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Species from sharks and sea cucumbers to tuna and jellyfish could find new safe havens soon under a U.N. plan to protect more ocean habitat.
At a meeting in New York next week, officials hope to create a “robust system” to increase the number of marine protected habitats in international waters, or high seas, from human activities like overfishing.
Currently, individual countries can easily create regulations to protect marine habitats in their own waters or exclusive economic zones, said Elizabeth Wilson, director of international ocean policy at the Pew Charitable Trusts. The same is not true in the ocean waters outside national jurisdictions.
“On the high seas, it’s a significantly more complicated process—there is not a mechanism to create marine protected areas,” Wilson said.
The U.N. preparatory committee meetings are part of a long-term international goal to protect greater portions of the world’s oceans. Today, 2 percent of the oceans are covered by marine protected areas. As part of the United Nations’ sustainable development goals, countries have committed to increase that amount to 10 percent by 2020.
The Pew Charitable Trusts is among a coalition of organizations, called the High Seas Alliance, working to help the United Nations develop a way to create protected areas in waters around the world. But coming to an agreement will be no small task. Countries must decide what kinds of habitats and species will receive protection, how large and how closely spaced protected areas should be, and how many people can enter these areas, among other considerations.
Wilson said Pew is focused on encouraging the United Nations to set up comprehensive marine protections on the high seas that strictly limit, or even prohibit, fishing and other human activities.
“Some are saying fisheries should be excluded from this agreement, some are saying fishing is already managed ... but the majority [of participants] say, ‘No, it needs to be included,’” she said.
The organization is also pushing for the creation of environmental impact assessments of the high seas so that policymakers will be better able to judge the effects of different plans on habitats and marine populations.
Climate change an added threat
While Wilson said she was hopeful that participating nations would put forward ambitious proposals, recent research suggests that the United Nations’ 10 percent target falls far short of what is necessary to help protect and restore species stressed by overfishing, habitat destruction and climate change.
In order to be effective, protected areas should cover at least 30 percent of the world’s oceans, and benefits increase significantly if as much as 50 percent of the oceans are protected, according to a literature review study published this week in Conservation Letters.
Callum Roberts, a professor of marine conservation at the University of York in England and co-author of the study, was also among a team of researchers who first proposed protecting 30 percent of the world’s oceans in the early 2000s.
“The world hasn’t been taking marine protections seriously enough,” Roberts said. “These high seas take up 41 percent of the planet, and they receive virtually no protection and are dreadfully mismanaged.”
Though fishing poses the greatest threat to marine species, warming and acidification driven by climate change are becoming more pressing stressors on marine life.
“We’ve got to rebuild the ability to address these changing conditions and ease some of the pressures on them. That’s why marine protected areas are so important,” he said.
“In the case of marine life, we need to reduce stresses as much as possible so they can produce as much offspring as they can and they are more able to deal with the adverse effects of climate change.”
Advocates say more must be protected
The most effective way to protect species would be to create protected areas far from human activity, but in practice, there would have to be protected areas in a lot of different places so they could provide the broadest possible benefits, Roberts said.
He described the 10 percent marine protection goal as the result of a political compromise rather than any scientific analysis. Initially, countries were supposed to meet the target by 2012. By 2010, when it was clear that countries were nowhere close to meeting the goal, the United Nations moved the deadline back to 2020.
In 2014, Roberts and his colleagues revisited the scientific literature, evaluating over 100 studies to confirm whether a larger body of research supported their earlier recommendation to further expand protected areas.
“We can say with far greater conviction that we need to be far higher than 10 percent,” he said.
Though the current targets may be lower than Roberts would like, he said last year saw the greatest number of marine protected areas ever produced.
Wilson agreed that momentum to protect the world’s oceans had increased, even in the last 12 months.
“Last year, there was a fairly small number of countries actively engaging; now there are a lot of new countries coming to the table,” she said.
Not only that, countries that had already agreed to participate are now bringing larger teams to meetings. The success of the Paris agreements may have helped convince countries that tackling a complicated environmental problem would be possible, she added.
“It was encouraging that we can do something big that will change the status quo,” she said.
