Redding played a role on the Ravens’ playoff defense in 2010 — scored a postseason touchdown — and then he followed his defensive coordinator to Indianapolis when Chuck Pagano got the job as the Colts head coach last year. Vickerson is still in the league, too, playing with the Denver Broncos.
But the point is that Seattle kept searching for better talent while keeping the cost relatively low.
Branch was a good player for Seattle, but Seattle took a look at his work, measured it against the viability of a replacement like McDaniel and decided the latter represented a better value. Were the Seahawks right? We’ll have to wait until the season to find out, but Seattle’s track record at that position in particular indicates the Seahawks don’t often wind up shooting themselves in the foot. |
To those of us in the news biz, the headline on a new Gallup survey was dispiriting, to say the least: “U.S. Distrust in Media Hits New High”
“Americans' distrust in the media hit a new high this year, with 60 percent saying they have little or no trust in the mass media to report the news fully, accurately, and fairly,” Gallup reported Friday. “Distrust is up from the past few years, when Americans were already more negative about the media than they had been in years prior to 2004.”
That’s a far cry from the 1970s, when Gallup asked the question three times and found trust in the media as high as 72 percent.
It also means that “negativity toward the media is at an all-time high for a presidential election year,” according to Gallup, which is “particularly consequential at a time when Americans need to rely on the media to learn about the platforms and perspectives of the two candidates vying to lead the country for the next four years.”
RECOMMENDED: Are you smarter than a Fox News viewer? How about a CNN viewer? Take our quiz to find out.
There’s a definite political tilt to such findings.
Trust in the media – defined as having a “great deal” or “fair amount” of trust – is very low among Republicans (26 percent) and independents (31 percent), considerably higher among Democrats (58 percent). Paradoxically, Republicans are the partisan group most likely to be paying close attention to news about national politics, Gallup finds.
How have things changed since the media’s relative glory days in the '70s and earlier?
Back then, most Americans relied on local newspapers and such much-admired TV broadcasters as Walter Cronkite and Howard K. Smith, whose veracity was rarely questioned. When Mr. Cronkite ended his broadcasts with his signature “and that’s the way it is,” most of us believed him.
Vietnam and Watergate changed that to some extent. (It changed Cronkite, who publicly turned against the Vietnam War.) So did the civil rights movement and the push for gender equality. Establishment thinking and policies came under greater scrutiny, and conventional beliefs were challenged.
Fast-forward to the present, and the source of news (perhaps that should be “news”) has exploded. Many fewer newspapers, but a lot more cable television, radio and TV talk shows, news-based entertainment (Jon Stewart), partisan and ideological web sites, and so many bloggers that it brings to mind the old saw about monkeys and typewriters – what Chris Gaither and Susannah Rosenblatt writing in the Los Angeles Times several technological generations ago (2005) called “the uncensored bastions of ideological chest-thumping.”
Back to that partisan split in perceptions about trust in the media. Are reporters and editors, broadcasters and producers biased in a liberal direction? Is that why Democrats are more likely to trust the press?
That’s certainly the perception among many conservatives. How many times has Sarah Palin decried the “lamestream media?”
The mainstream media these days is nothing if not self-examining.
“When The [New York] Times covers a national presidential campaign, I have found that the lead editors and reporters are disciplined about enforcing fairness and balance, and usually succeed in doing so,” Arthur Brisbane, the newspaper’s ombudsman, wrote in his final column last month. “Across the paper’s many departments, though, so many share a kind of political and cultural progressivism – for lack of a better term – that this worldview virtually bleeds through the fabric of The Times.”
“As a result, developments like the Occupy movement and gay marriage seem almost to erupt in The Times, overloved and undermanaged, more like causes than news subjects,” Mr. Brisbane wrote.
Except for Fox News, broadcasters generally went nuts over Michelle Obama’s speech at the Democratic National Convention, leading Politico’s Jim VandeHei to observe that “the mainstream media tends to be quite smitten with the Obamas.”
But it’s also true that people tend to dwell in the media echo chamber they’re most comfortable with, whether it’s Sean Hannity and Fox News on the right or Rachel Maddow and MSNBC on the left. Fox News drew many more viewers to the Republican National Convention than the other broadcast or cable networks; NBC and MSNBC led the way at the Democratic National Convention.
It’s also true that the tea party movement and social conservatism have had a profound impact on traditional political conservatism, driving a deeper and angrier distrust of conventional media sources.
“I'm undoubtedly a liberal, which means that I'm in almost total agreement with the Eisenhower-era Republican Party platform,” Ms. Maddow quipped in 2010.
Regarding the Gallup survey, Andrew Beaujon of the Poynter Institute (a nonprofit school that promotes excellence in journalism) asks: “Is it possible people considering that question disassociate or exempt the media outlets they like (you have to work pretty hard to not find a news organization that skews toward whatever your views are these days) from the ones they distrust?”
Being down on the press has a long history in the United States.
“Newspapers serve as chimneys to carry off noxious vapors and smoke,” Thomas Jefferson wrote to Thaddeus Kosciusko in 1802.
But for many reporters and editors, who tend to be an idealistic lot, the words of the late, great columnist Molly Ivins still ring true:
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“I have long been persuaded that the news media collectively will be sent to hell not for our sins of commission, but our sins of omission. The real scandal in the media is not bias, it is laziness. Laziness and bad news judgment. Our failure is what we miss, what we fail to cover, what we let slip by, what we don't give enough attention to.”
RECOMMENDED: Are you smarter than a Fox News viewer? How about a CNN viewer? Take our quiz to find out. |
Your VPN is Only as Strong as Its Least Secure Endpoint
If you are like most companies, your corporate VPN is a critical part of your infrastructure—and it’s getting a heck of a workout. Thirty-seven percent of all workers in the U.S. now telecommute. Even if your workers are in a more traditional office, many of your employees will be traveling at any given moment. You might even have remote offices in other countries. With so many remote workers taking up bandwidth on your VPN, how do you audit their devices?
The concept of BYOD is busily colliding with the concept of VPN. Seventy-four percent of companies now incorporate BYOD policies—and yes, BYOD absolutely makes VPNs less secure. Sure, you have trust in your VPN and some level of safety in knowing only those set-up to use your VPN are actually connecting. As for the devices that your users are using to connect, however, it’s impossible to know if their configuration makes them insecure.
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Let’s face it—once a corporate or BYOD endpoint leaves the security and control of your network, it is no longer available for you to scan, health check, validate or update. You don’t know where it has been, who it’s been with and most importantly how it might have changed. Yet, you welcome it to rejoin your company network at any time from anywhere via your VPN—after all, you trust the user and they have the authorization to use the company VPN, what could go wrong?
A Compromised VPN Could Be a Ticket to Your Worst Nightmare
Here’s a doomsday scenario: you could lose millions of dollars. Not from customer lawsuits (as in the case of most data breaches), or in reputational damage. You could have money stolen from you directly. This was the case when hackers used malware known as the Carberp Trojan to steal over a billion dollars from various banks over a three-year period.
Essentially, the attackers were able to use their malware in order to compromise the computers of trusted bank clerks. This malicious software allowed the attackers to remotely control computers in a manner similar to helpdesk software such as Teamviewer or LogMeIn. Because the clerks’ computers were already logged into the bank’s trusted network, the attackers had no difficulty rooting around and transferring billions of dollars into their own accounts.
You Can’t Trust Users with the Security of Their Own Devices
Did the Carberp attackers have much difficulty compromising administrators at those big banks? They did not—they used simple phishing attacks, which one in every three users will fall for, according to the 2016 Verizon DBIR. Even if you’re relatively confident that your users won’t be fooled, Murphy’s Law will go after you in any way it can.
Maybe your users disabled their firewalls. Maybe while traveling the anti-virus has not been updated. Maybe device encryption was disabled. Any number of things could change at a device level that would make the device a risk to your company. Any of these vulnerabilities leave the endpoint vulnerable to takeover, and could allow attackers to spread malware or intercept communications over your private network.
Choose an Intelligent Gatekeeper for Your VPN
Portnox CLEAR picks up when a device is no longer in the grasp and control of your company network and tools. An easy-to-deploy cloud solution, Portnox CLEAR maintains continuous real-time awareness of a device whether it’s on or off your network. CLEAR is always aware of the current risk posture of a device, and keeps constant tabs on the firewall, antivirus, patch level, and more.
Most importantly, CLEAR is not just aware—it’s active. VPN access is only permitted to devices who have a sufficiently low risk profile, based on the monitoring above. It’s no longer okay for any device that has VPN access to connect—with CLEAR you now have the added security knowing the device connecting is still in compliance. What’s more, CLEAR can prevent lost or stolen devices from accessing the private network by implementing two-factor authentication for VPN connections at no additional cost.
With CLEAR, you can let your devices travel, let them work from home, visit Starbucks, and attend seminars—and let them connect back via your VPN with the security, trust, and awareness Portnox CLEAR provides.
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Eircom, recently rebranded as Eir, has been told to pay €35,000 to charity for illegally sending marketing texts and making phone calls to customers who did not want to receive them.
The company was before the Dublin District Court on Monday for a series of prosecutions taken by the Data Protection Commissioner.
In one case, a man who had been receiving multiple calls from Eircom’s marketing staff said they were bordering on ‘harassment’ and that he had completely lost patience and trust in the company to resolve the matter.
In another instance, a marketing text message without an opt-out option was sent out to over 11,000 customers.
Assistant data protection commissioner Tony Delaney, who investigated the complaints, told the court Eircom was one of the most complained of companies in relation to direct marketing offences and that none had had a higher number of complaints last year.
He noted the commissioner had, in her annual report for 2014, singled out Eircom for a case study and called for them to do better in this area.
“This is symptomatic of wider issues than just marketing. We get complaints about many other issues,” Mr Delaney said under examination by the commissioner’s counsel Ronan Kennedy BL.
Outlining his case against the company, Mr Delaney said one customer, Hugh Kane, made a complaint in May 2013 about unsolicited regular calls at tea time and late in the evening. The calls were numerous and an “unawanted intrusion” into Mr Kane’s privacy.
Even after the Data Protection Commissioner commenced an investigation and the company telling it Mr Kane had been opted out, he continued to receive calls. The commissioner’s investigation established that he had received “of the order of 50 communications” since he left Eircom in 2009.
Judge John O’Neill told Joe Jeffers BL, counsel for Eircom, he had listened to a catalogue of promises, undertakings and reassurances from the company that had been all “blatantly ignored”.
“The right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing in that company,” he said.
Mr Jeffers said there was “absolutely no sugar-coating” the situation.
“It’s absolutely unacceptable. The company accepts that,” he said.
The company wanted to apologise to all those customers affected, he said.
It was willing to make a very considerable charitable donation in line with the maximum fines that could apply to these charges, the court heard.
Judge O’Neill said the company had a bad attitude towards consumers, who relied on it as being a reputable company. “But their reputation is eroding,” he said.
Asking whether it was better that he imposed fines or that charities benefit, the judge said he believed the latter was the answer.
He adjourned the matter to December 16th and said if Eircom made a contribution of €15,000 to Pieta House, €10,000 to the Laura Lynn Foundation and €10,000 to the Children’s Hospital Crumlin, he would apply the Probation Act.
If the payments were not made by then he would convict and fine the company.
The court heard Eircom was previously convicted of two similar marketing offences in December 2013 and was fined €1,500 on each charge.
Its E-mobile arm was prosecuted in 2012 after it lost laptops containing the personal data of customers.
It was also charged in 2011 with making a call to someone on the national opt-out register for marketing cals.
Mr Delaney said he had, in effect, been in court prosecuting Eircom “every second year” for marketing offences.
Separately, Imagine Telecommunications Business Limited pleaded guilty to one charge of making an unsolicited marketing phone call without consent and was ordered to donate €2,500 to Merchant’s Quay Ireland.
Both defendants covered the commissioner’s legal costs.
Welcoming the outcome, Data Protection Commissioner Helen Dixon said data protection was about “the citizen’s fundamental right to privacy”.
“My office treats offences in relation to electronic marketing extremely seriously, vigorously prosecuting repeat offenders. The significant sums imposed today send a clear message that this type of marketing without consent is unacceptable.” |
Note: This is the first in – Bob willing – a series of updates on the state of the Amarr-Minmatar and Caldari-Gallente factional warfare zones in low sec.
So, is faction warfare dead yet?
Well, if you believe a whole slew of Reddit and the EVE Online forum threads then yes, it went the way of the dodo shortly after the introduction of Citadels. Why is that? Upwell structures have been dropped in all systems of any importance in the war zone, and these have removed the strategic advantage for a militia that previously came with owning a system (you can now dock and reship in enemy systems if you manage to drop an Astrahus in it). As a result, the only systems really worth fighting for today are the mission hubs. In addition to Citadel spam, capsuleers of all four factions share a number of similar gripes. Plex farming is a plague – veritable hordes of farmers switch factions regularly, based on Tier levels and LP markets. Combined with Citadels, it becomes difficult for any militia to motivate its members to seriously contest systems.
But wait – you say faction warfare is dead, but if you check the stats you still see thousands of players enlisted on each side, and lately, we’ve even seen some systems moving hands. It clearly isn’t entirely dead just yet, even though there is a deeply-rooted, pervasive sense in all militias that faction warfare could be so much more; that it could be the perfect gateway into lowsec and PvP in general for new capsuleers who have just entered New Eden, if only the abuses and aberrations in the system could be ironed out from time to time.
But putting that lament aside, let’s take a look at the state of play in the two war-zones.
Amarr-Minmatar
Since its collapse down to a single system a few weeks ago, the Amarr militia has managed to retake two systems: Anka and Saikamon. I guess it’s a start, but will this lead to a broader revival of the Amarr-Minmatar war? That remains to be seen, as it seems unlikely at this point that the Amarr militia will be able to resist the waves of Minmatar farmer alts that wiped them out just a little while ago.
One can only hope that they will get a different response this time, and some actual fights will ensue. The Amarr-Minmatar warzone has been plagued by hordes of farmers and has seen far fewer “good fights” than its northern counterpart; it has become a war only in name. Will the Minmatar militia show that it is still interested in fighting, or will it continue to game the system to rake in maximum ISK?
Caldari-Gallente
In the Caldari-Gallente warzone, things had been quiet for months after the collapse of CalMil’s Tier 3 push last winter. Gallente ended up driving CalMil back into its strongholds and retaking most of the war zone, and it did so in such an overwhelming fashion (thanks to its superior organization, powerful allies and a deep roster of both highly skilled veterans and plex-happy new players) that the conflict effectively ended. Having effectively starved itself of the content it needed to survive, GalMil then went looking for other feeding grounds and launched a sov campaign in Cloud Ring. This turned out to be a big success, and before long a large part of Cloud Ring had been occupied and even renamed “Galmilistan”.
With the majority of GalMil forces occupied in Galmilistan, CalMil began to move away from its hunkered down, defensive posture about a month ago and eventually began a small campaign to retake many of the Caldari systems that had been lost in the GalMil steamroll. System after system fell and CalMil spirits were on the rise as balance in the war zone was gradually restored (today, CalMil holds 46 systems to GalMil’s 55).
Then, earlier this week, GalMil forces returned to Black Rise and attacked the systems of Oinasiken and Aldranette, which were both lost by the Caldari in short order.
That leaves the current situation on the ground very much in flux: will Caldari push on, and will this prompt a return of the GalMil legions from the remote province of Galmilistan, or will things quiet down again?
It’s too early to tell. You’ll just have to stay tuned for the next update…
Full disclosure: Lynx Artrald is a director for Black Shark Cult in The Bloc and a proud member of the CalMil Coalition. |
Over the past year, we here at AIPT have been been reading, reviewing and really, really enjoying the new Invader Zim comic from Oni Press. A continuation of the Invader Zim animated series created by Jhonen Vasquez, Oni’s comic has channeled the spirit and spunk of its cartoon predecessor better than just about any screen-to-page transition we can think of.
But the Zim comic is only as successful as its creative team and hey, check it out, we’ve managed to wrangle that creative team for an interview! With us is Eric Trueheart, head writer of the comic and previously a writer for the cartoon, Warren Wucinich, the current main artist and previously a letterer and colorist, and Fred Stresing, the current colorist.
Please join us as we pick their brains on all things Zim; from their thoughts on the cartoon, what got them into the comic adaptation, and what magic they perform to make the comic every bit as good as its animated incarnation.
AiPT!: What was your introduction to Invader Zim? Did you watch it when it aired on Nickelodeon in the early 2000s? In reruns? Or did you come into this project cold? And if you did watch the show: Favorite episode?
Eric: Well, I worked on the original show, so my first introduction was my agent calling and saying, “We submitted your writing samples to this new show called ‘Invader Something.’” My next introduction was being led to the darkness of Jhonen’s office to have the brain slugs applied. I don’t think I have a favorite episode, but I’m always amazed that “Zim Eats Waffles” happened at all, so I’ll say that one.
Warren: I was already a fan of Jhonen’s comics and was excited for the show, but being a young starving artist I didn’t have cable, so I missed most of it when it originally aired. When you’re subsisting on Ramen noodles and Hot Pockets, cable TV is the stuff of dreams.
Favorite episode? Gosh, I dunno. “Parent Teacher Night”? “Future Dib”? “Battle of the Planets”? “Zim Eats Waffles”?
Fred: I was introduced to this show in the 2000s on a food court television. I think it was the one with the chicken-legged mech they had to keep plugging in. It had everything you could want in a cartoon: Robots, aliens, and a paranormal investigator with an abnormally large cranium (the classic sci-fi triad).
I was pretty much a fan from that point on.
As far as favorite episode… tougher question. I may have to give that to “Rise of the Zitboy” for giving me the hope that one day I too could turn my acne into a bulbous hypnotic friend. Still waiting on that.
A page from Invader Zim #13.
AiPT!: Who is your favorite character in the series, both as a fan and professionally? Do you discover that there’s one you liked watching on the show but find less fun to write? One you love to read but hate to draw? One you love as a character but not to color?
Eric: I can’t say I have a favorite character. Maybe Table-Headed Service Drone Bob? I’d love to do a 12-part comic on him. His epic journey from Coaster-Headed Service Drone to the triumphant Bob we know today.
Warren: I’m trying not to copout here but I always liked Zim in the cartoon. He’s just so neurotic and scheme-y and weird. My favorite to draw, however, is Dib. I’m always getting him wrong and having to go back and revise him but I can’t help but like him. He’s just so fun to pick on and punch and blow up and whatever. I love torturing him. Does that make me a bad person?
Fred: Favorite character probably has to go to Zim. Who doesn’t love coloring an angry shouting alien?
Second place goes to Bloaty’s Pizza Hog who I’ve yet to have the privilege to color. Fingers crossed, though.
AiPT!: Warren and Fred, this one is for both of you. Warren, you were the colorist on the book for a stretch of issues and Fred, you’re the current colorist. The Invader Zim cartoon had a very striking color palette (lots of purples and reds and greens), but just because something works in animation doesn’t mean it can make the transition to comics. Did you have any trouble translating the colors of the cartoon? Anything in particular you had to reevaluate because it just wasn’t working on the static page?
Warren: The show (especially the first season) was a lot darker and I was told fairly early on that we were going to take a brighter approach to the comic. There were a handful of wonderful colorists that came before me and my hat’s off to them because they did most of the heavy lifting in establishing palettes and tone. I kinda just spring-boarded off of them.
It’s also been really fun to see Fred color my work. He’s trying stuff I never would have considered and he pulls it off brilliantly. It’s very energetic and I really like that. He makes me look way too darn good.
Fred: The only real issue I’ve run into is making some of the darker and more vibrant color schemes work for print. If you can bear with me, I’ll get into the boring technical reasons:
Color gamut on a backlit TV show is always going to have the advantage of being sharper and more varied than CMYK, which has a limited printable palette. Especially in the case of neon and green colors, which, let’s face it, Zim uses in abundance.
So the trick is finding the right balance of vibrant and printable. The good news is, if it doesn’t look good, my editors can yell at me and I can fix it.
Another preview page from Invader Zim #13.
AiPT!: Fred and Warren, what is your operating logic on when to color GIR in his red “duty mode”? I’ve noticed that sometimes when he’s being cooperative, he’s still blue, while other times he’s red. Is it a judgment call thing; “GIR is being cooperative but not TOO cooperative so I’ll keep him blue”…? Are there many subtle levels to how cooperative GIR is?
Warren: That’s pretty much all in the script. I may have made a judgement call once or twice, but that decision usually comes from the writer.
Fred: For me, it depends on a few things. If the script calls for Duty Mode GIR, he’s red. If he is following orders with a super serious face, he’s red. If he’s got lasers and weapons popping out of his head, he’s red.
And sometimes GIR is blue when he’s following orders because he’s just not 100% into it that day.
AiPT!: Fred, the colorist often has control over the tone and atmosphere of the scene, depending on the palette they use. The Zim cartoon, and subsequently the comic could get pretty intense; balancing a precarious line between comedy and horror. How do you determine when to make a scene “scarier” or “sillier”? Do the characters involved ever affect how you play the scene (you’ll go “scary” for Ms. Bitters but not Professor Membrane)?
Fred: It really depends on a few things. The tone of the story and dialogue plays a big part with how I’m coloring a page. Another thing I like to do is keep an eye out for action panels, which I will try to make the center of attention, using more vibrant, impactful color to draw the eye and make it more exciting.
The real trick though is reading the script and figuring out the beats, figuring out the environments and coloring to mood of the scene.
Another preview page from Invader Zim #13.
AiPT!: Warren, you’ve been something of a Jack of All Trades since the series began. You were the letterer, then the colorist, then you took over drawing Recap Kid, and now you’re the artist. What went into making all those transitions?
Warren: Ooo, “Jack of All Trades.” I like that!
The transition part wasn’t so difficult. I’ve done different combinations of drawing, lettering, and coloring on other projects so I just go into that specific “mode” when I need to.
I’ve always wanted to work on good comics and I’ve always been willing to learn whatever skills were needed. Early on in my career when I couldn’t find work as a penciller I taught myself how to color and letter.
When I first heard that Oni Press was going to do a Zim comic, I just wanted to be involved no matter what the job was. (When someone asks if you want to work on Invader Zim, you say “YES!”) Thankfully, my editor, Robin Herrera is one of the best in the industry and she’s been an integral part of my various works on Zim. I really have her to thank for bringing me on to the Zim team to begin with.
AiPT!: Warren, a lettering question for you. With Zim, the lettering plays a major role in channeling the “voice” of the characters, which was a unique part of the animated series (the way characters would toggle back and forth between scheming and screaming). Did you have to come up with your own font for the screaming, or is it hand-lettered? And how do you determine when a line of dialogue warrants just an exclamation mark or the whole jagged boxed, giant screamy lettering job?
Warren: The screamy voice is a custom font I created. At first I was doing it by hand, which was great fun, but was ultimately impractical. It was slow and making revisions was tough so I made a few custom fonts of my hand-letters to speed things along.
In the script Eric and Jhonen usually let me know which dialogue needs to have an emphasis by italicizing or making it bold but that’s usually it. I normally get to decide what fonts to use or when the balloons do something wacky, and most of that is intuitive. Still to this day I’m in love with Todd Klein’s work on Sandman. The way he gave a lot of characters their own unique fonts and balloons was wonderful and I felt that Zim was a project that has the potential to do the same kind of thing. For example, I put all of GIR’s dialogue in rough, erratic balloons because GIR is a screechy little crazy thing. Zim’s computer has a different custom balloon than Tak’s ship and so forth.
AiPT!: Warren, you’ve taken over art duties on Zim from Dave Crosland and Aaron Alexovich, the main series artists who preceded you. What did you learn from them before taking the baton? Alexovich has been credited with layouts on some of your issues; what’s your system with him like?
Warren: Aaron did the layouts for my first issue and his work was pretty invaluable. He did the blueprints and the groundwork for the whole series and he was able to steer me in the right direction for when I took the training wheels off.
Oddly, what I learned the most from Dave is balance. Keeping the balance between a personal style and the established house style is a tricky business and Dave handled it really, really well.
AiPT!: Warren, do you ever find yourself having to review the cartoon to maintain cohesion with the Zim aesthetic (or just for any visual inspiration)? And how do you balance applying your own style to an existing “house style” that’s so distinctive?
Warren: Yeah, I reference the show a lot. Mostly for camera angles and occasionally design. The comic is quite different, but its roots still lay in the show, so I go back to it quite often. (Plus, any excuse to go back and re-watch the show is a welcome one.)
Maintaining the balance between personal and house styles is, far and away, the most challenging part of working on Zim. You don’t want to carbon copy the people who came before you but at the same time you don’t want to go too far with your own personal style. I try to keep the characters and environments pretty “on-model” but since the script comes to me in TV form (no page or panel numbers) it’s up to me to decide how many panels are on a page and how they’re composed and what the pacing will be. I think that’s where my style shows through the most.
A page from Invader Zim #13.
AiPT!: Eric, you’ve been the main writer for the Zim comic since it began, but prior to this you wrote for the Invader Zim animated series. What opportunities has this comic supplied you with? You were the writer behind the story arc from close to the end of the cartoon that involved Dib commandeering Tak’s spaceship, and you’ve worked Tak’s ship into several of your scripts so far. Is there more to that storyline that we can look forward to?
Eric: Opportunities? Good question. So good, in fact, that I have no answer. Next!
In all seriousness… For me, it’s been a chance to revisit this kind of storytelling again. I work mostly in animation, and you’d be surprised how few outlets for demented science-fiction comedy there are in the cartoon world. Or maybe you wouldn’t. Actually, given what’s on the air, you definitely wouldn’t be surprised.
Jhonen and Robin Herrera (editor at Oni) have had a few artist-driven experimental issues, but we approached my issues with the same kind of storytelling we used on the 11-minute cartoons, with maybe a little more character interaction thrown in.
It’s been great for me to practice this particular kind of insanity again. I finally got to do the “Pants” story that Nickelodeon torpedoed all those years ago. (Invader Zim issue 8.) PANTS!
On the subject of Tak’s ship: I can’t say that there’s any “storyline” planned, but that ship and its deep Dib-loathing is definitely ongoing, and s/he will be there to give Dib a hard time every time he goes into space.
AiPT!: Eric, what has the transition from TV to comic been like in regards to scripting Zim stories? Have you had to rethink your whole approach or has it been fairly intuitive?
Eric: It’s been shockingly intuitive. We’ve been basically telling classic Zim tales, just rendered for the page instead of the screen. And Jhonen prefers we write them in screenplay format. Yep, we give the artists animation screenplay format. That will probably invoke fiery rage from comic writers and artists everywhere. Or maybe just the writers, while a quiet group of artists silently celebrates the fact that someone, somewhere is letting a comic artist do the panels however he damn-well wants.
AiPT!: Eric, in regards to the comic, what’s your relationship with series creator Jhonen Vasquez like? He’s credited in the book as “Control Brain” so I can only guess what that means in relation to your job as writer.
Eric: Jhonen’s control brain has sprouted tentacles and is seizing dominion over an ever-growing radius around his house. It now controls six city blocks. It’s like something out of Akira, but with people’s lawns.
Basically, Jhonen plays executive producer on the whole comic. He’s a sounding board for all ideas, and the guy with the final say on details from the script to the final art. When people say, “It feels just like the TV show,” that’s down to Jhonen’s influence. He has the essence of Zim locked in his head, and he wields that essence like a flaming ninja sword with acid-fangs! (Actually, I don’t know what that metaphor means. Moving on.)
For my scripts, I go over to his house, pitch a few new stories, and then play video games until we forget why I came over. We talk about the ideas he thinks will work best, flesh out the story a bit, and then I go off and write the script. After I turn it in, I receive angry midnight calls from him, screaming like a rabid wolverine about how I’m ruining his creation. And why is the Incredible Hulk in this one again?! And why does Zim drive a flying diaper truck and speak only in French?!
Actually, after we come up with ideas, I write the script and then run it by Jhonen. He usually has a few tweaks that make it just that much more “ZIM,” and then we let the artist have at it. It’s fun.
AiPT!: Eric, the Zim cartoon had a pretty robust cast of characters; a lot of fan favorites, too. But you’ve also created your fair share of new characters for this book (I especially liked Groyna from issue 8). How do you decide when to implement a character, be it preexisting or original? Are there any outlying characters beyond the Dib and Zim crew you particularly want to develop or explore?
Eric: Ah, Groyna! I hope we can find a good way to bring Groyna back. Every Dib needs a Groyna every now and again, know what I mean?
We walk a line on the old character vs. new character question. There’s no set policy, we just take it story by story and see what the narrative calls for. On the one hand, we’ve got a big world we don’t want to ignore, but on the other hand we don’t want the comic to feel like it’s staring into its own green navel.
Do our readers want intricate world-building or more novelty? Should we even base our decision on what our readers want? Half of them are grown-up fans, the other half are school kids. A third half are blind, subterranean mole people with milk-white eyes who only read the comics by smell. That’s right, that totals three halves, but remember, history is littered with the corpses of those who, in their arrogance, ignored the mole people. I’m sorry, what was I talking about?
Still, you never know what old face we might bring back. I think Jhonen mentioned using Prisoner 777 at some point. I have a feeling we’ll eventually see Invader Skoodge again, though no plans yet. I’m also mildly pleased that Agent Batflaps may be an ongoing addition to the comic universe as a foil for Dib. Go Batflaps!
AiPT!: Eric, you’ve done a great job of maintaining the integrity of the Zim storytelling style in the transition from screen to page. You’ve even hit on some of the wilder qualities of the show, like stories that end with everyone dying (but it’s okay because they’ll be better by the next installment). What little quirks are there in the scripting style of Zim stories that are essential to making them FEEL like a Zim stories? Do you ever have any troubles or frustrations with the formula/rhythm of Zim storytelling?
Eric: Aw, thanks.
I wish I could list exactly what the quirks are, because it would make my job easier. If only it were just taco and pig jokes followed by GIR shouting “Doom,” I could crank these out in a day.
If I had to speculate, I’d say the premise always contains a certain amount of science fiction twisted in ridiculous directions. The lead character — whether it’s Zim, Dib or someone else — is usually driven by hubris or self-delusion, and they’re usually destined for failure. At some point we’ll point out our own absurdity, and drive a truck through our own plot holes. Dark humor. Horrible things made funny. Moose. Burritos. Doom. etc. I don’t know.
I actually really enjoy the rhythm of Zim storytelling. My only fear is that it will some day stop being interesting, that we’ll have worn our tropes down so smooth and nubby that people will just shrug and say, “Oh yeah, this,” and move on. So among the “classic Zim” tales, my brain is still looking for ways to do something new. Maybe we’ll some day do an epic Irken space opera, just to shake things up. Maybe we’ll go really deep into the background of one really obscure character. Maybe we’ll do a complex Marvel Universe style thing and assemble the Irken Avengers of Minor Invaders. Or maybe not. I just would hate for it to get routine.
A page from Invader Zim #13!
AiPT!: Eric, I’m sure you want to stick a screwdriver in the next person to ask you this, but if I don’t do it someone in the comments section will get mad at me. So, ya know. Tak. Any plans for her? Her character’s popularity is staggering, especially considering she was only in one episode (personally, I like the dynamic you’ve developed between Dib and Tak’s Ship).
Eric: I will drop only this misty nugget of mystery:
THERE ARE NO PLANS TO BRING BACK TAK, OKAY?! SO STOP ASKING!
But for the sake of all the Tak fans out there, I will add that it’s only because Jhonen thinks Tak is a great character, and he doesn’t want to bring her back simply for the sake of doing it. If — or more probably, “when” — Tak returns, he wants it to be for a story that’s as cool as she is.
I mean, hey, we could bring back Tak every four issues and turn her into the Lex Luthor of the Zim universe, but would you really want that? The answer is no, you would not. Aren’t you glad we know what you want better than you do? The answer is yes, you do. See how good this feels?
AiPT!: Eric, and lastly, do you have plans for another multi-issue storyline or will the book be sticking to the episodic format for the time being?
Eric: That’s a tough one. I can say you will definitely see the episodic format for the near future, but I’ve been idly talking with Jhonen and Robin about the possibility of someday doing something more long-form.
No, it won’t involve Tak.
This time.
That’s enough of everyone’s time for today. AIPT would like to thank Eric, Warren and Fred for submitting to our Q&A and the behind-the-scenes folks at Oni Press for helping make it happen!
Invader Zim #13 comes out this Wednesday, September 21, featuring the abduction of Dib and the apathy of Zim. Be sure to check it out, and catch up with the Invader Zim Volume 1 trade paperback collection, already in stores. |
The following script is from "The F-35" which aired on Feb. 16, 2014. David Martin is the correspondent. Mary Walsh, producer.
The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is the Pentagon's newest warplane and its most expensive weapons system ever -- nearly $400 billion to buy 2,400 aircraft. To put that in perspective, that's about twice as much as it cost to put a man on the moon -- this at a time when the White House and Congress are fighting over ways to reduce the federal deficit and cuts in defense spending are forcing the Pentagon to shrink the size of the military.
The Air Force, Navy and Marines are all counting on the F-35 to replace the war planes they're flying today. If it performs as advertised, the F-35 will enable U.S. pilots to control the skies in any future conflict against the likes of China or Russia. But the F-35 has not performed as advertised. It's seven years behind schedule and $163 billion over budget, or as the man in charge of the F-35 told us, "basically the program ran itself off the rails."
[Chris Bogdan: Good morning.]
Lt. Gen. Chris Bogdan is the man in charge of the F-35 and every morning starts with problems that have to be dealt with ASAP. This morning it's a valve that's been installed backwards and has to be replaced.
Chris Bogdan: How long does it take?
Answer: It's about a seven day operation.
Chris Bogdan: OK. And now you know what I'm going to say next.
Answer: Yes sir.
Chris Bogdan: What am I going to say next?
Answer: You're going to say, "We're not going to pay for it."
Chris Bogdan: That's right. We're not going to pay for it.
Chris Bogdan: Long gone is the time where we will continue to pay for mistake after mistake after mistake.
When Bogdan took over the F-35 program a year ago, it was behind schedule, over budget and relations with the plane's manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, bordered on dysfunctional.
David Martin: How would you characterize the relationship between the Pentagon and Lockheed Martin?
Chris Bogdan: I'm on record after being in the job for only a month standing up and saying it was the worst relationship I had seen in my acquisition career.
Lt. Gen. Chris Bogdan CBS News
These planes coming off the Lockheed Martin assembly line in Fort Worth cost $115 million a piece, a price tag Bogdan has to drastically reduce if the Pentagon can ever afford to buy the 2,400 planes it wants.
Chris Bogdan: I know where every single airplane in the production line is on any given day. You know why that's important? Because Lockheed Martin doesn't get paid their profit unless each and every airplane meets each station on time with the right quality.
David Martin: So if this plane doesn't get from that station to this station.
Chris Bogdan: On time with the right quality they're going to lose some of their fee. You've got to perform to make your profit.
David Martin: They must love you at Lockheed Martin.
Chris Bogdan: I try and be fair, David and if they want what I call "winner's profit," they have to act like and perform like winners, and that's fair.
Although the F-35 won't begin to enter service until next year at the earliest, pilots are already conducting test flights and training missions at bases in California, Florida, Maryland, Arizona and Nevada. It's supposed to replace virtually all of the jet fighters in the United States military. There's one model for the Air Force, another for the Navy - designed to catapult off an aircraft carrier - and a third for the Marines which seems to defy gravity by coming to a dead stop in mid-air and landing on a dime.
David Berke: This is a fighter that has amazing capabilities in a lot of ways.
The F-35's vertical landing
Lt. Col. David Berke says there's no comparison between the F-35 and today's jet fighters.
David Berke: I'm telling you, having flown those other airplanes it's not even close at how good this airplane is and what this airplane will do for us.
David Martin: We have planes that are as fast as this.
David Berke: You bet.
David Martin: And can maneuver just as sharply as this one.
David Berke: Sure.
David Martin: So why isn't that good enough?
David Berke: Those are metrics of a bygone era. Those are ways to validate or value an airplane that just don't apply anymore.
You can see from its angled lines, the F-35 is a stealth aircraft designed to evade enemy radars. What you can't see is the 24 million lines of software code which turn it into a flying computer. That's what makes this plane such a big deal.
David Berke: The biggest big deal is the information this airplane gathers and processes and gives to me as the pilot. It's very difficult to overstate how significant of an advancement this airplane is over anything that's flying right now.
Without the F-35, says Air Force Chief General Mark Welsh, the U.S. could lose its ability to control the air in future conflicts.
Mark Welsh: Air superiority is not a given, David. It never has been. And if we can't provide it everything we do on the ground and at sea will have to change.
"The biggest big deal is the information this airplane gathers and processes and gives to me as the pilot. It's very difficult to overstate how significant of an advancement this airplane is over anything that's flying right now."
Today's enemies - al Qaeda and the Taliban - pose no threat to American jets. But Welsh is worried about more powerful rivals.
Mark Welsh: We're not the only ones who understand that going to this next generation of capability in a fighter aircraft is critical to survive in the future of battle space and so others are going, notably now the Chinese, the Russians and we'll see more of that in the future.
And this is what the competition looks like - the Russian T-50 and China's J-20 Stealth Fighter. According to Welsh, they are more than a match for today's fighters.
Mark Welsh: If you take any older fighter like our existing aircraft and you put it nose to nose in, in a contested environment with a newer fighter, it will die.
David Martin: And it will die because?
Mark Welsh: It will die before it even knows it's even in a fight.
In aerial combat, the plane that shoots first wins, so it all comes down to detecting the enemy before he detects you. The F-35's combination of information technology and stealth would give American pilots what Marine Lt. Gen. Robert Schmidle describes as an astounding advantage in combat.
Robert Schmidle: I shouldn't get into the exact ranges because those ranges are classified, but what I can tell you is that the range at which you can detect the enemy as opposed to when he can detect you can be as much as 10 times further when you'll see him before he'll ever see you and down to five times...
David Martin: I want to nail that down here. If the F-35 was going up against another stealth aircraft of the kind that other countries are working on today, it would be able still to detect that aircraft at five to 10 times the range?
Robert Schmidle: You would be safe in assuming that you could detect that airplane at considerably longer distances than that airplane could detect you.
The F-35's radars, cameras and antennas would scan for 360 degrees around the plane searching for threats and projecting, for example, the altitude and speed of an enemy aircraft, onto the visor of a helmet custom-fitted to each pilot's head.
It is so top-secret no one without a security clearance has ever been allowed to see what it can do...
[Alan Norman: If you want to head up to my office, come on up.]
...until Lockheed Martin's chief F-35 test pilot Alan Norman took us into the cockpit for a first-hand look.
Alan Norman: So, if you put that over your face . . .
That blindfold is to make sure I can see only what cameras located in different parts of the plane project onto the visor.
Alan Norman: You're looking through the eyeballs of airplane right now. And you can even look down below the airplane. So you're looking actually through the structure of the airplane right now.
We've positioned 60 Minutes cameraman Tom Rapier underneath the plane so we can test the system.
