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Moderate House Democrats are drafting a proposal that would continue to shield big banks from potentially tougher state regulations of credit cards, mortgages and savings accounts.
The plan would differ from President Barack Obama’s proposal to give states a role in regulating large financial institutions that operate nation-wide. The lawmakers say it would be more practical and less expensive not to force the banks to comply with 50 different regulatory regimes.
But their proposal, spearheaded by Illinois Democratic Rep. Melissa Bean and discussed at a hearing Wednesday, isn’t sitting well with consumer advocates who say banks shouldn’t be allowed to skirt state regulations if the restrictions don’t suit them.
“That’s the system we have now. That’s the system that failed,” said Ed Mierzwinski, consumer program director for U.S. Public Interest Research Groups.
The current regulatory regime allows banks to follow either state or federal regulations. Whereas community banks often follow state rules, large banks typically opt for federal oversight so they can operate in various states under one set of regulations.
Under a plan by Obama and Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Barney Frank, lenders would have to answer to both state and federal regulators. A new Consumer Financial Protection Agency, or CFPA, would set the federal standard but states would be free to impose tougher rules.
The House Financial Services Committee, chaired by Frank, planned to take up legislation creating a CFPA the week of Oct. 12.
While the financial industry is lobbying against a new regulator, Frank said the agency is needed because the Federal Reserve and other regulators dropped the ball when it came to protecting the average American using credit cards and buying homes.
“I think it’s fair to say that no callouses will be found on the hands of those in the federal bank regulatory agencies who had consumer responsibility because there is no evidence of hard work,” he said at a panel hearing.
While Bean supports creation of a CFPA, she said in an interview this week that subjecting federally chartered banks to state laws would be too cumbersome to implement and would pass on added costs to consumers.
“If you have 50 different regulatory regimes that an institution has to comply with every new offering they make, every new service they want to provide, there (would be) 50 different sets of forms with 50 different sets of training,” she said.
Bean said she is drafting an amendment with input from other Democrats that would allow federally chartered banks to follow federal regulations under the CFPA and ignore state laws. She says her plan would still allow for multiple watchdogs because states could cooperate with federal regulators to sue banks in civil court for violation of federal law. |
Georgia, Tbilisi, May 28 / Trend N.Kirtskhalia /
Georgia can protect itself only in the framework of international blocs and alliances, and therefore it should strive to join the EU and NATO, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said at a meeting with students and faculty of the Military Academy in Gori on Tuesday.
"We must never confuse who is our friend and who is our enemy. Russia is our big neighbor, and in a long term cooperation with Moscow is beneficial for Georgia. However, we should always remember that Russia is struggling not with a particular political group in Georgia but with the state of Georgia. The existence of a state which is not tied to the chariot of Russia in the region where it always used the principle 'divide et impera' is not advantageous for Moscow"- he stressed.
At the same time Saakashvili noted that Georgia is not only an advocate of world security, but also contributes to it, as evidenced by the Georgian military contingent in Afghanistan.
The President stressed noted the Georgian military contingent is one of the most exemplary in Afghanistan, and this is recognized by all NATO member states.
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Rick Rothacker and Kerry Hall
The Charlotte Observer
October 2, 2008
On Friday, with its stock plunging 27 percent, Wachovia experienced a “silent run” on deposits, but the bigger worry for regulators was that other banks wouldn’t provide the Charlotte bank with necessary short-term funding when it opened for business Monday, sources familiar with the situation told the Observer.
With Wachovia already looking for a merger partner, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., in consultation with other regulators, required the bank to reach a sale to Citigroup on Monday morning.
The FDIC, for the first time, used legislative authority created in 1991 to help it deal with a “very large complex bank failure” on short notice. It requires approval from heavy hitters – two-thirds of FDIC board members, two-thirds of Federal Reserve board members as well as the Treasury secretary, who must consult with the president.
“When Wachovia opened Monday it would not have had a source of liquidity,” a source familiar with the situation said. “It really could not have opened under those circumstances. That’s why (the FDIC) put together the assistance package.”
A d v e r t i s e m e n t
The new details show the precarious situation Wachovia faced over the weekend as it rushed to find a suitor, even as Congress debated a possible bailout plan. Intense negotiations in New York included a decision by Wells Fargo to pass on a deal Sunday and frequent consultations with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the bank’s primary regulator, and the FDIC, sources said.
In the end, the FDIC, which insures customer deposits, forged the deal because it has “the pocketbook,” a source said.
9/11 Chronicles Part One: Truth Rising
Get the DVD and make copies or watch the high quality streaming and download version online at Prison Planet.tv. Click here to read more about the film and view sample trailers.
Read article |
SAN FRANCISCO — Setting the stage for another battle over Uber’s business model, a federal judge refused to let the ride-hailing company off the hook for sexual assaults allegedly committed by its drivers — in part because of plausible evidence that those drivers are Uber employees.
Uber had argued that the company is not liable for assaults reported by two passengers last year in Boston and Charleston, South Carolina, because the accused drivers are independent contractors, not employees. But a San Francisco federal judge wasn’t convinced and rejected Uber’s early attempt to throw out claims brought against the company by the victims.
“It may be that facts will ultimately be revealed that disprove plaintiffs’ allegations or that tilt the scales toward a finding that Uber drivers are independent contractors,” U.S. District Judge Susan Illston wrote in a Wednesday ruling. “However, taking the allegations in the amended complaint as true, plaintiffs have alleged sufficient facts that an employment relationship may plausibly exist.”
Illston’s ruling moves the case one step closer to trial, but it doesn’t guarantee that the plaintiffs will prevail or that the Uber drivers ultimately will be deemed employees.
Uber’s reliance on a workforce of independent contractors has been challenged by drivers who want employee benefits such as minimum wage, overtime pay and reimbursement for driving expenses. Uber agreed to pay up to $100 million to resolve a high-profile class-action lawsuit over the issue in April, two months before the case was scheduled to go to trial in San Francisco. That deal doesn’t require Uber to change its business model, but neither does it resolve the larger issue of whether the company’s drivers are employees. Instead, the deal leaves the door open for other judges, such as Illston, to weigh in.
If the two drivers in the sexual assault case ultimately are found to be Uber employees, the company wouldn’t automatically be forced to change the status of all drivers. But such a ruling could be used as effective ammunition for other plaintiffs trying to upend Uber’s business model.
“Judge Illston is a senior judge — she is very well respected,” said San Francisco employment attorney Daniel Hutchinson. “Whatever reasoning she would have one way or another I imagine would be very persuasive to any judge dealing with similar issues.”
But San Francisco attorney Kathy Huibonhoa, who represents employers in workplace disputes, pointed out that the factors the court considers when determining employee status for a sexual assault case might be different from those it uses for a wage-and-hour case.
“I don’t think it would have broader impact,” she said of Illston’s case.
Uber declined to comment.
Plaintiffs in the sexual assault case, referred to in court filings as “Jane Doe 1” and “Jane Doe 2,” brought claims against Uber in October that include assault, battery, false imprisonment and negligent hiring. Jane Doe 2 claims her driver demanded oral sex as payment for her ride, then locked the car doors, drove to a remote parking lot and “proceeded to viciously rape her.”
Plaintiffs claim the driver accused in that Charleston attack, Patrick Aiello, had been convicted of assault in 2003 — a fact that was overlooked by Uber in his background check. Uber called the conviction a “12-year-old disorderly persons offense that could have been expunged.” But Illston ruled there are sufficient facts to suggest that Uber should have known about Aiello’s criminal history and allowed the plaintiffs to proceed with their claim that Uber was negligent in hiring him.
The sexual assault case is one of many challenging Uber’s use of independent contractors. In the two weeks since Uber announced its settlement worth up to $100 million, the company has been hit with at least two similar class-action lawsuits in other states. But because Uber asks drivers to agree to resolve disputes out of court using a private arbitrator, it may be difficult for such cases to proceed to a jury. Over the past month, courts in Arizona, Florida and Maryland have forced other contractor cases into arbitration.
“It is very difficult to change companies’ behavior directly through this litigation,” Boston-based attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan, who represents drivers in the San Francisco case that settled, wrote in an email, “so oftentimes the effect we can have is indirect — we win important concessions (like we did in the Uber settlement).”
Marisa Kendall covers startups and venture capital. Contact her at 408-920-5009. Follow her at Twitter.com/marisakendall. |
AE9/11 Truth supports Truth Walk 9/11! Learn more about Truth Walk 9/11, a 500 mile journey for truth and the U.S. Constitution. This trek includes an exciting film documentary project as well! Please support Truth Walk 9/11 at www.qmamedia.com
Truth Walk 9/11: A Journey for Change
As they travel, Meiswinkle and Senzee will be filming a documentary, in which they hope to bring out the crucial — as well as inspiring and uplifting — message that our inherent rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are unalienable, inviolate, and are core to all peoples on earth.
ATTORNEY AND ACTIVIST TEAM UP FOR TREK INTO PAST THAT CHARTS A NEW COURSE FOR OUR FUTURE
By AE911Truth Staff
Dave Meiswinkle and Pam Senzee are walking for truth, liberty, and freedom for all peoples the world over. Next month, two AE911Truth friends, ex-cop and current criminal defense attorney David Meiswinkle and activist Pamela Senzee, will embark on a several-hundred-miles-long journey — on foot. They're calling the trek Truth Walk 9-11!
Their sojourn will span the entire region where the crimes of 9/11 took place — the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and the World Trade Center in New York City.
The 9/11 Survivor Tree lives on as a testament to the spirit of growth in the face of overwhelming adversity. While in the Washington, D.C., area, they will visit the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial. They will also pay homage to our Founding Fathers at historic sites in Baltimore, Maryland; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Trenton, Morristown, Princeton, and Newark, New Jersey. Their final stop: the 9/11 Memorial and Museum at Ground Zero in NYC. The journey will end at the 9/11 Survivor Tree.
As they travel, Meiswinkle and Senzee will be filming a documentary, in which they hope to bring out the crucial — as well as inspiring and uplifting — message that our inherent rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are unalienable, inviolate, and are core to all peoples on earth. They aim to make clear that the loss of our constitutional rights, by way of the Patriot Act and other draconian post-9/11 legislation being enforced in the United States and around the world, is directly related to the fraudulent official account of 9/11.
In their film, they want to draw under one banner leaders from both the truth and peace movements, including architects, engineers, and other science and technical experts, as well as scholars, philosophers, psychologists, religious leaders, grassroots activists, law enforcement officials, journalists, bloggers, politicians, and just plain folks who they meet along the way. The idea is to explore all the avenues and actions by which citizens of all nations can restore liberty and therefore build genuine and lasting solutions.
The pair also hopes to shed light on the means by which we can transform society at every level. They envision exploring the historic, political, social, philosophical, and metaphysical roots of our current world condition. And they intend to invite leaders in various fields to probe the possibilities for transformation.
Richard Gage, AIA, in the halls of the U.S. Senate in Washington, D.C. AE911Truth fits into their plans in a couple of ways: On their walk they will distribute AE911Truth DVDs and literature, and in their film they will feature the organization's founder, Richard Gage.
Senzee and Meiswinkle are also engaging in what they call a "spirit quest." That is, they seek practical spiritual answers to overcoming, both individually and collectively, the world's current plight, in which lies, cover-up of lies, and denial of lies seem to have the upper hand over truth and the freedom that truth brings to all.
Gage sums up the deeper spiritual motivation engrained in the Truth Walk 9/11 mission during one of his appearances on Quantum Matrix Radio, when he says (at the 70:54-minute mark):
“There are millions of people in the truth movement. We have to take comfort that we are not alone . . . .
There’s a force that is building, and there are unseen forces at work . . . .
We are riding a wave of history in time.” *
Be part of an historic transformation. Join AE911Truth in supporting Truth Walk 9/11.
Thanks!
*Richard Gage’s philosophical comments begin at the 66:02-minute mark.
http://www.ae911truth.org/news/219-news-media-events-truth-walk.html |
About Capitol Desk Capitol Desk delivers the latest in health care policy and politics from Sacramento and around the state. Have an idea? Let us know.
The Second District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles last week ruled that the Department of Managed Health Care cannot use licensure as a basis for denial of a type of autism treatment to state employees.
The ruling means better access for patients to applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy, according to Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog, the consumer advocacy group that brought the lawsuit.
“This case was a landmark … and a big victory for public employees, who will be able to get ABA therapy,” Court said.
Court said the state previously had a policy of allowing denial of ABA therapy because of a lack of licensing — though health plans, he said, weren’t actually denying it. And at one point, he added, the state worked on the assumption that ABA therapy was educational, not medicinal.
The bigger issue, Court said, involves the central principle of whether or not ABA therapy is a medically necessary treatment, and that part of the ruling came across clearly, he said.
“This was a resounding affirmation that ABA therapy is the right medicine for the job,” Court said.
The next big issue is to challenge the lack of access to ABA therapy services among Medi-Cal beneficiaries — particularly those who previously were in the Healthy Families program, Court said. Medi-Cal is California’s Medicaid program, and Healthy Families is the state’s Children’s Health Insurance Program.
Many children lost access to ABA during this year’s transition to Medi-Cal managed care, Court said, though some of those kids could be eligible for help in the regional centers.
“This lawsuit could never reach that far, but the next question is, since Healthy Families [families] had access to ABA therapy, should that entitlement go with them?” Court said.
“The real takeaway is that Medi-Cal recipients have been left out [of ABA therapy coverage],” he said. That’s the last remaining question that needs to be answered, and that would be resolved with another lawsuit or new legislation.” |
Rock of Ages 2 is having a Free Multiplayer Weekend on Steam + Patch 1.07 + New Trailer
Rock of Ages 2 is having a Free Multiplayer Weekend on Steam! The tutorial level is free to try as well, so you can learn the ins and outs of the game before taking on the competition. Have fun!
And it's 50% off!
We've released patch 1.07 which mostly addresses stability, but also introduces the Shockwave Barrel Combo feature. Here are the details:
Shockwave combo: Drop a lightning bolt on explosive barrels to create a more powerful electric explosion, which has longer range and does more damage.
Fixed rare crash when units try to spawn crowds around themselves.
Lightning bolts no longer target fireworks, only explosive barrels.
Explosive barrels are slightly more powerful.
Misc interface tweaks.
And we made a new trailer, check it out: |
The once extraordinary rate of Chinese economic growth is slowing. In 2014, China’s GDP grew at an official rate of 7.4 percent, slightly less than the stated goal of 7.5 percent. Although more recently monthly data have been more robust, the trend towards slowing growth seems inexorable.
A decelerating Chinese economy, coming at a time of global economic uncertainty (especially in the eurozone), could have dramatic economic implications throughout the world. However, the repercussions of a Chinese economic slowdown would not be limited to the economic sphere. Given the incredible importance of economic growth to political stability – both within China itself and East Asia in general – adapting to a dampened Chinese economy will be a pivotal challenge in the Asia-Pacific.
While an official GDP growth rate of 7.4 percent would be the envy of most major economies, this figure represents China’s lowest economic growth since 1991. And of course, economic data from China’s National Bureau of Statistics is not completely trusted by all observers. Local officials (and the central government itself) have a vested interest in exaggerating their economic performance. Capital Economics, a London-based research group, monitors the Chinese economy by looking at the five factors of electricity output, freight shipmen, construction, passenger travel, and cargo volume. According to this China Activity Proxy, recent annual growth is closer to 5.7 percent.
Regardless of the statistical specifics of the Chinese slowdown, this development poses some degree of political risk for the Chinese state. For more than two decades economic growth has been the major factor in ensuring political stability in China. Many Westerners forget that the massive protests that rocked Beijing and other Chinese cities in 1989 coincided with the biggest economic crisis of the post-Mao era, with annual inflation of 30 percent leading to panic buying throughout the country.
Since 1990, China has been governed by a social contract in which the material lives of ordinary citizens improve dramatically while the Party keeps a monopoly on political power. Rising wages and standards of living helped ensure political stability. Historically most revolutions, including the recent upheavals in the Middle East, only reached critical mass when a majority of a country’s people lost hope in the economic capabilities of the governing political structure.
Recent initiatives by the Chinese state can be understood in light of these economic concerns. Since coming in to power in 2013, the administration of President Xi Jinping has launched several populist measures. Posters throughout the country combine traditional Chinese themes with Communist Party slogans to promote the “Chinese Dream.” Xi’s campaigns against lavish banquets and other government waste led to a significant drop in the price of high-end liquor soon after his rise to power. Perhaps most important has been a massive anti-corruption campaign, which has netted thousands of corrupt officials, from minor bureaucrats to the massively powerful former head of internal security.
The anti-corruption campaign in China has been so far-reaching that it is now having negative effects on the Chinese economy. These effects create something of a contradiction in the Chinese polity, because although the anti-corruption campaign enjoys widespread support, it appears to be having some detrimental effects on the main economic pillar of Chinese political stability. Besides dampening the high-end liquor market, the anti-graft and ant-waste campaigns have had deleterious effects on industries from tourism and gambling to real estate. Mao Daqing, deputy chief executive officer of the largest property developer in China, openly warned of the economic impacts of the political campaign: “For us developers, the impact of the anti-corruption campaign on the sales of high-end property is very serious.”
China’s once-booming housing market is now deflating, with prices falling in a majority of cities. Prices appear to be dropping because the rapid increase in housing supply in recent years has outstripped demand. Problems in the real estate market are mirrored by other macroeconomic troubles. Much of the low-hanging economic fruit in China has been plucked. Rising wages in China have led many manufacturers to relocate to countries such as Vietnam or the Philippines. China’s historically strong international trade is also taking a hit, with exports down 3.3 percent from a year ago and imports dropping nearly 20 percent.
In June 2014, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang pledged to maintain a robust growth rate: “China’s economy needs to grow at a proper rate, expected to be around 7.5 per cent this year… Despite considerable downward pressure, China’s economy is moving on a steady course. We will continue to make anticipatory and moderate adjustments when necessary. We are well prepared to defuse various risks.”
Indeed, since this pledge and the subsequent slowdown, the central government has used macroeconomic tools to boost growth. The People’s Bank of China cut interest rates in November, and more recently lowered the reserve requirement ratio, freeing up $100 billion for lending. China has weathered previous economic predicaments, for example the 2008 global financial crisis, and emerged stronger. A hard landing is by no means a foregone conclusion, and China still has many macroeconomic advantages.
However, for all the policy tools at Beijing’s disposal, China’s leaders cannot guarantee rapid economic growth forever. It may be necessary to lower economic expectations, while shoring up the state’s popular legitimacy through non-economic means. Back in 2013, Xi criticized the myopic focus on economic growth, saying “We should never judge a cadre simply by the growth of gross domestic product.” More recently an article in China’s NetEase quoted Fudan University Department of Finance professor Kong Aiguo as saying, “Since we are entering what is called the ‘new normal’, we should not worry about the speed of GDP, bur rather we should focus on livelihood issues, public welfare issues, entrepreneurship issues, and financial transparency issues.”
Adapting to China’s “new normal” of lowered GDP growth will be an important challenge for leaders in China and around the world. China does more international trade than any other country on earth. Besides issues of trade, any problems in the Chinese financial system could have serious global impacts, especially coming at a time of relative global economic uncertainty.
If China does face a prolonged period of economic difficulty, the political repercussions could be volatile. The Chinese state might be forced to look for alternative sources of popular support. China’s leaders could implement additional populist measures. It is also possible that increased nationalism could come in to play, especially in the unresolved territorial disputes in the East China Sea and the South China Sea. Regional and global powers would be wise to monitor China’s economic situation closely.
Brendan P. O’Reilly is China-based writer and educator. His specialty is Chinese foreign policy. |
Watch: [And Learn] How Alejandro Jodorowsky Makes Magic in 'The Dance of Reality'
ABKCO Films has released a trailer for “The Dance of Reality,” legendary Chilean filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky’s long anticipated return to the director’s chair after more than twenty years.
“The Dance of Reality” debuted this time last year as part of the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes. The film is an adaptation of Jodorowsky’s autobiography of the same name and unlike other films “based on a true story,” Jodorowsky experiments with the natural world – constantly toying with the color palette and even incorporating certain elements of the fantastic.
READ MORE: Alejandro Jodorowsky Explains It All, Including Why George Harrison Wouldn’t Get Naked For His Film
In tandem with the release of the trailer, ABKCO has also debuted a featurette where Jodorowsky explains how close the film is to his heart. In addition to disclosing the thought behind casting his sons and collaborating with his wife on the costumes, Jodorowsky explicitly addresses the question of whether or not he will continue to make films.
“If I die tomorrow, it is my last will,” he says with a laugh. “But if I continue, it’s my comeback. I will make pictures till I die.”
“The Dance of Reality” is out in limited release on May 23. Watch the trailer and the featurette below:
Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here. |
So the latest crazy in low carb, keto cooking is Shirataki noodles. If you’re not familiar, Shirataki noodles are an asian noodle substitute made from devil’s tongue with between 0 and 1 carb per serving depending on the type. Since this is an asian noodle, what goes better than Kimchi? If Shirataki isn’t your style, make sure to check out my other faux pasta articles!
Here is the finished dish and I think it turned out really well!
For the protein portion of this dish, I went with thinly sliced pork belly. Since I will be stir frying this quickly in a wok, I made sure to prep everything ahead of time.
For the vegetables, I used chopped up kimchi. Kimchi are spicy, fermented vegetables and should be available at any specialty asian grocery store. Alternatively, you can just get some stir fry vegetables and add some hot sauce.
Make sure to wash the noodles REALLY well. They stink and are stored in some sort of nasty liquid. However, a good washing gets rid of that entirely. The above is a combination of two different packs, one angel hair and one spaghetti.
Now that all of the ingredients are prepped, we’re ready to start stir frying! Assembly a variety of asian oils and spices into a nonstick wok and heat.
Start by cooking the meat in the sauce.
Add in the kimchi and incorporate it into the mix.
Make a hole in the center of the wok and drop in the noodles. Fry for a few additional minutes and mix it all together.
Here is the final dish in the wok!
Add some cut green onions on top and the dish is finished! I really liked the mix and it was pretty simple, just rinse the noodles, cook meat and vegetables, add noodles, and your done! |
Gillard abandons leadership on climate change
It's hard to describe just how truly wretched Labor's new climate change policy is. It makes the CPRS, its dog of an emissions trading scheme, look like a model of best practice.
It's hard to describe just how truly wretched Labor's new climate change policy is. It makes the CPRS, its dog of an emissions trading scheme, look like a model of best practice. It is a spectacular failure of leadership. Julia Gillard's "citizens' assembly" has effectively outsourced responsibility for climate policy to "ordinary Australians", on whose "skills, capacity, decency and plain common sense" Gillard will rely to tell her about the community consensus on climate change. In effect it institutionalises what is already apparent -- this is a Government controlled by focus group reactions. Labor has been playing politics with climate change for three years and it hasn't stopped. But whereas for most of that time it used climate change to damage the Coalition, now it is having to defend itself against the issue. It will only be with the political cover afforded by this nonsensical Assembly that the Government will take any action on a carbon price. Rarely has so much goodwill and political capital been wasted on such an important issue. The consensus the Government insists it needs the protection of before acting already exists. It's not just in the opinion polls, which show time and time again that the majority of voters want action on climate change and supported the Government's CPRS. In 2007, let's not forget, both sides of politics told Australians they were going to introduce an ETS. The 2007 election endorsed a community consensus on the need for action. Instead, in 2010, neither party will commit to any sort of carbon price mechanism for at least three years. Instead, they're offering excuses as to why they don't want to take action. We've done anything but move forward on climate action. Gillard's interim actions are little better. The new emissions standard she proposes won't even apply to four coal-fired power stations being built or brought back on line currently. They may not apply to two more, the massive Mt Piper and Bayswater projects in NSW, which will together add 4% to national CO2-equivalent emissions when they come on line. Holding the baseline for the CPRS at 2008 levels won't give electricity generators any more investment certainty when it remains unclear whether there will ever be an emissions trading scheme in Australia. Nor does it change the simple fact that State Governments continue to drive Australia into a coal-fired future. Labor's craven pandering to key outer-suburban electorates in its population and asylum seeker policies was bad enough. But abdicating executive responsibility for action on climate change is a new low in cynical politics, beyond the depths even reached by NSW Labor. Politicians are elected to lead. Deferring every controversial issue back to the electorate is a clumsy variant of leadership by polling and focus groups. So blatant is Labor's refusal to lead that it raises serious questions about its fitness for government. The only problem is that the alternative is an economically-illiterate party whose leader doesn't believe in climate change at all, but who insists on wasting $3b on the most expensive possible means of addressing it. What a choice, two major parties incapable of leadership and unfit to govern. |
Perhaps the best-known maritime tragedy of all time, the RMS Titanic was a passenger liner that sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on April 15, 1912, after colliding with an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, UK to New York City, US. The sinking of Titanic caused the deaths of 1,514 people in the third deadliest non-military maritime disaster in history.
On April 14, 1912, four days into the crossing and about 375 miles south of Newfoundland, she hit an iceberg at 11:40 pm. The collision opened five of her sixteen watertight compartments to the sea. Over the next two and a half hours, the ship gradually filled with water and sank. Passengers and some crew members were evacuated in lifeboats, many of which were launched only partly filled. Just before 2:20 am, the Titanic broke up and sank bow-first with over a thousand people still on board. Those in the water died within minutes from hypothermia caused by immersion in the freezing ocean. The 710 survivors were taken aboard from the lifeboats by the RMS Carpathia a few hours later. |
The Padres agreed to terms with compensation choice Eric Lauer, Baseball America’s John Manuel reports on Twitter. He’ll earn $2MM, just $159,900 shy of the full allotment for the 25th overall pick.
San Diego chose Lauer, a lefty out of Kent State, as part of a critical haul of draft prospects. He was taken just after shortstop Hudson Potts — who recently changed his last name from Sanchez, per MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell. The signing means that the club has inked six of its eight selections from the first five rounds, including top selection Cal Quantrill, with a net savings from that group. Still yet to sign are Buddy Reed (48th overall) and Reggie Lawson (71st).
Lauer drew top-thirty grades from MLB.com and Baseball America, which cited his improving showing over the last year. His calling card is a fairly polished, four-pitch mix that gives him a fairly strong floor. With good athleticism and an easy motion, Lauer looks like a solid bet to crack the majors. Of course, it’s less clear that he has the upside of some higher-octane arms, and that viewpoint led Keith Law of ESPN.com to rate him 50th among draft-eligible prospects. |
Cricket's governing bodies in Ireland and Scotland are to get around £320,000 a year each in additional funding from the International Cricket Council.
The grants are aimed at developing greater competition beneath the full member nations.
Ireland's deal lasts until 2015, with chief executive Warren Deutrom keen to find the best way to put it to use.
"We are grateful to the ICC for this award which will help us achieve our stated objectives," he said.
"We shall be exploring in greater detail the award and terms of the grant with ICC management in order to ascertain how to prioritise the funding towards the proposals that we outlined in our applications."
The ICC executive board decided to allocate the extra money for Ireland and Scotland under the Targeted Assistance and Performance Programme.
Scotland, whose funding also lasts for the next three seasons, intend to use the money to help get more high-profile matches against the top international sides.
Their chief executive Roddy Smith said: "The additional support will enable us to enhance our national team programme over the next three years and support our young developing side in continuing their recent progress."
There was a further boost for the Saltires, who have been given dispensation to field non-Scotland born players who have parents from the country without the four-year qualification period.
"The issue has been a prominent one for a number of years and we welcome the decision to allow players with Scottish parentage to be able to apply to the ICC for exceptional circumstances," added Smith. |
Up to 580 million years after their seafloor habitat was abruptly buried in volcanic ash, some of our earliest and weirdest ancestors are finally getting their moment in the global spotlight.
Mistaken Point, a 17-kilometre stretch of Newfoundland coastline that bears some of the oldest recognizable traces of life on Earth, including frond-like animals called rangeomorphs that looked more like plants, has been chosen as Canada's latest World Heritage Site.
The decision was announced Sunday in Istanbul, where the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) committee that oversees World Heritage designations was holding its annual meeting. It came less than 48 hours after a failed coup attempt in Turkey forced the committee to suspend its deliberations and threatened to derail the process for at least a year.
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Five and a half time zones away at the Edge of Avalon interpretive centre in Portugal Cove South, Nfld., a small crowd that gathered early Sunday morning to watch the World Heritage Committee's proceedings via live webcast erupted in cheers.
"Everybody was leaping up and down, but my reaction was one of total relief," said Richard Thomas, a provincial geologist with the Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve, who helped spearhead the bid.
Following the committee's verdict, people celebrated by driving through the small coastal community, located 130 kilometres southwest of St. John's, with horns beeping and balloons flying, he said.
Mistaken Point is known as a rich fossil site that spans the early Ediacaran Period, a time when multicellular life was transitioning from microscopic to macroscopic forms.
"It's the moment when life got big," said Guy Narbonne, a paleontologist at Queen's University in Kingston, Ont., who has been leading scientific research at the site since the late 1990s.
Dr. Narbonne said he was thrilled that Mistaken Point has become Canada's 18th UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the fifth in the country to be inscribed primarily based on the value of its geological record.
"It's a testament to how rich the fossil heritage of Canada is," he said.
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The decision, which took all of seven minutes, came during a brisk one-day session organized after the committee's planned 10 days of meetings in Istanbul were cut short by an attempt to overthrow Turkey's government on Friday night.
A decision on another Canadian site, a vast tract of Manitoba-Ontario wilderness called Pimachiowin Aki, was referred by the committee to a later date to allow its proponents to resolve issues that caused a First Nations group to pull out of the bid last month.
"We were certainly disappointed but we felt we really didn't have any option but to seek a referral," said Gord Jones, project manager with the not-for-profit Pimachiowin Aki Corporation, originally created by the two provinces together with five First Nations groups to advance the bid.
Pimachiowin Aki, a name that means "land that gives life" in Ojibwe, is a 33,400-square-kilometre swath of boreal forest east of Lake Winnipeg that includes provincial parks and other protected areas within traditional First Nations territories.
It was to be considered under the mixed cultural and natural category, and was recently recommended for World Heritage Site status by advisory groups to the committee in advance of the Istanbul meeting. But last month the Pikangikum First Nation, one of the corporation's members, withdrew support over issues with some of the language in the advisory group reports.
The referral means that the corporation now has up to three years to re-submit its bid to the committee. A decision on Pimachiowin Aki was previously deferred by the committee in 2013 to allow those behind the bid to strengthen their case for the area's value as a place where First Nations communities have retained traditional knowledge and languages in an ecologically important landscape that is also home to a number of species at risk.
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Mr. Jones added that the international attention that comes with a World Heritage designation would offer people in the region an opportunity to boost to their economy in a sustainable way.
In Newfoundland, the economic benefits of hosting a World Heritage Site are also an incentive for Portugal Cove South, a town that struggled mightily after the collapse of the northern cod fishery in 1992 and where the interpretive centre and walking tours of the fossils at Mistaken Point attract thousands of visitors every summer.
The point gets its name from early mariners who sometimes mistook its thrusting peninsula for that of Cape Race, a feature located several kilometres to the east. It was an error that could prove fatal.
Local people long knew about the "flowers" that are imprinted in the jagged rocks of the point but the site's scientific value was not recognized until a Memorial University graduate student, Shiva Misra, happened upon it in 1967.
By 2006 it was widely recognized that Mistaken Point is one of a handful of sites worldwide that reveal what was happening during the Ediacaran, when Earth's oceans were alive with strange creatures that lived before there were fish, mollusks, crustaceans and other types of species that would later come to dominate marine environments.
In some cases, scientists still have trouble understanding how the life forms of that period relate to us today.
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"They are mysterious," said Andrew Knoll, a geobiologist at Harvard University and an expert in the history of early animal life.
NASA even funded astrobiologists to go the site to get a better sense of what kind of life might exist on alien planets.
Dr. Knoll said the site is of crucial importance because it records the interval of time where Earth was undergoing a pivotal shift "from three billion years of microbial life to the more familiar world that we know today."
He added that the World Heritage designation should help ensure the site's continued preservation and facilitate support for ongoing research there. |
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In the movement for gay and transgender equality, issues like marriage and workplace discrimination dominate media headlines as well as the time and attention of most advocates. The focus on these headline issues has been successful on some fronts in recent years, with the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and passage of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, a hate crimes law that is inclusive of gay and transgender people. Other issues that impact the overall equality and wellbeing of gay and transgender people, however, don’t always garner as much attention.
Gay and transgender health is one of these issues. This issue brief examines the disproportionately high rates of substance use by gay and transgender people, which is a significant impediment to the health of this group. Although data on the rates of substance abuse in gay and transgender populations are sparse, it is estimated that between 20 percent to 30 percent of gay and transgender people abuse substances, compared to about 9 percent of the general population.
The stress that comes from daily battles with discrimination and stigma is a principle driver of these higher rates of substance use, as gay and transgender people turn to tobacco, alcohol, and other substances as a way to cope with these challenges. And a lack of culturally competent health care services also fuels high substance-use rates among gay and transgender people.
In order to lower these rates, our health care system needs to better meet the needs of gay and transgender people, and our government needs to advance public policies that promote equality for this population.
This issue brief explains why we see higher rates of substance use in the gay and transgender population, provides a brief overview of these rates, and makes recommendations that can help end antigay and antitransgender discrimination and reduce substance use rates.
Rates of substance use and abuse in the gay and transgender population
In this section we provide some topline numbers on substance abuse rates in the gay and transgender population. Note that there is little national data on gay and transgender people overall, so the statistics here are best estimates of these rates.
Tobacco
Gay and transgender people smoke tobacco up to 200 percent more than their heterosexual and nontransgender peers.
Alcohol
Twenty-five percent of gay and transgender people abuse alcohol, compared to 5 to 10 percent of the general population.
Drugs
Men who have sex with men are 3.5 times more likely to use marijuana than men who do not have sex with men.
These men also are 12.2 times more likely to use amphetamines than men who do not have sex with men.
They are also 9.5 times more likely to use heroin than men who do not have sex with men.
Factors leading to these rates of substance use and abuse
Gay and transgender people report higher rates of substance use than others due to three main factors.
First, many gay and transgender people live with a high level of stress that comes from social prejudice and discriminatory laws in areas of daily life such as employment, relationship recognition, and health care.
Second, a lack of cultural competency in the health care system discourages gay and transgender people from seeking treatment for substance abuse, and—if they do seek help—often leads to inappropriate or irrelevant services.
Finally, targeted marketing efforts by alcohol and tobacco companies exploit the con- nection many gay and transgender people have to bars and clubs as safe spaces for socializing and increase easy access to tobacco products and alcohol. Below, we look at each of these factors in turn.
Minority stress
Minority stress—the negative effects associated with the adverse social conditions experienced by individuals of a marginalized social group—is something gay and transgender people have to deal with every day. This stress is triggered by general social prejudice against being gay or transgender, as well as discriminatory laws and policies.
Antigay and antitransgender social prejudice stems from the belief that being gay or transgender is somehow wrong or bad. It can be expressed in subtle ways (for example, a receptionist at a pediatrician’s office asking a lesbian couple which of the pair is their child’s “real” parent), or it can be expressed in verbal and physical violence (two men holding hands getting taunted with antigay epithets or a transgender person getting jumped by a group of strangers).
Karen and Marcye Nicholson-McFadden of New Jersey understand this prejudice all too well. They are the parents of two children and have a civil union because same-sex marriage is not legal in their state. Whenever they visit the doctor or go to their children’s school, they are treated differently because they have to deal with people who don’t know what a civil union is, and they have to explain their family to the staff. Karen and Marcye regularly cross out items on government, school, and doctors’ forms to reflect their family structure. For example, a family headed by two moms often has to cross out “name of father” on forms.
Or take the 2010 case of a 14-year-old student at Nassau BOCES Career Preparatory High School in Hicksville, New York, was assaulted by four of his classmates who perceived him to be gay. The student was stomped and kicked by his classmates as they spewed antigay epithets at him on his bus ride home from school. The very next day the student was once again the subject of abuse as two of his classmates from the day before made antigay remarks toward him and slapped him across the face and head. His classmates were later arrested and charged with assault and harassment for their actions.
This kind of prejudice can force some gay and transgender people to avoid social settings or neighborhoods that might put them in harm’s way. The end result is higher levels of anxiety and fear of being attacked when doing something as simple as walking down the street. And this can lead them to use substances to ease this anxiety.
Discriminatory laws and practices are another source of minority stress that negatively impacts the gay and transgender population and can lead to drug and alcohol use. In particular, discrimination in employment, housing, relationship recognition, and health care are major areas of concern.
Discrimination in employment
It is currently legal in 29 states for gay and transgender individuals to be denied employment, fired, or discriminated against just because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. A recent article by the Center for American Progress reported that 43 percent of gay and 90 percent of transgender people have experienced discrimination and harassment on the job.
Workplace discrimination poses a real and immediate threat to the economic security of gay and transgender workers by leading to job instability, which affects a person’s ability to earn a steady income and have access to employer-provided health insurance. These issues not only impact the person who has been discriminated against but also threaten the well-being of other people (a partner, spouse, or children) who are financially dependent on that person.
Discrimination in housing
Having access to safe and stable housing is key to well-being. Fifty-six percent of gay individuals and 70 percent of transgender individuals, however, report experiencing some form of discrimination in housing based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. Being denied stable and affordable housing makes it much more difficult to maintain employment, access health care, and maintain a safe and stable family structure.
Discrimination in relationship recognition
The debate over marriage for gay couples has been a nationwide news story for nearly two decades now, with frequent and prominent stories in the press that elevate and perpetuate antigay stereotypes and sentiments. Hearing these attacks on a regular basis increases antigay social prejudice and its negative impact on gay people.
Further, only eight states and the District of Columbia allow marriage for gay couples, which means that most families headed by same-sex couples are currently barred from accessing the many public policies and programs that are designed to bolster a family’s economic security (child care tax credits, Social Security survivor benefits, employer-sponsored health insurance in many cases, and the ability to sponsor a partner for citizenship).
Discrimination in health care
A lack of access to affordable and culturally competent health care also contributes to gay and transgender minority stress. Gay and lesbian adults are roughly twice as likely as the general population to be without health insurance coverage, and rates of uninsurance are even higher for transgender and bisexual individuals.
Because our nation lacks a public health insurance system and individual coverage is currently prohibitively expensive, most insured people access coverage through their employers or their spouse’s employer. Unfortunately, widespread workplace discrimination prevents many gay and transgender people from having consistent access to health insurance through their employers. Furthermore, many workplaces do not provide health insurance benefits to same-sex domestic partners. When they do, the cost is higher for these couples, since they have to pay taxes on the insurance benefit, a cost that different-sex married couples do not incur.
Moreover, most private and public plans including Medicare, many state Medicaid programs, and plans sold through the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program specifically target transgender people with exclusions that deny coverage for transition-related care. Such exclusions are frequently expanded in practice to deny even basic health care services to transgender people.
Finally, as we discuss in more detail below, many health care providers are not trained to serve gay or transgender patients, which negatively impacts quality of care. These and other forms of discrimination work together to make life for gay and transgender people more expensive, complicated, and difficult. The end result is additional emotional stress and pressure for many people who are gay or transgender.
Cultural competency
Gay and transgender individuals may be hesitant to utilize health care services that can help them overcome substance abuse because they are aware of the likelihood of meeting health care professionals who are unaware of their specific needs or are outright hostile toward them. As a result, gay and transgender individuals may delay substance-abuse treatment or choose not to disclose their sexual or gender minority status, which not only hinders recovery but also undermines their overall health.
Many tobacco-cessation programs are not welcoming of gay and transgender people, for example. A number of these programs do not provide any outward indications that they are inclusive of gay and transgender people and their unique needs, thereby isolating some gay and transgender people who are already apprehensive because of previous experiences they have had accessing care. Given that many gay and transgender people smoke because of stress factors related to their sexual orientation or gender identity, they might not feel comfortable enrolling in these programs or, if they do enroll, the programs might not address the root causes of their addiction.
Socialization and marketing
Bars, clubs, and restaurants have traditionally been places where gay and transgender people can socialize and feel safe. In many of these venues, smoking and drinking remain popular. As a result, higher rates of smoking, drinking, and sometimes drug use occur in these environments.
Tobacco and alcohol companies have exploited gay and transgender social networks to aggressively market their products for decades. In the early 1990s tobacco companies surveyed gay men for branding choices, which resulted in a new program called Subculture Urban Marketing, or SCUM, which targeted minority gay men in San Francisco.
According to a fact sheet by the American Cancer Society, tobacco companies also appeal to the gay and transgender population through direct advertising in national gay and transgender magazines; indirect mainstream magazines with a high number of gay and transgender readers, at times with same-sex undertones; and sponsorships of events or organizations that support gay and transgender issues.
The fact sheet also states, “The [tobacco] industry focuses advertising and sponsorships on themes important to the [gay and transgender] community: liberation, individual- ism, social success, and acceptance.” Such targeted marketing campaigns exacerbate the higher rates of substance use in the gay and transgender population.
How to help
Below we discuss administrative and legislative recommendations whose implementation will help reduce the high rate of substance abuse within the gay and transgender population while helping advance overall gay and transgender equality.
Recommendations for the Department of Health and Human Services
As the Center for American Progress outlined last year, the Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS, can take a number of steps to reduce the rate of substance abuse within the gay and transgender population:
HHS’s agencywide priorities should include strong support for the efforts of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, or SAMHSA, to specifically address gay and transgender substance-use disparities through SAMHSA’s strategic plan, block-grant programs, cultural-competency initiatives, and other activities.
HHS should promote routine and ongoing cultural-competency training for medical and nursing students and other health professions students across the programs administered or supported by its operating divisions.
HHS should explicitly include gay and transgender cultural competence in the National Standards on Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services, or CLAS. The CLAS Standards, which are developed by the Office of Minority Health, offer health care organizations and individual providers guidance on making their services more culturally and linguistically accessible to patients from diverse backgrounds.
HHS should require any hospital, rehabilitation center, nursing home, or other facility receiving federal dollars to implement a comprehensive and high-quality gay and transgender cultural-competency training program for providers and other staff.
HHS should specifically recruit gay and transgender students and professionals for training initiatives focused on expanding and diversifying the health care workforce, including the National Health Service Corps, the U.S. Public Health Service, and pipeline programs administered by the Bureau of Health Professions.
HHS should adopt a boilerplate nondiscrimination policy for its programs and grants that prohibits them from discriminating against participants or prospective participants on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Such a policy is part of the rule recently adopted by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Legislative recommendations
The following four pieces of federal legislation, if enacted, would substantially help address and eliminate the prejudice and discrimination that drive substance use disparities among the gay and transgender population:
Employment Non-Discrimination Act: The act would create federal protections against sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination at all federal, state, and local government agencies; employment agencies; unions; and private employers with 15 or more employees.
The act would create federal protections against sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination at all federal, state, and local government agencies; employment agencies; unions; and private employers with 15 or more employees. Housing Opportunities Made Equal Act: The act amends the Fair Housing Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity in housing sales and rentals, residential real-estate-related transactions, and brokerage services.
The act amends the Fair Housing Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity in housing sales and rentals, residential real-estate-related transactions, and brokerage services. The Respect for Marriage Act: The act would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and allow the federal government to recognize legally married same-sex couples. This would allow same-sex couples to take advantage of more than 1,100 federal benefits and protections that are currently denied to them.
The act would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and allow the federal government to recognize legally married same-sex couples. This would allow same-sex couples to take advantage of more than 1,100 federal benefits and protections that are currently denied to them. The Health Equity and Accountability Act: The act addresses a wide range of health disparities that affect the gay and transgender population, including disparities in health status, access to health care, and protection from discrimination in the health system. It also calls for greater data collection on sexual orientation and gender identity through federally supported health surveys and programs.
Conclusion
Reducing rates of substance use in the gay and transgender population will require both a short- and long-term strategy. In the short term substance-abuse treatment programs and services need to become fully culturally competent and able to effectively and appropriately serve gay and transgender people. Over the long term laws that discriminate against gay and transgender people, as well as persistent antigay and antitransgender prejudice, need to be addressed head-on and dismantled.
Ending the problem of disproportionately high rates of substance use in the gay and transgender population will take considerable time and effort. But working to end this problem—and promoting overall health for gay and transgender people and their families—will make hard-fought legal victories for equality more meaningful and sustainable. Addressing this problem is not easy, but it is a necessary step in the movement toward full gay and transgender equality.
Jerome Hunt is a Research Associate for LGBT Progress at American Progress.
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Environmentalists have pinned every one of Earth’s calamities on the presence of climate change, from terrorism to prostitution to drug addiction. Running out of chilling subject matter, activists are now retroactively blaming famous disasters on global warming in a crusade to punish “dissenters.”
A few years back, the Energy and Environment Reporting Project at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism wrote a series of pieces in the Los Angeles Times claiming that oil giant Exxon had engaged in a decades-long conspiracy to conceal the link between fossil fuels and climate change.