Reprinted from Climatewire with permission from Environment & Energy Publishing, LLC. www.eenews.net, 202-628-6500 |
A SLANDER ACTION for defamatory remarks allegedly made about a Dublin man at a community association AGM was thrown out by a judge today on the basis it was “so wrong as to be beyond remedy”.
Gerard Martin Fulham, of Nutgrove Avenue, Rathfarnham, Dublin, had brought the action against his neighbour, crèche owner Barbara Perry, also of Nutgrove Avenue.
Judge Jacqueline Linnane in the Circuit Civil Court heard that Fulham had discontinued similar proceedings against Anne Griffin and Sharon O’Brien, both of separate addresses on Loreto Row in Rathfarnham.
Thomas Mannion, of Mannion Solicitors, Main Street, Dundrum, asked Judge Linnane to grant an order for security of legal costs against Fulham on the basis there were already four outstanding registered judgments against his jointly-owned home.
Mannion, representing Perry, said she had received a copy of an unissued civil bill in which Fulham alleged she had verbally abused him and made defamatory remarks about him.
Claim struck out
Mannion said Perry strongly denied the allegations and, apart from entering a full defence, would be making a counter-claim against Fulham. Perry feared that in the event of Fulham losing his action he would fail to meet her legal costs.
Fulham, in an affidavit, told the court he had discontinued the proceedings against Griffin and O’Brien because Perry remained the “principle protagonist” against him. He said Mannion Solicitors had previously represented him and alleged they were in breach of solicitor/client privilege.
Judge Linnane refused to grant an order for security of costs against Fulham. She said the criteria for such an order had not been met as he lived within the jurisdiction of the court and clearly had an asset in the co-ownership of his home.
She said Fulham had drawn up his own endorsement of the claim alleging slander, which no longer existed in Irish law. He had not quoted any alleged words of defamation and, even making allowances for a lack of expertise in drafting proceedings, his purported action was “so wrong as to be beyond remedy”.
She struck out his claim against Perry. |
I feel sorry for Police Chief Greg Suhr.
From the tone of the attacks against him, you’d think he was the guy who put 20-plus bullets into Mario Woods. That he was one of the guys sending out racist texts. That he personally ordered the stopping and frisking of every person of color in the city.
In truth, he’s one of the most progressive police chiefs the city has seen in decades.
But every time he makes a move to reform the SFPD’s culture, whether it be to improve racial sensitivity or come up with smarter use-of-force policies, he’s overshadowed by another story about some cop’s inappropriate behavior.
Meanwhile, the activists and the progressive supervisors are ramping up their calls for Suhr to step down.
Things have gotten so bad that Supervisor Aaron Peskin suggested at a recent board meeting that they bring in me to broker a peace deal between Mayor Ed Lee’s administration and the Black Lives Matter people, as I did during the last labor stalemate at Muni.
Are you kidding? Muni drivers are rational geniuses compared with these protesters.
Besides, this whole business really isn’t about Suhr. It’s about knocking down Lee. The chief is just the surrogate target.
If the audience at my annual talk before the Commonwealth Club the other night was any indication, people around here are more obsessed with national politics than they have been in decades.
You would think the Bay Area, with all of its quirks, didn’t exist.
What this crowd wanted to know was whether I thought the Democrats could win the House in November.
“No.”
Could Democrats win the Senate?
“Yes.”
Will state Attorney General Kamala Harris win the Senate race to replace Barbara Boxer?
“Good possibility.”
People also wanted to know how history will remember Gov. Jerry Brown.
My take: For all his efforts at creating a legacy, Jerry will probably be a chapter in the overall story of the Brown clan’s impact on California. The main character in that story, however, will be his father, the legendary Gov. Pat Brown, who was credited with building the best highway, water and state university systems in the nation.
We’ve seen governors since then who have captured the public’s imagination, but Pat Brown is the only governor in modern times who left a lasting legacy. Not even Ronald Reagan’s footprint can compare.
My nickel of advice to Hillary Clinton for when Donald Trump attacks: Ignore him.
I’m something of an egomaniac myself, and nothing bugged me more in politics than being ignored.
Trump is a huge egomaniac, and if you ignore him, he will simply escalate and escalate some more, until he crosses the line of ridiculousness.