David Martin: So now I look and there's Tom Rapier and he's giving me one finger up.
Alan Norman: You're the only person in the world that can see him with that imagery right now.
We're not allowed to show you what's on the visor because much of it is still classified. But wherever I turn my head, I can see what's out there.
Chris Bogdan: So there's a lot riding on that helmet, David, there's no doubt.
David Martin: How much does it cost?
Chris Bogdan: The helmet itself plus the computer system that is used to make the helmet work is more than a half million dollars.
But there have been problems with the helmet and when we visited the Marine Corps station in Yuma, Ariz., a malfunction caused a scheduled flight to be scrubbed.
In fact, on any given day more than half the F-35s on the flight line are liable to be down for maintenance or repairs.
Bugs and glitches in the plane first reveal themselves in testing at Edwards Air Force Base in California where every test flight is monitored and recorded as if it were a space flight.
The plane has to go through 56,000 separate tests - everything from making sure a bomb will fall out of the bomb bay to seeing what happens when it is dropped at supersonic speeds.
[Rod Cregier: Of course you never like to lose an aircraft.]
Col. Rod Cregier runs the test program.
Rod Cregier: You're taking an aircraft that's unknown and you're trying to determine does it do what we paid the contractor to make it do. Does it go to the altitudes, the air speeds? Can it drop the right weapons? We're trying to get all that stuff done before we release it for the war fighter, so that they can actually use it in combat.
David Martin: So are you basically the guy who has to deliver the bad news about the plane?
Rod Cregier: Sometimes it's hard to tell folks that their baby is ugly, but you have to do it because if you don't get it done, who else is gonna do it?
A number of surprisingly basic defects have been uncovered. The F-35 was restricted from flying at night because the wingtip lights, shaped to preserve the plane's stealth contours, did not meet FAA standards.
Getting F-35 costs under control
Chris Bogdan: When you hear something like that, you just kind of want to hit your head like this and go: "Multibillion dollar airplane? Wingtip lights? Come on!
And then there are the tires, which have to be tough enough to withstand a conventional landing and bouncy enough to handle a vertical landing.
David Martin: We found out that the tires were wearing out two, three, four times faster than expected. Tires.
Chris Bogdan: Tires aren't rocket science. We ought to be able to figure out how to do tires on a multibillion dollar highly advanced fighter.
Lt. Gen. Schmidle remembers the day one of the planes delivered to the Marines had gaps in its stealth coating.
Robert Schmidle: They sent me the pictures within half an hour of the thing landing and I then sent them on to Lockheed Martin and said, "So talk to me."
David Martin: I got a feeling you said more than just "talk to me."
Robert Schmidle: Um, (laugh).
David Martin: Did you say, "What the hell?"
Robert Schmidle: You know Marines tend to be relatively direct in the way that we try to help people understand what our, what our particular concerns are.
Executives at Lockheed Martin declined our request for an interview and instead sent us this email saying, in part: "We recognize the program has had developmental and cost challenges and we are working with our customers, partners and suppliers to address these challenges."
That stealth coating was repaired and the problem with the running lights fixed but, so far, not the tires. With about 35 planes a year coming off the Lockheed Martin assembly line, it seems awfully late to be discovering such basic flaws. That's because early in the program the Pentagon counted on computer modeling and simulators to take the place of old-fashioned flight testing.
Frank Kendall: An old adage in the, in this business is, "You should fly before you buy." Make sure the design is stable and things work before you actually go into production.
Frank Kendall is the under secretary of Defense for Acquisition - the Pentagon's chief weapons buyer.
Frank Kendall: We started buying airplanes a good year before we started flight tests.
David Martin: So you buy before you fly?
Frank Kendall: In that case yes.
David Martin: Just saying, it doesn't sound like a good idea.
Frank Kendall: I referred to that decision as acquisition malpractice.
This May 2010 Pentagon memo detailed the "flawed...assumptions," "unrealistic...estimates" and "a general reluctance to accept unfavorable information" that put the program seven years behind schedule and more than $160 billion over budget. To stop the bleeding, Kendall pumped an extra $4.6 billion into flight testing and froze production.
Frank Kendall: We need to face the truth in this business. We need to understand what works and what doesn't.
David Martin: Is this F-35 program now under control?
Frank Kendall: Yes, it is.
Shortly after he spoke with us, Kendall issued this memo stating "progress is sufficient" to increase production next year. But, he warned, the plane's software "is behind schedule" and "reliability...is not growing at an acceptable rate."
Still, the Pentagon plans to buy as many as 100 F-35s a year by 2018.
David Martin: Has the F-35 program passed the point of no return?
Chris Bogdan: I don't see any scenario where we're walking back away from this program.
David Martin: So the American taxpayer is going to buy this airplane?
Chris Bogdan: I would tell you we're going to buy a lot of these airplanes. |
Originally Posted by Faizan Lakhani Originally Posted by
Saw him in aggressive mood after a longtime. He sounded like really annoyed at Salman Butt.. May be because Salman said on ARY that "Shahid Afridi isn't sincere with Pakistan Cricket."
His actual words "Jis nay mulk ka naam badnaam kiya, cricket ko kharrab kiya, Aaamir jaisa talent zaaya karwaaya, woh TV pur baith ker players pur baat kerta hai .... usko sharram aanee chahiye, pehley aaker qaum say maafi mangay apni harkato pur, phir baat karay"
"He gave bad name to the country and the game, spoiled a talent like Aamir and today he is talking about us sitting on TV channels ... he should be ashamed of what he did, he should say sorry to the nation for what he did and then talk about others," |
Fans of underground death metal have been feverishly awaiting a full-length debut from Cruciamentum ever since the UK-based band’s lauded cassette demo, Convocation of Crawling Chaos, spun heads back in 2009. But while six years may seem like a lifetime to wait for a studio album in the digital age, the band led by vocalist/guitarist D.L. were kept busy creating a well-received EP (2011’s Engulfed in Desolation), playing shows and festivals (both in Europe and in the US), and taking what turned out to be a short hiatus.
Possessing the same air of magick and malevolence that made Grave Miasma’s long-awaited 2013 full-length, Odori Sepulcrorum, such an immersive experience (both bands share members), Charnel Passages is unquestionably a brutal return from one of Britain’s best death metal acts. Yet it’s much more than just manically focused on sonic destruction: it’s also extremely dynamic, shifting between tempos, moods and odd time signatures more often than the demo and EP before it. Although plenty of weight has been placed upon slower, atmospheric sojourns – similar to their British doom-death forefathers in Paradise Lost and Anathema – Cruciamentum still unleash torrent after torrent of syncopated hellfire à la Morbid Angel, Bolt Thrower and Immolation. The swarming blackened riffs, jackhammer blasts ‘n’ grooves, cacophonous guitar solos (much improved here – see: ‘Tongues of Nightshade’ and ‘Rites to the Abduction of Essence’) and guttural barks of their earlier work are all-consuming on tracks such as ‘Dissolution of Mortal Perception’ and ‘Collapse’ when combined with doom-death sections, laden with sinister textures courtesy of greater use of keyboards.
With such a clear understanding of dynamic extreme metal song craft, Cruciamentum have the one essentiality that many of their murky peers lack: the ability to write memorable songs without weakening their core style of death metal, built upon strong, discernible arrangements and skilled pacing. Amongst other variables, that’s what made the likes of Altars of Madness, Dawn of Possession, Transcendence Into the Peripheral and Onward to Golgotha death metal milestones. Only time and circumstance will tell if Charnel Passages will ascend to the same revered status. However, one thing certain right now is that: while Cruciamentum are beholden to diabolical old school values, there’s a nightmarish vision of death metal’s future cast across their impressive first full-length.
Charnel Passages is streaming in full above and out on September 4. |
Kimelman's Draft
1. Auston Matthews, C, Zurich (SUI) The 6-foot-1, 210-pound forward has all the markings of a franchise center. He's dominated his peers and now he's excelling against men in Switzerland's top pro league. Had he been born two days earlier, he would have made it a very tough decision for the Buffalo Sabres with the No. 2 pick of the 2015 draft.
2. Jesse Puljujarvi, RW, Karpat (FIN) He dominated for Finland at the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship, leading the tournament with 17 points in seven games, and has had a strong season against older competition in Liiga, Finland's top pro league. Scouts rave about his hockey sense and how well he skates for his size (6-3, 203).
3. Jakob Chychrun, D, Sarnia (OHL) As the son of a former NHL player, Chychrun has outstanding hockey sense. His size (6-2, 215) and skating ability help him cover a lot of ground. He's the best all-around defenseman in the 2016 draft and would fill an area of need for the Oilers.
4. Patrik Laine, RW, Tappara (FIN) The 6-4, 206-pound power forward showed scouts his full wealth of skills at the WJC; he tied Matthews for the tournament lead with seven goals in seven games. He has a heavy, accurate shot and has had little problem playing against more mature, older players in Liiga.
5. Matthew Tkachuk, LW, London (OHL) At 6-1, 195 pounds, he isn't as big as his father, Keith Tkachuk (6-2, 235), but Matthew plays a similarly tough, strong down-low game in the offensive end. After starring with USA Hockey's National Team Development Program, he's among the top scorers this season in the Ontario Hockey League.
6. (From SJS) Alexander Nylander, LW, Mississauga (OHL)
The 6-foot, 179-pound forward became a leader for Sweden after his older brother, William Nylander (Toronto Maple Leafs), was injured in the first game of the WJC; he led fourth-place Sweden with four goals and nine points. He's among the top-10 scorers in the OHL this season and leads all first-year players in the league in goals, assists and points.
7. Julien Gauthier, RW, Val-d'Or (QMJHL) The 6-3, 225-pound power forward was the only draft-eligible player to skate for Canada at the WJC. He's among the top goal-scorers in the QMJHL. Scouts view him as a strong skater who can use his size and strength to win battles along the walls. His game-to-game consistency could be better, but that should come as he matures.
8. Michael McLeod, C, Mississauga (OHL) The 6-2, 188-pound forward is an outstanding skater who is able to change speeds on the move. He can take the puck to the net to create scoring chances for himself or his teammates. He plays on a line with Nylander in Mississauga, and is considered defensively responsible and strong on faceoffs.
9. Olli Juolevi, D, London (OHL) The 6-2, 179-pound left-shot defenseman tied for the scoring lead at his position at the World Juniors and had an easy adjustment moving from Finland to the OHL this season. In addition to his smart offensive play, scouts view him as an outstanding skater with good 1-on-1 defending ability and a quick stick.
10. Pierre-Luc Dubois, LW, Cape Breton (QMJHL)
Scouts like the skills, smarts and size (6-2, 202) Dubois brings to the equation. He can use his size to create chances in front of the net. He turned not making Canada's roster for the World Juniors into motivation that has seen him develop into one of the top scorers in the QMJHL.
11. Logan Brown, C, Windsor (OHL) At 6-6, 222 pounds, Brown is one of the bigger players in the 2016 draft class and also brings a wealth of skill. He can win battles anywhere on the ice but also has the vision and hands of a top-end playmaker and is a strong skater for a player his size.
12. Mikhail Sergachev, D, Windsor (OHL) The 6-2, 206-pound left-shot defenseman has the kind of skill set the Avalanche have been looking to add to their defense. He's adapted well in his first season in North America, showing an ability to skate the puck out of trouble or make smart outlet passes. He’s also willing to play physical.
13. Tyson Jost, C, Penticton (BCHL) The University of North Dakota-bound playmaker is averaging nearly two points per game in the British Columbia Hockey League. Jost is not big (5-11, 191), but he is shifty with a low center of gravity that makes him tough to knock off the puck.
14. Kieffer Bellows, LW, USA U-18 (USHL) The Penguins need some young skill on the wing and the 6-foot, 196-pound son of former NHL player Brian Bellows fits the bill. He has a hard, accurate shot and is strong enough on his skates to get to the net to score from prime locations. He's planning to continue his development at Boston University next season.
15. Clayton Keller, C, USA U-18 (USHL) Keller is an offensive dynamo who is averaging nearly two points per game with USA Hockey's National Team Development Program under-18 team. Despite his size (5-9, 168), he can score from anywhere on the ice. A strong skater, he is capable of making plays with the puck at top speed. He could join Kyle Turris and Mika Zibanejad to give the Senators a high level of skill down the middle.
16. Dante Fabbro, D, Penticton (BCHL) Outstanding skating ability allows the 6-foot, 189-pound right-shot defenseman to excel in transitioning the puck. Scouts also like his elite hockey sense and ability to make accurate passes anywhere on the ice. He's committed to Boston University next season.
17. Alexander DeBrincat, RW, Erie (OHL) The 5-7, 163-pound forward is one of the best goal-scorers in junior hockey. He had 51 goals last season as an OHL rookie and this season is averaging nearly one goal per game. The Coyotes certainly have seen DeBrincat a lot; his linemate is Dylan Strome, who they selected with the third pick of the 2015 draft.
18. Max Jones, LW, London (OHL) Jones is a 6-3, 205-pound wrecking ball of a power forward. He skates well and has a hard shot. He has a nasty edge to his game that allows him to create enough open ice for himself to get his shot off. The Devils could use some younger skilled players, and one who enjoys playing physical that much more.
19. Charles McAvoy, D, Boston University (H-EAST) The 6-foot, 208-pound right-shot defenseman is having a solid freshman season not far from TD Garden and has shown lots of upside. He's a strong skater with great vision who can carry the puck out of trouble or make smart passes out of the zone. He has a heavy shot from the point and should be able to run an NHL power play.
20. Jake Bean, D, Calgary (WHL) The Canadiens could use some young defensive talent to develop, and Bean has the look of an outstanding future pro. He has quick feet that allow him to get the transition play going but needs to get bigger and stronger (5-11, 173); that should come as he matures physically and gets help from an NHL strength coach.
21. Rasmus Asplund, C, Farjestad (SWE) Depth down the middle is an organizational need, and Asplund could be a player worth building around. The 5-11, 176-pound forward is adjusting well to playing against men in the Swedish Hockey League, and scouts like how he has shown great speed and an ability to create scoring chances.
22. (From NYR) Tyler Benson, LW, Vancouver (WHL)
The 5-11, 201-pound playmaker is averaging about a point per game in the Western Hockey League. His stocky build allows him to be stronger than most along the wall in puck battles, and he's proven to be difficult to handle down low in the offensive zone.
23. Chad Krys, D, USA U-18 (USHL)
The Red Wings need to add some defense to their development system, and the 5-11, 185-pound left-shot defenseman would be a strong addition. Scouts like how Krys uses his best attribute, his skating, to lead the rush and help his positioning defensively. He'll continue his development next season at Boston University.
24. Luke Kunin, C, Wisconsin (BIG10)
The 5-11, 193-pound forward began his season with two goals at the All-American Prospects Game and used that as a springboard to an outstanding start to his college hockey career. Scouts like his quick feet and quicker release on his shot. He's also a willing player in all three zones. He would make a strong addition to the Wild, who need to develop quality young centers.
25. Riley Tufte, LW, Blaine (HIGH-MN)
The 6-4, 205-pound forward moves well in all directions and has shown nice hands when it comes to shooting the puck or setting up his linemates. No U.S. high school player has been picked in the first round since 2010, but with a deep prospect base, the Blues can take Tufte and allow him to spend a few seasons at Minnesota-Duluth, where he'll play next season.
26. (From LAK) Carl Grundstrom, RW, Modo (SWE)
The 6-foot, 194-pound forward already is in his second season playing against men in the Swedish Hockey League. He also did well for Sweden at the World Juniors. Scouts like how he can generate speed off the rush and get to the dirty areas to score goals. Grundstrom could provide the infusion of offensive skill that the Hurricanes need.
27. Sam Steel, C, Regina (WHL)
The 5-11, 177-pound forward is averaging a point per game in the WHL. Scouts like how Steel can hang on to the puck for an extra half-second to allow plays to open up for his linemates, then make precision passes. He's also shown a nice shot and quick release.
28. Samuel Girard, D, Shawinigan (QMJHL)
The Blackhawks need to start thinking about the future of their defense. Though Girard is on the small side (5-9, 160), he makes up for it with a strong lower body and elite-level hockey sense. He also has proven himself to be an outstanding skater and passer who excels in transition.
29. Nathan Bastian, RW, Mississauga (OHL) The 6-3, 208-pound forward has gotten better as the season has gone on and is averaging more than a point per game. A gifted offensive player, Bastian has shown an ability and willingness to play hard in all three zones.
30. Kale Clague, D, Brandon (WHL)
The Capitals have been successful with drafting WHL defensemen the past few years, from Mike Green to Karl Alzner to Madison Bowey, and Clague (5-11, 177) could be next on that list. Strong skating allows Clague to excel at each end of the ice. Scouts like his smarts when it comes to his positioning in the defensive end.
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Of all the songs on Derek And The Dominos’ Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs, the one that sounds most out of place is the title track. Layla is largely a laid-back jam record—a collection of electric blues and country-tinged folk music banged out on the quick by Eric Clapton, Bobby Whitlock, Jim Gordon, Carl Radle, and Duane Allman. And then there’s “Layla,” with its mammoth opening guitar riff, wailing Allman slide-guitar solo, and plaintive Gordon piano coda. The song is more arena-rock than roots-rock; in fact, it sounds like the birth of arena-rock, at least as it would come to sound in the ’70s. By and large on Layla, producer Tom Dowd held to his philosophy of always recording what happened in the studio rather than trying to force it; but with “Layla,” Dowd moves gracefully between the recording’s various elements, giving each their spotlight and maximizing their power, right down to the playful little “bird-tweet” that ends the track. This song doesn’t feel off-the-cuff in any way. This is a pronouncement, delivered from a mountaintop.
Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs was released 40 years ago, and will be re-released later this month in a special edition containing the original album, a disc of additional Derek And The Dominos records, and two discs of the Dominoes in concert. It’s not a complete document of the Dominos’ brief run. An earlier anniversary edition featured a full disc of Clapton/Allman instrumental jams that don’t appear on the new set, and though the second disc of the new Layla includes some songs recorded for an unfinished second Dominos album, it only includes those that were pretty well “finished,” which leaves a few oft-bootlegged tracks on the outs. Still, with the addition of a few previously unreleased performances from The Johnny Cash Show—including a joyous take on “Matchbox,” performed with Cash and Carl Perkins—this is fairly close to a definitive document of what Clapton’s intentions were with this band.
Those intentions are something Clapton talks about in his autobiography:
It began with me just talking to these guys about music and getting to know them, and then we just played and played and played. I was in absolute awe of these people, and yet they made me feel that I was on their level. My musicianship fit with their musicianship. We were kindred spirits, made in the same mold. To this day I would say that the bass player Carl Radle and the drummer Jimmy Gordon are the most powerful rhythm section I have ever played with. They were absolutely brilliant. When people say that Jim Gordon is the greatest rock ’n’ roll drummer who ever lived, I think it’s true, beyond anybody. All we did was jam and jam and jam and night would become day and day would become night, and it just felt good to me to stay that way. I had never felt so musically free before. We kept ourselves going with fryups and a cocktail of drink and drugs, mostly cocaine and Mandrax. ‘Mandies’ were quite strong sleeping pills, but instead of letting them put us to sleep, we would ride the effect, staying awake by snorting some coke or drinking some brandy or vodka, and this would create a unique kind of high. This became the chemistry of our lives, mixing all these things together. God knows how our bodies stood it. I had no game plan at this time. We were just enjoying playing, getting stoned, and writing songs.
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To understand the significance of Clapton writing about feeling like a peer with the other Dominos, it helps to know where his head was at prior to 1970. While Clapton’s peers in the British rock scene were courting success on the pop charts, Clapton remained a purist, holed up in his room trying to master the techniques of Big Bill Broonzy and John Lee Hooker. He quit The Yardbirds because he thought they were sellouts; and he quit John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers because he felt he was way beyond his bandmates. Along the way he left behind just a little recorded evidence of his guitar prowess—primarily the pistol-hot Five Live Yardbirds and the rollicking Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton—but for the most part, Clapton’s reputation was built on his cockiness and his fiery performances. Around the time Clapton abandoned Mayall, graffiti started popping up around London: “Clapton Is God.”
Then Clapton formed Cream with bassist Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker, and reality finally began to catch up with the hype. Cream had a monster sound, influenced by jazz, blues, and psychedelia, and the band quickly became one of the top touring attractions at home and in the U.S. But Bruce and Baker couldn’t stand each other, and Clapton grew wary of the idolatry. As he crisscrossed two continents, he heard musicians like The Band writing and recording new classics with little of the fuss or bluster of Cream. Clapton quit Cream and formed a new band, Blind Faith, with Baker and Steve Winwood, intending to emulate The Band and make the music the star. Instead, the industry rushed to capitalize on Clapton’s iconic status and make Blind Faith the next “supergroup.” Sensing a repeat of his Cream frustrations, Clapton killed the band quickly and went out on the road with Blind Faith’s American supporting act: husband-and-wife roots-rockers Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett. He worked strictly as a sideman and asked not to be the main attraction. (Nevertheless, Delaney & Bonnie did release a live album from the tour called On Tour With Eric Clapton. It’s excellent.)
During his stint with Delaney & Bonnie, Clapton met—and stole—Whitlock, Radle, and Gordon, and Derek And The Dominos were born. Bobby Whitlock is himself a superior singer-songwriter, whose self-titled 1972 solo debut (with backing music provided primarily by the Dominos) is an under-heralded classic. Layla is often talked about as a Clapton album, but the Stax-trained Whitlock wrote or co-wrote six of its 14 songs, and provided a much-needed foil for Clapton, keeping him in a down-home, country-soul mood. Then, partway through the Layla sessions, Dowd took Clapton to see The Allman Brothers, and Clapton tried to steal Duane Allman for the band too. Instead, he had to settle for Allman playing ferociously on 11 of the album’s songs, giving the blues workouts in particular more gas than they might have otherwise had.
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Which is good, since those blues workouts dominate Layla. Clapton reached way back into his repertoire for songs like “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down And Out” and “Key To The Highway,” which according to his autobiography he’d been playing since before he joined The Yardbirds. As he did with Cream, Clapton stretched out on the classics, except he wasn’t trying to overpower the listener anymore; he and the Dominos were just enjoying the moment, in no hurry to see it end. In the songs Clapton co-wrote with Whitlock—like the easygoing album-opener “I Looked Away” and the exuberant “Keep On Growing”—the Dominos show what they learned from their time on the road with Delaney & Bonnie. The music is loose and rootsy, designed to give off a pleasurable buzz.
It’s this mode of the Dominos that Clapton carried into the live performances and the second-album material on the Layla reissue. The live tracks are funky and jammy, even when the band tackles poppier non-Dominos Clapton songs like “Let It Rain” and “Presence Of The Lord.” The songs for the unreleased record—like the stormy “Evil” and the acoustic “One More Chance”—are even more steeped in country-blues than the music on Layla. When Clapton dissolved Cream, part of him wanted to go back to being a talented journeyman, playing alongside the likeminded. With Derek And The Dominos, he almost got his wish.
But traditionalism and a happy-dudes-hanging-out vibe are only part of the legend of Derek And The Dominos and Layla. The band’s story can’t be told without acknowledging the rampant drug use, which quickly shaded into abuse once heroin entered the mix. Derek And The Dominos fell apart because Clapton was often in too rough a shape to play, which left Whitlock in the lurch and wrecked their friendship. Later, Radle’s various addictions caused the kidney infection that killed him in 1980, while Gordon was institutionalized in the mid-’80s after he had a psychotic break and killed his mother with a hammer. (Allman, who was never an official member of the band, died in a motorcycle accident in 1971, before sessions for the second album began.)
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As for Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs, it’s rightly hailed as one of the best albums Clapton ever made, though it doesn’t have the arc of a great album. Because of the jams, it was originally spread across four LP sides, with sides two and three each containing only three songs; but on CD it all fits on one disc, and the sequencing doesn’t have any particular flow or build. And yet it still works as a concept album of a kind. When Clapton formed the Dominoes and recorded Layla, he was smitten with Pattie Boyd, the wife of his friend George Harrison. Much of the album was written with her in mind, and even covers like “Have You Ever Loved A Woman” and “It’s Too Late” are not-so-coded expressions of Clapton’s unrequited affection.
Clapton’s covert mission to win Boyd’s heart through music also partly explains the album’s swagger. He gets sensitive and self-lacerating with the Eastern-influenced ballad “I Am Yours” and the aching “Bell Bottom Blues”—the latter being the most Clapton-y song on Layla besides “Layla”—but he also gives the band’s cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Little Wing” a weirdly triumphant air for a song that’s so wistful in its original form. Though Clapton craved anonymity after Cream, the part of him that believed he was unassailably the best young blues guitarist in Britain didn’t just disappear overnight.
So while on the surface “Layla” sounds like an outlier on the album that bears its name, deep in its bones, the song is the album. It’s the modern blues: a raw howl from a man desperately in love. And it’s his way of showing off. “Why don’t you love me,” the song seems to ask, “When I can do this?” |
Must Watch: First Insane Teaser Trailer for [Rec] 2!
Holy shit! That was my reaction to this teaser. The original [Rec], which was remade into Quarantine last year and is finally coming out on DVD in July, is somewhat of a cult classic amongst horror fans. The same two guys who made the original, Spanish filmmakers Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza, decided to make a sequel. Just wait until you see what they've got in store for all you [Rec] fans in this. Below you'll find the first teaser trailer for [Rec] 2 and it's insane, you'll see what I mean momentarily. Don't watch this at home in the dark and don't watch this with kids around, you'll traumatize them for life. That's my only warning.
Watch the first teaser trailer for [Rec] 2:
[flv:https://media2.firstshowing.net/firstshowing/rec2-teaser-trailer.flv https://media2.firstshowing.net/firstshowing/rec2-teaser-trailer.jpg 502 282]
Thanks to our friends at ShockTillYouDrop for first discovering this teaser. It looks like this is a direct continuation of the story in [Rec], with a squad busting in to kill everything that's left in the same building.
[Rec] 2 is both written and directed by Spanish filmmakers Jaume Balagueró (The Dark, Fragile) and Paco Plaza (Second Name, Werewolf Hunter), who worked together to direct the first [Rec]. In addition to Balagueró and Plaza, writer Manu Díez worked on this screenplay as well. [Rec] 2 is shot and ready to go, but doesn't have a US distributor yet. We'll let you know when or if it plays at any film festivals this year.
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My favorite comic book from the last few years is an ongoing epic about warring alien planets and star-crossed lovers on the run. Called Saga, it has everything you'd expect from a good space opera, including plenty of sex and lots of violence. But there are also spaceships that grow like trees, aliens with analog televisions for heads, and a talking cat that knows when you're lying. It's Star Wars on LSD, and it's amazing.
Science fiction has seen a resurgence of late thanks in large part to Hollywood. Some of the top-grossing movies from the last two years include a story about an astronaut trapped in space and a mind-bending tale about wormholes, not to mention the best Marvel movie in years. And games are making the shift too, with huge, heralded new franchises like Titanfall and Destiny both launching this year. Even the classic Civilization has moved into space.
These experiences can be awe-inspiring, thanks to ridiculously expensive special effects that give us a glimpse of what the future could look like. But the same thing that makes these movies and games so great can also hold them back: when it costs millions of dollars to make something, companies want to minimize the risk. And often that means playing it safe.
Saga
It's the reason why Destiny's fascinating and beautiful world was wrapped around a repetitive and often dull game. It's also why comic book sci-fi continues to be so great: without the restraints of a budget or technology, creators are free to create whatever they like. (Sci-fi novels can be great too, but they don't have that same visual punch that comes from seeing a really well-designed spaceship or cool-looking alien species.)
Saga, created by writer Brian K. Vaughan and artist Fiona Staples, is perhaps the best example of this. While its basic structure is what you'd expect from an epic sci-fi tale, it's also one of the weirdest things you'll ever read. The more conventional set-up, which is essentially Romeo and Juliet in space, lets the series get away with some of its crazier elements. The main characters are pretty normal people, except for the fact that some have ram-like horns and others are horribly mutilated apparitions. And Vaughan, who has also worked as a writer in both film and television, seems to revel in the fact that he can do whatever he pleases with Saga. "If anything, I started writing the series out of frustration with what I couldn't do in any other media," he says.
"I started writing the series out of frustration with what I couldn't do in any other media."
Saga is far from the only example. Another Vaughan series, The Private Eye created with artist Marco Martin, envisions a strange future where the internet doesn't exist, yet people are even more obsessed with privacy than they are now. Trees, from Warren Ellis and Jason Howard, takes place on a future version of Earth where unexplained, towering alien artifacts have appeared all over the world. These structures do nothing (at least so far), yet their effect on the population is immense. Meanwhile, the newly launched ODY-C from Matt Fraction and Christian Ward is a psychedelic, space opera take on the story of Odysseus, with art that looks ripped from a 1970s album cover. "It just gets crazier from here," the creators promise at the end of the first issue.
Those are just a few examples, and they're all very different. They're also able to tackle elements of their stories in ways that movies or games just can't, whether it's due to budgets, audience, or technology. In ODY-C, for instance, there's a spaceship where the cockpit resembles a giant pink womb. The Vertigo series FBP takes place in a world where the laws of physics change and shift just like the weather. And in Universe, a brand new series from Spanish writer and artist Albert Monteys, a corporation travels back in time so that it can trademark the building blocks of life. Imagine the special effects budget you'd need to pull some of that stuff off. Video games are getting closer, as something like the ambitious No Man's Sky can be built by a handful of people, but in comics all you need is one talented artist to pull it off.
ODY-C
And it's more than just the technology and science. While a director as big as Ridley Scott claims his biblical epic Exodus could only be made if it starred famous white actors, these comics feature characters from basically every race, gender, and background — and they're in important roles, not just in the background. Trees has several prominent trans characters, and the most badass fighters in Saga are moms. In ODY-C, all of the characters have literally been gender-swapped, so that all of the important people from Odysseus' life are now women. In the most recent issue of The Woods, a great series about a bunch of high school students mysteriously transported to an alien planet, a gay black kid is on the cover.
Creative freedom leads to some amazing sci-fi
What ties many of these books together is that few of them are published by Marvel or DC, the two big companies in comics (the exception being Vertigo, a DC offshoot that specializes in crazier fare like FBP). Some are self-published online, others come from smaller companies, but the vast majority come from Image Comics. Image's most important characteristic is that each series is owned by its creators, not the publisher. This has led to breakout hits like Spawn and The Walking Dead, and it turns out that creative freedom leads to some amazing sci-fi. Saga is the biggest name, winning the Eisner awards for Best Writer and Best Continuing Series in both 2013 and 2014, but new series like ODY-C and the upcoming Bitch Planet have generated plenty of interest. Whereas big-budget productions usually need to worry about what will work with an audience, a creator-owned comic is free to try brand new things.
"If you're curious what kinds of sci-fi movies and shows Hollywood will be making in 10 or 15 years," says Vaughan, "I'd look at what Image is publishing today." |
Always ready and always on, the Aimpoint PRO Patrol Rifle Optic provides 2 minutes of angle red dot for accurate target engagement at all distances.
A hard-anodized 30mm tube was utilized, enclosing a high efficiency circuit that allows the Aimpoint Pro to be turned on and left on for up to three years using a single battery. The front lens utilizes a unique band-pass coating, which allows the sight to be used with all generations of night vision devices. The modular QRP2 mount includes a removable spacer that indexes the sight at the optimal height for co-witness with the standard iron sights on AR15/M16/M4 Carbine style weapons. This spacer can be removed to enable the use of the sight on police shotguns or sub-machineguns. The QRP2 mount also incorporates a torque-limiting twist knob that provides the optimal level of pressure on the rail while completely eliminating the possibility of over-tightening.
Both the front and rear lenses are recessed within the sight body to provide protection against impact damage, scratches, and fingerprints. Flip covers are included on the Aimpoint Pro to further protect the lenses, and a transparent rear lens cover is utilized allowing the user to engage a target with the lens covers closed in an emergency situation. A two Minute of Angle (2 MOA) red dot is utilized to allow maximum accuracy at all distances and under all environmental conditions.
2 minutes of angle red dot for accurate target engagement at all distances
In service date and battery change date reminders makes inventory tracking and maintenance easy
Enhanced speed on target and increased first shot hit probability when compared to iron sights and magnified scopes
Compatible with all generations of night vision devices and may be used with Aimpoint 3X Magnifier and Concealed Engagement unit
Hard anodized aluminum alloy housing. Rugged enough for real world conditions and waterproof to 150 feet
Threaded front lens opening allows use of screw-in-anti-reflection device (ARD)
Standard Picatinny Rail & Spacer for AR15/M4 Carbine application included
More Features of the Aimpoint Pro
Front and rear flip covers keep lenses clean
Transparent rear flip cover allows use of the sight (with both eyes open) even with both covers closed in an emergency
Battery and adjustment cap retainer straps means you will never lose your pieces
Modular mount set up for use on flat-top AR15, M4 Carbine and M16 rifles. (Adapter available for carry handle mounting)
Removable spacer. Remove for use on shotguns and sub-guns
QRP2 rail grabber mount. Snap knob three times for a perfect mount. Will not deform your rail like many other mounts
Recessed lens openings helps prevent against impact damage, fingerprints and scratches
Standard features for all Aimpoint® sights
Unlimited field of view
Parallax-free and unlimited eye relief
Unaffected by extreme weather conditions
Rugged, durable construction
No hazardous materials
No laser emission that could be harmful to your eyes
Increased aiming confidence
CLICK HERE FOR OPTIC DATA & SPECIFICATIONS + |
Is it a good sign when you spend most of Monday night looking at hot coaching prospects for the coming season? Because really, that's one of the few things you have to look forward to as a Bears fan right now. I always like to say the right thing, and believe the 14-game winning streak starts against the Cowboys on Sunday night. I'd like to believe that much in the same way I'd like to believe Katy Perry's marriage to Russell Brand didn't work out because she's waiting around to see if I'll ever be single again.
And really, there is nothing sadder than having hope headed into a Monday night game, only for the Bears to perform the way that they did. It's the kind of thing that might make me consider jumping to the Los Angeles Rams. (You can read my words about being a Rams fan in the 1990s right here, or the diary of me being at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for the Rams' first 2016 home game right here if you like. But I'll give you the short version. Me being a Bears fan has warmed my family's heart way too much to ever think of leaving them ever. Although I will be super tempted if the Raiders move to Las Vegas. I mean come on, an NFL stadium on the Strip? Sign me up. I'm also a UNLV football fan, so it would make for great synergy. Similarly to the way I supported both the Rams and Angels who played in the same stadium. Speaking of which, I miss the multi-purpose stadiums. They had more character back then.)
But Monday night was pretty sad. Even the trolls on Twitter pulled off after a while. I mean, they knew I had eyes and could see what happened on the field. Although the team looked pretty good in the first half. Carson Wentz did drive the team down the field a few times, but just got field goals. It wasn't until injuries and turnovers really put the Bears behind the eight-ball. But hot damn, it looked like Doug Pederson had just out-coached John Fox. I really wonder if the Broncos win in last year's Super Bowl really took the wind out of Fox's tail (super hacky, but sue me). Like that Broncos group could have been his team. It was his team. He could have overseen that Broncos team winning the Super Bowl. It's not like Gary Kubiak suddenly became a Bill Belichick-level genius or something.
Poor Fox. If he retires after this season, I'll be super excited he did it after Adam Gase walked away. I mean, I wouldn't have wanted some sort of Dick Vermeil situation where you retired a coach to promote the offensive coordinator like the St. Louis football club did with Mike Martz. But it's not like Fox won a Super Bowl with this team, either. But it would have been cool to keep Gase. But that's unfair to speculate right now. Because that winning streak is right around the corner!
One other takeaway from Monday was Wentz. A lot of people have wondered if he will now be a viable option in fantasy. Yeah dude, he scored like 16 points on Monday night. Actually, it was 14.6 points. It wasn't like he torched the Bears. He was fine. Plus, Matt Ryan was available in 70 percent of fantasy leagues on Tuesday night. And he has a matchup against the Saints. You can pick up quarterbacks along the way.
Actually, Ryan would be a guy I would turn to this week. He's got a great matchup. Even though Ryan is the Anne Hathaway of the NFL. He looks super-hot at times, and then just regrettable other times (I know it was for a role, but "Les Miserables"). Actually, she still looked good there, too. Maybe I'm thinking of Hilary Swank.
In any event, consistency has never been Ryan's strong suit. And beware, he does have a matchup against the Panthers in Week 4. So you don't want to drop your current starter for him. It might be best to stick with your current option, like Matthew Stafford. But if you started Cutler in your fantasy league last week, maybe you should find a new hobby.
And I realize as I'm writing this right now I'm dooming Ryan to a stat line of 187 passing yards, a touchdown and two interceptions because FOOTBALL.
Rank's 11 Sleepers, Week 3
Rank's 11
QB: Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons
QB: Marcus Mariota, Tennessee Titans
RB: Dwayne Washington, Detroit Lions
RB: Dexter McCluster, San Diego Chargers
WR: Quincy Enunwa, New York Jets
WR: Michael Thomas, New Orleans Saints
WR: Phillip Dorsett, Indianapolis Colts
WR: Tajae Sharpe, Tennessee Titans (this is the last time, folks)
TE: Jared Cook, Green Bay Packers
TE: Coby Fleener, New Orleans Saints
D/ST: Miami Dolphins
Dwayne Washington, RB, Detroit Lions
He made the list of Dumpster Dive players we highlighted on "Fantasy and Friends" last week because he took a lot of the goal-line work. Now he's taking added importance because Ameer Abdullah was placed on IR with a foot injury. (You can dump Abdullah now.) Obviously, some will want to turn to Theo Riddick, but he already has an established role on the team. Washington will get the early-down work. The problem this week is he has the Packers, who have been very tough on the run so far this season. So I see a big Riddick game this week, but Washington is clearly the hot add.
Dexter McCluster, RB, San Diego Chargers
It would be foolish to believe just anybody could come in and take Danny Woodhead's spot, but don't forget Ken Whisenhunt had a special fondness for McCluster in Tennessee. That should also help speed his transition to San Diego. I got a good Twitter recommendation for a burrito place in San Diego the other day, too. I talked about Sombrero, which might or might not have been ruined by the Blink 182 song "Josie" but if somebody could send that along again, I would appreciate it. Again, in the interest of helping along McCluster's transition.
Quincy Enunwa, WR, New York Jets
Not too much of a sleeper after another solid game on Thursday Night Football. But he becomes an instant starter if Brandon Marshall can't go this week. The thing that really bums me out is he should count as a tight end. Have you seen the size of this guy? I even had some dude on Twitter bemoan the fact he wasn't available as a tight end and I need to jump on that bandwagon.