The entire series was thin gruel, but read it for yourself. You may immediately recognize reporters who are working backwards from preconceived notions. Broadly speaking, the series is predicated on the idea that corporations have a responsibility to embrace the most far-fetched and apocalyptic conclusions about global warming — notoriously unpredictable even for those who buy worst-case scenarios — and then peddle those predictions as fact.
The series was an excuse for a number of attorneys general — most notably, anti-free-speech advocate Eric Schneiderman of New York — to retroactively punish with investigations companies that failed to adopt liberal political positions on global warming. It was also meant as a warning for the future. What’s most ludicrous about these efforts is that they rely on a mythology: if only Americans had been aware of this crazy phenomena called “global warming,” they would have immediately abandoned all the comforts of modern life.
In any event, the tactic has not worked, for many reasons, including impediments like the pesky First Amendment. So the Energy and Environment Reporting Project at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and the Los Angeles Times rolled up their sleeves and created another piece of activism to buttress the cause.
Most of us remember the 1989 Exxon-Valdez oil spill, which was one of the costliest oil-spill disasters in history. The massive environmental destruction it inflicted on Alaska cost Exxon a total of $3.5 billion in cleanup and court costs it’s still paying off. It remains the second largest U.S. oil spill after Deepwater Horizon.
Well, The Los Angeles Times now claims the Valdez struck Bligh Reef because the Columbia Glacier had been shedding icebergs. So, in short, the Valdez crashed into a reef (not the ice) in Prince William’s Bay because Exxon had failed to warn people in 1989 about the dangers of global warming. This is so preposterous, the piece will probably win a Pulitzer.
First off, using this calculus, anyone can blame basically anything that happens to them on climate change. Did you avoid a puddle when you hit that telephone pole? Sue Exxon!
Somehow, since 1989, thousands of tankers have been able to ship oil from Alaska to California without hitting the reef, even though the bay is still “riddled with icebergs” that were allegedly caused by Exxon failing to take responsibility for global warming in 1980s.
You can read about the Valdez disaster all day long — the lawsuits and the stories and the investigations — and nowhere, as far as I can tell, will you ever run across the claim that the Valdez disaster had anything to do with Exxon denying climate change.
The Alaska Oil Spill Commission mentioned nothing about the icebergs in the bay being out of the ordinary. In its final report, the commission says “small icebergs from nearby Columbia Glacier occasionally enter the traffic lanes.” Nor did the government report blame ice. According to the National Transportation Board investigation, the crew was overworked and the radar system was not working correctly.
Who knows? Maybe the slight increase in temperature that day enticed the captain of Valdez to go binge drinking? Sue Exxon!
None of this is journalism — not even opinion journalism. It’s activism. It’s a concerted effort to rewrite history and create a new Big Tobacco.
Step one: Activists at the Rockefeller Family Fund help underwrite a partnership between the Energy and Environmental Reporting Project and the Los Angeles Times. According to The Wall Street Journal, part of the foundation’s broader agenda is “to establish in public’s mind that Exxon is a corrupt institution that has pushed humanity (and all creation) toward climate chaos and grave harm.”
Step two: Working from this starting point, The Los Angeles Times delivers the goods. (Now, that’s not to say that a story can’t have merit because a journalist is funded by a think tank or activist group. It’s to say that writing a story claiming the Exxon-Valdez oil spill was caused by global warming is a transparent way to create ammunition for a political crusade.)
Step three: The corrupt New York state AG coordinates with the Rockefeller Family Fund and uses the stories they funded to launch his politically motivated thought-police investigations.
Oil corporations should, of course, be held responsible for the messes they create. I don’t believe any reasonable person would disagree. But until humans stop running things, there will always be calamities and accidents. So we can debate the importance of fighting climate change. You can continue to mock “deniers.” But you can’t rewrite history to suit your contemporary political needs. |
© Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images A 1950's telephone
PASCAGOULA, Miss. — Hundreds of southeastern Mississippi citizens received jury summons that incorrectly instructed them to call a sex hotline.
Multiple news outlets report that at least 350 jury summons with the incorrect phone number were sent out in Jackson County to potential jurors.
Circuit Clerk Randy Carney says people started calling the circuit clerk's office Monday morning to report the problem. Others stopped by in person to address the issue.
Carney says he doesn't know what caused the mix-up. He has drafted an apology letter that will go out those who received the erroneous summons. He says he doesn't know if his office will be liable for costs associated with any potential jurors billed for using the hotline.
Carney added that he'll personally review summons before they're mailed out from now on. |
By now everyone knows that eighteen-year-old Kaitlyn Hunt is looking down the barrel of a lengthy jail sentence for getting all Sapphic with a girl a couple of years younger than herself.
This situation is disgusting for at least three reasons (given time, I’m sure I could find a lot more). The first is that the state thinks it is its business to tell kids that they can’t have it off with other kids. Sure, it has the legal right to do so, but as anyone with any brains knows, legal and moral aren’t the same thing and unless one party is 14 and the other is 30 the state should keep its grubby mitts out of people’s bedrooms – the stat rape laws should be there to protect kids from adults, not from one another.
The second reason this is disgusting is that if Kaitlyn were a boy she would at this very moment be in a jail cell serving a lengthy sentence and being the victim of not-so-statutory rape. The only reason there is such a shit storm over this case is that she is a female and, to a lesser extent, because she is gay and this latter fact has gotten the liberal media pissed off — it’s a confluence of good, old fashioned female privilege and a new fangled dislike for homophobia. Please, will someone give me an example of an 18 year old boy who has had sex with a girl only a couple of years younger and then been given the support of a massive online petition and gotten the opportunity to go on TV and complain about the case? Come on, just one. Hell, now that I think about it, one isn’t enough! Since hetero males greatly outnumber gay females you would have to come up with a lot more than one just to show equal treatment. Think about it, the great majority of 18 year olds charged with statutory rape are male, yet it is a member of the female minority that gets this big a fuss made over her – it’s analogous to the great majority of those charged with crack offenses in a mostly black city like Detroit being black, yet the furor erupting only in one of the few cases in which it’s a white guy caught with a crack pipe up his ass! Fact is, as badly as Hunt is being treated, things would be far darker were she not female and gay – she certainly wouldn’t have the Florida ACLU referring (albeit correctly) to her behavior as “both fairly innocuous and extremely common.” “Predatory, misogynist and an extremely common part of rape culture,” would be a more likely response from those bastards.
The third reason this pisses me off is the significant number of dumbass MRAs who think that the way to help males in Hunt’s situation is to let the state crucify their female equivalent! No, my boof-headed friends, the way to help such boys is to let Kaitlyn off the hook then agitate like mad for males to get the same leniency. Logically speaking, what some MRAs are asking for is the equivalent of trying to solve the education gap by throwing women out of college instead of bringing more men into it! And that isn’t helping anyone except, of course, those who wish to make the MRM look like it is composed primarily of men whose brains are up their asses.
Summary of the situation, including the young fool’s rejection of a plea deal, here.
I was going to link to a petition to get these absurd charges dropped, but someone has hacked the page, supposedly to make a point about security. Hacked page here. |
Wolfsburg's sporting executive Klaus Allofs says Kevin De Bruyne will stay at the club beyond the summer of 2015 amid new rumours over a Premier League return for the Belgium international.
De Bruyne, 23, signed for Wolfsburg last January on a five-year contract as he sought first-team football prior to the 2014 World Cup after failing to break into Chelsea's starting XI.
Following a settling-in period at the Volkswagen Arena, De Bruyne excelled after a full preseason with the Bundesliga club, scoring 14 and setting up a further 24 goals in 37 matches for his club.
De Bruyne has played a large part in the club's recent success, with Die Wolfe still in the German Cup and the Europa League and close to a Champions League return for the first time since 2009 as they sit second in the league.
The attacking midfielder's form has seen him linked with a move away from Wolfsburg, with his name mentioned as a potential successor to Bayern Munich's ageing wingers Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery.
Speculation has also been building over a return to Premier League with Manchester City reportedly interested in the Belgium international, but Wolfsburg -- partly due to the financial backing from Volkswagen -- have no need to sell their star player this summer.
De Bruyne scored once and had a hand in two more goals as Wolfsburg beat Freiburg 3-0 on Sunday.
"We want to play Champions League with VfL and establish ourselves among the best clubs in Germany, and we want to achieve that with the best players," Klaus Allofs told dpa. "We are currently building a squad, and don't think about who could leave us right now.
"His agent might have been approached, and that would only be normal. But it has no meaning, because both Kevin and his agent have said that VfL is the right club for him."
Allofs added that De Bruyne will stay beyond the summer of 2015, but admitted: "I don't know what will happen after that."
On Wednesday, Belgian news outlet HLN claimed that Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City have reiterated their interest in De Bruyne, who could cost as much as €60 million.
Elsewhere, De Bruyne teammate Andre Schurrle has admitted that he is struggling for fitness following his €32 million transfer from Chelsea during the winter transfer window.
Schurrle is struggling for form and fitness since a big-money move from Stamford Bridge on transfer deadline day.
The Germany international has yet to find the back of the net for his new club and has seen his playing time reduced over the last few weeks, telling Sport Bild: "It'll be difficult this season, but I will pull through, I am not at 100 percent.
"My rhythm is missing. I realise that I did not have any preparation. I only had two weeks in the summer following the World Cup, and prior to my move in January I was unable to train for nearly fortnight with back problems."
The forward admitted that he is currently not fit to play a match every three days, and put it down to a different training style under Jose Mourinho.
"In England you win your fitness during the games," he added. "At Chelsea we played every three days. When you are in the team, you just do a bit of exercise in between. And if you don't play you also don't do a lot." |
I'll say "Google it". That's all. RT @LeopoldTheBrave Someone made this and it's making people angry. pic.twitter.com/yVXUAPXYea — Katsuhiro Harada (@Harada_TEKKEN) March 2, 2015
hayaki14: Hearing you say that (go Google the answer) has allowed me to hold out a little more hope, Harada-san.
Harada: Well, it looks like you've already decided on your own interpretation of what I said, but regardless of whether or not Jin is dead or alive, Tekken 7 is a proper sequel in every way. And as you can see, (in Tekken 7) even with Azazel sealed away, the Devil Gene still exists, right?
hayaki14: Wait, but wasn't it because of Azazel that the Devil Blood got sealed?
Harada: Even if it is sealed, in the current version of the game you can clearly see that Kazuya still has it stored within his body. And in fact, he has gotten the Devil ability under his control, ready to activate it at any time. Thanks to Azazel getting sealed, all sorts of great calamities have been prevented, but even so the Devil ability within Kazuya did not go away.
MUSOUsGAME: So we can take that to mean that Jin is still alive, right?
Harada: I've already explained earlier that none of this discussion (Azazel and the Devil Gene) has anything to do with whether or not Jin is dead or alive. I don't understand how you could interpret what I said to mean that. It's not a matter of what is being said here, but rather how you're choosing to comprehend it. I didn't actually talk about whether or not Jin is dead or alive.
MUSOUsGAME: So at the very least we should be able to take it as Jin Kazama is alive even in the current timeline, right?
Harada: Are my words even getting through to you?
MUSOUsGAME: Can we believe it to be so? We can, right?
Harada: Like I said, are my words getting through?
MUSOUsGAME: Yes, they're getting through to me just fine. But even so, even in the past I've been quite anxious about whether or not Jin Kazama would make it into Tekken 7 for a while now. So can we please get a proper answer to that?
Harada: Are there any developers out there who would spill the beans on everything that's been asked to them? Okay, why don't you give it a shot: go over to Ono and try asking him when Street Fighter 5 is coming out. Because I'm worried for them.
...As I was tweeting that I suddenly thought of something I'd like to ask. Maybe if it's Ono he might actually be able to answer. Alright then, I shall give Ono a call later, and persistently ask him about when Deep Down's release date is. |
A group of Florida doctors filed a federal lawsuit Monday, pushing back on legislation preventing them from freely discussing gun ownership with their patients.
As TPM reported in May, a Florida bill would limit doctors’ ability to ask their patients if they own guns. The law would allow doctors to ask patients about guns if they feel it’s relevant to the patient’s safety. Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) signed the bill into law last week.The National Rifle Association, whose lobbyists helped write the bill, says doctors asking patients about firearms in the home infringes on Second Amendment rights. Conversely, the doctors’ lawsuit centers on the bill’s restrictions on doctors’ ability to speak freely with patients:
This action seeks to protect the rights that Florida healthcare practitioners have under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution to engage in open and free exchanges of information and advice with their patients about ways to reduce the safety risks posed by firearms. This action also seeks to protect the First Amendment rights of patients throughout Florida to receive such information and advice from their physicians. The Florida law challenged in this action (hereinafter, the “Physician Gag Law”) chills this speech and would punish health care professionals simply for asking questions of, and providing information to, their patients about firearm safety. By severely restricting such speech and the ability of physicians to practice such preventative medicine, the Florida statute could result in grievous harm to children, adolescents, adults, and the elderly. The First Amendment does not permit such a gross and content-based intrusion on speech and, accordingly, the Court should declare the Physician Gag Law unconstitutional and enjoin its enforcement.
Lane Wright, press secretary for Gov. Scott, defends the law, saying some people “misunderstand” what it does.
“HB 155 prohibits a licensed health care practitioner or licensed health care facility from intentionally entering any disclosed information concerning firearm ownership into a patient’s health record or inquiring about firearms or ammunition ownership if the information is not relevant to the patient’s medical care or safety, or the safety of others,” Wright told TPM in an email. “I think that last part is what some people miss.”
“The law ensures respect for a patient’s right to own or possess a firearm and protects them from potential discrimination and harassment in cases where it is not relevant to the patient’s medical care or safety, or the safety of anyone else in the home,” he added.
Read the full complaint below:
Lawsuit defending doctors’ right to ask patients about firearms |
Image copyright AP Image caption Tourists use inflatable rings to cross a road on the Thai island of Koh Samui
Mr Supit bows low, palms together, fingers pointing to the wrathful heavens above.
The north-east monsoon should have left the Thai island of Koh Samui more than a month ago, but the start of 2017 there has been greeted by a week of unremitting tropical storms.
Supposedly the high season, Mr Supit's hotel is dripping with umbrellas and soaking towels. The rains have prevented many staff from getting to work, made his international guests miserable and washed away his organic garden.
He breaks his wai - the traditional palms together gesture of greeting - throwing his arms apart with a shrug and a shake of his head. "What more can I do?" he asks.
"We are going to cross the sea in front of us," he jokes as he attempts to drive down Main Street, floodwater sloshing up to the gunwales of his Ford.
"This is very strange weather. We had similar storms five years ago, but that was in March. I have never known a new year like this. We are thinking this must be the result of climate change."
Image caption Supit Choo-in: "We must focus on green again."
Like the scooters abandoned beside the flooded roads, many of the resorts dotted around Samui's coast have spluttered to a stop. A few plucky guests have filmed themselves laughing on lilos bobbing down the street, beers in hand, but Thai tourism is an industry that floats on sunshine and there has been virtually none of that for a week.
The local TV news is reporting that hundreds of families on the holiday island have been left homeless, bridges are down and many roads are impassable beneath brown, malodorous floodwater. Elsewhere in the province, the unexpected deluge has killed at least 18 people.
A mile from his hotel, Mr Supit stops his car to look at a rockfall that has crashed across the ring road, red boulders brought down by the heavy rains. "We need to be focusing on green again," he murmurs.
Mr Supit recalls the environmental initiative launched with much fanfare by hoteliers and tour companies on Koh Samui in the late 90s after a landmark speech from the late king.
Thailand is still in mourning for King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who died last October after 70 years on the throne. Black and white shrines to his memory are everywhere, reverence for the monarch akin to worship of a deity, his utterances regarded almost as sacred texts.
In 1997, after massive currency speculation led to the total collapse of the Thai economy, mass unemployment and food shortages, King Bhumibol addressed the nation. He appealed for what he called a "sufficiency economy", a philosophy of moderation, balance and caution that, he argued, would help Thailand cope with the socio-economic, cultural and environmental challenges of globalisation.
Some translated the speech as a decree to introduce a sustainable tourism policy - a change long overdue in a country that had witnessed almost unconstrained development for decades. Deforestation, the destruction of natural habitats and a brazen prostitution industry were among the ugly faces of the tourism goldrush.
Officials cautioned that without the kind of restraint implicit in the king's crisis speech, many of the unspoiled natural environments that attracted travellers would be destroyed. Thailand's famous white beaches would be lost to the sea, one minister warned. Vibrant marine habitats and dense tropical jungles would be obliterated.
A number of private hoteliers joined the Green Leaf Foundation, committing them to make their resorts carbon neutral. There are eco-friendly tour companies offering trips to the beautiful Angthong National Marine Park. On Koh Samui, a government-backed initiative called Seven Greens was introduced, promoting sustainable practices and philosophy.
Recently, the Ministry of Tourism has urged holiday businesses to focus on attracting "quality" visitors - sophisticated and environmentally aware travellers who will value Thailand's natural and cultural treasures. The days of low-cost mass tourism are supposed to be numbered.
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Unseasonal downpours in southern Thailand have turned many streets into canals
But political rhetoric has not always matched reality. The tourist strips are still overflowing with sex bars, cheap beer and greasy burgers. Among Koh Samui's top attractions are monkey shows that animal welfare groups blame for wiping out half of Thailand's white-handed gibbon population.
This is not a country that finds it easy to embrace the sacrifices of a green revolution: government figures suggest the average Thai uses an astonishing eight plastic bags a day. In the last two decades around 60 environmental activists have been killed in Thailand while campaigning against powerful logging companies and industrial polluters. Some question just how serious the military-backed government is in pursuing green policies.
In his flooded organic garden, Mr Supit reflects on the 40 years since he landed his first tourist job as a pot washer in a Bangkok kitchen.
"In the early days, people spent more money than now," he tells me as we assess the damage wreaked by the unwelcome storms.
In 1960, only 81,000 tourists visited Thailand, mostly high-rollers and adventurers from Europe and the Far East, people prepared to pay for something exotic. "Today many more come, but they don't spend - particularly the Chinese," Mr Supit laments.
Image caption Not much is left of Mr Supit's organic garden
A record 33 million tourists visited Thailand in 2016, more than eight million of them from China, pushing revenues up 18% in a single year. But Mr Supit is not alone in worrying that the country is overstretching itself.
"I am very much concerned," he confides. "We have to lift up the quality and we must focus on green again. At the moment I don't think my guests are prepared to pay more for that."
His two-acre organic garden is an act of defiance: beds of traditional Thai basil and morning glory, lemongrass and lime trees are fed with homemade fertiliser, brewed on the plot from pineapple, molasses and water. When available, the Fairhouse Villa hotel chef makes full use of the fresh fruit, vegetables and spices. Sadly, his kitchen will not benefit for a while, with many of the garden's tender plants washed into the sea by the unseasonal storms.
"It is tough work," Mr Supit says, surveying the damage. "But we will keep planting. We will get there."
He smiles and looks ruefully at the darkening sky.
With the rains still falling, Thailand needs more people like Mr Supit. |
Copyright by WPRI - All rights reserved Photos: Gronk visits Dorian Murray and his family »
Copyright by WPRI - All rights reserved Photos: Gronk visits Dorian Murray and his family »
Courtney Caligiuri; Reporting by Walt Buteau - WESTERLY, R.I. (WPRI) - New England Patriot Rob Gronkowski is known for his toughness, but he's got nothing on 8-year old Dorian Murray, who the world now knows as "#DStrong."
The tight end met the tough kid from Westerly Monday night, as Dorian's struggle with cancer was zipping around the world thanks to social media. In November, former Patriot Patrick Pass surprised Dorian with a visit. Both hung out with Dorian, signed autographs, and urged him to stay strong.
Dorian's toughness is woven into almost four years of treatment for rhabdomyosarcoma, a pediatric cancer that was diagnosed when he was 4. He's been through a lot.
"The needles, the meds," he said from his mom's couch. "Everything we have to go through. It's a lot to take."
Copyright by WPRI - All rights reserved Photos: Gronk visits Dorian Murray and his family »
Copyright by WPRI - All rights reserved Photos: Gronk visits Dorian Murray and his family »
In December, after a checkup indicated cancer cells were in Dorian's spinal fluid, Dorian and his family made the decision to stop treatment just after the new year. Then, about three days ago, Dorian told his dad he had a goal.
As his mom tells it, Dorian said he wanted to be famous on "the bridge in China."
"He meant the Great Wall of China," Melissa Murray said. "But we knew that would be hard with the long travel and everything."
So, Dorian adjusted his goal.
"I'm just thinking before I go to heaven to try to be famous as much as I can," he said.
What followed was a social network tidal wave. A couple of posts on Facebook, a few more on Twitter, and before his family and friends knew it, the world responded to the hashtag, D-Strong.
"It's like my little logo thing," Dorian explained, holding up his arms in a pose Gronk would be proud of. "You have to like stay strong for D."
Thousands have joined in the spirit of that within the past few days, from New England's Gronkowski to unknown men and women around the world.
"I've gotten Paris, Japan," he said with a thoughtful huff. "Switzerland, Italy."
And a picture of a man holding a D-Strong sign on that bridge in China. On Facebook and Twitter, the message is "we're behind you, kid."
"They're just saying to keep fighting," said Dorian. "They believe in me. And it's just really nice to know that so many people have my back for me."
He seemed older than 8 years old to us, with a sense of humor to match, despite what he's faced, and still faces.
"I'm 8," he insisted. "I am 8."
When we playfully asked for an ID, he held his own like someone far wiser than his years.
"I have my birth certificate," he said, as the living room of friends and family erupted with laughter.
His mom and dad hope to make their son as comfortable and happy as possible in the coming weeks. And his mom wants the world to know more about pediatric cancer, including the survival rate of about 20 percent and the lack of funding.
She might some day start a foundation to get that message out there but for now, her goal is to help her son smile as much as possible as the world stands behind him.
In the meantime, a GoFundMe page has been set up to help the family with medical expenses.
For updates on Dorian, visit the family's Facebook page: Praying for Dorian.
People from all over the world, including China, Italy and America are taking pictures of themselves holding a sign reading #DStrong, to show Dorian they are behind him and that they want to help make his wish come true.
To show your support, use #DStrong on social media.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10153342511343450&set=pcb.10153342513613450&type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10153407235457075&set=o.129903487142638&type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10153883435038343&set=a.10150548412308343.438955.632148342&type=3&theater
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https://www.facebook.com/PrayingForDorian/photos/pcb.749845081815139/749845071815140/?type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/PrayingForDorian/photos/pcb.749845081815139/749845058481808/?type=3&theater |
Who said Unity developers have all the fun? From building virtual hands in Three.js to browser-based virtual reality, we’re also developing new tools to enable truly 3D interaction on the web. This week, we’re happy to announce LeapJS Widgets – basic UI elements can be used in a wide variety of experiences. It’s a brand new library, simple enough to be used with just a few lines of code, but with near-infinite possibilities for experimentation and customization.
In this post, we’ll take a look at a couple of new demos on our Developer Gallery featuring these fundamental building blocks, plus a shadows demo that embodies some key best practices. The LeapJS Widgets library is designed for both desktop and VR, and while these demos are designed for desktop, they can be easily upgraded to VR by following the LeapJS + VR guide. You can find leap-widgets.js (including documentation) at github.com/leapmotion/leapjs-widgets.
Button
Much like the Unity Button Widget, this demo provides a clean, simple interface for trigger-based interactions – with buttons that can be moved along their own Z-axis. The buttons can be pushed by your virtual fingertips or other joints on your hand.
var button = new PushButton( new InteractablePlane(buttonMesh, Leap.loopController) ).on('press', function(mesh){ mesh.material.color.setHex(0xccccff); }).on('release', function(mesh){ mesh.material.color.setHex(0xeeeeee); });
To make the widget easy to customize, we’ve created a small Button API that provides you with the following options:
whether the button stays pressed in after being pressed
how far the button will go when pressed
how far the button will go when returning while locked/engaged
Plane
One of the key building blocks for LeapJS Widgets is the InteractablePlane API, which allows you to interact with an existing Three.js plane with your hands. Plus, by parenting buttons and planes to a rotated object, you can orient them in any direction. With the Plane Widget demo, InteractablePlane makes it possible to move a plane on its X and Y axes.
var planeMesh = new THREE.Mesh( new THREE.PlaneGeometry(0.1, 0.2), new THREE.MeshPhongMaterial() ); scene.add(planeMesh); var plane = new InteractablePlane(planeMesh, Leap.loopController);
InteractablePlane is triggered whenever the bone lines in your virtual hand intersect the plane, so you can even manipulate more than one at a time! This approach can be used to easily sort and explore content, like in our recent VR Collage demo for Mozilla’s Firefox VR beta:
There’s a lot more to LeapJS Widgets than just these two small examples – check out the full documentation on GitHub! We’re really excited to see how you adapt the default configurations provided with your own meshes, and incorporate these elements into your own projects.
(By the way, one new mesh tool that we’re really excited about is DOM2three. Developed by the Mozilla WebVR team, it allows you to convert HTML layout elements into a mesh. In turn, this can then be added to a Three.js scene. While the project is still in its nascency, we believe that DOM2three is going to be a really important part of designing the 3D web – and it’s already immensely useful.)
In this next demo, we’ll see the InteractablePlane API used again. This time, it’s to show how light and shadow can be used as essential visual cues to make interactions feel more intuitive and accessible.
Shadows
Shadows are an incredibly powerful visual cue for 3D experiences. Not only do they make your demos look and feel more realistic, we naturally understand how they relate to the objects that create them. By using shadows in your own projects, you can give users an intuitive sense of depth, distance, and perspective – reducing the cognitive load needed to figure out how objects in a scene relate to each other in 3D space.
To show how you can build more intuitive experiences for desktop and VR, we’ve created a simple Shadows demo, featuring a white screen, a floating cube, and a light source. Reach out and see how your hands cast shadows on the screen – making it easier to tell where they are compared to the cube.
As with all things Three.js, Shadows is built on the shoulders of giants; in this case, the shadow mapping technique available through WebGL. You can find out more about using shadow casting in this how-to article. Depending on what type of experience you want to build, shadows are also potentially very useful in developing realistic buttons with the Button Widget.
What’s next? Tell us your crazy ideas
In many ways, the current generation of widgets reflects interactions that we’ve ported over from 2D interfaces. But of course the 3D web is still unknown territory, and we’re just beginning to explore the wild frontiers of VR. We can take LeapJS Widgets beyond 2D ways of thinking about interaction design, and it starts with imagination.
So, we’d love to know – how do you use the current Widgets, and what would you like to do with them? Taking it even further, what crazy things should be added to this library? Maybe you squeeze an object and it deforms to activate a trigger. Maybe you grab a tesseract and manipulate multiple dimensions at once. Whatever it is, let us know in the comments! |
I have read most of Cyrus Kirkpatrick's books before (probably like 10 of them) and really enjoyed all of them but this one is my personal favorite as it was really mind opening and I could personally relate to it. You will love to see that Cyrus goes into detail about different sides of networking and he goes the extra mile to protect his readers from what I call “Get rich tomorrow” dream entrepreneurs, con-artists and various scammy schemes. I really enjoyed this read and even had some good laughs when Cyrus shared his personal experiences, thoughts and his life in Los Angeles…. and as his interesting personality shined throughout the book. The tip that I am going to apply straight away is to get new business cards, specifically for networking, not for clients. Great idea, never thought of that. A definite recommend just like the rest of the books in his lifestyle design series. He is honest, passionate and successful, definitely a role model for me! |
Joe Raedle/Getty Images President-elect Donald Trump
U.S. foreign policy under President Donald Trump is the top risk to the global markets, according to a new Eurasia Group report released Tuesday.
“The world’s sole superpower was once the international trump card, imposing order to force compromise and head off conflict. Now it’s the wildcard,” the report concluded.
Trump will not be an isolationist and will intervene strongly when he thinks U.S. interests are at stake, the report said. As a result, his policy will be more hawkish and much less predictable.
U.S. foreign policy will be more akin to China, with narrow short-term agreements that are win-win for the two parties and “everyone else be damned,” said Ian Bremmer, Eurasia Group’s president, in an interview on Bloomberg.
Financial markets don’t appreciate that “this year marks the most volatile political risks environment in the postwar period, at least as important to global markets as the economic recession of 2008,” he said.
“Allies, especially in Europe and Asia, will hedge. Rivals like Russia and China will test,” the report said. For instance, China’s President Xi Jinping may overreact to the new U.S. stance because he cannot afford to look “weak and irresolute” ahead of next fall’s ruling Communist party congress.
In a separate interview on Bloomberg, former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summer agreed Trump’s likely “truculent nationalism” was a leading risk to the global economy.
“The uncertainty premium on everything should go up,” Summers said.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel will likely win reelection in 2017 but will emerge as a weakened figure, the report said.
“This will leave Europe with no strong leadership at all — at a time when strong leaders are badly needed,” the report said.
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BOSTON (CBS) – The Boston Red Sox made qualifying offers to three of their four free-agents-to-be on Monday. Catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia was not one of them.
GM Ben Cherington announced that the team would make one-year, $14.1 million qualifying offers to first baseman Mike Napoli, center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury and shortstop Stephen Drew prior to Monday’s 5 p.m. deadline at a press conference at Fenway Park on Monday afternoon.
By making a qualifying offer to players, teams would receive a draft pick in compensation should that player sign elsewhere. If no offer is made, the player becomes an unrestricted free agent.
“With all of our free agents, there is interest in every one of them. I also think it’s unlikely that every one of them will be back,” Cherington said on Monday. “That’s the nature of the game.”
“We’ll keep conversation going for all of them and alternatives,” noted Cherington. “We’d like to have them all back but we’ll have to see how it goes and how the money shapes out.”
Saltalamacchia hit 14 home runs and finished the regular season with a career-high .273 batting average, but spent the final three games of the World Series on the bench in favor of veteran backstop David Ross, who is signed through next season. With Ryan Lavarnway waiting in the wings, Boston may opt to move on from Saltalamacchia, who could get a rather pricey, multi-year deal on the free agent market.
READ: Red Sox Exercise $13 Million Option On Jon Lester
Napoli, who hit .259 with 23 home runs in the regular season after signing a one-year deal with Boston, will likely get the multi-year deal he sought last off-season. Napoli and the Red Sox had initially agreed on a three-year deal but concerns over avascular necrosis (AVN) in the first baseman’s hips led to the two sides agreeing on just the one-year pact. Now, after making some big swings during Boston’s World Series run, Napoli will be able to get that multi-year deal the Red Sox balked at last off-season.
WATCH: Ortiz, Victorino Shave Beards For Charity
Ellsbury and super agent Scott Boras are expected to command a big-money, long-term deal for the 30-year-old center fielder, and he’ll have plenty of suitors lining up for his services. The Red Sox could still re-sign Ellsbury, but now they’ll at least get something in return should he bolt town.
Drew is an interesting case, as he too is in the market for a multi-year deal. He made $9.5 million in 2013, and with Xander Bogaerts looked primed to take over at short, it will be interesting to see if he can find that deal he’s looking for, or accepts Boston’s qualifying offer.
PHOTOS: Red Sox Parade Of Champions
There was expected to be some turnover for the 2013 World Series champs, and Monday afternoon will be the first domino to fall in terms of players coming and going.
MORE SPORTS FROM CBS BOSTON |
(CNN) The union representing aviation police officers at Chicago's two airports is asking Mayor Rahm Emanuel to shore up security by allowing officers to carry guns.
The request follows a CNN investigation that found that hundreds of aviation police officers are not armed and have been told to "run and hide" in the event of an active shooter.
A longstanding policy prohibits those aviation police officers from carrying a gun even though they are certified law enforcement officers; about 300 of them work along with armed Chicago police, which is the primary law enforcement agency at both airports.
"The safety of the flying public that utilize the Midway and/or O'Hare airports, and the APOs (aviation police officers) who are an integral part of the security of these airports is at high risk for compromise," according to a January 4 letter to Emanuel from Matt Brandon, secretary-treasurer of Local 73 of the Service Employees International Union.
The "run and hide" training given to aviation police "is contrary to everything... taught in the Chicago Police Academy," Brandon wrote.
He also requested a meeting with the mayor.
A representative for the mayor's office told CNN the letter was being reviewed, and no response has been sent yet.
In addition, Brandon claimed that Chief Richard Edgeworth, who oversees the aviation police officers, and Department of Aviation Commissioner Ginger Evans are hampering security measures.
"Their ostrich approach to attacks on the flying public and the employees/personnel at Midway and O'Hare airports cannot be part of any rational security strategy," the letter stated.
Evans has strongly defended Edgeworth against the union's attempt to oust him in the wake of a no-confidence vote by aviation police officers last September.
Edgeworth did not respond to repeated phone calls and offered a "no comment" before walking away when a CNN reporter approached him last fall outside his office.
In a statement to CNN Wednesday, a spokesman for the aviation department cited numerous security awards for Chicago's airports and wrote, "The multi-layered security approach at O'Hare and Midway Airports is working to keep passengers, employees, and security officials safe. The close coordination between Aviation Security Officers, the Chicago Police Department, TSA, U.S. Customs and Border Control, and the FBI has a successful track record of keeping the airports secure."
"How does 'run and hide' give the APOs... a chance to defend the traveling public or themselves?" Brandon's letter asked. "How does 'run and hide' help those 'different agencies' stand and defeat an attack?"
He continued: "After seeing the CNN exposé on our unarmed APOs, and watching Chief Edgeworth 'run and hide' from dangerous camera-wielding reporters, it all made perfect sense."
The union says there are about 279 aviation police officers out of 309 budgeted at O'Hare and Midway airports. An additional 231 armed Chicago police officers and supervisors are also budgeted. |
F-35Bs showcase their STOVL capabilities that can be useful for remote airfield ops.
Taken on May 6, 2015 the following footage features two F-35Bs from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121, based out at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, practicing short take off and vertical landings as part of required flying field carrier landing practices (FCLP) at the station’s auxiliary landing field.
Although the F-35B has been developed to meet the requirement of the nations that operate ski-jump ramp-equipped aircraft carriers, it could also attract the interest of those air forces that need to disperse their aircraft to remote locations in order to safeguard their own efficiency after the first day of war. In fact, its STOVL (Short Take Off Vertical Landing) capabilities enable the F-35B to operate from quickly-prepared landing strips close to the front and away from the fixed airfields that would rapidly come under attack during wartime.
This is the reason why Israel would be ready to buy the F-35B as well.
Needless to say, operating from a remote field is something more than taking off and landing from a simulated U.S. Navy amphibious assault ship…
Related articles |
CLOSE Brock Osweiler threw a TD and ran for another, and the Texans defense stifled Raiders rookie QB Connor Cook in a 27-14 win. Time Sports
Bill )'Brien (Photo: Troy Taormina, USA TODAY Sports)
Bob McNair said he isn't firing coach Bill O’Brien.
The Texans’ owner responded to reports he was considering a coaching change after the Texans’ 27-14 victory over Oakland on Saturday night.
“No, I don’t know where they get that from,” McNair told reporters. “There’s nothing to it. I’m not going to fire him. We are already talking about next year. Forget that. If I were you, I wouldn’t repeat it because it’s false.”
Bob McNair on Bill O'Brien 'I'm not going to fire him' said reports untrue said already planning to have him back next year — Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) January 8, 2017
He said the reports were untrue and he wasn’t considering firing O’Brien even if the Texans lost in the first round of the playoffs for the second consecutive season.
McNair even said he “chuckled” at the reports. |
Court documents show that Hilead was set up with the help of the state-run Chinese Academy of Sciences. And because the project fit national and local government policy goals, Hilead received a $300 million loan from the national government’s China Development Bank. The loan came after the company won the approval of the party secretary of Shandong Province, one of the country’s highest-ranking public officials.
“We created a great product and they stole it,” Liu Xiucai, Cathay’s 54-year-old founder and chief executive, said in an interview in his office.
In a lawsuit, Cathay has accused Hilead of patent infringement and theft of trade secrets. Hilead has countersued, claiming Cathay stole patents from the Chinese Academy. The government has taken Hilead’s side, stripping Cathay of one of its top patents.
Although the specifics of the case are in dispute, the broad outline follows what some economists and academics consider a disturbing pattern.
After more than a decade in which private companies have been the prime engine of China’s economic miracle, the Chinese government is eager to control more of that wealth — even if that means running roughshod over private companies.
Chen Zhiwu, a professor of finance at Yale University and a harsh critic of the state’s dominant role in the economy, says the Chinese government is smothering the private sector. “When the government is involved in business, it’s hard for private companies to compete,” Professor Chen said.
The usurping of private enterprise has become so evident that the Chinese have given it a nickname: guojin mintui. That roughly translates as “while the state advances, the privates retreat.”
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Some prominent Chinese economists are warning that the potentially corrosive effects of an approach that favors government companies at the expense of the private sector could eventually stifle innovation, saying it could stunt China’s long-term growth and quash the rising aspirations of the nation’s 1.3 billion people.
“If China doesn’t deal with this problem and strengthen the private sector, this country’s growth is not sustainable,” said Xu Chenggang, a professor of economics at the University of Hong Kong .
Hilead executives declined to comment for this article. A Chinese Academy of Sciences spokesman would say only that the lawsuit against Cathay was meant to protect his organization’s “rights and benefits.”
What is clear is that Hilead, with all its government support, has been able to slash prices. Cathay has had no choice but to do likewise, costing the company as much as $10 million in profit over the last year, a drop of at least 20 percent.
Adding to Cathay’s challenges, Beijing officials recently declared its particular type of nylon production a matter of “national security” — a designation that gives state-backed companies like Hilead even more protection and privileges and makes competing with them all the more difficult.
There are a variety of reasons the Chinese government is seeking an enlarged role in the economy — including fears that wealthy entrepreneurs could begin to challenge the Communist Party. There is also an ingrained belief among leaders that the state is better at driving growth and redistributing wealth. And so state companies have been given the green light to expand their interests and move into anything that promises high returns — whether real estate, finance, technology or other fields.
Private entrepreneurs have long complained about the way state banks discriminate against them, forcing them to turn to loan sharks and pay a higher cost for capital. They also say they are squeezed by state corporations that have the power to overcharge for basic services like power, transportation and telecommunications.
“If the government doesn’t interfere, these entrepreneurs would be productive,” said Zhang Weiying, a professor of economics at Peking University, one of the country’s most prestigious schools.
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A Promising Start
Mr. Liu, Cathay’s chief executive, has not always been at odds with the Chinese establishment. For years, in fact, he seemed to be a favorite son.
Early in his career he was an avatar of the plan envisioned by China’s leader in the early 1980s, Deng Xiaoping , to send bright Chinese students overseas in hopes of their returning to help the motherland close the gap with the West in science and technology.
After earning a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee in 1989, Mr. Liu did come back to China. He collaborated with a series of state institutions, including the Chinese Academy of Sciences. His achievements included helping the government support the country’s fledgling vitamin C industry — an effort so effective that today about 80 percent of the world’s industrially produced vitamin C is made in China.
In 1997, when Mr. Liu founded Cathay with the promise to create a homegrown biotechnology firm, it was showered with government tax breaks and other incentives.
But today, Mr. Liu says the state has become his opponent.
Like many Chinese of his generation, Mr. Liu has known a lifetime of shifting government policies. Born in 1957 in an impoverished village in eastern China’s Anhui Province, he grew up during the Cultural Revolution, a period of social and political chaos that began in 1966 and lasted a decade, in which public officials were paraded through the streets wearing dunce caps, and students were encouraged to lead “struggle sessions” against their teachers.
After Mr. Liu’s father was jailed for supposed political crimes, the family struggled to eat. A strong-willed mother kept the family together, however, and made education a priority.
Mr. Liu completed high school. But with colleges shuttered during the Cultural Revolution, he followed the prescribed path of so many other graduates in his region: growing rice and wheat and helping organize peasants into farming and construction crews.
Then China abruptly reversed course, announcing in 1977 that it would reopen colleges and reinstitute the national college entrance examination. Mr. Liu’s score was high enough to win admission to one of the country’s elite schools, the University of Science and Technology of China.
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After earning a degree in chemistry and doing advanced work at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mr. Liu headed to Milwaukee.
Photo
“He was simply the best graduate student I ever had,” said Jim Otvos, Mr. Liu’s adviser at the University of Wisconsin. “He got his Ph.D. in three years. It usually takes five.”
Then came postdoctoral research at Yale and Columbia, which led to a position as a senior research scientist at Sandoz Pharmaceuticals, where Mr. Liu worked on drug development.
A Return to China
In 1994, he returned to China with a simple idea: to find drugs that had gone off patent in the United States or Europe , replicate their properties through reverse engineering and then introduce them to the Chinese market, which was then suffering from a shortage of modern medicines.
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Within a year, he raised $4 million and formed a partnership with Peking University and the Stone Group, one of China’s first private companies and an early investor in science and technology start-ups.
“I admire Liu’s way of doing things,” said Duan Yongji, chief executive at the Stone Group and a member of Cathay’s board. “He’s extremely tenacious. If I left the office at 12 a.m., he’d leave at 1 a.m.”
The result was a series of mostly successful drug deals. With the small fortune he made, he founded Cathay Biotech in 1997.
The company’s initial success came in refining a manufacturing process that used microbes to turn a type of wax into diacid, a chemical building block of nylon.
Many companies around the world had discovered various ways to use microbes to produce diacids through fermentation. But most abandoned the work as too costly and complex. When Cathay refined its process, Dupont decided to work with the Chinese company, according to Dupont executives.
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By 2003, Cathay says, it was the only company in the world making large quantities of polymer-grade diacids through biofermentation. Outsiders support that claim.
“A lot of work was done on this in the ’80s and ’90s, but Cathay improved on it,” said E. William Radany, president of Verdezyne, a California company that is producing a similar product.
Today, Cathay produces 13,000 metric tons of diacid a year — about half the world’s industrial output.
Along the way, Mr. Liu acknowledges, he probably made some enemies in China. Despite his years of collaborating with the government, Mr. Liu began making public accusations of corruption and scientific fraud in state-run industries and of government meddling in private companies.
In a 2010 article in a Chinese magazine called Entrepreneur, for example, he wrote, “The government controls the sources of production cost, adding unnecessary burdens to private companies, like electricity, waste water treatment, etc.”
He also had occasional run-ins with people at the powerful Chinese Academy of Sciences, one of whose vice presidents until a few weeks ago was Jiang Mianheng, the son of the former Chinese President Jiang Zemin .
Beyond Mr. Liu’s impolitic complaining, legal experts say, his biggest mistake may have been failing to carefully protect his technology. Although Mr. Liu says he knew how common it was for factory bosses to make off with trade secrets, he let a team of crucial employees depart a few years ago — and simply ignored the exodus.
Government Backing
In its lawsuit, Cathay contends that the theft of its manufacturing designs took place in 2008. That was after Wang Zhizhou, deputy general manager at the company’s diacid manufacturing plant, in Shandong Province, decided to resign.
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Mr. Wang could not be reached for comment, despite repeated efforts. But former colleagues say he had complained about being passed over for the top position at the Shandong plant and was dissatisfied with his $1,500-a-month salary — about half what he could earn elsewhere, several experts said.
Cathay’s lawyers say Mr. Wang left with six other workers and formed Hilead, along with Chen Yuantong, a retired scientist from the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
In an interview, Mr. Chen, now Hilead’s chief scientist, denied that Mr. Wang’s departure from Cathay involved any theft of trade secrets. He said Cathay should have tried harder to retain Mr. Wang. “Who will leave a company if the company doesn’t have a management problem or pays well?” Mr. Chen said.
A co-founder and the initial financial backer of Hilead was Cao Wubo, a wealthy entrepreneur who had strong ties to the Shandong provincial government and had already turned a military pharmaceutical maker into a Nasdaq-listed company. According to court papers, Mr. Cao said in early 2009 that Hilead had promising technology and deserved strong government support.
He got it. In May 2009, the party secretary in Shandong — one of the nation’s most powerful leaders — helped put the project on the fast track.
And two months later, in July 2009, Mr. Cao met with a dozen officials from the city of Laiyang, which had built a high-tech industrial park in Shandong Province.
A planning document from that meeting said the local government would seek more than $150 million in financing for Hilead from a provincial infrastructure fund as well as local government banks.
It is unclear whether the government at this point knew about Cathay’s patent or that Mr. Wang had come from Cathay. Analysts say that rather than being a target of government animus, Cathay may have simply been an unintended victim — collateral damage — of the Chinese government’s drive to bolster state partners like Hilead.
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With the Academy of Sciences blessing Hilead, the China Development Bank agreed in 2009 to make a $300 million loan to the company. In 2010, Hilead opened its huge biotechnology plant, and began marketing its own diacid for use in making specialty nylons.
Hilead’s path hasn’t been without potholes. The company was implicated when Mr. Cao’s other business, Jiangbo, was delisted by Nasdaq in the United States this year after the Securities and Exchange Commission issued a subpoena seeking financial documents and halted trading in the stock.