Movie time: “Captain America: Civil War.” Line up all the superheroes on one side of town and all the super villains on the other side of town. Then have a super war.
I don’t know if they intended this latest comic book blowout to be a comedy, but it is so ridiculous you can’t help but laugh. There’s no blood, there’s no death, and with all the crashes and booms, there’s very little hearing left when you leave the theater.
Jeannette Etheredge called me the other day and said Francis Ford Coppola had something to show me that he picked up in Paris. So I went to his Cafe Zoetrope on Kearny Street, where I came face-to-face with this little machine with three buttons.
You push a button, and out comes a short story. It’s absolutely perfect if you’re waiting for a table or in an airport line.
It’s a bit analog, I know. But it could catch on, if you can get people to put down their cell phones for a minute.
Hats off to John Konstin of the historic John’s Grill. He did a fundraising event for state Sen. Mark Leno a while back. As fate would have it, Leno brought along the head of the city’s disability compliance program, who was in a wheelchair and could not make it up the three flights of stairs to the banquet room.
It’s a very old building, so legally John didn’t need to do anything. Nonetheless, he said, “If you’ll help process the papers, I’ll put in an elevator.”
And he did, to the tune of $500,000.
Want to sound off? Email [email protected] |
"Hello Kitty" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne, taken from her self-titled fifth studio album, Avril Lavigne (2013). The song was released as a Japan-only fourth single. It was written by Lavigne, Chad Kroeger, David Hodges and Martin Johnson. Production was handled by Kroeger and Hodges, with additional production by Brandon Paddock and Kyle Moorman. Musically, "Hello Kitty" is a J-pop, dubstep, and EDM song, featuring an electro-influenced drop. The song was influenced by her obsession with all things related to the Japanese brand Hello Kitty, and has some sexual content.
The song was mostly panned by music critics, who criticized its sound and called it immature, while a few critics praised the song saying it is unique and playful. Lavigne shot a music video for the track in Japan and was released on 21 April 2014. It was met with negative reviews by critics, with Billboard labeling it "abhorrent" and "lazy". The video's depiction of Japanese culture was accused of being racist and offensive by a number of Western Twitter users,[2] whereas Twitter reactions in Japan were generally favorable.[3] Due to the video's popularity, the song charted at number 75 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming the second highest charting single from the album.[4]
Background [ edit ]
Three months after the release of Goodbye Lullaby (2011), Lavigne announced that work on her fifth studio album had already begun, having eight songs written. Lavigne stated that the album would musically be the opposite of Goodbye Lullaby, with a release date rumoured for sometime in 2012. Lavigne explained, "Goodbye Lullaby was more mellow, [but] the next one will be pop and more fun again. I already have a song that I know is going to be a single, I just need to re-record it!."[5] In an interview, Lavigne said about her collaboration with Kroeger: "I have a song called Hello Kitty, which I wrote about Hello Kitty because I'm obsessed, and it's a really fun thing that I've never done before. It kind of has a kind of glitchy, electronic feel to it and it's... the only one on the record that sounds like that. It's really different and a lot of my friends I've played it for really like it. I'm having a lot of fun with that one."[6]
Composition [ edit ]
"Hello Kitty" A 19 second sample of "Hello Kitty", displaying technopop styles with elements of dubstep Problems playing this file? See media help.
"Hello Kitty" is a J-pop, dubstep, and EDM track that is three minutes and eighteen seconds long.[7][8][9][10] "Hello Kitty" was written by Lavigne, Chad Kroeger, David Hodges and Martin Johnson, while the song was produced by Kroeger and Hodges. Brandon Paddock and Kyle Moorman became assistants in its production.[11] The song was engineered by John Hanes, musical mixed by Serban Ghenea and additional programming was held by Paddock and Moorman.[11] Lavigne described the lyrics while talking to Digital Spy, "'Hello Kitty' was such an interesting topic and subject [...] It was really exciting for me. I didn't want it to sound like anything I'd done before. I wanted it to sound over the top so I ended up hiring a new producer to help me with it."