Michael Thomas, WR, New Orleans Saints
Thomas is slowly coming along for the Saints. He's had some nice games but has yet to get into the end zone. Hey, that sounds like Odell Beckham Jr.! But I do like the matchup this week against the Falcons. Well, I mostly like the fact that the Saints defense can be picked apart. Don't get caught up in Eli Manning failing to get into the end zone. That's so Eli. I do like the 368 yards he put up. Matt Ryan could reach that number. Which means the Saints will have to throw to catch up. But here is something I saw this week:
5 players with double digit targets and 90%+ completion rate:
T Benjamin 93%
Q Enunwa 93%
S Shepard 92%
M Thomas 91%
T Riddick 90% â Jersey Jen (@FFdeJENerate) September 20, 2016
So that also bodes well for Enunwa. I like it.
Jared Cook, TE, Green Bay Packers
Cook has ruined us all season long. Well, two games. But that's still all season. I say you give him another chance because of the Doyle rules. The rule any tight end can make a name for himself in fantasy circles because the Lions can't stop a tight end. The Lions have allowed the most fantasy points to tight ends this season. An average of 21.95 points to tight ends. The next closest competitor is the Falcons with 15.90 (hey, you can start Coby Fleener again). So if you want to give Cook one last chance, I won't stop you.
Be sure to watch "Fantasy and Friends" at 6 p.m. ET on NFL Network, Monday-Wednesday and Friday. (Sorry, the Thursday night game preempts us.) But you can be a part of the show by going to NFL.com/fantasyandfriends. Also follow Adam Rank on Twitter @adamrank.
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New Delhi: The exit of senior leaders Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan from the Political Affairs Committee (PAC) and the National Executive of the Aam Aadmi Party is almost certain. If sources close to the latest developments are to be believed, a formal announcement is expected any time soon. Both are top decision-making bodies of the party.
“AAP’s national convenor Arvind Kejriwal wants both Bhushan and Yadav out of the PAC and the National Executive and he has already made it clear that the party will have to decide between him and the duo. A formal announcement in this regard will be made at a meeting on Wednesday,” a party insider told Firstpost.
According to the source, while Kejriwal has problems with Bhushan, his close associate and deputy chief minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia, is not comfortable with Yadav.
In a letter dated 26 February, Bhushan had slammed Kejriwal for “overturning collective decisions of the party” and “compromising basic principles” of the political outfit. He had written that the AAP is also adopting a “one-man-centric approach” like other traditional parties.He also accused the party’s leaders of making ‘’surreptitious” efforts to form the government in Delhi with Congress support before the dissolution of the last assembly, despite public posturing to the contrary.
“We must also recognise that we have faltered on several counts… We have not even put our accounts on a website. We have put our donations, but not expenses,’’ he wrote.
Earlier, his father Shanti Bhushan, one of the founding members of the party, had said that Kejriwal should not hold two posts – that of the national convenor of the party and chief minister.
On February 26, Kejriwal had offered to resign as national convenor but it was rejected. It was followed by a move to empower him to reconstitute the PAC, paving the way for the exit of Yadav and Bhushan from the political decision-making processes.
Recollecting the real problem between Yadav and Sisodia, a party source said, “The rift within the party deepened after Yadav walked out of the PAC meeting held in January this year called for candidate selection ahead of polls. He was expressing his displeasure at a few ticket aspirants close to Manish Sisodia but it was ignored."
"Kumar Vishwas and Ilyas were sent to mediate with Yadav. In the mean time, Sisodia moved a motion requesting the PAC to sack the Yadav-Bhushan duo as they ‘were creating troubles and wanted to impose their ideology on the party’s decision’,” the source who was present in the meeting told Firstpost.
The ugly fight between the AAP factions came out in the open in June last year with the emergence of a letter from Sisodia to Yadav in which the former had accused him of fomenting 'factional fights' within the party and gunning for AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal.
"In fact, Sisodia wants full control over the party and does not want people like Yadav and Bhushan who carry an ideological baggage with them," he said.
Both Yadav and Bhushan have offered to quit the PAC but have drawn the 20-member panel’s attention to their demands for organisational reforms.
"Yogendraji wants more frequent meetings of bodies like the National Executive and transparency should be reflected in all decision-making bodies of the party,” the source added.
Several attempts to contact Bhushan and Yadav failed because they did not respond to calls.
Now, the infighting within the party has intensified to the extent that leaders are openly trading charges against each other.
Party spokesperson Ashutosh tweeted on Monday, “There is decisive churning in AAP. It's clash of ideas between ultra left who demand referendum in Kashmir and pragmatic politics of welfarism.”
The charge seemed to be directed at Yadav and Bhushan, who are known for their pro-Left views. The latter had earlier advocated that the government should hold a referendum in Kashmir to resolve the issues of the valley.
Another damning remark came from party leader Dilip Pandey who alleged that Prashant Bhushan, his father Shanti Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav provided patronage to the Aam Aadmi Volunteers Morcha (AVAM), a body floated by disgruntled AAP members.
“The trio (Yadav and Bhushans) facilitated the formation of an anti-party forum called AVAM. There is substantial proof to show that Shanti ji and Prashant gave legal and all other kinds of assistance to AVAM to carry out activities against the AAP,” he said in a letter to the party.
“Regular meetings between AVAM members and the trio were held at Bhushans’ residence. When party members like Khetan pleaded with the Bhushans’ to stop supporting AVAM, they were told by Prashant that for him AVAM was like a trade union within the party and he saw nothing wrong in aiding and assisting AVAM,” he added.
Another party leader, Sanjay Singh, said on Monday that, “Attempts are being made to remove Arvind Kejriwal. People in the party have made a joke of us.”
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Unless you're still living in the '90s and using schematics, your FPGA designs are entered into text files as VHDL or Verilog source. Which, of course, implies you're using some form of text editor. Now, right after brace placement in C, the choice of an editor is the topic most likely to incite a nerd civil war (it's a bike-shed issue). I won't attempt to influence your choice because it really makes no difference to me. But if you are using the same editor I do, then maybe I can help you use it more efficiently.
A poll on HDL editor popularity shows that Emacs is the winner by a wide margin with a 31% share, while vim and Notepad++ are tied at around 15% each. The remaining 39% is split between a hodge-podge of generic and IDE-specific text editors (e.g., the Xilinx ISE and Altera Quartus editors).
Emacs is most popular for good reason. It has powerful add-on packages that make creating and refactoring source code much easier. This includes packages for working with VHDL and Verilog code. It's also been widely ported, so you can use Emacs on just about any OS you'll encounter.
That said, I don't use Emacs. I had my love affair with it in the '90s but it just didn't work out. There were so many keystroke combinations involved in using it that I felt like I was casting strange incantations instead of entering code.
Over a period of years, I drifted through several Windows-specific editors like Zeus and Programmers File Editor. But I finally settled on Notepad++ as my editor of choice. Right out of the box it has:
VHDL and Verilog syntax highlighting.
Code folding.
Block selection and column editing.
Auto indenting.
Configurable hot keys.
That's good, but it could be better. For VHDL and Verilog, I specifically needed templates, automated package declarations, and code beautification. Here's how I got those.
HDL Templates
If you're like me and you do a lot of things in addition to HDL coding, it can be frustrating trying to get all the syntax correct when you enter a new HDL module after being away from it for a while. Having a set of predefined templates for things like entities, functions, processes, etc. provides a strong code skeleton that I can flesh out with the appropriate I/O and signal declarations. Templates also help keep me consistent with the accepted HDL coding style. And filling-in a template is faster than recreating the code each time.
Notepad++ has a long list of plug-ins that extend its features. Several of these plug-ins, FingerText, NppSnippets and SnippetPlus, allow me to name and store blocks of code as snippets that I can later add to new source files with just a few key strokes or mouse clicks.
I chose FingerText because its macro language seems more powerful and flexible. Just typing module and a TAB into a file produces a VHDL entity and architecture with hotspots that the cursor will jump to so I can fill-in the entity name, inputs and outputs. Here is some additional information on using FingerText and a link to my set of VHDL snippets. You can modify and extend these snippets to match your own coding style, or create a new set for Verilog.
Automated Package Declarations
I always like to place a package body at the top of each VHDL file that contains the component declarations for any entities I've defined further down in the file. That makes it easy for me to instantiate these components in other VHDL source files without having to enter the component declaration in multiple places.
However, it's a pain to keep the component declarations in the package sync'ed with their associated entities as the input and output names are changed during development. So I developed a simple Perl script that manages this task for me and linked it to a Notepad++ hotkey. For example, if I enter a few entity-architecture pairs like these:
Then when I hit the hotkey, the following package is generated at the top of the file:
(Naturally, I change the initial NewPckg name to something more meaningful after the script runs.) |
Pictured: The shocking decline of 15-year-old girl 'kidnapped' by doctors nine months ago who her parents claim are using her as a 'guinea pig for medical experiments'
Justina Pelletier, 15, admitted to Boston Children's Hospital nine months ago suffering from flu on suggestion of normal doctor who was away at time
She hasn't returned home since and is locked in psychiatric ward where staff have told her 'she is never going home'
Tufts doctors said she had Mitochondrial Disease but doctors at Boston Children's diagnosed 'Somatoform Disorder' in four days
Somatoform is a rare mental illness where she 'imagines physical pain'
Department for Children and Families handed hospital custody after parents questioned diagnosis even though they claim they had backing of previous doctors
Can only see her family for hour a week and calls home are listened in on
Distraught parents reveal their Kafkaesque nightmare to MailOnline
She is a shadow of her former ice-skating self and can no longer not walk unaided
Like something out of a Kafka novel, Justina Pelletier has been 'disappeared'.
The 15-year-old was admitted to hospital nine months ago suffering from a bout of the flu and has been locked away in a stark psychiatric unit at Boston Children's Hospital ever since with sex abuse victims and children who have self-harmed themselves.
For her devastated parents and her three sisters, her plight is almost too heartbreaking to bear. Unable to contact her beloved family or friends, her every move is monitored.
Everything sacred to a teenager: her phone, iPad, music and collection of pink fluffy toys – has been taken away from her. She can only see her family for one hour a week and calls home are listened in on.
Rapid decline: Justina is pictured left, in 2012, and right, since she has been at Boston Children's Hospital
We miss you: Sitting on Justina's bed at her Connecticut home are her sisters: From left, Julia, Jennifer and Jessica. Jessica, far right, has been diagnosed as having the same Mitochondrial Disease that Justina was being treated for before she was 'kidnapped' after a visit to Boston Children's Hospital with a bout of the flu. Doctors there diagnosed her with a mental condition called Somatoform Disorder instead
Her family say Justina was a vibrant, ice-skating fanatic who loved hiking with her German Shepherd Roxie who she used to sleep with.
Now she is a shadow of her former self. Confined to a hard bed in a starkly furnished room, she can no longer walk unaided. And her family claim that staff have told her that she 'is never getting out'.
Her devastated father, Lou, from West Hartford, Connecticut, told MailOnline: 'The place makes One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest look like a Charlie Brown Peanuts Christmas special.'
Boston Children's Hospital and the Department of Children and Families have refused to comment, citing a gag order imposed by the court.
Justina’s disturbing plight was first revealed last week. Few can grasp how the girl has been taken from her well-to-do, loving family on the apparent whim of doctors on the cutting edge of medical science.
Three years ago Justina was diagnosed with the rare genetic muscle wasting condition Mitochondrial Disease. Her 25-year-old sister Jessica also suffers from it.
Both girls were treated by specialist Dr Mark Korson, at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, a two-and-a-half-hour drive from their home in West Hartford, Connecticut.
Justina needed two surgeries to clear a blockage in her intestines and fit a port, so that her colon could be flushed out daily with a saline solution. She was put on a cocktail of drugs and appeared to be responding well.
Then in February she went down with flu and became dehydrated. Dr Korson was away, and the family took Justina to Boston's Children's Hospital, where she was admitted on February 10.
Justina was admitted on February 10. The next day, her parents went to visit and were confronted by a neurologist and psychiatrist.
'Snatched': Lou and Linda Pelletier were accused of overmedicating their daughter and didn't agree with the diagnosis given by Boston Children's Hospital. All they have ever done is follow the advice of Justina's regular doctors at Tufts, they say. 'We don't know what we have done wrong', Linda sobbed to MailOnline
Putting on a brave face: Lou and Linda are only allowed to visit their daughter once a week for an hour. They are appalled at the conditions she has to live in. Lou said it makes 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest look like a Charlie Brown Peanuts Christmas special'
'They told me that Mitochondrial Disease did not exist,' says Lou, a financial planner. 'Instead, they said she had Somatoform Disorder, which is effectively a stress-related mental problem.
'They said she had been misdiagnosed, overmedicated and forced to undergo unnecessary procedures. It was as though they were accusing us of needlessly harming our daughter.'
Three days later staff handed Justina’s mother Linda a list of 'guidelines' for her care that included 'strict limitations' on the family’s involvement and a clause ruling out second opinions.
When Linda objected – and tried to take Justina off to nearby Tufts for a pre-arranged appointment with her regular specialist -- child welfare workers were called in.
Within 24 hours, a judge ruled Justina had to stay at Boston Children’s Hospital and the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families was effectively given custody. The family has been fighting to get her back ever since.
A report, written in April this year by one of the hospital's staff states how doctors took Justina off many of the medications she was taking at the time she was admitted.
'Due to concerns regarding Justina’s regressive behavior changes around her family, the multiple medical procedures and care episodes she has been through … and both parents’ resistance towards recommended treatment plans for Justina … a child protection team was convened,' it read.
'All we ever did was follow our original doctor’s orders,' says 56-year-old Linda, who cries constantly as she tries to explain what happened.
MailOnline has examined documents from Tufts, including a list of prescribed medications. And Lou described at length how he followed instructions to the letter on how to 'flush out' Justina’s colon.
Experts claim one in every 2,000 children in the U.S. suffer from Mitochondrial Disease, which saps energy, causes intestine and organ problems and gets progressively worse with age.
Vibrant: Despite having treatment for mitochondrial Disease the family say Justina was healthy and enjoyed a normal childhood before the dramatic intervention of doctors at Boston Children's
Secret messages: Justina (pictured with sister Julia, 19) has been forced to smuggle out messages to her family in origami. One read: 'I know you trust in me. Don't forget it. I love you more than everything in the world'
The disease is hard to diagnose and, according to the Mito Action support group, parents have been suspected of child abuse and sufferers accused of somatization disorders or fabricating pain.
Meanwhile, Somatoform Disorder is considered to be anxiety-related with sufferers feeling real pain that cannot be medically explained. Between 0.2 and 2 per cent of females and 0.2 per cent of men in the U.S. have been diagnosed as sufferers.
Justina’s family insists she did not have Somatoform Disorder symptoms when she was admitted to Boston Children’s Hospital.
Older sister Jennifer, an ice skating teacher who also competes across the U.S., claims staff appear to be creating the symptoms to fit the diagnosis.
'We’ve been trying to keep her spirits up,' she explains. 'Justina has been planning her homecoming party, she wants a DJ and karaoke and lots of decorations around the pool.'
Justina can't see her family without a welfare supervisor or hospital staff member in the room. Jennifer says that they have had a whispered conversations about her future.
'Justina says psychiatric staff have told her she is never coming home. They have apparently told her not to plan any homecoming parties because she isn't going home. I don't know exactly when or how many times she has been told this but Justina believes she is going to die in there.
'Justina believes she is going to die in there, she won’t be strong enough to make it' Jennifer Pelletier
'I don’t know what they are trying to do to her but they have destroyed her hope and trust. All we have ever wanted for Justina is for her to get better but she is getting worse.
'They say adolescents suffering from Somatoform are depressed, listless and uninterested in school or activities. She used to love school, she spent hours at the ice skating rink with her friends and hiking with her dog.
'She is certainly listless and depressed now – it is like they have created those symptoms to suit their own ends. Once when I visited, I offered to give Justina a pedicure. It was something we used to do all the time.
'When she took off her horrible scratchy hospital socks, her legs were swollen, her skin was a weird white color and she was stone cold. She cannot stand now, she is too weak and has to use a wheelchair to move around.
'Justina believes she won’t be strong enough to make it. She makes origami flowers and writes little notes to us on them. It is the only way she can get messages to us. She is very frightened about what is happening to her.'
One heartbreaking message read: 'I know you trust in me. Don't forget it. I love you more than everything in the world. Justina'.
Strict limitations: The austere set of conditions set out for Justina's treatment that her parents were given that rules out any 'second opinion' of the diagnosis
Lou, a normally calm man who jokes about being the only male in a noisy household of women, can't but help get angry when he thinks about what his youngest daughter is going through.
'Who knows what lasting damage they have done to her mentally and physically,' he says. 'The hospital gets gazillions in grants for research. I truly believe she is being used as a guinea pig for medical experiments.
'Justina’s original doctors have been cut out of the loop. Her new team specializes in Somatoform Disorder. They have written papers and books on the subject.
'My baby daughter has been kidnapped.
'The place makes One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest look like a Charlie Brown Peanuts Christmas special' Lou Pelletier
'Somatoform sufferers apparently have unexplained, physical symptoms of pain. The disorder mimics other medical conditions. It is considered to be a mental problem and is treated with anti depressants.
'Justina is now in a lock-down facility with kids who have been sexually abused, who cut themselves and God only knows what else. They are in and out in a week. Justina has been there nine months.
'The place makes One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest look like a Charlie Brown Peanuts Christmas special.
'We don’t even know what they are doing to her. No one will tell us about her treatment. They have kidnapped her, taken her off medications that worked and left her to suffer in pain.'
Lou, who believes Massachusetts taxpayers will ultimately pick up the million dollar-plus medical costs for Justina’s care, added: 'We are only allowed one hour-long supervised visit with Justina a week. And they will only permit two family members per visit.
'Her mom and sisters want to see her but it means I haven’t been able to visit in weeks. I used to wait in the lobby but I’ve been told I can’t do that. Now I have to sit seething in the car outside.'
Depriving the family is one thing. But Justina herself doesn’t even have basic human comforts and the family can't understand how her life there benefits her or is part of her treatment.
Lonely: Justina can only call her family twice a week - but the family say the calls are listened in to. She can only have one visit a week for an hour too. Unlike any other 15-year-old she has no TV, cell phone or internet
Justina's mother said: 'Everything that is sacred to a teenage girl has been taken away from her. She is just lying alone in a bare room'
She is rarely allowed outside for fresh air and spends most of her time in a small room, off the main psychiatric ward, without even a television to occupy her time.
'Her phone and iPad were taken from her nine months ago, she cannot contact her friends, listen to music or watch her favorite TV shows,' says her 56-year-old mother. 'Everything that is sacred to a teenage girl has been taken away from her. She is just lying alone in a bare room.
'Four of her friends are on an "approved" telephone list and they can call occasionally but staff even listen in to those calls. It is like 1984 and Big Brother – she is constantly watched. If you ring the hospital, they say she is not there. It is like she has been disappeared.
'On her 15th birthday we were told we could take in a cake but not put candles on it. I am not quite sure what they thought we were going to do with the candles but they just come up with these crazy rules.
'Lots of her friends and relatives ordered helium balloons and other presents from the hospital gift shop to cheer her up on her birthday. They kept phoning me to see if I knew if Justina had received them.
'Ten days later, Justina was handed a pile of deflated balloons. They’d apparently been stuffed in a cupboard.'
CONFLICTING DIAGNOSES THAT HAVE RIPPED THE PELLETIER FAMILY APART Justina was diagnosed with mitochondrial disease several years ago, a genetic condition that affects muscle coordination and mobility. The illness includes a group of neuromuscular diseases caused by damage to intracellular structures that produce energy. There is no cure for the condition that is progressive and can cause death. Symptoms can include weakness, intolerance for exercise, heart failure, dementia and rhythm disturbances. Every year 1,000 to 4,000 children in the United states are born with a mitochondrial disease. After being admitted to Boston Children's Hospital in February however doctors concluded the teenager was suffering from Somafotorm disorder, a psychological condition that causes sufferers to feel pain, although there is no physical cause for it. Sufferers do not feign the physical symptoms they feel, rather they present themselves as the result of mental strain. Doctors cannot identify the sources of patients' pain and instead prescribe anti-depressants. Patients can become increasingly frustrated with the diagnosis as there is seemingly no explanation for their symptoms. Experts estimate that between 0.2 and 2 per cent of females and less than 0.2. per cent of men in the US suffer from the condition.
The family’s biggest fear is that Justina will ultimately be placed in foster care.
'Justina doesn't think she will make it if she goes into foster care,' said sister Jennifer.
'No-one wants to help. I have contacted senators, congressmen, prosecutors and even the FBI and the police. It is all wheels-within-wheels, everyone has a connection to that hospital,' says 56-year-old Lou.
'We have tried to do things officially but we fear the Massachusetts Children and Families Department are going to take Justina away from us for ever. We’ve heard they have even been looking at foster homes for her.
'She doesn’t need foster parents, she has her own loving family here and we want her back. No social worker has been to visit us, they haven’t checked our home or spoken to Justina’s teachers.
'All we want is Justina back. We don’t even know what we are supposed to have done wrong. They say we overmedicated her and forced her to have unnecessary procedures. But all we ever did was follow her original doctors’ orders.
Campaign: Sister Jennifer has been helping her parents raise awareness of Justina's plight. She said: 'All we have ever wanted for Justina is for her to get better but she is getting worse'. Jennifer said Justina told her that staff have said she is 'never going home'
Roxie: Justina has been denied contact with family's German Shepherd Roxie - who the 15-year-old used to go hiking with and sleep with. The family fondly remember how Roxie used to howl when Justina played the piano
'We have all the paperwork to show everything was sanctioned by her original specialist Dr Mark Korson at Tufts Medical Center but he has been pushed aside so these other experts can present their rare mental disorder diagnosis.'
In one recent email to the family, Dr Korson wrote: 'I am dismayed…it feels like Justina’s treatment team is out to prove the diagnosis at all costs. This represents the most severe and intrusive intervention …for a clinical hunch', according to Fox CT.
A spokeswoman for Tufts Medical Center said: 'We are unable to speak publicly about Justina's case because of the Hippocratic code governing patient privacy. Dr Korson cannot talk about her case.'
Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for Boston Children’s Hospital patient relations department said: 'We are unable to discuss any patient’s personal or medical details.'
Asked if it was possible to talk to an expert on Somatoform, she referred MailOnline to the hospital’s website. And despite agreeing to pass on messages to Justina’s medical team, no one returned calls.
When MailOnline called back and asked to speak to Justina, a different woman in the patient relations department said: 'I am not able to put you through to anyone who may or may not be here. It would be in violation of the Hippocratic (privacy) code.'
'This represents the most severe and intrusive intervention… for a clinical hunch' Dr Mark Korson
The hospital's website states: 'Sometimes a child complains continually of a pain or physical disability for which a physician cannot find a physical cause or the cause found does not account for the level of impairment experienced by the child. The pain or disability, however, is very real to the child.
'As an example, a girl that develops an inability to walk that is unexplained by a medical condition, but is temporarily related to family conflicts. She is ‘converting’ a psychological stress into a physical condition.'
Christy Balcells, director of the Mito Action support group, told MailOnline: 'Justina’s family isn’t the first that this has happened to at Boston Children’s Hospital. I know of two other children that were removed to foster care. But Justina is the only one who has been made to live at the hospital.
'And in Justina’s case, the family was following the directions of their physicians, doing what they were told to do. But even if her family had been doing something to the child, a hospital is no place to live. It is horrible, the quality of life is just awful.
'If the doctors at Boston Children’s really thought Justina would be better off being removed from the care of her parents, they should have found her a foster home.
We want her back: The Pelletier family, from left, Jessica, parents Lou and Linda, Jennifer and Julia. Lou said: 'She doesn't need foster parents, she has her own loving family here. No social worker has been to visit us, they haven't checked our home or spoken to Justina's teachers'
Memories: Linda Pelletier points to art on the family's refrigerator drawn by Justina while she's been in hospital
'As a mother who has a child with Mitochondrial Disease, I know the stress a family goes through when a child is unwell with an unpredictable illness that when severe can cause death.
'Families are told by doctors there are things they can do to keep the child alive. So when someone else comes along and tries to change the plan,they become emotional and react out of fear.
'Some doctors say the child is making it up or the parents are harming the child. If that was the case with Justina, then I have to ask why after nine months in hospital isn’t she getting better?
'Mitochondrial Disease is relatively new, it was named in 1969 and like any disease there are varying levels. In extreme cases it causes seizures, organ failure and death. In others it is less severe.
'It is often misdiagnosed. It is not a chronic fatigue syndrome or an immunodeficiency disease. Some suffers have even been labeled autistic. One in every 2,000 children suffer from degrees of Mitochondrial Disease, it is actually more common then childhood cancers.
'We have seen a jump in the figures as diagnosis and technology gets better. But we are still a long way from finding a simple test that can accurately pinpoint it.
'It is not a black and white disease. Tufts and Boston Children’s Hospital both receive Harvard University backing and there is discord between the two. Tufts has said one thing, Boston Children’s another. And Justina and her family are caught in the middle.'
There is another custody hearing between family, hospital staff and child welfare workers on December 5. |
On Monday night, America witnessed one of the most worthless, and certainly one of the most infantile, presidential debates in its history. After listening to Donald Trump’s meta-fictions and Hillary Clinton’s manicured obfuscations, the voter is left with one question: do you prefer an idiocracy or a kleptocracy?
At Hofstra University, a typically dignified Lester Holt did his best allowing the two candidates to engage in their rhetorical slap fights. But whenever he chimed in, or tried to play referee, he helped cover for the kleptocracy. And I don’t care if Holt writes Ronald Reagan fanfic in his spare time, he consistently let Hillary off the hook.
Holt, for example, couldn’t conjure up a single question about Syria. Or a single question about social issues. Not one. Just for example, it’s possible there are still a few people left in this country who might be curious about Hillary’s position on late-term abortions without limits. There may even be voters interested in Trump’s thoughts on any social issue, at all.
Instead, Holt nudged the conversation in the direction Beltway Twitterdom would approve.
Holt brought up birtherism — which is certainly fair game — but never once mentioned the Clinton Foundation. Now, while favor-trading at the State Department may not offend the sensibilities of the average liberal reporter like questioning the president’s birthplace, only one of these scandals involves the potential abuse of state power. And if birtherism speaks to Trump’s temperament — and surely it does –- then Hillary’s unfaltering propensity to assist people and institutions that enriched her foundation with hundreds of millions of dollars certainly speaks to her judgment, if not character.
It didn’t end there. Holt challenged Trump on his pro-war comments to Howard Stern in 2002 — also fair game since the Republican nominee claims some special foreign policy wisdom — and pushed back when candidate denied it. Yet Holt didn’t think it worth even asking Hillary to explain why she actively advocated for the very same invasion; arguing for it on the floor of the Senate. Surely, exploring the thought process and flip flops of a powerful senator with the authority to avoid war is at least as significant as what a then-celebrity had to say on the issue to a shock jock?
Holt never asked Hillary about advocating war (without congressional approval) in Libya. There was not a word on what happened in Benghazi. (I guess enough left-wing pundits and journalists have mockingly tweeted “BENGHAZI” in all-caps and vertical to make it a non-issue.) As others have mentioned, Hillary hasn’t met a war she didn’t like since Vietnam. This might be a worthwhile consequential enough topic for a future debate. You know, once we’ve exhausted all our discussions about Trump’s 1970s lawsuits.
Holt did bring up the email scandal, allowing Hillary to brush it off as a “mistake,” when, in fact, she lied to Congress and her staff destroyed tens of thousands of government documents after her wrongdoing was reported by The New York Times and others. No follow-up. Trump should have dismissed his birtherism as a “mistake.” I’m sure Holt and establishment media would have been satisfied.
To be fair, no one helped Hillary avoid substantive issues more than Donald. How many times did Clinton bait Trump and his colossal ego into defending some trivial issue related to his business or his wealth? If you can’t exhibit any self-discipline now, when will you?
When Holt asked about cyberattacks, Hillary uncorked her yawning platitudes, and Trump, who had an opening to hit her for mishandling dozens of classified documents, decided to drop a jumbled monologue about 400-pound hackers and his 10-year-old son’s computer abilities. I was waiting for someone to give the principal’s speech from Billy Madison (video above) after he’d finished.
When the question of her stamina came up, Hillary offered a canned line about how sitting through long congressional hearings proved her mettle. Instead of countering with “Well, Hillary, if you stopped doing corrupt stuff, you wouldn’t have to sit in front of Congress all the time,” Trump decided to re-litigate the Rosie O’Donnell incident.
Of course, Holt asked Trump about his attitude towards women, and specifically his comment on how Hillary “looks.” Okay. But then he asked nothing about Clinton’s contention that half of all Republican voters were “deplorables.” I’ve seen liberals prove Clinton’s assertion about deplorables was correct using charts and whatnot. Perhaps Hillary agrees. It never came up.
In any event, Trump lied a lot. And Hillary lied a lot, although she does it with far more dexterity and subtlety — on her trade position, on taxes, on murder rates, on NATO and so on. Then again, “Our candidate lied less than yours!” is an argument regularly used by partisans in 2016. With this measurement, it seems the consensus on cable news was that Clinton won. If I was forced to call it, I’d also probably give the debate to Hillary on points. Largely because Trump needlessly pummeled himself in the second half.
Yet media consensus has a terrible track record in 2016. So no one should underestimate the effectiveness of Trump’s populist positioning on trade or law and order. Perhaps we shouldn’t underestimate how a dismissive and smirking Hillary plays in certain places in America, either. However the polls shake it, though, I feel confident saying that everyone in country is now dumber for having listened to this debate.
Two more to go. |
Throughout much of the 1980s Australian cricket was a mess, the national team cast about on the winds of rebellion, hamstrung by retirements and peppered by regular defeat. Yet in the 1990s the Baggy Green side was one of the greatest the sport has seen. A generation of England fans grew up knowing the Australian side only as an all-conquering force, one who would habitually humiliate whichever side England sacrificially put out to take them on. The pivot between the old, shambolic and (crucially) Ashes-losing Australia of the 1980s and the new, terrifying Pommie-pounding Australia of the 1990s came in the Ashes series of 1989. And perhaps the simplest way to encapsulate the spirit of that summer is with two bottles of champagne and a glass of water.
First, the bubbly. Terry Alderman, written off before the series as over-the-hill, a 30-something whose potency had been eroded by years of injury, a has-been that never really was, confounded the critics with match figures of 10 for 151 as Australia tore England apart in the first Test at Headingley. The bowler whose swing swung the game in the tourists’ favour pipped Steve Waugh and Mark Taylor to the man-of-the-match award, accepted his magnum of champagne, then ordered it to be put on ice until the Ashes were back in Australian hands.
20 great Ashes moments No2: the miracle of Cardiff, 2009 | Rob Bagchi Read more
That was the first bottle in our tale. The second makes its appearance in the hands of a waiter at lunch on the second day of the fifth Test. Taylor and Geoff Marsh had batted through the entire opening day, Australia, 3-0 up with two games to play, the Ashes already heading back down under, were 370 for one, well on their way to amassing 400 plus in their first innings for the fifth time in five matches. Marsh had at last been dismissed for 138 in the morning session and, “to celebrate”, the England captain David Gower ordered himself a glass of the good stuff. If it was meant to be a self-deprecating attempt at light humour in the face of a crisis, it came across as a gesture of utter demoralisation, a sign of England’s all-too-obvious inadequacies and impotence in the face of a Baggy Green steamroller. And, coupled with Alderman’s magnum, it showcased the contrast in attitude between the sides – one shrugging its shoulders, one ruthlessly hell-bent on victory.
Which brings us on to that glass of water. Later in that Test, during England’s doomed attempt to avoid the follow on, Robin Smith, arguably the only England player to come out of the series with any credit, asked the Australian captain if he might have a glass of water. “No you fucking can’t, what do you think this is – a fucking tea party?” came the unequivocal response from Allan Border. This was a new Australia and a new Border. No more Mr Nice Guy.
The seeds of the new era were sown in the Ashes series of 1985, one that for Australia had been preceded, in Border’s words, by “a monumental shit fight” following defections from the squad for a rebel tour of South Africa – “I was a very unhappy captain, and I clearly had a very unhappy team on my hands.” Border’s team, defending the urn won back in 1982-83 by Greg Chappell, lost 3-1 to Gower’s England, but the atmosphere was convivial – there’s an illustrative photograph in Border’s autobiography of the two captains at the end of a day’s play during that tour, Border clasping his opposite number in a handshake with one arm, the other draped chummily across Gower’s shoulders, smiles all round. It was too convivial for some. “AB, these blokes are belting the hell out of you,” Ian Chappell told the Australian captain, “but you’re out there being their best mate, for Christ’s sake.” Border would remember those words, and act accordingly, on his next visit to England.
Even fresher in Australian minds was the chastening beating they suffered on home soil at the hands of the West Indies in 1988-89. “We got beaten by the West Indies in the Boxing Day Test – they smashed us up and embarrassed us – and we made a pact afterwards it would never happen again,” said Dean Jones, the Australian No5. “That was the biggest turning point we’ve had in Australia. Everything changed for us. AB and all the players were harder on ourselves.”
The tourists disembarked from 26 hours in business class (the first time an Australian side had not flown economy to England – “’Aussies mean business’ had a nice ring to it,” reckoned Border) to be greeted by the usual “worst touring side ever” headlines. There was no doubt the home side expected to win. Gower had announced himself “supremely confident” of not just retaining the Ashes but beating the Australians on his reappointment as captain in April. If the confidence of the England side and media looks ludicrous in hindsight – and in poring over the faults of the visitors they entirely overlooked the weaknesses in their own side – it’s worth remembering that since winning the second Ashes Test at Lord’s on 27 June, 1985, Australia had won only five of 34 Tests, and of the 13 Tests played away from home in that period they had won none. In the 1980s up to that point they had won just one series on foreign soil – and that a one-match affair in Sri Lanka – and they had won only three series anywhere since 1983. The future greats in the side – Taylor, Waugh, Healy – were yet to reveal their greatness. They even lost their opening three-day match of the tour in a low-scoring game against Worcestershire then drew against Somerset in the next. Yet even during those games Border had a new demeanour. He had always been a rugged character, a battler, but this was a new, harder edge – he refused to talk to the opposition, and demanded complete discipline and commitment from his team in the field. And from England’s point of view, the counties made the mistake of throwing fuel on the fire.
In 1985 Border had complained about county sides fielding below-strength lineups in tour matches, so in 1989 counties were offered cash prizes – a share of £25,000 – for wins over the tourists, in a rather ill-thought-out attempt to ensure competitive matches. It certainly did that but a side-effect was that county sides tended to prepare result pitches. Fiery, bouncy, mind-your-head pitches. In the final tour match before the first Test, against Derbyshire – who fielded Devon Malcolm and a young West Indian named Ian Bishop – the Australian batting lineup were peppered with short deliveries. Fuelled by the cold pizza served up for lunch, they were bowled out for 200 in their first innings, 180 in the second and scraped home by 11 runs . That experience was the final straw. In the first Test Australia would be determined to, in Border’s words, “show the bastards”.
And show them they did. At Headingley, scene of Border’s lowest point in 1981, Gower won the toss (at which the Australia captain did not speak to his counterpart) and put the tourists in. Taylor smashed his first Test century, Waugh did likewise, Australia declared at 601 for seven and despite England avoiding the follow-on, Alderman bowled the tourists to victory in the fourth innings. The champagne went on ice.
After another game of what Border described as “bounce the Aussie” against a Lancashire attack including Wasim Akram and Patrick Patterson, Waugh made an unbeaten 152 in the first innings at Lord’s, Merv Hughes was warned for intimidatory bowling and an Australian side went two up after two Tests in England for the first time since Donald Bradman’s side in 1948.
Two moments at HQ again illustrate Australia’s new-found focus. Border points to the incident when he swiped at and missed a triple-bounce ball from Neil Foster. England were tickled, the Australian captain furious: “Maybe in 1985 I’d have responded to such an incident, and their joking, with a bit of light-hearted banter of my own.” This time around there was just naked rage. After the match the Australian camp received a telegram from the makers of the Crocodile Dundee films: “The party is on us. When and where do you want it?” Again it was decided to wait until after the Ashes were secure.
For the third Test at Edgbaston England recalled Ian Botham, despite the fact that he had neither scored a first-class fifty nor taken five wickets in an innings for two years, and rain came to the rescue. But at Old Trafford in the fourth Test (ahead of which England were rocked by the announcement of a rebel squad to tour South Africa) there was no escape from the throttling, aggressive fields, disciplined bowling and belligerent dismantling of the England attack. Three-nil, the Ashes back in Australian hands, but the relentless tourists and their captain were not yet satisfied. “We had some unfinished business: we wanted to win the series 5-0, the greatest winning margin by an Australian team. We had a team meeting at which the feeling was very much: ‘Let’s go for the jugular.’
20 great Ashes moments No1: Shane Warne's ball of the century, 1993 | Barney Ronay Read more
At Trent Bridge Taylor and Marsh did not just go for the jugular – they ripped it out and made balloon animals with it. The first day ended with Australia 301 without loss, the opening pair becoming the first players to bat through an entire day’s play in a Test in England and only the third openers to do so anywhere. The home side by this stage were in disarray – Australia won by an innings and 180 runs.
The ordeal was nearly over for Gower and England. On the opening morning of the sixth Test Border was asked if he would like England to up their game a little, just to try his side’s mettle, to see how his youngsters responded to pressure. “Nope,” came the reply. England, who with their team selection took the number of players used during the series to 29 (Australian, in contrast, used 12), escaped with a rain-affected draw after Border, ruthless to the end, had delayed a declaration on the final day. An earlier end to the Australian innings “would have given England a sniff of victory and I had no intention of doing that”.
The demolition work was complete, England reduced to rubble. Australia, 4-0 winners for the first time since 1948, had their party courtesy of Crocodile Dundee’s box-office takings, flew home for ticker-tape parades and prepared for a new era of hard-nosed dominance. England hunkered down for a rebuilding job that would take a decade. That was definitely no tea party. |
When the veterinarian told Thomas Neil Rodriguez that his beloved 15-year-old dog Poh was dying, the New York resident decided to make the most of their time left together with a cross-country adventure."I initially wanted to get him to the Pacific ocean," Rodriguez told ABC News . "I have always wanted him to swim."So beginning in March, Poh, Rodriguez and his fiancee began a 12,000-mile road trip from their home in New York City to Los Angeles. They stopped in 35 cities along the way, visiting landmarks like the Washington Monument, the Space Needle and even Walter White's home from the AMC TV show"He loved it, it was so healing for him," Rodriguez said. "It was like he was five years younger. He was walking with a lot of energy."Rodriguez created an Instagram account to document their travels and other pet owners have shared their messages of support for Poh and Rodriguez.Poh, a mixed-breed that Rodriguez adopted from an animal shelter in 1999, has been diagnosed with multiple health issues. Doctors aren't sure how much longer he will live, but Rodriguez has vowed to continue to celebrate the time they have left together."I am super blessed that I have actually gotten to do this," Rodriguez said. "People think I take care of Poh, but Poh takes care of me." |
A few years ago at one of our CIO events, one of the speakers was wrapping up a talk about leading big-data projects, which happened to be the subject of our cover story that month. Gesturing toward the scattered piles of CIO magazines, she graciously suggested everyone make sure to read "the excellent story in those pamphlets on your tables." I saw a number of sympathetic grins from CIOs in the audience as I got up to thank her. "Lady, that's no pamphlet," I said lightly. "That's my magazine!"