In a class-action lawsuit filed in Florida against Jiangbo, lawyers allege that the company failed to disclose a $25 million payment to Hilead. The suit accuses Jiangbo of issuing “materially false and misleading” financial statements.
In its own business, though, Hilead appears to be on a roll. Shortly after the factory opened in 2010, Hilead quickly began offering its products to big purchasers of nylon components, including Dupont, and promised to slash prices to compete with the market leader, Cathay, according to court documents. Hilead quickly acquired an estimated 10 percent share of the global market.
Only after filing his lawsuit earlier this year did Mr. Liu realize the forces he was up against.
Tapping his own government ties in the city of Jining, where his diacid factory is located, Mr. Liu persuaded the local courts to authorize a police inquiry. In September, a court dispatched officers 400 kilometers north to Hilead’s factory in Laiyang, to investigate whether the company had copied Cathay’s production techniques.
But when the court officers arrived at the factory gate, they were told that Hilead had been designated a national security interest by the Beijing government. No outsiders could enter the complex. Cowed, the officers drove back to Jining to deliver the bad news to Mr. Liu.
“Personally, I will not give up on this dream,” Mr. Liu said. “I’m Chinese, you know, so the Chinese government should want me to contribute. We’re pioneers. If the Chinese government does not allow me to do this, I will find another place.” |
MUSKEGON, MI - An officer of the law in Muskegon could soon be spending most of his time "investigating and educating" medical marijuana providers and marijuana-related businesses.
The Muskegon County Board of Commissioners Courts and Public Safety committee recently voted to accept a $61,249 Medical Marijuana Operation and Oversight grant from the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, called LARA.
LARA recently made funding available to each county in Michigan, officials said. Muskegon County would collect $3,063 to serve as the grant administrator and fiduciary agent, while $58,186 is budgeted for an officer working for the city of Muskegon and the West Michigan Enforcement Team, called WEMET.
"There's just been an uptick in ... activity," said Muskegon County Grants Coordinator Connie Maxim-Sparrow.
A city of Muskegon officer would be dedicated to "investigating and educating" medical marijuana providers and marijuana-related businesses, according to county documents.
Muskegon County Prosecutor D.J. Hilson said that while caregivers are allowed to give marijuana to patients with medical marijuana cards, dispensaries are not legal. The officer could check on "grow shops" catering toward people growing their own marijuana, or other marijuana-related businesses, he said - mostly to ensure no marijuana is sold under the table.
The money provides some direction into a gray area that law enforcement and prosecutors in Michigan have been trying to navigate for nearly a decade, Hilson said.
"We've been figuring it out for eight years," Hilson said. "Finally, we've got some money to dedicate to an officer."
Muskegon County Commissioner Charles Nash, who is trained as an addiction counselor, said that marijuana available in the present day is more potent than that consumed in previous decades.
"It's not the same story that we had back in the day," he said.
The Muskegon County Board of Commissioners will vote again on the grant when it meets as the full board later this month.
Stephen Kloosterman is a reporter for MLive. Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+
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Volunteers could be used to guard some of the UK's borders, the Home Office has said.
The plans under consideration are for "Border Force Special Volunteers" to be used at small air and sea ports.
A Home Office spokesman said it was "considering the potential benefits" and looking at how they are used by police forces.
But Conservative MP Charlie Elphicke told the Mail on Sunday: "We can't have a Dad's Army-type of set-up."
The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union, which represents many Border Force staff, said the government was risking the country's security "on the cheap".
The proposal comes after recent reports have raised concerns over "poor" coverage of some minor harbours and landing places.
The Border Force carries out immigration and customs controls for people and goods entering the UK.
But an assessment by the Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, published in July, said there were long periods of non-attendance by Border Force at some locations as well as a shortage of staff able to use specialist scanners.
It looked at 62 normally unmanned ports on the east coast and found that Border Force officers had not visited 27 of the sites between April 2015 to June 2016.
Chief Inspector David Bolt's report also revealed the number of clandestine migrants detected at the ports had almost doubled in 12 months rising from 233 to 423.
Another report by David Anderson QC, former independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, said there were similar issues with smaller south and east coast ports, marinas and landing places, adding it was "conceivable" they might be an option for returning foreign fighters or other terrorists.
'Ridiculous plans'
The Home Office said if it was to introduce volunteers, they would be used to "bolster" Border Force staffing levels and would not be used by Immigration Enforcement.
But Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union, called the plan "ridiculous".
"Border Force are already using poorly trained seasonal workers at most ports and airports, not just at peak periods but throughout the year because of permanent staff cuts," he said.
"The plans to use volunteer Border Force specials is a further move towards casualisation of the workforce."
Mr Elphicke, MP for Dover, said he would "urge great caution before seeking to adopt a model like that used by the police, with special constables".
"Border security is a skilled job, which takes many years of training." |
Russian President Vladimir Putin. Thomson Reuters Russia's government said Wednesday that the toxic gas that killed 83 people and wounded at least 150 in northern Syria the day before was released accidentally when a Syrian air strike hit a "terrorist warehouse" containing "toxic substances."
"According to the objective data of the Russian airspace control, Syrian aviation struck a large terrorist warehouse near Khan Shaykhun that housed a warehouse making bombs, with toxic substances," the Russian defense ministry said in a statement.
"The arsenal of chemical weapons" was destined for fighters in Iraq, the ministry added.
Experts have cast doubt on Russia's explanation for Syria's worst chemical weapons attack since 2013, when Syrian President Bashar Assad — an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin — is believed to have used sarin gas to kill as many as 1,400 people in the outskirts of Syria's capital, Damascus. Assad still denies responsibility for that attack.
A civil defense member breathes through an oxygen mask, after what rescue workers described as a suspected gas attack in the town of Khan Shaykhun in rebel-held Idlib in Syria, April 4, 2017. Thomson Reuters
Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a chemical-weapons expert, told the BBC on Wednesday that Russia's claim was "fanciful" and that it would be "unsustainable" for a nerve agent like Sarin gas to spread as far as it did as the result of a bombing.
Instead, the US has determined that Syrian warplanes dropped the chemical weapons, which caused injuries and deaths that the World Health Organization said were "consistent with exposure to organophosphorus chemicals, a category of chemicals that includes nerve agents."
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said "all the evidence I have seen suggests this was the Assad regime ... using illegal weapons on their own people."
The commander of the Free Idlib Army rebel brigade, Hasan Haj Ali, told Reuters that "everyone saw the plane while it was bombing with gas."
Bellingcat founder Eliot Higgins, who has covered the Syrian civil war extensively, poured more cold water on the Russian claim early Wednesday morning.
Higgins added that other images from the chemical attack were posted online at 2:28 a.m. ET, two hours before the air strike was said to hit the chemical warehouse, which Russia said occurred at 4:30 a.m. ET.
The Conflict Intelligence Team, a nonprofit founded by Russian blogger and activist Ruslan Leviev to monitor the events in eastern Ukraine, added that while "Russian media did report repeated use of chemical weapons by rebels in Aleppo" in late 2016, "each time the weapon allegedly used was chlorine" — not sarin. The Assad regime has been accused of dropping chlorine bombs on civilians in Idlib province at least twice between 2014 and 2015.
A nurse treating a boy suffering from breathing difficulties inside a hospital in Aleppo, Syria. Aleppo Media Center via AP
An 'infantile argument'
Dan Kaszeta, a veteran of the US Army Reserve's Chemical Corps — the branch of the US Army responsible for protection against chemical, biological, and nuclear threats — further debunked Russia's claim.
"To date, all of the nerve agents used in the Syrian conflict have been binary chemical warfare agents," Kaszeta wrote on Bellingcat, adding that the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons inspections after Syria's accession to the Chemical Weapons Convention in 2013 "revealed a variety of fixed and mobile mixing apparatus for making binary nerve agents."
The Assad regime began mixing the chemicals to create sarin in 2012, CNN reported at the time.
"Even assuming that large quantities of both sarin precursors were located in the same part of the same warehouse (a practice that seems odd), an airstrike is not going to cause the production of large quantities of sarin," Kaszeta added. "Dropping a bomb on the binary components does not actually provide the correct mechanism for making the nerve agent. It is an infantile argument."
Brian Palmer, a reporter for Slate covering science and medicine, wrote in 2012 that "the technical challenge for users of sarin is the dispersal." The nerve agent, he wrote, is exponentially more deadly when it is "aerosolized," or converted into a fine spray.
Because one of the "precursors" for sarin is isopropyl alcohol, if a warehouse with sarin in it had been bombed, then it would have gone up "in a ball of flame," Kaszeta wrote. "A very large one. Which has not been in evidence."
Additionally, he said, the sheer volume of materials — many of them "exotic" — necessary to produce sarin makes it extremely unlikely that the rebels could have stockpiled it in a large enough quantity to kill dozens of people.
"Having a quantity of any of the nerve agents relies on a sophisticated supply chain of exotic precursors and an industrial base," Kaszeta wrote. "Are we to seriously believe that one of the rebel factions has expended the vast sums of money and developed this industrial base, somehow not noticed to date and not molested by attack?" |
The San Francisco Transit Center District Plan is a massive redevelopment plan for the neighborhood surrounding the Salesforce Transit Center site, South of Market near the Financial District in San Francisco.[8] The new Salesforce Transit Center (previously known as the Transbay Transit Center) has replaced the since-demolished San Francisco Transbay Terminal, and new skyscrapers, such as Salesforce Tower, take advantage of the height increases allowed through the Transit Center District Plan. The sale of several land parcels formerly owned by the state and given to the managing Transbay Joint Powers Authority helped finance the construction of the Transit Center.[9]
History [ edit ]
The original Transbay Terminal opened in 1939 as the San Francisco terminus for the Key System and other commuter trains that travelled across the new San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge to the East Bay. Train service to San Francisco was discontinued in 1958 and the Transbay Terminal was reconfigured for buses. Transbay train service would resume in 1974 with the opening of BART and the Transbay Tube, but the BART tracks were routed under Market Street, bypassing the Transbay Terminal. By the end of the 20th century, the Transbay Terminal was underused and rundown, handling an average of about 20,000 commuters per day.[10]
In 1985, San Francisco adopted the Downtown Plan, which slowed development in the Financial District north of Market Street and directed it to the area South of Market around the Transbay Terminal.[11] In the early 1990s, the Embarcadero Freeway was demolished following the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, freeing up numerous city blocks for development south of the Transbay Terminal. In 1995, Caltrain agreed to study extending its commuter rail service from its Fourth and King terminus closer to the Financial District, including whether the obsolete Transbay Terminal should be removed, remodeled, or rebuilt.[12]
Ultimately, it was decided that the Transbay Terminal should be rebuilt, with the rail extension entering the Terminal under Second Street. In 1996, then-San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown issued the idea of redeveloping the earthquake-damaged Transbay Transit Center. To that end, Brown tapped his then-new deputy Mayor Maria Ayerdi Kaplan to head the project. Kaplan created, and then became executive director of, the Transbay Joint Powers Authority in 2008.[13]
To finance the projects and promote development in the area, the Transbay Redevelopment Plan was adopted by the City of San Francisco in June 2005. By raising a number of building height limits and selling former freeway parcels, the plan envisions the development of over 2,500 new homes, 3 million square feet of new office and commercial space, and 100,000 square feet of retail.[9]
Developments [ edit ]
Salesforce Transit Center [ edit ]
Designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli, the new Salesforce Transit Center replaced the former Transbay Terminal at a cost of roughly $2 billion USD[14] and has been dubbed the "Grand Central Station of the West" by proponents.[15] The new center is planned to eventually include an extension of Caltrain into the station from the current Caltrain Depot at 4th and King Streets in Mission Bay via tunnels which would also carry the Bay Area segment of the future California High-Speed Rail (CAHSR) and terminate at the station, as mandated by California voters in Proposition 1A, the ballot measure authorizing CAHSR construction. This extension would cost an additional $2-4 billion and is currently unfunded.[16]
Salesforce Transit Center construction site.
The Transit Center currently has three levels plus a 5.4-acre (2.2 ha) public rooftop park. The ground level is the street entrance to the Transit Center. Above that are administrative offices, retail shops, restaurants, and the Amtrak/Greyhound waiting room. The final indoors level services Transbay buses from San Francisco's Muni, the East Bay's AC Transit, and WestCAT, as well as long-distance buses operated by Greyhound and Amtrak Thruway.[17] Future Caltrain and HSR service would utilize two underground levels, the lower of which would house the tracks and platforms, and the upper of which would house a retail concourse and waiting areas.
Salesforce Tower [ edit ]
Adjacent to the Transit Center and at the center of the redevelopment effort is a signature skyscraper at First and Mission Streets. The proposal featured plans from several major architecture firms including Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Richard Rogers Partnership, and Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects. Eventually the plan from Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects was picked.[18] The original plans from Pelli Clark Pelli Architects called for a 1,200-foot (370 m) tower as the main tower and a massive three-block-long Transbay Center. However, due to considerations about how the tower would cast a shadow over some of the city's parks, the height was eventually reduced to 1,070 feet (330 m).[19][20]
The designs to the supertall tower changed during its planning phase, its final design eventually incorporates slits at each side of its angular top along with an altered terminal station design.[21] However some of the original design cues were later restored and reincorporated due to complaints about the design modifications.[22] The tower and the new terminal is now under construction with groundbreaking on March 27, 2013.[23]
Increased height limits [ edit ]
With the adoption of the Transit Center District Plan in 2012, height limits were raised for several parcels in the vicinity of the Transit Center.[24] Among the parcels zoned for taller buildings are 50 First Street, 181 Fremont Street, 350 Mission Street, Golden Gate University's campus at 536 Mission Street, the proposed Palace Hotel Residential Tower, and the Salesforce Tower site.
Former freeway parcels and bus ramps [ edit ]
Following the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, the Embarcadero Freeway was torn down, opening up a number of blocks for development. Several other parcels, near Beale and Howard streets, were used for the East Loop Ramp of the Transbay Terminal and are not needed for the new Transit Center.[25] In 2007, the state of California officially agreed to transfer the state-owned parcels to the City and County of San Francisco.[26]
The former freeway parcels are located mostly along the north side of Folsom Street between Essex and Spear and have been zoned for residential use.[27] Other lots, called Parcel F, Parcel M, and Parcel T, have been zoned for office buildings.[28] Parcel T is the site of Salesforce Tower. As of 2013, Transbay Joint Powers Authority has accepted proposals for Blocks 6/7 and Block 9.[29][30] The first parcel developed was Block 11, also known as the Rene Cazenave Apartments, an affordable housing project located at 25 Essex Street.[31]
Parcel[27] Zoning Sold Price Use Location Reference Block 1 Residential 2016 $50.18M 400-foot Folsom Bay Tower with 391 units, including 156 affordable-rate [32] Block 2 Residential Temporary Transbay Terminal Block 3 Park — — Temporary Transbay Terminal; Slated to become Transbay Park Block 4 Residential Temporary Transbay Terminal Block 5 Residential 2015 $172.5M Although zoned for residential, will become Park Tower at Transbay office building 250 Howard Street [33][34] Block 6 Residential 2013 $30M 300-foot tower with 409 market-rate units and 70 affordable units 299 Fremont Street [35][36][37][38] Block 7 Residential 2013 — 77 units to be built by Mercy Housing Block 8 Residential 2014 $72M 550-foot, 740-unit residential tower [39] Block 9 Residential 2013 $43.32M 400-foot, 563-unit residential tower under construction 500 Folsom Street [40] Block 10 Park — — Planned Transbay Terminal Under Ramp Park [41] Block 11 Residential 2011 — 120-unit Rene Cazenave Apartments 25 Essex Street [31] Block 12 Residential Parcel F Commercial Office 2016 $160M 61-story, 800-foot tower, with 16 floors of offices, a 220-room hotel, and 175 condos [42][43] Parcel M Commercial Office Parcel T Commercial Office 2013 $191.8M Salesforce Tower 415 Mission Street [44]
Pictures [ edit ]
Downtown San Francisco, showing Millennium Tower (301 Mission St) center, behind it left the Salesforce Tower (under construction), far left top the 181 Fremont Street Tower (under construction), and foreground the cranes for the Park Tower (under construction) in front of the bare structure of the Transbay Terminal (under construction). From the parking lot of the Providian Financial Building / 201 Mission St, on Howard between Beale and Main.
See also [ edit ] |
It took five simple sentences for President Obama to destroy the myth of a divided Democratic Party while speaking at the White House.
Video:
Transcript via The White House:
Q And on Sanders dropping out?
THE PRESIDENT: I think on the Democratic side, let’s let the process play itself out. You mentioned the delegate math. I think everybody knows what that math is. I think Senator Sanders has done an extraordinary job raising a whole range of issues that are important to Democratic voters as well as the American people, generally. And I know that at some point there’s going to be a conversation between Secretary Clinton and Bernie Sanders about how we move towards the convention.
The good news is that despite the fact that during the course of primaries everybody starts getting a little chippy — I’ve been through this, it’s natural, sometimes even more with the staffs and supporters than with the candidates themselves — the good news is, is that there’s a pretty strong consensus within the Democratic Party on the vast majority of issues.
There’s some disagreement about tactics. There’s some disagreement about political strategy or policy nuance. But both Secretary Clinton and Bernie Sanders believe that every American should have health care. So do I. Both candidates believe that we should be raising the minimum wage. Both candidates believe that we should invest in our infrastructure and put more people back to work. Both candidates believe that we should pass a comprehensive immigration reform policy that makes sure we’re enforcing laws and improving our legal immigration system and making sure our borders are secure, but also that we continue to enjoy the incredible boost that we get from attracting talent from all around the world. Both candidates agree that we should be prudent in terms of how we use our military and that we should care for our veterans when they come home.
So if you look at 95 percent of the issues, there’s strong agreement there. You don’t see the same kinds of divisions between the two Democratic candidates that remain that you’ve been seeing in some of the Republican debates. |
US President Donald Trump will unveil a more aggressive strategy against Iran (AFP)
US President Donald Trump will unveil a more aggressive strategy against Iran on Friday but is expected to stop short of withdrawing from the landmark 2015 nuclear deal.
Officials say he will not kill the international accord outright, instead "decertifying" the agreement and leaving US lawmakers to decide its fate.
During a White House speech, Trump will declare the 2015 agreement - which curbed Iran's nuclear program in return for sanctions relief - is no longer in the US national interest.
Trump had repeatedly pledged to overturn one of his predecessor Barack Obama's crowning foreign policy achievements, deriding it as "the worst deal" and one agreed to out of "weakness."
The strategy will seek to shield Israel from Iran's "unrelenting hostility" and counter the threat to all US interests and allies from Iran's proxy forces, ballistic missile development and eventual nuclear ambitions.
Iran Warns US Against Labeling Revolutionary Guards as Terrorists
German Foreign Minister Warns U.S. Against Abandoning Iran Nuclear Deal
But the plan as outlined by the fact sheet does not envisage Washington pulling out of the Iran deal's Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA.
Indeed, "the deal must be strictly enforced, and the IAEA must fully utilize its inspection authorities."
Since coming to office, Trump has faced intense lobbying from international allies and his own national security team, who argued the deal should remain in place.
In another partial climb-down, Trump is also expected to levy limited sanctions against the Revolutionary Guards, rather than invite retaliation by designating it as a terrorist organization.
The outcome "probably reflects more some of the divisions and debates within the administration," said former US Middle East envoy Dennis Ross.
Return to sanctions?
Trump's gambit could risk undoing years of careful diplomacy and increase Middle East tensions.
UN nuclear inspectors say Iran is meeting the technical requirements of its side of the bargain, dramatically curtailing its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani lashed out at his US counterpart, saying he was opposing "the whole world" by trying to abandon a landmark nuclear agreement.
"It will be absolutely clear which is the lawless government. It will be clear which country is respected by the nations of the world and global public opinion," he added.
Congress must now decide whether to end the nuclear accord by "snapping back" sanctions, which Iran demanded be lifted in exchange for limiting uranium enrichment.
Many lawmakers are waiting to see how Trump presents the choice before deciding whether to keep or torpedo the agreement.
In a statement to AFP, leading Republican Senator Marco Rubio described the accord as "fatally-flawed" and said he was open to legislation that would "substantially improve America's ability to counter Iran's nuclear, terrorism, militancy and regional threats."
Allies warn against ditching deal
Trump has been railing against the Iran deal since before he was elected in November last year.
In office, he has chafed at being required under US law to re-certify Iran's compliance with the accord every 90 days, declaring that Tehran has broken it "in spirit."
The other signatories to the deal have urged Washington not to let it fall apart.
The Kremlin warned Washington on Friday that abandoning the Iran nuclear deal would be a heavy blow to international relations and non-proliferation efforts.
"This could seriously aggravate the situation around the Iranian nuclear dossier," President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists.
Read more: From Iran to UNESCO: Trump's Withdrawal Doctrine
"Such actions will unequivocally damage the atmosphere of predictability, security, stability and non-proliferation in the entire world."
China also issued a statement which called on all parties to "preserve and implement this deal."
"We believe this deal is important to ensuring the international nuclear nonproliferation regime and regional peace and stability", foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson spent much of the week on the telephone, talking through a decision that is deeply unpopular with allies.
Europe fears not only that Iran will resume the quest for the bomb but that the US is relinquishing its leadership role in a stable, rules-based international system.
Separately, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, speaking to Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif by phone, expressed Moscow's "full commitment" to the Iran nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the foreign ministry said on Friday.
The agreement was signed between Iran and six world powers - Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the US - at talks coordinated by the European Union. |
Will 2014 bring the death of the patent troll?
In an effort to protect businesses from frivolous patent lawsuits, the House of Representatives recently passed a bill called the Innovation Act by a vote of 325-91. What’s more, the bill passed within two months of being introduced. Soon afterward, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a case that revisits the section of patent law concerning what exactly can be patented in the United States. And this comes just two years after President Barack Obama signed the America Invents Act, which, despite criticism, instituted the greatest reform to the system in nearly 60 years.
Why so much attention to patent reform in such a relatively short period of time? Because “patent trolls” — companies that exist solely to acquire patents and then sue other companies for infringement — are filing more lawsuits than ever, more than 3,000 in 2012 alone. The typical targets are tech companies, startups and multinational corporations, because of the software they use, but brick-and-mortar businesses also get sued. And these companies say all this litigation, or even the threat of it, is severely hampering innovation and dramatically increasing the cost of doing business.
But the problems with the patent system aren’t just with the legal process. Getting a patent in the United States is surprisingly easy. And it’s this ease of acquisition that’s led to a vast amount of patents with no value as innovations.
There’s a patent on sending hyperlinks to mobile phones. There’s one for displaying images on websites and one on serving personalized ads over the Web. Even if the patents weren’t originally intended to cover these ubiquitous technologies, they can be claimed as such because they employ broad, vague language that a lawyer can use to make the case for infringement. David Martin, the founder of M-Cam, a company that analyzes patents to assess their value, believes that about one-third of all active patents fall into this category.
So the patent system is deeply flawed and the U.S. government is trying to fix it. What follows is a look at the problems and the proposed reforms through one patent’s journey from idea to issuance, and then litigation. |
GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Gaza's sole power plant is to be supplied with fuel on Sunday after more than a month-long closure when the Gazan energy authority ran out of funding.
Nathmi Muhanna, PA Director of Border Crossings in the Gaza Strip, said that 10 trucks carrying 400,000 liters of fuel would be passing though the Kerem Shalom commercial crossing on Sunday, and that a regular supply of fuel would be resumed during the week.
Jamal Dardasawi, a spokesman for Gaza's energy authority, said that while he could not be certain of the plant's energy output until the fuel arrived, it was expected that the company would be able to supply up to eight hours of electricity to Gazan residents after Sunday.
On Mar. 2, the Hamas-run energy authority closed the plant after they were unable to afford the taxes demanded by the PA for importing fuel into besieged Gaza.
In December last year, Qatar stepped in and donated $10 million to the PA to cover the tax, effectively exempting Hamas from paying it, but by March that money dried up.
The plant requires 550,000 liters of fuel per day to produce at capacity, the energy authority says.
Even with the plant running, Gaza has only been able to supply about 12 hours of electricity to residents each day, and that it was believed that would fall to just 6 hours after the plant's shutdown.
Gaza's energy authority has been plagued by supply problems due to the Israeli blockade, in place since 2007 and upheld by Egypt, as well as devastation caused by war.
Last summer the plant was targeted during the 50-day Israeli offensive on Gaza, completely knocking it out of commission. The Gaza power authority said at the time that the damages from the attack could take up to a year to fix completely.
Both Israel and Egypt also feed electricity into Gaza, but the extent of this supply is severely limited as part of the blockade.
Many individual homes have their own generators, and households can purchase, expensively, fuel that comes into Gaza for private consumption. |
Italian centre-half Lorenzo Amoruso played more than 200 matches for Rangers over six seasons from 2007
Lorenzo Amoruso described his joy at Rangers' promotion to the Premiership as that of "a kid that gets to go out in the countryside and play football".
The Italian, a fans' favourite in his six seasons at Ibrox from 1997-2003, said: "To see my old club back in the Premiership is absolutely fantastic.
"I think what happened a few years ago was not the best choice for Scottish football but I didn't make the decision, someone else did.
"I'm delighted they are back again."
The "choice" the former defender was referring to was a vote in July 2012, by 10 of the 12 Scottish Premier League teams, against an application from the new company running Rangers to play in the top tier.
With the SPL no longer an option, 25 out of 30 Scottish Football League teams then voted in favour of Rangers being admitted to the bottom division.
Amoruso told the BBC's World Service: "Starting from the first day everyone did a fantastic job but I must say this is not the end, it's just the beginning. I would like to see Rangers back on top again.
"You can't think about Rangers having a season where they are just surviving in the Premiership - Rangers isn't about that.
"Don't get me wrong, they need to invest but they have done extremely well so you shouldn't change lots of things.
"Rangers have a massive name, an unbelievable history and fantastic support so there are three great reasons why Rangers should start the league trying to win it.
Skipper Lorenzo Amoruso carries the 1999-2000 Scottish Premier League trophy
"I'm sure most Celtic supporters probably didn't really enjoy the last four years. No disrespect to the other clubs but without Rangers the league definitely is not the same."
Asked about his passion for the Ibrox club, Amoruso, 44, said: "I never left Rangers, trust me; my body left Rangers.
"But my heart and my brain is always there, that's the way I feel." |
The case adds yet another terrifying layer to the Ebola outbreak: A Scottish nurse who recovered from Ebola 10 months ago has been rehospitalized and is now critically ill, the Royal Free Hospital in London reported Wednesday.
Scientists have long known that the Ebola virus can persist for months in certain tissues of the body that are relatively protected from the immune system, including the eyes and the testes.
A report published Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine, for instance, found traces of Ebola in some men’s semen up to nine months after they fell ill. Another report in the same journal presented additional evidence that an Ebola survivor in Liberia had transmitted the disease to a sexual partner roughly six months after having developed symptoms.
Yet the case of the nurse, Pauline Cafferkey, points to how much is still unknown about the virus and its long-term effects. |
ST. PETERSBURG (CBSMiami/AP) — A Florida man is now facing a DUI charge after a deputy rear-ended him, according to authorities.
The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office reports that 24-year-old Yorgo Papagiani was approaching a St. Petersburg intersection Thursday night when he stopped abruptly at a red light. Deputy Brandon Lundy had been following Papagiani’s car and was unable to stop and avoid a crash.
Authorities say Lundy and Papagiani were both hospitalized with injuries that weren’t considered life-threatening. Investigators said Papagiani showed signs of impairment and refused to submit to a blood test while at the hospital.
After his release from the hospital, Papagiani was arrested and charged with driving under the influence, driving with a suspended license, marijuana possession and refusal to submit to blood test.
Papagiani was released Friday on $10,300 bail. Jail records didn’t list an attorney.
(TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2015 CBS
Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or
redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.) |
How many passwords do you have? Probably more than you can easily remember or comfortably manage on your own. And I’m willing to bet that you dread coming up with new ones when you sign up for something online.
Jonathan LeBlanc of PayPal is on a mission is to replace the password with something more secure and easier to use.
He’s not a head-in-the-clouds dreamer or theorist, either. LeBlanc is head of developer advocacy for PayPal and Braintree, and has an abiding interest in security, identity, and social technologies. He’s also the author of Programming Social Applications and helped architect the developer authentication technology used by companies like PayPal and Yahoo.
At POSSCON 2015, LeBlanc will be giving a talked titled Kill All Passwords. I spoke to him to learn more about what’s wrong with the password and what can replace it.
What’s the problem with passwords?
The problem itself isn’t necessarily the password. The problem is that human beings are horrible at creating passwords that have any measure of complexity. If we look at the statistics on leaked passwords in 2014, approximately 5% of all people use password as a password. About 10% of the population uses either password, 123456, or 12345678. If we look at the top 1,000 leaked passwords, those account for 91% of leaked passwords.
We can build systems to perform device fingerprinting, location verification, and identification through usage habit identification, but all of that becomes secondary if password choices are weak.
How did we get to this point with passwords?
We’re human. We are inundated with technology and accounts day in and day out, and most people will choose a password that they can easily remember. That makes sense, but no matter how much we tell people that their password choices are incredibly insecure, people will still continue to use weak passwords and the same password on all of their accounts. We got to this point because we expected people to pick a convoluted series of multi-case characters, numbers, and symbols that means nothing to them in order to secure their accounts.
How did you get involved in this drive to kill the password?
This came naturally with the work that I have been involved in within the security and identity industry. About six years ago, when I was working at Yahoo, I was working with their OAuth 1 (later 1.0a) and OpenID integrations as well as some of the more experimental authentication technology that was used for their social logins and social application environment. This gave me my first real foray into some of the security architecture behind a login and has led to me helping to architect the authentication systems behind the PayPal developer products.
What I realized throughout all of this is that there is a fine line between the security of the systems and the usability of the systems. We had to find a balance where the user was protected as much as possible, but we were also able to give them an easy experience. This drive towards password-less authentication is an evolution of that.
Is there a way to make passwords secure that’s easy for everyone?
Absolutely. On the consumer side, password manager systems like 1Password or LastPass are becoming more prevalent and allow you to only remember one master password. Beyond that, your other accounts can have highly secure passwords that you have no way of remembering, and the system just remembers for you. Both personally and professionally, I use 1Password.
On the system side, we can further bring security to users by employing device and browser fingerprinting, region detection, and identification based on typical usage habits, all without the user having to be impacted the additional levels of security.
What can replace the password?
If we break down the concept of a username and password, they are an identification of who you are (the username) and then a verification of that fact with something that only you should know (the password). Any technology that provides these facilities can do that, so it’s not so much about keeping the username and changing the password, but really just about picturing these systems in a different way.
How will open source technologies play a role in replacing passwords?
On the data security side, to further secure username/password authentication, you have a number of open source key hashing and salting implementations. When used properly, they allow for the secure storage of user information, including those passwords.
Authentication and authorization technologies like OAuth 1.0a, OAuth 2, and OpenID Connect all provide a more secure implementation for logging a user in and allowing applications to do things on their behalf. They do more than secure information like passwords back and forth between an application and the login host.
As we start to explore biometrics, wearables, embeddable, and other technologies, they potentially become another factor in telling a system who you are. They can use multiple authentication factors to turn that into a valid login. Open source hardware, especially microcontrollers and sensors, is being used to build these next generation prototypes.
How secure are those technologies?
It really depends on what you’re trying to secure.
Let’s look at hashing for password security first. General purpose hash algorithms like MD5 and SHA1 are built for speed—to be able to handle as much data as possible in as short a time as possible. The problem with using those in password security is that since an attacker can’t reverse the hash, they might simply launch a brute force attack with different potential inputs until they generate the correct hash. The faster the hashing algorithm, the more viable this attack is.
Algorithms like bcrypt and PBKDF2 use a technique called key stretching. They allow you to determine how expensive (in terms of time and/or size) the hash function will be. We choose to make the decryption slower to prevent these potential attacks, but still make it fast enough to not impact a valid user. These algorithms are slow, but incredibly strong and secure.
With biometrics, one concern is something called a false positive rate. That’s how often an invalid user is seen as a valid user, and allowed access. Since most new studies on biometric authentication vary wildly, it’s difficult to determine exactly just how secure most of them are. Biometrics are a great mechanism for identifying you, but a second factor of authentication is needed. Of course, some biometrics sources are far superior than others when it comes to having low false positive rates. For instance, vein recognition technology, which measure vein uniqueness through blood flow, offers a higher level of security than fingerprint identification.
Which is the most promising of these technologies?
The work being done within the realm of biometrics through wearables, embeddables, injectables, and ingestibles, has a lot of promise. Realistically, it’s going to be the wearable devices and computers that maintain short term advances, as anything in the embeddable realm is not really seen as culturally acceptable by most of the population.
I think what we’re going to see are numerous mechanisms around personal identification, which uses a second factor of authentication that is accessible and known to the user, in order to target the username and password for potential dismissal. This realm, and the technology that powers it, is currently being explored in commerce, medical applications, and a number of other industries.
Where else are these technologies being used?
A lot of the work that is being done with the future of biometrics is coming from the commerce and medical industries.
Within PayPal, for instance, we’re working with partners who are building vein recognition technology, heart beat identification bands. We’re also part of the board of the FIDO Alliance, which seeks to create a unified specification for the future of identification. Within the medical industry, we’re seeing embeddable sensors and wearable computers as some of the first human-incorporated technology of a new potential future identity.
Are humans still the weakest link in the chain?
Yes, humans will always be the weakest link because the vast majority will always choose the path of least resistance over the one that provides them the most security. Really, though, technology implementations are just as much to blame in many cases. Secure methodologies, such as using a complex password that is not easy to guess, means that the person has to remember something that is meaningless to them, and it’s much harder to have our brains remember something that has no association to anything else.
Technology such as key managers, and others such as biometrics, are on the right path. The correct solution is to find the most secure way of providing authentication for the user without putting the onus on them for remembering the complexities of that authentication.
When do you see the password dying (if ever)?
The password won’t die, it will just change. Much of the identification technology that is being worked on in internet security, biometrics, or elsewhere, is looking at what a username and password actually are: identification of who you are and verification of that. Biometrics triggered through wearables, embeddables, or ingestible, second factor authentication systems, and many other technologies, are all rising to meet this challenge.
POSSCON 2015
Speaker Interview
This article is part of the Speaker Interview Series for POSSCON 2015. The Palmetto Open Source Conference is a technical conference focused on open technology and the open web. POSSCON takes place in Columbia, SC from April 14-15, 2015. |
People who say they were raped are called liars, drunks, druggies, sluts, flirts, teases — not by trolls on social media but by robe-clad lawyers in court.
To a degree, that’s the lawyers’ job: An adversarial court system and the right of every accused person to a fair trial means the vast majority of sex assault cases come down to what Dalhousie University law professor Elaine Craig calls “contests of credibility.”
But there’s a difference between credibility contests and character assassination, she says.
“Inevitably, there’s going to be a tension between protecting the rights of the accused and making the sexual assault trial process less brutal for complainants. But I do not think that aggressive, bullying, stereotype-invoking cross examinations are inevitable.”
In Canada right now, however, it is not unusual: Craig’s paper for the University of Toronto Law Journal outlines in often graphic detail the ways complainants in rape cases are derided, ridiculed and scrutinized in cross-examinations.
WATCH: Former CBC radio host Jian Ghomeshi faces sexual assault charges.
“There is some empirical evidence to suggest that we all continue to think on the basis of certain outdated social assumptions,” Craig said — that a women’s sex life, the amount of alcohol she drank or the way she was dressed indicate her likelihood of consenting to sex.
That tussle over credibility will likely be on full display during the trial of former CBC radio host Jian Ghomeshi, who is charged on four counts of sexual assault and one of overcome resistance – choking. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
In many sex assault cases, what’s at issue is not so much whether the activity took place but whether it was consensual. The case will then rest on whose story the judge believes.
READ MORE: Why don’t women report rape? Because most get no justice when they do
When is a judge’s intervention ‘inappropriate’?
The persistence of specious stereotypes in the way we perceive consent, coercion and sexual violence was on display in the commentary of Alberta Justice Robin Camp, who asked a sexual assault complainant why she hadn’t kept her knees together.
But while that’s a somewhat extreme case, skepticism toward rape accusations and scrutiny of accusers is hardly unique.
Last year an Alberta trial judge stopped a defence counsel from using a complainant’s alleged drug use and purportedly flirtatious behaviour to diminish her credibility — behaviour the judge called “unnecessarily confrontational” and “out of hand” — only to have the defendant’s conviction overturned by the Alberta Court of Appeal on the grounds that the judge’s interjections were unfair.
Interrupting the defence counsel’s questions about whether the woman had been flirting, drinking or high on marijuana was “inappropriate,” “amounted to advocacy on behalf of the Crown,” and “deprived the appellant of the possibility of using this point to test it the complainant’s credibility,” the ruling said.
Justice Russell Brown, one of the two judges behind that majority decision, was appointed to the Supreme Court in July.
(Full disclosure: One of the other judges in that case is related to this reporter. She gave a dissenting opinion in R v. Schmaltz. She does not discuss her work.)
Craig worries that judicial rebuke and overturned conviction will make judges think twice before intervening in an aggressive cross-examination.
“The Schmaltz case … has the potential to dis-incentivise trial judges from taking reasonable and appropriate measures to protect complainants from unnecessarily aggressive cross examination.”
JIAN GHOMESHI TRIAL: What you need to know as the trial begins
An effective defence
None of this is to say that lawyers for people accused of rape shouldn’t mount strenuous, principled defences.
“Certainly I’ve read transcripts where defence counsel engaged in an effective cross examination, where their client was acquitted, where credibility of the complainant was at issue and they managed to impugn or attack that credibility without engaging in bullying cross-examination.”
Margaret Bojanowska, a Toronto-based criminal defence lawyer who specializes in sexual assault cases, says she’ll zero in on inconsistencies in a complainant’s story, rather than her clothing or character.
“If you’re meticulous, you will find there’s inconsistencies.”
She’s also wary of having her line of questioning “shot down” by judges.
“I try to stay away from the stereotypes: If the Crown doesn’t object, stop me from asking those questions, then most judges will,” she said.
“I can’t ask questions like, ‘Were you wearing a short skirt?’ Because it doesn’t matter. I’ll get shot down immediately.”
Substance use is a legitimate line of questioning as it pertains to a story’s reliability, both Craig and Bojanowska said.
The alcohol you drank or the drugs you consumed could be relevant in determining how well you can remember a sequence of events — but not in questioning your ethics or promiscuity.
“A judge would want to know if a complainant was intoxicated,” Bojanowska said.
So how do you maintain robust defences without victimizing victims?
Shield laws were supposed to help: Put in place in 1992, they preclude lawyers from using a person’s sexual history to demean, humiliate or intimidate her. (You are allowed to use it for other purposes.)
Canada’s affirmative definition of consent, formally adopted in 1998, also means that not saying “No” doesn’t mean a person consented to sex.
And judges can deem certain evidence or lines of questioning irrelevant to the case.
But Craig also thinks defence lawyers have an ethical obligation not to “whack” complainants.
“Defendants in Canada don’t have a constitutional right to every defence possible. They don’t have a constitutional right to trade in stereotypes.”
READ MORE: ‘I needed to know it wasn’t my fault’
The cost of the status quo
Not changing the atmosphere has impacts beyond the individuals on the stand, Craig said: Fear of being pilloried, of not being believed, can make survivors of assault reluctant to come forward at all.
“We do have data that suggests one of the main reasons women don’t report sexual assault is fear of the criminal justice process. And that would include fear of being wacked on the stand,” Craig said.
“I think that’s a legitimate concern.”
And we know they don’t come forward: 23 per cent of sexual assault charges in 2011-12 adult criminal court resulted in a guilty verdict, according to Statistics Canada.
And that’s only the cases that go to trial. Many, many more never make it that far.
Women reported being victims of 472,000 sexual assaults in 2009, according to Statistics Canada’s General Social Survey; men, 204,000. Yet police-reported crime statistics for that year show barely 21,000 incidents of sexual assault, and 7,951 persons charged.
In its efforts to change that, Ontario has launched a pilot program that provides legal aid to prepare sexual assault complainants for trial. “Lots of complainants think the Crown is their lawyer,” Craig said. But it isn’t.
(Bojanowska, for her part, is “not sure a complainant actually needs his or her own lawyer.”)
Pursuing justice following a sexual assault can be arduous under the best circumstances: You’ll tell your story at least four times — to a sexual assault nurse, to police, to a preliminary inquiry, to court — before the defence’s cross-examination begins.
“By the time they’re cross-examined, they’ve already given four statements about what’s happened over the course of several years,” Craig said.
“Imagine trying to remember — was is three beers, or four? Were your panties pink, or were they yellow?”
Craig would also like to see better education for judges — on substantive sex laws as well as social mores.
“The bottom line is that we still operate in a context where the legacy of disbelief of those who allege sexual violation continues to inform our responses,” she said.
“So that’s a big challenge.”
WATCH: Ghomeshi trial preview |
A while ago, fan art from BossLogic showed what Rosario Dawson would look like as Ahsoka Tano – and when this was brought to the actress’s attention, she commented that she’d love to play the character if such an opportunity arose. Now, it’s come to light that Dawson’s continued her campaign to portray the character and is in full support of online fans who are pushing for Lucasfilm to give her such an opportunity.
Dawson recently had an appearance on Good Morning America to promote her upcoming thriller Unforgettable. During the show, the subject of Marvel Comics came up due to her involvement as Claire Temple in all of the Netflix shows – and while she was on the subject of Disney’s genre entertainment, she brought up a little bit on Star Wars: that she’s still interested in playing Ahsoka if Lucasfilm are looking to use the character in a movie.
In case you missed it, here’s the BossLogic fan art showing what Dawson would look like as Ahsoka between The Clone Wars and Rebels that piqued her interest in the character:
The door is certainly open for Ahsoka to make another appearance past Rebels, but it doesn’t seem like another movie announcement is immediately on the cards considering that they opted not to reveal so much as a date for the third Anthology film. Assuming that Ahsoka lives (and make no mistake, she’s still alive) into or after the Original Trilogy era, one could make the case that you could have Dawson portray the character at that age since their ages match up around that point. Having her play Ahsoka before then on the timeline would be a harder sell from a visual standpoint (as you’d have to get into the whole Dawson’s Creek problem where you’ve got an adult portraying a teenage/young adult character), but there’s more room to tell a story with the character there. Either way, we at SWNN would love to see Dawson portray this character in live-action as long as she’s got Ashley Eckstein’s blessing.
Grant has been a fan of Star Wars for as long as he can remember, having seen every movie on the big screen. When he’s not hard at work with his college studies, he keeps himself busy by reporting on all kinds of Star Wars news for SWNN and general movie news on the sister site, Movie News Net. He served as a frequent commentator on SWNN’s The Resistance Broadcast.
Click HERE to check out and comment on this topic in our forum The Cantina |
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
The United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is predicting that the national debt of the US will double in 10 years. Meanwhile, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has raised its forecast of the 10-year cumulative budget deficit to US$7.137 trillion, due to increased spending. Both offices released reports on Tuesday.
"Over all, it underscores the dire fiscal situation that we inherited and the need for serious steps to put our nation back on a sustainable fiscal path," wrote Peter R. Orszag, President Barack Obama's budget director.
"I know that there will be some who say this report proves that we cannot afford health reform. I think that has it backward," Orszag said in a conference call.
The CBO report predicts that public debt will exceed 61% of gross domestic product (GDP) by the end of 2010 while continuing to rise to 68% of GDP by the end of 2019.
"If anyone had any doubts that this burden on future generations is unsustainable, they're gone," said Senator Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader.
"Today's budget numbers send a clear signal that the time for putting off tough choices is over and the time to act is now," said the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, Kent Conrad.
"While the U.S. health care system does need to be reformed, we cannot ignore the fiscal realities of our situation," said Senator Judd Gregg who is also on the Senate Budget Committee. "We must proceed with extreme caution before putting in place a huge and costly new program that will threaten our economy and the future of our children."
"The administration has always said that you have to get deficits under 3 percent of GDP to be safe. They now admit that they will not in the next 10 years," commented Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a former director of the CBO. "I'm stunned at how hard they have worked to bury this."
Sources |
Kiryas Joel, NY - The Satmar Rebbe, Rabbi Aron Teitelbaum, spoke out today in Kiryas Joel against several ongoing controversies swirling around the Charedi draft, including Charedim serving in the army and near-daily protests that continue to shut down the streets of Jerusalem frequently.
The Satmar Rebbe’s words came Monday morning after Shacharis and he noted that while Satmar forbids military service, it has never been the Satmar way for Chasidim to simply not register for the army. Instead, for decades Charedim have followed an established protocol that had them exempted from the army when they came to register.