The opening line of the song Min'na saikō arigatō, K-k-k-kawaii, k-k-k-kawaii, is a reference to the Japanese Kawaii culture. Kawaii is Japanese for "cute", and the word is popularly used to describe endearing physical characterizations in Manga and Japanese video games. She was later asked about the double meaning of the song, on account of the interchangeability of the sexual euphemisms 'kitty' and 'pussy', to which she responded, "Obviously it's flirtatious and somewhat sexual, but it's genuinely about my love for Hello Kitty as well."[12] Additionally, she said at MuchMusic Awards, "It's really fun [and] it's about a slumber party and loving the kitty."[13]
Critical reception [ edit ]
"Hello Kitty" was generally panned by music critics. While labeling it "weird", Nick Catucci from Entertainment Weekly called it "a dubstep track that seems to acknowledge its own tokenism by adopting a 'J-Pop American Funtime Now!' sheen."[9] Despite praising her "techno-pop" influence, Jason Lipshutz of Billboard felt that "it's a bold stab at a genre outside of Lavigne's oeuvre, but it never comes together. By the 20th time 'Hello Kitty, you're so pretty' is declared, the listener's attention is already on the next track."[4] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic wrote that the song "bypasses bubblegum so it can settle into the embarrassing".[14] While reviewing and stating that most of the album was "soggy", Chuck Eddy from Rolling Stone felt that "Hello Kitty" was the most playful song on the album and called it "J-pop-via-Kesha".[7] Robert Corpsey from Digital Spy was mixed on his opinion of the song, writing that "the juddering electro-pop beats of 'Hello Kitty' serve as an ode to her you-know-what as well as her sizeable Japanese fanbase. As a curveball, it works brilliantly; but as an attempt to make her sound current in today's EDM-pop dominated charts, it falls considerably short."[15]
Craig Manning of AbsolutePunk called it "the biggest leap of faith," describing it as "a trippy patchwork of EDM and pop that pays loving tribute to Lavigne’s sizable Japanese following."[10] Bradley Stern of MuuMuse named it "an off-the-walls EDM-infused stomper, where Lavigne conjures Gwen Stefani's bouncy, Japanese-minded Love. Angel. Music. Baby."[16] Laurence Green from musicOMH called it a "trashy EDM moment; laced with snatches of Japanese lingo," pointing out that it "feels like a weird misstep more suited to a Britney Spears album than the predominantly rock-centric sounds present on the rest of the record."[17] A reviewer from Sputnikmusic remarked that "Hello Kitty" is "laughably bad" and "insipid", and criticized Lavigne's attempt at trying to draw in a younger crowd.[18] Gregory Hicks from The Michigan Daily gave the song a negative review, referring to it as an "obligatory 2013-dubstep mess created for the sole purpose of attempting to follow a trend."[19]
Chart performance [ edit ]
"Hello Kitty" debuted at number 84 on the Gaon Singles Chart and at number 70 on Download International Chart with 4,038 copies sold in its first week.[20] It also spent one week on the Billboard Hot 100, at number 75, due to the popularity of the video, where 73 of the 92 percent of its chart points were attributed to Vevo on YouTube views, according to Nielsen BDS.[21] It became her second-highest charted song from her self-titled album; "Here's to Never Growing Up", peaked at number 20 in June. It also became her highest debut on Streaming Songs to date, as the track debuted at number 14 (besting "Here's to Never Growing Up", which opened at number 26 in May following its official video debut). The song also surged to 5,000 downloads sold in the tracking week ending Sunday, 27 April, up from a negligible number the week before, according to Nielsen SoundScan.[21] On the Japanese Hot Top Airplay chart, "Hello Kitty" debuted at number 82 for the week ending of 12 May 2014.[22]
Music video [ edit ]
The music video for "Hello Kitty" was filmed in Tokyo, Japan,[23] and premiered on Lavigne's official website on 21 April 2014.[24] It was removed from her YouTube channel,[25] amid criticism that it was culturally insensitive and lacked energy.[26][27] Although an official spokesperson stated that the song's video was never officially released and was stated to go live on 23 April,[28] it was reuploaded to her official Vevo and YouTube channels the same day.[29]
Synopsis [ edit ]
The majority of the "Hello Kitty" music video finds Avril Lavigne parading around with four identically dressed Japanese women behind her, performing dance moves, in locales like a bedroom, a candy store and a street. The video also shows Lavigne playing guitar, wearing glasses, eating sushi, waving at admirers and fans and taking a single photograph,[26] wearing gloves that are paired with pastel hair extensions and a pink tutu covered in three-dimensional cupcakes.[30]
Reception and criticism [ edit ]
A scene depicting Japanese culture from the music video, which was widely criticized and deemed as "racist" by Western critics on Twitter, but received generally favorable Twitter reactions in Japan.