We've known for a long time that the light in CIO magazine's tunnel wasn't sunshine. Media companies have been aggressively driving the digital train for the past decade, welcoming on board the advertisers that once fueled the robustly profitable business model for print magazines. The good news is that CIO's brand is thriving in all the right markets: IT leadership events, online at our award-winning CIO.com site and in our custom publishing business.
Bringing IT leaders to the forefront of the business landscape has been our core mission since CIO's first issue in September 1987. We've chronicled your career journeys. We've tracked your C-suite successes and failures. We've advocated for your expanding role in shaping business strategy. We are forever grateful that so many of you shared your stories with us over the years. But ultimately, your greatest source of knowledge, strength and wisdom is each other.
So be sure to stay active in your CIO and IT leadership communities. Attend as many CIO events as you can (especially ours, which in my biased view are the best on the market). On CIO.com, follow Senior Writer Clint Boulton's stories. And sign up for our Insider program (www.cio.com/insider), where our talented Executive Editor Mitch Betts will keep you supplied with the kind of in-depth articles, expert advice and research insights you've come to expect from us.
Take care and stay in touch. I hope we'll see you at our next CIO Perspectives event (Nov. 12th in Houston, Texas)... |
The Loopholes That Allow Child Marriage In The U.S.
Enlarge this image Maria Fabrizio for NPR Maria Fabrizio for NPR
Child marriage isn't just a practice that victimizes girls in poor countries. As this blog has previously reported, it's also long been an issue in the United States, involving girls from a wide range of backgrounds. Based on state marriage license data and other sources, advocacy groups and experts estimate that between 2000 and 2015 alone, well over 200,000 children — nearly all of them girls — were married. In nearly all cases the husband was an adult.
A report released Wednesday by the Tahirih Justice Center sheds new light on how state laws are contributing to the problem.
The center, a nonprofit advocacy group that works to end violence against women and girls, did a comprehensive analysis of the myriad statutes governing marriage in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Among the findings:
Twenty-five states do not set a minimum age at which a person can get married, and eight more set it at an age lower than 16. Alaska and North Carolina, for example, set the age at 14. In New Hampshire it's 13 for girls, 14 for boys.
In all of these states, minors who are below a certain age — it varies from state to state — must still get a judge's approval to marry.
But the report finds that this is hardly a robust protection against the exploitation of children. For instance, most states do not specify that the ruling judge must work in a court system that gives them expertise in such matters — say family, juvenile or domestic relations court. Similarly, very few states require that the child be appointed his or her own counsel. Only two state laws specify that a judge cannot approve a marriage solely because the child's parents have consented. And nine states expressly permit pregnancy as a reason to lower the minimum marriage age.
All of this is problematic because it makes it hard to ensure that a girl isn't being pressured into marriage by her own family or an adult partner who, but for the marriage, would be subject to prosecution for statutory rape. What's more, even in states that do officially set the age of marriage at 16 or higher, judges are generally allowed to overrule the limit and let a child marriage go forward.
The Tahirih Justice Center hopes that the report will spur lawmakers to correct the loopholes that they've identified in each state's statutes. So far, progress has been slower than advocates would like. But interest in the issue is growing and over the last two years Virginia, Texas and New York have all passed legislation that the report celebrated as putting in place "meaningful safeguards." Before in New York, marriage was formally allowed for children as young as 14, with a judge's permission. Now, the "age floor" is set at 17, and even then, approval is required by a judge who must determine that the minor is not being coerced, among other criteria. And the minor is appointed an attorney with training on domestic violence and forced marriage. |
In Regenesis, George Church and Ed Regis list the resurrection of long extinct species as one of the grander, future applications of synthetic biology. To think someday, we might encounter living mammoths, produced by reconstructing their genomes and raised in the wombs of surrogate elephants! One of the most pressing and immediate goals for synthetic biology is to help limit the current extinction of species driven by greed and black market demand.
Wildlife trade is the second largest of all illegal trades by volume globally, dwarfed only by narcotics. Animals are either poached for fur, ivory, and horns or are smuggled across international borders for use as exhibits or pets. The market size is estimated to be worth about $20 billion, though hard figures are difficult due to the complicit nature of the trade. By endangering endemic species, it is also leading to anomalies in the local ecosystems.
Que the new startup, Pembient (@Pembient), who is promising to fight this illegal trade by making artificial alternatives to these highly sought-after commodities. Take for instance a rhino horn– a single horn can fetch in up to $300, 000 in Vietnam. In South Africa alone, 1116 rhinos were poached last year; that’s 3 rhinos a day. These rampant killings are fueled by traditional Chinese medicine beliefs that claim the horns can cure fevers, convulsions, and headaches. Though these beliefs have been passed down through the generations, none of the medicinal properties have been verified which makes these practices even more horrific.
Matthew Markus, who has previously co-founded startups involved in genetics, mobile and internet space was concerned about poaching of rhinos for their horns. In early 2014, he met George Bonaci who had an extensive knowledge of keratin and had previously invented a unique formaldehyde-free hair straightener. As luck would have it, their fortuitous meeting may be the most beneficial yet in the hunt for a solution to these merciless rhino poachings. Matthew knew that rhino horns were primarily made of keratin which is also the key protein in our skin, nails, and hair. Realizing that biotech had progressed significantly since his days at the university, he came to the conclusion that the bioengineering of these horns may be feasible. After reaching out to George to discuss the possibility of recreating the rhino horn, they decided to come together and form the start up today we know as Pembient. With Matthew as CEO and George serving as VP Product, the two of them, coupled with their shared love for technology and animals, are a driving force out to save planet earth and its occupants.
The team is currently investigating two major approaches. The first of these involves tissue engineering, while the second is more of a biochemical approach. The duo has invested significantly more time as well as money in the latter. Their detailed approach has allowed them to rapidly create prototypes that are similar to actual rhino horns. The likeness involve both spectrographic and genetic resemblances. When asked about further details on their technology, Matthew chose to remain secretive. Not surprising, given that they are one of the first to target the rhino horn trade in such an unusual manner. The typical solution has been to prevent it all together. Pembient has received $50, 000 in seed funding from Indie Bio and a place in their next San Francisco batch that starts on February 28th.
Ceratotech, a competitor, is betting their stakes on the engineered tissues approach. Garrett Vygantas, CEO, and Karl Handelsman, CBO of the startup, are trying to tackle the same problem by using stem cells. Induced pluripotent stem cells or adult cells reprogrammed to behave like stem cells have been in vogue in regenerative medicine since their Nobel prize winning discovery in 2006. Currently, Vygantas has a patent for the process that turns rhino skin cells into keratinocytes. These are the cells that produce the keratin in the horn. The idea led the team to be among the top 25 semifinalists for the Extreme Tech Challenge 2014. The unimaginable scale of the market and the contradictory nature of the solution these startups offer hints that there is room for more than one great company to operate in the domain.
The one common thread between the two startups, outside their mutual interest in rhino horns, is the variety of products their approaches can create. Other popular animal products that could be realized using the platform technologies of either company are tiger bones, ivory, and pangolin scales. However, there are few doubts that cannot be ruled out. For a start, by making the rhino horns easily accessible, these companies could be fueling the traditional belief that is at odds with evidence-based medicine. Matthew disagrees and thinks that there hasn’t been much research into its medicinal properties.
“I understand why the general conservation message is that rhino horn is not medicine. It is a simple message. The more complex message is that even if rhino horn does have some medicinal properties, rhinos are rare and should be protected,” he says, “and that in the end, users of rhino horn are going to use rhino horn regardless of the facts. Creating an artificial supply seems like the best way to meet their demand.”
Illegal wildlife products aren’t the only aim of these companies. Many legal animal products are produced in an unsustainable manner and a host of other synthetic biology companies are redefining conservation by making their production sustainable. Modern Meadow (leather and meat), Afineur (civet poop coffee), New Harvest (meat), and Muufri (animal-free milk) are promising examples. As Matthew Markus states, it is the dawn of the Conservation 2.0 era. |
Congressman Jared Polis (D-CO) wants to be “the poster boy” for reining in fracking. He has sought to ban it, regulate it, and tax it. But at the same time, Polis has millions of dollars in fracking and resource extraction investments.
Looking at Polis’s past statements, you’d think that he’s vigorously opposed to fracking. He has written letters criticizing oil and gas companies, praised fracking moratoriums in his Boulder district, and argued for stiffer financial penalties for the industry. He has also used alarmist language to stoke fears about the chemicals used in the process and questioned “the impact that fracking has on the health of communities.”
Last year, he even sued his neighbor for fracking on her own land because it caused him “a loss of enjoyment” on his million dollar property in Weld County. He claimed that the “mental suffering” from his neighbor’s drilling was making his family “refugees” and ending their chance at the “Colorado dream.” Such melodrama is just part of what Polis sees as his mission: “I feel like the universe has selected me to be a poster boy for reining in out-of-control fracking,” he said.
But his actions tell quite a different story. At the same time Polis is making it more difficult for individuals in his state to build wealth from fracking, he is quietly investing millions in fracking and resource extraction developments. Based on his 2012 financial disclosures, he has at least $1 million invested in the oil and gas industry. One of his investment vehicles in particular, Bow River Capital Fund, has numerous fracking interests in its portfolio. These investments have helped Polis become the 2nd wealthiest member of Congress. Unfortunately, like so many wealthy environmentalists, he maintains the hypocritical, “I got mine; you can’t get yours” mentality. |
Should it be illegal to wear a “Make America Great Again” hat or an “I’m With Her” shirt to the polls? The U.S. Supreme Court is considering that question this week.
The case, Minnesota Voters Alliance v. Mansky, is a matter of the First Amendment and free speech versus the freedom to vote without intimidation. It’s also an example of how much “heightened sensitivity” there is around certain issues in a divided America today, said Ilya Shapiro, a senior fellow in constitutional studies at the Libertarian-leaning Cato Institute in Washington, D.C., and editor-in-chief of the “Cato Supreme Court Review.”
“There’s a difference between disrupting someone from voting, or even electioneering, and speech or expression,” he said. “I don’t think there should be electioneering at a polling place.”
In 2010, Andrew Cilek, executive director of the Minnesota Voters Alliance, showed up at his Hennepin County, Minnesota, polling place in a coiled-snake “Don’t Tread on Me” T-shirt — the unofficial logo of the Tea Party — and a “Please ID me” button, even though his state does not have a voter ID law.
He was temporarily prevented from voting, though he was eventually allowed to cast a ballot. Poll workers asked Cilek and others to cover up their slogans. An election official took down his name to possibly prosecute him for electioneering inside a polling place, which is punishable by up to a $5,000 fine, though no action was taken. It ended up being Cilek who filed a lawsuit instead. He and the Minnesota Voters Alliance are being represented by a big-time conservative legal advocacy group, but they also have the backing of the American Civil Liberties Union and libertarian groups.
A lower court upheld the law used against Cilek’s T-shirt as protecting Minnesota’s legitimate interest in polling place “peace, order and decorum” and “the integrity of its election process.” The state is arguing its law is necessary to keep order at polling places at a time of intense political polarization and deepening divisions.
Voter intimidation is prohibited by law in most states — including Minnesota — and a federal law that says “no person … shall intimidate, threaten, coerce … any other person for the purpose of interfering with the right of [that] person to vote or to vote as he may choose.” All 50 states have “speech-free zones” around polling places on Election Day. But Minnesota law also bans voters from coming to the polls wearing political badges, buttons or other insignias intended to “influence and impact” voting. It’s one of only 10 states with such a law; the others are Delaware, Kansas, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont and South Carolina.
This is not the first time the highest court in the land has taken a look at the intersection of free speech and voting. In 1992, SCOTUS said it was not a First Amendment infringement to create a “safe zone” around polling sites, because it was intended to protect citizens’ rights to vote freely. The Burson v. Freeman decision also said Tennessee’s 100-foot safe zone was small enough to be acceptable.
But that case was more about political signs and posters than personal apparel, Shapiro said. The current case, and what the justices discussed Wednesday, was more about free speech and where to draw the line between what is and is not political speech. Justices spent more time quizzing lawyers about what would and would not be allowed — Is a #MeToo shirt political? What about a “Parkland Strong” shirt?, asked Justice Samuel Alito — than pulling up precedents or debating dry legal topics.
It made for “illuminating” arguments, said Shapiro, who thinks the challengers will prevail, and SCOTUS will strike down the Minnesota law in a decisive vote.
“It’s a weird law that’s seldom enforced,” he said. “A ruling for the challenger striking down the law isn’t going to change very much, in that intimidation and deception and deceit are still going to be illegal. But nobody is going to be turned away because they are wearing the wrong shirt.”
RARE POV: South Carolina’s proposed ban on saggy pants is not only ridiculous, but an open invitation for police abuse |
To celebrate the publication of Jimmy Page's official photographic autobiography, "Jimmy Page" — the first book by a member of LED ZEPPELIN — Genesis Publications (with Guitar World and Guitar Aficionado) will present "An Evening With Jimmy Page In Conversation With Chris Cornell".
The event will take place 8:30 p.m. November 12 at the Theatre at Ace Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles.
The audience will be invited to join Page and Cornell — the SOUNDGARDEN frontman — as they look through unseen photos and memorabilia, many drawn from Page's archives. Page will revisit memories of his life in music, "from 13-year-old choirboy to Sixties session musician, through THE YARDBIRDS to LED ZEPPELIN and beyond."
"I always like to do something different. If you're inspired by an idea, really make something of that inspiration," Page said. "That goes for music, as well as anything else, even putting a book together! To have a photographic autobiography is a totally different way of looking at things, but it does the job very well and I think it will bring a lot of pleasure to people."
Delving into his personal archives, Page has revealed unseen photographs, memorabilia and every one of his passports. His passport stamps were used to verify all tour dates, making Jimmy Page an authoritative historical account.
In addition to Page's photos and those chosen from various sources, including fans and magazines, his book showcases a collection of iconic portraits and rare images by more than 70 of the greatest names in rock photography, including Ross Halfin, Kate Simon, Gered Mankowitz, Dominique Tarlé, Pennie Smith and Jim Marshall. Page chose one of his favorite portrait shots for the book cover: a 1977 passport photo shot by Neal Preston on board LED ZEPPELIN's private tour plane.
There are many rare finds throughout, such as LED ZEPPELIN playing an impromptu gig in a nightclub in Jersey or double-exposure shots of Page and Brian Jones by Ian Stewart.
"I wanted to make it as thorough as possible, so that meant trawling through all the thousands of files that photographers had taken, and pulling from my personal collection as well," Page said. "There's a photo of me playing the guitar by the fire at Bron-Yr-Aur cottage. It's the most complete document that there's ever going to be because of the amount of time that I've put into every aspect."
Important info:
Doors: 7:30 p.m.
Show: 8:30 p.m.
Tickets: Available starting October 10 from local outlets, including Amoeba Music and Book Soup; nationwide from ticketmaster.com.
AMEX presale start: 10 a.m. PST October 8
AMEX presale end: 10 p.m. PST October 9 |
Americans might be fooled by mass media misinformation, but Venezuelans know what is really happening in their country.
The misinformation in most of the media about the protests in Venezuela is astounding. Often the opposite of reality is repeated as if it were true. Americans who rely on the corporate mass media, politicians and corrupted nonprofits might fall for these tales, but Venezuelans know what is really happening.
In every election since 2002, Venezuelans have shown that their deep political education, participatory democracy and experience will overcome the falsehoods of the opposition.
Venezuelans have gone through 14 years of abuse and lies, including a coup attempt. They know what is really occurring in their economy and political system and are aware that their government is in a battle with the power of money both internally as well as with the US empire. In every election since 2002, Venezuelans have shown that their deep political education, participatory democracy and experience will overcome the falsehoods of the opposition. The violent actions of the opposition and intentional undermining of the economy are signs of an oligarch class that has lost power and is desperate. It must work outside of democracy to try to retake control of the government.
Maria Paez Victor told us that the opposition will fail because it has no political base outside of the wealthy class. She writes:
“These violent tactics have no hope of succeeding because, unlike 1999, the Venezuelan people are now organized into many groups: the communal councils, the communes, the thousands of health, security, militia, sports, educational, cultural committees. The Bolivarian Revolution has fostered, not a mass of people, but an organized organic population that makes decisions about its living conditions along with its government because Venezuela is now a fully functioning participatory democracy.”
Polls show President Nicolas Maduro is the most popular president in Latin America and the people of Venezuela are not fooled by the oligarch protests. According to a poll by International Consulting Services (ICS), 85.3 percent of Venezuelans disagree with protests mounted by sectors of the ultra-Venezuelan right. The poll found 81.6 percent of Venezuelans say that it is the opposition protests that have been violent, and 91.3 percent replied that preserving Venezuelan democracy is very important. The people of Venezuela do not want their democracy undermined by a mob demanding regime change.
The United States wants Americans to be confused because they do not want us to know that participatory democracy is possible, that people can be empowered to manage their lives and that there are alternatives to the big finance capitalism model that is failing in the United States.
Maduro knows that the real source of these protests come from the United States trying to put in place a government friendly to US interests. On February 22, 2014, Maduro made an offer to President Obama, saying: “Let’s initiate a high-level dialogue and let’s put the truth out on the table.” As you will see below, the United States is a primary player in the opposition to the Maduro government, but we know Obama does not want the US role exposed, so don’t expect talks between Maduro and Obama anytime soon.
This article seeks to address many of the common statements heard by the opposition and the US government about Venezuela because there are so many obviously false statements being made by both. The United States wants Americans to be confused because it does not want us to know that participatory democracy is possible, that people can be empowered to manage their lives and that there are alternatives to the big finance capitalism model that is failing in the United States.
Below are responses to four falsehoods followed by one truth you will not hear in the US media.
Falsehood 1: The Maduro Government Is a Dictatorship.
Venezuela is one of the most democratic nations on Earth. Here are some facts about democracy in Venezuela:
“Regarding the supposed ‘democratic deficit of the Venezuelan regime,’ the facts speak for themselves. Since 1998 there have been four national plebiscites, four presidential elections, and eleven parliamentary, regional, and municipal elections. Venezuela is the Latin American country with the highest number of elections and it also has an automatic electoral system (much more modern than Chile’s), described by Jimmy Carter, who has observed 92 elections in all continents, as ‘the best system in the world.’ “
The real “democratic deficit” has been shown by the United States and the opposition. In particular, Secretary of State John Kerry has flown his anti-democracy flag repeatedly when it comes to Venezuela. As Mark Weisbrot recently wrote “when Maduro was elected president and opposition presidential candidate Henrique Capriles claimed that the election was stolen, Kerry refused to recognize the election results. Kerry’s aggressive, anti-democratic posture brought such a strong rebuke from South American governments that he was forced to reverse course and tacitly recognize the Maduro government. (For those who did not follow these events, there was no doubt about the election results.)”
In December 2013, the Maduro government showed even greater strength in municipal elections. It won 58 percent of the country’s municipalities. Maduro and his allies gained more than 49 percent of the total vote share, versus 43 percent for the opposition. This means that the right-wing opposition coalition had now lost four national elections in the past 14 months then lost the most recent municipal elections.
Democracy in Venezuela is deeper than elections.
The opposition now knows it cannot win elections, so it has taken to trying to remove Maduro and his allies through non-electoral means. Why doesn’t the United States criticize its right wing allies in Venezuela for being anti-democratic? The oligarchs are the ones who have a “democracy deficit.”
In fact, while Venezuela continues to have a representative democracy with the election of a president, legislatures, governors and mayors, the exciting democracy development in Venezuela is participatory democracy. This is what many Americans would like to see in the United States. As Maria Paez Victor writes the Venezuelan “government is a participatory democracy that enjoys a very strong majority, the backing of all key institutions under the rule of law, and the support of its regional neighbors.”
Democracy in Venezuela is deeper than elections. It includes-worker owned cooperatives that give workers democratic control over the places they work and promotes solidarity, equality and dignity for workers. Former President Hugo Chavez created 100,000 worker-owned cooperatives in two years. In addition, democracy goes down to the community level, as Venezuelan law empowers local citizens to form community councils to solve problems in their community.
If the United States was not so busy demonizing Venezuela, we could actually learn a great deal about how to improve our democracy and evolve an 18th century-based model to the 21st century.
Falsehood 2: Maduro and Chavez Have Destroyed the Economy. Markets Do Not Have Essentials and Inflation Is Out of Control
Documents released by attorney and journalist Eva Golinger in November 2013 show a plan by the United States, Colombia and the oligarchs in Venezuela to undermine the economy to remove Maduro.
It is important to understand that the oligarchs, in league with the United States, have been at war with the Chavez-Maduro governments since Chavez was first elected in 1999. One of the consistent strategies they have used has been to undermine the economy. This is a common strategy used by the United States in efforts to foment regime change throughout the world, as it has been doing since the 1950s.
In fact, documents released by attorney and journalist Eva Golinger in November 2013 show a plan by the United States, Colombia and the oligarchs in Venezuela to undermine the economy to remove Maduro. The document, “Strategic Venezuelan Plan,” was prepared by people from Colombia, the United States and the oligarchs in Venezuela. According to Golinger, the plan was developed during a meeting with leaders of the Venezuelan opposition; J.J. Rendon, an expert in psychological operations; and Mark Feierstein, director of the US Agency for International Development for Latin America.
The plan includes a variety of steps to undermine the Venezuelan economy. They put forward strategies “to maintain and increase the sabotages that affect public services, particularly the electrical system that will enable responsibility to be placed on the government for supposed inefficiencies and negligence.”
Regarding the scarcity of goods, Golinger writes:
“Throughout the year, Venezuela has experienced problems with the supply of basic products, such as toilet paper, sugar, milk, oil, butter, flour and other food staples. Venezuelan authorities have confiscated tons of these products illegally held inside warehouses belonging to opposition businesses. They have also captured large quantities of these items on the border with Colombia, where they are sold as contraband.”
Maria Paez Victor confirms this writing:
“A double blow of outrageous overpricing of goods plus artificial food scarcity started just as people were beginning their Christmas shopping. Wealthy merchants proceeded to hoard essential goods: corn flour, sugar, salt, cooking oil, toilet paper, etc. placing them in hidden warehouses or spirited off to Colombia through a well-planned smuggling operation. The military discovered an illegal bridge built for motorcycles that carried the smuggled goods. Thousands of bags of foodstuffs were discovered simply left rotting on Colombian byways: this was not smuggling for economic reasons, but for political reasons.”
The purpose of the shortages is to create chaos, social unrest and lack of confidence in the government. In the leaked “Strategic Venezuela Plan,” it describes their goal as “generating emotion with short messages that reach the largest quantity of people and emphasize social problems, provoking social discontent. Increase problems with supply of basic consumer products.”
Inflation has been a long-term problem in Venezuela, one that preceded Chavez. Inflation peaked at 103 percent in 1996; its average during the years of Chavez’s government, between 1999 and 2012, was 26 percent. Inflation is occurring in part because Venezuela is an oil-dominated economy that imports a lot of its goods rather than manufacturing them in Venezuela.
The Chavez-Maduro government has been trying to build other sectors of the society so Venezuela does not have to rely on imports, which would be a long-term solution to the problem. In addition, when there is scarcity of products – created in part by the opposition storing products in warehouses or selling them in Colombia – prices go up as the law of supply and demand dictates.
But, as Victor writes, even the currency crisis is part of the strategy for undermining the economy: “This started with run on the currency, the manipulation of the black market dollar, obtaining dollars at preferential price from the government under false reasons.”
In December, Maduro attacked the illegal business practice of requesting official rate dollars then selling these dollars on the black market for a profit, or importing goods then selling them for far higher than the import price. He describes this as part of the “economic war” by business interests and political opponents to destabilize the economy of Venezuela. Victor says, “Maduro did not hesitate: he regulated prices and changed the monetary exchange rules and 70% approved of his response.”
The media fail to discuss the strengths of the Venezuelan economy. Keane Bhatt of the North American Congress on Latin America tells The Real News that inequality has been reduced rapidly, so that it is now the lowest in Latin America. Beyond that he points out:
“If you look at unemployment, it’s at a very low point. It’s about, you know, 6%. If you look at poverty from 2011 to 2012, Venezuela presided over the sharpest decline in poverty throughout the entire region. So it fell by 19% in 2013. Despite the problems of inflation and so on, you have further reductions in the rate of household poverty. So that fell by an entire percentage point over 2013, despite the inflation.”
Victor writes:
“The Venezuelan economy is doing very well. Its oil exports last year amounted to $94 billion while the imports only reached $59.3 billons – a historically low record. The national reserves are at $22 billion and the economy has a surplus (not a deficit) of 2.9% of GDP. The country has no significantly onerous national or foreign debts. These are excellent indicators that many countries in Europe would envy, even the USA and Canada. The multinational bank Wells Fargo has recently declared that Venezuela is one of the emerging economies that is most protected against any possible financial crisis and the Bank of America Merril Lynch has recommended to its investors to buy Venezuelan government bonds.”
Falsehood 3: The Maduro Government Controls All of the Media, so the Opposition Has No Freedom of Speech
Another argument that is being constantly repeated is the supposed lack of freedom of expression and freedom of the press in Venezuela. Once again the numbers speak for themselves:
“80% of the media is private. The three national newspapers (El Universal, El Nacional and Ultimos Noticias) are opposed to the government, especially the first two, and they bring together 90% of the readership. Of the four television channels with national coverage, three of them (Venevision, Globovision, and Televen) are opposition, and likewise bring together 90% of the audience, according to information provided by the company AGB.”
Mark Weisbrot did an analysis of Venezuelan television coverage to test whether statements by the The New York Times (and others like it) are accurate. The Times begins its news report on Friday from Venezuela with “The only television station that regularly broadcast voices critical of the government was sold last year and the new owners have softened its news coverage.” Weisbrot found the statement to be completely false. He provided links to major private TV coverage of recent events that were all supportive of the opposition and critical of the government. The interviews included all of the leaders of the opposition.
As part of the plan described in the leaked “Strategic Venezuelan Plan” the opposition seeks to: “Create situations of crisis in the streets that will facilitate US intervention, as well as NATO forces, with the support of the Colombian government. Whenever possible, the violence should result in deaths or injuries.”
Weisbrot also pointed to a report done by the Carter Center of coverage of the last presidential election campaign in April of last year. It found that the private media has 74 percent of the audience for news and that:
“A breakdown by channels shows that private stations devoted a greater proportion of coverage to candidate Henrique Capriles Radonski, his campaign events and his followers (73%), with a much smaller percentage (19%) devoted to the governing party’s candidate, Nicolás Maduro, his campaign events and his followers. … In private media, candidate Henrique Capriles received 60% positive coverage (with 23% negative and 17 percent neutral), while candidate Maduro had 28% positive (with 54% negative and 18% neutral).”
On Friday, February 21, Venezuela revoked the accreditation of CNN’s Caracas-based reporter, Osmary Hernandez, and those of two other CNN journalists sent to Venezuela to cover a wave of opposition marches. While this will be used to paint Maduro as anti-press, what it really is, is an effort to curtail the false reporting in the corporate media in the United States and Venezuela. CNN continues to report from Venezuela.
Falsehood 4: The Maduro Government Is Reacting With Violence Against Nonviolent Protesters
As part of the plan described in the leaked “Strategic Venezuelan Plan” the opposition seeks to: “Create situations of crisis in the streets that will facilitate US intervention, as well as NATO forces, with the support of the Colombian government. Whenever possible, the violence should result in deaths or injuries.” What is being seen on the streets of Venezuela is consistent with that strategy.
After the last presidential election, won narrowly by Maduro, Eva Golinger reports that his opponent called for violence: “Capriles refused to accept the results and called his supporters to take to the streets in protest, to ‘get all their rage out.’ During the two days after the elections, 11 government supporters were killed by Capriles’ followers.”
Maduro ordered the arrest of a retired general who tweeted out how to use wire to decapitate people (in fact people have been killed and injured by such tactics) on motorcycles and how to attack armored vehicles with Molotov cocktails.
Professor Steve Ellner of the Universidad de Oriente in Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela, argues that the cause of the violence is the opposition, not the government. He points out the opposition has been caught killing Venezuelans in the past, describing the juxtaposing of images during the 2002 coup against Chavez. The opposition tried to make it look like Chavez was killing Venezuelans, and the US media, including CNN, reported these false images. Later, the full images showed it was actually the opposition murdering Venezuelans.
Ellner points to violence used by the opposition in the current upheaval – including attacking grocery stores, banks, buses and government buildings. Other commentators also have described specific incidents of violence by the opposition, including killing people. Maduro ordered the arrest of a retired general who tweeted how to use wire to decapitate people (in fact people have been killed and injured by such tactics) on motorcycles and how to attack armored vehicles with Molotov cocktails. Others in the opposition have tweeted about how to use blockades and to pour oil to cause vehicles to crash and catch on fire.
US diplomatic cables demonstrate that the United States has been using tactics to try and undermine Chavez-Maduro for a long time.
This is not to say that there has not been violence by government officials as well, but it is not the way it is portrayed in the media. This review of the ten deaths thus far in Venezuela finds a lot of violence from the opposition and, in cases where the government was involved in violence, the Maduro government investigating and holding people accountable.
Truth: The United States Has Been Supporting the Overthrow of the Venezuelan Government Since Chavez Was Elected
Bhatt: “WikiLeaks actually produced a document, a 2006 cable, which … was signed by the US ambassador and described a number of positions, which included ‘Penetrating Chavez’ Political Base,’ ‘Dividing Chavismo,’ protecting US vital interests and ‘Isolating Chavez Internationally.’ ” US diplomatic cables demonstrate that the United States has been using tactics to try to undermine Chavez-Maduro for a long time.
Golinger reports that the United States has been a consistent funder of the opposition in Venezuela. She writes:
“Over the ten year period, from 2000-2010, US agencies, including the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and its Office for Transition Initiatives (OTI), set up in Caracas in 2002, channeled more than $100 million … to opposition groups in Venezuela. The overall objective was regime change.”
During this time Chavez-Maduro has gotten stronger in Venezuelan elections, and the opposition has failed to make progress. Golinger reports that the United States has more recently focused on building a youth-protest movement in Venezuela, writing:
“Over one third of US funding, nearly $15 million annually by 2007, was directed towards youth and student groups, including training in the use of social networks to mobilize political activism. Student leaders were sent to the US for workshops and conferences on Internet activism and media networking. They were formed in tactics to promote regime change via street riots and strategic use of media to portray the government as repressive”
Leopoldo Lopez has taken on a leadership role in the current protests. He recently was arrested for inciting violence and calling for the removal of Maduro. Lopez has a long history with the United States and comes from one of the wealthiest families in Venezuela. Lopez was involved in the US-backed 2002 coup and received start-up money from the US National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and its offshoots, the International Republican Institute (IRI) and the National Democratic Institute (NDI).
But Lopez’s ties to the United States go back to his time as an undergraduate at Kenyon College in Ohio. Kenyon is known as a training ground for CIA assets; it even has a CIA scholarship program. Kenyon has CIA-friendly professors, and the Kenyon Review was even funded by the CIA. Lopez spent five years at Kenyon and went on to get a master’s degree at the JFK School for Government at Harvard. With this history, it not surprising to see him involved in the 2002 coup and in the leadership of the current unrest, while the United States is funding his political party and opposition organizing.
The other major leader of the opposition is Marína Corina Machado, the president of SUMATE, another opposition party. SUMATE also received an NED grant from the United States of tens of thousands of dollars after the 2002 coup.
Wikileaks exposed the connection between the United States and opposition forces in trying to undermine the government. The documents came from the Stratfor leaks, quoting the CEO of Stratfor saying the US government is maneuvering to remove Chavez and how the State Department provides information to what he calls “a clueless US media.”
There might not even be an opposition group if it were not for US support.
Recently Wikileaks released 77 diplomatic cables that mention Leopoldo Lopez. In an analysis of those cables, Jake Johnston of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, describes how the US in addition to providing money, has provided guidance and kept the opposition from imploding. Lopez seems to be a very divisive figure in the opposition, not liked by many of his compatriots.
In fact, as Golinger reports, there might not even be an opposition group if it were not for US support. She writes:
“Their continued dependence on US funding and support – even this year Obama included $5 million in the 2014 Foreign Operations Budget for opposition groups in Venezuela – is an ongoing sign of their weakness. As a State Department cable from the US Embassy in Caracas, published by Wikileaks, explained in March 2009, ‘Without our continued assistance, it is possible that the organizations we helped create … could be forced to close. … Our funding will provide those organizations a much-needed lifeline.'”
But, with US support, our taxpayer dollars, the opposition continues. And, the United States not only funds the opposition, provides them guidance and strategy assistance, but gets directly involved in seeking to remove the government (while Kerry hypocritically talks about respecting democracy!). In fact, in the past six months, Maduro has expelled six US diplomats who were caught working with oligarchs to undermine the economy and with students organizing opposition.
The United States knows that Venezuela is the key to regaining control of Latin America, which has broken from US domination. Venezuela is also a leader in challenging the economic policies of the United States that empower private corporations and weaken the power of government to provide services to meet the needs of the people. Putting in place a US-friendly government is a top priority for the United States in Latin America. Americans need to be very skeptical about what they hear about Venezuela. |
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Cats - $50. Cats are spayed/neutered, up-to-date on vaccinations, microchipped, and tested for FIV/FELV.
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There were no new developments on Monday in regards to Alex McKinnon’s condition.
The Club has continued to provide factual updates in consultation with Alex’s family at this delicate time.
Alex was brought out of an induced coma following his initial surgery last Tuesday and has been conscious since. Doctors confirmed Alex had suffered a devastating spinal injury on Wednesday. On Sunday he was able to communicate with his family after his assisted ventilation was removed.
While Alex’s condition continues to improve, his body is in the first phase of recovery. As previously shared, he has movement in his right arm and the uncertainty remains in the extent of further recovery. The doctors explained any regeneration and recovery could be up to two years.
As Alex remains in hospital in a serious but stable condition, visitation is restricted. Therefore coach Wayne Bennett visited on Monday without Alex’s teammates as initially planned.
The Club is extremely disappointed in the sensationalised television news story on Monday night about this tragic situation.
One of the most important factors for Alex at this time is hope, which was jeopardised by this report.
The Club and the McKinnons appreciate the respectful way other media have handled and reported on Alex’s condition.
Club staff will continue to stay with Alex and his family in Melbourne and continue to provide any appropriate update in consultation with his family. We again request Alex and his family's privacy is respected at this time.
To Members, fans and all who are sending their best wishes, thank you.
All offers of financial and in-kind support are appreciated however our focus remains on Alex. When the time is appropriate, the Club will notify how your contribution can be accepted.
From Alex’s family; Kate and Scott McKinnon (Alex’s parents) and Teigan Power (Alex’s partner):
“We would once again like to thank the public and media for the ongoing show of concern and support for our son and partner, Alex.
“While there is a lot of detail being reported about Alex’s condition, it is important to remember that it is still early days for him post-injury.
“Those close to Alex know he is strong, and that he is a fighter and, that alone, is reason to remain hopeful.”
Messages of support for Alex and his family can be emailed to [email protected]. All messages we receive will be given to Alex and his family at the appropriate time.
#RiseForAlex |
MMA great Chael Sonnen recently went off on Big Van Vader after the pro wrestling legend no-showed his slot on the You’re Welcome, With Chael Sonnen podcast. The former UFC star noted that he jumped through several hoops to get Vader on his show, which he did as a favor for someone else.
After waiting a full half hour into his podcast, Sonnen had tried texting Vader and even called him live on the air, but got no response. He stated that the interview was a way to give the big man an opportunity, as he recently informed fans via Twitter that, according to doctors, he had two years left to live due to congestive heart failure.
“…This guy is a carny, a flake; he was writing me like he was drunk, illiterate, dumb, or just getting ready to set me up from the jump,” said Sonnen on his show. And while he didn’t specifically mention what happened, Chael noted that he did something for Vader at the last minute after he was approached with some kind of deal, but the former WCW Champion didn’t follow through on his end and obviously blew off the show. He called Vader a “thief” and a “scumbag”. |
BELMONT, MI -- When Joel Stelt retired as a protective services worker for Kent County, he made a list of travel destinations to take his wife, Sandy, a clinical psychologist, to visit over the next decade.
Joel and Sandy invested their life savings into a home on House Street NE they bought 24 years ago because the two wanted a large lot and woods around. It was the home in which the couple planned to live out their retirement years together.
That was before Joel died on March 26, 2016 at age 61 of liver cancer.
The sudden and unexpected loss devastated family and friends. But today, Sandy Wynn-Stelt wants answers. That's because 17 months after her husband died, state workers and a consultant for Wolverine World Wide knocked on her door with terrible news.
Her well, from which the couple drank water for decades, is poisoned with extremely elevated levels of toxic waste chemicals that are linked to liver problems and other serious illnesses.
Her neighbors' wells are also poisoned, but hers is the worst.
"You lose your husband and it's the worst thing on Earth," she said, eyes watering. "But you slowly get back. You slowly kind of come back to life.... I remember in June this year thinking 'I feel like I'm getting my joy back.' And in July, I get these government people walking up my driveway saying, 'we think you've got poisoned groundwater.
"And it's just brought it all back."
According to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, Wynn-Stelt's home on the 1800 block of House Street NE is contaminated with the highest combined levels of perfluoroctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluoroctanoic acid (PFOA) that state toxicologists investigating the groundwater pollution have yet seen in a private drinking water well.
The combined PFOS and PFOA level in her well is 37,800 parts-per-trillion (ppt) -- roughly 540 times above the Environmental Protection Agency health advisory level of 70-ppt.
Wynn-Stelt lives directly across from 1855 House St. NE, a fenced-off property owned by Wolverine World Wide, the Rockford-based global footwear company that became a multi-billion dollar business on the popularity of Hush Puppies, a casual suede shoe worn by Hollywood stars, music icons and U.S. presidents.
In the 1960s, Wolverine used the 76-acre undeveloped land as a dump site for hazardous sludge waste generated by its former tannery in Rockford, where the company treated pigskin with Scotchgard, a fabric protector that repels water and stains.
3M developed Scotchgard in 1956 and two years later, Wolverine used it to develop a pigskin nubuck leather for Hush Puppies, which the company's website boasts today as featuring "the first performance leather in the industry that offered water, oil and stain repellency without changing the look and feel of the leather."
Six decades later, that innovation's toxic legacy has surfaced in local drinking water.
Waste barrels, leather hides dot land outside Wolverine dump "Who knows if it's under the hill where my house is built?" one nearby resident asks.
Life interrupted by a water crisis
Meaghan Schweinzger took her 5-year-old daughter to get a blood test recently.
The test was to check for precursors to a suite of symptoms health officials link to exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances called PFAS, (also called perfluorinated chemicals, or PFCs). The class of chemicals includes PFOS and PFOA, which is in her family's well.