“This was done during the time of the Divrei Yoel,” said Rabbi Teitelbaum, referring to Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum, known to be a fierce critic of Israel and its military. “Despite the Divrei Yoel’s opposition to the State of Israel, his talmidim always went to register for the army. Reb Yoel never saw this as an act of zealotry or as expressing his approval of Zionism.”
Listen below to the full speech
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The Rabbi noted that, the practice still continues today, and there is an organization that works closely with Charedim to help them receive their military exemption once they register for the army.
But a new group that has broken with that long standing tradition and are instead encouraging Charedim to shut down city streets with regular protests. the Rabbi said.
“These people are not zealots,” said Rabbi Teitelbaum. “They are newcomers who have no understanding of how to fight against the Zionists. We have waged war against the Zionists for more than 60 years but have never seen this kind of lawlessness and chaos. The citizens of Jerusalem are living terribly difficult lives because of these people, and there is no one taking responsibility and authorizing this type of disruptive behavior.”
Demonstrators have continued to wreak havoc in Jerusalem in recent weeks, with protesters attempting to disrupt the Jerusalem marathon, a large event that drew 25,000 runners and thousands of spectators. Police also clashed with Charedim who hung IDF soldiers in effigy on Purim as previously reported on VIN News (http://bit.ly/2noHO4o).
Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men clash with Israeli police officers during a protest against the arrest of a Jewish seminary students who failed to comply with a recruitment order, near the army recruiting office in Jerusalem, March 27, 2017. Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90
“People need to go to learn and to work, and entire roadways are impassable because of the protests,” said Rabbi Teitelbaum. “A woman who is giving birth cannot get to the hospital. These actions are irresponsible and cause every resident of Jerusalem to suffer. There is no excuse for this type of behavior.”
Problems that affect the Charedi community are not unique to Israel, explained the Satmar Rebbe, noting that the recent issues that have arisen in regard to metzitzah b’peh have created enormous tension in New York.
“Yet it has never occurred to anyone to shut down the streets of Williamsburg in protest,” said Rabbi Teitelbaum. “It would be easy to create chaos by shutting down the streets in New York City but no one would ever do it, yet in Jerusalem they do. Who is allowing this? It is unacceptable.”
The Satmar Rebbe also noted that he is very troubled by a recent increase in Charedi enrollment in the army. He reiterated Satmar’s long standing opposition to military service and called on Charedi rabbonim to speak out strongly against joining the IDF.
Faced with these issues, Rabbi Teitelbaum called for Monday to be a day of prayer and urged his followers to pray for the draft to be annulled and for the violence and disruption to end, but made it clear that he in no way supported those who have been promoting disruptive protests.
“Our prayers today should not in any way be considered as an approval of the actions of these misguided zealots and their divisive riots,” said Rabbi Teitelbau. “Violence is not our way.” |
Thousands more people could be saved from cancer if some areas were quicker at diagnosing patients - and Kent and Medway are in the bottom 25% when it comes to speed.
An investigation by Cancer Research UK looked at data across England in 2012 and 2013, and whether various strands of the disease were diagnosed early – at stage one or two – or late, at stage three or four.
Kent and Medway came in 21st out of 25 regions across the whole country. Almost 48% of cancer patients were diagnosed late. That is equivalent to 5,506 people.
A cancer patient is being checked over in hospital. iStock image.
According to the cancer charity, if Kent and Medway has diagnosis rates that matched the South West - which is the best in the country - 772 of those people would have caught the disease and started treatment earlier.
The difference between a late and early diagnosis is frequently the difference between life and death, and if all regions in the country matched up with Bath, Gloucestershire, Swindon and Wiltshire 20,000 more people could benefit from a greater chance of survival.
Data graphic, showing the best and worst places for diagnosing cancer patients.
Sara Hiom, director of early diagnosis at Cancer Research UK, said: “Wherever you live, an early diagnosis of cancer will give you more treatment options and a better chance of survival. So it’s unacceptable to see such variation across England.
“It’s not easy to make sure that all cancer patients are diagnosed as early as possible, but it’s vitally important.”
Dr Jodie Moffat at Cancer Research UK, added: “We don’t know for sure why there’s such variation across England and it’s likely that a lot of factors are coming into play. These might include patients not going to their doctor as early as they could with possible cancer symptoms, and GPs sometimes failing to suspect cancer or not referring patients for diagnostic tests promptly.”
Doctor checks for signs of a brain tumour. iStock image/
Councillor Teresa Murray, health spokeswoman for the Medway Labour group said: “Health inequalities data has long shown that Medway is behind the south east in particular and the rest of the UK more widely when it comes to the prevalence of heart disease and cancer so this new research is really disappointing because it shows that the improvements we need are not being made fast enough.
“This is also a red warning light for the potential damage that forthcoming cuts to public health will cause. Timely cancer diagnosis depends on people being able to recognise warning signs in their own body and before that get the crucial support they need to prevent the illness in the first place by making lifestyle changes such as stopping smoking or improved diet with increased exercise.
Cllr Teresa Murray
“People in Medway deserve better as cancer treatment improves I want those I represent to feel reassured they will get the right diagnosis and access to treatment before it’s too late. I will ask for this item to be added to the work programme for the Medway Health and Adults scrutiny committee so that we can understand exactly what’s going wrong in Medway.”
Medway’s head of health Cllr David Brake, Kent County Council, Medway Maritime Hospital and the Medway CCG have been approached for a comment. |
SEN. FERDINAND Marcos Jr.’s camp said they would not delay the proclamation of presumptive President-elect Rodrigo Duterte but indicated they were preparing for the long haul to contest the vice presidential vote count during the official canvassing of votes in Congress.
Jose Amorado, a lawyer for Marcos, said the senator was counting on being allowed to conduct a system audit of the central and transparency servers of the Commission on Elections before the official canvassing starts on Wednesday.
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Marcos is contesting the results of the unfinished unofficial quick count of the vice presidential votes, which showed Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo leading him by 219,127 votes.
“We remain hopeful the Comelec will grant our demand to open the automated election system to audit because I am sure the Comelec would want to uncover the truth in the unauthorized script change in the transparency server,” Amorado said in a statement yesterday.
He was referring to the script change introduced by system provider Smartmatic during the transmission of votes on the night of May 9.
The Marcos camp had speculatively linked the script change to Robredo overtaking him in the quick count of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) and media outlets based on the mirror transparency servers.
According to Smartmatic’s explanation to Comelec, they changed the script of the transparency server to correct the spelling of candidates’ names with the letter “ñ” since the character came out as “?” in the system.
Marcos’ chief counsel George Garcia Jr. raised the possibility they would prolong the official canvass even as he said they would not delay Duterte’s proclamation as president-elect.
He said Marcos would never be a “hindrance to a speedy canvass and immediate proclamation of our new president.” With a report from Jeannette I. Andrade
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How do you get rid of fruit flies?
Recently, I've been suffering from a fruit fly invasion of impressive magnitude. And despite a few attempts at ridding myself of these flies, I haven't been able to get things under control. I'll swat and kill as many flies as I can see, but still the next time I turn around there are even more flies gently fluttering about my kitchen, in what I can only assume is some sort of fruit fly taunting ritual. How are there more? I've even begun to fear that these are possibly zombie fruit flies, returned from the dead to haunt my dreams and attack my organic bananas. I'm scared. Okay, I'm not really scared, but it is driving me a little crazy.
That's why I was so pleased to see this new TreeHugger Video Tip sent in from Jonathan over at Chelsea Green. If you don't have them or you already know how to kill fruit flies, this tip may not be new to you, but I wanted to share it for those that may be unaware. In the video, he shares a simple method he uses to rid himself of pesky fruit flies. More on his method and our other TreeHugger TIps after the jump.To kill fruit flies, Johnathan uses a simple mixture of some common household ingredients.
TreeHugger Tip: How-To Kill Fruit Flies
1. Combine the following in a small cup or dish.
1 part water
1 part Apple Cider Vinegar
2 or 3 drops of dish soap
2. Place cup and mixture near your fruit.3. Head outside for a nice bike ride or walk4. Return later to find your flies resting peacefully dead at the bottom of the cup.5. Show the cup to the younger fruit flies as a lesson to think twice before messing with you.
Joking aside, what's good about this is that it isn't requiring any toxic chemicals or some plastic mass-produced contraption designed to catch the flies. It's a good solution with a limited impact compared to other options.
Jonathan says the water is just used so you don't need as much cider vinegar and the way it works is that the scent of the cider attracts them and the small amount of soap helps soften surface tension of the water so the flies sink.
I think I'll give this method a try!
Do you have any tips like this? If so, participate in our TreeHugger Tips series by sending in your own video explaining what it is you do that is good for the environment. And if you're new to this series, be sure to view all of our previous TreeHugger Video Tips.
More on How to Green Your Kitchen
More on Getting Rid of Insects
Eco-Tip: How to Get Rid of Insects? Bats!
Natural Mosquito Repellents
Bats Helps Eat Bugs on Shade-Grown Organic Coffee Farm |
Markets Weekly is a weekly column analyzing price movements in the global blockchain token markets. This edition looks at the week from 3rd through 9th December.
The price of ether extended recent losses this week, falling to its lowest in more than nine months.
Over the seven-day period, the blockchain token declined to as little as $5.98 on 6th December, its lowest price since late February. This figure, which beat the previous nine-month low set the previous day, represented a 22.9% decline from the cryptocurrency’s opening price of $7.76 on 3rd December.
The continued struggles faced by the digital currency are now translating into frustration for traders and market influencers.
“The novelty is wearing off,” said Tim Enneking, chairman of cryptocurrency hedge fund EAM.
Enneking argued that ether, despite its original hype, is simply behaving as most blockchain tokens historically have, riding high on a “flavor of the month effect” before tapering off.
Enneking told CoinDesk:
“The major ones are greeted with acclaim, skyrocket and then plunge to earth. Look at Zcash and, further back, Litecoin. All the same thing.”
Fading star
That the price of the protocol’s token is sputtering is perhaps not surprising. As a technology, ethereum has run into numerous challenges of late, undergoing several hard forks and one network split in 2016.
Most recently, ethereum underwent a hard fork (a technical change during which all of its users have to opt in to a new version of the blockchain) in an attempt to make it easier for developers to remove the after-effects of an attack.
Then, only a few days later, the platform suffered a mini fork when two of its clients, Geth and Parity, failed to implement the latest hard fork the same way.
Petar Zivkovski, director of operations for leveraged bitcoin trading platform Whaleclub, summed the platform’s situation up by calling its growth “lackluster”.
“Recent events [have] majorly undermined its attractiveness to new money and new developers,” he told CoinDesk.
Amid the challenges, ether prices have been experiencing “a long, downward trend,” said algorithmic trader Jacob Eliosoff.
Yet, he stressed that the recent dip below $6 was only temporary, as ether prices surpassed $8 on 7th December and reached a weekly high of $8.86 the following day, CoinMarketCap data shows.
Bitcoin remains buoyant
But while ether has recovered over the last few days, bitcoin continually exceeded $770 during the week, putting the digital currency firmly within reach of surpassing its annual high of $781.31.
At the time of reporting, bitcoin prices had reached as much as $772.47 in the past seven days, according to BPI figures.
Both Zivkovski and Enneking credited China and India with helping fuel these price gains – the former nation provoking the concern of its citizens by imposing capital controls and repeatedly taking steps to devalue the yuan.
While such macroeconomic events helped drive bitcoin prices higher, the digital currency also benefited from growing enthusiasm, Zivkovski told CoinDesk.
There has been “a spike in interest in bitcoin around the world and an unprecedented transfer of wealth from altcoins to bitcoin”, he said, adding:
“This indicates that investors in cryptocurrency do not feel they’ve been rewarded well for the risk they’ve taken investing in altcoins over the past few years and are now looking for a less risky (albeit still risky) alternative.”
In spite of the digital currency’s resilience, Eliosoff provided a cautionary note, emphasizing that he is unsure who exactly is purchasing bitcoin at its recent values.
“My guess is the usual, Chinese investors seeking store-of-value, but if there’s data to support it their Indian counterparts may be playing a role too,” he told CoinDesk.
Bullish sentiment
Even though bitcoin has been repeatedly nearing its annual high, there is evidence that traders are rather bullish about the digital currency’s future prospects.
The market has been more than 80% long in the 30-day, 60-day and 90-day periods through 9th December, Whaleclub data reveals. The market has been particularly bullish over the last week, as it was 88% long during the seven days through 9th December.
“In aggregate, the average holding time for long positions has almost tripled in the past three months alone,” said Zivkovski.
He said:
“This indicates that traders see little downside and have a longer bullish time horizon with respect to bitcoin.”
He added that, while there are bearish wagers, these bets are more rare. “We do see large shorts come in occasionally, but they are held almost 25 times less time than longs.”
As bitcoin continues to obtain greater adoption, this growing acceptance could combine with heavily bullish sentiment to fuel some impressive gains.
Wilting flowers image via Shutterstock |
When a fuccboi takes off his New Era snapback hat and settles into bed for a night’s rest, his thoughts go so many places. He wonders when the next Supreme will drop and if he’ll be ready. He wonders why Four Pins had to end. He wonders if his look is starting to skew too health goth, or if he’s swirled it all with the right amount of Biebs. Finally, as the fuccboi drifts off to sleep, his imagination takes him to the happiest place he can ever dream of: Fuccboi Heaven.
Today I went to that Fuccboi Heaven, otherwise known as Madison Square Garden, where Kanye West debuted his collection for Yeezy Season 3 and played all the songs from his yet-to-be-dropped album. A blessed event, indeed. And I stood on the floor among the fuccbois in their hypebeast garments, Supreme hats, perfectly positioned knit beanies, Thrasher hoodies, and limited-edition this and thats. I swayed and bopped with them as they listened to Kanye West’s The Life of Pablo, as they praised his genius, brilliance, and fire tracks (not really the clothes). I got the contact high of the fuccboiphoria they felt from being among the first 20,000 people (by Yeezy’s estimate) to hear TLOP and buy merch that nobody else can get — the highest of highs.
I know what this heaven looks like. Let me describe it to you, though I may not have to, for in Fuccboi Heaven there is a crystal-clear livestream that never has to buffer, so you probably saw it already.
In Fuccboi Heaven, every Kardashian-Jenner, from Kris and Caitlyn down to North, is there to greet you at the pearly gates, wearing kustom white Balmain ensembles that Olivier Rousteing lovingly designed for them. (He’s there, too. In heaven, fuccbois can finally get some Balmain.) Archangel Naomi Campbell is there. As is Lamar Odom, because what heaven would ever leave Lamar Odom out in the cold. And Donda, she’s there, too, as an angel riding a Pegasus in video-game form. This is not something we question, because who questions miracles.
Welcome to Fuccboi Heaven. Let us show you to your room. Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
In Fuccboi Heaven, Kanye is god — all fuccbois were made in his image, after all. It is because of Kanye they can wear tight jeans. And, yes, while Carine Roitfeld and Anna Wintour and Jaden Smith and Waris all sit in the stands, it is the fuccboi who gets to be closest to Yeezus at his altar, the DJ booth. It is the fuccboi who gets to stand in the orbit closest to YeezSun, with A$AP Rocky and Jay Z and 2 Chainz and Tyga and a lot of blunts. While the models might be the most devoted, fastidiously following all the rules Yeezy has set, it is the fuccboi, the one who waited three hours in line to cop some Yeezy Boosts, who gets to stand close enough to touch the hem of Kanye’s garment as he passes through the crowd.
In Fuccboi Heaven, there is dancing, even though the music is almost too loud to decipher. It’s the cool type of dancing, where nobody sweats or messes up their perfect Macklemore undershave. They just bob along to Kanye’s songs, and they already know all the words.
There is also the word of Kanye, who speaks for what feels like hours and hours, mostly about Kanye. Who rallies his children, the fuccbois, with talk of … I’m still not sure what. But when he calls, his fuccbois respond. When he asks them to cheer, they cheer. And when he asks them to chant “Fuck Nike,” they try. Yeezus knows they try. But when they look down at their limited-edition Jordans they spent hours on eBay to win, they can only remain silent. Even for Father Kanye, even for a spot in heaven, a fuccboi could never take the name of Nike in vain. |
Update 11:25 a.m. Sunday: Those claiming to be demonstrators on social media say they will gather at 2 p.m. Sunday at Portland International Airport to continue protesting President Trump's ban. Social media reports include a Facebook events page.
Update 8:45 a.m. Sunday: A Port of Portland spokesman, Steve Johnson, said port officials are unaware of any passengers who were detained at Portland International Airport Saturday as part of the president's executive order.
Dozens of demonstrators marched Saturday afternoon in and around the main terminal at Portland International Airport to protest President Donald Trump's order barring all refugees from entering the United States for four months.
They chanted: "Say it loud, say it clear, refugees are welcome here" and "No ban, no wall, America is for us all." Many carried signs, some read: "Detain Trump," "Don't Normalize Hate" and "Let them in."
Lucia Martinez organized the march a few hours before after hearing from friends in New York that people were being detained at airports across the country. She sent out a tweet about the march on Saturday afternoon.
The protest briefly shut down the MAX line to the airport, but TriMet said it was running again with delays.
We are broadcasting live from PDX where approximately 50 people are demonstrating in support of immigrants. Posted by The Oregonian on Saturday, January 28, 2017
All operations at the airport are normal, Port of Portland spokesman Steve Johnson said Saturday evening.
Several police officers watched the peaceful demonstration but didn't intervene as people marched down stairs and by ticket gates inside and on sidewalks by cars dropping off and picking up travelers outside. The protest began with about two dozen people but swelled to around 100 at one point.
As they marched, several travelers at the airport joined them, marching alongside the crowd with their suitcases in tow, Martinez said.
On her way home, she ran into a man who was an immigrant from Iraq, she said. He said his friend, also an Iraq native, went to visit Saudi Arabia. Now, he told her, he was afraid he might not see him again.
"It's precisely for people like that that we speak up," Martinez said. "So they don't give up hope and they know they are wanted here."
Trump's order immediately suspended a program that last year resettled to the U.S. roughly 85,000 people displaced by war, political oppression, hunger and religious prejudice.
He indefinitely blocked all those fleeing Syria, where a civil war has displaced millions of people, and imposed a 90-day ban on entry to the U.S. from seven Muslim majority nations: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
Thousands of protesters also converged at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York where 12 refugees were detained Saturday under the order.
Later Saturday evening, a federal judge blocked deportations nationwide of those detained on entry to the country.
-- Mike Zacchino and Samantha Matsumoto of The Oregonian/OregonLive and wire reports |
NEW YORK—Insisting that if the young street musician doesn’t apply himself more, he’ll never work his way up to a good busking spot in Times Square, local mother Rita Skolnick reportedly told her son Wednesday to “go upstairs right now” and get to practicing his buckets. “When you begged me to get you those buckets, you promised you’d practice an hour every day, and now they just sit there collecting dust,” Skolnick shouted at her son Tyler, 15, pointing at a pair of white plastic buckets in the corner of his room. “You should be setting aside a solid block of time every afternoon to sit down and practice your buckets. That’s the only way you’re going to get better.” Sources confirmed that half an hour later, Skolnick again yelled at her son when she went into his room and found him sitting on one of his buckets and playing video games.
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Sean Payton continues to beat that drum.
After insisting all last season that he never planned to leave New Orleans, the longtime Saints coach reiterated his commitment to the team and city this week.
"The grass isn't always greener at some spots. I've heard that talk about, you're approaching 10 years, for me it's nine, 10 for our program," Payton said, per The Times-Picayune. "And yet, it's different now. Players transition much quicker, and so, I don't feel like I'm sitting in front of the same team that maybe that you had five or six years ago."
Said Payton: "I like this locker room, I like the way we finish. And I love New Orleans. So, there was that period of, 'Hey, this is where I see myself finishing.'"
Whether or not you buy it, Payton came on strong about why the Saints remain a better fit for his services than elsewhere.
"Aside from the great things in our city, I'd also say our structure," Payton said of the franchise. "Ownership, front office, general manager, head coach."
As Gregg Rosenthal mentioned on the Around the NFL Podcast this week, team structure, ownership and franchise stability are more important than ever in the NFL. We previously pegged Payton as a candidate to test the coaching waters, but his actions speak louder: He's not giving up on the Saints. |
NEW DELHI: Acting on a tip-off given by a Military Intelligence Unit of J&K, the Andhra Pradesh Police on Wednesday unearthed three illegal VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) exchanges in Vijayawada area and arrested seven people.Three "sim boxes", more than 230 sim cards, laptops, desktop computers and other peripherals have been seized. More arrests are likely.According to police, the facilities were being exploited by intelligence operatives from Pakistan for making calls to security personnel in J&K to acquire sensitive information from them by posing as senior army officials."Earlier this month, an intelligence pertaining to suspicious illegal VoIP exchanges being run in Gunadala area of Vijayawada was shared with us. It was learnt that these exchanges enabled callers from other countries call an Indian numbers by hiding their identity and showing some Indian numbers to their receivers instead," said a senior cop.According to cops, the calls were made using VoIP technology through the internet and converted into regular telecom calls (using a modem like device called sim box and illegally procured SIM cards). They were then routed to the desired Indian number in the guise of a legitimate telecom call from another Indian number.This potent modus operandi was adapted to make the security personnel believe that the caller is an Indian.The inputs were further developed by Andhra Pradesh Police with assistance from local TERM Cells.The state police could soon detect hundreds of illegal SIM cards being used, locate the illegal facilities and identify the individuals involved.They further could identify and locate the kingpin who was running these exchanges along with others established even outside the state. Suitable leads were obtained and multiple simultaneous raids were planned in Vijayawada."It is belived that these facilities were also used for monetary fraudulent activities. Apart from being a security concern such exchanges cause huge financial loss to the exchequer by providing an illegal alternative to other recognised means of making international calls to India," the officer added.Earlier this year, illegal VoIP exchanges were unearthed in UP, MP, Telangana, Maharashtra and Odisha. These exchanges were being exploited by foreign spy agencies to target security personnel apart from being used by various fraudsters. |
NEW DELHI: The BJP is set to retain power in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and unseat the Congress in Rajasthan. But in Delhi the party is locked in a neck-and-neck race with the Congress, which could end up in a hung assembly, according to a Times Now-CVoter poll.If the projections hold, they would come as a massive psychological boost to Narendra Modi and the BJP just months ahead of the Lok Sabaha elections of 2014. They would also mean an impressive debut for the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party, which is estimated to win seven of Delhi’s 70 assembly seats.According to the poll, which surveyed close to 39,000 people across the four states, the BJP could end up with 30 seats in Delhi, six short of a majority. With the Congress estimated to win 29 and AAP seven, that could well end in a situation where no government can be formed as AAP is unlikely to support either Congress or BJP.In Madhya Pradesh, the poll suggests the BJP is poised to win quite comfortably despite the BJP having been in power for a decade. It projects 130 seats for the Shivraj Chauhan-led party in the 230-member assembly, leaving the Congress a distant second at 84.In Rajasthan too, the BJP is predicted to gain a decisive verdict, picking up 118 seats in the 200-member House. The Congress is estimated to win a mere 64 seats, with BSP and others winning the remaining 18.In Chhattisgarh, the BJP seems to be somewhat less securely placed but with the poll predicting it will win 47 of the 90 seats, it could win a majority though a smaller one than in 2008.The BSP, the poll suggests, will make its presence felt in each of the four state except Chhattisgarh, but in each case it will be only a marginal player, winning two seats in the national capital, three in Rajasthan and five in Madhya Pradesh. |
They seem to be hung up on what worked for the team in the 1992 World Cup, not realising that the rest of the world has moved past those strategies
Fawad Alam, a batsman who effectively rotates the strike, is not in the World Cup squad © AFP
England's success in the 1966 World Cup went against everything English football had stood for till then. In the '50s, the stars of the game had been big burly centre- forwards and tricky wingers who played a major role in making football the most popular game in the country.
And yet, a dozen years on, for Sir Stanley Matthews' finest hour, England won the World Cup with a formation that would become the norm in the land: the 4-4-2 with side-midfielders instead of the old-fashioned wing-forwards. That team came to be known as "the wingless wonders". England won because they decided to innovate and move with the times.
But the irony is that in the following half-century they have continued indulging in the unhealthy obsession of that 4-4-2 formation. What was once a great innovation has been stuck to religiously even as the rest of the world has moved on.
I have been reminded of this repeatedly over the past fortnight or so as the Pakistani team begin their long journey to the World Cup with a plethora of corporate events, invitational dinners and press conferences. Every answer to a question, every explained strategy, every nod towards inspiration references 1992. Pakistan's greatest hour hangs above each of the country's World Cup teams like Damocles' sword, with that achievement getting bigger with each passing year. Every answer seems to be along the lines of "We will do as we did in 1992" - a strategy most often evoked by the team management, several of whom were part of the squad at the time.
But much like England and its football, the world has passed Pakistan by while they continue to stick with what worked in 1992.
One of the things repeatedly stated over the past few days is that the openers will need to provide a "stable platform". The strategy still seems to be to consolidate for 35 overs before going berserk. Few players better encapsulate the problems with an out-of-date mentality quite like Pakistan's first-choice openers - Ahmed Shehzad and Mohammad Hafeez.
Pakistan's problem, at least with these two, isn't their inability to stay at the crease or to hit boundaries - they do that at pretty much the going rate in international cricket. But if your boundary runs are still just south of half your batting average and your stay at the crease isn't that dissimilar to the rest, why are you so much worse than the others?
Openers' runs in boundaries in ODIs Batsman Runs in boundaries per innings Average Strike rate Ball per innings Ahmed Shehzad 17.4 34.8 72.0 47.5 Mohammad Hafeez 14.5 30.9 73.1 39.9 Tillakaratne Dilshan 15.3 38.6 85.7 38.5 David Warner 16.5 33.3 85.1 39.1 Quinton de Kock 21.5 43.6 88.4 47.8 Shane Watson 18.4 40.6 89.8 38.3 Moeen Ali 18.9 34.1 109.7 31.1 Shikhar Dhawan 23.0 45.5 90.9 46.9 Rohit Sharma 14.2 37.9 81.0 38.6 Chris Gayle 21.0 37.3 84.4 41.4 Hashim Amla 20.8 53.1 88.3 56.0
The problem for Pakistan is the same as it was four years ago, and will remain the same four years from now - dot balls. The complete ignorance of the need to rotate strike, or the perils of overlooking those capable of it (see Alam, Fawad), is one of the least talked-about problems in cricket circles in the country.
Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq will, rightfully, get a lot of blame when they launch their tuk-tuk in the middle overs, but as has been shown on this site before, Pakistan's middle overs are still better off in this regard than the start of their innings.
The problems not only start at the very top but are exacerbated by the personnel there. It is something that Salman Butt, Imran Farhat, Nasir Jamshed and every other opener in Pakistan has been guilty of. In the age when 50 and 90 (average of 50, strike rate of 90) is the yardstick to define world-class batsmen, Pakistan haven't had a single opener since Saeed Anwar who has even come close to getting to 40 and 80, let alone the higher standard of the modern game.
In trying to create clones of Anwar, everyone seems to have forgotten a basic tenet that made him great - his ability to keep the scoreboard ticking at will. Anwar was doing 40 and 80 in an era when only the very best came close to that mark. Yet all those who have followed him have failed to reach his standards even as conditions and rules have become easier.
Pakistan was one of the first teams to follow the Sri Lanka-led trend of attacking from the top. Anwar was one of the genuine greats of the game in the '90s, and everyone but the Pakistanis has learnt from him. And his aren't the only lessons Pakistan have forgotten.
Javed Miandad was one of the first batsmen to have milked the middle overs, and Pakistan, in the '80s and '90s, was a team filled with bowling allrounders who could make it rain in the death overs. Everything that once made Pakistan great is no longer there, and there is very little chance that this will change.
The recently concluded Pentangular Cup provided a window to the cures that can fix Pakistan right now. The only opener who seemed capable of rotating the strike was Baluchistan Warriors' Sami Aslam (although he is already being labelled as someone who is unable to hit boundaries), and the only bowling allrounder to succeed with the bat was Sindh's Anwar Ali (192 runs at a strike rate of 126.31), whose quality has been pretty obvious to those who have watched him over the past 18 months in international cricket.
But Pakistan need three good matches in Australia and New Zealand, three good knockout games, and all will be forgotten. On such fine margins are the legacies of entire generations based.
Hassan Cheema is a sports journalist, writer and commentator, and co-hosts the online cricket show Pace is Pace Yaar. @mediagag
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd. |
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EU leaders agreed last month to take in 60,000 people over the next two years but on a voluntary basis after many member states objected strongly to proposed mandatory quotas.
The figures comprise 40,000 Syrian and Eritrean asylum-seekers already in Europe who will be redistributed across the 28-nation bloc plus another 20,000 Syrians in camps overseas.
French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve and his German counterpart Thomas De Maiziere announced that France would take 9,100 and Germany 12,100.
The two countries had a duty "to offer a dignified welcome to those with refugee status," Cazeneuve said.
At the same time, the countries had set conditions to ensure "that what we are doing out of solidarity (with other EU states) will be sustainable."
He said it was essential that reception points for migrants be beefed up to ensure that genuine asylum seekers are clearly separated out from economic migrants who will be returned home.
Disagreements remain among EU nations over how to share responsibility for the refugees and asylum seekers. Spain and Austria did not want to announce on Thursday what their contribution to the effort would be, European sources said.
De Maiziere told reporters in Luxembourg "there are some countries which have problems with the concept and are afraid it will only encourage" more migrants.
Italy, Greece and Malta have borne the brunt of the migrant influx and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has repeatedly urged his European Union peers to do much more to ease the burden.
At the late June leaders summit, Renzi was said to have lashed out at his colleagues after mandatory quotas were rejected, reportedly saying that "If that is your idea of Europe, you can keep it!"
EU president Donald Tusk, a former Polish premier whose country opposed the mandatory quota system, said after the summit that member states would submit their voluntary offers by mid-July.
More than 140,000 migrants have crossed the Mediterranean so far this year, most of them landing in Italy, Greece and Malta.
Thousands more have crossed by land, many reaching Hungary which said last month it would build a four-metre (13-foot) high fence along its border with Serbia to keep them out. |
SPICA may be parting ways for now, but that doesn’t mean it has to be forever.
The members recently uploaded a handwritten letter on each of their Instagram accounts, talking about supposedly disbanding and leaving their current agency, CJ E&M.
It started off by apologizing for how shocked everyone must have been when they suddenly about SPICA’s reported disbandment over the news, and explained that they wanted to clarify how this decision was made.
“After much consideration about the direction we wanted to go from now on, we decided to focus on our individual activities for now and were discussing with our current agency about cancelling our contracts,” the singers revealed. “As for the current situation, we can’t tell you exactly when SPICA will be together as five again, but we wanted to tell that this is absolutely! not the end [for us].”
The girl group asked that everyone supports all the members in their respective activities, and reiterated that the memories they made with their fans made them extremely happy and inexplicably thankful. Promising fans that the group will always be there for them, whether they’re together or apart, the group signed off one more time as SPICA.
Hopefully, they will come together as five again in the future!
*A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Kim Bohyung wrote this letter on her own. |
Apple launched a repair program a couple of weeks ago for iPhone 6s owners who have been experiencing unexpected shutdown of their devices due to battery fault. Not everyone with an iPhone 6s is having issues and Apple have now created a web tool were you can simply add your device serial number and see if it’s affected. If you are eligible then you will receive a free battery replacement.
To find out head on over to the website for Apple iPhone 6s program. To find your serial number go to Settings > General > About. “If your iPhone 6s has any damage such as a cracked screen which impairs the replacement of the battery, that issue will need to be resolved prior to the battery replacement. In some cases, there may be a cost associated with the repair.”
To prepare your iPhone 6s for the battery replacement process, follow the steps below: |
The gaunt, slight-framed boy is all buttoned down in his going-to-court blazer and navy trousers. Sitting alongside his lawyer, he swivels absentmindedly in his chair, the picture of youthful innocence.
Mitchell Wilson, who had muscular dystrophy, committed suicide last year at age 11. His parents say he was never the same after he was mugged in November 2010 by an older student at his Pickering school, and had been bullied by other students at the school. ( FAMILY PHOTO )
Thirteen years old but looking much younger. In court Monday morning, his side — the defence — lost the legal battle. If I may say so — and I can, because this is a judge-alone trial, which permits more latitude in characterizing evidence before a verdict is rendered — it’s difficult to see them losing the war. Oral and written statements made by the 11-year-old who’d fingered this accused as one of his two attackers in a sidewalk mugging were ruled admissible at trial. Justice Mary Teresa Devlin concluded those utterances rose to the level of “reliability,’’ thus invoking an exception to the use of hearsay evidence in court.
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Hearsay is pretty much all the Crown had left in prosecuting charges of robbery and assault causing bodily harm. Mitchell Wilson was the victim. But the lad, despondent over his physical deterioration from muscular dystrophy and tormented by bullies, committed suicide last September. He tied a plastic bag around his head. His father, Craig Wilson, made the ghastly discovery upon entering Mitchell’s room to rouse him for school on what would have been his first day in Grade 6. The previous day, Mitchell had received a subpoena commanding him to appear as a witness in court against the youth whose buddies had hounded Mitchell at school for the entire previous year, taunting and jeering him for pursuing the matter. It is unknown how much that hectoring, the bullying, contributed to Mitchell’s depression and the terrible decision he made to take his own life. This was a resilient kid who’d watched his mother succumb to cancer only three years earlier, then was diagnosed with the muscle-atrophying condition a year after that. Yet he’d maintained his emotional equilibrium, his cheerful disposition, through all the hardships, until the afternoon a couple of punks jumped him from behind, smashed his face into the pavement, two front teeth chipped, and robbed him of the iPhone he’d borrowed from his father. That assault made him feel weak and vulnerable. This is Craig Wilson describing his son Monday: “He was just like every other kid, you know? He just wanted to have fun and be liked by his siblings. Just live life and smile and have fun and be a jokester, do all the stupid crap that kids do. He wanted to be a normal kid like everybody else and he couldn’t be. But damn, he tried.’’
With Mitchell’s suicide, the case against the defendant, his identity protected by the Youth Criminal Justice Act, nearly collapsed. The victim was no longer alive to take the stand so that his allegations could be tested, his account of events probed, and, most crucially, his ID of the one individual arrested challenged under cross-examination. There was only his word: “Utterances’’ made to his stepmother, to police, to school officials, and the statement he’d signed, with no supporting audiotape or videotape secured by investigators. Devlin agreed to hear arguments on the admissibility of that evidence in a voir dire — a trial within a trial — with five witnesses summoned. Hearsay evidence, she wrote, is “presumptively inadmissible’’ because it deprives the court from hearing testimony from a sworn witness, from observing the demeanour of that witness, and having the evidence tested through cross-examination.
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But there were extraordinary circumstances here and the law allows for exceptions at a judge’s discretion. The criterion, as established by the Supreme Court: “That sufficient trust can be put in the truth and accuracy of the statements because of the way in which they came about, or by showing that in the circumstances, the ultimate trier of fact will be in a position to sufficiently assess their worth.’’ Mitchell had described the assault to an officer on the day it happened, Nov. 1, 2010. That officer told court last week Mitchell, though shaken and upset, seemed “very bright and very articulate for a 10-year-old boy.’’ Const. Colin Campbell, from Durham Region’s street-level robbery unit, followed up with Mitchell two days later, walking with him over the route he’d taken on the afternoon he was set upon. Mitchell, who used a walker at school, stubbornly continued taking lengthy strolls every day around his Pickering neighbourhood, to maintain his mobility skills. It was during this walk that he’d stopped to call home on his iPhone, inquiring what stepmom Tiffany Usher was making for dinner, just as he was passing by a group of youths standing outside a townhouse complex. Two of those boys, he believed, had then followed him, attacking from behind so that he never saw it coming, then rummaging through his pockets as he lay bleeding and stealing the phone. Usher, who happened to be driving past, saw the two youths attacking a child but didn’t realize until turning around to take a closer look that the victim was Mitchell. She pursued the two assailants — one of them tossed the phone back at her — but they both got away. On Nov. 3, Usher returned Mitchell to school following the police walk-through. They were entering the principal’s office just as another boy was exiting. Mitchell said to his stepmother: “Mom, he’s one of them.’’ Presented with class photos, Mitchell picked out the boy from pictures taken in two different years. “For sure the one,’’ he told Usher. When Campbell arrived at the school an hour later, Mitchell confirmed he was “100 per cent’’ certain of the identification. Campbell wrote a “verbatim’’ statement that Mitchell signed. All of that evidence was accepted on Monday by Devlin. Mitchell was given his voice in court. No further evidence was called by either the Crown or the defence and Devlin has reserved her verdict to March 5. “That was the biggest thing,’’ Craig Wilson said afterwards. “To know that the words he put to paper are going to be read in court as evidence. When he’s not there, they’ll stand.’’ It must be stressed, however, that the threshold of believability — proof beyond reasonable doubt — is higher at trial than in a voir dire hearing assessing reliability for admissibility of evidence. Devlin can say yes to the former, as she did, and no to the latter, when rendering a verdict. Proof beyond a reasonable doubt is at the heart of any trial. And there is significant room for doubt here. In his initial conversation with the first responding officer, Const. Susan Dubois, Mitchell could provide only a general description of his attackers: One taller and heavier, the other (the defendant) smaller and lighter, both black. He did not recognize them. Indeed, because both boys had worn their collars and hoodies up, he’s seen only a small portion of their faces. Further, his father told reporters Monday that Mitchell had no history with the accused; that boy had not bullied his son. There seems no argument Mitchell correctly identified the boy in those classroom photos as the youth who’d brushed past him in the school office. But had he been one of his assailants? It is not a small technicality. Another boy’s fate hangs in the balance. The irrefutable evidence doesn’t appear to be there. Mitchell did not die in vain. His tragedy and this trial have helped illuminate the plague of school bullying. “It seems like after this story broke, this was an underlying problem all over the province, all over Canada,’’ says Craig Wilson. “So, if this story brought more of it to light, that it’s going to make that kind of thing stop, yeah, it’s a good thing, for sure.’’ Whatever the outcome, that will be the legacy of sweet Mitchell Wilson. |
Moscow (UPI) Jul 5, 2013 - A premature launch may have caused the recent failure of a Proton-M rocket and the loss of three satellites, a Russian space industry source told RIA Novosti.
The source, requesting anonymity, said a special commission was investigating why the rocket carrying three Glonass navigation satellites veered off course and exploded shortly after launch Tuesday from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan.
Several possible scenarios are being investigated, the source said.
"One of them is that, for yet unknown reasons, an early start took place and resulted in the failure. The control system treated it [the early start] as an emergency situation ... and started to divert the rocket away from the launch pad, to a safer distance, just the way it was programmed.
"This version [of events] now prevails," the source said, adding other possibilities are also being carefully studied.
The incident was the second unsuccessful launch of a Proton-M rocket carrying satellites for Russia's flagship Glonass GPS system in the last 3 years, RIA Novosti said. |
It's a case that won't - and some say shouldn't - go away.
Five and a half years after some $80,000 worth of marijuana mysteriously disappeared from the Dracut police station, officials are still trying to determine who took it. Recently, several officers were ordered to take lie detector tests to help determine whether any of them could be linked to the missing drugs.
Local officials say the case has caused the town embarrassment, giving the impression that police have been unable or unwilling to solve the crime and that they might even have been involved in it.
"It gives the town a black eye," said Robert Cox, chairman of the Dracut Board of Selectmen.
At the same time, some say it's important to get at the truth.
"We need to come to some understanding of the truth, whether the police were involved or not - hopefully not," said Dracut Selectman George Malliaros, who first called for the lie-detector tests to be administered.
The probe is infuriating police union officials, who say it's time for it to end so officers can return to focusing on their work.
"I think everybody's had about enough of this investigation," said Anthony L. Archinski, regional vice president of New England Police Benevolent Association, the local police union's parent organization. "I think productivity has come to a screeching halt."
Instead of the probe to identify culprits, Archinski said, the town should call in an independent fact-finder to determine whether the theft could have been prevented and whether any police policies or procedures were violated.
Archinski, who retired as a lieutenant from the Dracut Police Department at the end of last year, having also served as local police union head, said the department's leaders are trying to swing the spotlight from what he deems their failure to properly secure the stash.
He said the marijuana, confiscated from suspects in a drug case, was being kept in a padlocked outdoor storage container in the back of the old police station on Lakeview Avenue. The new police station has adequate secure storage for confiscated evidence.
"The administration needs to stand up and take responsibility for it," Archinski said.
Dracut Police Chief Kevin M. Richardson and Deputy Chief David Chartrand did not return phone calls seeking comment about the missing marijuana and the investigation.
This is the third time officials have tried to determine what happened, having come up dry the previous two attempts. As the latest probe unfolds, townspeople are shaking their heads in wonder, says Cox.
"For the taxpayers, it's been a coffee table conversation no matter where you go," he said. "They're saying, 'What happened? How come nothing has transpired?"'
While Cox understands the union's viewpoint, he also says the situation has been difficult for Richardson, who was appointed chief in 2005, two years after the crime, but still feels obligated to pursue the investigation. |
What Is Clean Code?
By Robert C. Martin
Date: Aug 19, 2008
Sample Chapter is provided courtesy of Prentice Hall.
Return to the article
Robert C. Martin introduces his book, Clean Code, and polls experienced programmers -- including Bjarne Stroustrup, Grady Booch, Dave Thomas, and Ward Cunningham -- on what their definition of "Clean Code" is.
You are reading this book for two reasons. First, you are a programmer. Second, you want to be a better programmer. Good. We need better programmers.
This is a book about good programming. It is filled with code. We are going to look at code from every different direction. We'll look down at it from the top, up at it from the bottom, and through it from the inside out. By the time we are done, we're going to know a lot about code. What's more, we'll be able to tell the difference between good code and bad code. We'll know how to write good code. And we'll know how to transform bad code into good code.
There Will Be Code
One might argue that a book about code is somehow behind the times—that code is no longer the issue; that we should be concerned about models and requirements instead. Indeed some have suggested that we are close to the end of code. That soon all code will be generated instead of written. That programmers simply won't be needed because business people will generate programs from specifications.
Nonsense! We will never be rid of code, because code represents the details of the requirements. At some level those details cannot be ignored or abstracted; they have to be specified. And specifying requirements in such detail that a machine can execute them is programming. Such a specification is code.
I expect that the level of abstraction of our languages will continue to increase. I also expect that the number of domain-specific languages will continue to grow. This will be a good thing. But it will not eliminate code. Indeed, all the specifications written in these higher level and domain-specific language will be code! It will still need to be rigorous, accurate, and so formal and detailed that a machine can understand and execute it.
The folks who think that code will one day disappear are like mathematicians who hope one day to discover a mathematics that does not have to be formal. They are hoping that one day we will discover a way to create machines that can do what we want rather than what we say. These machines will have to be able to understand us so well that they can translate vaguely specified needs into perfectly executing programs that precisely meet those needs.
This will never happen. Not even humans, with all their intuition and creativity, have been able to create successful systems from the vague feelings of their customers. Indeed, if the discipline of requirements specification has taught us anything, it is that well-specified requirements are as formal as code and can act as executable tests of that code!
Remember that code is really the language in which we ultimately express the requirements. We may create languages that are closer to the requirements. We may create tools that help us parse and assemble those requirements into formal structures. But we will never eliminate necessary precision—so there will always be code.
Bad Code
I was recently reading the preface to Kent Beck's book Implementation Patterns.1 He says, ". . . this book is based on a rather fragile premise: that good code matters. . . ." A fragile premise? I disagree! I think that premise is one of the most robust, supported, and overloaded of all the premises in our craft (and I think Kent knows it). We know good code matters because we've had to deal for so long with its lack.
I know of one company that, in the late 80s, wrote a killer app. It was very popular, and lots of professionals bought and used it. But then the release cycles began to stretch. Bugs were not repaired from one release to the next. Load times grew and crashes increased. I remember the day I shut the product down in frustration and never used it again. The company went out of business a short time after that.
Two decades later I met one of the early employees of that company and asked him what had happened. The answer confirmed my fears. They had rushed the product to market and had made a huge mess in the code. As they added more and more features, the code got worse and worse until they simply could not manage it any longer. It was the bad code that brought the company down.
Have you ever been significantly impeded by bad code? If you are a programmer of any experience then you've felt this impediment many times. Indeed, we have a name for it. We call it wading. We wade through bad code. We slog through a morass of tangled brambles and hidden pitfalls. We struggle to find our way, hoping for some hint, some clue, of what is going on; but all we see is more and more senseless code.
Of course you have been impeded by bad code. So then—why did you write it?
Were you trying to go fast? Were you in a rush? Probably so. Perhaps you felt that you didn't have time to do a good job; that your boss would be angry with you if you took the time to clean up your code. Perhaps you were just tired of working on this program and wanted it to be over. Or maybe you looked at the backlog of other stuff that you had promised to get done and realized that you needed to slam this module together so you could move on to the next. We've all done it.