The video was heavily derided by critics. Jason Lipshutz of Billboard panned it as "even more abhorrent than the song."[26] While acknowledging that the album's previous videos were "excellent", he pointed out that the "Hello Kitty" video "tries to do nothing. Its laziness is demonstrated in the first 21 seconds, during which Lavigne holds a plush stack of cupcakes, shakes her hips, stares at the cupcakes, bounces her shoulders, and then, when she sings the line 'Someone chuck a cupcake at me'... tosses the fake cupcakes at the camera, her lip movement not matching up to the backing track whatsoever."[26] Alexa Camp of Slant Magazine called it "truly eyebrow-raising, taking cultural mis-appropriation to cringe-inducing levels."[30] The Independent suggested that "'Hello Kitty' will make your eyes and ears bleed",[31] while Jezebel wrote: "It looks like what would happen if someone scraped off the diseased underbelly of American pop culture from 2004-2010 and sprinkled it generously over a festering pile of garbage."[29]
Its depiction of Japanese culture was met with widespread criticism from Western critics, which has included suggestions of racism,[29] which Lavigne responded to by stating: "I love Japanese culture and I spend half of my time in Japan. I flew to Tokyo to shoot this video...specifically for my Japanese fans, WITH my Japanese label, Japanese choreographers AND a Japanese director IN Japan."[32] Hiro Ugaya, a Tokyo-based journalist and media commentator, assumed that "images of cultures outside of one's own in mass media are always different from the reality. [...] When you're trying to reach the majority of consumers, images tend to be lowest common dominator". Nobuyuki Hayashi, also a well-known Tokyo-based tech and social media expert, commented that most of the reactions on Twitter were favorable, adding that people who blamed Lavigne for racism are non-Japanese, but society from Japan did not take it seriously.[3]
Live performances [ edit ]
Lavigne included "Hello Kitty" on her The Avril Lavigne Tour (2013–14) as the opening track.[33]
Credits and personnel [ edit ]
Lead vocals by Avril Lavigne
Written by Avril Lavigne
Electric guitar by Martin Johnson
Engineered by John Hanes
Mixed by Serban Ghenea
Produced by Martin Johnson
Additional production and programming by Brandon Paddock, Kyle Moorman
Additional vocal production by Chad Kroeger, David Hodges
Recorded by Brandon Paddock, Kyle Moorman, Martin Johnson
Credits Adapted from the liner notes of Avril Lavigne (2013).[11]
Charts [ edit ]
Awards [ edit ]
Year Awards ceremony Award Results 2016 VEVOCertified Awards 100.000.000 views Won |
“The Big Bang Theory” had the biggest gain from three days of DVR and on-demand viewing last week, moving past two NFL games to the No. 1 spot among adults 18-49.
The CBS comedy has a 5.0 rating in the 18-49 demographic in the Live +3 ratings for Oct. 10-16, up from a 3.4 in the same-day ratings. It moved ahead of both “Sunday Night Football” (4.9) and “Thursday Night Football” (4.7) to take the top spot. “Empire,” which currently sits fourth at 4.6, will likely move past one or both of the NFL games when the Live +7 ratings are tallied.
Also of note: The 600th episode of “The Simpsons” makes the Top 10 with a 3.4 in adults 18-49, and the premieres of “Chicago Fire” (2.5), “American Housewife” (2.5) and “The Middle” (2.2) all join the Top 25.
“Designated Survivor” added the most viewers after three days, growing by 5.17 million people.