PFOS was the key ingredient in Scotchgard.
Thankfully, the results came back in normal ranges. But any peace of mind there is tempered by future unknowns about how exposure to the water could manifest since Meaghan, her husband Ryan and their two children moved to House Street in 2011.
"That's today," she said. "Do we have to do this once a year from now on? Do we wait five years? How long until we can be comfortable with, 'OK, they are free and clear.'
"The question will forever be in our heads."
Sitting together on Wynn-Stelt's deck, the Schweinzgers and fellow House Street neighbors Tedd Ryfiak and Rob Versluis described a summer of anxiety, anger and confusion punctuated by mixed messages from experts and a growing frustration and resentment toward Wolverine and its environmental consultant, Rose & Westra, which has been their only point of contact with the shoemaker.
Normal life on House Street was shattered in July when the DEQ, Rose & Westra and officials with the Kent County Health Department and Michigan Department of Health and Human Services began knocking on doors, asking to test neighborhood well water.
Toxic chemicals pollute drinking water near old tannery dump Wolverine World Wide giving bottled water to affected homes.
As the summer progressed, the once-disparate neighbors formed a camaraderie around their shared plight. They have coped by bathing and eating meals at relatives' homes, buying office-style bottled water systems for their cooking and hygiene at home, and finding rueful humor where they can in a tragic situation.
Home improvement tasks seem unimportant now. Lawn maintenance and gardening fell by the wayside. Versluis stopped watering his lawn. His home ownership pride is lost. The Schweinzgers were planning to build stairs down to the backyard off their deck, but why bother now? They were planning to live on House Street long term, "but it's not really realistic if you can only use your kitchen sink," she said.
Feeling abandoned by Wolverine
The test results came back alongside bottled water and gift cards.
Some homes got a single 24-pack case of bottled water and two $50 Meijer gift cards from Rose & Westra. Others got a second or third case of water. Those were followed by an under-sink water filtration unit for the kitchen.
The systems don't remove all PFAS, but do bring concentrations below the EPA level. The filters don't last forever and cost money to replace.
After the filters went in at some homes (not everyone accepted the filter, or trusts it), the group of neighbors say contact with Wolverine through Rose & Westra vanished.
Wolverine's public claims of "commitment to the community" ring hollow, they say. Most left a townhall meeting at Rockford High School held Sept. 12 to address the water contamination feeling somewhat forgotten, as if the company's attention has already moved on to testing wells in an expanding perimeter around the dump.
Questions, skepticism greet Wolverine at water pollution meeting PFAS compounds have polluted drinking water wells in Belmont.
"We're all paying for our own water," Wynn-Stelt said.
"They could multi-task," she said. "They could build shoes and boots as the same time. I'm betting they could take care of us and test other wells at the same time."
After Wynn-Stelt declined to have a kitchen filter installed because she already has a reverse osmosis system that went in a few years ago, she said there's been no contact with Rose & Westra.
"I've never had contact with Wolverine. I've never heard a word," she said. "Not 'sorry.' Not 'my apologies.' Not 'F-you' -- nothing. I've heard nothing from Wolverine. It's just been Rose & Westra." And that last contact was months ago.
She wonders whether possible legal repercussions are playing a role in the lack of communication.
"It almost feels like once we contacted a lawyer, everything came to a screeching halt," she said. "Wolverine stood in that meeting, made a big deal about 'we feel your pain, we want to rectify this.' At least for me, I feel like I've got nothing."
Why hasn't Wolverine CEO Blake Krueger made any statements, asked Versluis, who noted that Krueger promoted Wolverine's $2.6 million Hurricane Harvey victim relief but hasn't publicly addressed the poisoning in the company's own backyard.
"Why not spout off on what's going on here?" he asked. "We haven't heard from him."
Responding to those sentiments, Wolverine issued a statement.
"We understand and respect the frustration and anxiety," the company wrote. "At the same time, there are no simple solutions or shortcuts for determining exactly what is happening at these sites or for setting the most effective path forward."
"On multiple occasions, including the recent town hall meeting, Wolverine has stressed its commitment to thorough testing and to ensuring residents have water they can trust during this process and into the future. We have been in contact with residents throughout the process - onsite and through calls and emails - and those wanting to get in touch can reach the company at 616-866-5627 or [email protected]," the company wrote.
Many health concerns remain
In 1991, Brandi Glaske's family moved in next to the dump on House Street. She was 11. Four years later, at age 15, she had an ovarian tumor removed.
She has three children and experienced a dangerous condition caused by high blood pressure called preeclampsixa during each pregnancy.
All three of her children were born underweight. One almost died. Another was put on a ventilator when she was born. Over the years, Glaske has struggled to understand what caused her health problems when other family members have given birth to healthy, full-term babies. After her youngest was born, she decided to have a hysterectomy.
"That was tragic," she said. "It was a really hard thing to go through. No one in my family has had to go through this."
Wynn-Stelt has been diagnosed with two thyroid disorders: hypothyroidism and Graves' Disease. She's also experienced gout and reproductive issues.
Ryfiak's 3-year-old son has an enlarged lymph node on his neck, a thyroid cancer symptom. His ex-wife experienced pregnancy-induced hypertension.
State toxicologists say exposure to PFOA has been linked through human studies to kidney cancer, testicular cancer, ulcerative colitis, pregnancy-induced hypertension, thyroid problems and cholesterol issues. In animal testing, PFOS exposure is linked to thyroid and liver problems, and reproductive and immune system impacts.
Incidences like the death of Joel Stelt and other accounts of cancer and health problems on House Street and at other known and suspected Wolverine tannery waste dump sites are prompting Kent County to start its largest-ever cancer study.
A former U.S. Marine, Ryfiak is angry. Very angry.
"I'm going to ask for the world," he said. 'They have poisoned my son for his entire life. They poisoned me for the last three years. They poisoned my ex-wife. They poisoned all three of my kids."
"I want an entire home filtration system and I don't give a f--- what it costs. It will be an entire home filtration system, point of entry."
"I want health care for me and anyone that lived with me for the rest of their lives because I don't know how this is going to affect us later," he said. "I don't know how it will affect my son in 30 years. In 30 years, when my son has hypertension ... every disease under the sun because of this, is he going to be able to go back to Rose & Westra or Wolverine and say, 'Hey, you guys poisoned me when I was 3 years old. You're paying for this,' or is he going to be out millions of dollars because he can't afford his health care?"
Wolverine executive on leather litter: 'We shouldn't have done it' Q&A with Wolverine VP on tannery pollution.
Scotchgard chemical ails fish where tannery scraps litter river Wolverine World Wide site in Rockford is focus of pollution testing.
Tannery waste dumped at landfill tied to municipal water pollution Toxic fluorinated chemicals found in Plainfield Township water. |
Donald Trump has reportedly picked retired four-star Marine Gen. John Kelly to lead the Department of Homeland Security. Kelly’s selection, reported by The New York Times and CBS News, makes him the third high-ranking military officer in the Trump administration to fill a post normally held by a civilian.
If confirmed, Kelly will become the first member of the military to lead the department, created in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. The department has jurisdiction over a wide swath of the federal bureaucracy, including anti-terrorism, immigration and customs, and cybersecurity. Kelly retired earlier this year after a 40-year career in the Marine Corps. In 2010, his son died in combat in Afghanistan after stepping on a landmine.
The public shares the president-elect’s apparent preference for military officials. While confidence in institutions like Congress, the media, and big business is at some of the lowest points in decades, the military remains the most trusted institution in America. Over 70 percent of Americans express a “great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in the military, according to a recent poll by Gallup.
That confidence may overshadow concerns about stacking the Trump administration with too many military officers. “If you have too many generals in the kitchen, the dish is likely to be baked with even more military instruments inside,” John A. Nagl, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, told The New York Times in November. “I’m not sure that’s the recipe the United States needs for every foreign policy meal.”
Trump also selected military officers for secretary of defense and for national security adviser. The current National Security Act requires any secretary of defense to be retired from the military for seven years, in an effort to ensure civilians would retain control over the sprawling military branch. |
NEW DELHI: Nalini Singh’s statement to police, which says Sunanda Pushkar told her hours before her death that Shashi Tharoor spent three days in Dubai with Pakistani journalist Mehr Tarar, may pose a problem for Tharoor, police sources said. Tarar allegedly told Shashi Tharoor that she could not live without him, Singh has claimed quoting Sunanda.As Delhi Police’s SIT goes through year-old evidence available with it before questioning Tharoor, sleuths say this part of the statement has ramifications and needs to be thoroughly probed. Tharoor was a Union minister at the time this alleged three-day meeting took place.In her statement, Singh says, “I knew Sunanda socially for the last 3-4 years. Over the last one year or so, Sunanda had started talking to me about her private life and particularly about her relationship with Shashi. Almost 6-7 months ago, Sunanda had shared her pain over what she regarded as mutual romantic interest between Shashi Tharoor and a Pakistani journalist named Mehr Tarar.“She told me that she was sure Tharoor and Tarar had spent three days together in Dubai in June 2013 and told me that, since she had a strong base in Dubai, her friends had informed her about it. And Sunanda had claimed she had proof of the allegations.“At 12.10am, on the intervening night of January 16 and 17, I got a call on my mobile from Sunanda. She sounded extremely distraught and was sobbing. She said Shashi and Tarar had exchanged intimate romantic messages. One message from Tarar implied that Tharoor was going to divorce Sunanda after the forthcoming general elections and marry Tarar. And that Tarar has written in a message that she cannot live without him.“Sunanda also alleged that Tharoor’s family was encouraging this affair. To my query on if the Twitter messages that were posted from Tharoor’s account were genuine, she said they were completely genuine and somebody who cared for her deeply had posted them in public space,” Singh said. Police believe this person was Sunil Trakru.Nalini Singh (TOI Photo by Ranjit Kumar)“Incidentally, she also said she had ‘taken over’ the crimes of Tharoor in the IPL matter. She said that Tharoor had never taken her to a hospital or doctor. She said she wanted my help in retrieving the BBM messages that Tharoor had deleted of his Blackberry. She said she already had a stock of such messages with her,” Singh said. During this conversation, Sunanda was joined by somebody (police said it was Narain) to whom she asked something about sahib and the male voice answered in Hindi.Police commissioner B S Bassi, meanwhile, reiterated that they were conducting a fair and thorough probe into the murder. |
Yes, diamonds are eternal, but processed gold has only been with us since about 4,500 B.C. At least that's the time period to which archaeologists are dating an eighth of an inch gold bead uncovered in Bulgaria. The tiny ornament is believed to be the oldest bit of processed gold ever discovered in Europe, and likely in the world, reports Angel Krasimiov at Reuters.
The bead is thought to predate the previous oldest gold objects, the Varna Gold, which as Andrew Curry writes for Smithsonian Journeys, is a cache of gold found in a necropolis outside the Black Sea port of Varna. Between 1972 and 1991, archaeologists found 13 pounds of gold artifacts buried in the necropolis. The Varna cache is something of mystery. The inhabitants of the region were believed to farmers who migrated out of the Anatolia Peninsula just a few centuries previously. How they were able to master the smelting of copper and gold in that short span of time is still not understood. This new bead pushes their mastery of metal working back another 200 years if the dating pans out.
“I have no doubt that it is older than the Varna gold,” Yavor Boyadzhiev, a professor at the Bulgarian Academy of Science in charge of the dig, tells Krasimiov. “It’s a really important discovery. It is a tiny piece of gold but big enough to find its place in history.”
The bead was discovered about two weeks ago at a dig site called Tell Yunatsite near the modern town of Pazardzhik, much further inland than Varna. Boyadzhiev says the settlement was a very sophisticated town, perhaps the first urban settlement in Europe. He believes the bead was likely manufactured on site. Researchers have also found hundreds of ceramic bird figurines at the site, probably used in some sort of religious worship. The settlement was also protected by a nine-foot-tall wall, though the town was likely destroyed by invaders around 4,100 B.C.
Tell Yunatsite has been excavated since the 1970s, and, along with the Varna necropolis, is part of an emerging “lost” Balkan Copper-age civilization. Researchers believe it had extensive trading networks, industrialized metal production for the first time in history and may have even created the world’s earliest known written scripts, should the symbols found on the Votive Tablet from the village of Gradeshnitsa be considered a form of writing. |
President Trump praised Christopher Columbus for being a "skilled navigator" in his Columbus Day proclamation Monday, despite the fact that the famed Italian explorer somehow ended up on the east coast of the Americas while looking for the East Indies, which lie on the other side of the world. "Columbus, and most others, underestimated the world's size, calculating that East Asia must lie approximately where North America sits on the globe (they did not yet know that the Pacific Ocean existed)," History.com writes.
Trump's proclamation, which goes on to exalt Columbus' "courageous feat [that] brought together continents," noticeably includes no mention of the indigenous people who already lived in the Americas, either. "The permanent arrival of Europeans to the Americas was a transformative event that undeniably and fundamentally changed the course of human history and set the stage for the development of our great nation," Trump wrote. He added: "We also take this opportunity to reaffirm our close ties to Columbus' country of birth, Italy. Italy is a strong ally and a valued partner in promoting peace and promoting prosperity around the world."
The proclamation breaks with former President Barack Obama's decision to use Columbus Day to discuss "the pain and suffering reflected in the stories of Native Americans who had long resided on this land prior to the arrival of European newcomers," The Hill points out. Many communities across the country no longer celebrate Columbus Day, which activists say glorifies the beginning of a bloody colonialist history in the Americas, and instead choose to celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day or Native Americans Day on the second Monday in October. Jeva Lange |
Product Description
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Intel® Smart Connect Technology keeps content always up-to-date! It means that your email, favorite apps, and social networks are continually and automatically updated even when the system is asleep. Smart Connect will periodically wake up the PC while in a sleep state and check updates for things like email, Twitter, Facebook, etc. No more waiting for the latest world news or friends’ updates to be delivered—just enable this function and you’re up-to-date and ready to go.
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Box Contains
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2 x S-ATA Data Leads Micro ATX Form Factor: 7.5-in x 6.7-in, 19.1 cm x 17.0 cm |
If you were wondering about Georges St-Pierre’s thoughts on Anderson Silva's and Nick Diaz’s positive UFC 83 drug tests, you can stop.
As usual, St-Pierre took the high road when asked by *Le Journal de Montreal’s Kevin Dubé for his opinion of the situation.
“Like everyone else, I was surprised when I heard the news,” he said sarcastically, according to the interviewer.
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St-Pierre went on to say it wasn’t his place to judge Silva, who tested positive for two steroids ahead of the bout, or Diaz, who tested positive for marijuana metabolites in his post-fight drug screening.
“I don’t wish them any ill will; it's terrible what happened to Anderson Silva – to his career, and also to him physically,” St-Pierre sympathized. “It’s not my intention to bash anyone, either."
St-Pierre has stated on more than one occasion that unless the UFC institutes a year-round WADA-sanctioned random drug-testing program he will not return to MMA. Although he is a vocal opponent of performance-enhancing drugs, the French-Canadian fighter said he won’t be a steroid whistle-blower. He says he will, however, continue to rally for a cleaner sport.
"I'm not a rat and I'll never go public and name names to reporters. My only hope is that we deal with this [PED] problem," St-Pierre said flatly. “I hope if one thing comes out of this, it's that testing will be done more stringently.”
“I really don't know [if this will prompt the UFC to increase out-of-competition drug testing]," St-Pierre said incredulously. "Maybe nothing will change. It depends on a lot of people."
One thing "Rush" does know is that, contrary to rumors stating otherwise, he still hasn’t made any plans to return to the cage in 2015.
"I think some journalists should re-check the credibility of their sources."
Story continues
*Cagewriter mistakenly reported that Dubé writes for La Press de Montreal. Dubé in fact writes for La Journal de Montreal. A link to the original source was also added to the original report. We apologize for the error and omission. |
Ross Kenry O'Donovan is an Australian animator, voice actor, and Internet personality. He is known for his YouTube and Newgrounds cartoons. He co-hosted the internet show Steam Train, a spin-off of YouTube Let's Play webseries Game Grumps.[1]
Early life [ edit ]
Ross Kenry O'Donovan was born on 17 June 1987 in Perth, Western Australia to Irish parents. He graduated from Corpus Christi College.[2] On September 29, 2012, O'Donovan married Holly Conrad, a cosplayer, propmaker, and special effects artist who was featured in Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope, as well as Heroes of Cosplay.[3][4] On September 19th, 2018, Conrad and O’Donovan announced on their respective Twitter pages that they would be splitting up amicably due to reasons connected with Conrad’s recent move to Seattle.
Career [ edit ]
Animation [ edit ]
After graduating from Corpus Christi, O'Donovan studied and instructed animation at the Film and Television Institute of Western Australia in Fremantle, Western Australia.[5] O'Donovan's best known work is the series Gamer Tonight, which is voiced and co-written by animator Arin Hanson, and was produced for the ABC2 video game-based program Good Game.[6] The series features a fictitious talk show called Gamer Tonight with Richard Farkas, whose host would interview various types of gamers.[7] He also created the show Gameoverse, which featured Hanson in every speaking role. Gameoverse has since been put on hiatus, though O'Donovan has confirmed the series will return.[8] O'Donovan started animating on Newgrounds, under the name "RubberNinja." He then moved his animations to YouTube, but as a result of not being able to keep the username RubberNinja, he went under the name "RubberRoss." In January 2014, he received possession of the name RubberNinja, and uploaded a video on his old channel telling subscribers to transfer over to his new one. This video has since been removed.
In 2016, O'Donovan and Conrad were invited to Conrad's alma mater, UC Santa Barbara, to discuss their careers on YouTube at the Graphic Voices conference hosted by student organizations at the university.[9]
Game Grumps [ edit ]
After Jon Jafari's departure from Game Grumps in 2013, Hanson launched a second show on the Game Grumps platform, originally conceptualized by O'Donovan,[10] called Steam Train. This would replace a then-empty timeslot. Ninja Sex Party vocalist Dan Avidan joined O'Donovan as co-host of the show, where both play PC games (the title references the retailer Steam). This broadened the channel's output to three videos a day: on average, two standard Game Grumps episodes, and a single Steam Train episode. With the introduction of the show's second season, the parameters of Steam Train were expanded, allowing for O'Donovan and any member of Game Grumps to co-host (as opposed to only Avidan).
In addition to this, O'Donovan has acted as a co-host of other shows from the Game Grumps platform, including Grumpcade, Steam Rolled, and Hunting Monsters. O'Donovan was also a frequent guest on Table Flip. He has also authored multiple content-related animations for Game Grumps Animated.
Charity [ edit ]
In June 2015, O'Donovan launched a 5-episode miniseries, released on the Game Grumps channel, called Guild Grumps. O'Donovan mentored 4 members of the Game Grumps crew in a 5-day race to advance from Level 90 to Level 100 in the Warlords of Draenor expansion of World of Warcraft.[11] Each participant had $1,000 to donate to a charity of their choice, if they reached the goal. If they did not, their donation would be split between those who won. In the end, O'Donovan was the sole winner, and, combined with the participants' distributed funds, donated $5,000 to cancer research.
As of 2015, O'Donovan and Game Grumps have raised over $70,000 by hosting charity livestreams on Twitch.[12]
Influence [ edit ]
O'Donovan, alongside his cat, Orph, will appear as a playable character in the upcoming game, Hex Heroes. He will also provide voiceover work for his character.[13]
Filmography [ edit ]
Web series [ edit ]
Video games [ edit ]
Year Title Role 2017 Paradigm Double Denim Bridge Troll[14] 2017 Pinstripe Mr. Dicky TBA Hex Heroes Himself[15] |
Target has signed a power purchase agreement for Infinity Renewables’ Solomon Forks Wind Project, located in northwestern Kansas.
Target will buy 100 MW of energy from the 474 MW project to offset 100% of power the company uses at 150 stores throughout the region. Solomon Forks represents Target’s second wind energy agreement.
The wind farm, which is expected to begin commercial operations in the fourth quarter of 2018, is located across 50,000 acres of land near the city of Colby. Construction is slated to commence in early 2018.
“We are excited to work with Target on the Solomon Forks project,” says Matt Langley, Infinity’s vice president of origination and finance. “Target has shown great leadership in driving the development of low‐cost, clean energy development in the United States, and Infinity is pleased to be participating in that mission.” |
More than 900,000 people live in Nova Scotia.
Imagine if even one-quarter of them could be convinced to take just one photo or short video on a single day and share it with everyone else.
Put it all together, and you'd have A Day in the Life of Nova Scotia: 2014.
It's been done before, but never quite the way we're going to do it. And we need your help more than ever.
First, some background:
In 1993, CBC's First Edition dispatched TV cameras across the province to shoot vignettes. We saw the leader of the opposition, John Savage, shaving; a judge donning his robes; an emotional bride walking down the aisle; a baby's first breath. The piece felt like a love letter to the province.
Anyone look familiar?
The original A Day in the Life of Nova Scotia was shot in March 1993. Scenes include a bride and groom, hockey players, a woman in labour, toddlers — dozens of people in all. Let us know if you or someone you know was in the original piece. We'd love to catch up.
Now, 21 years on, CBC Nova Scotia will do it again.
But this time, most of the images will come from you.
On Oct. 17, we want you to show us your Nova Scotia. Whatever you're doing that day, whoever you're with, share a moment in time with us — and thousands of friends you haven't met yet.
Imagine 24 hours of shared experiences, preserved in a virtual tapestry.
You'll be able to contribute video and stills using email and social media, including YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. For the first time, you'll also be able to watch the images uploading live, to see what everyone else is contributing to the project.
We'll have more details on the mechanics of all this as Oct. 17 draws closer.
For now, we’re hoping your imagination runs wild. What part of Nova Scotia will you share?
Stay tuned for Oct. 17: A Day in the Life of Nova Scotia.
On Monday, we asked for help identifying a baby girl born on March 12, 1993. Her birth was a highlight of CBC's A Day in the Life of Nova Scotia: 1993, which was shot on that day.
Late this afternoon, her dad called the newsroom to say he remembers the shoot vividly. His daughter's name is Emily and she's still living in Halifax.
We'll catch up with Emily and her family on Oct. 17, when we shoot A Day in the Life of Nova Scotia: 2014. |
James Clapper: Our Institutions ‘Are Under Assault’ Both Externally and Internally
Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper says the United States’ political institutions are currently “under assault” both externally and internally, in the wake of President Donald Trump’s firing of ex-FBI Director James Comey.
“The developments of the past week are very bothersome, very disturbing to me,” Clapper said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday.
“I think in many ways our institutions are under assault, both externally — and that’s the big news here, the Russian interference in our election system — and I think as well, our institutions are under assault internally,”
When asked if he meant if those institutions were “under assault” internally by the president himself, Clapper said “exactly” and added that he believed Trump was undermining the checks and balances inherent to the U.S. political system.
ROBERT STEELE: There was a time, in the 1990’s, when I admired James Clapper. He was (no longer) easily one of the most intellectual flag officers I have ever known, in the top five out of roughly 70. Then he lost his integrity. The crap he is spouting today confirms his dishonesty — on the one hand, he is absolutely right, our Deep State institutions are under attack (and I am leading that charge with help from Cynthia McKinney and others soon to be identified) and on the other hand, he is so full of shit as to make me wonder if he could not receive a mental health examination. The Russians did not hack the US election — Hillary Clinton tried and failed to hack the election, and James Clapper committed treason on multiple occasions by allowing his notional subordinate Saudi Arabian whore and traitor John Brennan, to engage in all manner of domestic subversion.
James Clapper is a traitor with no moral compass. If I were advising our legitimate president, which I am not, I would suggest that James Clapper should be stripped of his clearances and denied access to all forms of classified information. This will make him unemployable — any company employing him without clearances should be denied eligibility for government contracts. His current “non-profit” employer should of course be denied any additional grants from the government.
This is the man who spent over a decade leading $70-100 billion a year in waste that was never able to satisfy more than 4% “at best” of what a major commander needs in the way of decision-support (and nothing for everyone else, least of all the troops on the front line).
This is a man who oversaw mass surveillance by NSA, spying on and blackmail of our politicians by NSA and CIA, drone assassination and torture & rendition by CIA, mind-control operations at a scale that will one day rival the Nuremberg trials, and more.
Good-bye, James Clapper.
See Especially:
#UNRIG – the End of the Deep State
See Also:
Deep State @ Phi Beta Iota
Robert Steele with Sarah Westall on Trump, Comey, the Integrity Revolution
Robert Steele: The Soft Coup Collapses – Blackmail Revealed – What Next? CIA was bluffing, produced no evidence – Russians did not “hack” the election. Is this the beginning of the end of the Deep State in the USA? Can Trump clean house & wage peace?
Robert Steele: UNHINGED: drone assassination – American suicide
Robert Steele: UNHINGED — Two Books on Terror Reviewed (Rebuttal, a Book of Lies & Broken!, Truth as Fiction) |
The wait for the third season of Rick and Morty has been long and agonizing, and while waiting for new episodes to materialize (aside from the surprise new episode on April Fools Day season three premiere), fans have been pulling their hair out, worrying about the future of the show and coming up with terrifying theories as to why it's taking so long.
But it turns out that it might not take much longer. Out of the blue, it was just announced that a Rick and Morty live stream event is going down at 9 p.m. EST on June 29, although details are scarce. Still, it seems like something worthwhile will be happening, based on a press release that ends on a promising note: "Don’t miss it. Or be late. Trust us." The vagueness of the whole thing sure does make it seem like we're getting a new Rick and Morty episode on Thursday. |
John Mulaney, left, as George St. Geegland and Nick Kroll as Gil Faizon in “Oh, Hello.” (Luke Fontana)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Even before I went to see OH, HELLO on Broadway (or “bridd-whey” as George says), I knew these guys. I knew the mid-thirties comedians Nick Kroll and John Mulaney who portray two wacky codgers in their mid-seventies Gil Faizon (Kroll) and George St. Geegland (Mulaney). I knew these Upper West Side aging creative types with giant egos and tiny resumes. What I didn’t expect was the rapid fire hilarity flowing virtually non-stop throughout the show. The jokes are sweet and loopy (“That sandwich has too much tuna!” see above).
Gil and George are roommates, co-authors and stars of their show-within-the-show about two aging roommates named Gil and George who get evicted from their Upper Westside apartment. Many of the jokes are about New York City history, Theatrical stage conventions and Steely Dan, all areas in my perview, so I was in stitches the entire evening. However, I can imagine inviting a relative from out-of-town to see the show and having them come away not understanding any of the references. For those of us who find these characters familiar, you will love this show. It is the perfect whimsical tonic for these turbulent times.
A Clip From The Show
Show Info
Show Site |
StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void comes out on November 10. The single-player campaign will wrap up 17 years of story in a series that has become a huge part of video game pop culture. So, hopefully, developer Blizzard is going to make fans happy with this third and final installment for StarCraft II.
Legacy of the Void is a stand-alone title, where you don’t have to already own StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, which came out in 2010, or its sequel, StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm, which debuted in 2013. But, it sure helps to know the backstory, as it’s a complicated narrative. At a time when the consoles are cranking out big titles for the fall, Legacy of the Void is an important title for the tens of millions of fans of PC gaming, as it will keep them loyal to the platform that represents the leading edge of gaming and technology.
At the end of Heart of the Swarm, Sarah Kerrigan defeated Arcturus Mengsk and got her revenge. She also found out the plans of the fallen xel’naga, Amon. He’s trying to combine the Zerg and Protoss DNA to create a hybrid that will kill everything living in the universe. She’s going to take the Swarm and try to hunt down the hybrid and stop him. And Protoss leader Artanis reunites the Protoss, goes back to the homeworld of Aiur, and plans to take back the homeworld from the Zerg.
Legacy of the Void’s single-player campaign focuses on Protoss leader Artanis and his struggle to unite his race against an ancient enemy. But, the tale also wraps up the story of Jim Raynor and Kerrigan, who became the Queen of Blades. In all of this, players aren’t going to be playing as human characters. And that’s going to create a challenge for Blizzard, as we’ll see how well players can relate to heroes who aren’t human.
We caught up with Tim Morten, lead producer at Blizzard on Legacy of the Void, at the recent TwitchCon gameplay-livestreaming conference in San Francisco to talk about the latest addition to Starcraft II. Here’s an edited transcript of our event.
Image Credit: Dean Takahashi
GamesBeat: Can you talk about what you revealed in the video today?
Tim Morten: We showed two new pieces of content. The first was a story recap done cartoon style, kind of a whimsical look back on the entire history of StarCraft. The second video piece was called “Reclamation.” That takes place just before the opening cinematic of Legacy of the Void. It’s a conversation between Artanis and one of the zealots who’ll be leading the attack on Aiur. Then, we announced three new commanders for our co-op missions mode that will be coming with Legacy of the Void.
GamesBeat: Is the opening cinematic already out?
Morten: It is. What we showed today sets up the conflict Artanis is going through just before reclaiming Aiur.
GamesBeat: Is all the action taking place on the Protoss homeworld, or are you bouncing around a lot?
Morten: Aiur does factor in, but we cover a lot of locations in the sector over the course of the game.
GamesBeat: What sort of reaction did you get today?
Morten: I’ve been taking a look at Reddit and whatnot to see what fans are thinking. I’m seeing a tremendous amount of positivity around seeing the history of that particular character, the scar-faced Zealot who lead the charge. People also enjoyed the cartoon style of the first video, so we’ve seen some good positivity.
Image Credit: Blizzard
GamesBeat: Do people still relate with these characters, even though they’re not human?
Morten: It’s been an interesting journey for StarCraft. It started Terran with Wings of Liberty, and Kerrigan became the personification of the Zerg in Heart of the Swarm. In this one, the human characters certainly play a part in the story, but we put a lot of work into making the Protoss expressive, even though they don’t have mouths. That goes for everything from how the faces are animated in the cutscenes, how the eyes flare, how the brows move…. There are universal elements in how they communicate that still convey emotion.
GamesBeat: And they’re helping each other out in familiar ways.
Morten: Yeah. The themes are universal.
GamesBeat: What’s the feeling you want people to have after they finish this game? What do you want to accomplish?
Morten: I hope they come away feeling satisfied with how the story resolves. We’re working hard to make that the moment everyone is looking forward to, tying up the story arc with Raynor, Kerrigan, and Artanis. But the other thing I want them to come away with is a sense of fulfillment around the game mechanics, the new modes we’ve introduced, the open-endedness of tournaments, Archon mode, co-op mode. These are things that should keep StarCraft exciting for players well past the end of the campaign.
GamesBeat: More ways to retain players, basically?
Morten: It’s more ways for players to continue to be engaged. Automated tournaments are something that … we’ve seen this with straight ladder [player versus player], the competitive drive that pushes people to keep going up the ladder toward masters and grandmasters. Now, with automated tournaments, there’s a whole new pathway for people to compete. It’s about winning the tournament, rather than climbing to be the best in a region.
GamesBeat: What kind of progress has StarCraft made as an esport over the years?
Morten: You look at how the production values have evolved. We just had the season-three finals. It was a spectacular exhibition of competition. We had the final match in Krakow, Poland, with Mana versus Lilbow. Mana being from Poland, the crowd was rooting for him. Lilbow was a contender to go to BlizzCon, and he’s the one contender not coming out of Korea. There was this tremendous back and forth trade. Is the local hero going to take it, or is the underdog going to BlizzCon? In the end Lilbow made it. This is the first BlizzCon that will see a European champion going up against the Koreans. There’s so much excitement around what the future can bring beyond that.
GamesBeat: What’s your sense of how big the community is now? You can still fill stadiums, it seems like.
Morten: Even now, between launches, we see tremendous engagement in terms of monthly active users. Total size of the community … we’ll get a better sense once Legacy of the Void launches. But there are millions and millions of people out there playing.
Even though we’re wrapping up the story with this release, as a team, we plan to continue working on StarCraft II. We’ll continue supporting the player base and the universe. Even though this is a resolution to the story, it’s not the end of StarCraft. |
First Things First
Thanissaro Bhikkhu
If you were to ask people familiar with Buddhism to identify its two most important wisdom teachings, they’d probably say emptiness and the four noble truths. If you were to ask them further which of the two teachings was more fundamental, they might hesitate, but most of them would probably put emptiness first, on the grounds that the four noble truths deal with a mental problem, while emptiness describes the way things in general are.
It wasn’t always this way. The Buddha himself gave more importance to the four noble truths, and it’s important to understand why.
When he boiled his teaching down to its shortest formulation, he said that he taught just dukkha—suffering and stress—and the cessation of dukkha (MN 22; SN 22:86). The four noble truths expand on this formulation, defining what suffering is—clinging; how it’s caused—craving and ignorance; the fact that it can be brought to an end by abandoning its cause; and the path of practice that leads to that end. Because part of the path of practice contains desire—the desire, in right effort, to act skillfully so as to go beyond suffering—the four noble truths also expand on one of the Buddha’s main observations about the phenomena of experience: that with the exception of nibbāna, they’re all rooted in desire (AN 10:58). People aren’t simply passive recipients of their experience. Starting from their desires, they play an active role in shaping it. The strategy implied by the four noble truths is that desire should be retrained so that, instead of causing suffering, it helps act toward suffering’s end.
As for emptiness, the Buddha mentioned it only rarely, but one of his definitions for emptiness (SN 35:85) closely relates it to another teaching that he mentioned a great deal. That’s the teaching popularly known as the three characteristics, and that the Buddha himself called, not “characteristics,” but “perceptions”: the perception of inconstancy, the perception of suffering/stress, and the perception of not-self. When explaining these perceptions, he taught that if you perceive fabricated things—all things conditioned by acts of intention—as inconstant, you’ll also see that they’re stressful and thus not worthy identifying as you or yours.
His purpose in teaching these perceptions was for them to be applied to suffering and its cause as a way of fostering dispassion for the objects of clinging and craving, and for the acts of clinging and craving themselves. In this way, these perceptions were aids in carrying out the duties appropriate to the four noble truths: to comprehend suffering, to abandon its cause, to realize its cessation by developing the path. In other words, the four noble truths and their duties supplied the context for the three perceptions and determined their role in the practice.
However, over the centuries, as the three perceptions were renamed the three characteristics, they morphed in two other ways as well. First, they turned into a metaphysical teaching, as the characteristics of what things are: All are devoid of essence because they’re impermanent and, since nothing has any essence, there is no self. Second, because these three characteristics were now metaphysical truths, they became the context within which the four noble truths were true.
This switch in roles meant that the four noble truths morphed as well. Whereas the Buddha had identified suffering with all types of clinging—even the act of clinging to the phenomenon of the deathless (amata-dhamma), the unchanging dimension touched at the first taste of awakening—the relationship between clinging and suffering was now explained by the metaphysical fact that all possible objects of clinging were impermanent. To cling to them as if they were permanent would thus bring sorrow and disappointment.
As for the ignorance that underlies craving: Whereas the Buddha had defined it as ignorance of the four noble truths, it was now defined as ignorance of the three characteristics. People cling and crave because they don’t realize that nothing has any essence and that there is no self. If they were to realize the truth of these teachings through direct experience—this became the purpose of mindfulness practice—they wouldn’t cling any more, and so wouldn’t suffer.
This is how this switch in context, giving priority to the three characteristics over the four noble truths, has come to dominate modern Buddhism. The common pattern is that when modern authors explain right view, which the Buddha equated with seeing things in terms of the four noble truths, the discussion quickly switches from the four noble truths to the three characteristics to explain why clinging leads to suffering. Clinging is no longer directly equated with suffering; instead, it causes suffering because it assumes permanence and essence in impermanent things.
Even teachers who deny the truth of the four noble truths—on the grounds that the principle of impermanence means that no statement can be true everywhere for everyone—still accept the principle of impermanence as a metaphysical truth accurately describing the way things everywhere are.
As these explanations have percolated through modern culture, both among people who identify themselves as Buddhist and among those who don’t, they’ve given rise to four widespread understandings of the Buddha’s teachings on clinging and how it’s best avoided so as to stop suffering:
1. Because there is no self, there is no agent. People are essentially on the receiving end of experience, and they suffer because they cling to the idea that they can resist or control change. 2. To cling means to hold on to something with the misunderstanding that it’s permanent. For this reason, as long as you understand that things are impermanent, you can embrace them briefly as they arise in the present moment and it doesn’t count as clinging. If you embrace experiences in full realization that you’ll have to let them go so as to embrace whatever comes next, you won’t suffer. As long as you’re fully in the moment with no expectations about the future, you’re fine. 3. Clinging comes from the mistaken view that there can be such a thing as long-term happiness. But because all things are fleeting, there is no such thing. Pleasures, like pains, simply come and go. When you can resign yourself to this fact, you can open to the spacious wisdom of non-clinging, equanimous and accepting, as you place no vain expectations on the fleeting show of life. These three understandings are often illustrated with the image of a perfectly fluid dancer, happily responsive to changes in the music decided by the musicians, switching partners with ease. A recent bestseller that devoted a few pages to the place of Buddhism in world history illustrated these three understandings of the Buddhist approach to suffering with another image: You’re sitting on the ocean shore, watching the waves come in. If you’re stupid enough to want to cling to “good” waves to make them permanent and to push “bad” waves away, you’ll suffer. But if you accept the fact that waves are just waves, fleeting and incessant, and that there’s no way you can either stop or keep them, you can be at peace as you simply watch, with full acceptance, as they do their thing. 4. The fourth widespread understanding about the Buddhist stance on clinging is closely related to the other three: Clinging means holding on to fixed views. If you have set ideas about what’s right or wrong, or about how things should be—even about how the Buddha’s teachings should be interpreted—you’ll suffer. But if you can let go of your fixed views and simply accept the fact that right and wrong keep changing along with everything else, you’ll be fine.
I recently saw a video clip of a French Buddhologist explaining this principle: When asked by a female interviewer to explain the practical applications of the teaching on impermanence in daily life, he replied, “It means that we have to accept that my love for you today will be different from my love for you yesterday.”
It’s been argued that these three understandings of the Buddha’s teachings on clinging don’t promote an attitude of unhealthy passivity, on the grounds that if you’re fully attuned to the present moment without clinging, you can be more freely active and creative in how you respond to change. But still, there’s something inherently defeatist in the picture they offer of life and of the possibilities of happiness that we as human beings can find. They allow for no dimension where we can be free from the unpredictability of waves or the self-righteous infidelity of lovers. It’s only within this narrow range of possibilities that our non-clinging creativity can eke out a little peace.
And when we compare these understandings with the Buddha’s actual teachings on clinging and the end of clinging—returning the three characteristics to their original role as three perceptions, and putting the four noble truths back in their rightful place as the context for the three perceptions—we’ll see not only how far the popular understandings of his teachings deviate from what he actually taught, but also what an impoverished view of the potentials for happiness those popular understandings provide.