We've all looked at the mess we've just made and then have chosen to leave it for another day. We've all felt the relief of seeing our messy program work and deciding that a working mess is better than nothing. We've all said we'd go back and clean it up later. Of course, in those days we didn't know LeBlanc's law: Later equals never.
The Total Cost of Owning a Mess
If you have been a programmer for more than two or three years, you have probably been significantly slowed down by someone else's messy code. If you have been a programmer for longer than two or three years, you have probably been slowed down by messy code. The degree of the slowdown can be significant. Over the span of a year or two, teams that were moving very fast at the beginning of a project can find themselves moving at a snail's pace. Every change they make to the code breaks two or three other parts of the code. No change is trivial. Every addition or modification to the system requires that the tangles, twists, and knots be "understood" so that more tangles, twists, and knots can be added. Over time the mess becomes so big and so deep and so tall, they can not clean it up. There is no way at all.
As the mess builds, the productivity of the team continues to decrease, asymptotically approaching zero. As productivity decreases, management does the only thing they can; they add more staff to the project in hopes of increasing productivity. But that new staff is not versed in the design of the system. They don't know the difference between a change that matches the design intent and a change that thwarts the design intent. Furthermore, they, and everyone else on the team, are under horrific pressure to increase productivity. So they all make more and more messes, driving the productivity ever further toward zero. (See Figure 1-1.)
The Grand Redesign in the Sky
Eventually the team rebels. They inform management that they cannot continue to develop in this odious code base. They demand a redesign. Management does not want to expend the resources on a whole new redesign of the project, but they cannot deny that productivity is terrible. Eventually they bend to the demands of the developers and authorize the grand redesign in the sky.
A new tiger team is selected. Everyone wants to be on this team because it's a green-field project. They get to start over and create something truly beautiful. But only the best and brightest are chosen for the tiger team. Everyone else must continue to maintain the current system.
Now the two teams are in a race. The tiger team must build a new system that does everything that the old system does. Not only that, they have to keep up with the changes that are continuously being made to the old system. Management will not replace the old system until the new system can do everything that the old system does.
This race can go on for a very long time. I've seen it take 10 years. And by the time it's done, the original members of the tiger team are long gone, and the current members are demanding that the new system be redesigned because it's such a mess.
If you have experienced even one small part of the story I just told, then you already know that spending time keeping your code clean is not just cost effective; it's a matter of professional survival.
Attitude
Have you ever waded through a mess so grave that it took weeks to do what should have taken hours? Have you seen what should have been a one-line change, made instead in hundreds of different modules? These symptoms are all too common.
Why does this happen to code? Why does good code rot so quickly into bad code? We have lots of explanations for it. We complain that the requirements changed in ways that thwart the original design. We bemoan the schedules that were too tight to do things right. We blather about stupid managers and intolerant customers and useless marketing types and telephone sanitizers. But the fault, dear Dilbert, is not in our stars, but in ourselves. We are unprofessional.
This may be a bitter pill to swallow. How could this mess be our fault? What about the requirements? What about the schedule? What about the stupid managers and the useless marketing types? Don't they bear some of the blame?
No. The managers and marketers look to us for the information they need to make promises and commitments; and even when they don't look to us, we should not be shy about telling them what we think. The users look to us to validate the way the requirements will fit into the system. The project managers look to us to help work out the schedule. We are deeply complicit in the planning of the project and share a great deal of the responsibility for any failures; especially if those failures have to do with bad code!
"But wait!" you say. "If I don't do what my manager says, I'll be fired." Probably not. Most managers want the truth, even when they don't act like it. Most managers want good code, even when they are obsessing about the schedule. They may defend the schedule and requirements with passion; but that's their job. It's your job to defend the code with equal passion.
To drive this point home, what if you were a doctor and had a patient who demanded that you stop all the silly hand-washing in preparation for surgery because it was taking too much time?2 Clearly the patient is the boss; and yet the doctor should absolutely refuse to comply. Why? Because the doctor knows more than the patient about the risks of disease and infection. It would be unprofessional (never mind criminal) for the doctor to comply with the patient.
So too it is unprofessional for programmers to bend to the will of managers who don't understand the risks of making messes.
The Primal Conundrum
Programmers face a conundrum of basic values. All developers with more than a few years experience know that previous messes slow them down. And yet all developers feel the pressure to make messes in order to meet deadlines. In short, they don't take the time to go fast!
True professionals know that the second part of the conundrum is wrong. You will not make the deadline by making the mess. Indeed, the mess will slow you down instantly, and will force you to miss the deadline. The only way to make the deadline—the only way to go fast—is to keep the code as clean as possible at all times.
The Art of Clean Code?
Let's say you believe that messy code is a significant impediment. Let's say that you accept that the only way to go fast is to keep your code clean. Then you must ask yourself: "How do I write clean code?" It's no good trying to write clean code if you don't know what it means for code to be clean!
The bad news is that writing clean code is a lot like painting a picture. Most of us know when a picture is painted well or badly. But being able to recognize good art from bad does not mean that we know how to paint. So too being able to recognize clean code from dirty code does not mean that we know how to write clean code!
Writing clean code requires the disciplined use of a myriad little techniques applied through a painstakingly acquired sense of "cleanliness." This "code-sense" is the key. Some of us are born with it. Some of us have to fight to acquire it. Not only does it let us see whether code is good or bad, but it also shows us the strategy for applying our discipline to transform bad code into clean code.
A programmer without "code-sense" can look at a messy module and recognize the mess but will have no idea what to do about it. A programmer with "code-sense" will look at a messy module and see options and variations. The "code-sense" will help that programmer choose the best variation and guide him or her to plot a sequence of behavior preserving transformations to get from here to there.
In short, a programmer who writes clean code is an artist who can take a blank screen through a series of transformations until it is an elegantly coded system.
What Is Clean Code?
There are probably as many definitions as there are programmers. So I asked some very well-known and deeply experienced programmers what they thought.
Bjarne Stroustrup, inventor of C++ and author of The C++ Programming Language
I like my code to be elegant and efficient. The logic should be straightforward to make it hard for bugs to hide, the dependencies minimal to ease maintenance, error handling complete according to an articulated strategy, and performance close to optimal so as not to tempt people to make the code messy with unprincipled optimizations. Clean code does one thing well.
Bjarne uses the word "elegant." That's quite a word! The dictionary in my MacBook® provides the following definitions: pleasingly graceful and stylish in appearance or manner; pleasingly ingenious and simple. Notice the emphasis on the word "pleasing." Apparently Bjarne thinks that clean code is pleasing to read. Reading it should make you smile the way a well-crafted music box or well-designed car would.
Bjarne also mentions efficiency—twice. Perhaps this should not surprise us coming from the inventor of C++; but I think there's more to it than the sheer desire for speed. Wasted cycles are inelegant, they are not pleasing. And now note the word that Bjarne uses to describe the consequence of that inelegance. He uses the word "tempt." There is a deep truth here. Bad code tempts the mess to grow! When others change bad code, they tend to make it worse.
Pragmatic Dave Thomas and Andy Hunt said this a different way. They used the metaphor of broken windows.3 A building with broken windows looks like nobody cares about it. So other people stop caring. They allow more windows to become broken. Eventually they actively break them. They despoil the facade with graffiti and allow garbage to collect. One broken window starts the process toward decay.
Bjarne also mentions that error handing should be complete. This goes to the discipline of paying attention to details. Abbreviated error handling is just one way that programmers gloss over details. Memory leaks are another, race conditions still another. Inconsistent naming yet another. The upshot is that clean code exhibits close attention to detail.
Bjarne closes with the assertion that clean code does one thing well. It is no accident that there are so many principles of software design that can be boiled down to this simple admonition. Writer after writer has tried to communicate this thought. Bad code tries to do too much, it has muddled intent and ambiguity of purpose. Clean code is focused. Each function, each class, each module exposes a single-minded attitude that remains entirely undistracted, and unpolluted, by the surrounding details.
Grady Booch, author of Object Oriented Analysis and Design with Applications
Clean code is simple and direct. Clean code reads like well-written prose. Clean code never obscures the designer's intent but rather is full of crisp abstractions and straightforward lines of control.
Grady makes some of the same points as Bjarne, but he takes a readability perspective. I especially like his view that clean code should read like well-written prose. Think back on a really good book that you've read. Remember how the words disappeared to be replaced by images! It was like watching a movie, wasn't it? Better! You saw the characters, you heard the sounds, you experienced the pathos and the humor.
Reading clean code will never be quite like reading Lord of the Rings. Still, the literary metaphor is not a bad one. Like a good novel, clean code should clearly expose the tensions in the problem to be solved. It should build those tensions to a climax and then give the reader that "Aha! Of course!" as the issues and tensions are resolved in the revelation of an obvious solution.
I find Grady's use of the phrase "crisp abstraction" to be a fascinating oxymoron! After all the word "crisp" is nearly a synonym for "concrete." My MacBook's dictionary holds the following definition of "crisp": briskly decisive and matter-of-fact, without hesitation or unnecessary detail. Despite this seeming juxtaposition of meaning, the words carry a powerful message. Our code should be matter-of-fact as opposed to speculative. It should contain only what is necessary. Our readers should perceive us to have been decisive.
"Big" Dave Thomas, founder of OTI, godfather of the Eclipse strategy
Clean code can be read, and enhanced by a developer other than its original author. It has unit and acceptance tests. It has meaningful names. It provides one way rather than many ways for doing one thing. It has minimal dependencies, which are explicitly defined, and provides a clear and minimal API. Code should be literate since depending on the language, not all necessary information can be expressed clearly in code alone.
Big Dave shares Grady's desire for readability, but with an important twist. Dave asserts that clean code makes it easy for other people to enhance it. This may seem obvious, but it cannot be overemphasized. There is, after all, a difference between code that is easy to read and code that is easy to change.
Dave ties cleanliness to tests! Ten years ago this would have raised a lot of eyebrows. But the discipline of Test Driven Development has made a profound impact upon our industry and has become one of our most fundamental disciplines. Dave is right. Code, without tests, is not clean. No matter how elegant it is, no matter how readable and accessible, if it hath not tests, it be unclean.
Dave uses the word minimal twice. Apparently he values code that is small, rather than code that is large. Indeed, this has been a common refrain throughout software literature since its inception. Smaller is better.
Dave also says that code should be literate. This is a soft reference to Knuth's literate programming.4 The upshot is that the code should be composed in such a form as to make it readable by humans.
Michael Feathers, author of Working Effectively with Legacy Code
I could list all of the qualities that I notice in clean code, but there is one overarching quality that leads to all of them. Clean code always looks like it was written by someone who cares. There is nothing obvious that you can do to make it better. All of those things were thought about by the code's author, and if you try to imagine improvements, you're led back to where you are, sitting in appreciation of the code someone left for you—code left by someone who cares deeply about the craft.
One word: care. That's really the topic of this book. Perhaps an appropriate subtitle would be How to Care for Code.
Michael hit it on the head. Clean code is code that has been taken care of. Someone has taken the time to keep it simple and orderly. They have paid appropriate attention to details. They have cared.
Ron Jeffries, author of Extreme Programming Installed and Extreme Programming Adventures in C#
Ron began his career programming in Fortran at the Strategic Air Command and has written code in almost every language and on almost every machine. It pays to consider his words carefully.
In recent years I begin, and nearly end, with Beck's rules of simple code. In priority order, simple code: Runs all the tests; Contains no duplication; Expresses all the design ideas that are in the system; Minimizes the number of entities such as classes, methods, functions, and the like.
Of these, I focus mostly on duplication. When the same thing is done over and over, it's a sign that there is an idea in our mind that is not well represented in the code. I try to figure out what it is. Then I try to express that idea more clearly.
Expressiveness to me includes meaningful names, and I am likely to change the names of things several times before I settle in. With modern coding tools such as Eclipse, renaming is quite inexpensive, so it doesn't trouble me to change. Expressiveness goes beyond names, however. I also look at whether an object or method is doing more than one thing. If it's an object, it probably needs to be broken into two or more objects. If it's a method, I will always use the Extract Method refactoring on it, resulting in one method that says more clearly what it does, and some submethods saying how it is done.
Duplication and expressiveness take me a very long way into what I consider clean code, and improving dirty code with just these two things in mind can make a huge difference. There is, however, one other thing that I'm aware of doing, which is a bit harder to explain.
After years of doing this work, it seems to me that all programs are made up of very similar elements. One example is "find things in a collection." Whether we have a database of employee records, or a hash map of keys and values, or an array of items of some kind, we often find ourselves wanting a particular item from that collection. When I find that happening, I will often wrap the particular implementation in a more abstract method or class. That gives me a couple of interesting advantages.
I can implement the functionality now with something simple, say a hash map, but since now all the references to that search are covered by my little abstraction, I can change the implementation any time I want. I can go forward quickly while preserving my ability to change later.
In addition, the collection abstraction often calls my attention to what's "really" going on, and keeps me from running down the path of implementing arbitrary collection behavior when all I really need is a few fairly simple ways of finding what I want.
Reduced duplication, high expressiveness, and early building of simple abstractions. That's what makes clean code for me.
Here, in a few short paragraphs, Ron has summarized the contents of this book. No duplication, one thing, expressiveness, tiny abstractions. Everything is there.
Ward Cunningham, inventor of Wiki, inventor of Fit, coinventor of eXtreme Programming. Motive force behind Design Patterns. Smalltalk and OO thought leader. The godfather of all those who care about code.
You know you are working on clean code when each routine you read turns out to be pretty much what you expected. You can call it beautiful code when the code also makes it look like the language was made for the problem.
Statements like this are characteristic of Ward. You read it, nod your head, and then go on to the next topic. It sounds so reasonable, so obvious, that it barely registers as something profound. You might think it was pretty much what you expected. But let's take a closer look.
". . . pretty much what you expected." When was the last time you saw a module that was pretty much what you expected? Isn't it more likely that the modules you look at will be puzzling, complicated, tangled? Isn't misdirection the rule? Aren't you used to flailing about trying to grab and hold the threads of reasoning that spew forth from the whole system and weave their way through the module you are reading? When was the last time you read through some code and nodded your head the way you might have nodded your head at Ward's statement?
Ward expects that when you read clean code you won't be surprised at all. Indeed, you won't even expend much effort. You will read it, and it will be pretty much what you expected. It will be obvious, simple, and compelling. Each module will set the stage for the next. Each tells you how the next will be written. Programs that are that clean are so profoundly well written that you don't even notice it. The designer makes it look ridiculously simple like all exceptional designs.
And what about Ward's notion of beauty? We've all railed against the fact that our languages weren't designed for our problems. But Ward's statement puts the onus back on us. He says that beautiful code makes the language look like it was made for the problem! So it's our responsibility to make the language look simple! Language bigots everywhere, beware! It is not the language that makes programs appear simple. It is the programmer that make the language appear simple!
Schools of Thought
What about me (Uncle Bob)? What do I think clean code is? This book will tell you, in hideous detail, what I and my compatriots think about clean code. We will tell you what we think makes a clean variable name, a clean function, a clean class, etc. We will present these opinions as absolutes, and we will not apologize for our stridence. To us, at this point in our careers, they are absolutes. They are our school of thought about clean code.
Martial artists do not all agree about the best martial art, or the best technique within a martial art. Often master martial artists will form their own schools of thought and gather students to learn from them. So we see Gracie Jiu Jistu, founded and taught by the Gracie family in Brazil. We see Hakkoryu Jiu Jistu, founded and taught by Okuyama Ryuho in Tokyo. We see Jeet Kune Do, founded and taught by Bruce Lee in the United States.
Students of these approaches immerse themselves in the teachings of the founder. They dedicate themselves to learn what that particular master teaches, often to the exclusion of any other master's teaching. Later, as the students grow in their art, they may become the student of a different master so they can broaden their knowledge and practice. Some eventually go on to refine their skills, discovering new techniques and founding their own schools.
None of these different schools is absolutely right. Yet within a particular school we act as though the teachings and techniques are right. After all, there is a right way to practice Hakkoryu Jiu Jitsu, or Jeet Kune Do. But this rightness within a school does not invalidate the teachings of a different school.
Consider this book a description of the Object Mentor School of Clean Code. The techniques and teachings within are the way that we practice our art. We are willing to claim that if you follow these teachings, you will enjoy the benefits that we have enjoyed, and you will learn to write code that is clean and professional. But don't make the mistake of thinking that we are somehow "right" in any absolute sense. There are other schools and other masters that have just as much claim to professionalism as we. It would behoove you to learn from them as well.
Indeed, many of the recommendations in this book are controversial. You will probably not agree with all of them. You might violently disagree with some of them. That's fine. We can't claim final authority. On the other hand, the recommendations in this book are things that we have thought long and hard about. We have learned them through decades of experience and repeated trial and error. So whether you agree or disagree, it would be a shame if you did not see, and respect, our point of view.
We Are Authors
The @author field of a Javadoc tells us who we are. We are authors. And one thing about authors is that they have readers. Indeed, authors are responsible for communicating well with their readers. The next time you write a line of code, remember you are an author, writing for readers who will judge your effort.
You might ask: How much is code really read? Doesn't most of the effort go into writing it?
Have you ever played back an edit session? In the 80s and 90s we had editors like Emacs that kept track of every keystroke. You could work for an hour and then play back your whole edit session like a high-speed movie. When I did this, the results were fascinating.
The vast majority of the playback was scrolling and navigating to other modules!
Bob enters the module.
He scrolls down to the function needing change.
He pauses, considering his options.
Oh, he's scrolling up to the top of the module to check the initialization of a variable.
Now he scrolls back down and begins to type.
Ooops, he's erasing what he typed!
He types it again.
He erases it again!
He types half of something else but then erases that!
He scrolls down to another function that calls the function he's changing to see how it is called.
He scrolls back up and types the same code he just erased.
He pauses.
He erases that code again!
He pops up another window and looks at a subclass. Is that function overridden?
. . .
You get the drift. Indeed, the ratio of time spent reading vs. writing is well over 10:1. We are constantly reading old code as part of the effort to write new code.
Because this ratio is so high, we want the reading of code to be easy, even if it makes the writing harder. Of course there's no way to write code without reading it, so making it easy to read actually makes it easier to write.
There is no escape from this logic. You cannot write code if you cannot read the surrounding code. The code you are trying to write today will be hard or easy to write depending on how hard or easy the surrounding code is to read. So if you want to go fast, if you want to get done quickly, if you want your code to be easy to write, make it easy to read.
The Boy Scout Rule
It's not enough to write the code well. The code has to be kept clean over time. We've all seen code rot and degrade as time passes. So we must take an active role in preventing this degradation.
The Boy Scouts of America have a simple rule that we can apply to our profession.
Leave the campground cleaner than you found it.5
If we all checked-in our code a little cleaner than when we checked it out, the code simply could not rot. The cleanup doesn't have to be something big. Change one variable name for the better, break up one function that's a little too large, eliminate one small bit of duplication, clean up one composite if statement.
Can you imagine working on a project where the code simply got better as time passed? Do you believe that any other option is professional? Indeed, isn't continuous improvement an intrinsic part of professionalism?
Prequel and Principles
In many ways this book is a "prequel" to a book I wrote in 2002 entitled Agile Software Development: Principles, Patterns, and Practices (PPP). The PPP book concerns itself with the principles of object-oriented design, and many of the practices used by professional developers. If you have not read PPP, then you may find that it continues the story told by this book. If you have already read it, then you'll find many of the sentiments of that book echoed in this one at the level of code.
In this book you will find sporadic references to various principles of design. These include the Single Responsibility Principle (SRP), the Open Closed Principle (OCP), and the Dependency Inversion Principle (DIP) among others. These principles are described in depth in PPP.
Conclusion
Books on art don't promise to make you an artist. All they can do is give you some of the tools, techniques, and thought processes that other artists have used. So too this book cannot promise to make you a good programmer. It cannot promise to give you "code-sense." All it can do is show you the thought processes of good programmers and the tricks, techniques, and tools that they use.
Just like a book on art, this book will be full of details. There will be lots of code. You'll see good code and you'll see bad code. You'll see bad code transformed into good code. You'll see lists of heuristics, disciplines, and techniques. You'll see example after example. After that, it's up to you.
Remember the old joke about the concert violinist who got lost on his way to a performance? He stopped an old man on the corner and asked him how to get to Carnegie Hall. The old man looked at the violinist and the violin tucked under his arm, and said: "Practice, son. Practice!"
Bibliography
[Beck07]: Implementation Patterns, Kent Beck, Addison-Wesley, 2007.
[Knuth92]: Literate Programming, Donald E. Knuth, Center for the Study of Language and Information, Leland Stanford Junior University, 1992. |
Harvey and Peggy Koeppel did their research before putting their house on the market earlier this year. They checked with real-estate brokers, researched neighborhood sale history, placed ads in all the right places.
And they listed their three-bedroom apartment with sweeping views of the Hudson River, high ceilings, and hardwood floors for a broker-recommended price of $2.85 million. They figured, like almost every apartment in New York, and certainly every apartment in Manhattan, that it would attract a throng of interest, and probably a few offers after an open house, some of them even above the asking price.
Instead, nothing. The open house was a bust. The flood of would-be buyers was a trickle. No offers came through. So the Koeppels cut the price by $55,000.
Still nothing.
Now the only thing they can figure wrong with their apartment is the name on the front of the building: Trump Place.
“The number of people who have even come to look at this place is shockingly low,” Harvey Koeppel said. “It is horrific to be caught up in this maelstrom.”
In a little more than a week, the Trump political phenomenon will have more than likely run its course. The reality TV star will return to New York, and the Republican Party will be left sorting through the wreckage.
But for families like the Koeppels, and thousands of others across the country whose most significant financial asset is inextricably linked with the Trump name, the fallout from the 2016 campaign is very much a contested subject. Will a defeated Trump slink off of the national stage, his name little more than a footnote to history, someone who through a confluence of factors (an abnormally large Republican field, a certain facility with modern media) managed to sneak his way into the nomination?
Or will the Trump name live on beyond 2016 and become synonymous with a certain kind of snarling nativism, demagoguery, and racial resentment. Will Trump be remembered as Michael Dukakis, in other words, or Father Coughlin?
For the residents of Trump Place, or for that matter Trump Parc and Trump Plaza and Trump Plaza Residences New Jersey and Trump Tower in the suburbs of Westchester, this is the $2.85 million question (or in many cases, much much more.) Who, after all, would be in the market for an apartment in Joseph McCarthy Court, or George Wallace Gardens, no matter how good the views or lacquered the hardwood floors?
At Trump Place, a series of architecturally charmless properties on the far West Side of Manhattan just below Riverside Park, residents say they are going to be watching the aftermath of the election more closely than ever with an eye toward what it means for their portfolios.
Already, a petition to have the Trump name removed from the building has garnered 80 signatures out of the 400 or so units across the properties. Backers of the name change say the number is artificially low because many apartment owners in the complex are foreign and rarely make an appearance in the building, so much so that the condo board has been unable to convene a quorum to address the measure.
“This is a very emotional situation for people, but the only thing that should matter is the economics of it,” said one building resident, a corporate attorney who, fearful of Trump’s capacity for retribution, asked that his name not be used. “There was a time when the brand meant something positive. I don’t know that that can ever be the case again.”
Trump built Trump Place after battling New York City lawmakers in the 1980s and 1990s—he called one fierce opponent of the project, councilwoman Ronnie Eldridge, “second-rate in just about every way,” and “a woman that doesn’t have a great grasp of finance or anything else.” When he went through bankruptcy in the 1990s, Trump sold the buildings to Chinese investors, who later sold their stake to the Carlyle Group and Extell Properties. (A spokesperson for the Trump campaign declined to comment.)
And so residents say that taking the Trump name down would merely accurately reflect the building’s status.
Still, they are aware that doing so would likely cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and possibly ignite a lawsuit in retaliation from Trump.
“There are some people who would very much like to have the name taken off, but the condo board has been pushing back,” said Michael Raskob, a 10-year resident of the building. “The name is unfortunately now associated with a number of ideas that are not very appealing. We tell people it is just a name on the building but it can be embarrassing.”
Although Trump no longer owns the buildings, the Trump Organization still is charged with managing them. That arrangement means that residents of the buildings are still putting money into the reality star’s pockets. But so far there is no movement under way to switch management companies at the properties, according to residents.
“It is a fantastically run building,” added another resident, also an attorney, who expressed being torn about removing the name.
“My visceral reaction is let’s get it off of there. But what is the process? How many lawyers do we need? How much will it cost? I don’t want to bankrupt the building in the process. Trump shouldn’t have that much control over what we do.”
The presidential campaign has already left its mark on other Trump-branded entities. A similar petition effort is under way at the Trump Place rental properties just south of the condo buildings. Bookings are down 60 percent at Trump hotels and the Trump Organization recently announced that a line of new hotels would now come out under a different moniker.
But a condo building is different. It is easy to cancel a hotel reservation, or even rent an apartment elsewhere. A home is for most people their biggest single investment, and a difficult one to offload.
And the residential sales market is slow-moving, so as of yet there is no real data on how much Trump’s campaign is affecting condo sales at is buildings. According to the website Streeteasy, six units for sale at Trump’s place on 220 Riverside Boulevard recently dropped their price, as have three at 240 Riverside and six at 200 Riverside, but real-estate professionals stressed that the price drops could have had as much to do with a market slowdown as with anything related to the presidential campaign.
“These are incredibly well-built apartments. People who live there are really happy with them, they are in a great location. I think that matters more than who built them,” said Elizabeth Kivlan, president of Stribling and Associates, a luxury residential real-estate brokerage firm in New York City. “Who doesn’t want to live on Riverside Boulevard with incredible views. I think demand will always be there.”
David DeRosa, who runs his own economic research firm and has lived at one of the Trump Place buildings since 2006, said he disagreed with his neighbors who wanted to change the name out front.
“I don’t care if his name is on the building or not. We are the ones who own the building,” he said. “Things tend to get a little heated during election time. I can tell you that I would not hesitate to buy another unit in the building.”
As for the Koeppels, their plans are now up in the air. They have taken their place off the market. After moving into the building soon after it was built and raising their son there, they are now stuck. Their dreams of moving upstate have been delayed indefinitely. And they are now, partly in jest, considering a Trumpian move of their own: suing the guy whose name is on the building for bringing down their apartment’s value.
“For nearly everybody that lives here, this is their nest egg, this is their future or their retirement,” said Peggy Koeppel. “What Donald Trump has done to the value of these homes, it is enough to drive you crazy.” |
It didn’t look like a real gun. It shot plastic pellets. It was labeled “Zombie Killer.” It didn’t hurt anyone. And it was being used on private property by a seventh-grader.
Nonetheless, some officious intermeddler called the Virginia Beach police when she saw Khalid Caballo holding an air-soft gun on his front lawn. And, thanks to their Larkspur Middle School’s “zero tolerance” policy on guns, Khalid and two of his friends have received long-term suspensions.
According to the witness who called the police, Khalid and several other children were playing with the gun in Khalid’s front yard before the school bus arrived. The witness observed Khalid refining his zombie-killing skills by shooting at a target, complete with a net to catch the plastic pellets. Mind you, the caller, whose son was shot in the arm with one of the plastic pellets, could tell from a distance that the gun was not real and that the kids were playing, but she chose to call the police anyway (rather than the children’s parents) because the sight made her feel “uncomfortable.”
The police investigated. The Virginia Beach City Code provides that “no person shall use a pneumatic gun except at approved shooting ranges or within private property.” Khalid claims that he remained on private property while shooting the gun. The police demonstrated common sense by not charging anyone.
But Larkspur Middle School Principal Matthew Delaney recommended that they be expelled. In a sickeningly sanctimonious public statement, Delaney announced his intention to punish the children and professed his “sincere hope that they will learn important life lessons; the most important being that there will be consequences when they do things that can result in harm to another person.” The three students have been suspended for the entire academic year.
Khalid understands the gravity of the situation. Real gun or not, he will carry the stigma of suspension with him wherever he goes: “It’s on your school record. The school said I had possession of a firearm. They aren’t going to ask me any questions. They are going to think it was a real gun, and I was trying to hurt someone.”
The great judge Learned Hand once wrote, “Words are potent weapons for all causes, good or bad.” In the hands of thoughtless bureaucrats like Principal Delaney, they become weapons far more threatening than Khalid’s Zombie Killer. In the name of teaching students the consequences of taking actions that can (but did not) result in minor physical harm, Delaney and his callous colleagues have taken actions that stand a far greater chance of causing lasting harm to these students’ academic careers and life prospects. Shame on these “educators” for insisting upon a zero-tolerance policy that makes zero sense.
The Heritage Foundation’s project USA vs. YOU spotlights the flood of criminal laws threatening our liberties. Explore more stories of overcriminalization and find out what you can do to reverse this trend. |
dAT Team have told HLTV.org that they are back to a five-man roster following the additions of ex-HellRaisers duo Yegor "markeloff" Markelov and Aleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev.
The MCS Open Season 1 champions had been reduced to a three-man roster following the departures of Egor "flamie" Vasilyev and Dauren "AdreN" Kystaubayev, two players who decided to further their careers in HellRaisers.
dAT Team wasted little time to find replacements for the duo and approached the two players ousted by HellRaisers, Yegor "markeloff" Markelov and Aleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev.
B1ad3 and markeloff back together after A-Gaming times
This means that markeloff, who admitted to being fired up by his dismissal from HR and vowed to "reveal" his CS:GO potential, will reunite with former Amazing Gaming team-mate Andrey "B1ad3" Gorodenskiy.
"We are very excited to have such talented individuals on our team," dAT captain Andrey "B1ad3" Gorodenskiy told HLTV.org. "This is a new page in the history of our team and it looks very promising. Each and every one is extremely motivated, and we are looking forward to 2015. "Welcome and thank you, my friends!"
dAT Team will be taking part in SLTV StarSeries XII, in which they have been drawn in Group C, alongside x6tence, Titan and Natus Vincere.
With these changes, dAT Team now have:
Related videos: |
Turns out the Pot Roast was undercooked.
Long believed to be a natural fit for the Raiders, free-agent defensive tackle Terrance “Pot Roast” Knighton said Tuesday that he will not be rejoining former coach Jack Del Rio in Oakland.
Knighton had followed Del Rio from Jacksonville to Denver, and the run-stuffer had expressed an interest in joining the coach again, but negotiations ended Tuesday afternoon.
“The Raiders made me an offer, but it’s not close to what I was looking for,” Knighton told ESPN. “So, as of right now, the Raiders … are out of the race.”
Knighton, 28, started every game for the Broncos the past two seasons and was said to be seeking $8 million a year. The Raiders were thinking closer to $6 million, considering Knighton comes off the field on 3rd-and-long downs.
Oakland was looking at Knighton or Arizona’s Dan Williams as Plan B to Ndamukong Suh, the prize of the free-agent pool who signed with the Dolphins. Williams visited the Raiders on Tuesday night and is expected to sign.
The Raiders came into NFL free agency $66 million under the cap, but have only one new impact starter to show for it. Oakland agreed to a five-year, $44.5 million deal with former Kansas City center Rodney Hudson on Monday.
General manager Reggie McKenzie did add three role players Tuesday. Outside linebacker Malcolm Smith, the Super Bowl XLVIII MVP for the Seahawks, could compete for a starting job at middle linebacker, and former Buffalo tight end Lee Smith is an accomplished blocker.
The Raiders also agreed to terms with backup running back Roy Helu, who spent his first four seasons with Washington. Helu is getting $4 million for two years.
The Danville native had 42 receptions for 477 yards and two touchdowns, and 40 carries for 216 yards and a touchdown last season. Helu provides a different look than running back Latavius Murray and fullback/H-back Marcel Reece in new offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave’s up-tempo offense.
The Raiders also are close to signing former Cincinnati tight end Jermaine Gresham, who also visited Tuesday night.
Malcolm Smith, 25, played for new Oakland defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. last year in Seattle. Smith started five games last season after he won Super Bowl MVP honors for returning a Peyton Manning interception 69 yards for a touchdown.
Lee Smith, 27, signed a three-year, $9 million deal.
Vic Tafur is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: [email protected] Twitter: @VicTafur |
Compute/Visualization Server: finance, oil exploration, aeronautics and automotive, design and engineering, geophysics, life sciences, medicine and defense
Double precision: genetic sequencing, computational fluid dynamics, structural mechanics, numeral analytics, reservoir simulation, automated reasoning and weather forecasting
Single precision: seismic processing, molecular dynamics, satellite imaging, explicit crash test simulation, video enhancement, signal processing, video transcoding, digital rendering and medical imaging
Ultra High-end Workstation (Requiring GPU compute and 3D graphics performance): Oil and gas, computer aided engineering
AMD today announced the new AMD FirePro S10000 12 GB Edition graphics card, designed for big data high-performance computing (HPC) workloads for single precision and double precision performance. With full support for PCI Express 3.0 and optimized for use with the OpenCL compute programming language, the AMD FirePro S10000 12 GB Edition GPU features ECC memory plus DirectGMA support allowing developers working with large models and assemblies to take advantage of the massively parallel processing capabilities of AMD GPUs based on the latest AMD Graphics Core Next (GCN) architecture. AMD FirePro S10000 12 GB Edition GPU is slated for availability in Spring 2014.The AMD FirePro S10000 12GB Edition graphics card is a compelling solution for a variety of scenarios:"Our compute application customers asked for a solution that offers increased memory to support larger data sets as they create new products and services," said David Cummings, senior director and general manager, Professional Graphics, AMD. "In response, we're announcing the AMD FirePro S10000 12 GB Edition graphics card to meet that additional memory demand with support for OpenCL and high-end compute and graphics technologies.""AMD is proving again to be a key player in providing outstanding 3D graphics and GPGPU compute solutions based on the OpenCL Khronos Group standard for the industry with the announcement of the new AMD FirePro S10000 12 GB graphics card," said Nicolas Duny, VP R&D Technologies, Dassault Systèmes. "AMD is an industry innovator by responding to our customers' needs with cutting edge technology. The AMD FirePro S10000 12 GB card will be a welcome addition to the market and to our customers.""Our customers are always eager for additional memory, so the introduction of the AMD FirePro S10000 12 GB Edition graphics card means key applications will finally be able to take advantage of the graphics compute capabilities," said Laurent Bertaux, CEO, CAPS. "As a leading provider of software and solutions for the HPC community, CAPS recognizes that this is a great opportunity for customers to reduce the potential for the bottleneck of data transfer, thus improving overall application performance. CAPS is a long-time AMD supporter so we're pleased that CAPS FORTAN and C compilers for OpenCL can immediately make full use of the 12GB memory offered in this new AMD FirePro solution."The current AMD FirePro S10000 graphics solution with 6 GB of GDDR5 memory has received great acclaim. For example, the University of Frankfurt's Institution of Advanced Studies use of the card with the SANAM supercomputer ranks in the top five on the Green500 List as one of the most powerful and energy-efficient supercomputers powered by graphics processors.The AMD FirePro S10000 with 6 GB of memory is currently available for purchase while the AMD FirePro S10000 12 GB Edition graphics card is slated for availability in Spring 2014. |
Fabio Capello: Former England boss has reportedly travelled to Russia to hold talks with Anzhi Makhachkala
Former England coach Fabio Capello could be set for a swift return to management amid reports he has travelled to Russia to hold talks with Anzhi Makhachkala.
Reports in both Italy and Russia claim that Capello has arrived in Moscow to discuss the Anzhi post just days after quitting as England boss.
Capello resigned his role with the Three Lions on Wednesday following his criticism of the Football Association's decision to strip John Terry of the England captaincy.
The 65-year-old was a target for mega-rich Anzhi during his time in charge of England and he could now take over the ambitious Russian club.
According to reports, Anzhi have sacked current boss Yury Krasnozhan, although there has been no official confirmation of the decision.
Krasnozhan only became Anzhi boss in December and the club say that his future will be decided on Monday amid the growing speculation concerning Capello.
"There will be changes in the club staff," said Anzhi deputy president German Chistyakov. "We have serious reasons for those changes."
Speculation also suggests that Anzhi officials have travelled to Italy to hold talks with Inter Milan regarding a stunning swoop for Dutch playmaker Wesley Sneijder.
Anzhi have previously signed Samuel Eto'o from the Serie A club and the Russian transfer window remains open until later this month. |
Anna Fernando struts down the black-and-white tiles of a trendy coffee shop in the Lebanese capital, dressed in high heels and a strapless ball gown of caramel gauze ribbons.
The 43-year-old left her native Sri Lanka 21 years ago to work as a maid in Lebanon, determined to provide her children with better opportunities in life than her own.
On her day off this weekend, she joined a dozen other domestic workers at a modeling show in central Beirut organized by local NGO Insan, Arabic for "human being."
"Even if I work like a maid, I'm a human being," Anna says backstage, her eyes thick with mascara before her name is called to show off the work of young Lebanese designers.
Sunday's fashion show is part of an effort to humanize an estimated 250,000 foreign domestic workers who toil in the kitchens and living rooms of Lebanese families.
Now in its fourth year, the show aims to give participants the opportunity to be seen as something other than the hired help.
"In Lebanese society, they live like all other women when they're not at work," says Randa Dirani, one of the organizers.
Rights groups often accuse Lebanon and Gulf states of racist and degrading treatment of migrant domestic workers, who are often referred to simply as "servants" or "Sri Lankans", regardless of their actual nationality.
- 'Not only domestic workers' -
Most overseas workers work under a restrictive sponsorship system called "kafala" that leaves them dependent on their employer's goodwill and unable to escape abusive work relationships.
Domestic workers are not protected by Lebanese labor law, despite the efforts of a new union begun for them early last year with the support of the country's federation of labor unions.
"At this fashion show we want to tell all these people we are not only domestic workers," Sumy Khan from Bangladesh says.
The 22-year-old with short hair and tattoos says she would have loved to have studied journalism at home in Bangladesh, but that she had to leave two years ago to support her family.
As she paraded down the catwalk in a short cream-and-white jumpsuit between Lebanese and foreigners huddled along its edge, cameras in hand, her friends whooped and clapped in support.
The fashion show is just one of several civil society initiatives that seeks to combat often discriminatory and exploitative attitudes towards domestic workers.
Last year, a domestic help agency in Lebanon put out an ad on Mother's Day that was slammed by activists as racist and wildly dehumanizing.
"For Mother's Day indulge Ur Mom & offer her a housekeeper. Special offer on Kenyan & Ethiopian nationalities for a period of 10 days," read a text message sent to thousands of mobile phone users and subsequently picked up by media.
The American University of Beirut last year surveyed 1,200 employers in Lebanon on their views of domestic workers, and Lebanese rights group Kafa has turned the results into an online campaign.
"Fifty-one percent of Lebanese women think (their) domestic worker is not trustworthy -- although she takes care of their children," goes one line.
- 'Now a migrant chef' -
Standing out among the models on Sunday, Alix Lenoir, a 20-year-old Franco-Lebanese student of industrial design, says she decided to join to connect with other participants.
"I think it's a shame that these women in our society in Lebanon have had a little of their confidence taken away from them," she says.
"When they go out, they go out among themselves -- not with other people."
By the end of the evening, Lenoir is hugging one of her fellow models -- 18-year-old Iman Bachir, the daughter of migrant workers from Sudan -- and promising to meet up soon.
Fernando says her sacrifice of living away from her family for two decades has paid off.
Today, her 21-year-old daughter is studying pharmacology and her 22-year-old son is about to graduate as an army officer in Sri Lanka.
And she is starting up a small catering business.
"People love Sri Lankan food. It's delicious, full of spices, and very good for you," reads her business card, on which her name sits in a circle of fresh herbs, chillies and spices.
She cooks Sri Lankan, Indian and Nepali dishes, the card says, and Lebanon-based foodies can order fluffy rice and fragrant curries by phone, via email or Facebook.
"I'm now a migrant chef," she says. |
Having failed the qualifiers for the International tournament HellRaisers took a long vacation. Having returned, our team started looking for two new players, who could take the place of those, who had left our forces.
Today the HellRaisers team is proud to announce that a new Dota 2 team with Daniil «MeTTpuM» Gileev and Maksim «Shachlo» Abramovsky. The organization, fans and the management put big hopes upon these boys and that together with two new players, HR will get back into the number of the strongest team in the world.
Daniil «MeTTpuM» Gileev, HR.Dota2's comment:
«The main goals are Napoleonic. If we talk about the short-range plans, they are to take the top places at some LANs, get the experience there and as a result reach the major tournament. The relationships in the team are good, there is nothing to complain about. I want to believe that it will go this way in the future. We have a combative mood and we are motivated for 200%. I will play, destroy wards, slow down and stun enemies. In general I will say that I'm here, in this team, for a reason and I will do my best to give my 20% for a victory!».
Maksim «Shachlo» Abramovskikh, HR.Dota2's comment:
«The number one goal at the moment is, obviously, the autumn major tournament. To reach it, I, as well as the team, will have to work hard. Luckily after a half of a year break from the competitive Dota the motivation to win everything is running very high. I'm very happy to join this friendly team and I hope that I will not fail the boys».
Maksim Bernadsky, the general manager of HellRaisers' comment:
«Our organization counts on the perspective players. The boys from the new roster are to prove everyone that they deserve to play at the top level. The organization in its turn will do its best to let players come to the official matches with thoughts only about the game. Cheer for HellRaisers!».
The transfer window in Dota 2 is coming to the end. An endless number of different tournaments and qualifiers for the first major, which our team will definitely take part in, will start very soon.
New HellRaisers.Dota2 roster:
Andrey «Dread» Golubev
Andrey «Afoninje» Afonin
Dulat «goddam» Seidimomyn
Daniil «MeTTpuM» Gileev
Maksim «Shachlo» Abramovskikh
Cheer for HellRaisers! |
The US has tried to bolster the Afghan government in Helmand Province with air support in their fighting against the Taliban, but the support appears to have gone horribly wrong today, as a US drone attacked and killed at least 15 Afghan police.
The airstrike was targeting what the US thought was a Taliban compound in Helmand’s Gereshk District, but was actually a site used by Afghan security forces to meet and plan operations against the Taliban. A number were inside when the US attacked.
Death tolls still aren’t totally finalized, but Helmand Governor Hayatullah Hayat confirmed that two top police commanders were among the slain. The Afghan government suggested no soldiers were among the slain, and that it was only the local and provincially-provided police forces that sustained casualties.
The Pentagon expressed condolences for “the unfortunate incident,” but provided no indication as to why they attacked the compound, simply terming the attack part of a “US-supported operation.” Either way, this likely derails the anti-Taliban operation that was ongoing in the district.
Last 5 posts by Jason Ditz |
Asus and Nvidia Announce Purpose-Built Cryptocurrency Mining GPUs
Leading graphics processing unit (GPU) manufacturers Asus and Nvidia have announced the release of new GPUs targeting the cryptocurrency mining market.
Also Read: Sapphire Technology Announce Production of Graphics Cards Designed Solely for Cryptocurrency Mining
The Announcements Follow Sapphire Technology Becoming the First GPU Producer to Target Cryptocurrency Miners
GPU manufacturing giants Asus and Nvidia have announced the release of purpose-built graphics processing units specialized for cryptocurrency mining.
Taiwan-based manufacturer Asus is launching two graphics processing units designed specifically for cryptocurrency mining, with one unit claiming an increased hashrate of 36% when compared with GPUs that are not optimized for cryptocurrency mining. Both graphics processing units only feature a single display port, meaning that they have very limited functionality for conventional purposes. American-based Nvidia will release a single specialized GPU, and will not feature display outputs.
The announcements follow Sapphire Technology becoming the first GPU producer to manufacture a graphics processing unit exclusively for cryptocurrency mining. Sapphire Technology will offer five specialized units, none of which will feature display output hardware.
The recent explosion in price enjoyed by bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies has created a global surge in demand for mining hardware. The demand has resulted in GPU shortages in many countries, in addition to enormous price hikes. Retailers and manufacturers have been completely unable to meet demand, creating growing frustration among gamers.
Purpose-Built GPU Mining Hardware Will Allow Manufacturers to Meet Mining Demand Faster and Reduce Production Costs
The announcement that companies will be producing purpose-built graphics cards for cryptocurrency mining is likely designed to alleviate the flood of demand that is currently making it difficult for Asus and Nvidia’s loyal gamer customers to access their products. Producing limited functionality cryptocurrency mining specialized GPUs will also create an opportunity for the companies to cash in on the nascent cryptocurrency economy.
Although purpose-built GPU mining hardware will allow manufacturers to meet demand faster, and reduce production costs, the limited or nonexistent display functionality of the specialty GPUs will make cryptocurrency miners unable to flip their old hardware into the second-hand gaming market when making future upgrades.
With bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies continuing to make mainstream headlines daily, it is unlikely that consumer demand for graphics processing units will slow anytime soon. The production of GPUs that are purpose-built for cryptocurrency mining allows for manufacturers and retailers to more effectively manage demand, resolidify their gaming customers, and facilitates more efficient delivery of hardware to the cryptocurrency mining market. It is likely that mining-specific GPU production will enjoy considerable growth in coming years as greater cryptocurrency coverage in the mainstream media attracts an expanding industry demographic of ‘hobbyist’ miners.