Top 25 broadcast shows (including ties) in Live +3 adults 18-49 for Oct. 10-16, 2016
Rank Show Net L+3 18-49 rating Gain vs. Live + SD % gain vs. Live + SD 1 THE BIG BANG THEORY CBS 5.0 1.6 47% 2 SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL – COLTS/TEXANS NBC 4.9 0.0 0% 3 THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL – BRONCOS/CHARGERS CBS 4.7 0.0 0% 4 EMPIRE FOX 4.6 1.1 31% 5 THIS IS US NBC 4.2 1.4 50% 6 MODERN FAMILY ABC 3.6 1.2 50% 7 THE VOICE – MON. NBC 3.5 0.6 21% 8 THE SIMPSONS FOX 3.4 0.4 13% GREY’S ANATOMY ABC 3.4 1.3 62% 10 THE VOICE – TUES. NBC 3.2 0.6 23% 11 DESIGNATED SURVIVOR ABC 3.0 1.4 88% 12 SATURDAY NIGHT COLLEGE FB – OHIO ST/WISCONSIN ABC 2.7 0.0 0% KEVIN CAN WAIT CBS 2.7 0.6 29% 14 CHICAGO FIRE – P NBC 2.6 0.8 44% 15 LETHAL WEAPON FOX 2.5 0.6 32% AMERICAN HOUSEWIFE – P ABC 2.5 0.6 32% SURVIVOR CBS 2.5 0.5 25% CRIMINAL MINDS CBS 2.5 0.8 47% 19 THE GOLDBERGS ABC 2.4 0.5 26% BLACK-ISH ABC 2.4 0.6 33% NCIS CBS 2.4 0.6 33% 22 SPEECHLESS ABC 2.3 0.5 28% BULL CBS 2.3 0.6 35% 24 THE MIDDLE – P ABC 2.2 0.4 22% LAW & ORDER: SVU NBC 2.2 0.8 57% TIMELESS NBC 2.2 0.8 57% CHICAGO PD NBC 2.2 0.8 57%
Top 25 broadcast shows in Live +3 viewers for Oct. 10-16, 2016
Rank Show Net L+3 viewers (000s) Gain vs. Live + SD (000s) % gain vs. Live + SD 1 THE BIG BANG THEORY CBS 18,581 4,169 29% 2 NCIS CBS 17,679 2,909 20% 3 BULL CBS 16,184 3,184 24% 4 THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL – BRONCOS/CHARTERS CBS 14,553 59 0% 5 BLUE BLOODS CBS 13,670 3,449 34% 6 SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL – COLTS/TEXANS NBC 13,643 48 0% 7 THIS IS US NBC 13,583 3,711 38% 8 THE VOICE – MON. NBC 13,207 1,838 16% 9 NCIS: LOS ANGELES CBS 12,721 1,833 17% 10 THE VOICE – TUES. NBC 12,638 1,759 16% 11 NCIS: NEW ORLEANS CBS 12,554 2,932 30% 12 DESIGNATED SURVIVOR ABC 12,163 5,167 74% 13 EMPIRE FOX 11,990 2,724 29% 14 DANCING WITH THE STARS ABC 11,745 1,316 13% 15 HAWAII FIVE-0 CBS 11,529 2,344 26% 16 MADAM SECRETARY CBS 11,181 2,083 23% 17 CRIMINAL MINDS CBS 10,973 2,571 31% 18 GREY’S ANATOMY ABC 10,815 3,017 39% 19 60 MINUTES CBS 10,726 303 3% 20 CHICAGO FIRE – P NBC 10,653 3,130 42% 21 SURVIVOR CBS 10,586 1,526 17% 22 KEVIN CAN WAIT CBS 10,371 1,668 19% 23 MODERN FAMILY ABC 10,299 2,799 37% 24 SCORPION CBS 9,641 2,595 37% 25 THE BLACKLIST NBC 9,630 3,777 65%
Source: The Nielsen Company. |
After an up-and-down rookie year, Landon Collins has the potential to become a great player for the Giants.
At this point, saying the New York Giants were bad on defense in 2015 is a bit of a broken record. The unit finished dead last in the league, and the passing defense was abundantly poor at times.
As an individual, Collins was a bit of a paradox during year 1.