To begin with, a lot can be learned from looking at the Pali word for clinging, upādāna. In addition to clinging, it also means sustenance and the act of taking sustenance: in other words, food and the act of feeding. The connection between feeding and suffering was one of the Buddha’s most radical and valuable insights, because it’s so counter-intuitive and at the same time so useful. Ordinarily, we find so much pleasure in the act of feeding, emotionally as well as physically, that we define ourselves by the way we feed off the world and the people around us. It took someone of the Buddha’s genius to see the suffering inherent in feeding, and that all suffering is a type of feeding. The fact that we feed off things that change simply adds an extra layer of stress on top of the stress intrinsic in the felt need always to feed.
And just as we feed off physical food without assuming that it’s going to be permanent, clinging to things doesn’t necessarily mean that we assume them to be permanent. We cling whenever we sense that the effort of clinging is repaid by some sort of satisfaction, permanent or not. We cling because there’s some pleasure in the things to which we cling (SN 22:60). When we can’t find what we’d like to cling to, our hunger forces us to take what we can get. For this reason, the act of embracing things in the present moment still counts as clinging. Even if we’re adept at moving from one changing thing to another, it simply means that we’re serial clingers, taking little bites out of every passing thing. We still suffer in the incessant drive to keep finding the next bite to eat.
This is why being constantly mindful of the truth of impermanence isn’t enough to solve the problem of suffering. To really solve it, we need to change our feeding habits—radically—so that we can strengthen the mind to the point where it no longer needs to feed. This requires a two-pronged strategy: (a) seeing the drawbacks of our ordinary ways of feeding, and (b) providing the mind with better food in the meantime until it has outgrown the need to feed on anything at all.
The first prong of the strategy is where the three perceptions come in. First you apply them to things to which you might cling or crave, to see that the benefits of holding on to those things are far outweighed by the drawbacks. You focus on the extent to which the happiness they provide is inconstant, and that because it’s inconstant, the effort to rest in it involves stress. When you see that the happiness isn’t worth the effort of the clinging, you realize that it’s not worthy to claim as you or yours. It’s not-self: in other words, not worth claiming as self. In this way, the perception of not-self isn’t a metaphysical assertion. It’s a value judgment, that the effort to define yourself around the act of feeding on those things simply isn’t worth it.
This analysis works, however, only if you have something better to feed on in the interim. Otherwise, you’ll simply go back to your old feeding habits. Nobody ever stopped eating simply through the realization that foods and stomachs are impermanent.
This is where the second prong of the Buddha’s strategy comes in. You develop the path as your interim nourishment, focusing in particular on the pleasure and rapture of right concentration as your alternative source of food (AN 7:63). When the path is fully developed, it opens to another dimension entirely: the deathless, a happiness beyond the reach of space, time, and all phenomena of the six senses.
But because the mind is such a habitual feeder, on its first encounter with the deathless it tries to feed on it—which turns the experience into a phenomenon, an object of the mind. Of course, that act of feeding stands in the way of full awakening. This is where the perception of not-self gets put to use once more, to counteract this last form of clinging: to the deathless. Even though the deathless in itself is neither stressful nor inconstant, any act of clinging to it has to involve stress. So the perception of not-self has to be applied here as well, to peel away this last obstacle to full awakening beyond all phenomena. When this perception has done its work, “not-self” gets put aside—just as everything else is let go—and the mind, free from hunger, gains full release.
A traditional image for this release is of a person standing on firm ground after taking the raft of the noble eightfold path over a river in flood. Safe from the waves and currents of the river, the person is totally free—even freer than the image can convey. There’s nothing intrinsically hunger-free about standing on a riverbank—it’s more a symbol of relief—but everyone who has experienced what the image is pointing to guarantees that, to the extent that you can call it a place, it’s a place of no hunger and so no need for desire.
If we compare this image with that of the person on the shore of the ocean watching the waves, we can get a sense of how limited the happiness that’s offered by understanding the four noble truths in the context of the three characteristics is, as opposed to the happiness offered by understanding the three perceptions in the context of the four noble truths.
To begin with, the Buddha’s image of crossing the river doesn’t put quotation marks around concepts of good and bad waves in the water. The flood is genuinely bad, and the ultimate goodness in life is when you can truly get beyond it.
Second, unlike the image of sitting on the shore, watching an ocean beyond your control, the Buddha’s image conveys the point that there’s something you can do to get to safety: You have within you the power to follow the duties of the four noble truths and develop the path that will take you to the other side. As he said, wisdom begins with the question, “What when I do it will lead to long-term welfare and happiness?” (MN 135) The wisdom here lies in seeing that there is such a thing as long-term happiness, that it’s preferable to short-term, and that it depends, not on conditions beyond your control, but on actions you can train yourself to do. This version of wisdom is a far cry from the “wisdom” that ends in resigned equanimity and reduced expectations. It honors your desire for long-term happiness, and shows how it can actually be found.
Third, to sit watching the ocean waves come ashore is peaceful and desirable only as long as you’re wealthy enough to be at a resort, with someone to bring you food, drink, and shelter on a regular basis. Otherwise, you have to keep searching for these things on your own. And even at the resort, you’re not safe from being swept away by tsunamis and storms.
The image of crossing the river to safety on the further shore also offers an enlightening perspective on the view that all fixed views should be abandoned. In the Canon’s own interpretation of the image (SN 35:197), the river stands for the fourfold flood of sensuality, becoming, views, and ignorance, while the raft of the noble eightfold path includes right view. Although it’s true that the raft is abandoned on reaching the further shore, you still have to hold on to it while you’re crossing the river. Otherwise, you’ll be swept downstream.
What’s rarely noticed is the paradox contained in the image. Right view, seeing things in terms of the four noble truths, is part of the raft needed to cross over the flood of views. As the Buddha saw, it’s the only view that can perform this function, taking you safely all the way across the river and delivering you to the further shore.
It can take you all the way across because it’s always true and relevant. Cultural changes may affect what we choose to feed on, but the fact of feeding is a constant, as is the connection between suffering and the need to feed. In that sense, right view counts as fixed. It can never be replaced by a more effective understanding of suffering. At the same time, it’s always relevant in that the framework of the four noble truths can be brought to bear on every choice you make at every stage of the practice. Here it differs from the three perceptions, for while the Buddha noted that they’re always true (AN 3:137), they’re not always relevant (MN 136). If, for instance, you perceive the results of all actions, skillful or not, as impermanent, stressful, and not-self, it can dissuade you from making the effort to be skillful in what you do, say, or think.
In addition to being always true and relevant, right view is responsible. It gives reliable guidance on what should and shouldn’t be taken as food for the mind. As the Buddha said, any teaching that can’t give trustworthy guidelines for determining what’s skillful and unskillful to do abdicates a teacher’s primary responsibility to his or her students (AN 3:62). The Buddhologist’s answer to the interviewer exemplifies how irresponsible the teaching to abandon fixed views can be. And the look she gave him showed that she wanted nothing of it.
After taking you responsibly all the way across the river, right view can deliver you to the further shore because it contains the seeds for its own transcendence, which—as you develop them—deliver you to a transcendent dimension (AN 10:93). Right view does this by focusing on the processes by which the mind creates stress for itself, at the same time encouraging you to abandon those processes when you sense that they’re causing stress. In the beginning, this involves clinging to right view as a tool to pry loose your attachments to gross causes of stress. Over time, as your taste for mental food becomes more refined through its exposure to right concentration, you become sensitive to causes of stress that are more and more subtle. These you abandon as you come to detect them, until eventually there’s nothing else to abandon aside from the path. That’s when right view encourages you to turn the analysis on the act of holding on to and feeding on right view itself. When you can abandon that, there’s nothing left for the mind to cling to, and so it’s freed.
The view that all fixed views should be abandoned, however, doesn’t contain this dynamic. It provides no grounds for deciding what should and shouldn’t be done. In itself, it can act as an object of craving and clinging, becoming as fixed as any other view. If you decide to drop it, for whatever reason, it delivers you nowhere. It offers no guidance on how to choose anything better, and as a result, you end up clinging to whatever passing view seems attractive. You’re still stuck in the river, grasping at pieces of flotsam and jetsam as the flood carries you away.
This is why it’s always important to remember that, in the practice to gain freedom from suffering, the four noble truths must always come first. They give guidance to the rest of the path, determining the role and function of all the Buddha’s other teachings—including emptiness and the three perceptions—so that, instead of lulling you into being satisfied with an exposed spot on the beach, they can take you all the way to the safety of full release, beyond the reach of any possible wave. |
LAMENTATIONS 1
« Jeremiah 52 | Lamentations 1 | Lamentations 2 »
How Lonely Sits the City
1:1 How lonely sits the city that was full of people! How like a widow has she become, she who was great among the nations! She who was a princess among the provinces has become a slave.
2 She weeps bitterly in the night, with tears on her cheeks; among all her lovers she has none to comfort her; all her friends have dealt treacherously with her; they have become her enemies.
3 Judah has gone into exile because of affliction and hard servitude; she dwells now among the nations, but finds no resting place; her pursuers have all overtaken her in the midst of her distress.
4 The roads to Zion mourn, for none come to the festival; all her gates are desolate; her priests groan; her virgins have been afflicted, and she herself suffers bitterly.
5 Her foes have become the head; her enemies prosper, because the Lord has afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions; her children have gone away, captives before the foe.
6 From the daughter of Zion all her majesty has departed. Her princes have become like deer that find no pasture; they fled without strength before the pursuer.
7 Jerusalem remembers in the days of her affliction and wandering all the precious things that were hers from days of old. When her people fell into the hand of the foe, and there was none to help her, her foes gloated over her; they mocked at her downfall.
8 Jerusalem sinned grievously; therefore she became filthy; all who honored her despise her, for they have seen her nakedness; she herself groans and turns her face away.
9 Her uncleanness was in her skirts; she took no thought of her future; therefore her fall is terrible; she has no comforter. “O Lord , behold my affliction, for the enemy has triumphed!”
10 The enemy has stretched out his hands over all her precious things; for she has seen the nations enter her sanctuary, those whom you forbade to enter your congregation.
11 All her people groan as they search for bread; they trade their treasures for food to revive their strength. “Look, O Lord , and see, for I am despised.”
12 “Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow, which was brought upon me, which the Lord inflicted on the day of his fierce anger.
13 “From on high he sent fire; into my bones he made it descend; he spread a net for my feet; he turned me back; he has left me stunned, faint all the day long.
14 “My transgressions were bound into a yoke; by his hand they were fastened together; they were set upon my neck; he caused my strength to fail; the Lord gave me into the hands of those whom I cannot withstand.
15 “The Lord rejected all my mighty men in my midst; he summoned an assembly against me to crush my young men; the Lord has trodden as in a winepress the virgin daughter of Judah.
16 “For these things I weep; my eyes flow with tears; for a comforter is far from me, one to revive my spirit; my children are desolate, for the enemy has prevailed.”
17 Zion stretches out her hands, but there is none to comfort her; the Lord has commanded against Jacob that his neighbors should be his foes; Jerusalem has become a filthy thing among them.
18 “The Lord is in the right, for I have rebelled against his word; but hear, all you peoples, and see my suffering; my young women and my young men have gone into captivity.
19 “I called to my lovers, but they deceived me; my priests and elders perished in the city, while they sought food to revive their strength.
20 “Look, O Lord , for I am in distress; my stomach churns; my heart is wrung within me, because I have been very rebellious. In the street the sword bereaves; in the house it is like death.
21 “They heard my groaning, yet there is no one to comfort me. All my enemies have heard of my trouble; they are glad that you have done it. You have brought the day you announced; now let them be as I am.
22 “Let all their evildoing come before you, and deal with them as you have dealt with me because of all my transgressions; for my groans are many, and my heart is faint.”
« Jeremiah 52 | Lamentations 1 | Lamentations 2 » |
NATIONAL CITY, Calif. — Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders hosted a rally in National City Saturday evening and was introduced by comedian George Lopez.
“Nothing is over yet and this movement is still going on,” Lopez said during his introduction. “I want you to have money. I want you to have an education. I want the police to leave us alone.”
Sanders, who spoke to nearly 7,500 supporters at Kimball Park, stuck to familiar themes in his speech.
“Together we are going to create an economy that works for all of us, not just wealthy contributors,” he told the cheering crowd. “(America needs) a democracy that does not mean a campaign finance system in which billionaires buy elections.”
“We need a massive federal jobs program to put our people back to work,” Sanders said, advocating that the federal government could create such jobs by rebuilding America’s infrastructure, including water treatment facilities and roads.
Sanders said he supports the right of states to legalize marijuana and said he would vote for the California ballot initiative to do so if he lived here.
He also called on America to “invest in young people in jobs and an education, not in incarceration” and to “make public colleges and universities tuition-free.”
The National City Police Department said A and D avenues and East 12th and East 15th streets, would be closed around the park about two hours before the event.
Sanders also was scheduled to speak in Vista Sunday afternoon at Rancho Buena Vista High School.
Former President Bill Clinton Saturday urged San Diego County voters to support his wife, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, in the California primary next month.
The nation’s 42nd president spoke to a crowd of hundreds of supporters packed into the gymnasium at Bonita Vista High School. Their enthusiasm did not seem to wane despite his being about an hour late to the event. An overflow crowd was led to an area outside the gym.
Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump is scheduled to hold a rally at the San Diego Convention Center on May 27. |
I delivered this sermon Sunday, September 27, 2015 at the Colorado State Capitol in Denver. The weather was hot and the service long, yet the music, words, and energy shared made for a moving morning. Photo credit: Daniel Sauvé
“Which side are you on?”
It’s a controversial question—and, in this time of Black Lives Matter banners being ripped down and vandalized, it feels like the right question. So I’ll do the one thing I can do—share my story of how I’ve come to say ‘Black Lives Matter’—and believe that mine does, too. It’s a story of self-hate turned to activism and hope.
After leading a Black Lives Matter UU training in New York on Thursday, I went out with three other black UU young adults—yes, there a few others out there—I see you, Maníge–into a bar that, well, wasn’t in Harlem. We were nearly the only black folks in there, even as other folks came and went, and we were loud. We cut loose. The four of us—employed by mostly-white, UU institutions—got loud. We laughed loud, we commiserated loud, and we hoped and strategized loud. It got intense, the sharing and
I mentally stepped back and realized I was at that table: the table of loud black people. It was the table that, as a teenager, I feared and tried to hate, but just couldn’t. I looked into the face of my close friend Raziq Brown, and of my two other friends. I excused myself and went outside. I made it to the front door before the tears came. I wept.
The tears came because of how much younger me had learned to hate my blackness, to play it down when possible. No one person really said the words, yet the message sank in over time. As a child I heard from many about about the civil rights movement, in past tense. “We had problems and now they’re fixed,” basically. Though I had some teachers and religious educators say different, that was the biggest message.
My black family’s education level and success got used to put other black people down. “All it takes in this country is hard work—look at the Stewart-Wiley family!”
As a teen I learned that it was easy for me to navigate white spaces. My diction was “perfect”—I asked for things instead of aksing for them. I could “take a joke” at UU youth group instead of “being all social justice-y.” I got good at the art of making sure white people around me were comfortable. Eye contact. Smile—a lot. Good handshakes.
I was “impressive.” “Articulate.” “A refreshing young man.” “A credit to my people.” Supremacy teaches us that black lives matter only if—if we are respectful, if we are exceedingly educated, if our records are clean—then denies most black people the resources to make new realities. For awhile, I bought in.
But things kept happening. I kept reading and kept listening and other black folks seemed to be insisting, “Yeah, actually, the cops still harass us and too many of us are in jail and there’s this thing called mass incarceration and schools are still segregated with wildly unequal resources and LISTEN TO US.”
I started listening—to them and to myself. And over time I realized that other folks were starting to wake up. The ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement is often referred to as a new movement. And it is. Yet it is also old. Some of you have been to marches and you’ve heard old freedom songs like ‘Wade in the Water’ combined with the chant “black lives, they matter here.” This work is old and new together because a new wave of folks, young and not-as-young, are fighting old battles.
The road to that moment at the bar—to finally being okay with being at the loud black table, to finally not worrying so much about what white people might think of us—has been long, and it has everything to do with Black Lives Matter, a movement that’s saved me—and Unitarian Universalism—my religious home, a faith that’s both wounded and healed me.
Sometimes it’s asked, “What is the history of Unitarian Universalists on racial justice? Have we been good? Have we been bad?” The only answer is “yes.” The equivocation that challenges me—from “But all lives matter!” to “Well yes, racism is a big deal, but…”—has always been there. Yet throughout our religious history, there have been Universalists and Unitarians willing to resist the status quo, and willing to disrupt things so we might build a more inclusive world.
In 1965 Dr. King asked, “Who killed James Reeb?” Reeb was a young Unitarian minister from Boston who answered the call to go to Selma. King said, “a few sick and misguided men.” Indeed. For being white and supporting black folks’ freedom struggle, Reeb was viciously, and fatally attacked. Dr. King kept going, though, asking, “What killed James Reeb?” …The blame is wide and the responsibility grows… He was murdered by the irrelevancy of a church that will stand amid social evil and serve as a taillight rather than a headlight, an echo rather than a voice…
So, in his death, James Reeb says something to each of us, black and white alike—says that we must substitute courage for caution, says to us that we must be concerned not merely about who murdered him, but about the system, the philosophy which produced the murder.
Today, friends, we are told that the “sides” are pro-police or anti-police, and that saying Black Lives Matter means you are anti-white. It’s not true. What is being of us is what was asked of James Reeb, and Viola Liuzzo, a white UU woman whose life was also taken in Selma: will we choose courage or caution?
This faith, this Unitarian Universalism, it is imperfect. I shared some of my wounds and struggles with you, hurts this faith helped foster. Yet I continue to believe in us. I believe in its possibility because it was as a Unitarian Universalist that the tears fell down my face when Trayvon’s killer went free, when they shot Rekia Boyd, when Michael Brown laid in the street for 4 and a half hours.
This was the faith that brought me out of my house and right here to the capitol steps thirteen months ago to say “this must stop.”
This is the faith that has helped us do great work, needed work. This is the faith that said, “We will marry you and your same-sex partner.”
This is a faith that said, “our children and teens need real health and sexuality education.”
This is a faith that says, “You can be depressed and we want you here.”
This is a faith that says you don’t have to have all the answers.
This is the faith that brought Viola Liuzzo to Selma.
This is the faith that got dozens of UU youth marching down Colfax last January with and for black lives.
This is a faith that calls us to do more, to be more.
Will we be a faith that says, “Whatever your education, whatever your criminal record, whatever I have been taught to fear about you—black lives are worthy and holy”?
I don’t know. I hope so.
I know that this question: “Which side are you on?” is not an easy one to answer, until it is. I know that finding my answer—that I am on the side of liberation, that I am on the side of blackness, that I am on the side of Unitarian Universalism, that I am on the side of love—has saved my life over and over and over again.
May we use that question—“Which side are you on?”—to be able to mean that chant: “Black lives: they matter here.” And here. And here. Amen.
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SEO is important for almost any site, and React sites are no exception.
The problem with a React site is that the content is often generated on the client. This means that search engines may not index your content, which means users won't find your pages.
Server-side rendering is one solution, but it doesn't work for everybody (for instance if your backend is already built and it's not running node).
The good news is that even if you are only rendering client-side, Google might already be crawling your React components.
Read on to find out how to tell if the Googlebot is crawling your React components. In case it isn't, we'll cover how to make it do so.
Fetch as Google
Google provides a great tool called Fetch as Google. You can use it to check if Google has found your rendered React components.
The directions are in this Google support link, but before they will work, you need to access Google's Search Console. Fortunately, Google provides Search Console for free, and you can sign up at google.com/webmasters.
So, to iterate this two-step process:
Sign up for Search Console.
Use Search Console's Fetch as Google feature to check your site.
Once you get into Fetch as Google , be sure to use the Fetch and Render button to get a visual indication of whether or not Google is seeing your content. It looks like this:
The Results
I went ahead and tried Fetch as Google on my starter project search tool and this was the result. On the left it shows what the crawler sees, and the on the right it shows what users see. We want them to match:
My images don't match... in fact, there's a big blank spot where my React components should be. Uh oh! This means Google won't add any of that missing content to their index. This could negatively impact my SEO.
So wait, why don't they match? Googlebot is limited in how long it will allow your page to render. There's no concrete documentation on this, but generally, asyncronous calls like AJAX and setTimeout won't be allowed to finish. The only way to know for sure if it's working is to use Fetch as Google.
The Fix
My starter project search tool was making an AJAX call to get GitHub stars and waiting for the response before rendering any components. The Googlebot won't wait for that.
The fix was to call ReactDom.render first, then make my AJAX call for the GitHub stars.
Here is the result:
It worked! Googlebot (image on the left) is seeing way more content. The GitHub stars didn't load, but I don't need those for SEO.
Caveats & Conclusion
In my research I couldn't find any evidence that Yahoo, Bing, or Baidu support JavaScript in their crawlers. If SEO on these search engines is important to you, you'll need to use server-side rendering, which I'll discuss in a future article.
If SEO on Google is enough, then just:
Render your components before doing anything asynchronous.
Test each of your pages with Fetch as Google to ensure that the Googlebot is finding your content.
Then enjoy the flood of new users coming in from Google! |
The US seems to want to be a copyright and patent based economy... in other words to rely on the creativity of the past, to steal and deal in copyright and patents from non-US sources, to extend patents and copyrights way beyond the original reasonable time, jurisdiction and geographic limits that applied not 30 years ago, to create 'trade treaties' with other nations that ensure that said copyright and patents will be recognised for eternity and to ensure that US industry and the economy, and the numerous patent trolls who operate on its peripheries, have an income stream until time immemorial.
That's OK though... because what they're trying to do is also what's killing the US as an economic competitor.
In the 19th century they stole ideas, patents and copyright freely from Britain and Europe and became an economic powerhouse when they improved on those ideas to produce even better product than their Continental cousins, much more efficiently and much more cheaply.
The US then operated on the basis that the 'free flow of ideas' was critical to world trade, and 'freedom and liberty', and that its citizens should have the right to watch the works of the great bards, playwrights and poets on their local stages, in their local publications, and that nobody had the right to constrain art, literature and the like or demand fees for use of same from other jurisdictions.
Now the story is different, however. Now they don't even have to generate the ideas, or create the product, or develop the books, plays or whatever.... they can simply buy them from the impoverished artists (usually under contract provisions that accrue ALL patent or copyright rather than licensing whatever they need for whatever work they plan to produce) for minimal payment and miserly royalties (and then only if said artist has a bloody good lawyer) and then they can live for the life of the author/musician/artist plus 70 years of the proceeds of same... making sure that copyright/patents etc. are re-enabled within that time for another 70 years time by way of later reproduction... to the copyright/patent holder.
The problems with this state of affairs are numerous and self evident... but its good to see an atrophying of the US's entrepreneurial sprit as its economy falls into the hands of the parasitic (lawyers, accountants, bankers and financial mavens), and those who are entrepreneurial and productive shy away from possible law suits, police actions or whatever because their particular idea for making a buck is likely to be jumped on by the leeches in the copyright and patent chains. I mean, if they wanted creativity and enterprise in the American economy, it may have paid them to dump patents and copyright completely, and let a new breed of robber barons take over from the failed stultified parasites who have led American industry so far down the toilet it will probably never climb out.
And in so many other pursuits... science, engineering, software development and the like... successful research and product is generally built by innovating new product rather than inventing. In science in particular, new knowledge and theories are generally built by proposing new explanations about the relationship between two KNOWN variables and then testing them. Try that, when developing new drugs, or creating a sustainable fusion reaction, or whatever... when the KNOWN variables/effects/whatever are patented or copyrighted or otherwise restricted and the holders of said patents/copyrights/restrictions want their 'cut of the action'.
Put simply, that's a huge brake on the US economy... which many other economies (eg. China, Korea, Japan and the like) simply won't tolerate or acknowledge. They take what works, and improve on it... and that's one reason why they succeed.
Now it's possible that the US may go to war to protect its patents and copyright (many/most of which were acquired from non-US sources), but it should not expect the rest of the world to support it when it does so.
Bottom line: American politicians, judges and executives don't seem to realise what a deep hole they are digging themselves into with their attempt to create an income stream from the deep dark past, using questionable justifications (providing incentive for authors 70 to 90 years after they are dead for Chrissake! Especially when ALL rights have accrued to the copyright licensee rather than the authors descendants!) for activities that actually stifle creativity.
Me? I welcome what the US politicians, judges, industry, corrupt lobbyists and the like are doing. They are ensuring that the US economy gets progressively weaker and more atrophied, that its traditional inventiveness and creativity will be decimated, that it will no longer be able to economically or technologically support the huge military-industrial power that is about the only clout the US continues to have, and that the US deficits will increase and balance of payments will continue to decrease (as the world stops buying increasingly obsolete US technology and product ranges).
Factor in that the US political establishment fails to grasp the facts that little numbers like Green technology would actually introduce energy efficiencies (reducing their massive energy deficits for example) and increasing demand (stimulating economic growth - China realises this, believe me!), that the economic rationalism of its industrialists means its major industries have all based themselves overseas, and that major competitor nations (China, Korea, Taiwan and to a certain extent India) are re-tooling and developing at the exactly the right time for the next wave of economic and technological development (which the US can't even afford to do now, even if that was on the policy cards), and that critical US economic infrastructure (roads, railways, bridges, sewerage, power, water and utilities et al) has been run into the ground as a result of 30 years of 'economic rationalist' neglect... and the situation doesn't look to good for our American cousins.
They're digging themselves yet another hole... and all they can do is play politics in Congress, live on dreams of a fading 'empire' and blame the rest of the world for their problems.
It's nuts. But no more nutty than a hundred other things they've done over the last 40 years. I wonder how Sergei Prokofiev (who died in 1953) would have felt about it.
Frank O'Connor is a contributor to the LINK eamil group. |
Custom Games Every Saturday, we’ll highlight a Dota 2 custom game that is fun, playable, and relatively bug-free. To find a custom game, go to the ‘Custom Games’ tab in Dota 2 and enter the name as we’ve provided it in the search box in the top right—in this case, Dota IMBA.
Dota IMBA is like normal Dota turned up to 11. In the words of its creators, ‘it’s what would happen if Icefrog went mad, and buffed every hero 100 patches in a row’. Sniper’s ult hits everything in its path. Pugna’s ward can steal spells. Techies mines can move.
Discovering new versions of each spell is fun in and of itself: it recaptures the feeling from when you first started playing and it seemed like Dota’s box of tricks would never run out. At the same time, because nearly everything is a tweaked version of something from the main game, the experience is rarely overwhelming. The roles of each hero are the same for the most part, and you’ve got a rough idea of what each hero is capable of—it’s like jumping in after missing a dozen patches. A dozen ridiculous, whimsical patches made in a world where Dota doesn’t have to be a serious, ultra-balanced competitive sport and can instead embrace its silly side.
The same philosophy is applied to items: Shadowblade gives you free pathing, Force Staff pushes people twice as far and Magic Wands can gather charges from across the map. Dagons can be upgraded to level ten, and multiple Divine Rapiers get assimilated into each other while increasing all the damage that you do—not just right clicks. As with hero abilities, reading the new item descriptions invokes a similar excitement to going through patch notes, delighting in the myriad of new possibilities on offer. There are a bunch of entirely new late game items too, which combined with all the other changes means you can’t rely on your usual builds. (Pro tip: Because Branches only cost 5 gold, it’s worth starting with a wand and filling up any gaps in your inventory with branches.) Again, existing knowledge provides a framework to go off on while improvising around and adapting to the new stuff.
Don’t get me wrong, Dota IMBA is still a competitive game. Playing well requires using all the same skills as normal Dota. Given just how much more deadly everyone is, I’d even say it punishes mistakes more harshly: put a toe out of line in lane and the chances are your opponents will take you apart. The importance of each last hit and deny is increased too, as each creep kill grants a lot more gold. While this is a neat way of adding more tension to otherwise slow parts of the game, it does mean that teams and individual players tend to pull away from each other faster. You can feel the lack of skill-based matchmaking hurting IMBA more than other custom games, with matches often turning into stomps.
Fortunately, the pain of being trampled on—and the boredom of trampling over others—is offset by the host of comeback mechanics IMBA introduces. Killing heroes of a higher level gives you much more gold, increasing dramatically the further they are ahead and the longer their killstreak. Towers get stronger with each one that gets knocked down, firing faster and gaining versions of some hero abilities such as cold snap or fury swipes. I especially like how the ancient itself turns into a boss fight, throwing out ultimates as its health gets whittled down. It gives the defending team something to rally around, potentially tipping the scales back in their favour if the attackers aren’t careful. I’d say the ancient might actually be a bit too tough to kill, but the devs agree with me – a recent patch toned down its abilities so teams don’t feel punished for winning too quickly. Even without these changes, the fact that each hero does much more damage means that it’s easier to kill opponents when playing from behind, using positioning and teamplay to compensate for the power gulf.
Increasing the power of each hero tends to exaggerate the roles they play. Heroes that traditionally have an early game focus will dominate even more than usual at the start, while hard carries can become unstoppable. Snowball heroes fair particularly well: characters like Templar Assassin and Storm Spirit do better and better the more momentum they manage to gain. I’ll cop to being a little biased, given that it’s the playstyle I always gravitate towards. Still, I had a lot of fun supporting too –Witch Doctor’s paralysing cask is one of the most excruciating stuns in the main game, and in IMBA, with the number of jumps doubled, it’s obscene. Admittedly, trying to stop an immortal level 35 Anti-Mage later in the same game was less fun.
You could say it would be a bit silly for me to complain about balance problems in a game mode literally called ‘Imbalanced’, but look, they walked right into it. All heroes are overpowered, but some heroes are more overpowered than others. Some heroes haven’t had their abilities entirely reimagined, though they’ll usually have drastically altered cooldowns, damage values or mana costs. Still, the ones with orange text in their descriptions to show that new effects have been added are generally more powerful. Omniknight in particular is a nightmare, with the workshop forum page calling for a much needed nerf.
In fairness, that’s all part of the fun. If you’ve ever wanted to fulfil your fantasy of stomping around as an Invoker with no cooldown on invoke, or a Pudge with the size and strength of Roshan, then Dota IMBA is a custom game worth checking out.
PC Gamer Pro is dedicated to esports and competitive gaming. Check back every day for exciting, fun and informative articles about League of Legends, Dota 2, Hearthstone, CS:GO and more. GL HF! |
He may be a new face to many Arsenal fans, but Arsene Wenger has been following Sead Kolasinac for “a long time”.
The Bosnia international has become our first signing of the summer and his new manager is confident that he will quickly adapt to Premier League football.
“He’s very compact as a player, very strong and determined in the challenges,” Wenger told Arsenal Player. “He’s good in the air as well, so overall I believe he has all the attributes to adapt to English football
“The game here is very demanding physically on the commitment front and he has the ingredients to adapt to that.
“What he will give us is the fact that he’s a player who can give assists, who can go forward, who can contribute good crosses.
“It’s very important that we have that as well, because we have Kieran Gibbs, we have Nacho Monreal and we have him. But Nacho plays a lot now in central defence and in a three-man system I see him in there.
“So overall, I think [Kolasinac] can contribute a lot to help us to be more dangerous going forward.”
More polls and quizzes to follow soon |
Obama heckled again over 'don't ask'
By Ed O'Keefe
For the second time in as many months, President Obama was heckled about the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy at a California fundraiser for Sen. Barbara Boxer.
But this time, the president shot back.
Speaking Tuesday evening about the economy at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee event in San Francisco, the president was interrupted by a man who yelled out, "Move faster on 'don't ask, don't tell.'"
"It's good to see ya," Obama told the man as the crowd booed.
The man continued shouting as the president said, "I have to say, you know what? I saw this guy down in LA." Obama said. Gay rights protesters interrupted the president during an April fundraiser for Boxer in Los Angeles, and the president apparently recognized Tuesday's heckler as the same individual.
Obama popped off about the heckler: "He really should like, buy a ticket to, if he wants to demonstrate, buy a ticket to a guy who doesn't support his point of view."
He added later that "maybe he didn't read the newspapers because we are working with congress as we speak to roll back 'don't ask, don't tell.'"
And finally: "I actually think he does read the newspapers because he wasn't as -- his heart wasn't in it -- he said 'Do it faster.' C'mon man..."
The full House and Senate Armed Services Committees are set to vote Thursday to repeal the military's ban on gays and lesbians openly serving in the military once the Pentagon completes a study of how to integrate them. Though House members say they have enough support, the Senate panel is believed to still be a few votes short.
Leave your thoughts in the comments section below
RELATED: Ben Nelson backs 'don't ask' compromise |
I’ve been wearing a Pebble Steel on loan for the past few days. I find it comfortable, well designed and far more attractive than the original plastic smartwatch model. The internals of the watch are the same on both versions and both can use the new Pebble appstore. So the question I’m getting over and over again is based around size. That’s fair, as most smartwatches have tended to be bigger and bulkier than their traditional counterparts.
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I actually collect mechanical watches, although I’ve only recently begun and have a small collection. But these watches, as well as some older smartwatches can help answer the question of size when it comes to the Pebble Steel. Obviously, different people have different sized wrists so I can’t say if the Pebble Steel will fit you well. I can, however, show it relative to other watches I wear or have worn.
For reference, I’m 5′ 5″ tall, weigh around 130 pounds and have a 6.5″ wrist. I wear a Large Fitbit Force and fasten it on the second to last holes.
The Pebble Steel doesn’t completely cover my wrist although it’s about as big as I would prefer. Here is it next to my Fitbit Force and a mechanical Mondaine watch for scale. The Mondaine watch case is 35 millimeters in diameter while the rectangular Pebble Steel case is 46 millimeters x 34 millimeters. I wear the Mondaine comfortably on a regular basis.
The Pebble Steel is smaller than the original Pebble, which measures 52 millimeters by 36 millimeters; a noticeable difference.
For a few years I wore a Motorola MotoACTV smartwatch. I still do from time to time but less so due to its bulk. There’s simply no comparison here; the Pebble Steel is much easier to wear.
The Samsung Galaxy Gear is certainly smaller than the MotoACTV but I don’t find it comfortable. The Pebble Steel is again noticeably smaller than the Galaxy Gear, which measures 56.6 millimeters by 36.8 millimeters.
The largest watch I comfortably own and wear is a Hamilton automatic with a 44 millimeter case diameter. With my relatively small wrists, wearing this watch is a stretch; I really couldn’t go bigger. But the Pebble Steel works for my wrist because when measured from the lugs — where the strap attaches on a watchface — it’s actually smaller than the Hamilton. It’s also not as wide.
Of course thickness also plays a part when it comes to wearing a watch. The Pebble Steel is again slimmer than its predecessor in this area, measuring in at 10.5 millimeters thick compared to 11.5 millimeters on the older model.
Samsung’s Galaxy Gear is even thicker, which contributes to the bulky feeling I get when wearing it. Officially, Samsung says the Galaxy Gear is 11.1 millimeters thick, but it looks even bigger than that when compared to the Pebble Steel.
And that Hamilton that I often wear? It’s about the same thickness as the Pebble Steel and most other watches I own save for the Mondaine, which is a super slim Quartz model.
Having a thin, very flat crown helps the Pebble Steel when it comes to thickness. Look in the picture above and you can see the glass crown of my Hamilton extending above the watch case; fairly common for all traditional watches.
So is the Pebble Steel the right size for you? Again, it’s impossible for me to say.
What I can tell you is that the new Steel model is more comfortable to wear and is smaller than its predecessor. It’s also similar in size to other mechanical watches I wear, which is a design win. Could Pebble whittle the size down even more in the future? Sure it could, although I’d be careful not to reduce the battery size. Ultimately, the size of both the screen and the battery will continue to be limiting factors in future smartwatches as the internal sensors and chips themselves will likely grow smaller.
Disclosure: Fitbit is backed by True Ventures, a venture capital firm that is an investor in the parent company of this blog, Giga Omni Media. Om Malik, founder of Giga Omni Media, is also a venture partner at True. |
A misdemeanor solicitation charge against Ohio State University defensive tackle Adolphus Washington was dismissed today. Washington pleaded guilty to the charge on Jan. 19 in Franklin County Municipal Court, under an agreement that it would be dismissed if he completed a program known as "John school" before his sentencing.
A misdemeanor solicitation charge against Ohio State University defensive tackle Adolphus Washington was dismissed today.
Washington pleaded guilty to the charge on Jan. 19 in Franklin County Municipal Court, under an agreement that it would be dismissed if he completed a program known as "John school" before his sentencing.
He completed the program and the charge was dismissed today, said Washington's attorney, Phil Templeton, who added that his client didn't get special treatment.
"He's doing what anybody else who's otherwise eligible for this this type of program can do," Templeton said. "So he's just moving on."
Washington was arrested on Dec. 9 in a Columbus police vice operation at a Far North Side motel. Police said he agreed to pay an undercover officer $100 for sex after responding to an online ad placed by police.
Washington, a senior, was suspended by football coach Urban Meyer and did not play in the Fiesta Bowl. He has been projected as a second-round pick in the NFL draft.
"John school," operated by the Columbus city attorney's office, teaches men arrested for prostitution about sexually transmitted diseases and about how prostitutes are victimized by the trade.
@JoAnneViviano |
Three years after Illinois made a bold change in how science would be taught and tested, little is known about how students have performed because neither schools nor families have seen state science exam scores since 2013-14.
Whether supported or maligned, state testing gives important information to schools and families about what students know in reading, math and science, and achievement results have been released continuously in reading and math.
But the delay in science scores — blamed largely on state budget woes — is unusual and problematic, given that federal law requires states to administer science exams at least three times from grade school through high school and make the results public.
There were no scores in 2015 because the Illinois State Board of Education didn't give a state science exam, getting into hot water with the U.S. Department of Education. At the time, the state argued it shouldn't give an old exam based on outdated standards for what students should know in science. For years, students took the state science exam in 4th, 7th and 11th grade grades.
Illinois adopted the updated Next Generation Science Standards in 2014, but a new state exam had not been created by 2015 testing time.
In spring 2016, the state administered a new science exam called the Illinois Science Assessment to 5th and 8th graders and to high school students taking biology. But scores have yet to be released for the 2016 exam, and by now, students have taken the spring 2017 science exam.
"How could schools have tested in 2017 and not have gotten 2016 results? It is kind of crazy," said Carol Baker, a longtime science educator who helped write the new state standards in science. She's now a grade school superintendent in west Cook County.
Phil Velasquez/Chicago Tribune Trees were the subject in the fifth-grade science class at Christa McAuliffe Elementary School in Chicago on Thursday, June 1, 2017. Trees were the subject in the fifth-grade science class at Christa McAuliffe Elementary School in Chicago on Thursday, June 1, 2017. (Phil Velasquez/Chicago Tribune) (Phil Velasquez/Chicago Tribune)
State officials acknowledged science testing and scoring has not gone smoothly.
"The timeline for scoring the ISA has been less than ideal. We deeply appreciate all of Illinois' educators and administrators for working hard to administer the ISA. We hear and understand their frustration with the delay," ISBE spokewoman Jackie Matthews said in response to written questions from the Tribune.