Do you think that purpose-built GPUs for cryptocurrency mining will allow manufacturers and retailers to better meet graphics card demand? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!
Images courtesty of Shutterstock and Wikipedia
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Attorney Sabri Jiryis (L) and Sam Bahour standing on the rooftop of the 105 year old Mar Elias Church in the Palestinian village of Fassouta which is located in the western Galilee. The South Lebanon skyline is in the background.
The horrendous reality of the Palestinian communities inside Israel—in places like Akka, Haifa, Nazareth, Yaffa, and the Negev—is not about being regulated to sit in the back of the bus; they could only wish for such blatant racism. Here, the racism is multilayered, ideological, well-camouflaged, state-sponsored, and non-stop. Anyone who thinks that resolving the Israeli military occupation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip would bring peace to the region would be well-advised to peel away the veneer of democratic façade, one that covers an Israeli plan with only one goal in mind: completing the campaign of ethnically cleansing Palestinians that started with the creation of the State of Israel.
Last week, on a beautiful fall day, I sat in a friend’s living room in a village at the northern tip of Israel, adjacent to the Lebanese border, in the part of Israel called the Galilee. This is where the Palestinian citizens of Israel are concentrated. Five generations of Palestinians were sitting in the room. As expected in Palestinian society, within no time, politics was the focus of the discussion. But this political discussion had a different twist from what most of those following this conflict are accustomed. The issues had to do with the Palestinian citizens of Israel and how the Israeli government systematically and structurally discriminates against them.
Bilateral negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis, better known as the infamous Oslo Peace Process, began with a slogan (and accompanying actions on the ground) of Gaza and Jericho First. The idea was that the Palestinian Authority, which the Oslo Accords created, would start by being set up in the Gaza Strip and in the West Bank city of Jericho, a sort of pilot phase before subsequently deploying to all of the Palestinian areas defined in the Accords. The standing joke at the time was that what Israel, the military occupying power, really meant was Gaza and Jericho Only!
With 20 years of a never-ending “peace process,” Israeli misdirection diverted the world’s attention, including the Palestinian leadership’s, away from the discriminatory workings within Israel itself. As the parties quibbled over who violated the Oslo Agreement first and most, Israel never stopped strangling the Palestinian towns and villages inside it. More recently, even some of the mainstream, international research outfits, such as International Crisis Group (ICG), were forced to take note. Their March 2012 report titled, “Back to Basics: Israel’s Arab Minority and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict,” stated:
“World attention remains fixed on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but a distinct, albeit related, conflict smoulders within Israel itself. It might be no less perilous. Jewish-Arab domestic relations have deteriorated steadily for a decade. More and more, the Jewish majority views the Palestinian minority as subversive, disloyal and – due to its birth rates – a demographic threat. Palestinian citizens are politically marginalised, economically underprivileged, ever more unwilling to accept systemic inequality and ever more willing to confront the status quo.”
That’s researcher-talk for “A slow and calculated campaign of displacing an entire population in broad daylight—world, take note.”
As one travels northward in Israel, a stark reality cannot be ignored. Israel is empty. Most of the lands which comprise the State of Israel, as it is recognized worldwide, are empty of any population. The sad irony is that less than one hour’s drive north of where we were sitting, hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees, who, since 1948, have been prohibited by Israel from returning to their homes, dwell in squalid refugee camps, waiting for international law and UN resolutions calling for their return home to be respected. Dr. Salman Abu Sitta, a Palestinian researcher with the Palestine Land Society, and a refugee himself, has extensively documented this phenomenon of empty lands in Israel, lands that Palestinian refugees call home. The undeniable fact is that allowing Palestinian refugees to return home would disrupt very little on the ground in Israel. It would, however, threaten the very basis of its existence as an exclusively Jewish state and create a demographic majority of Palestinians—a normal expectation, given that they were the majority in 1948 prior to being expelled.
Another startling realization, when traveling around the Palestinian farming villages in the Galilee, is that the hilltops are dotted with gated, Jewish Israeli communities and Israeli government-declared nature reserves, all creating a physical barrier to the natural growth of the indigenous Palestinian communities. Added to these physical obstructions to Palestinian development, Israeli law provides for another platform, a legal one, whereby hundreds of Israeli communities can keep out Palestinians on cultural grounds. Coming from the occupied territory of the West Bank, these physical obstacles and legal tools looked to me much like the illegal, Jewish-only settlements that surround every Palestinian city. The physical location of both types of these residential colonies is not random, but rather a sharp demographic weapon to interrupt and stunt the growth of the Palestinian communities.
While hearing the tribulations of Palestinian communities in Israel, I was reminded of another jarring fact: Israel detains and arrests Palestinians for their thoughts. One of the persons I was with, a 64-year-old man, was released a few years back after spending two years without charges in an Israeli prison. On my way home, I stopped in Haifa and, while speaking to a new business acquaintance there, he reminded me of another case: Ameer Makhoul, a Palestinian Christian citizen of Israel and the director of Ittijah, the Union of Arab Community-Based Associations, who, like so many others, is imprisoned in Israeli jails after an unfair trial aimed at striking fear into an entire minority community in Israel. Also, just as in the areas under military occupation, Israel tends an army of collaborators within the Palestinian communities to do their bidding for them.
I wanted to engage more, but had to head back home to the West Bank.
Now that I’m a Palestinian ID holder, which means I have West Bank residency status issued by the Israeli occupation authorities, I can’t be in Israel as a tourist. My U.S. citizenship—my only one—is useless now that I am classified as a West Bank Palestinian in the Israeli government’s eyes. Israel is the only place on earth where I can’t be an American! Thus, my Israeli military-issued permit, which allows me to enter Israel, restricts my movement so that I have to be back by 10 in the evening to what I call my cage, also known as the metropolitan area of Ramallah.
What is now clear to me, and wasn’t when I first arrived here shortly after Oslo, is that the system of command and control, which oppresses over four million Palestinians under military occupation, is strikingly similar to the system which controls over one million Muslim and Christian Palestinians inside Israel.
The Israeli goal is to erase Palestinian collective memory, limit Palestinian education, squeeze Palestinian living space, and strangle any serious notion of Palestinian economic enterprise. But Palestinians are not going anywhere. This was confirmed when I asked a law student from this Galilaean village where he plans to be in five years. Without hesitation, he said, “Here, in my village, and not for the next five years, but for the next 10 and 20 and 100 years.”
After hours of deep discussion in that quiet Palestinian village, tucked away in the velvet-like green hills of the Galilee, a Palestinian researcher, who was quiet for most of the time, spoke in a calm, definitive voice. He said that everything we were discussing, in terms of how much harm Israel is doing to Palestinians living in Israel and under military occupation, is true, but in the village, the numbers speak volumes. Over the past 64 years, since Israel’s creation, and despite all of its attempts to force the Palestinians off the land, the population has increased as per official Israeli statistics. As long as the Palestinians exist on this land, he asserted, their rights are bound to be realized.
All the way home, I could not get out of my mind a new political slogan that would reveal the extent of the Palestinian tragedy — The Galilee First. Instead of managing the conflict as if the only contentious issue is about those of us living under Israeli military occupation, the international community, and Palestinian leadership as well, should call for the world to witness the reality of Palestinians inside Israel. If Israel is bent on discriminating against one fifth of its own citizens, what should we expect of it in the occupied territories, areas that are not internationally recognized as Israel? Indeed, the next time I’m asked what I think the solution to this conflict is, my answer will be ready: Let’s start with full equal rights for Palestinians inside Israel. In other words, The Galilee First if Israel is serious about peace and truly desires historic reconciliation with the Palestinians. |
It was 2:30pm and I had just walked back to my dorm in Prague where I was studying that semester. I got back to my desk, got on AIM as usual to check in with friends when a friend began unraveling something happening back home. Her facts were sporadic, but no doubt horror resounded from her words. All I could do was refresh CNN and MSNBC for any news on what was actually happening.
As news of the shooting leaked, the gravity unfolded and reality hit. A familiar last name -a friend’s sister had been killed. Another- a brother in my fraternity, whom had joined that semester, was missing. Emails of her whereabouts went on for the next 24+ hours through our listserv. She was later identified among the victims. From the rotating images flooding the media, I recognized a friend being carried out of Norris Hall. She survived. One by one, details unfolded and people were identified to the world.
The next 48hours I camped in the dorm lobby, staring at CNN’s endless images surrounding my campus. The oddity of seeing such a familiar and personal place displayed worldwide was unexplainable. I Skyped constantly with family and friends, and students from other schools reached out, but I felt helpless. I could not be there. I could not help. I could not grieve with my friends. I could not hug or console them. But I also felt guilty. I felt I didn’t have a right to be as upset or distressed by the events because I was not physically there.
The air had changed…encouraged us to be better citizens of the world
Then a different reality hit. After a few days, the rest of the world had moved on. It was already “yesterday’s news”. I was angry and upset and it was hard to comprehend that, although my world was frozen in turmoil, others went about business as usual. Such events did not hold the same weight outside Blacksburg, outside the US, and it forced me to view things from an outsider’s perspective.
I cut my semester short and went back home but the arrival on campus was haunting. All of the memorials and signs, it was all surreal. It was no longer a carefree college environment. The air had changed. Everyone changed that day. But through this tragedy, that change brought some good. It strengthened us, brought people together, made people understand the fragility of life and loved ones, and encouraged us to be better citizens of the world. To live for 32. |
I was fast asleep when suddenly I was awoken by a pounding on the door. This was not a knock like, “Hey, what’s up?” or even, “I really need to talk to you.” This was a knock that said, “I am going to get in there, and when I do, it’s gonna suck to be you.” The person outside the door was screaming for my roommate. I looked over to him.
"Don't open the door!"
I asked who it was.
"Just don't open the door."
I've never been so terrified in my life.
My roommate called the cops, but it took a while for them to get there. The knocking stopped—a ploy. We could still see the shadow of two feet under the door. He stood out there, stark still and silent. Then the knob started to slowly turn. He was trying to get in. A few minutes before the cops arrived, he left. Honestly, that night had been coming
a long time.
When I first met my roommate freshman year, I was cautiously optimistic. He seemed nice enough. I thought I could chill with him, even after he starting talking about drugs the first week of class. I had never done any. The first time he had ever smoked weed was during senior week, and he began to smoke more regularly over the summer. When I met him he smoked twice a week.
Eventually, he was smoking almost every night out the window of the men’s bathroom. He would come back giggling and stay up all night playing online poker. He also experimented with other substances, like Adderall—to help him stay awake for gambling and more weed.
He and his buddies would even strangle each other to the point of passing out to get high off the oxygen deprivation. I’m not exactly sure when he started dealing.
He would get visits from strange girls, beautiful girls who he would bang that night then never see again. Most of them brought little gifts: cigarettes, teddy bears, etc. I thought he just had serious game.
During the third month of school I talked to the resident assistant (RA) and, without naming specifics, told him that I was very uncomfortable with my roommate. My RA told me my only recourse was to file a formal complaint, but my roommate was popular on the floor. I didn’t want to be the one getting him thrown out. Not to mention the paperwork; finals were coming up.
Then, one night, early in the spring semester, he and his buddies were in my room again, high, watching the movie Blow. Then, “Let’s get some coke!” I told him no way, no way are you doing coke in my room. He ran out of the room with his “connection” on the phone and didn’t come back that night.
One day I came back from class and he and his buddies were doing lines off one of his textbooks and asked if I wanted a hit. It was the first time I had ever seen cocaine in real life, and it was far from the last.
He continued to deal weed, coke too for all I know, even to strangers from the neighborhood. Many times during the next weeks I would corner him and demand that he stop doing drugs and stop dealing. The answer was always the same: “Yeah, man. I know. These drugs are really messing up my life. I’m going to stop this week. I really need to stop.” And, within a few days, he’d be snorting in my room again. He never even made an effort. He just gave me the same speech to get me off his back, and it worked.
Honestly, he had a good racket, getting laid by a different beautiful girl every night, money rolling in. He didn’t even have to go to class because he had ringers going and taking his tests for him in exchange for drugs. But the low point came the night of the knocking on our door. report this ad
Days after the incident, the RA pulled me aside. He told me he knew what was going on in our room. He told me my roommate was smoking out of the floor’s bathroom window. He had strangers coming to our room at all hours. He told me that it was only a matter of time before my roommate got busted, and he told me if my roommate went down and I knew about his activities and hadn’t
reported them, I’d be expelled with him and probably subject to legal action.
Then I was approached by the cops, who told me the same thing. But they also told me they wanted to catch him in the act. And they wanted me to be the rat.
I didn't want to be a snitch. Not because of some “Stop Snitching” code, but because I knew what would happen to me. I would be completely ostracized from the campus community, hated in the entire building. And my roommate might send someone after me.
But the cops were persistent, and eventually wore me down. We worked out this elaborate plot, seemingly straight from the movies. When a deal went down in the room I’d call the cops on speed dial and hang up. Minutes later, cops would burst into the room and bust both of us. I would be thrown into a cop car, taken to jail and fill out paper work. I would spend the night in jail, just enough time to convince my roommate and the other residents that I wasn’t in on it. Then they’d slip me out the back door and home.
I sat through several deals, but was too scared to make that call. Once, I had my finger on the button, but the buyer left too quickly. And I never did get the chance. His parents somehow caught wind of his addiction and pulled him out of housing to get him into rehab.
He had put me through hell my freshman year. He went from a casual user, to a dealer, to a completely dependent addict and near convict in less than a year. And I had front row seats to the whole episode. D.A.R.E. can never give you an education like that.
My ex-roommate called me a few months ago. Of course I never returned it. But I’ve heard he’s dropped out of school to play cards in Baltimore.
College Drug Busts
The sale of illicit substances on college campuses nationwide is more prevalent than you might think. That point was made shockingly clear by the May bust of a massive drug ring at San Diego State University. Ninety-six people, including seventy-five students, were arrested in the largest campus drug bust in U.S. history. While this was the largest bust, the raid on SDSU was far from an isolated incident. |
Photic sneeze reflex Synonyms Autosomal Compelling Helio-Ophthalmic Outburst Photic sneeze reflex is inherited in an autosomal dominant manner
The photic sneeze reflex (also backronymed as, Autosomal Compelling Helio-Ophthalmic Outburst (ACHOO) syndrome[1] and colloquially sun sneezing) is a condition that causes sneezing in response to numerous stimuli, such as looking at bright lights or periocular (surrounding the eyeball) injection. The condition affects 18–35% of the population in the United States,[2] but its exact mechanism of action is not well understood.[3]
Symptoms [ edit ]
The photic sneeze reflex manifests itself in the form of uncontrollable sneezing in response to a stimulus which would not produce a sneeze in people without the trait. The sneezes generally occur in bursts of 1 to 10 sneezes, followed by a refractory period that can be as long as 24 hours.
Photic sneezing [ edit ]
A photic sneeze results from exposure to a bright light and is the most common manifestation of the photic sneeze reflex. This reflex seems to be caused by a change in light intensity rather than by a specific wavelength of light.[3]
A study conducted by the School of Optometry at the University of Alabama at Birmingham found that females represent 67% of photic sneezers, and Caucasians represent 94%. The study also found statistically significant correlations between photic sneezing and the presence of a deviated nasal septum. The study also showed that photic sneezing is more likely to be acquired than inherited.[4]
Response to periocular injection [ edit ]
During surgeries in and around the eye, such as corneal transplant surgery, the patient often requires injection of a local anesthetic into the eye. In patients who show the photic sneeze reflex, an injection into the eye, such as that undergone in a retrobulbar or peribulbar block, can often elicit a sneeze from the patient. During these procedures, the patient may be sedated prior to the periocular injection. The patient begins to sneeze just as the needle is inserted into the eye, often resulting in the anesthesiologist having to remove the needle before injecting the local anesthetic in order to avoid damaging the patient's eye.[5]
Sneezing after eating [ edit ]
A condition called gustatory rhinitis can cause some individuals to sneeze after eating, particularly after the consumption of spicy foods.[6] Stomach fullness is another example of a stimulus that can cause uncontrollable sneezing. Those who exhibit this symptom or disorder, called snatiation, undergo uncontrollable fits of 3–15 sneezes immediately after eating large meals that completely fill the stomach, regardless of the type of food eaten. Snatiation is not believed to be an allergic reaction of any kind.[7] Even less well understood than photic sneezing and sneezing in response to periocular injection, the trait appears to be inherited in an autosomal dominant fashion.[8]
Risks [ edit ]
Sneezing generally does not present any particular risks to the individual, and is usually more an annoyance than a risk of injury. The fits of sneezing brought about by the photic sneeze reflex can, however, have dangerous implications during certain scenarios and activities, such as operating a vehicle, or while undergoing operations (dental, optical) and having bright lights directed towards the patient's face.
Disease transmission [ edit ]
Perhaps the most universal risk of sneezing is the spread of disease. Bacterial infections can spread to susceptible uninfected people via the spread of microscopic organisms suspended in the droplets expelled by a sneeze. Bacteria which commonly spread by sneezing include bacterial meningitis, strep throat, and tuberculosis. Viral infections can also be spread by sneezing. When a virus is expelled by a sneeze, its mucous membrane evaporates, and the virus becomes a droplet nucleus which can be inhaled by another person, thus spreading the virulent infection. Examples of virulent infections that spread by sneezing include measles, mumps, rubella, and influenza.[9]
Vehicle operation [ edit ]
A fit of sneezing while operating a vehicle can cause the operator to lose control of that vehicle, resulting in injury to the person, and damage to the vehicle and/or surroundings. In particular, photic sneezing poses a considerable risk to pilots, due to the frequent presence of bright sunlight and the precise reactions needed to successfully control the aircraft. For the pilot of a fighter aircraft, if an uncontrollable fit of sneezing were to occur during aerial combat, the pilot could be incapacitated when his or her situational awareness needs to be greatest. A plane landing on an aircraft carrier or shoreline also requires precise movements and quick reflexes. The reflection of the sun from surrounding water has a high probability of producing at least one photic sneeze for pilots who have the reflex. Any amount of sneezing while attempting to land could cause the pilot to lose control, potentially resulting in disaster.[3]
Medical procedures [ edit ]
Uncontrollable fits of sneezing are common in patients under propofol sedation who undergo periocular or retrobulbar injection. A sneeze by a sedated patient often occurs upon insertion of a needle into or around their eye. The violent and uncontrollable movement of the head during a reflexive sneeze has potential to cause damage within the patient's eye if the needle is not removed before the sneeze occurs.[10]
Pathophysiology [ edit ]
There is much debate about the true cause and mechanism of the sneezing fits brought about by the photic sneeze reflex. Sneezing occurs in response to irritation in the nasal cavity, which results in an afferent nerve fiber signal propagating through the ophthalmic and maxillary branches of the trigeminal nerve to the trigeminal nerve nuclei in the brainstem. The signal is interpreted in the trigeminal nerve nuclei, and an efferent nerve fiber signal goes to different parts of the body, such as mucous glands and the thoracic diaphragm, thus producing a sneeze.[11] The most obvious difference between a normal sneeze and a photic sneeze is the stimulus: normal sneezes occur due to irritation in the nasal cavity, while the photic sneeze can result from a wide variety of stimuli. Some theories are below. There is also a genetic factor that increases the probability of photic sneeze reflex,[12]. The C allele on the rs10427255 SNP is particularly implicated in this [13] although the mechanism is unknown by which this gene increases the probability of this response.
Optic-trigeminal summation [ edit ]
Stimulation of the ophthalmic branch of the trigeminal nerve may enhance the irritability of the maxillary branch, resulting in an increased probability of sneezing. This is similar to the mechanism by which photophobia develops by persistent light exposure relaying signals through the optic nerve and trigeminal nerve to produce increased sensitivity in the ophthalmic branch. If this increased sensitivity occurred in the maxillary branch instead of the ophthalmic branch, a sneeze could result instead of photophobia.[11]
Parasympathetic generalization [ edit ]
The parasympathetic nervous system has many neighboring fibers that respond to different stimuli. When one stimulus activates multiple nerve fibers of the parasympathetic nervous system, parasympathetic generalization is occurring. There is a possibility that sensory input from the eyes could travel to the neurons in the cortex that interpret such signals, but neighboring neurons which are involved in sneezing are also activated, due to the generalization. This could lead to a sneeze in response to a stimulus other than nasal irritation.[11]
Increased light sensitivity [ edit ]
When the trigeminal nerve is directly stimulated, there is the possibility that increased light sensitivity in the ocular nerve could result. An example of directly stimulating would be plucking an eyebrow or pulling hair. In many people who show the photic sneeze reflex, even this direct stimulation can lead to a photic sneeze which is why we find it easier to sneeze while looking at a bright light.[11]
Propofol-induced inhibitory suppression [ edit ]
Uncontrollable sneezing during a periocular injection while sedated by propofol is likely caused by the drug. Propofol has been shown to temporarily suppress inhibitory neurons in the brainstem, which is also where the trigeminal nucleus – the "sneeze center" of the brain – lies. This chain of events leads to increased sensitivity to stimulation and reduced threshold for involuntary responses. this hypersensitive state, the periocular injection stimulates the ophthalmic and/or maxillary branch of the trigeminal nerve, which results in summation in the trigeminal nuclei. This summation can lead to a sneeze in the unconscious patient.[10]
Management [ edit ]
While this phenomenon is poorly understood, recent research has shown that antihistamines being used to treat rhinitis due to seasonal allergies may also reduce the occurrence of photic sneezes in people affected by both conditions.[14]
Those affected by photic sneezing may find relief by shielding their eyes and/or faces with hats, scarves, and sunglasses.[1]
History [ edit ]
The photic sneeze effect is a genetic tendency to begin sneezing, sometimes many times consecutively (due to naso-ocular reflex[15]), when suddenly exposed to bright light. This condition tends to occur more severely after one has emerged into the light after spending time in a dark environment.[16] Although the syndrome is thought to affect about 18-35% of the human population, it is relatively harmless and not widely studied.[3]
The photic sneeze effect has been documented for many centuries. The Greek philosopher Aristotle was one of the first to contemplate this strange phenomenon in 350 BCE, exploring why looking at the sun causes a person to sneeze in The Book of Problems: "Why does the heat of the sun provoke sneezing?"[17][18][19] He hypothesized that the sun’s heat caused sweating inside the nose, which triggered a sneeze in order to remove the moisture.[20] In the 17th century, English philosopher Francis Bacon disproved Aristotle’s theory by facing the sun with his eyes closed, which did not elicit the ordinary sneeze response. Bacon therefore guessed that the eyes played a vital part in triggering photic sneezing. He assumed that looking at the sun's light made the eyes water, and then that moisture proceeded to seep into the nose and irritate it, causing a sneeze.[19] Although plausible, scientists later determined this theory to also be incorrect because sun-induced sneezing occurs too quickly after sunlight exposure; watering of the eyes is a slower process, so it could not play a vital part in triggering the reflex.[19]
Today, scientific attention has mainly focused on a hypothesis proposed in 1964 by Henry Everett, who was the first to call light-induced sneezing “The Photic Sneeze Effect.” Since the nervous system transmits signals at an extremely fast pace, Dr. Everett hypothesized that the syndrome was linked to the human nervous system, and was perhaps caused by the confusion of nerve signals.[21] The genetic basis of photic sneezing still remains unclear, and single genes for this condition have not been found and studied. However, the condition often occurs within families, and it has been suggested that light-induced sneezing is a heritable, autosomal-dominant trait.[22] A 2010 study demonstrated a correlation between photic sneezing and a single-nucleotide polymorphism on chromosome 2.[23]
See also [ edit ]
References [ edit ] |
That’s because the high court said that while the actions of the executive – the Harper government – are “not exempt from constitutional scrutiny,” it would not be “appropriate for the court to give direction as to the diplomatic steps necessary to address the breaches of Mr. Khadr’s Charter rights.”
But in reality, the ruling comes as a disappointment to those who argued the federal government must ask U.S. President Barack Obama to repatriate the Toronto-born native.
It issued a “declaration” that stated clearly the actions of Canadian officials contributed to the continued detention of a young person who had no access to legal counsel, was subjected to “improper treatment” through sleep deprivation, likely aided his upcoming criminal prosecution, and violated principles of fundamental justice.
In a unanimous 24-page ruling by the country’s nine top judges, the court tried to craft a narrow judgment that would grant some relief to Khadr’s advocates.
OTTAWA-The federal Conservative government cannot be forced to ask the United States to return Omar Khadr to Canada, even though the young Khadr’s Charter rights were violated in Guantanamo Bay, the Supreme Court of Canada declared today.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has consistently refused to request the Americans repatriate Khadr, and argues the U.S. military justice system must be allowed to take its course.
The court essentially deferred to the prime minister and his cabinet’s political choices. Grounded in an attempt to be respectful of the separation of powers, the decision essentially allows the government to stick to its position.
But Nicholson added “the Government will carefully review the Supreme Court's ruling and determine what further action is required.”
He repeated the longstanding Harper government line: “Omar Khadr faces very serious charges including murder, attempted murder, conspiracy, material support for terrorism, and spying.”
Nicholson said the judgment “overturned two previous lower court decisions and ruled that the Government is not required to ask for accused terrorist Omar Khadr’s return to Canada.”
“The Government is pleased that the Supreme Court has recognized the ‘constitutional responsibility of the executive to make decisions on matters of foreign affairs in the context of complex and ever-changing circumstances, taking into account Canada's broader interests,” said Nicholson.
“Naturally we’re disappointed but not surprised,” said lawyer Nathan Whitling, one of Khadr’s Canadian legal team. “It was always a long shot given that there had never been an order of this nature ever granted.”
Whitling said the fact that the court issued a declaration – despite the fact that it is a remedy nobody asked for – “should have” some moral, legal or political sway on the Harper government, but he was not holding out hope.
“We’re realists. Realistically I don’t think it’s going to have an effect on this government’s behaviour…practically speaking, I don’t think Prime Minister Stephen Harper is going to change his mind given the degree to which he has dug in on this issue.”
While Khadr may pick up some rumour of the decision in Guantanamo, he is completely cut off from the world and even his lawyers have to go through several hoops to arrange a phone call. That can take weeks to set up, Whitling said, so it is unlikely they will be able to brief Khadr on the court’s conclusions until the next time they travel there. In any event, they had already prepared him not to expect victory, Whitling said.
“You’d have to classify this as a decision in which they ducked their responsibility to interpret the Charter to protect a Canadian detained abroad,” said New Democrat critic Joe Comartin in an interview.
“It’s disappointing in a sense,” conceded Alex Neve, of Amnesty International, who said the court was “reluctant to go that final step” to grant Khadr the remedy of a repatriation order, even though it said it would address the rights breach.
But Neve said the court’s finding of a Charter violation is a powerful statement from the highest court in the land that the government cannot now ignore.
“Canada has been complicit in serious human rights violations of a Canadian citizen. It is not open to the Canadian government to just yawn and not take that seriously now. There has to be an effective response.”
Sukanya Pillay of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association said the ruling “was not a setback.”
“It’s a victory for human rights in the sense that the court has found that there is a clear breach of section 7 of the Charter, and that Canadian officials had violated their international human rights law obligations.”
“They’ve thrown the ball back into the government’s court but with clearer rules.”
The ruling, which was not authored by a single judge and signed only by “The Court,” did not deal with the question of whether the government has a “duty to protect” a Canadian citizen detained abroad.
As for Khadr’s plight, the court noted the military commission system was found by the U.S. Supreme Court to be an “illegal regime” at one point during the seven years that it detained the young Khadr.
That regime has been revamped, but still allows evidence obtained through “oppressive circumstances.”
The Canadian high court concluded that Canadian officials contributed to depriving Khadr of fundamental justice when CSIS and Foreign Affairs agents interrogated him in Guantanamo in 2003 and 2004 and passed on information to his U.S. prosecutors.
“Interrogation of a youth, to elicit statements about the most serious criminal charges while detained in these conditions and without access to counsel, and while knowing that the fruits of the interrogations would be shared with the U.S. prosecutors, offends the most basic Canadian standards about the treatment of detained youth suspects,” the court said.
Nevertheless, the high court found the lower courts went too far in ordering the government to request Khadr’s repatriation, saying it “gives too little weight to the constitutional responsibility of the executive to make decisions on matters of foreign affairs in the context of complex and every-changing circumstances, taking into account Canada’s broader national interests.”
It also said it is “unclear” whether a proposed repatriation order would be accepted by the U.S.
And it said “the impact on Canadian foreign relations of a repatriation request cannot be properly assessed by the court.”
“We do not know what negotiations may have taken place, or will take place, between the U.S. and Canadian governments over the fate of Mr. Khadr.”
Instead, the court said it would take “the prudent course” of merely declaring that Khadr’s constitutional rights have been violated, and leave it to the federal government to act.
Khadr, now 23, was just 15 when first captured in Afghanistan after a 2002 gunfight and is charged with tossing the grenade that killed a U.S. special forces soldier, Christopher Speer. His lawyers argue Khadr was a child soldier badly injured at the time, “tortured” since then, who cannot be held responsible.
He faces trial by military commission in July for murder and other charges.
His legal team wants Khadr returned to Canada where they say he should be released under a strict supervision and rehabilitation plan.
Khadr is a member of a notorious family whose father, Ahmed Said Khadr, was an Osama bin Laden supporter and later killed by Pakistani forces. |
CALGARY — With the price of crude plunging to its lowest level more than four and a half years, consumers are benefiting at the gas pump, but the savings are being dampened somewhat by a weaker dollar and other factors, according to an energy expert.
Roger McKnight, with En-Pro International in Oshawa, Ont., says motorists across the country are enjoying lower prices, though differing tax structures and market dynamics mean some are paying much more than others.
The average price for a litre of gas in Edmonton now is at around 96 cents, according to Gasbuddy.com and some stations in Calgary were posting sub-dollar prices too.
On Sunday you’re probably going to see a drop of about three cents
“On Sunday you’re probably going to see a drop of about three cents. That will put Ottawa, believe it or not, below a dollar,” he said.
At the higher end, Montreal was seeing average gas prices of $1.24 per litre and Vancouver was at $1.21.
McKnight said foreign exchange swings are a headwind for Canadian consumers, as energy products tend to be bought and sold in U.S. dollars. On Friday, the loonie was at 87 cents against the U.S. dollar.
And oil companies that have operations in both oilfields and refineries will be looking to bolster their profit margins.
“I just don’t know how much longer the oil companies can handle that because I think the refining margins must be getting rather narrow,” McKnight said.
“If they start hurting in the upstream with this crude oil price war going on, they’re going to compensate for that by not passing on as much reductions on the downstream, so the consumer won’t see as much happening that way.”
The price of U.S. benchmark crude — used to make gasoline and other products — is down by more than a third since the summer and closed down a whopping $7.54 at US.$66.15 a barrel on Friday.
And with the decision Thursday by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to keep output at 30 million barrels a day rather than cut back and put a floor under prices, there’s not much to buoy crude in the near term.
McKnight called OPEC’s decision to stand pat a “shot across the bow” aimed at North American shale oil producers, who have added significant volumes to the market.
But he said he can’t see OPEC keeping up its levels indefinitely.
“I think OPEC is going to have an emergency meeting within three months because nine of the 12 members of OPEC need US$100 a barrel to balance their budgets and provide social services for their people. So I can’t see this going on much longer.”
The share prices of Canadian oil firms were taking a hit after the OPEC decision. On Thursday, the Toronto Stock Exchange’s energy index was off nearly 7%, and on Friday it lost further 2%. |
Ten years ago, Richard Askwith wrote Feet in the Clouds, a celebrated tale of fell-running and obsession. It interwove Richard's's compulsive desire to finish the gruelling Bob Graham Round – a nightmarish 66-mile, 24-hour tour of Cumbria's 42 highest peaks – with historical accounts of Britain's colourful fell-running heritage and interviews with the eccentric characters who think nothing of trotting through the most inhospitable landscapes this country has to offer. If you don't know it and you are runner who reads (or a reader who runs) you'll love it, and you are in luck as an updated anniversary edition has just been published. If you do know it, then you'll be interested in Richard's second book, Running Free, which is published on 6 March.
Running Free is a joyous, eloquent and lyrical account of one man's lifelong love affair with running – and most particularly his passion for running in nature. For Richard there is no better way to spend a Sunday morning - in fact any morning - than stepping out of the back door of his Northamptonshire home and flinging himself across muddy fields and frozen streams, doing battle with nettle thickets and slippery stiles, all the while with Nutmeg his dog matching him stride for stride.
But it wasn't always like that. Richard, like so many of us, used to be a pavement pounder. In Running Free he details how he fell into running in his 20s (overweight and fed up) and grew to love hammering around the parks of the capital and along the south London streets where he used to live. He was always watching the clock, always trying to better his PBs, always clipping seconds from set distances and well-worn routes. But slowly, running became more and more about escape, about leaving the day's stresses and strains behind by, ironically, losing himself in the real world. A place of weather, seasons, nature, mud, hills, mist and more mud, lots of mud. In a defining chapter, Richard describes how he got totally lost on a rural run in France. He had no idea where he was or how to get home. He ran for miles. And slowly, without sounding at all cliched, a new reason to run dawned on him. Now he rarely times his runs. He doesn't even wear a watch. It doesn't matter how fast or slow he is going, it is all about being in the run: "mindful" running. And this new purpose brings rich rewards. Richard writes beautifully about discovering the things most of us never notice: birdsong, different types of mud (we have more than 100 words for the brown stuff), the furrows on a ploughed field, the changing seasons … In many ways Running Free is a hymn to the beauty of the English countryside.
Alternating with these pastoral chapters, Richard documents his ambivalence at the arrival of "big running" and the commercialisation of what should be the most free and liberating of all sports. As he says: "Running hasn't got any more expensive, so why are we paying so much more to do it?" His book charts how running has become monetised and sanitised; how we feel compelled to buy the right kit; how we pay £50 and more simply to run a route that we could do for nothing when ever we wanted; how obstacle events such as Tough Mudder and Rat Race, sell us a tame, anaesthetised version of adventure. He's absolutely right. Running is now colossally big business, and it really doesn't need to be.
By "running free" or as he sometimes says, "running natural", Richard taps into what the sport should be when stripped of all the consumerism and health-and-safety nonsense. He talks about the benefits of running barefoot; he becomes a human "hare" and is chased by a pack of dogs; he goes cheese rolling; he joins a "man hunt" – a sort of extreme version of cross-country tag. His book is a love letter to running outdoors in all its many forms, and there is plenty of it out there, enjoyed everyday by countless thousands. Running Free is simply the prod you need to make you step off the pavement and into the wild. The book is also practical. It tells you how to defrost frozen toes and how to run through a herd of cows, how to pick your way across flooded fields and over slippery styles.
While Feet in the Clouds was driven by the narrative of whether he would finish the Bob Graham, this book is slower and gentler. It's happy to meander its way through a lifetime of jogging. It drifts in parts and I did find myself skipping over some of the natural descriptions, lovely though they are. But mostly I had the heart-lifting sensation that I was out there in the mud with Richard and Nutmeg, running free.
Running Free: a Runner's Journey Back to Nature by Richard Askwith is published by Yellow Jersey Press on 6 March, price £16.99 |
(Support Gender Analysis on Patreon!)
2015 has been a fantastic year for the show, and we’ve come a long way since we started. In addition to better equipment and full HD video, we’ve brought more contributors on board, including a dedicated script editor. We also struck a deal with a major YouTube network to provide enhanced visual assets, promotion, and other optimizations. In terms of performance, viewers watched Gender Analysis episodes for more than 9400 hours this year, or about 393 days straight in total.
I’m very happy with everything we’ve accomplished so far, and so many of our viewers have played such an important role in supporting the show and advancing the conversation on trans issues. That said, there are certain trends I’ve noticed among a very small number of commenters that really only hold that conversation back. While these comments can be unproductive and at times even hostile, I’m confident that we can all try to avoid these missteps and work towards a better dialogue together. Remember: if it doesn’t apply to you, it’s not about you. And if it does, I want to help.
Unsolicited opinions about appearance
Presentation is a pretty important part of this medium, but a lot of the feedback in that area isn’t very constructive. For example, it seems like some commenters just don’t like my face. There’s a substantial difference between our perspectives here. To you, that’s your perception, and it might as well be reality as far as you’re concerned. To me, it’s more like sitting at a giant blinking switchboard of everyone’s judgment.
You are a drop in an ocean of opinions, most of which can’t decide whether I’m beautiful or merely very attractive. Who do you think I’m going to listen to?
Also, if you feel the need to remark on whether I “pass”, you are missing so many points. Think about it: do you really believe someone with a trans symbol tattooed on their chest is even trying to pass? How about when they’re hosting an entire show about their experiences as a trans person? I don’t doubt that you could tell I was trans, but it doesn’t really count if I’m practically waving a sign.
Not paying attention to the episodes
I love how so many of our viewers engage with the ideas presented in each episode. But if you leave a comment that makes it obvious you haven’t paid any attention to the video, you are the reason I get high all the time. Do you have any idea how frustrating it is to spend two shows on the biological complexities of sex, just for some guy with a profile full of MRA videos to tell me XY chromosomes are “male”? This is a quantifiable problem: according to our stats, viewers only watch an average of 43% of the way through each episode.
Plenty of you are clearly paying attention; others not so much. Unfortunately for them, every part of the show is an important part.
To some extent, this is my fault. Our network actually recommends keeping videos under 3 to 4 minutes, but these are complicated subjects and it’s extremely difficult to leave that much out. Right now, the entire series is slightly longer than the movie Titanic, and I know that’s a lot to sit through. But if you have the time to drop your valuable thoughts on the internet, you could at least go to our blog first and speed-read through the transcripts. And if you still think your definition of “male” is somehow built into the structure of the universe, you need to read some Less Wrong or Slate Star Codex. Please don’t come back until you have.
Lack of clarity on “mental disorders”
It’s interesting to see how often commenters claim that trans people have a “mental disorder”, because they usually go on to ignore everything that implies. If you’re going to point out that gender dysphoria is included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and can therefore be called a “mental disorder”, that’s like stopping a movie right before the best part. What else does the DSM say about it? What do major medical organizations say about it? What’s the scientific consensus on the most effective treatments for it?
Remember, you’re arguing about this with someone who’s actually received this diagnosis as well as the professionally recommended treatment for it – which is transitioning. This would still be medically effective and scientifically supported whether you call it a “mental disorder”, a “physical disorder”, or a “green beans disorder”. If you think you can present a comparable body of scientific evidence that more strongly supports another treatment, you’re welcome to try. But you probably won’t have much luck if you didn’t feel like reading past the title of the DSM.
Faux analogies about transness
It’s been 10 years since that episode of South Park, and some commenters still think they’ve found a knock-down argument: if someone can become a woman, what if someone wants to be a dolphin? Or a cat? Or a tree? Or a unicorn? Or Napoleon?
I have some what-ifs, too: What if human fetuses differentiated into humans and dolphins during gestation? What if babies were occasionally born with partial human and partial cat features? What if taking tree hormones induced secondary tree characteristics in humans using our preexisting tree receptors? What if every person’s ancestry contained an unbroken line of unicorns? What if half of the human population was Napoleon?
None of those phenomena are observed in the case of dolphins, cats, trees, or Napoleon. But all of them are observed in the case of physical sex in humans. People can be men. People can be women. If it were really that obviously impossible, you could just argue “What if someone wants to be a woman?” without resorting to unrepresentative comparisons.
“But have you tried…”
When commenters offer their suggestions for alternatives to transitioning, it usually goes like this: “It’s too bad you couldn’t just be a really feminine guy. Have you tried being a gay man?” Maybe they don’t know this, but yes, I have tried those things. I tried them for many years. The two most obvious issues were that I’m not really a guy, and that I’m not attracted to men. Estrogen makes me look and feel the way I want. Living as a woman is more comfortable for me, and healthy intimacy isn’t possible unless I’m a woman with other women. How much longer should I have “tried” something else before acknowledging it’s just not for me? The only reason I bothered in the first place was that I used to be just as lacking in introspection as these people still are.
Imagine if I were to suggest: “Hey, cis gay men, why bother being who and what you are? Have you tried being a lesbian trans woman instead?” But someone who knows they’re happier with their gender and sexuality shouldn’t have to force themselves to live otherwise before they’re finally permitted just to be themselves. Do you really think this is a satisfactory solution for trans people, or do you just not want to see anyone transitioning?
Bathroom fears vs. reality
Even on episodes that have nothing to do with public facilities, some commenters have expressed discomfort with the idea of using restrooms where trans people might be present. Many are quite vocal about what they would do if they saw one of us, ranging from threats of violence to simply not using the restroom while we’re there. What’s puzzling to me is that they have so many “ifs” but so few actual experiences.
You might think such a hostile group, so hyper-attentive toward trans people in restrooms, would be very willing to share any unpleasant encounters that would support their fears. Instead, all I’m seeing are the fears. What did trans people actually do to them, or their family or friends, or anyone? Somehow they never get around to that part. These non-events lack any element that would generate sympathy – I’m not going to feel bad for the transphobes who are anxious over nothing happening. But I am going to be very worried for the safety of any trans person who might run into them while just trying to use the bathroom. If you are the one being disruptive, violent, or exclusionary in that situation, you are creating the problem here.
Putting down other trans people
It’s always nice when someone shares positive thoughts about me or the show. If our work has been enjoyable or helpful to you, that’s wonderful to hear. But if you’re just going to tell me how much better I am than various other trans people you don’t like, I really can’t support that. For example:
We need more transgenders like you in popular media, because I thought transgenders were sexists in the extreme. Like Caitlin presenting herself as a woman for the first time in a SEXY fotoshoot.
This kind of comment makes me want to disappoint you. When you say this, it’s like a backhanded compliment against all of us. I know that because I’ve been on the other side of this, and it’s never a good feeling. I’m often the example used when some cis person wants to explain how much they respect trans people, as long as they’re not too outspoken and feminist “like Zinnia Jones”.
No matter whether you’re comparing me favorably or unfavorably, I have no interest in being used to construct a wall between the trans people you like and the trans people you don’t. I’m not going to be a building block for your standards of what trans people have to do before you’ll respect them. The only thing you’re doing right is telling me exactly how to get on your bad side. ■ |
Cities attract wild ideas, from Qinhuangdao’s straddling bus to London’s bike lanes in the sky. As Musk’s Boring Company starts tunnelling, could his plans for underground roads and Hyperloop trains prove the doubters wrong?
In early August, the city council of Hawthorne, California, held a special meeting. It had set aside this time to discuss a major construction project proposed by a high profile company based there in the sprawling Los Angeles basin.
The company was Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, or SpaceX, the rocket-building offshoot of the electric car company Tesla, run by the billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk. SpaceX had recently spun off another entity, this one aimed at disrupting the tunnel boring business, cheekily named the Boring Company – and it needed the City of Hawthorne’s cooperation.
“We want to prove our technology,” Brett Horton, senior director of facilities and construction at SpaceX, told the city council. The company had recently purchased a used tunnel boring machine from another California city and had begun testing its capabilities below its parking lot. But SpaceX wants to go further, tunnelling a roughly two-mile path beyond its property line and under the streets of Hawthorne. It’s a fairly quotidian infrastructural endeavour, but one tied to a grand vision.
Musk wants to build a vast network of tunnels below cities like Los Angeles in which cars and people will be whisked across town on electrically driven platforms at speeds of 125mph. Like the swooping and merging lanes of an interstate highway, the tunnels would criss-cross the metropolis, far below ground level. Elevators would bring cars, cargo and other vehicles down into tunnels and into the system of tubes on what the Boring Company calls an “electric skate”, then back up another elevator at the desired destination – apparently bypassing all traffic above ground.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Musk’s boring machine has already started tunnelling. Photograph: Instagram
“Traffic is driving me nuts,” Musk tweeted in December. “Am going to build a tunnel boring machine and just start digging …”
The digging has begun. The company has bored about 160 feet under its own property, with no reported complications. The proposed two-mile extension is being presented as a laboratory for increasing the speed and reducing the cost of tunnelling. It’s a new frontier for a parent organisation that has already developed transformative automobile and rocket technologies.
We want these tunnels to be everywhere Brett Horton
“The next step is to use what we learn to make stronger, faster tunnel boring machines, to make a safe transportation system, and then to figure out where we want to go next,” Horton told the city council. “If you’ve had the opportunity to look at the videos online, it’s not a secret. We want these tunnels to be everywhere. We want to duplicate the road network in LA underground.
“We want to prove that we can solve traffic once and for all,” he said.
From the aspirational to the absurd
Usually these types of proposed projects don’t get built. Sometimes they’re mere marketing or self-promotion, other times they’re earnest suggestions for a better world – either way, they’re almost always able to generate a conversation.