Collins’ first year was up-and-down, but he improved as the year wore on. Things started out rough, as he called out Dallas Cowboys’ quarterback Tony Romo prior to the two teams’ week 1 meeting. Collins was beat for a touchdown that game.
Collins’ growing pains continued in week 2, when he forgot to touch down Atlanta receiver Leonard Hankerson. The climax of Collins’ first year came when he dropped an easy interception that would’ve ended the game against the New England Patriots.
From that point on, Collins’ play improved as he got better at doing what he was supposed to do, as well as making plays in general. Although he wasn’t always in the perfect position, Collins always played with 100 percent. He ended up starting every single game for the Giants, which is an incredibly impressive feat.
Entering his second year, Collins has a chance to emulate center Weston Richburg‘s sophomore season.
I admit, saying Collins could be this year’s Weston Richburg is a bit of an odd thing to say, especially since Richburg is an offensive lineman. So let me explain, first by examining Richburg’s forgettable first year.
During his rookie year in 2014, Richburg, whose natural position is center, played out of position at guard. He appeared in all 16 games, and started 15. Playing next to ineffective, journeyman center J.D. Walton, Richburg struggled immensely.
But after Walton left town and Richburg was promoted back to center, the latter began to produce. Last year, Richburg emerged as arguably one of the league’s top-three centers, and he was snubbed of a Pro Bowl ballot. To his credit, however, Richburg was named to Pro Football Focus’ Pro Bowl roster.
Now, Richburg has developed into the leader of the offensive line, even calling out some of his teammates.
So how is Collins like Richburg?
Well, like the fiery center, Collins played out of position during his rookie year, but was an immediate starter. He struggled, but I mean, can be really blame him for it? Collins was essentially thrown into the fire from day 1, given an old fire extinguisher and was told, “Here. Good luck.”
Collins is a strong safety by nature, but because of injuries to three safeties, he was forced into the free safety position. To nobody’s surprise, Collins struggled mightily in pass coverage, though he led the team in tackles. In the same vein Richburg played next to an ineffective veteran, Collins played aside hard-hitting, poor covering Brandon Meriweather.
Now, with the returns of the three injured safeties and the drafting of Darian Thompson, Collins projects to slide back to his natural position of strong safety. That bodes will for all parties involved, as Collins will be back in his comfort zone, and defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo will be able to utilize Collins fully in certain packages.
Basically, because of offseason moves, Collins, like Richburg before him, is going to be able to slide back to his natural position, after spending a year learning about the trials and tribulations that accompany an NFL career.
Collins has a real shot to make an impact similar to the one Richburg made last year, too. For starters, has the physical build and abilities to become an impact starter for the Giants.
Furthermore, Collins has the intensity and drive to succeed, and he plays with energy and intensity. Going off the film from last year, Collins is a natural fit at the strong safety position, though still a bit of a liability in pass coverage. He can come down and be an immediate difference-maker in the run game, and he hits and is built like a linebacker.
Last year, Spags used Collins as a free rusher in some packages, and Collins did a sufficient job applying pressure on the quarterback.
So from a physical standpoint, Collins has everything a player could want.
Collins has the proper mentality, too, as has the discipline to become great. Strong character and discipline are two traits that seemingly follow every Nick Saban-coached player to the NFL.
Collins is a coachable young man who works hard and never gives up on a play. He has a chance to become the vocal and emotional leader of a safety unit that is sorely lacking one. He’s the alpha male of the safety group, and he has a natural leadership quality about him that can’t be taught. His drop against the Patriots was a good test of Collins’ mental game, and he passed with flying colors.
It would have been easy for Collins to — as Antrel Rolle once eloquently put it — “get in the tank,” but instead, he manned up and improved every week on.
While saying a safety should try to emulate a center is a bit odd, Collins has a serious chance to see a career surge similar to Richburg’s. Although it’s certainly a stretch, as everything during the offseason and preseason seems to be, Collins very well may play at a Pro Bowl level in his second season. |
My name is Kristin E. Stattel. I would like to share my personal experiences regarding residential treatment for adolescents. I will begin by saying that I appreciate the GAO and all contributors, for analyzing this “teen help industry”. It is such a major concern in our world, and it is very dear to my heart. I want to personally, from the bottom of my heart and soul, thank you for recognizing and investigating this issue. I remember when I was in these treatment centers, I was always wondering, how it is ultimately possible for this “living nightmare” to exist. I recall, like it was yesterday, and the feeling was immensely heart wrenching.