The agency has partnered with Southern Illinois University Carbondale to do the scoring, and the university is about one-third of the way through scoring the 2016 state science exams, according to Matthews. Those scores are expected to be released to districts this summer, and the 2017 scores in the fall.
"Uncertainty about state funding delayed ISBE's ability to enter into an intergovernmental agreement with SIU Carbondale to begin scoring the ISA. The delay was the result of Illinois' lack of a state budget and not of the process, nor of the scoring partner," Matthews said.
Baker said the delay in getting scores affects everything from curriculum planning at school to input at home about how students are achieving in science. In addition to providing individual student scores to parents, the statewide exam gives context to the public on how students are faring statewide, in districts and at local schools.
Baker said the state's budget crises delayed the start of scoring, and testing officials had to undergo the time consuming and complicated process of setting "cut" scores that determine if a student essentially passes or fails the exam.
But Baker said the situation is not all bad. Without a state science exam in 2015, for example, teachers got the chance to train in the new science standards without the pressure of a statewide exam. And teachers have been incorporating the new standards in their instruction.
Next Generation Science Standards move away from memorizing science facts and toward analysis in key areas of science and engineering.
"One of the good things is that NGSS has really lit a fire in the science community," Baker said. "Most schools, most teachers, are working hard to implement NGSS — not because they have to, but because they want to. It is good instructional practice. It is good teaching and learning."
The state board of education keeps track of how much instruction time is spent in math, English, science and social sciences in grades 3, 6 and 8, and statewide data in 2016 show science instruction minutes on average rose to the highest in 15 years.
Third grade instruction in science rose to to an average of 34 minutes per day; 6th grade minutes went up to 48, and 8th grade minutes to 50. Science has usually trailed math and English in terms of instruction minutes, and has been about equal to minutes spent on social sciences.
Chicago Public School's McAuliffe Elementary School in 2016 had the highest number of instruction minutes in science in the Chicago area and the second most in the state. In 3rd, 6th and 8th grades, students at McAuliffe averaged 100 minutes of science instruction per day. That's double to triple the state averages.
The largely Hispanic school in the Logan Square and Hermosa neighborhoods focuses on science, technology, engineering, math and and the arts, and is named after teacher Sharon Christa McAuliffe, who died along with six other crew members in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986.
McAuliffe Principal Ryan Belville said while the school has not received state exam science scores, it does do local science testing to measure students' progress in the subject, and teachers have incorporated the new science standards into the curriculum.
Last week, 5th graders in teacher Georgia Siannas' midmorning science class did hands-on work in establishing how leaves lose their green hue and turn into different colors in the fall.
"I'm a facilitator. I'll provide an example, but the rest is up to them," said Siannas, who walked through the classroom watching groups of students working together.
The current Illinois Science Assessment was put together by using test questions from the Washington, D.C., school district, a process that was not ideal because Illinois was under pressure from the federal government to give a science exam in 2016 after missing the science test in 2015. "ISBE created the ISA under significant budget constraints," Matthews said.
In addition, Baker said some high school administrators were not happy with the biology-related state science exam for a variety reasons, including that other key science areas were not tested, such as chemistry and physics.
"Despite our successes, we know we have room to improve and are committed to continuing to listen to the field to make each administration of ISA smoother," Matthews said. |
A Baltimore County McDonald's owner announced on Saturday afternoon that an employee who taped the violent beating of a customer — a video that went viral Friday — had been fired.
"My first and foremost concern is with the victim," franchise owner Mitchell McPherson said in a statement, adding that action might be taken against other restaurant workers as well. "I'm as shocked and disturbed by this assault as anyone would be. The behavior displayed in the video is unfathomable and reprehensible."
The video of a beating the Rosedale restaurant went viral Friday, garnering hundreds of thousands of views on websites and prompting the fast-food giant to issue a statement condemning the incident.
The video shows two women — one of them a 14-year-old girl — repeatedly kicking and punching the 22-year-old victim in the head, as an employee and a patron try to intervene. Others can be heard laughing, and men are seen standing idly by.
Toward the end of the video, one of the suspects lands a punishing blow to the victim's head, and she appears to have a seizure. A man's voice tells the women to run because police are coming.
The three-minute clip was apparently first posted on YouTube, then taken down by administrators who said it violated the site's policies. But it popped back up on other sites and was ultimately linked from the popular Drudge Report, which gave it top billing for much of the day.
County police confirmed that the attack occurred April 18 in the 6300 block of Kenwood Ave. Police said the 14-year-old girl has been charged as a juvenile, while charges were pending against an 18-year-old woman.
Equality Maryland said the victim is a transgender woman and called on state Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler to step in and investigate the case as a hate crime. Police and prosecutors said they did not know whether the victim is a transgender woman.
"It does appear that the victim was a transgender woman, and she was brutalized while people stood by and watched," said Lisa Polyak, vice president of the board of directors for Equality Maryland, an advocacy organization that fought unsuccessfully in the past legislative session for greater protections for transgender individuals. "There's no excuse for that violence under any circumstances, but we would encourage police to investigate as a hate crime."
The police report does not provide a motive, but quotes one of the suspects saying that the fight was "over using a bathroom."
The victim suffered cuts to her mouth and face, and a police report said she had been taken to Franklin Square Hospital Center in fair condition. Police said Friday they had no update on her status.
The video begins with two women near a bathroom door kicking and hitting a woman who is lying on the ground.
An employee repeatedly tries to separate them, but the attackers continue to stomp and kick the victim's head. People yell, "Stop! Stop!" to no avail, though others can be heard laughing. An older woman at one point also attempts to pull the attackers away and is shoved.
About halfway through the three-minute clip, the attackers rip a wig off the victim and drag her by her hair to the front door. That is where the victim is sitting before another blow to the head causes an apparent seizure.
Throughout the attack, a man is filming and does not intervene. But when the victim appears to have a seizure, he yells, "She having a seizure, yo. … Police on their way. Y'all better get out of here."
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GPU: Hawaii XT
R9 290X GAMING 8G Clock speeds: 1040 MHz (OC Mode)
Memory size / Speed: 8096 MB / 5500 MHz
Connectivity: DisplayPort / HDMI / 2x DL-DVI-D
Card Dimensions: 276x127x39 mm
Afterburner OC support: GPU / VDDCI Overvoltage
Power connectors: 1x 8-pin, 1x 6-pin PCI Express
MSI is proud to announce the availability of the new R9 290X GAMING 8G graphics card. Packed with 8 Gigabyte GDDR5 memory operating at 5500MHz and all the extra features stuffed with it, the new 290X GAMING 8G is sure to drive UltraHD gaming resolutions without any problem. The MSI Twin Frozr IV Advanced ensures your card runs cool so you can enjoy maximum performance while AMD's PowerTune technology enables the R9 290X GAMING 8G to run at highest clock speeds.With support for the latest industry standards and thrilling new technology such as Mantle support in Battlefield 4. Thanks to the bundled MSI GAMING App gamers can quickly switch between three pre-sets including a silent mode optimized for power efficiency and an overclocking and OC Mode to get the most power out of your graphics card, without worrying about learning how to overclock. The R9 290X GAMING 8G has been designed to give you a fluid and silent gaming experience that delivers you true next-gen performance for 4K UHD resolutions and up, without sacrificing on thermals or noise.The MSI Twin Frozr IV Advanced has been completely customized for the R9 290X GAMING 8G graphics cards to deliver the best thermal experience. The design uses a larger copper base for heat absorption and the heat pipes are in contact with a bigger part of the heat sink and exposed to more airflow to ensure the highest performance of the GPU because of optimal temperatures. Combined with the dual form-in-one heat sinks that add both cooling ability and structural reinforcement the R9 290X GAMING 8G stays cool, quiet and safe.The new R9 290X GAMING 8G is packed with features that benefit every gamer. AMD TrueAudio technology allows far more realistic positional audio and the added benefit of surround sound over connected displays. Mantle allows game developers to directly speak to the GPU optimizing GPU performance. This can all be displayed in a glorious UltraHD / 4K resolution and even up as the new R9 290X GAMING 8G is offering unmatched performance at 4K resolutions. This can be easily connected through the DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort connectors. Up to six dedicated displays can be connected to the R9 290X GAMING 8G for an amazing Eyefinity experience.R9 290X GAMING 8G Technical specifications |
Fuqua Development has unveiled tentative plans for a major mixed-use development wedged against Memorial Drive and the Beltline corridor.
A new marketing flyer released by the controversial developer elaborates on his planned project in Reynoldstown, which includes more than 100,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space — including (potentially) a CineBistro and Sprouts — plus 120,000 square feet of offices, 600 apartments, and 100 condos.
Fuqua purchased the site at 905 Memorial Drive last year, which didn't thrill a lot of folks, given the developer's penchant for big-box projects. Fuqua's planned overhaul will replace a warehouse facility butted up against Interstate 20.
According to this rendering, which might not represent the latest version of Fuqua's plans, retail spaces would front the Beltline, helping to tie the development to the trail and neighborhood. The project, however, would still be dominated by parking lots and have a distinctly suburban bent. What Now Atlanta reports that these plans might have been altered already due to neighborhood ire. |
Fierce competitors: Matthew Lloyd evades North Melbourne's Mick Martyn. Credit:Pat Scala But Denis Pagan, who coached the Kangaroos from 1993 to 2002, recalls the genesis of the modern rivalry being the 1998 season, when his legendary Essendon counterpart Kevin Sheedy accused North officials Greg Miller and Mark Dawson of being soft as marshmallows. The marshmallow saga culminated with fans hurling pink and white marshmallows at Sheedy following North's 22-point win over the Bombers in the 1998 qualifying final. "Kevin was the master at playing all those things up," Pagan said. "It's one of the most vivid memories I've got of footy. He was sort of walking 10 feet in from the boundary line, but people were pelting him with marshmallows everywhere." Sheedy has a cheeky take on the "marshmallow" game. "When it was all said and done, North Melbourne had the better side and I was just trying to get Denis a better crowd ... because North Melbourne don't know how to sell footy, but they can play."
Wayne Carey in 1999. Credit:Sebastian Costanzo While the master coaches look back on that period with good humour, it was a different story for the players at the time. Between 1995 and 1998, the Kangas beat Essendon on five out of six occasions and former Essendon champion Matthew Lloyd said a big reason was North's ability to intimidate the Bombers. Lloyd recalls a genuine hatred. "It started something," Lloyd said of the marshmallow final. "Sheeds had the old tricks where he'd have all the [newspaper] tipsters up on the wall saying nobody rates us and it's about time we stood up to these blokes. He had you wanting to run through brick walls, more so against North Melbourne than turning up to play Fremantle or Port Adelaide at the MCG, he loved games like that.
"Obviously Carlton, Collingwood and Richmond were always big but through that period North Melbourne might not have filled a stadium like those other games, but the hatred the two clubs had for each other was as strong as any. "[They had] established players like [Wayne] Carey, [Glenn] Archer, Anthony Stevens, Micky Martyn, Martin Pike, they were a very mature side and we probably were out of our weight division but by the '99 season ... we thought enough's enough." Essendon finally turned the tables in 1999 and proceeded to beat North six times in a row. "It was amazing, it was like we had grown up overnight pretty much to the point where we went from idolising guys like Carey and Archer and Stevens to just wanting to beat them up, in a sense," Lloyd said. However, they famously squandered their chance to frank their claims as the best team in 1999 when they lost to Carlton by one point in the preliminary final, and seeing the Kangaroos hoist the premiership cup aloft a week later only served to intensify their bitterness towards the men from Arden Street.
"We thought by the end of that year we were the best side in it. Obviously we let ourselves down in the prelim and I think that probably ramped up a gear for our venom towards North," Lloyd said. "We came up against each other in the 2000 Ansett Cup grand final at the MCG and I remember Jason Johnson early on knocking out John Blakey with a big hip-and-shoulder, I stood up to Micky Martyn probably for the first time in my life. "We belted them, we just belted them in that grand final and I think from that point on I thought we had the wood on them." The Bombers stormed to their 16th premiership later that year but Essendon and North were denied their Ali-Foreman moment and didn't meet in a grand final during that period. Instead, the clubs produced two of the greatest games staged at the MCG in round 17, 1999 and round 16, 2001. The first of those encounters saw North Melbourne legend Wayne Carey boot 10 goals at one end and the emerging Lloyd seven at the other in a shootout for the ages, which the Bombers won by 26 points.
The second one saw Essendon record the greatest comeback in league history as they recovered from a 69-point deficit to win by 12 points 27.9 (171) to 25.9 (159), in a game that not only produced the equal-most goals in history (52) but also the seventh-most points (330). Pagan's memories of the first encounter centre around Carey. "That Wayne Carey banana kick on his left foot," Pagan responded when asked what his memories were of that famous game in 1999. "That was probably the best goal I've seen him kick, he kicked a lot of good goals and I don't remember them all but that one sticks in my mind." And Lloyd believes he kicked close to the best goal of his career in that same game, when he ran on to a loose ball in the City End pocket and, from mid-air on a tight angle, soccered through at almost post height. "In the context of how big the game was and how far out it was, to soccer one out of midair with a bit of pressure coming from behind, it would have to be right up there," Lloyd said. Looking back on his personal shootout with Carey, Lloyd said there were shades of the famous day in 1993 when Gary Ablett snr (14) and Paul Salmon (10) booted 24 goals between them in a Geelong-Essendon match – "two guys right on top of their game having a bit of a shootout". |
Seven billion people and growing. A quarter of them living in poverty. Unsustainable — and unequal — resource use. Landscapes vanishing, along with their nonhuman inhabitants. Global warming upending natural systems. These are tough times on planet Earth. But while sustainability remains far from a global edict, hopeful signs of progress are poking up around the world. In some places, in some cases, we are doing things right, taking steady steps toward a smarter future. Here we offer seven of them — seven concrete answers to seven of the most pressing and vexing environmental dilemmas of the 21st century. None is perfect. But each elegant effort attests to the fact that effective and relatively simple solutions are already within our reach. The main missing ingredient is one that’s seemingly scarce but in fact unlimited, and which we’ll need to gather and harness in order to change course and stay that way: resolve.
1: Great Barrier Reef
Challenge: Ocean fisheries collapse
Opportunity: Marine Protected areas
Across the planet’s oceans, more than 70 percent of fish species are either overharvested or at the very brink of what their populations can tolerate. A groundbreaking 2006 study painted a grim picture: At current rates, every seafood fishery on the planet will collapse by mid-century. We are drastically altering ocean ecosystems — and at the same time threatening the food security of 200 million people.
One solution is proving successful everywhere it’s employed: the no-take reserve, whose biggest story comes from Australia.
The Great Barrier Reef is home to an almost incomprehensible number of species. There are 1,500 types of fish, 400 kinds of coral, 5,000 varieties of mollusk and 500 different species of seaweed. But despite the fact that the area — all 214,000 square miles of it — has been a designated marine park since the 1970s, its biodiversity was under threat until not long ago. The marine park is a multiuse area, with activities ranging from diving to commercial fishing permitted in some parts. In fact, until 2010, fishing was totally banned in less than 5 percent of the park.
Recognizing that more needed to be done, the Australian government convened a panel of scientists who recommended expanding the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park’s no-take areas. Today, fishing is banned in one-third of the park. And evidence of success is rolling in. The thriving Great Barrier Reef, with its sightseers, snorkelers, divers and fishers, now generates nearly 54,000 full-time jobs and $5.4 billion per year, with tourism providing roughly 36 times more revenue than commercial fishing. Having fish alive in the water, it turns out, is highly profitable.
What’s more, research published in May 2012 shows that the benefits of no-take areas spill beyond their invisible borders. Using genetic techniques, scientists studied the origins of coral trout and stripey snapper, two species of commercial fish in a 1,000-square-kilometer area around the Great Barrier Reef. Twenty-eight percent of the area was protected in no-take zones, but half of all the fish were hatched in those reserves.
Around the world, no-take reserves are showing similar results. Off the Mediterranean coast of Spain, a no-take area just 1 square kilometer in area has created 200 full-time jobs and generates €10 million per year in tourism revenue — 20 times the revenue from fishing. Elsewhere in Spain, in an area famous for its giant lobsters, the no-take zone of the Columbretes marine reserve is enabling lobsters to grow even bigger.
Just 1 percent of the ocean is within the boundaries of a marine protected area, and only a fraction of those areas are no-take reserves.
Each year lobsters migrate out of the no-take area to nearby fishing grounds, where the local fishermen are now catching larger lobsters that command a greater price. In Kenya and the Solomon Islands, the income of locals fishing the areas surrounding no-take reserves is twice that of fishermen elsewhere.
Given all this, you’d expect no-take reserves to be sprouting up everywhere. Yet just 1 percent of the ocean is within the boundaries of a marine protected area, and only a fraction of those areas are no-take reserves. The reasons are twofold, says Enric Sala, a marine ecologist and explorer-in-residence at the National Geographic Society in Washington, D.C.
The first is lack of awareness. “Most people don’t know what the benefits are,” Sala says. “The first reaction from fishermen is, you want to kick us out of the sea and prohibit fishing everywhere. But once the reserves are created and they work, fishermen tend to like them a lot.”
The second is a stifling policy structure that in many countries allows only governments to create — and fund — reserves. “If local communities in coastal areas were empowered to create their own reserves and manage them,” says Sala, “then we’d be able to scale up for sure.” Sala is working to create the first privately funded marine reserves, investment opportunities that will both create jobs and generate profits. Projects in the Philippines, Turkey and Timor-Leste begin next year.
2: Germany’s Energiewende
Challenge: Greenhouse gas emissions
Opportunity: Boosting renewables
Perhaps no environmental problem is more complex, fraught and fundamental than how to drastically decrease greenhouse gas emissions. If we can’t solve this dilemma, all the others may well turn out to be moot. But international progress is maddeningly slow — and here in the U.S., change still feels decades away.
Not so in Germany. The world’s fourth-largest economy and Europe’s stern nanny during the continent’s unfolding economic crisis, Germany is poised to show us all how to switch to renewables. Having vowed to shut down its nuclear power plants by 2022, the country has a decade in which to demonstrate how it will generate 35 percent of its electricity (18 percent of its total energy) from renewables.
This being Germany, there’s a word for all of that: Energiewende, or energy transition. “It’s an enormous opportunity, a catalyst moment,” says Arne Jungjohann, program director for the environment at the Heinrich Böll Foundation, a think tank affiliated with the Green Party. “It means that Germany has been serious and has a broad consensus to go to renewables.”
Despite that consensus, the central government has yet to issue a road map. (“There is no such thing as a master plan in some drawer in Merkel’s desk,” is how one German journalist recently put it.) So for now, the public is stepping up — something that’s possible in part thanks to the certainty of Energiewende, as well as years of demonstrated commitment to renewables in the form of feed-in tariffs.
In Germany, half of all wind projects are community owned, by small-scale investors and farmers — people, says Jungjohann, who “invest their money in a wind park instead of in the bank.”“Today, you see windmills across the country, blue shining solar arrays on rooftops and town halls,” says Jungjohann. “More than 100 villages and communities have set targets to go completely renewable.” Through energy cooperatives in which the buy-in is as low as a few hundred euros, whole villages can invest in a wind park or an anaerobic digester (which makes natural gas from organic waste).
One striking difference between Germany and the U.S. is just who invests in clean energy technology. In the United States it’s mostly banks, corporations and hedge funds — outside investors that find ideal locations for wind or solar, try to convince the local community and end up with a NIMBY problem. To wit: Only about 2 percent of all U.S. installed wind capacity is community owned. But in Germany, half of all wind projects are community owned, by small-scale investors and farmers — people, says Jungjohann, who “invest their money in a wind park instead of in the bank.” Thanks to a combination of tax policy and guaranteed grid access — investors don’t have to negotiate to deliver their power to the grid, unlike in the U.S. — renewables can be a solid investment, at least on paper.
3: Brazilian Rain Forests
Challenge: Rain forest loss
Opportunity: Policy and pressure
Each year, we burn and bulldoze approximately 50,000 square miles of rain forest — disrupting ecosystems, pushing wildlife toward extinction and sending vast stores of carbon dioxide into the air.
In Brazil, though, a decade of smart governance has slowed the rate of Amazon deforestation by 67 percent below its average from 1996 to 2005 through a combination of good policies, beefed-up enforcement and a little help from the market.
Previously, ranchers and farmers looking to expand their holdings would move into the forest illegally, occupy the land and eventually manage to legalize their claim (and often sell it off). But from 2003 until 2009, state and federal governments in Brazil created more than 270,000 square miles of new reserves near agricultural frontiers—an area larger than France. By designating new protected areas at the edges of farmland — rather than deep in the forest — the government all but abolished the allure of encroachment.
For a rancher, it’s not worth the investment to start cutting down the forest, says Steve Schwartzman, director of tropical forest policy at the Environmental Defense Fund, “because your likelihood of ever getting title to the land has gone way down.”
Daniel Nepstad, executive director of IPAM, the Amazon Environmental Research Institute, agrees. The expansion of protected areas, he says, “knocked the wind out of the land speculation market, which is a very important driving force behind deforestation.”
The Brazilian government also began calling out communities with the highest deforestation rates, cutting them off from government credit until they reformed. And it stepped up enforcement of land use laws, jailing hundreds of people for illegal logging and confiscating their machinery and timber.
Government actions alone don’t account for all of the slowdown in forest destruction. A drop in commodity prices — for both soy and beef — during the mid-2000s helped. And pressure from environmental groups, particularly Greenpeace, created a market rejection of deforestation in the form of an international backlash against Amazon soy and beef. Consumers “sent a message to farmers, saying, ‘If you’re clearing forests, we may not want your product,’” Nepstad says.
Today, however, the story is changing. A long and convoluted battle to change the country’s forest code — propelled by strong beef and soy lobbies — has put the future fate of Brazil’s forests at risk. The law, which contains hundreds of complicated amendments, may ultimately bog the country down in unclear and unenforceable rules that undermine the country’s decade of rain forest progress.
4: City of Vancouver
Challenge: Unsustainable Urban Expansion
Opportunity: Comprehensive Planning
More than half the world’s population currently lives in cities; by the middle of this century, that figure could hit 75 percent. Cities are responsible for two-thirds of human energy use and 70 percent of our greenhouse gas emissions, consume vast quantities of water, and produce enormous amounts of waste — all on just 2 percent of the world’s surface area.
How we design, build and live in our cities will have an outsized impact on the planet’s future. But many cities appear blind to this, lumbering forward on outdated building codes, leaking infrastructure and archaic, car-centered layouts.
And then there’s Vancouver. Through its Greenest City 2020 initiative, the Canadian metropolis has developed a 10-point plan to tackle everything from jobs and investment to buildings, transportation, waste and even food — all to emerge as the world’s most sustainable city.
A decade ago Vancouver vowed to meet Kyoto Protocol greenhouse gas emission standards citywide, and to exceed them by 20 percent within the government. Later, city leaders decided to reduce emissions 80 percent by 2050. And then they asked a radical question: “If we want to be the greenest city in the world, what do we need to do?” recalls David Cadman, a former Vancouver city council member who helped conceive the green blueprint and is now president of ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability.
Borrowing ideas and technology from cities the world over, Vancouver began designing itself a smart future. Cadman proposed heating the Vancouver Olympic Village by tapping waste heat emitted from sewage pipes, and at first the city’s Today, residents make 40 percent of their trips in the city on foot, bike or public transportation.engineer balked. “I said, ‘Here’s the business card of an engineer in Switzerland, where they’ve been doing this for years,’” Cadman recalls. “So he called the guy.” The technology, which involves wrapping sewage pipe with a coil that collects the heat, debuted at the Olympics and now supplies 70 percent of the annual energy demand in Southeast False Creek, the neighborhood that encompasses the village. The program, known as a Neighborhood Energy Utility, has already lowered local greenhouse emissions from buildings by 74 percent (surpassing expectations of a 62 percent average annual reduction).
Elsewhere in the city, sustainable development is taking shape. Vancouver updated its mass transit to accommodate bicycles and built urban bike lanes that are physically separate from the streets. Today, residents make 40 percent of their trips in the city on foot, bike or public transportation (the goal is two-thirds of all trips by 2040). To help conserve water, the city now requires water meters on all new residential water services. And Vancouver has adopted the greenest building code in North America.
Every city is unique, of course, and not everything that works in Vancouver makes sense elsewhere. As a city already lauded for its quality of life, Vancouver could afford to set strict policies for developers. But the central ideas behind Greenest City are replicable in a broad sense: The way forward is a combination of creativity, smart policy and will. Vancouver’s efforts show that cities can thrive (the greater region of 2.3 million people is growing at 5 percent per year) while using fewer, not more, resources.
5: Bridges & Bicycles in India
Challenge: Population Growth
Opportunity: Improving education for girls
As world population careens toward 9 billion, all the planet’s systems will be strained. Lowering fertility rates is a complex endeavor, and no one path leads directly there. Poverty, access to contraception, education, job prospects, cultural mores — all of these influence family size. So addressing any of them, or a combination, can help. Solutions abound, at least on a relatively small scale, such as conservation programs that include family planning components.
But the most promising opportunities may lie in promoting girls’ education. Study after study throughout the years has found the same thing: Across every culture, women with higher levels of education have, on average, fewer children. (Girls’ education is also correlated with higher individual and national income levels.) One recent analysis by the International Institute for Population Sciences in Mumbai, India, found that the relationship between education and fertility is mutual. Increased education is followed by decreased fertility — but women who have fewer children are also more likely to receive more education.
India is home to several innovative efforts. In Uttar Pradesh and Orissa, two states with massive gaps in gender inequality, CARE India runs “bridge” schools, residential programs that give girls who have had little or no schooling a chance to catch up. In one district where the literacy rate for girls was near zero, the non-governmental organization started its first Udaan (which means “flight”) 12 years ago. The school took in 100 students for 11 months in a round-the-clock program that not only taught them basic elementary school coursework but also focused on life skills — everything from leadership to cycling.
A recent “right to education” law makes education a fundamental right for children age 6 to 14, who are now entitled to free schooling.Gradually but steadily, the age at which the girls married increased, says Suman Sachdeva, technical director for education at CARE India, “so you now rarely see these girls get married before 18.”
CARE currently operates four Udaan schools in India, and the concept is spreading to other NGOs and even the government. A recent “right to education” law makes education a fundamental right for children age 6 to 14, who are now entitled to free schooling.
But what happens to those kids — many of them female — who are suddenly eligible for school but are now years behind? Sachdeva hopes the bridge school idea will help solve the problem and ensure that more girls can pursue an education.
Elsewhere in India, in 2007 the chief minister of Bihar state began giving schoolgirls vouchers to buy bicycles. Preliminary research shows the program has significantly increased the number of girls staying in school.
6: Tree Regeneration in Niger
Challenge: Unsustainable agriculture
Opportunity: Regenerating native trees
Farming in Africa’s drylands was tough enough before climate change and skyrocketing populations piled on extra problems. Today, smallholder farmers across Africa, but particularly in the Sahel, face pressure to feed their families on land with depleted soils, erratic rainfall and encroaching sand. In years to come, these farmers will need to produce more food on existing land, even as weather conditions grow more precarious.
Chris Reij has spent more than three decades working on sustainable agriculture in Africa, and his years of experience point to a solution that’s so low-tech and inexpensive it’s been overlooked by large aid agencies. Reij, sustainable land management specialist at the Centre for International Cooperation, oversees an effort called Africa Re-greening Initiatives. Re-greening means allowing native trees to grow back on farmland, and then tending, pruning and managing them for maximum return.
Trees provide an almost unbelievable number of benefits: They block wind, lower microclimate temperatures, reduce evaporation, fix nitrogen, provide livestock fodder and increase organic nutrients in the soil. They also generate edible fruits and leaves and produce firewood. Twenty years ago, says Reij, women in parts of Niger spent two-and-a-half hours each day collecting firewood; now they spend half an hour.
“It’s not the silver bullet, but it is at least a big piece of shrapnel,” Reij says.
Agroforestry isn’t new; African farmers grew crops alongside trees for centuries. But a severe drought in the 1970s forced farmers in Niger to cultivate extra land to offset declining crop yields. To expand they cut down trees, which only made things worse.
Starting in the 1980s, though — spurred on by a missionary — some farmers began encouraging trees to regrow from seeds stored in the soil. Reij’s initiative helps spread the message and the knowledge from village to village. Today he estimates that 5 million hectares in Niger have been re-greened. The effort has also spread to Mali, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia and elsewhere across the continent.
Low-tech, low-cost solutions can spur other changes in the ongoing search for solutions to Earth’s greatest environmental challenges.Although Niger, which was hard hit by drought and pests last year, has an overall deficit of cereal crops (up to 600,000 tons), one study found that in a district with a high incidence of on-farm trees, there was a cereal surplus of 14,000 tons.
There is no one solution to the problem of sustainable food production across the vast and varied continent of Africa. (The Polish journalist Ryszard Kapuscinski once wrote, “Only with the greatest simplification, for the sake of convenience, can we say ‘Africa.’”) But Reij’s farmer-managed re-greening does suggest some broad lessons: “Barefoot” science can be as important as the latest science. People are most likely to stick with an innovation if it yields rapid results. And low-tech, low-cost solutions can spur other changes in the ongoing search for solutions to Earth’s greatest environmental challenges.
7: Water Funds in Latin America
Challenge: Freshwater depletion/deterioration
Opportunity: Payments for ecosystem service
We may live on the blue planet, but 97 percent of that liquid is of the salted variety. And of the planet’s freshwater, just 1 percent is “readily accessible for direct human uses,” according to the Stockholm International Water Institute. Clean water is an increasingly scarce commodity, particularly in the developing world — where 90 percent of the additional 3 billion people who will inhabit the Earth by midcentury will live.
Water scarcity has many causes, from drought to inefficient infrastructure to poor (or no) sanitation to politics. Often the root of the problem is ecological: destruction of forests that help preserve clean water at its source, or farming practices that wash toxins into rivers and streams.
“I’ve seen places where cows are walking down steep sandy banks, causing local landslides,” says Heather Tallis, lead scientist at the Stanford University–based Natural Capital Project. “So just keeping cows out of the river can make a difference.”
One way to keep cows out of rivers — and to protect the ecosystems that protect freshwater supplies — is to value clean water as a resource and pay to safeguard its source. New York City did this when it bought and conserved land in the Catskills, where its drinking water originates. But buying up land isn’t the only option: Water users can pay upstream landowners to change how they use the land. For more than a decade, The Nature Conservancy has been attempting this by creating water funds across Latin America. Today, there are 35 funds either operating or in development from central Mexico to central Chile, and another 13 under consideration.
The idea is fairly simple: Water users — a hydroelectric power provider, an urban water utility, a brewery — pay into a fund and then spend that money to improve the watershed. Funds may pay farmers to change agricultural practices (reduce fertilizer use, fence cattle), pay guards to prevent ranchers from encroaching onto reserves or simply pay landowners to restore or preserve vegetation. Funds can focus on improving water supplies or water quality, or reducing risk from floods or landslides. In theory, the funds both protect vital water resources and also use the value of clean water to bankroll conservation.
The first fund, in Quito, Ecuador, was established 11 years ago. Little analysis has been done to monitor the effectiveness of the funds launched since then. Yet anecdotal evidence has been strong enough to entice a coalition of partners, including the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank and a Coca-Cola bottler, to join forces with TNC in the Latin America Water Funds Partnership, which will standardize the funds and intro-duce scientific monitoring. The idea is also spreading beyond the Americas: Kenya and Mongolia may be next in line.
This feature originally appeared in the Fall 2012 issue of Momentum, Ensia’s predecessor. |
The key to a really good tequila is a pepper finish – not a burn, but a little hint of the spice.
But increasingly, tequila-based beverages are introducing new flavor profiles to challenge that formula. In recent years, producers like Patrón, Sauza, and Avión have created tequila liqueurs with flavors like mango, cocoa, and cucumber, expanding a subcategory that could propel the category to new heights. It also hints at a tasty revolution that’s already swept across the vodka category and is currently driving demand for American whiskeys.
Since 2012, Patrón has launched four new tequila liqueurs, including dark cocoa and lime variations. Beam Suntory’s Sauza, which two years ago began to experiment with sparkling margaritas, this summer debuted a cucumber chili tequila. And Pernod Ricard-backed Avión has an espresso variation that founder and chairman Ken Austin didn’t even originally want to make, but which was created to be agave-forward (to ensure the tequila taste remains strong).
Austin calls Avión Espresso the gateway to the brand: “If someone pays $25 for a bottle of Avión Espresso and they say, ‘It is amazing,’ they will be more likely to buy the pricier variations.”
The experimentation comes at a time when the tequila industry already generates $2.1 billion in supplier revenue in the U.S. alone. Among spirits brands, tequila’s growth has recently exceeded the performance of the vodka, rum, and gin categories. Much of that growth has come from higher-priced spirits, which generate better margins and are the core focus for many spirits makers. That trend was recently chronicled in a Fortune feature, “Sipping pretty: Tequila’s global ambitions.”
Debuting tequila flavors can be a less lucrative business strategy, however. Price points are often lower as the liqueurs are made with lower alcohol by volume. But it is hard to ignore the power of the flavor revolution: Roughly one out of every 10 spirits sold in the U.S. are flavored, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, known as Discus.
Flavors are part of why the whiskey category is performing so well, according to Discus. They help introduce the beverage to new drinkers and often attract more women to a category that has traditionally been male-driven, experts say. The industry sold 2.8 million cases of flavored whiskey in 2014, as honey-based whiskeys and newer cinnamon concoctions flew off shelves.
But too much tinkering can leave a bad aftertaste. For years vodka producers relied on flavored spirits to help bolster the category. Many beverage experts say they got a little too experimental, launching variations like cotton candy, birthday cake, and even a bacon vodka. Consumers have been turned off: Flavored vodkas actually shed volume in 2014.
Tequila makers say they are learning from vodka’s missteps, promising not to stray too far from the natural flavor that comes from the blue agave plant that is the base of all tequilas.
“A lot of brands introduce flavors as a way to treat the symptoms rather than the disease,” says Patrón chief marketing officer Lee Applbaum. “You get a short-term bump in volume but not a long term opportunity.”
Applbaum says Patrón has been more purposeful about how it tackles tequila liqueur experimentation. Patrón introduced two flavored tequilas in 1992, but it took another 20 years before the spirits company launched another variation. Some of Patrón’s liqueurs are meant to be consumed in the form of a shot, or as a mixer for a cocktail.
At Beam Suntory, Claire Richards, senior director of tequilas, says her company focuses on those two “occasions” when it thinks of flavors.
“It is important to us that we use flavors that help with the naturally agave-forward liquid,” Richards says. “We won’t go out and innovate on flavors that don’t fit into that profile.” |
Linux's founder, Linus Torvalds wonders if "we may have to "finally lay the 'year of the Linux desktop' joke to rest." Why? Because, for the first time Chromebook outsold Macs.
CNET
Based on how Chromebook sales keep going up, while Mac sales keep going down, Chromebooks will probably always outsell Macs from here on out. So, with Chromebooks as now the number two "desktop" device, Windows PCs may have something to worry about too.
I thought from the start that Chromebooks would prove a real challenge to Windows PCs. Unlike any other Windows alternatives, Chromebooks don't require any learning curve. If you can use a browser, you can use a Chromebook. With the transformation of desktop applications to cloud apps, lower prices, and better security, Chromebooks have always had several built-in advantages over Windows.
Of course Windows had its advantages too. It's the legacy operating system that over 90 percent of people use and it has far more local applications than any other desktop OS. Well, it did anyway.
I see a real challenge ahead for Windows now that, after years of development, Google is bringing the majority of its Android applications to Chrome OS. Soon, Chrome OS will have just as many applications, if not more, than Windows.
Indeed, one of the other reasons people have stuck with Windows is they can't run their favorite applications on any other operating system. Microsoft, however, has also been moving away from standalone applications.
It's made it possible, for example, to run Office 365 on Android. On a tablet or smartphone, that was a neat trick, but people weren't flocking to write documents and spreadsheets on their phones. On a Chromebook though... that's another matter entirely.
In addition, people have also long complained that they can't play games without Windows. Well, I think we all know that there are tens-of-thousands of Android games. So, whether you use your laptop for business or games, this marriage of Android apps and the Chromebook format is going to make Chromebooks much more attractive.
The only Android apps and features that won't work are those that specifically require hardware features -- such as GPS -- that Chromebooks don't include, said Kan Liu, Google's Chrome OS Director of Product Management. "We will fully support all Android apps, subject to the hardware requirements these apps have," said Liu.
At first only higher-end Chromebooks with touchscreens, such as the Pixel 2, will support Android apps. But, Liu promises that Android apps will eventually run on Chromebooks without touchscreens as well.
So, Chromebooks will not start displacing Windows PCs immediately. They will, however, continue to push Macs into third place and give Windows a real desktop competitor.
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Being located near a Trader Joe's or Whole Foods Market is a definite plus, but is one better for property values than the other?
A study released by RealtyTrac shows that much-loved specialty foods store Trader Joe’s might be doing more than saving you money — it could be making you money.
According to RealtyTrac, homeowners in the same ZIP code as Trader Joe’s stores see their home values increase an average of 40 percent. That’s 6 percent more than the home appreciation national average, 34 percent, which is the same as what being near a Whole Foods will net you. The only downside? Property taxes near Trader Joe's also tend to be higher.
Austin residents rejoiced when Trader Joe’s announced plans to come to town. (How did we ever survive without easy access to Speculoos cookie butter and olive oil popcorn?)
There are now three Trader Joe's locations in Austin — and three lucky ZIP codes that reap the benefits of cult-favorite products and higher home values. Trader Joe's has stores in 78746, 78759 and 78701 (its new downtown locale).
The study looked at 2.3 million homes and compared the average of current home values to the average of home values at the time the home was last purchased in 242 ZIP codes with at least one Trader Joe’s store. Devotees of cookie butter might argue that the higher property taxes are worth it. |
The iconic Bewley's Grafton Street Cafe is to close 'temporarily' until Autumn with the loss of 140 jobs.
The iconic Bewley's Grafton Street Cafe is to close 'temporarily' until Autumn with the loss of 140 jobs.
Iconic Bewley's Grafton Street Cafe to shut for six months with loss of 140 jobs
In a statement issued this morning, Bewley's said the move was necessary to secure the future of the renowned cafe which is "currently significantly loss making".
The company say their losses stand at €1.2m a year.
A substantial renovation project of the premises will take place during the closure, the operators said.
Such a move was necessary as the "operation needs to be simplified to create future sustainability in view of continuing rent burden", a statement for the company said.
Some 140 staff members will be made redundant.
When it reopens in the Autumn, some 70 staff will be able to retain their jobs.
Bewley's said they are committed to the future of its Grafton Street cafe, but said it is necessary to restructure and simplify the operation to return it to a "sustainable financial position".
The extensive renovation and refurbishment project will cost €1 million.
The cafe last underwent renovation in 2005.
According to the company, the cafe has huge operating costs and an annual rent of €1.5m "which is a legacy of the unsustainable Irish property bubble".