“Visionary proposals are an essential way to come together in discussion about the city,” says Nicholas de Monchaux, an associate professor of architecture and urban design at the University of California, Berkeley. Big ideas for the future city are nothing new, and although these schemes can sometimes seem preposterous in their ambitions, de Monchaux says they have a power to inspire.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest The SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California. Photograph: Alamy
One of the earliest and most enduring visions of an ideal society is presented in the book Utopia, published in 1516 by the lawyer and philosopher Thomas More. “Utopia literally described an island of cities that didn’t exist and couldn’t exist,” says de Monchaux. “But utopias help us think about the world as it actually is and ways we might want to change it – or not.”
Perhaps because of its role in modern life and its impact on urban form, transportation has long been the starting point for these thought experiments. And as technology evolves, these ideas have taken on a variety of new forms, ranging from the aspirational to the absurd.
Near the far end of that spectrum, a company in China gathered global attention in 2016 with plans to build a lane-straddling bus – a novel contraption designed to carry hundreds of passengers over two lanes of traffic, theoretically bypassing congestion. The prototype of a sort of double-wide subway car on stilts, was completed a few months later and given a test run, with regular passenger vehicles driving underneath. But within days the project was stalled, and was abandoned less than a year later after it was accused of being little more than an investment scam. The founder of the company behind the project and 31 employees were recently arrested on suspicion of illegal fundraising.
Although criminal futurism apparently does exist, most of these types of proposals are typically altruistic. In London, a series of aspirational projects have rolled out in recent years presenting new forms of infrastructure aimed at improving the city for cyclists. The London Underline proposes repurposing disused tube tunnels into cross-city bike routes – a scheme for which its designer, the global architecture firm Gensler, was awarded the Best Conceptual Project at the 2015 London Planning Awards.
We want this to be an awesome project that propels us into the future Hawthorne mayor Alex Vargas
SkyCycle, a slightly less realistic idea from Foster + Partners, suggests adding 220km of bike lanes atop the alignments of suburban rail lines. And then there’s the £600m proposal to build a floating pontoon bike path on the Thames. These projects have gathered accolades and interest, but they’ve also been criticised as distracting policymakers from pursuing more achievable cycling improvements.
Similar concerns have been raised about another Musk idea, the pneumatic tube-based intercity transit system known as the Hyperloop. Though still in early test phases and with significant hurdles in the way of even a small-scale rollout, the proposed technology has spurred the launch of multiple companies and coverage by media around the world.
Some worry it’s diverting investment from proven and existing transportation technologies like high speed rail. But for the private companies competing to build the first viable Hyperloop system, traditional high speed rail can’t beat a 700mph tube.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Elon Musk at SpaceX Hyperloop Pod II competition in Hawthorne, California. Photograph: Mike Blake/Reuters
Musk seems to agree. Although he originally released the Hyperloop idea to the global community in 2013 in the hope that someone else would bring it to reality, now that Musk has his own tunnelling company he has apparently decided to merge the Hyperloop with his underground tunnel traffic solution. “Just received verbal govt approval for The Boring Company to build an underground NY-Phil-Balt-DC Hyperloop,” Musk tweeted in July. “NY-DC in 29 mins.”
While Thomas More sought to use his imagined cities to raise questions and inspire new ways of building society, Musk is looking to put shovels – and tunnel boring machines – in the ground.
Construction ‘within weeks’
On 22 August, officials from the Boring Company were back at Hawthorne City Hall, a squat concrete building where a scale model of a SpaceX rocket sits on display in the central atrium. The company was seeking city council approval of an easement allowing it to use subterranean land beneath public property for its two-mile test tunnel, and affirming its exemption from review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
On the wrong tracks: China's 'straddling bus' and other bizarre transport ideas Read more
Lawyers for the Boring Company explained the tunnel’s proposed path: an L-shaped route that would mostly run beneath city streets at depths ranging from 22ft to 44ft below the surface. An environmental consultant explained that a lack of significant impacts to traffic, air, water or noise enables the tunnel to avoid CEQA review under an exemption typically used to streamline infill urban development.
Aside from one member of the public voicing concern about a tunnel collapse and a few questions from council members about the environmental review process, the project was not controversial. The council voted 4-1 to approve the easement.
A few details are still to be decided before a final permit can be issued, but strong city support is likely to ease that process. “We want this to be an awesome project that propels us into the future,” Hawthorne mayor Alex Vargas said.
Horton, through a communications official, declined to comment after the vote.
The tunnel is expected to take five months to build, and construction could begin within weeks.
Follow Guardian Cities on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to join the discussion, or explore our archive |
’Two legged’ molecules walk, hop and fly across a receptor surface, according to researchers in the Netherlands and Ireland. The findings could help us understand how viruses and bacteria interact with cell membranes, they say.
Jurriaan Huskens and colleagues at the University of Twente, in collaboration with researchers at the University of Cork, monitored the spread of two-legged dye molecules across a monolayer surface of beta-cyclodextrin ’foothold’ receptor molecules using fluorescence microscopy. They observed that the molecules moved across the surface using three distinct mechanisms depending on the environment they were in.
Huskens explains that the team printed all the dye molecules at one end of the surface, creating a concentration gradient. The high concentration of dye molecules meant there was a low concentration of free receptor sites on the surface. ’Outside that area, you have many free sites remaining so you have an active driving force based on the gradient of free receptor sites that makes the molecules move faster into the empty area,’ he says. The team also added the same receptor molecules to the surrounding solution to induce competition with the surface receptors.
Huskens explains that the ’feet’ of the dye molecules are relatively weakly bound to the surface and so they adsorb and desorb spontaneously in a matter of microseconds. ’In the absence of any competitor, we see strong evidence that molecules are mainly walking, so one leg at a time desorbs from the surface and finds another site to bind to before any of the other legs detach,’ he says.
At the other extreme - when competition from free beta-cyclodextrin receptor molecules is high or when all the receptors on the surface at capped by other molecules - the legs of the dye molecules adsorb to free receptors in solution and then diffuse through the solution and bind somewhere else, say Huskens. ’This is the flying mechanism,’ he tells Chemistry World.
The molecules can also hop from receptor to receptor on the surface, using only one leg. One of the legs of the molecule attaches to a free receptor molecule, whilst the other leg hops from receptor to receptor on the surface. Huskens explains that at medium levels of competition from free receptor molecules, ’there is a high probability that it will see a receptor on the surface before it meets one in solution and therefore it binds very quickly’.
’They have succeeded in taking a collection of molecules that are weakly bound to a surface with two ’feet’, and managed to infer the mechanisms by which they are travelling around through observation of their transit speed under different circumstances,’ says Jonathan Nitschke who researches complex molecular structures at the University of Cambridge in the UK. ’Their methods could be used to help understand how complex, multi-site binding events occur, between antibodies and antigens, for example, or between viruses and the membrane proteins of their hosts,’ he adds.
Mike Brown |
A clear majority of Americans now want to see marijuana legalized. Fifty-six percent believe it should be treated like alcohol or tobacco. Only thirty-six percent defend the status quo. What's more, the trend has been moving towards the pro-legalization position, and continues to do so.
It is about time. The entire drug war is a monstrosity, a crime against the Bill of Rights, the greatest contributor to gang violence, a wholesale attack on our civil liberties and the right of individuals to control their own bodies. Characterizing drug problems as a criminal justice issue has been an unmitigated failure, except for serving law-enforcement special interests, growing the bureaucracy, and deepening the pockets of drug kingpins who profit off this madness.
Marijuana criminalization always rested on the flimsiest of grounds. Fear of blacks and Hispanics fueled the hysteria. So did conflicting propaganda about how marijuana would make American youth violent, yet also make them docile and unable to serve in the Armed Forces.
If marijuana is not the most benign recreational drug known to humanity, it is near the top. Alcohol kills tens of thousands of Americans a year. Tobacco kills hundreds of thousands. Pot directly kills zero.
Scientists measure the lethality of a drug by its therapeutic index. The TI gauges how many effective doses of a drug it takes to kill the median user. Alcohol's TI is somewhere around ten. Caffeine's is approximately one hundred. Marijuana's is a matter of conjecture, since it's been extrapolated from studies with lab rats and other such methods. But scientists estimate its TI somewhere between 1,000 and 40,000. In other words, marijuana is somewhere between a hundred and four thousand times less lethal than alcohol.
This is not to say that smoking pot has no negative side-effects. Long-term users can easily fritter their time away, satisfied to bask in the high rather than doing something productive. This is a danger with other drugs too, including alcohol, as well as with many other activities like watching sports or playing video games. But the answer is not jail time or a federal program aimed at reforming individuals from these poor habits. A free society does not use police power to deal with frivolousness of youth.
The responsible way a civil society can handle drugs, regardless of how dangerous they are, is through community institutions. Many Americans want nothing to do with drugs. Private organizations can discourage use. Property owners can exclude behavior they dislike from their premises. Meanwhile, those seeking help can get it from doctors, churches, family, and friends without fear of persecution.
My prediction is that if marijuana were legal, most of the hysteria would subside, as would much of the romanticism surrounding its use. People who are stoned all the time to the detriment of their work or family life would be seen in a similar light as those who abuse alcohol, but tempered recreational use would have neither the forbidden-fruit appeal nor the stigma that characterizes pot use today.
No result of legal cannabis could be as bad as what we have now. The violence in Mexico is reason enough to legalize the stuff immediately. A large part of the illicit drug trade is aimed toward supplying Americans with the marijuana they demand. About 50,000 people have been murdered down south in the last few years, mitigated not at all by Washington's drug war agenda that it pushes on Latin American countries against their will.
Marijuana prohibition has also, outrageously, resulted in the suffering of patients who use it for legitimate medical purposes. It has been used as medicine for five thousand years by ancient cultures ranging from China and India to Assyria and Greece. Homer, Herodotus, and Theocritus all wrote about its beneficial medical effects. It is an analgesic, an anti-inflammatory, and an anti-nausea treatment. Many patients don't even smoke it -- which is the most harmful aspect of the drug's administration -- instead opting for vaporization or edibles. For many treatments, it has no superior substitutes.
Right now, 3/4 of Americans -- including 2/3 of Republicans -- want the federal raids against state-legalized medical marijuana dispensaries to end. These raids started under Clinton. George W. Bush said in the 2000 presidential campaign that, in the name of states rights, he would stop the raids. Instead, he ramped them up. Obama promised to stop them, and then he escalated them further. Since October 2009, the Obama administration has executed over 170 SWAT raids of dispensaries.
If ever there was an issue where a president was out of touch with the American people, especially with those in his own party, the war on marijuana is it. When Obama's administration opened a website for the public to petition the government on various issues, the most popular demand was for pot legalization. Obama blew it off like it wasn't a serious proposal.
Obama is not the first liberal president to betray Americans on marijuana. Ever since Franklin Roosevelt signed the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937, the Democrats have often been as vociferous drug warriors as conservative Republicans. Paternalistic progressivism has kept the drug war going. When all the liberals on the Supreme Court upheld the federal medical marijuana crackdowns in 2005, they did so on the grounds that the federal power, even when it was exercised unwisely and cruelly, could not be constitutionally limited in the area of drug use.
The last three presidents have done marijuana. They have all punished others for using it -- even for medicinal purposes. The war on pot is hypocritical and immoral. It needs to end. Now that the majority of Americans have voiced the sensible position on this issue, we can hold out some hope. Unfortunately, the prison and police lobbies want to keep this calamitous crusade going. The war on pot is a lynchpin for the rest of the drug war. The DEA and Drug Czar require marijuana to be included in their data on illicit substances, which they use to make the drug problem appear as big as possible. |
Richmond, Virginia has the rather placid nickname of "River City," but its neighborhoods sport some more unusual nicknames, like "Shockoe Slip" and "Three Chopt." Here’s how seven of the more memorable districts in Virginia’s capital city got their names.
1. COURT END
Filled with staid government buildings—including the Virginia State Capitol, Executive Mansion, and the White House of the Confederacy—Court End is a historic district that carries reminders of Richmond’s brief role as the Confederate capital. For the story behind its name, look no further than the Supreme Court of Virginia, which is located near the Virginia State Capitol building. The U.S. District Court is nearby, too, which means the judicial branch is especially well-represented in Court End.
2. SHOCKOE SLIP/SHOCKOE BOTTOM
The word Shockoe has a pleasant sound and old roots. It’s a nod to the city’s Shockoe Creek, whose name derives from Shacahocan—a Powhatan/Algonquin phrase that referred to a flat rock at the mouth of the creek. Shockoe Slip was once a trading post, and the “slip” is where boats loaded their cargo. The area eventually became the commercial center of Richmond.
The trade had a brutal side in nearby Shockoe Bottom, which was the center of Richmond’s slave trade. Home to slave jails like the one where 12 Years a Slave’s Solomon Northup was imprisoned, much of Shockoe Bottom has since been paved over along with the creek that inspired its name.
3. THE FAN
One of Richmond’s most beautiful neighborhoods, The Fan is so named because of the fan-like way some of its streets radiate out from Monroe Park. And if you’re an architecture nerd, you might need to fan yourself while you explore: It’s full of vintage homes in all kinds of architectural styles.
But The Fan didn’t always have its name. At first, part of it was known as Scuffletown, likely because of that time a post-treason Benedict Arnold raided Richmond and scuffled with its militia in 1781. Then, rich people began to build pretty houses around Scuffletown, and in 1817 a town called “Sydney” was planned. Alas, Sydney never came to be. The Fan grew out of the remains of Scuffletown and Sydney, and was eventually defined by its roads.
4. JACKSON WARD
Once known as the “Black Wall Street,” Jackson Ward used to be ground zero for local African-American business institutions. A haven for free blacks before the Civil War, it blossomed into a thriving African-American neighborhood after the war’s end. The reason behind its name is something of a mystery, however. A popular guess is that the area was named by Ulysses S. Grant in 1871 after Andrew Jackson, since other wards were already named after Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe. But another theory contends that the area was named after Jackson’s Garden, a Union College professor’s English-style garden.
Regardless of how it was named, Jackson Ward gained fame for its thriving African-American community, which was home to strong banks, businesses, and world-class entertainment. After an urban renewal effort and Virginia’s desegregation, the neighborhood declined as residents moved elsewhere in the city. However, in recent years it has revived and is now a historic district.
5. THREE CHOPT
Like so many things in Virginia, Three Chopt, one of Richmond’s West End neighborhoods, has Colonial roots. In this case, that root is a route called Three Notch’d Road, which was once the main drag connecting east and central Virginia. The road got its name from the three marks settlers cut into trees while they were turning the Native American trail into a full-blown thoroughfare [PDF]. Its other name? Three Chopt (Chopped) Road, which is the one that stuck.
6. LIBBY HILL
Richmond was supposedly built on seven hills, like Rome (though which seven should be considered “official” in Richmond is still a matter of debate). Many of these hills give neighborhoods their names.
Libby Hill got its name from an infamous Richmonder, Luther Libby, who lived nearby. Captain Libby was a prominent landowner in the area, but is perhaps best known for a prison that bore his name. (He had nothing to do with the prison itself, but had leased the building when it was a warehouse, and a sign with his name on it wasn't taken down when the building was hurriedly converted to a Confederate prison.) Libby Prison housed Union POWs during the Civil War and was known for both its hellish living conditions and a daring prisoner escape in 1864, when 109 prisoners fled via a tunnel.
Libby Hill is also known for giving the whole town of Richmond its name, when people standing on the hill looked over the land and decided it reminded them of Richmond-upon-Thames, England.
7. CARYTOWN
Carytown came by its reputation as a shopping district honestly: It was the site of the city’s first strip mall. It’s named after Cary Street, which was in turn named after a man named Colonel Archibald Cary. One of Virginia’s richest men, Cary was friends with George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, and was known for helping the rogue colonies establish—and finance—their own government. He made all that cash from flour mills, a foundry, and a plantation that enslaved hundreds. Despite those historic roots, Carytown has only been known by that name since the 1970s, when residents voted to name it after its main drag. |
Our latest puzzle was created by Eric Fulton, Sherri Davidoff, Jonathan Ham and Scott Fretheim.
“Oh god” is the first thought running through your mind as you crack open the door. An odious wafting of day old vomit, sweat, and stale cigar washes across you as the door moves from cracked to ajar. The room is pitch black, a dirty and exposed hallway light bulb does nothing to cut into the dark abyss of the room. Peering inside you see only shapes, but deep down you know it isn’t going to be pretty.
It’s been three weeks since the PaulDotCom crew went missing. Through extensive research and cyberstalking, millions of PDC fans gathered information relating to their disappearance and hired you to find them. This is John Strand’s safe house, and a quick Google image search was all you needed to know about his seedy life. Who knows what’s in this room? Donning rubber gloves you feel for a light switch with your left hand, both intensely afraid and curious for what you are about to see. Wincing in anticipation you flick the switch with a “clickâ€.
Nothing happens. “Why do I always get the messed up jobs” you whisper to yourself, digging around in your black bag. Corporate espionage isn’t a clean game, but usually the tech jobs involve threatening geeks in suburban houses, not sneaking around what looks to be North Dakotan project housing. Pulling a sleek Pelican flashlight from the bag, you click it on and begin to survey the damage. Starting from the left you identify the location of the puke smell; there’s day old vomit trailing its way down peeling wallpaper toward a box of empty tequila bottles. Smell one located.
Further to the right you spot a human shape on a couch. You freeze with the flashlight beam aimed at the shape. It’s Larry, wrapped in a dirty pink blanket almost too small to cover him, rocking back and forth and muttering something unintelligible. What’s he saying? You suspect it’s key. His fingers are pale as he grips a WRT54G router which appears to have twenty-four overlapping bites taken out of it. Seconds tick by. Nothing happens; he pays no attention to your entry. Smells two and three probably located. Your light continues its sweep as you spot a table hosting two 24†monitors surrounded by miscellaneous cables. Jackpot.
Ignoring the rest of the room you step over martini glasses and other unidentified objects, making a beeline to the desk. The little voice in your head shouts “Damn! Damn! Damn!” There is evidence that someone left only recently. The scene is almost out of a second rate Hollywood movie, being so incredibly obvious:a puddle of spilled cosmopolitan makes apparent the distinct outlines where a laptop and external hard drive once sat.
Disheartened, you rummage though the desk, hopeful of finding a forgotten USB drive or other storage device. No dice. You slide a few sticky quarters off of the desk (it’s not like you’re getting a per-diem) and continue the search– wait. One of the quarters… splits a little. You pick it up and play with it. Viola! A small micro SDHC card lies inside the quarter. Your heart starts beating faster. You have a clue.
As a matter of habit you go through the rest of the room, quietly, as the eerie sound of Larry chanting in the background never stops. Old coffee mugs, a dirty microwave, hundreds of empty frozen food wrappers, and magnetic buckyballs cover the floor like a sort of 21st century urban underbrush…and then you see something peculiar. A stack of hard drives sits in the corner. The top drive looks like someone shot it 7 or 8 times, a strange method for data destruction, but certainly an effective one. Rummaging through the stack of drives you find one at the bottom looking as if it survived the data massacre. Grabbing it, you give one last look around as you walk to the door. The sounds of Larry go from muffled to silent as you shut the door and make your exit.
The Evidence
You are the forensic investigator.The items found in the safe house have been uploaded to this server for your analysis. These include:
quarter-SDHC-snippet.dd – A DD image of a the SDHC card found inside the quarter.
pcap-from-surviving-hard-drive.pcap – A packet capture that you copied off the surviving hard drive.
Download the 7-zipped evidence file here.
SHA256 sum:
44450915addb8bdbe1766a3fad1c03059393a0f1f01839b19f98f235dc3b97bd
The Adoring Fans’ Questions
Can you solve the puzzle and find out what happened to PaulDotCom? Their adoring legions of fans have asked you to find the answers to the following questions along the way:
1. In his conversation with juniorkeyy, how old does Larry initially say he is?
2. What was the filename of the file that had the following SHA256 sum:
e56931935bc60ac4c994eabd89b003a7ae221d941f1b026b05a7947a48dc9366
3. What is the SHA256sum of the photo from the “dd” image that shows Larry taking a bite out of a wireless router?
4. What is the SHA256sum of the image that shows zombie Larry taking a
bite out of a cat?
5. What is Larry saying as he rocks back and forth? (No spaces or
capital letters.)
6. Where are Paul and John? Report their GPS coordinates:
a) Latitude
b) Longitude
BONUS. What is the name of the nearest bar?
Submission Form
Please submit your answers using the Official Submission Form.
Deadline is 7/23/12 (11:59:59PM UTC-11) (In other words, if it’s still 7/23/12 anywhere in the world, you can submit your entry.)
Prize
The Grand Prize will be a Black Hat “Black Card”! Thanks, Black Hat, for sponsoring such an awesome prize.
There will also be prizes for the first correct submission, as well as the 2nd and 3rd place runner-ups. Stay tuned for more info!
How to Win
The MOST ELEGANT solution wins. In the event of a tie, the entry submitted first will receive the prize. Coding is always encouraged. We love to see well-written, easy-to-use tools which automate even small sections of the evidence recovery. Graphical and command-line tools are all eligible. You are welcome to build upon the work of others, as long as their work has been released under a an approved Open Source License. All responses should be submitted as plain text. Microsoft Word documents, PDFs, etc will NOT be reviewed.
More Details
Feel free to collaborate with other people and discuss ideas back and forth. You can even submit as a team (there will be only one prize). However, please do not publish the answers before the deadline, or you (and your team) will be automatically disqualified. Also, please understand that the contest materials are copyrighted and that we’re offering them publicly for the community to enjoy. You are welcome to publish full solutions after the deadline, but please use proper attributions and link back. If you are interested in using the contest materials for other purposes, just ask first.
Authors agree that their code submissions will be freely published under the GPL license, in order to further the state of network forensics knowledge. Exceptional submissions may be used as examples and tools in the Network Forensics course or book. All authors will receive full credit for their work.
To Recap
Evidence File
Sha256sum: 44450915addb8bdbe1766a3fad1c03059393a0f1f01839b19f98f235dc3b97bd
Deadline is 7/23/12 (11:59:59PM UTC-11). Here’s the Official Submission form. Good luck!!
Copyright 2012, Lake Missoula Group, LLC. All rights reserved. |
Who exactly are these wind farm refugees?
Posted
When you look closely at the claims that residents have been driven from their homes by wind farm noise, they are quickly revealed as inaccurate and overblown, writes Simon Chapman.
Industrial developments like highway construction, new airport runways, tunnels and re-zoning of residential areas for industrial use often attract virulent protest. Those most affected write complaints, picket councils and parliaments, are interviewed by the media, put signs on their fences and front lawns, and sometimes engage in civil disobedience. They have strong reasons to complain and the last thing they'd want to do is to be timid, seek anonymity and not raise hell.
But it seems those claiming to be worst affected by wind farm turbine noise might be made of different stuff. There are 51 wind farms around Australia and according to the non-media shy Sarah Laurie, who heads the anti-wind-farm Waubra Foundation, there are "more than 40" families who have "abandoned" their homes because of noise from wind turbines. Public claims about home abandonment have been made by senators Xenophon, Madigan and Back, the three political champions of anti-wind-farm groups.
So where are these 40 families? If 40 families had experienced such insufferable noise that they drew stumps and walked off their properties without recompense, this is something that you would expect to be shouted from the rooftops. There would be lots of media attention. Speeches by their local members in Parliament. The wind companies involved would know about such cases. Those affected would hardly have slipped away in the middle of the night without making a fuss.
In a new research paper, I set out to check whether Laurie's statement was a fact or a factoid. A factoid is a piece of unverified or inaccurate information promoted as fact and then popularly accepted as true because of frequent repetition of its allegedly factual status.
I wrote to Laurie asking for information about her "more than 40 families" claim only to be told that the details were "confidential". They are therefore not open to any scrutiny. I looked through 2,394 submissions to three parliamentary enquiries for such claims. I searched the anonymous blog Stop These Things. I invited the three senators to provide me with any information about their claims. I emailed 18 known opponents of wind farms the same request. And I also asked wind companies, rural health specialists and acousticians if they knew of any "abandonments".
This process produced 12 cases, near seven of Australia's 51 wind farms, not "over 40". I found none that could be said to be true "abandonment" cases, where a residential asset had been literally written off forever without any sale. In nearly all cases, there was more to each case than a simple story of a family moving away reluctantly because of turbine noise. There were histories of protracted negotiations to have properties bought, sometimes involving ambit claims. There were cases of people having moved for other reasons (employment, to be near a needed health facility) and of lengthy opposition to wind farms, even before they were constructed.
Laurie has interesting form in her public pronouncements. She claims that wind turbines can make people's lips vibrate "as from a distance of 10km away" and that turbines can "perceptibly rock stationary cars even further than a kilometre away from the nearest wind turbine." Mythbusters, where are you?
Last December, Ontario's Environmental Review Tribunal refused her standing as an expert witness in a case, arguing that she had no training in research, but was seeking to provide expert interpretation of research. They also noted that as an unregistered doctor, she was not allowed to diagnose health problems, but that this was precisely what much of her proposed evidence involved her doing. The judgment states that Laurie has agreed to stop calling herself Dr Laurie.
Refugees are people who risk their lives to escape persecution and war. The appropriation of this term as an emotive rhetorical device, with the numbers involved exaggerated to increase attention, is simply odious. If rumours are correct, Tony Abbott will direct the NHMRC to research Australian claims about "wind turbine syndrome", the unrecognised disease that was coined in a vanity press, self-published book by an American doctor who interviewed 23 people over the phone who claimed to be suffering. Millions of dollars could be wasted in investigating a "disease" that has never been written on a medical certificate.
Simon Chapman AO is professor of Public Health at the University of Sydney and 2013 Australian Skeptic of the Year. View his full profile here.
Topics: wind-energy, health, activism-and-lobbying, federal-parliament |
Paintings of the great masters are among the most beautiful human artifacts ever produced. They are treasured and admired, carefully preserved, sold for hundreds of millions of dollars, and, perhaps not coincidentally, are the prime target of art thieves. Their composition, colors, details, and themes can fascinate us for hours. But what about their outer shape—the ratio of a painting’s height to its width?
In 1876, the German scientist Gustav Theodor Fechner studied human responses to rectangular shapes, concluding that rectangles with an aspect ratio equal to the golden ratio are most pleasing to the human eye. To validate his experimental observations, Fechner also analyzed the aspect ratios of more than ten thousand paintings.
We can find out more about Fechner with the following piece of code:
By 1876 standards, Fechner did amazing work, and we can redo some of his analysis in today’s world of big data, infographics, numerical models, and the rise of digital humanities as a scholarly discipline.
After a review of the golden ratio and Fechner’s findings, we will study the distribution of the height/width ratios of several large painting collections and the overall distribution, as well as the most common aspect ratios for paintings. We will discover that the trend over the last century or so is to become more rationalist.
Prelude: The golden ratio, a beautiful construction in mathematics
The golden ratio ϕ=(1+ )/2≈1.618033988… is a special number in mathematics. Its base 2 or base 10 digit sequences are more or less random digit sequences:
Its continued fraction representation is as simple and beautiful as a mathematical expression can get:
Or, written more explicitly:
Another similar form is the following iterated square root:
Although just a simple square root, mathematically the golden ratio is a special number. For instance, it is the maximally badly approximable irrational number:
Here is a graphic showing the sequence q *|q ϕ-round(q ϕ)|. The value of the sequence terms is always larger than 1/5^½:
Furthermore, we can show the approximation to the golden ratio that one obtains by truncating the continued fraction expansion:
A visualization of the defining equation 1+1/ϕ=ϕ is the ratio of the length of the following line segments:
Here are a wide and a tall rectangle with aspect ratio, golden ratio, and 1/(golden ratio):
Not surprisingly, this mathematically beautiful number has been used to generate aesthetically beautiful visual forms. This has a long history. Mathematically described already by Euclid, da Vinci made famous drawings that are based on the golden ratio.
The Wolfram Demonstrations Project has more than 90 interactive Manipulates that make use of the golden ratio. See especially Mona Lisa and the Golden Rectangle and Golden Spiral.
The golden ratio is also prevalent in nature. The angle version of the golden ratio is the so-called golden angle, which splits the circumference of a circle into two parts whose lengths have a ratio equal to the golden ratio:
The golden angle in turn appears, for instance, in phyllotaxis models:
For a long list of occurrences of the golden ratio in nature and in manmade products, see M. Akhtaruzzaman and A. Shafie.
However, the universality of the golden ratio in art is often overstated. For some common myths, see Markowsky’s paper.
Later, we will also encounter the square root of the golden ratio. If we allow for complex numbers, then another, quite simple continued fraction yields the square root of the golden ratio as a natural ingredient of its real and imaginary parts:
The name golden ratio seems to go back to Martin Ohm, the younger brother of the well-known physicist Georg Ohm, who used the term for the first time in a book in 1835.
Fechner’s 1876 work on rectangle preferences and painting aspect ratios
In volume 1 of the oft-quoted work Vorschule der Aesthetik (1876), Gustav Theodor Fechner—physicist, experimental psychologist, and philosopher—discusses the relevance of the golden ratio to human perception.
Today, Fechner is probably best known for the subjective sensation law jointly named after him, the Weber–Fechner law:
In chapter 14.3 (volume 1) of his book, Fechner discusses the aesthetics of the size (aspect ratio) of rectangles. Carrying out experiments with 347 probands, each given 10 rectangles of different aspect ratios, the rectangle that was most often considered pleasing by his experimental audience was the one with an aspect ratio equal to 34/21, which deviates from the golden ratio by less than 0.1%. Here is the today-still-cited but rarely reproduced table of Fechner’s results:
Chapter 33 in volume 2 discusses the sizes of paintings, and Chapter 44 of volume 2 contains a forty-one-page detailed analysis of 10,558 total images from 22 European art galleries. Interestingly, Fechner found that the typical ratio of painting heights and widths clearly deviated from the “expected” golden ratio.
Fechner carried out a detailed analysis of 775 hunting and war paintings, and a coarser analysis on the remaining 9,783 paintings. Here are the results for hunting and war paintings (Genre), landscapes (Landschaft), and still life (Stillleben) paintings. In the table, h indicates the painting’s height and b the width. And V.-M. is the ratio h/b or b/h:
Here in the twenty-first century, we can repeat this analysis of the aspect ratios of paintings.
For detailed discussions and modified versions of Fechner’s experiments with humans, see the works of McManus (here and here), McManus et al., Konecni, Bachmann, Stieger and Swami, Friedenberg, Ohta, Russel, Green, Davis and Jahnke, Phillips et al., and Höge. Jensen recently analyzed paintings from the CGFA database, but the discretized heights and width values used (from analyzing the pixel counts of the images) did not allow resolution of the fine-scale structure of the aspect ratios, especially the occurrence of multiple, well-resolvable maxima. (See below for the analysis of a test set of images.)
While Fechner did a detailed analysis of quantitative invariants (e.g. mean, median) of the aspect ratios of paintings, he did not study the overall shape of the aspect ratio distribution, and he also did not study the distribution of the local maxima in the distribution of the aspect ratios.
An easy start: analyzing entities from the “Artwork” domain of the Wolfram Knowledgebase
One of the knowledge domains in EntityValue is “ Artwork ”. Here we can retrieve the names, artists, completion dates, heights, and widths of a few thousand paintings. Paintings are conveniently available as an entity class in the “ Artwork ” domain of the Wolfram Knowledgebase:
Here is a typical example of the retrieved data:
Paintings come in a wide variety of height-to-width aspect ratios, ranging from very wide to quite tall. Here is a collage of 36 thumbnails of the images ordered by their aspect ratio. Each thumbnail of a painting is embedded into a gray square with a red border:
The majority of the paintings have aspect ratios between 1/4 and 4. Here are some examples of quite wide and quite tall paintings:
We can get an idea about the most common topics depicted in the paintings by making a word cloud of words from the titles of the paintings:
Now that we have downloaded all the thumbnails, let’s play with them. Considering their colors, we could embed the average value of all pixel colors of the image thumbnails in a color triangle:
Before analyzing the aspect ratios h/b in more detail, let’s have a look at the product, which is to say the area of the painting. (Fechner’s aforementioned work devoted a lot of attention to the natural area of paintings too.)
We show all paintings in the aspect ratio area plane. Because paintings occur in greatly different sizes, we use a logarithmic scale for the areas (vertical axis). We also add a tooltip for each point to see the actual painting:
And here is a histogram of the distribution of the height/width aspect ratios.
Starting now, following the Wolfram Language definition of aspect ratio, I will use the definition aspect ratio=height/width rather than the sometimes-used definition aspect ratio=width/height. As we saw above, this convention also follows Fechner’s convention, which also used height/width.
Now let’s analyze the histogram of the aspect ratios in more detail. Qualitatively, we see a trimodal distribution. For wide paintings (width>height) we have an aspect ratio less than 1, for square paintings we have an aspect ratio of about 1, and for tall paintings (height>width) we have an aspect ratio greater than 1. The tall and the wide paintings both have a global peak, and some smaller local peaks are also visible.
The trimodal structure for wide, square, and tall paintings was to be expected. Two natural questions that arise when looking at the above distribution are:
1) what are the positions of the local peaks?
2) what is the approximate overall shape of the distribution (normal, lognormal, …)?
In 1997, Shortess, Clarke, and Shannon analyzed 594 paintings and took a closer look at the point where the maximum of the distribution occurs. In agreement with Fechner’s 1876 work, they found that 1.3 seems to be the local maximum for the distribution of max(h/b,b/h). Again, 1.3 is clearly different from the golden ratio and the authors suggest either the Pythagorean number (4/3) or the so-called plastic constant as the possible exact value for the maximum.
The plastic constant is the positive real solution of x³-x-1=0:
The plastic constant was introduced by Dom Hans van der Laan in 1928 as a special number with respect to human aesthetics for 3D (rather than 2D) figures. If explicitly expressed in radicals, the plastic constant ℘ has a slightly complicated form:
The resolution of the graphs from the 594 analyzed paintings was not enough to discriminate between ℘ and 4/3, and as a result, Shortess, Clarke, and Shannon suggest that the value of the maximum of painting ratios occurs at the “platinum constant,” a constant whose numerical value is approximately 1.3. Their paper also did not resolve any fine-scale structure of the height/width distribution. (Note: this “platinum constant” is unrelated to the so-called “platinum ratio” used in numerical analysis.)
(There is an interesting mathematical relation between the golden ratio and the plastic constant: the golden ratio is the smallest accumulation point of Pisot numbers, and the plastic constant is the smallest Pisot number; but we will not elaborate on this connection here.)
If we use a smaller bin size for the bins of the histogram, at least two maxima for both tall and wide paintings become visible:
If we show the cumulative distribution function, we see that the absolute number of paintings that are square is pretty small. The square paintings correspond to the small vertical step at aspect ratio=1:
Next, let us take all tall paintings and show the inverse of their aspect ratios together with the aspect ratios of the wide paintings. The two global maxima at about 0.8 map reasonably well into each other, and so does the secondary maxima at about 0.75:
Graphing smoothed distributions of the aspect ratios of wide paintings and the inverse of the aspect ratios for tall paintings shows how the maxima map into each other:
A quantile plot shows the similarity of the distributions for wide and tall paintings under inversion of the aspect ratios:
Will it be possible to resolve the maxima numerically and associate explicit numbers with them? Here are the above-mentioned constants and three further constants: the square root of the golden ratio, 5/4, and 6/5:
Among all possible constants, we added the square root of the golden ratio because it appears naturally in the so-called Kepler triangle. Its side lengths have the ratio 1:sqrt(golden ratio):golden ratio:
The Pythagorean theorem is also important for the square root of the golden ratio. The Kepler triangle becomes the defining equation for the golden ratio:
Shortess et al. included 4/3 as the Pythagorean constant because this number is the ratio of the smaller two edges of the smallest Pythagorean triangle with edge length 3, 4, 5 (3²+4²=5²).
And the rational 6/5 was included because, as we will see later, it often occurs as an aspect ratio of paintings in the last 200 years.
The distribution of the painting aspect ratios together with the selected constants shows that the largest peak seems to occur at the sqrt(golden ratio) value and a second, smaller peak at 1.32… 1.33.
Here is a list of potential constants that potentially represent the position of the maxima. We will use this list repeatedly in the following to compare the aspect ratio distributions of various painting collections. Let’s start with some visualizations showing these aspect ratios:
The next graph shows the six constants on the number line. The difference between the plastic constant and 4/3 is the smallest between all pairs of the six selected constants:
Here are wide rectangles with aspect ratios of the selected constants:
And for better comparison, the next graphic shows the six rectangles laid over each other:
And here is the above graphic overlaid with the positions of the constants at the horizontal axis:
Various other fractions with small denominators will be encountered in selected painting datasets below, and various alternative rationals could be included based on aesthetically pleasing proportions of other objects, such as 55/45=11/9=1.2̅ (see here, here, here, and here) or 27/20=1.35 or the so-called “meta-golden ratio chi,” the solution of Χ²-Χ/ϕ=1 with value 1.35…
Because the resolution of a histogram is a bit limited, let us carefully count the number of paintings that are a certain aspect ratio plus or minus a small deviation. To do this efficiently, we form a Nearest function:
Again, we clearly see two well-separated maxima, the larger one nearer to the square root of the golden ratio than to the plastic constant or the Pythagorean number:
Interlude I: Features of the probability distribution of aspect ratios
Before looking at more painters and paintings, let’s have a more detailed look at the distribution of the aspect ratios.
The most commonly used means are all larger than the tallest maximum for tall images:
Here are the means for the wide paintings:
What is the ratio of taller to wider paintings? Interestingly, we have nearly exactly as many tall paintings as wide paintings:
The averages for the paintings viewed as a rectangles (meaning the aspect ratios (max(height, width)/min(height,width)) have means that are very similar to the tall paintings:
As above in the plot of the two overlaid histograms, the distribution of tall paintings agrees nearly exactly with the distribution of wide paintings when we invert the aspect ratio. But what is the actual distribution for tall (or all) paintings (question 2) from above? If we ignore the multiple peaks and use a more coarse-grained view, we could try to fit the distribution of the tall paintings with various named probability distributions, e.g. a normal, lognormal, or heavy-tailed distribution.
We restrict ourselves to paintings with aspect ratios less than 4 to avoid artifacts in the fitting process due to outliers:
Using SmoothKernelDistribution allows us to smooth over the multiple maxima and obtain a smooth distribution (shown on the left). A log-log plot of the hazard function (f(a)/(1-F(a))) together with the function 1/a gives the first hint that we expect a heavy-tailed distribution to be the best approximation:
Here are fits with a normal and a lognormal distribution:
And here are some heavy-tailed distributions:
As the height/width ratios have a slow-decaying tail, the normal, lognormal, and extreme value distribution are a poor fit. The range of aspect ratios between about 1.4 and 2 shows this most pronounced:
The four heavy-tailed distributions show a much better overall fit:
If we quantify the fit using a log-likelihood ratio statistic, we see that the truncated heavy-tailed distributions perform the better fits:
The distribution for the aspect ratio has a curious property: we saw above that the distributions of the wide and tall paintings appropriately match after an appropriate mapping. This means their maxima agree, at least approximately. But by mapping the distribution p(x) of tall paintings with 0 p̅,(x) of wide paintings with 1<xp̅(x)=p(1/x)/x². Yet at the same time, for the maxima of p(x) and , of p̅(x) we have the relation ≈1/ . Interestingly, for the parameters found for the stable distribution fit, this property is fulfilled within two percent. Here we quantify this difference in maxima position for the beta prime distribution. (The results for stable distributions are nearly identical.)
The aspect ratio through the ages, for movements and painters
Now, a natural question is: how reproducible is the trimodal distribution across the ages, across painting genres, and across artists?
Let’s look at time dependence by grouping all aspect ratios according to the century in which the paintings were completed. We see that at least since the fourteenth century, tall paintings have frequently had an aspect ratio of about 1.3, wide paintings an aspect ratio of about 0.76, and that square paintings became popular only relatively recently. We also see that for tall paintings the distribution is much flatter in the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries as compared with the nineteenth century (we will see a similar tendency in other painting datasets later):
The median of the aspect ratios of all paintings decreased over the last 500 years and is slightly higher than 1.3. (here we define “aspect ratio” as the ratio of the length of the longer side to the length of the smaller side). The mean also decreased and seems to stabilize slightly above 1.35:
For comparison, here are the distributions of the paintings’ areas (in square meters) over the centuries:
The median area of paintings has been remarkably stable at a value slightly above 2 square meters over the last 450 years:
What about the aspect ratios across artistic movements? WikiGallery has visually appealing pages about movements. We import the page and get a listing of movements and how many paintings are covered in each movement:
But unfortunately, width and height information is available for only a fraction of the paintings. Importing all individual painting pages and extracting the height and width data from the size of the thumbnail images allows us to make at least some quantitative histograms about the distribution of the aspect ratios for each movement.
The overwhelming majority of movements shows again strong bimodal distributions with aspect ratio peaks around 1.3 and 0.76. (The movements are sorted by the total number of paintings listed on the corresponding Wiki pages.)
Let’s use Wikipedia again to look at the distribution of aspect ratios of some famous painters’ works.
Although the total number of paintings is now much smaller per histogram, again the bimodal (ignoring the square case) distributions are visible. And again we see clear maxima at tall paintings with aspect ratios of about 1.3 and wide paintings with aspect ratios of about 0.76:
We see again relatively strongly peaked distributions. Some painters, for example Cézanne, preferred standard canvas sizes. (For a study of canvas sizes used by Francis Bacon, see here.)
Let’s also have a look at a more modern painter, Thomas Kincade, the “painter of light.” Modern paintings use standardized materials and come in a set of sizes and aspect ratios that result much more from standardization of canvases and paper rather than aesthetics. So this time we do not analyze the textual image descriptions, but rather the images themselves, and extract the pixel widths and heights. Even for thumbnails, this will yield an aspect ratio in the correct percent range:
In addition to our typical maximum around 1.3, we see a very pronounced maximum around 3/2—very probably a standardization artifact:
Analyzing five old German museum catalogs
The above histograms indicate at least two maxima for tall paintings, as well as two maxima for wide paintings, with the larger peak very near to the square root of the golden ratio. As we do not know what exactly was the selection criterion for artwork included in the “ Artwork ” domain of Entity , we should test our conjecture on some independent collections of paintings.
An easily accessible source for widths and heights of paintings are museum catalogs. Various older catalogs, similar to the ones used by Fechner, are available in scanned and OCR forms. Examples are:
It is straightforward to directly import the OCR test versions of the catalogs. While the form of giving the heights and widths varies from catalog to catalog, within a single catalog the employed description formatting is quite uniform. As a result, specifying the string patterns that allow you to extract the heights and widths is pretty straightforward after having looked at some example descriptions of paintings in each catalog:
The catalog from the Kaiser-Friedrich Museum (today the Bode Museum):
The catalog from the Pinakothek München (today the Alte Pinakothek):
The catalog from the Museum der bildenden Künste zu Stuttgart (today the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart):
The catalog from the Gemäldegalerie Dresden (today the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister Dresden):
The catalog from the Gemäldegalerie zu Cassel (today the Neue Galerie Kassel):
Qualitatively, the results for the aspect ratios are very similar for the five museums:
We join the data of the five catalogs and add grid lines for the above-defined six constants:
Again, we clearly see two global maxima in the aspect ratio distribution. For tall paintings we obtain a relatively flat maximum, without clearly resolved local minima.
(The archive.org website has various even older painting catalogs, e.g. of the Schloss Schleissheim, the catalog of the collection of Berthold Zacharias, the collection of the National Gallery of Bavaria, and more. The aspect ratio distribution of the paintings of these catalogs is very similar to the five we analyze here.)
The Kress collection: four large PDF files
A famous painting collection is the Kress collection. The individual images are distributed across many museums in the US. But fortunately (for our analysis), the details of the paintings that are in the collection are available in four detailed catalogs, available as PDF documents totaling 900 pages of detailed descriptions of the paintings. (Much of the data analyzed in this blog refers nearly exclusively to Western art. For measurable aesthetic considerations of Eastern art, see, for instance, the recent paper by Zheng, Weidong, and Xuchen.)
After importing the PDF files as text and extracting the aspect ratios, we have about 700 data points. (From now on, in the following, we will not give all code to import the data from various sites to analyze the aspect ratios; the times to download all data are sometimes too large to be quickly repeated.)
This time, we also have a local maxima near sqrt(2) as well as the golden ratio.
Current gallery collections: Metropolitan, Art Institute of Chicago, Hermitage, National Gallery, Rijks, and Tate
To confirm the existence of well-defined maxima in the aspect ratio distributions and their locations, let us now look at the distribution of selected famous art museums worldwide
The Metropolitan museum of art has a fantastic online catalog. Searching for paintings of the type “oil on canvas,” we can extract their aspect ratios.