In 2012, a third party arbitrator established the rent should be at €728,000, but the higher rent remains, the company said.
The company said they have tried many different routes in bringing down the rent, pointing to legal court proceedings in the Supreme Court which ruled against Bewley's last July.
Even if the rent reduction was in place, with annual losses of €1.2m a year, the position is not sustainable, the company said.
The cafe has multiple floors in operation at present.
The company believes it will need to shut for approximately six months to complete the renovation project.
When it reopens, it will be with a "simplified focus" on the ground floor and basement.
"Bewley’s regrets that this proposed closure would as a result require proposals for a redundancy programme for the 140 staff at Bewley’s Grafton Street," the statement said.
"Bewley’s will enter into consultation with staff to explore ways in which some of the proposed redundancies might be avoided and will support them as much as possible during this process."
“It is deeply regrettable to Bewley’s that the proposed period of closure is likely to result in redundancies for our dedicated Café staff. We are also sorry to disrupt our very loyal customers during this period," Bewley's Chief Executive John Cahill said.
“We are planning this programme to sustain Bewley’s Café’s continuing presence on Grafton Street, and to create related jobs in the future.
"The Café must be brought to a sustainable financial position where it can achieve viability at a market rent.
“We are confident that this proposed development will ensure the sustainability of Bewley’s Grafton Street and the provision of future employment by the Café on its reopening later in 2015.”
Online Editors |
Since last April the stock of Sigma Labs Inc (OTCMKTS:SGLB, SGLB message board) has been largely going in only one direction – down. The situation got even worse during the last couple of months with the stock registering new 52-week lows almost daily. Yesterday the negative momentum picked up even more speed and SGLB crashed by more than 17% closing the session at $0.043. The 5.5 million shares that changed hands surpassed the 30-day average for the company by nearly 5 times. Compared to its high of around 18 cents so far the ticker has wiped 77% of its value.
The depressing performance can be attributed to the fact that in 2014 SGLB decided to move away from consulting and focus more on their product offering. The transition has resulted in significantly worse financial results. The latest quarterly report covers the period ending September 30, 2014, and contains the following:
$3.7 million cash
$3.8 million total current assets
$143 thousand total current liabilities
$92 445 thousand total revenue
$539 thousand net loss
As you can see the numbers are far better than what can be found in the balance sheet of the typical pennystock venture. Still, investors were far from pleased to see the drastic increase of SGLB’s net loss – for the nine month period during 2013 they reported a net loss of $504 thousand while for the same period in 2014 they incurred a net loss of $2.8 million.
Recently the company has been able to announce some positive news. They launched their PrintRite3D INSPECT quality assurance software and expected to start generating revenue from it during the fourth quarter of 2014. In fact, in a recent PR SGLB announced that on a preliminary basis they expect the revenue for the quarter to be $200 thousand.
In November Sigma received a contract from Honeywell Aerospace as part of a Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) Phase II award. The contract is expected to continue until mid-2016 with a total value of $500 thousand. More recently, on January 15, SGLB were granted their first contract also worth around $500 thousand from GE Aviation. Before the end of the first quarter of 2015 SGLB’s second product - PrintRite3D® DEFORM, should be launched.
Will this be enough to stop the devastating slide of their stock though? So far the answer is far from positive. Investors should also keep in mind that as of November 12, 2014, SGLB had 618 million outstanding shares out of the 750 million authorized. On December 22 the S-3 registration statement was declared effective and now the company has the right to sell up to $100 million of its common stock, preferred stock, debt securities, warrants and units. The issuance of more shares could easily demand an increase of the authorized amount.
SGLB have a lot going for them but the risks around the company should not be underestimated. Do extensive due diligence and plan your trades carefully. |
A suspected thief was scared off from pinching a motorbike when the owner confronted him with a gun in shocking CCTV footage.
Peter Kim, from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was alerted to the drama on his security camera and immediately opened his front door to find a stranger sitting on his bike.
Trained in martial arts, Mr Kim grabbed his pistol and stood up to the man who made a run for it while apologizing.
But the homeowner thought twice before going after the suspect after realizing he was wearing his pink underwear and didn't want his neighbours to see.
Mr Kim said: 'My camera notifies me about some movement in the back lot. Took a look and realised it's not my cousin on my motorcycle.
'Grabbed my gun, put the clip in, and loaded a bullet into the chamber. I ran downstairs and checked through the peephole to make sure again and that's when I saw him still trying to steal my bike.
'With no hesitation I pulled the gun on him and asked him who he was but not in those words. I saw he was reacting so I went to load a bullet in the chamber and realised mid way I had already cocked the gun back when I grabbed it.
'But the thief thought I was ready to shoot which I was prepared to but did not intend to.
A suspected thief was scared off from taking a motorbike when the owner confronted him with a gun in shocking CCTV footage
Peter Kim was alerted to the drama on his security camera and immediately opened his front door to find a stranger sitting on his bike
'As I was reaching for the slide the thief ran off saying he was just looking which the video clearly shows he attempted to steal the bike twice.'
Mr Kim added: 'The first time he had a bag with him and scoped out the area and tried to move the bike.
'He then went home to drop off his bag and came back for a second attempt which was when I woke up.
Trained in martial arts, Mr Kim grabbed his pistol and stood up to the man on his bike who made a run for it while apologising
Mr Kim from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania said: 'My camera notifies me about some movement in the back lot. Took a look and realised it's not my cousin on my motorcycle'
'If I'd been dressed properly I would've gone round the back and forced the culprit to the floor as I'm trained in Mixed Martial Arts and know how to defend myself.'
He said: 'I have not seen the thief since the incident. Laws here in Pennsylvania only allow you to shoot if you feel you are in imminent danger and I didn't feel as if I was but if he comes back he may regret it.' |
7.48pm: As the Tunisian president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali flees his country, we are bringing our live coverage to an end. Our correspondent in Tunis, Angelique Chrisafis, has just filed this excellent piece after spending a day on the streets. And here's our latest news story.
Here's a summary of the day's events.
• Tunisia's president, Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, has fled the country after days of street riots forced him out. The prime minister, Mohamed Ghannouchi, has assumed power and promised to "respect the constitution and implement the political, economic and social reforms that have been announced".
• A state of emergency has been declared in the country. Twelve people were killed in overnight clashes between demonstrators and police. Tunis airport has been surrounded by the military and Tunisian airspace closed. Gunfire has been heard on the streets tonight.
• Our correspondent, Angelique Chrisafis, reports that French police are awaiting the arrival of Bin Ali's plane in Paris. The French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, said France – the former occupying power – recognises the "constitutional transition" in Tunisia.
• The UK Foreign Office is advising against travel to the country. A number of tour operators have suspended flights and are making plans to evacuate holidaymakers.
Thanks very much for all your comments and good night.
7.18pm: A big question now, which some of you have raised in the comments below, is the repercussions of Ben Ali's overthrow around the region.
This is what the Associated Press says in its latest dispatch from Tunis:
The shakeup was certain to have repercussions in the Arab world and beyond as a sign that even a leader as entrenched and powerful as Ben Ali could be brought down by massive public outrage.
Commenter @clunie mentions Egypt, where Hosni Mubarak leads an autocratic government that is unpopular among many sections of the population. Unrest has been put down brutally.
And in his Financial Times blog today, the paper's chief foreign affairs commentator Gideon Rachman draws a parallel with Egypt:
It is all strangely reminiscent of Egypt, where President Hosni Mubarak is now 82-years-old – and has not yet announced whether he will run for re-election later this year. Will his attitude be affected by developments in Tunisia?
He goes on:
The potential for unrest is not confined to North Africa. Saudi Arabia, the only Arab country that is a member of the G20, also fits the profile. King Abdullah is now in his eighties and is ailing. Despite its massive oil wealth, the country also suffers from high youth unemployment.
7.00pm: The opposition leader Najib Chebbi, one of Ben Ali's most outspoken critics, described the events as a "regime change". Reuters quoted him as saying to I-Tele TV in France:
This is a crucial moment. There is a change of regime under way. Now it's the succession. It must lead to profound reforms, to reform the law and let the people choose.
6.55pm: To @omarov and the pleas from others in the comments for more journalism from north Africa, our excellent Paris correspondent Angelique Chrisafis is in Tunis, has been on the streets today, and she is filing a report as we speak. I've just spoken to our foreign desk, who say Angelique will stay in Tunisia for the weekend at least.
6.46pm: The reports that Ben Ali had arrived in Paris seem pretty easily dismissed. Tunisair's shortest flight time is around two and half hours, and the reports that Ben Ali had left Tunis came only about an hour ago.
6.40pm: The White House has issued a statement saying the US believes the Tunisian people have the "right to choose their leaders" and will monitor the latest developments there closely.
6.31pm: Some more information on the new president. He is a long-term ally of the former president, having joined the cabinet when Ben Ali assumed power in 1987. Ben Ali appointed him prime minister in 1999.
Ghannouchi has had a high profile role during the unrest of the past few days, announcing the sacking of the interior minister earlier this week. Ghannouchi also gave interviews to the international media defending Tunisia's handling of the protests.
6.26pm: There are conflicting reports about Ben Ali's whereabouts. The office of the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, has said it has "no information" that he had arrived in Paris. Reuters said:
Two officials at the French Foreign ministry said they did not know whether he had arrived in the country and were still checking.
6.11pm: Meanwhile, on the streets of Tunis, our correspondent Angelique Chrisafis says police are still cracking down on demonstrators.
Individual protestors still being dragged off by plain clothes police on bourguiba ave #sidibouzid
6.04pm: Our correspondent in Rome, John Hooper, reports that Italy's Adnkronos news agency says Ben Ali has arrived in Malta "under Libyan protection".
5.59pm: In his television address, prime minister Mohamed Ghannouchi said he had taken over from Ben Ali on an interim basis. This is what he said, according to Reuters:
I vow that I will respect the constitution and implement the political, economic and social reforms that have been announced ... in consultation with all political sides including political parties and civil society.
5.57pm: Al-Jazeera's reporter in Paris, Jacky Rowland, says it appears that the prime minister has led an "internal coup". This is the same manner by which Ben Ali came to power in 1987, overthrowing the sitting president, Habib Bourguiba.
5.47pm: The Tunisian prime minister, Mohammed Ghannouchi, says in a TV address that president Ben Ali is "temporarily unable to exercise his duties", according to Reuters. The prime minister says he is assuming control of the country, according to reports on Twitter from others who are watching the address on television.
5.36pm: The Doha-based news network Al-Jazeera is reporting on its website that president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali has left the country and the army has taken control.
5.29pm: The position of the president, Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, appears precarious. It is not clear whether the order to take control of the airport came at the instigation of the president or the military high command.
5.23pm: It appears there are big developments afoot in Tunis. AFP is reporting that the military has taken over the airport, and Reuters says state television has declared that a "major announcement" is to be made to the Tunisian people "soon".
Air France has confirmed that the airspace around Tunis has been closed, and it has suspended flights. (This is Matt Wells taking over from Paul Owen.)
5.00pm: Events in Tunisia are moving fast, so here is a summary of this evening's main developments:
• Tunisia's president, Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, has fired his government and called early elections for six months' time, following days of rioting. A national unity government involving a key opposition figure is possible, foreign minister Kamel Morjane has said.
• A state of emergency has been declared in the country.
• Twelve people were killed in overnight clashes between demonstrators and police. There are reports Tunis airport has been surrounded by the military and Tunisian airspace closed.
• The UK Foreign Office is advising against travel to the country. A number of tour operators have suspended flights and are making plans to evacuate holidaymakers.
My colleague Angelique Chrisafis will be filing from Tunisia soon; you will be able to find her story here along with the rest of the Guardian's coverage of this situation.
4.54pm: Reuters news agency has just sent the following:
MILITARY SURROUNDING TUNIS AIRPORT - AIRPORT OFFICIAL
4.41pm: Jonathan Rugman of Channel 4 News has tweeted this:
Afp reporting Tunis airport and airspace closed by army. Jonathan Rugman
jrug
4.34pm: Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali has dominated political life in Tunisia and sidelined rivals since he seized power in 1987, declaring Habib Bourguiba, the country's independence leader, medically unfit to remain president. The Economist reports that Ben Ali then "turned Tunisia into a police state known for its efficiency. Occasional worries about authoritarian tendencies in more relaxed North African states such as Morocco were frequently referred to as 'Ben-Alisation'."
The magazine adds:
Mr Ben Ali has faced protests before, but never on this scale. For the first time since he came to power, the ubiquitous presidential portraits that adorn many buildings have been ripped down and burned, while protesters chant colourful insults aimed at Mr Ben Ali and his acquisitive wife, Leila Trabelsi.
4.30pm: More from Reuters on foreign minister Kamel Morjane's suggestion a national unity government could be formed. Asked about forming a coalition government that included opposition leaders such as Najib Chebbi, he said:
I think that is feasible and I think it would be entirely normal.
Chebbi is one of Ben Ali's most outspoken internal opponents and the man western diplomats view as the most credible opposition figure in the opposition. He said the president had done the right thing yesterday:
But what remains [to be seen] is how will this be carried out and I ask that a coalition government be created.
4.25pm: Reuters has news of the death toll so far from the protests:
Medical sources and a witness said 12 more people were killed in overnight clashes in the capital and the northeastern town of Ras Jebel. Before the latest deaths emerged, the official death toll in almost a month of violence was 23, while the Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights said it had a list of at least 66 people killed.
The report continues with an account of events in the capital today:
On Friday, state television flashed the announcement: "The president has decided to dismiss the government and to hold legislative elections within six months." It gave no details. But protests continued in the capital and other cities on Friday. Around 8,000 people rallied outside the interior ministry in central Tunis, chanting "Ben Ali, leave!" and "Ben Ali, assassin!" After police fired teargas and wielded their truncheons, crowds of youths retreated a little way from the building and started throwing stones at the police, who responded with more tear gas grenades. Reporters also heard gunfire nearby. For the Tunis protesters, Ben Ali's promise to quit and cut essential food prices was not enough. "We don't want bread or anything else, we just want him to leave," they chanted. "After that we will eat whatever we have to." The UGTT trade union confederation had called for a general strike, which analysts said would test of whether the president had managed to calm public anger with his speech.
4.22pm: My colleague Ian Black, the Guardian's Middle East editor, sends this video from Facebook.
4.20pm: Paul Owen here, taking over from Mark Tran.
A British holidaymaker who has returned from Tunisia has been telling BBC News about her experience of the protests: "It was not aimed at us. It was frightening but you felt safe in the hotels." She said a French journalist had been shot in the leg by the police.
The BBC is reporting a 5pm-7am curfew, with no gatherings of three people or more allowed. Unofficial reports are that five people have been killed today.
The BBC's correspondent in Tunisia says young people protesting will not be placated by promises of change in years to come: "they want change now."
4.14pm: State television reports that firearms will be used if orders from the security forces are not obeyed.
4.11pm: Tunisia has declared a state of emergency, reports the AFP news agency.
4.10pm: Holiday operator Thomas Cook is evacuating around 1,800 British and Irish tourists and 2,000 Germans from Tunisia, following advice from the Foreign Office not to travel to Tunisia unless it is essential.
4.00pm: Events have been moving fast in Tunisia and here is a summary of key developments today:
• Police have been firing tear gas and beating up protesters outside the interior ministry in Tunis.
• 12 people have been reported dead after yesterday's demonstrations.
• President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali has dismissed his entire government and has said there will be early elections in six months.
• A unity government is possible, foreign minister Kamel Morjane has said.
3.52pm: Sam, a Tunisian who does not wish to give his full name, writes a powerful piece on Comment is free on the sense of liberation people feel after years of living under the absolute rule of Ben Ali:
And for the first time, we see the opportunity to rebel, to take revenge on the "royal" family who has taken everything, to overturn the established order that has accompanied our youth. An educated youth, which is tired and ready to sacrifice all the symbols of the former autocratic Tunisia with a new revolution: the Jasmin Revolution – the true one.
3.51pm: If you can read French, you can follow Le Monde's live blog of the crisis in Tunisia here.
3.44pm: My colleague Peter Walker has filed a news story on the situation. His story begins:
Tunisia's president has dismissed his entire government and is calling early legislative elections, his spokesman announced today, after days of bloody clashes between security forces and protesters. The state news agency said president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali would call fresh legislative elections in six months. The news came after riot police fired teargas at a peaceful demonstration and gunshots were heard in central Tunis, where thousands of people had gathered to demand Ben Ali's immediate resignation.
3.42pm: Here is a link to follow live postings on Facebook about the situation from people on the Tunisian side. (Thanks to yaramo in the comments.)
3.41pm: The announcement from Ben Ali that elections would be held in six months is a big concession since last night when he said he would leave leave office at the end of his term in 2014. But will demonstrators be satisfied with that? Today they were demanding his immediate departure.
3.37pm: Warning: This is dramatic footage of a protester lying on the ground after apparently being shot by snipers. The video is dated yesterday.
It is reminiscent of the video of Neda Agha-Soltan during the protests in Iran.
3.33pm: My colleagues on the Guardian video desk have sent this video of Tunisians protesting against Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, the president. To recap, they are calling on him to go immediately, despite his pledge not to seek re-election in 2014.
3.32pm: Mohamed Abdel Samad (theeproducer) tweets:
@Dima_Khatib my fear is the fate of the Animal Farm, get rid of 1 thief to replace him with 10 more" Mohamed Abdel Samad
theeproducer
3.22pm: The Tunisian state news agency is also reporting that Ben Ali is calling early legislative elections in six months.
It looks like Ben Ali is trying desperately trying to keep himself from being overwhelmed by the rush of events.
3.21pm: Amnesty International has called on the Tunisian authorities to release or charge two men arrested, after one of them gave media interviews about the protests.
Here is Amnesty's statement:
Hamma Hammami, spokesperson for the banned Tunisian Workers' Communist party (Parti Communiste des Ouvriers Tunisiens, PCOT) was arrested at his home in Tunis on 12 January. Around 20 members of the presidential security unit are reported to have detained him together with his colleague, Mohamed Mzem, a lawyer, and Mounia Obaid, a friend who was later released. Hamma Hammami's family believe he was arrested for speaking to journalists about the protests in the country.
3.20pm: The Tunisian state news agency says Ben Ali is dismissing the government amid rioting, AP reports.
3.06pm: Euronews has footage of protests from overnight. Some people turned out in support of Ben Ali after his address to the nation.
2.56pm: Here is an AP account of the latest clashes:
Tunisian police fired rounds of tear gas at thousands of protesters in the capital Friday after some climbed atop the roof of the interior ministry, a symbol of the iron-fisted government they want to oust. The demonstrators were marching through Tunis to demand the resignation of the country's autocratic leader, President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali. Many shouted "Ben Ali, out!" and "Ben Ali, assassin!" Another poster read "We won't forget," a reference to the rioters killed, many by police bullets. Hundreds of police with shields and riot gear blocked the avenue Friday in front of the interior ministry, where over the years there have been reports of torture. The march was organised by Tunisia's only legal trade union, which also went ahead with a symbolic two-hour strike. Plainclothes policemen were seen kicking unarmed protesters and beating them with batons.
Reuters is reporting that 12 people were killed in overnight clashes in Tunis and the northeastern town of Ras Jebel, citing two medical sources and a witness. Ten of the victims were killed after clashes in the capital, two sources from Charles Nicolle hospital told Reuters.
2.51pm: It would be surprising if Arab leaders were not afraid of the Tunisian example spreading. Reuters is reporting on protests in Jordan:
Food price protests sweeping across North Africa and the Middle East reached Jordan on Friday, when hundreds of protesters chanted slogans against Prime Minister Samir al-Rifai in the southern city of Karak. The peaceful protest was held despite hastily announced government measures to curb commodity and fuel prices. Similar demonstrations were held in three other towns and cities across the country, witnesses said. "We are protesting the policies of the government - high prices and repeated taxation that made the Jordanian people revolt," Tawfiq al-Batoush, a former head of Karak municipality, told Reuters at the protest outside Karak's Al Omari mosque.
2.48pm: Things seem to have taken a serious turn for the worse. Angelique Chrisafis is tweeting:
Gunshots are now ringing around us and in the other sidestreets around interior ministry.
An earlier tweet from her:
Running battles amid extreme violence from police. Protestors being chased onto rooftops. This is turning very, very bad.
This is very bad news for Ben Ali who must have been hoping that his concessions announced yesterday would calm things down. Instead the protesters seem to have been emboldened.
2.42pm: Some tweeters are lumping Ben Ali together with Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, another long-time ruler in the Arab world. "Mubarak & Ben Ali united in repression. Let the Arab street rise up in unison against the stupid Arab regime," tweets Hisham_G.
2.29pm: Reuters says gunshots rang out as police fired teargas to disperse some 8,000 protesters outside the interior ministry in Tunis. The Associated Press says tear gas was fired after demonstrators climbed on to the roof of the building.
2.18pm: Here is an Audioboo featuring the Guardian's Angelique Chrisafis speaking to my colleague Peter Walker from outside the interior ministry in Tunis.
Thousands of demonstrators were chanting: "Bread, water, Ben Ali out."
2.08pm: A recap of what led us here. The man who set off the chain of events that has shattered Tunisia's carefully constructed facade of stability is Mohamed Bouazizi, a 26-year-old living in the provincial town of Sidi Bouzid, who had a university degree but no work. To earn some money he took to selling fruit and vegetables in the street without a licence. When the authorities stopped him and confiscated his produce, he was so angry that he set himself on fire and died. Writing about the episode last month, the Guardian's Brian Whitaker said Tunisia's crisis reminded him of the fall of the Romanian dictator, Nicolae Ceausescu.
So, what we are seeing, firstly, is the failure of a system constructed by the regime over many years to prevent people from organising, communicating and agitating. Secondly, we are seeing relatively large numbers of people casting off their fear of the regime. Despite the very real risk of arrest and torture, they are refusing to be intimidated. Finally, we are seeing the breakdown of a long-standing devil's compact where, in return for submitting to life under a dictatorship, people's economic and welfare needs are supposedly taken care of by the state.
2.00pm: A notable feature of this crisis has been the deafening silence from the political class in France, Tunisia's former colonial power and its main economic partner – a fact noted here by Le Monde. A north Africa expert I spoke to this week, Dr Claire Spencer, said France was probably working behind the scenes to put pressure on Ben Ali to make concessions. Now, perhaps sensing which way the political winds are blowing (not in his favour), the French are beginning to speak up. Reuters has this:
France on Friday urged Tunisian president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali to deliver on promises that it called a step in the right direction and called on him to do his utmost to restore peace after deadly riots. "We urge an end to the violence and the Tunisian president's commitments on this front have been positively noted," foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said of Ben Ali's promises to bow out as leader in 2014, allow free media and order police to stop shooting protestors. "The steps the president announced go in the right direction and we hope they will be implemented."
Spencer, from the Chatham House foreign affairs thinktank, made the point that the existence of a large educated and skilled population plus coherent demands from the unions showed that the opportunity for dialogue was there, should the government take it. The big question, though, is whether the regime can move fast enough to respond to demands for change. The evidence from today is that Ben Ali's concessions may be too little, too late. Tunisians want him out now, and not in three years' time.
1.28pm: Is this the first WikiLeaks revolution, asks Elizabeth Dickinson at Foreign Policy.
As in the recent so-called "Twitter revolutions" in Moldova and Iran, there was clearly lots wrong with Tunisia before Julian Assange ever got hold of the diplomatic cables. Rather, WikiLeaks acted as a catalyst: both a trigger and a tool for political outcry. Which is probably the best compliment one could give the whistleblower site.
Ian Black, our Middle East specialist, wrote about the WikiLeaks cable in question in December, quoting the US ambassador, Robert Godec:
"The problem is clear," wrote ambassador Robert Godec in July 2009, in a secret dispatch released by Beirut's al-Akhbar newspaper. "Tunisia has been ruled by the same president for 22 years. He has no successor. And, while President Ben Ali deserves credit for continuing many of the progressive policies of President Bourguiba, he and his regime have lost touch with the Tunisian people. They tolerate no advice or criticism, whether domestic or international. Increasingly, they rely on the police for control and focus on preserving power."
1.18pm: It is supposed to be a beacon of calm and stability in North Africa and the Arab world, but Tunisia has been shaken by protests that have claimed the lives of at least 23 people – human rights groups put the number at over 60.
The protests were sparked off last month after an unemployed graduate set himself on fire when police tried to stop him selling vegetables without a permit. He later died.
What started out as demonstrations against high unemployment have turned into the biggest challenge for President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, who has been in power for 23 years.
Thousands angered by corruption and a regime intolerent of dissent turned out in Tunis today to demand his immediate resignation, despite his pledges last night not to seek re-election in 2014. The rest of the Arab world is watching developments nervously amid fears of "contagion".
• Here is our latest story, from Angelique Chrisafis, who is in Tunis.
• Thomas Cook is flying back some 1,800 holiday makers from the country afte the Foreign Office advised against all but esseential travel there. |
Credit: John Romita Jr. (DC Comics)
Updated May 18, 2017: DC Comics has now released colored versions of Andy Kubert and John Romita Jr.'s Dark Days: The Forge #1 variants. So we have added these to the article, with the original pencils released back on May 9.
Original Story: The pencilled versions of two variant covers for June 14's Dark Days: The Forge #1 have been released. In these covers Andy Kubert and John Romita Jr., Aquaman and Superman join in on this Batman-centric event that will eventually culminate later in the year with Dark Nights: Metal.
Here is the full solicitation for the issue:
DARK DAYS: THE FORGE #1
Written by SCOTT SNYDER and JAMES TYNION IV • Art by JIM LEE, ANDY KUBERT, JOHN ROMITA JR. and others
Cover by JIM LEE and SCOTT WILLIAMS • Variant cover by ANDY KUBERT • Variant cover by JOHN ROMITA JR.
Retailers: This issue will ship with three covers. Please see the order form for details. Includes a code for a free digital download of this issue.
DARKNESS COMES TO THE DC UNIVERSE WITH THE MYSTERY OF THE FORGE! Aquaman, The Flash and more of DC’s pantheon of heroes suspect Batman of hiding a dark secret that could threaten the very existence of the multiverse! It’s an epic that will span generations—but how does it connect to the origins of one of DC’s most legendary heroes?
The great comics event of summer 2017 is about to begin courtesy of superstar writers Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV and illustrated by a master class of comics artists: Andy Kubert, Jim Lee and John Romita Jr.! You do not want to miss this one!
ONE-SHOT • On sale JUNE 14 • 40 pg, FC, card-stock covers, $4.99 US • RATED T |
Stephen Amell has been tapped to play Casey Jones in “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2” for Paramount and Platinum Dunes.
Megan Fox is set to return as April O’Neil. Will Arnett is also returning. David Green is directing the pic. Plot details and information on other returning cast members are still unknown.
A loner who becomes an ally of the turtles and a love interest for O’Neil, Jones is a fan favorite of the series going back to when Elias Koteas played him in the 1990 New Line pic.
Michael Bay is producing along with his Platinum Dunes partners Brad Fuller and Andrew Form. Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec are penning the script.
Amell tested with a half-dozen actors over the weekend, but it was his chemistry with Fox that led to the studio eventually giving the role to the star of CW’s “Arrow.” Paramount had no comment on the casting.
The “Turtles” franchise is one of Paramount’s top properties following its success last summer, when it earned $191 million domestically — so much so that Paramount dated the sequel for 2016 before even locking down a director or cast. |
Turkey’s state of emergency means temporary suspension of the European Convention on Human Rights, the deputy prime minister has said, adding this is expected to last for a month and a half. The state of emergency in Turkey follows a failed military coup.
LIVE UPDATES: #TurkeyPurge: Post-coup crackdown
"We want to end the state of emergency as soon as possible. We believe [it could end within] one to one and a half months. I do not need a second extension,” said Deputy PM Numan Kurtulmus, as cited by Turkish broadcaster NTV.
According to Kurtulmus, there were “structural and individual” intelligence failures during the coup attempt. He added that the government is planning to restructure the army.
As a result, the European Convention on Human Rights will be “temporarily suspended” due to the state of emergency, he added.
Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag later said the state of emergency will not negatively affect the economy or investments.
On Wednesday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced a state of emergency for three months following a coup attempt. It took effect Thursday morning.
Read more
"The purpose of the state of emergency is to most effectively and swiftly take steps necessary to eliminate the threat to democracy in our country," Erdogan said, adding that EU has no right to criticize the decision.
Under the emergency measure, the Turkish president and his ministers are allowed to bypass the parliament in passing new laws. Rights and freedoms in the country may also be limited or suspended if the government decides to do so, the news agency explained.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has urged Ankara to lift the state of emergency in the country as quickly as possible, Reuters reported.
"We continue to expect that Turkey will adhere to the rule of law and that it will lift the state of emergency after three months as planned. Everything else would exacerbate tensions inside Turkey and harm Turkey itself," he said.
Earlier on Thursday, the German FM told the media he did not have full confidence that the state of emergency was an appropriate response to the failed coup.
Steinmeier said the Turkish government should prosecute only those proven to be involved in illegal acts, but not their political opponents.
The military’s attempt to seize power in the country took place on July 15, when Erdogan was on holiday in the Turkish resort of Marmaris. Thousands of people took to the streets of Ankara and Istanbul. Erdogan said that 246 government supporters were killed. At least 24 coup plotters were also killed, officials said.
Tens of thousands have already been detained or lost their jobs following the failed coup, with some 60,000 people suspected of backing the coup attempt being investigated. The large-scale purge of state institutions has affected judiciary officials, civil servants, law enforcement and education workers.
Erdogan won’t miss the chance to use the coup to “strengthen his grip on Turkey,” Ali Rizk, a Middle East expert, told RT.
He warned that “there is going to be a big clampdown” which “is going to intensify” in the country.
“This could indeed transform Turkey from ‘a beacon of democracy’ into a police state. With these particular developments taking place, I do expect that Turkey will walk more and more on the way of an authoritarian police state,” Rizk said. |
Lane United lost its opening scrimmage of the 2014 season 3-1 to Corban University in a match played in ideal conditions in sunny Salem, Oregon on Saturday afternoon. Edgar Gomez’s composed finish off a Loren Hill cross in the 75th minute was a welcome consolation for a Reds side that had at times played evenly with Corban but found themselves three goals down after 55 minutes. Corban’s first two goals had been punched in off of set pieces and their third was the product of an inch-perfect long diagonal ball that left Lane United’s central defense completely exposed.
Some of these Lane United players have been training with each other in Eugene over the past week, but others have been unable to attend regularly and two of them, Jeevraj Rai and Gabe Hutchinson, had never met the coaching staff or any of their teammates in person before today. For many, this game represented a final round of open tryouts, as none of them besides Rolando Velazquez have been named to the full 2014 squad. The game inevitably began unevenly, and Corban were ahead after only five minutes when they scrambled a goal out of a 40-yard set piece that had been hoisted into the box.
They doubled their advantage at the end of the opening period (the match being played in three 30-minute periods to allow for lineup experimentation) when they won another free kick, this time on the left wing. The hard, inswinging delivery only required a touch off anyone and Loren Hill, the Lane United midfielder, was unfortunately the provider as the ball rifled off his back and into his own net.
By this point, Lane United had only mustered two relatively tame attempts at goal, from Hill and Velazquez respectively, although Velazquez had already shown a penchant for sneaking in behind Corban’s back line—the timing of his runs or the weight of the through balls never quite working out. He finally deserved a goal at the beginning of the second period, when he latched onto a long pass, brushed off the last defender and succeeded in lobbing the bouncing ball over the onrushing keeper 25 yards from goal. His effort had too much arc, though, and shot up over the crossbar after one bounce off the hard artificial turf.
Lane United settled into the game after that point and had a number of decent chances, including Jose Nunez glancing a header just wide off of a free kick, and Max Hawes doing well to corral a clearance at the top of the box and drag a shot wide on the half-volley. The third Corban goal, which came at the end of the second period, was their only strong chance of that passage. In the third period, the Reds were in control of the game, consistently pressuring Corban out of possession and on a couple of occasions passing it all the way out of the back to create chances up front. Gomez had two good shots and Hill one very powerful effort off his left foot that went only a little wide before Paul Beach hit the crossbar when he broke away from the Corban high line and found himself one-on-one with the keeper. The Reds’ efforts finally paid off when Gomez won possession 40 yards out, found Hill on the right and he slid a cross back in for Gomez to finish comfortably in the bottom corner.
The most stunning play of the game was yet to come, when Gomez attempted a chipped/curled shot from 25 yards that Corban’s goalkeeper did extremely well to save by sprawling and pushing it against his own bar. Raul Fletes also set up Ian Maloney with a cross similar to the one Gomez had scored from, but Maloney dragged his finish wide and to the left. But the late assault was just that—late—and a 3-3 draw would have been flattering given the ragged way the game began. Lane United’s small contingent of fans who made the drive north from Eugene could at least feel rewarded that they had gotten to see some of the team’s hopefuls finish the exhibition on a high note.
Late edit: Peter Bellerby, of NW Sports Pics, has graciously shared some of the photos that he took of Saturday’s action. Thank you, Peter, for your work! |
Over last weekend, more than 50 cases of sexual assault were reported across two Swedish festivals. At one – Bravalla – five women said they had been raped and another 12 reported sexual assault, while at the other – Putte i Parken – there were a further 35 reports of assault, the youngest from a girl aged 12. In a statement on the Värmland regional police’s website, the Putte i Parken assaults were attributed to “foreign young men”. “There is no doubt,” the statement said plainly, “about who takes these liberties”.
Except it turned out that there was doubt. Within a few hours the statement had been taken down.
The police later admitted that only two of the seven men or boys arrested for the Putte i Parken incidents were from HVB homes – residential homes for young people, often refugees without parents. There’s even less evidence to suggest the rapes at Bravalla were carried out by immigrants – but the two were instantly lumped together. “The wording was unfortunate,” read a second statement, “and we will take that to heart.”
To paint the perpetrators of sexual assault as some monolithic group also makes it easy to continue the victim-blaming
It was too late by then, of course. The buzzwords had already been unleashed, seized and extrapolated upon until they had become the main story. Reporting from the UK, the MailOnline’s news story cited authorities as identifying the perpetrators of the assaults as “young men, who are foreigners.”; the Telegraph’s headline warned of “reports of rapes by ‘migrants’”. And so an inaccurate, retracted police statement, and one victim’s speculation that they were “probably immigrants” turned into fact.
However much the media (and sometimes the police, it would seem) like to suggest otherwise, the threat of rape and sexual assault at festivals does not simply come from some easily pigeonholed “other”. It’s wrong to lay the blame, as we do for so many of the world’s problems, on a faceless foreign mass. To do so is to derail an issue that badly needs addressing. Because it’s not as though these were isolated incidents, confined only to Swedish festivals where foreigners are present. Far from it.
Glastonbury's female-only area doesn't marginalise – women need a safe space Read more
In 2009, a woman was raped at Reading festival. In 2010, a 16-year-old boy was found guilty of attacking a 12-year-old girl at Secret Garden Party and two women were raped – in unrelated incidents – at Latitude. In 2013, two women were assaulted at Wilderness festival. Last year, a man was arrested on suspicion of raping a woman at V festival.
In the early Swedish news reports, Patricia Lorenzoni, a researcher and lecturer at Linköping University, was one of the few dissenting voices. Does she feel migrants were disproportionately blamed for crimes such as these? “Yes,” she says, “and there is plenty of statistical data showing this. Racist and rightwing populist groups have for years tried to create a climate of fear around the image of the ‘immigrant’ rapist. What is worrying now is that this language is becoming part of more general media reporting.”
If we allow this trend to continue, then we fail to examine our own culpability when it comes to rape culture. A Swedish police report on sexual assault in the country, for example, referred to the damage caused by ideas of “masculinity”, as well as the normalisation of sexual harassment in schools. But these nuanced analysis and deep-rooted causes don’t make for quite such exciting headlines.
Swedish police identify seven males suspected of assault at festival Read more
To paint the perpetrators of sexual assault as some monolithic, easily identifiable group also makes it easier to continue the victim-blaming. Because it should be easy to avoid being assaulted at a festival, right? Just avoid the men who have “attacker” practically written on their foreheads. In 2010, after the attack at Reading, festival organiser Melvin Benn spoke of a plan to “inform young girls in particular about the danger of sexual predators”. There was no mention of how the festival planned to deal with the sexual predators themselves. The same year, Hop Farm festival founder Vince Power said a festival was essentially a small town, “and in a town you wouldn’t leave your door open”. In doing so, he painted the women who’d been assaulted as victims of nothing but their own carelessness.
As long as we continue to put the onus of responsibility on the victims in this way, and paint the perpetrators as a foreign threat miring what could otherwise be some festival utopia, that door will remain open.
In a more measured statement following the weekend’s attacks, Swedish police admitted that “the descriptions [of perpetrators] are diverse”. There is, they said, just one common denominator: “These are all young men.” However much we try and twist the narrative, there is no homogenous, easily recognisable perpetrator of violence – least of all at festivals. The sooner we realise that, the sooner we might be able to stop it from happening. |
Buy Photo Oscar Wong and Leah Wong Ashburn stand around the newly installed and functioning solar panels on the rooftop of Highland Brewing in Asheville. The brewery powers all of its production with the panels, and Ashburn said she hopes to power everything in their building with solar energy. (Photo: Katie Bailey/[email protected])Buy Photo
That next bottle or pint of Highland Gaelic Ale was brewed with 100 percent solar power.
Highland Brewing, Asheville's first craft brewery, has switched to a solar system, generating all the power needed to make its craft beers and to operate the plant. It's the latest in a growing number of breweries using solar power or alternative fuels.
Sierra Nevada has solar at its Mills River and Chico, California, breweries. New Belgium is looking at a solar system for its West Asheville brewery and uses solar and alt-fuel at its Colorado brewery.
At Highland, any extra solar juice can be sold back to Duke Energy Progress, company president Leah Wong Ashburn said. The savings will be substantial, she said.
"I think it will be several thousand dollars a month off the power bill," she said. There are also state and federal tax credits for using solar power, she said.
Highland first considered going solar in 2012, and first looked at an outside company operating the system. But eventually, Highland acquired 1,045 solar panels itself and had them installed on the brewery roof at 12 Old Charlotte Highway. The brewery then upgraded its electrical system to safely plug in the new system.
Sierra Nevada began using solar power in 2006 at its original brewery in Chico and has 10,500 panels there, spokesman Bill Manley said. In Mills River, Sierra has 2,200 panels and two capstone microturbines using methane biogas, a byproduct of waste water treatment. Together they produce one megawatt of AC power, he said.
New Belgium, which will open its West Asheville brewery late this year, also is "actively looking into" solar use there, spokesman Bryan Simpson said
New Belgium uses more than 1,200 solar panels and methane captured from wastewater treatment methane at its Fort Collins, Colorado, brewery. The two systems produce 19 percent of its needed electricity, Simpson said.
"We like solar as a viable renewable energy," he said.
Read or Share this story: http://avlne.ws/1C19NJu |
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