This time, the global maximum seems to be a bit smaller than 1.27:
The Art Institute of Chicago has a handy search that allows you to find paintings by period—for instance, paintings made between 1600 and 1800. Accumulating all the data gives about 1,200 data points, and the global maxima seems very near to the root of the golden ratio:
The State Hermitage Museum has an easy-to-analyze website that has information about more than 3,400 paintings from its collection. Analyzing the aspect ratios shows again two distinct maxima for tall images:
As a fourth collection, we analyze the paintings from the National Gallery. The distribution is visibly different from previous graphics:
The relatively unusual distribution goes together with the following age distribution. We see many more 500-year-old paintings as compared to other collections:
The Rijks Museum in Amsterdam is another extensive collection of old paintings. Here is the aspect ratio distribution of 4,600 paintings from the collection:
As a sixth example of analyzing current collections, we have a look at the paintings of the Tate collection. Many of the 8,000+ paintings from the Tate collection are relatively new. Here is a breakdown of their creation years:
The aspect ratio distribution, when overlaid with our constants from above, shows a good (but not perfect) match:
But with an overlay of the rationals 6/5, 5/4, 9/7, 4/3, and 3/2, we see a good approximation of the local maxima for the tall paintings. (We use a slightly smaller bin size for better resolution in the following graphic.)
Using the better-resolving Nearest -based counts of paintings within a small range shows that the maxima of the wide as well as the tall paintings occur at the rationals 6/5, 5/4, 9/7, 4/3, 3/2, and their inverses. (We use an aspect ratio window of size 0.01.)
There is little dependency of the peak positions on the window size used in Nearest :
Note that we showed grid lines at rational numbers in the above plot. Within 1% of 9/7, we find the square root of the golden ratio and fractions such as 14/11. So deciding which of these numbers “are” the “real” position of the maxima cannot be answered with the precision and amount of data available:
There is one thing unique about the Tate collection, and that one thing is especially relevant for this project. Here are two examples of its data:
Note the very precise measurements of the painting dimensions, up to millimeters. This means this is a dataset whose detailed aspect ratio distribution curve has a lot of credibility with respect to the exact values of the curve maxima.
An aspect ratio exception: the National Portrait Gallery collection
The National Portrait Gallery has tens of thousands of portrait paintings.
The individual web pages are easily imported and dimensions are extracted:
Not unexpectedly, portraits have on average a much more uniform aspect ratio than landscapes, hunting events, war scenes, and other types of paintings. This time, we have a much more unimodal distribution. The following histogram uses about 45k aspect ratios:
Zooming into the region of the maximum shows that a large fraction of portrait paintings have an aspect ratio of about 6/5. A secondary maximum occurs at 5/4 and a third one at 4/3:
While the golden ratio seems to be relevant for the center part of the human face (see e.g. here, here, and here), most portraits show the whole head. With an average height/width ratio of the human face (excluding ears and hair) of 1.48, the observed maximum at 1.2 seems not unexpected. For a more detailed investigation of faces in paintings, see de la Rosa and Suárez.
The Web Gallery of Art: a convenient database ready to use
So far, the datasets analyzed have not allowed us to uniquely resolve the position of the maxima. There are two reasons for this: the datasets do not have enough paintings, and the measurements of the paintings are often not precise enough. So let’s take a larger collection. The Web Gallery of Art, a Hungarian website, offers a downloadable tabular dataset of paintings as a CSV file.
The file uses a semicolon as the separator, so we extract the columns manually rather than using Import :
The following data is available:
And here is how a typical entry looks. The dimensions are in the form height x width:
The majority of listings of artworks are, fortunately, paintings:
Extracting the paintings with dimension data (not all paintings have dimension information), we have 18.6k data points:
Plotting all occurring widths and lengths that are present in the data, we obtain the following graphic:
Averaging over a length scale of one centimeter, we obtain the following histogram of all widths and lengths. One notes the many pronounced peaks and discrete lengths:
A plot of the actual widths and heights of the paintings shows that many paintings are less than 140 cm in height and/or width:
A contour plot of the smoothed version of the 2D density of width-height distributions shows the two “mountain ridges” of wide and tall paintings:
Looking at the explicit numerical values of the common-length values shows multiples of 5 cm and 10 cm, but also many numbers that seem not to arise from potentially rounding measurement values:
The next graphic shows the most common length and width values cumulatively over time:
Plotting the widths and heights sorted by the century shows that many of the very tall spikes come from the nineteenth century. (Note the much smaller vertical scale for paintings from the twentieth century.)
For later comparison, we fit the distribution of the width of the paintings. We smooth with a bandwidth of about 5 cm to remove most of the local spikes:
We show a distribution of the ages of the paintings from this dataset:
We analyze this dataset by plotting all concrete occurring aspect ratios together with their multiplicities:
To better resolve the multiplicities of aspect ratios that are nearly identical, we plot a histogram with a bin width of 0.02:
Let’s approximate each aspect ratio with a rational number such that the error is less than 1%. What will be the distribution of the resulting denominators of the fractions approximating the aspect ratios? The following plot shows the distribution in a log-plot. It is interesting to note the relatively large fraction of paintings with a max(width/height)/min(width/height) ratio and min(width/height)/max(width/height) with denominators of 3, 4, and 7, and the relative absence of denominators 6 and 18:
For comparison, here are the corresponding plots for 20k uniformly (in [0,2]) distributed numbers:
Here are the cumulative distributions of the paintings with selected aspect ratios:
If we normalize the counts to the total number of paintings, we still see the 5/4 aspect ratio increasing over time, but most of the other aspect ratios do not change significantly:
If we do not take the measurement values for face value but assume that they are precise only up to ±1%, we obtain quite a different picture. The following graphic shows the distribution of the paintings of a given aspect ratio interval with a given center value. Around 1500, all common aspect ratios were approximately equally popular. We see that the aspect ratios 5/4, 4/3, and 9/7 became much more common about 1600. And aspect ratios approximately equal to the golden ratio have become less popular since the thirteenth century. (This graphic is not sensitive to the ±1% aspect ratio width; ±0.5% to ±5% will give quite similar results.)
So what about the denominators of the most common aspect ratios? We form all fractions with maximal denominator 16 and map all aspect ratios to the nearest of these fractions. Because of the non-uniform gaps between the selected rationals, we normalize the counts by the distance to the nearest smaller and larger rational aspect ratios. This graphic gives a view of the occurring aspect ratios that is complementary to the histogram plot. The histogram plot uses equal bins; the following plot uses non-uniform bins and adjacent minima and maxima in the histogram bins can cancel each other out. Again, the 5/4 and the 4/5 aspect ratios are global winners:
We again use the Nearest function approach to plot a detailed map of the aspect ratio distributions. The following function windowedMaximaPlot plots the distribution either as a 3D plot or as a contour plot for paintings from a sliding time window:
Here are the 3D plot and the contour plot:
The last two images show a few noteworthy features:
Over the last 400 years, tall pictures often have an aspect ratio of approximately 1.2
The most common aspect ratio of wide pictures changes around 1750, and a relatively wide distribution shows a few pronounced maxima, e.g. at 0.8
Square images become more popular around 1800
Labreuche discusses the process of the standardization of canvases. In France, a first standardization happened in the seventeenth century and a second in the nineteenth century. (For a recent, more mathematical discussion, see Dinh Dang.) Simon discusses the canvas standarization in Britain.
Here are the figure, marine, and landscape sizes of the standardized canvases from nineteenth-century France. The data is in the form {width, {figure height, landscape height, marine height}}:
The aspect ratios (max(height/width, width/height)) for all canvases has the following distribution:
It is not easy to find large datasets of exact measurements of old paintings. On the other hand, various websites have tens of thousands of images of paintings in both JPG and PNG formats. Could one not just use these images for finding the aspect ratio of paintings by using the image height in pixels and the image width in pixels? Above, we saw that the majority of paintings are measured with a precision of about one centimeter. With an average painting height and width of about one meter, the resulting uncertainty is in the order of 2%. Even thumbnail images are about 100 pixels, and many images of paintings are a few hundred pixels wide (and tall). So from the literal pixel dimensions, one would again expect results to be correct in the order of (1. . .2)%. But there is no guarantee that the images were not cropped, the frame is consistently included or not included, or that boundary pixels were added. The Web Gallery of Art has, in addition to the actual measurements of the paintings, images of the paintings. After downloading the images and calculating the aspect sizes of the images, we can compare with the aspect ratios calculated from the actual heights and widths of the paintings. Here is the resulting distribution of the two aspect ratios together with a fit through a CauchyDistribution [1.003,0.019]. The mean of the two pixel dimensions is 1.036 and the standard deviation is 0.38. These numbers show that the error from using images of the paintings to determine the aspect ratios is far too large to properly resolve the observed fine-scale structure of aspect ratios:
In the data dataWGA , we also have information about the painters. Does the mean aspect ratio of the paintings change over the lifetimes of the painters? Here is the distribution of when during the painters’ lives the paintings were made:
Interestingly, statistically we can see a pattern of the mean aspect ratio over the lifetime of a painter. The first paintings statistically have a more extreme aspect ratio. At the end of the first third of the lifetime, the aspect ratio is minimal, and at the end of the second third the aspect ratio is maximal (left graphic). The cumulative average aspect ratio shows a minimum at about 40% the lifespan of the painters (right graphic). Both graphics show max(height/width, width/height) divided by the mean of all aspect ratios. (A general discussion of creativity vs. age can be found here.)
If the reader wants to visit some of the paintings in person and wants to perform some more precise width and height measurements, let us calculate one more statistic using the Web Gallery of Art dataset. Let’s also calculate and visualize where the paintings are in the world. We take the (current) city locations of the paintings that have width and height parameters, aggregate them by city, and display the median of max(height/width, width/height) as a function of the city. Not unexpectedly, most larger collections don’t deviate much from the median of 1.333. We use Interpreter to find the cities and derive their locations:
Interlude II: The importance of measuring precisely
Now let us look at the detailed width and height values. If we plot the counts of the fractional centimeters, we clearly see that the vast majority of paintings are measured within a precision of less than 1 cm. Only about 10% of all paintings have dimensions specified up to a millimeter (and some of the ones specified up to 5 millimeters are probably also rounded):
Now let us look at the detailed width and height values. As the majority of the paintings were made before the invention of the centimeter as a unit of measurement, the popular painting sizes are probably not a length that is an integer multiple of a centimeter. This means that the measured widths and heights are not the precise widths and heights of the actual paintings. The nearly homogeneous distribution of millimeters of the paintings that were measured up to the millimeter is comforting.
In many of the datasets analyzed, the widths and heights of the paintings are given as integers when measured in centimeters. (A notable exception was the Tate dataset, in which virtually every painting dimension is given to millimeter accuracy.) As most paintings are in the order of 100 cm width or height (give or take a factor of 2), for an accurate determination of the aspect ratio the rounding to integer-centimeter length will matter. How many of the observed maxima at various fractions with small denominators can be traced back to imprecise width and height values?
Let’s model this effect now. The function aspectRatioModelValue models the aspect ratio of a painting. We assume a stable distribution for the width of the paintings and assume the height to be normally distributed with a mean of 1.3xwidth. And we model only tall paintings by restricting the height to be at least as large as the width:
Now we “cut canvases” for tall paintings and look at the distribution of the aspect ratios. We do this twice, each time for 100,000 canvases. The top graphic shows the resulting distribution in the case of millimeter-resolution of the canvas measurements. The bottom graphic assumes that in 65% of all cases we measure up to a centimeter precision, in 25% up to half a centimeter precision, and in the resulting 10% up to millimeter precision. For each of the three computational experiments, we overlay the resulting distribution histograms:
Comparing the upper with the lower graphic shows that the aspect ratio distribution is quite smooth if all measurements are precise to the millimeter. The lower distribution shows that painting dimension measurements up to the centimeter do indeed introduce artifacts into the resulting histograms.
Looking at the pretty smooth histogram for the millimeter-precise model and the above aspect ratio histogram for the Tate collection shows that the more common occurrences of aspect ratios that are equal to simple fractions is a real effect. Yet at the same time, as the above experiment with the weights {0.65, 0.25, 0.10} shows, the mostly centimeter-precise widths and heights do artificially amplify some simple fractions, such as 6/5, 5/4, and 3/2.
An even simpler method to demonstrate the influence of rounding errors in the width/height measurements in the Web Art Gallery dataset is to modify the width and height values. For each integer centimeter measurement, we add between -5 millimeters and 5 millimeters to mimic a more precise measurement. We again use the ratio of the longest side to the smallest side of the painting:
We overlay the original aspect ratio distribution with the one obtained from the modified width and height values. We see that the maxima at some rational ratios do get suppressed, but that the global maxima keeps its position around 5/4, and the second maxima around 4/3 stays, as well as the smaller, first maximum around 6/5. At the same time, we see the peaks at 3/2 and 2 get smoothed out:
We now do the reverse with the Tate dataset: we round each width and height measurement to the nearest centimeter. Again, we plot the original aspect ratio distribution together with the modified one:
While the height of the local peaks changes, the peaks are still present, even quite pronounced.
WikiArt: another large web resource
Let us have a look at yet another large web resource, namely WikiArt. For computational purposes, it is a conveniently structured website. We have a list of more than nine hundred artists, with hyperlinks to pages of the artists’ works. Each individual artwork (painting) in turn has a page that has conveniently structured information. For example, here is the factual information about the Mona Lisa:
We note that the above data contains style and genre. This suggests using the WikiArt dataset to look for a possible dependence of the aspect ratio on genre especially (we already quickly looked at the movements above).
There are about seven thousand paintings with width-height information in the dataset. For brevity, we encoded all data into a grayscale image:
The paintings with dimension information have the following age distribution. We see a dominance of paintings from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries:
Based on the results obtained earlier, we expect this dataset that is mostly dominated by paintings from the last 150 years to show pronounced peaks in the aspect ratio distribution at rationals. The following distribution with grid lines at 6/5, 5/4, 4/3, and 3/2 confirms this conjecture:
The genre obviously influences whether paintings are predominantly wide, square, or tall. Here are the wide vs. square vs. tall distributions for some of the popular genres:
Now let us have a look at the distribution of the aspect ratio as a function of the genre:
Hijacking the function TimelinePlot , we show the range of the second and third quartiles of the aspect ratios:
Tall landscape paintings are much scarcer than wide landscape paintings. But even if we use the definition aspect ratio—longest side/shortest side—we still see a clear dependence of the aspect ratio on the genre.
The genre frequently also influences the actual painting size. Here are the second and third quartiles in aspect ratio and area for the various genres (mouse over the opaque rectangles in the notebook to see the genre):
If we slice up each genre by the style, we get a more fine-grained resolution of the distribution of aspect ratios. We find the top genres and styles, requiring each relevant genre and style to be represented with at least 50 paintings:
The Neoclassical nude paintings stand out with the largest median aspect ratio of about 1.85:
And here is a more detailed graphic showing the median aspect ratios for all the style-genre pairs with at least five paintings. (Mouse over the vertical columns to see the genre and the aspect ratios.)
France national museums’ collections
As we saw above, painting collections with a few thousand paintings allow us to resolve multiple maxima in the distribution in the range 1.24. . .1.33 for the aspect ratios. Now let’s look at a second large dataset.
The Joconde catalog of the French national museums covers more than half a million artifacts. A search for paintings gives about sixty-seven thousand results. Not all of them are paintings that are made for hanging on a wall; the collection also includes paintings on porcelain figures and other mediums. But one finds about thirty-one thousand paintings with explicit dimensions. As the information about the paintings comes from multiple museums, the dimensions can occur in a variety of formats. The extraction of the dimensions is a bit time consuming.
Interestingly, this time yet another maximum occurs at about 1.23.
Mapping the distribution for wide images into the one for tall images by exchanging height and width, we see that the two maxima match up very well. This makes the ratio 5/4 (or 4/5) the most common ratio:
About 11% more tall paintings than wide paintings are in the collection.
Paintings in Italian churches: tall is all
A very large database of paintings of the Catholic churches from Italy can be found here. Searching again for oil paintings gives 130k search results, about 124,000 of which have width and height measurements.
The collection contains many relatively new paintings (sixteenth century ≈4%, seventeenth century ≈23%, eighteenth century ≈36%, nineteenth century ≈24%, twentieth century ≈13%).
Here is the resulting distribution. We show grid lines at 1, 6/5, 5/4, 4/3, 7/5, 3/2, 5/3, and 2. The grid lines at these rational numbers agree remarkably well with the position of the maxima:
The graphic immediately shows that inside churches we have a larger fraction of tall paintings than wide paintings. And the maxima visibly occur all at rational values with small denominators. Part of the pronounced rationality is the fact that only about 8% of the paintings have dimension measurements that are accurate below one centimeter.
The Smithsonian’s collection
The Smithsonian American Art Museum has a search site allowing one to inspect many paintings. About 286,000 paintings have dimension information. Here is the resulting distribution of aspect ratios:
As already noticed, the pronounced peaks at rational aspect ratios correlate with paintings from the last 200 years. A plot of the age distribution of the paintings from this collection confirms this:
A large collection of paintings in the UK
A third large dataset is the Your Paintings website from the UK. It features 200k+ paintings, 56,000 of which have width and height measurements.
In contrast to earlier datasets, many of the paintings are from within the last 150 years. So, will this larger fraction of newer paintings result in a different distribution of aspect ratios?
We again see clearly pronounced maxima. The five most pronounced maxima for tall paintings are at rational numbers with small denominators. We show grid lines at 6/5, 5/4, 9/7, 4/3, and 3/2 and their inverses. For wide paintings, we see the same (meaning inverted) maxima positions as for tall paintings:
Fortunately, 52% of all measurements are precise below a centimeter. This means that the maxima visible are not just artifacts of rounding, and paintings more often have aspect ratios that are approximately rational numbers with small denominators.
And here again is a higher-resolution plot of the number of paintings with a maximal distance of 0.01 from a given aspect ratio:
The current art market: more rational than ever
The last section of paintings from the UK from the last 150 years showed a clear tendency toward aspect ratios that are rational numbers with small denominators. This begs the question: what aspect ratios are “in” today?
There is no museum that has thousands of paintings from recent years (at least not one that I could find). So let’s look at some dealers of recently made paintings (in the last few decades). After some searching, one is led to Saatchi Art. Searching for oil paintings yields 96,000 paintings. So, what’s their aspect ratio? Here is a plot of the PDF of the aspect ratios. The grid lines are at 1, 6/5, 5/4, 4/3, 3/2, 2, and the corresponding inverses. Note that this time we use a logarithmic vertical scale:
Indeed, all trends that were already visible in the Your Paintings dataset are even more pronounced:
An even larger fraction of exactly square paintings
Pronounced maxima at aspect ratios that are rational numbers with small denominators, for wide as well as for tall paintings
A nearly equal amount of wide vs. tall paintings
The maxima at certain aspect ratios is reflected in a distribution of the areas of the paintings: a few tens of pronounced painting sizes are observed:
We can assume that they come from the size of industrially made canvases. To test this assumption, we analyze the canvases sold commercially, e.g. from the art supply store Dick Blick:
Plotting the distribution of the about 1,600 canvases found shows an area distribution that shares key features with the above distribution:
Plotting again the aspectRatioCDFPlot used above, the most common aspect ratios are easily visible as the positions of the vertical segments:
While one can’t buy the paintings from museums, one can buy the paintings from Saatchi. So for this dataset we can have a look at a possible relation between the price and the aspect ratio. (For various statistics on painting prices and the relation to qualitative painting properties, see Reneboog and Van Houtte, Higgs and Forster, and Bayer and Page.)
The data shows no obvious dependence of the painting price on the aspect ratio:
At the same time, a weak correlation of the area and the price can be observed, with an average law of the form price~area^2/3. (For a detailed study of the price-area relation for Korean paintings, see Nahm.)
Sold in the past: mostly made recently, and having a long tail
Earlier we looked at the aspect ratios of paintings from various museum collections. In the last section we looked at the aspect ratios of paintings that are waiting to be sold. So, what about the aspect ratios of paintings that have been sold recently? The Artnet website is a fantastic source of information about paintings sold at auctions. The site features about 590,000 paintings with dimension information.
While the paintings auctioned do include medieval paintings, the majority of the paintings listed were done recently. Here is the cumulative distribution of the paintings over the last millennium. Note the log-log nature of the plot. We see a Pareto principle-like distribution, with 90% of all auction-sold paintings made after 1855:
Based on our earlier analysis, we expect a dataset with such a large amount of relatively new paintings to have strong pronounced peaks at small rationals, as well as many square paintings. And this is indeed the case, as the following plot shows. We show grid lines at 5/6, 4/5, 3/4, 2/3, 5/7, and 7/10, and their inverses:
Even on a logarithmic scale the peaks as rationals are still clearly visible:
The relative number of paintings with aspect ratios near to certain simple fractions has been increasing over time. For the aspect ratios from the interval [1.1, 1.4] we plot the absolute value of the difference between the empirical CDF and a smoothed kernel CDF (smoothed with width 0.01). The relative increase in size of the maxima at 6/5, 5/4, and 4/3 is clearly visible:
The majority of paintings in this dataset are oil paintings, and the above histograms are dominated by oil paintings. But it is interesting to compare the aspect ratio distribution of oil paintings, watercolor paintings, and acrylic paintings. With acrylic paintings being made only since the 1970s, the peaks at small rationals are even more pronounced than in the overall distribution. The distribution of the aspect ratios of ink drawings has a distinctly different shape, arising potentially from paper format:
The large number of paintings makes it much more probable to find paintings with extreme aspect ratios. Even aspect ratios less than 1/0 and over 10 occur. Examples of very wide paintings are the the The Hussainbad Imambara Complex, the Makimono scroll of river scenes, or the Sennenstreifen. Examples of very tall paintings are La salive de dieu, Pilaster, and Exotic rain.
If we look at the cumulative fraction of all paintings that are either wide, tall, or square, we see that since 1825 wide paintings have become more popular. And we also see the dramatic rise of square paintings after 1950:
The large number of paintings of this catalog, together with the occurrence of extreme aspect ratios in this dataset, suggest we should redo an overall fit of the distribution for all aspect ratios max(height/width, width/height). Using the (much smaller) data from the “Artwork” entity domain above in interlude 1, we conjectured that the distribution of aspect ratios is well approximated by a stable distribution. Fitting again a stable distribution results in a good overall fit. The blue curve representing the empirical distribution was obtained with a smoothing window width of 0.1:
The website of the famous auction house Sotheby’s features a searchable database of more than 100,000 paintings sold over the last fifteen years. While one does not expect the hammer prices to depend on the aspect ratios, let us check this. Here are the hammer prices for the sold paintings as a function of the aspect ratio:
Similarly, no direct relation exists between the hammer price and the areas of the paintings:
The distribution of the hammer prices is interesting on its own, but discussing it in more detail would lead us astray, and we will continue focusing on aspect ratios:
Going East: all ratios will be different
While we have so far looked at many painting collections, virtually all paintings analyzed come from the Western world. What about the East? It is much harder to find a database of Eastern paintings. The most extensive I was able to locate was the catalog of Chinese paintings at the University of Tokyo.
The web pages are nicely structured and we can easily import them. For example:
Here is a typical data entry that includes the dimensions:
The database contain about 10,500 dimension values. Here is a plot of the aspect ratios:
The distribution is markedly different from Western paintings. The most pronounced maxima are now at 1/3 and 2. For a more detailed study of Chinese paintings, see Zheng, Weidong, and Xuchen. (Another, smaller online collection of Chinese paintings can be found here.)
Aspect ratios of packages, cars, labels, logos, emblems, paper, bank notes, stamps, and movies
If artists prefer certain aspect ratios for their paintings because they are more “beautiful,” then maybe one finds some similar patterns in many objects of the modern world.
Supermarket products
Let’s start with supermarket products. After all, they should appeal to potential customers. The itemMaster site has a listing of tens of thousands of products (registration is required).
Here again is the histogram of the height/width ratios. Many packages of products are square (many more than the number of square paintings we saw). And by far the most common height/width ratios are very near to 3/2:
(See Raghubir and Greenleaf, Salahshoor and Mojarrad, Ordabayeva and Chandon, and Koh for some discussions about optimal package shapes from an aesthetic, not production, point of view.)
Wine labels
After this quick look at the sizes of products, the next natural objects to look at are labels of products. It is difficult to find explicit dimensions of such labels, but images are relatively easy to locate. We found in the above discussion of the Web Gallery of Art that analyzing the images will introduce a certain error. This means we will not be able to make detailed statements about the most common aspect ratios of these labels, but analyzing the images will allow us to get an overall impression of the distribution. We will quickly look at red wine labels and at labels of German beers. The website wine.com has about 5,000 red wine labels:
Interestingly, the distribution of the wine label aspect ratios is not so different from the distribution of the paintings. We have wide, tall, and square labels:
German beer labels
The Catawiki website has about 2,700 labels of German beers. It again takes just a few minutes to get the widths and heights of all the beer labels:
The distribution of the beer label aspect ratios is markedly different from the wine labels. Most beer labels are nearly square:
Food and drink logos
We slightly generalized the last two datasets to food and drink. The website brandsoftheworld.com has about 9k food-and-drink-related logos. Here is their aspect ratio distribution. We clearly see that most logos are either wide or square. Tall logos exist, but there are far fewer than wide logos:
Banknotes
What about the paper we use to pay for the products that we buy, banknotes? As banknotes are available within the Entity framework, we can quickly analyze the aspect ratios of about 800 bank notes currently in use around the world:
Virtually all modern banknotes are wider than they are high, so we see only aspect ratios less than 1. And most banknotes are exactly twice as wide as they are tall:
Car sizes
With enough banknotes, one can buy a nice car. So what are the height/length and height/width distributions for cars? Using about 3,600 car models from 2015, we get the following distribution:
Here are some of the car models with small and large height/length aspect ratios:
The strongly visible bimodalilty arises from the height distribution of cars. While lengths and widths of cars are unimodal, the height shows two clear maxima. The cars with heights above 65 inches are mostly SUVs and crossovers. Also, very small cars of average height but well-below-average length contribute to the height/width peak near 1/3:
Paper sheets
Bank notes are made from paper-like material. So, what are the aspect ratios of commonly used paper sheets? The Wikipedia page on paper sizes has 13 tables of common paper sizes. It is easy to import the tables and to extract the columns of the tables that have the widths and heights (in millimeters):
Here is the resulting distribution of aspect ratios. Not unexpectedly, we see a clear clustering of aspect ratios near 1.41, which is approximately the value of , the ratio on which most ISO-standardized paper is based. And the single most common aspect ratio is 4/3:
Stamps
What are other painting-like (in a general sense) rectangular objects that come in a wide variety? Of course, stamps are a version of a mini-paintings. The Colnect website has data on more than half a million stamps. If we restrict ourselves to French stamps, from 1849 to 2015 we have nearly 6,000 stamps to analyze. Reading in the data just takes a few minutes:
Here is the cumulative distribution of aspect ratios:
Finally, we found a product with the most common aspect ratios at least near to the golden ratio. Here are the most commonly observed aspect ratios:
The five-year moving average of the aspect ratio (max(width, height)/min(width, height)) shows the changing style of French stamps over time. We also show the area of the stamps over time (in cm²). And quite obviously, stamps became larger over the years:
NCAA team logos
Many people like to watch sports, especially team sports. The team logos are often prominently displayed. Let us have a look at two sport domains: NCAA teams and German soccer clubs. The former logos one can find here, and the latter here.
Here is the height/width distribution of the NCAA teams. Interestingly, we see a maximum at around 0.8, similar to some painting distributions:
German soccer club emblems
And this is the height/width distribution of 1,348 German soccer club emblems. We see a very large maxima for square emblems and a local maxima for tall emblems with an aspect ratio of about 1.15:
Movie formats
We will end our penultimate section on aspect ratios of rectangular objects with a quick view on the evolution of movie formats. The website filmportal lists 85,000 German movies made over the last 100 years. About 27,000 of these have aspect ratio and runtime information totaling more than three years of movie runtimes. The following graphic shows the staggered cumulative distribution of aspect ratios over time. It shows that about two thirds of all movies ever released have an aspect ratio of approximately 4/3. And only in the 1960s did the trend of wider screen formats really take off:
We plot the time evolution of the yearly averages of aspect ratios of the movies of major US studios (Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox, Universal Pictures, and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) made over the last 100 years. Until about 1955, an aspect ratio near 4/3 was dominant, and today the average aspect ratio is about 2.18:
Postlude: So what is the “best” ratio?
To summarize: we analyzed the height-to-width ratios of many painting collections, totaling well over a million paintings and spanning the last millennium in time.
Using a combination of built-in and web data sources, certain qualitative features could be established:
The number of tall and wide paintings seems to be approximately equal in many collections.
Since the nineteenth century, the total number of wide paintings is larger than the total number of tall paintings.
The distribution of wide paintings can be accurately mapped into the distribution of tall paintings, meaning that the aspect ratio ar₁ is approximately as common as the aspect ratio 1/ar₁.
The aspect ratio distributions of many collections shows for both tall and wide paintings at least two clearly visible global maxima: one around 1.3 and one around 1.27 (and the reciprocal values for wide paintings).
Starting in the eighteenth century, aspect ratios that are rational numbers with small denominators become more and more popular; this trend is still ongoing—the timing coincides with the French standardization of canvas sizes.
Nineteenth- and twentieth-century paintings show pronounced maxima in their aspect ratio distributions at the aspect ratios 6/5, 5/4, 9/7, 4/3, and 3/2.
The overall distribution of the aspect ratios of large collections of paintings is well described by a Lévy alpha-stable distribution, meaning a distribution that has heavy tails.
The golden ratio is not an aspect ratio that occurs prominently in paintings (for its occurrence in architecture, see for instance Shekhawat, Huylebrouck and Labarque, Birkett and Jurgenson, and Foutakis).
The distribution of paintings is unique and quite distinct from the distribution of rectangular objects from the modern world (such as labels, stamps, logos, and so on).
The causes of the transition to aspect ratios with small denominators in the seventeenth century remains an open question. Was the transition initiated and fueled by aesthetic principles, or by more mundane industrial production and standardization of materials? We leave this question to art historians.
To more clearly resolve the question of whether the maxima correspond to certain well-known constants (square root of the golden ratio, plastic constant, 4/3, or 5/4), more accurate data for the dimensions of pre-eighteenth-century paintings are needed. Many catalogs give dimensions without discussing the precision of the measurement or if the frame is included in the reported dimensions. The precision of the width and height measurements is often one centimeter. With typical painting dimensions of the order of 100 centimeters, the rounding of full centimeter measurements introduces a certain amount of artifacts into the distribution. On the other hand, using digital images to analyze aspect ratios is also not feasible—the errors due to cropping and perspective are far too large. We intentionally did not join the data from various collections. In addition to the issue of identifying duplicates, one would have to carefully analyze if the measurements are with and without frame, as well as look in even more detail into the reliability of accuracy of the stated dimension measurements. The expertise of an art historian is needed to carry out such an agglomeration properly.
One larger collection that we did not analyze here and that might be helpful in the precise value of the pre-1750 maxima of aspect ratio distributions are the 178,000 older paintings in an online catalog of 645 museums in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland published online by De Gruyter. At the time of writing this blog, I had not succeeded in getting permission to access the data of this catalog. (There are also various smaller databases of paintings, including lost ones, that could be analyzed, but they will probably give results similar to those of the catalogs shown above.)
Interestingly, recent studies show that not just humans but other mammals seem to prefer aspect ratios around 1.2 (see the recent research of Winne et al.).
Many more quantitative investigations can be carried out on the actual images of paintings—for example, analyzing the spectral power distribution of the spatial frequencies that are in the Fourier components of the colors and brightnesses, left-right lighting analysis, structure and composition (here, here, and here), psychological basis of color structures, and automatic classification. Time permitting, we will carry out such analyses in the future. A very nice analysis of many aspects of the 2,229 paintings at MoMA was recently carried out by Roder.
And, of course, more manmade objects could be analyzed to see if the golden ratio was used in their designs, for instance cars. Modern extensions of paintings, such as graffiti, could be aspect-ratio analyzed. And the actual content of paintings could be analyzed to look for the appearance or non-appearance of the golden ratio (here and here). We leave these subjects for the reader to explore.
Download this post as a Computable Document Format (CDF) file. |
A few weeks ago, Beta Patch 2.0.3 brought the Watch with Others, Take Command, and Recover Game replay features to the Heart of the Swarm Beta. It's our goal to test these new replay features on a large scale so that as many issues as possible can be discovered and eliminated prior to launching the game. In order to accomplish this task, we kindly request that you take some time to sink your teeth into each replay feature and report any bugs you might encounter.
To aid you in beginning this quest, professional StarCraft II players Danny 'ViBE' Scherlong, Ben 'DeMusliM' Baker, and Manuel 'Grubby' Schenkhuizen were kind enough to donate replays that you can use to test the Watch with Others and Take Command features. Find out how you'd fare with a pro's units at your fingertips by downloading each of the replays below:
DeMusliM - Terran vs. Zerg
ViBE - Zerg vs. Zerg
Grubby - Protoss vs. Terran
Please keep in mind that you will need to use your own replays in order to test Recover Game, as this feature requires the original players to be present in the Replay Lobby before the game will start. Additionally, if you'd like a quick refresher on how each of the new replay features work, you can find more detailed information here.
If you encounter any issues while using the new replay features, head over to the Beta Bug Report Forum to fill us in on your experience. When reporting a bug, please be as thorough as possible while recounting what happened, and mindful of the Beta Bug Report Forum's Posting Guidelines.
Thank you once again for all of your efforts and feedback while testing the StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm Beta. See you on Battle.net! |
The Flames open their 2017 training camp with fitness testing and medicals at the Canadian Sport Institute at WinSport on Thursday, September 14th starting at 7:00 a.m. with media availability beginning at 10:00 a.m. (approximately). The first on-ice sessions are scheduled for Friday, September 15th starting at 9:00 a.m. at the Scotiabank Saddledome. All on-ice sessions are open for viewing to the public.
The Flames will play seven preseason games (4 home and 3 away) in preparation for the start of the 2017-18 season. The first game(s) will see the Flames take on the Edmonton Oilers in a split-squad matchup on Monday, September 18th at the Scotiabank Saddledome and in Edmonton at Rogers Place. Calgary opens up the 2017-18 regular season at Rogers Place as they visit the Oilers on Wednesday, October 4th.
Media are welcome to attend all on-ice sessions. Players will be available upon request following the conclusion of each training day. |
Two-Fisted Action & Adventure Against The Mythos
Calling All Heroes! It’s Time To Take The Fight to Cthulhu!
Pulp Cthulhu is a game of two-fisted adventure, weird science, dark deeds, and brave heroes. With this book, some roleplaying dice, and the Call of Cthulhu Rulebook, you have everything you need to adventure and explore games set in the pulp genre.
Tired of your investigators dying in quick succession when jaunting around the world in a desperate bid to save humanity? Wishing that sometimes your investigator could make a stand instead of hiding and waiting for the eldritch horror to pass? Pulp Cthulhu ups the ante and provides you with tougher, more capable heroes—ready to take on the villainous machinations of the Cthulhu Mythos!
Here you will find an adapted character generation system, rules for psychic powers, sanity, augmented skills, and weird science, as well as tips for Keepers on developing and running pulp-style games. Also, you will find information on “the Pulps” themselves and the 1930s era when America was in the grip of the Great Depression and on the road to World War II. A collection of pulp villains and monsters, and a range of pulp organizations provide the Keeper with a firm basis for running pulp style scenarios and campaigns. Four action-packed scenarios round out the book, getting your Pulp Cthulhu games started with a bang.
The guidance in this book means that you can apply the Pulp Cthulhu rules to any setting and time period, enabling Keepers to bring the flavor and action of pulp to the classic 1920s or modern-day eras, as well as anywhere else they see fit.
A Time For Heroes And A Time For Adventure!
What the Critics Say
"Pulp Cthulhu turns up the action and the threat to turn Lovecraftian investigative horror into Lovecraftian heroic horror."—Reviews from Rl’yeh.
Runner-up, Best Artwork and Presentation—Golden Geek Awards 2016.
"If you play Call of Cthulhu, do you need this supplement? ...if you want to play with a rule set deliberately intended to help your characters kick some ass, you'll probably have a lot of fun with Pulp Cthulhu."—H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society.
"Pulp Cthulhu is one of those products that could very easily have been done wrong. It’s a genre full of easy cop-outs and shortcuts, but Chaosium stuck to their guns and delivered on all fronts… You might be able to confront the creatures of the mythos to some extent, but Pulp Cthulhu only promises that you can go down swinging rather than screaming and that’s not a bad thing."—Jay Anyong, The Philippine Gamer
"I love the classic, cerebral, investigative feeling of Call of Cthulhu. I have to admit however that many times I wanted my Investigators to, basically, kick some serious ass... Pulp Cthulhu is here for that ass-kicking!"—Antonios S. Review, RPGNet.
"It’s a beautiful book, brimming with content and ideas. A worthy purchase for any Keeper, even if Pulp isn't to your taste. "—Total Party Kill.
"I love the Pulp Cthulhu idea. Having pulp heroes fight evil cult organizations can be tons of fun… The production quality deserve(s) praise. The binding, illustrations, artwork, handouts are exceptional. The books are super-high quality and even come with a red ribbon bookmark bound into the text. Chaosium did not skimp on any aspect of production..."—GrogHeads.
Download the character sheet PDFs here.
Why just buy the PDF when you get it included with the printed copy? Physical Product Name: Pulp Cthulhu
Physical Book URL: /pulp-cthulhu-hardcover/ Purchasers of physical books get the PDFs for free. If you add the book to your cart, you can add the PDF for this book to your shopping cart after you add the physical book in order to receive your FREE PDF. Please check your shopping cart for a link to the PDF before you begin the check out process. |
There used to be a time when thermal-imaging aficionados had to walk around with goggles strapped to their faces. Goggles!
Those dark days are over now thanks to the FLIR One. This iPhone 5/5s case features two side-by-side cameras on its backside: An infrared one and a VGA one that adds a bit more detail to the blobby heat-mapped image. The case also has its own built-in battery, a 1400mAh unit that powers things for a couple of hours. That battery won’t charge your iPhone, but it does prevent the case from having to sip off the iPhone’s charge.
FLIR Systems
You use the case with a free app to scan things for their thermal properties and capture those images if you want to—the app comes with some filters, panorama and timelapse modes, and video-recording capabilities if you’re primarily interested in its imaging skills.
It’s main goal is practicality, though. According to FLIR, the case’s thermal-imaging capabilities can help pinpoint the position of pipe clogs, identify leaks before they damage wood and walls, find weak spots in your home’s insulation, see if there are raccoons hiding in your shrubs, and make sure your pet is still alive.
This seems like a perfect case for camping, as you’ll be able to figure out where the designated bathroom tree is, cheat at hide and seek, and avoid burning down the campground by determining whether the bonfire is truly extinguished. It won’t stop bears from mauling you, but you’ll be able to see them coming and get off the blocks faster than your friends.
As far as non-diamond-encrusted iPhone cases go, it is very expensive. The FLIR One case goes for $350, and it’s available for preorder now. The infrared camera case is slated to ship in the first week of August. We will have a full review of the FLIR One when it ships. |
In our latest podcast, Jessica and I discussed the past week in politics and atheism.
We talked about:
— Arkansas State Senator Jason Rapert and the Ten Commandments monument going up (again) in Arkansas. (0:30)
— Alberta Catholic schools want to teach an alternative sex ed curriculum. (13:25)
— The dad from Duck Dynasty is spreading the lie that crime soars in areas without God. (24:40)
— A new Satanic billboard says “Our religion doesn’t believe in hitting children.” (32:10)
— No one in this TX school district understands the Establishment Clause. (36:40)
— The Catholic Church won’t allow a gravestone marker calling out abusive priests. (43:36)
— Pastor Robert Jeffress says we’ve let atheists “ seize control of this country .” ( 49:13
— An Indiana county ended a life-saving needle exchange program because Jesus said so. (55:49)
We’d love to hear your thoughts on the podcast. If you have any suggestions for people we should chat with, please leave them in the comments, too.
You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or Google Play, stream all the episodes on SoundCloud or Stitcher, or just listen to the whole thing below. Our RSS feed is here.
And if you like what you’re hearing, please consider supporting this site on Patreon and leaving us a positive rating!
(Image via Shutterstock) |
"Dating an annoying girl who is really pretty"
I have to admit, the PS4 not only has a beautiful look to its shell, but under the hood it delivers gorgeous graphics as well. And well, that's about it. Everything else for me has been underwhelming, dissapointing and at times downright frustrating. For instance, the UI in comparison to its predecessor in the PS3 pales in comparison. Not only is it not that organized, but it's completely riddled with advertisements that I don't want to see. It almost feels like having to wade through junk mail just to get to anything useful. The "recently met" section where you'd think would be a list of everyone you recently encountered online, is only the people you actually are friends with online. So annoying. So you have to manually type in someone's name if you'd like to add them as a friend. It gets worse. Last night when the internet was down, I popped in a DVD to watch a movie and the ps4 told me I could not watch the movie because it required an internet connection to access the playback or something along those lines. Seriously? Also to play games online it requires Playstation Plus which costs $4/month. Sure it's not that much money, but it's annoying as hell since ps3 online was free. Sony is pulling a Microsoft on us. The battery life on the dual shock 4 controller (DS4) is embarrassing as well. It seems like it lasts 4 hours. I'm sure it lasts a little longer, perhaps 6 or so, but comparing that to the dual shock 3 which lasts upwards to 20, sometimes 30 hours, it's annoying having to remember to charge it every night. And when it's charging the big ol' yellow light bar on the back of the controller lights up my whole room. Speaking of the light bar, that's what really drains the battery and there isn't even an option to turn it off which is really annoying during movies. When you're playing a game and the room lights are on, you don't even notice the damn bar. It's absolutely mind blowing that Sony would choose to omit the option to turn it off. The touchpad on the DS4 can't even be used to control the cursor or the internet browser. Can you believe that? If you're considering the competition, the Xbox One is just as bad as the PS4. That's what is so frustrating. There is no obvious choice here, like last generation. The PS3 was an amazing system and the PS4 is a step back. The graphics are mind blowing, but to enjoy them you have to pay more than the price of money.Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New |
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Over the last few weeks, the events this fall have shown on what side of history the security apparatus of the United States stands. While one hand will jump on its international soapbox and praise the virtue of civil rights loudly, the other hand savagely represses even the most basic freedoms. The cold and swift press crackdown in NYC during the OWS raids was only a recent and highly publicized event, in a sea of similar incursions. It would seem, to the casual observer that the Constitution is only invoked in cases that favor the state, and is all but forgotten otherwise. Henceforth, the casual observer would not be wrong if he assumed that document to be as dead as dead could be.
The security forces have undergone a slow transformation from a community orientated force of protection according to the ideals of a social contract, to the armed force of the higher powers. It does not take much to draw the lines between corporate money and the people that “control” the actions of the police, the state. Obviously the state has much to gain by keeping the status quo, and is using the police forces of various cities to suppress the Occupy movement in it’s whole. This is illustrated best when campers in line for the newest Twilight book can construct elaborate tent cities on public land, but campers in line for free speech and direct democracy are shot, gassed, Db’d, attacked, arrested and injured.
Thus, for one to suggest a “reform of the police” without taking into account the framework that controls the police, is pointless. Are police needed? I think so, but in a way to allow full transparency and accountability to the communities they served, under the laws that community has issued, and being a voluntarily society. The police of today use violence to enforce laws voted on only by the powers on high, and often these “crimes” are punitive, victimless, or in most cases, both. As was proved in Nuremberg and as will be proved later here in this country I believe, simply “following orders” will not be a defense to your crimes against your communities.
So, I ask you, when you see a “friendly cop” please, don’t wave.
– Joey
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EPN |
Southampton's groundsman impresses AGAIN with crazy St Mary's pitch design
After impressing last week with a superb pitch pattern for the home clash with Everton, Southampton's groundsman has done it again with another fashioned cutting of the St Mary's turf.
The design, a circular cut with a checkered centre circle for the visit of Manchester United on the final day of the campaign on May 11, comes after last week's tartan pattern.
Impressive: Southampton's pitch design for the visit of Manchester United on the last day of the season
Super turf: Southampton's groundsmen have created a new pattern on the St Mary's pitch for Saturday
Saints Tweeted a picture of the pitch, crediting grounds manager Andrew Gray, saying: 'Wondering how @adgray13 and his team could top last weekend's pitch design? Here's the answer... #saintsfc'
The design is a match for other crazy designs seen over the years.
The Etihad Stadium has also seen a few unique patterns in the last decade, and it could start a battle over who has the most stylish pitch.
The debate is there but one thing for sure is it can't be worse than Chelsea's 'beach pitch' from 2003.
Wacky: In 2005, the Etihad stadium was cut in a variety of different forms by deputy groundsman Lee Jackson
Speciality: For Manchester City's Premier League game with Portsmouth in 2005 there was a tartan design
Kriss-kross: West Ham were greeted with this pitch when they visited in October 2005
Baseball style: Jackson chose a rather left-field cut when Bolton came to the Etihad that year |
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