Now, I would like to share with you, my testimony. It all began, when I was fourteen years old, my mother, who was my best friend, my angel, my whole world, and passed away of ovarian cancer. The days before she passed, she was home on Hospice care. I spent every waking moment, by her side. It was such a traumatic time in my life, when she passed away. I was on home instruction from my freshman year in high school. When it came time to begin sophomore year, back at Marlboro High School, my depression and anxiety skyrocketed. I had trouble coping, and was diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder as well as Social Anxiety Disorder. My sophomore and junior years of high school, were so difficult. The last day of my junior year, is when the real nightmare began. I was woken up at four in the morning, by my father, and standing along with him in my bedroom, were two complete strangers. They told me to get out of bed, that I had a plane to catch at Newark Liberty International Airport, to Asheville, North Carolina. Completely confused, I stated I was not going anywhere with them. I did not know who they were, why they were telling me I was going to North Carolina. They then came over to my bed, grabbing my arms, and dragging me out of my bed. I asked if I could change out of my pajamas first, which of course my request was denied. They dragged me down the stairs, through the first floor of the house, and out the door, and pushed me into their car. I tried to fight these strangers off, but they defeated me. A short time later, I arrived in North Carolina, where I was taken to SUWS of the Carolinas, a wilderness therapy program. During the program, we hiked miles a day through the mountains, we were forced into such a rigorous routine, hiking everyday, no matter what the weather conditions were, no matter if anyone was feeling ill. Finally, after completing this program, it was advised that I should go to a “therapeutic boarding school” and not return home.
I went from SUWS in North Carolina, to The Academy at Swift River, which is owned by ASPEN. The academy is located in Cummington, Massachusetts. Upon my arrival there, all new patients had to go through Base Camp before we were allowed to go onto campus, where we would start our schooling. Additionally upon admission, we were given a ration of nutrition which consisted of a bag of granola, an apple, some carrots, and some celery, as well as a plastic bottle for our water. A short time after my admission, a group of us from Base Camp, decided to try and escape by running away. Needless to say, we were caught a few hours after we went AWOL. A couple of days later, I was told I was being sent to a more “intense therapeutic environment”. Once again, at around three in the morning, two “transporters” picked me up from the program, took me to Buffalo airport in New York, and once again was off on a flight now to Knoxville, Tennessee. I arrived at Peninsula Village on September 3, 2004 which is a level 4 lockdown facility in Louisville, Tennessee. Peninsula Village was the gate keeper to the abuse I would endure for the following six months. My very first day, I was overcome with fear and the highest level of anxiety I have ever felt. I was strip searched, and following the search was instructed to take a shower, however staff would be monitoring me. They would be able to be in plain view of me at all times. Privacy at Peninsula Village did not exist even in the least bit. I refused to shower if they were going to watch, so two staff came over to me, as I was collapsed on the bathroom floor, shaking uncontrollably and absolutely hysterical. They grabbed my upper arms, and dragged me across the bathroom floor, out across the carpet of the unit, and dropped me on the cold blue floor of the “time out room”. I was told to sit there, with my back against the wall, and not to move until permitted to do so. They then left me in there, for a substantial amount of time. Little did I know that the “time out room” would be come ever so familiar? Later on that day, I stood up; I had been sitting there for a long time, in which I was ordered to sit back down. I refused, and said I just needed to stand up for a minute. At that moment, two staff came from behind, grabbed my upper arms once again, and started kicking the back of my knees, in which I inevitably fell to the floor, face down, an alarm went off, in which staff from the entire property came running in. They were pinning me to the floor, and upon others arrival, there would be seven or eight staff members on top of me, holding me facedown to the floor. There was a staff on my arms, on my back, on my legs, and on my ankles, as well as one holding my head to the floor. During this first restraint (out of many more to come in my stay) I vomited, while being pinned to the floor. I tried to lift my face from it, in which a staff would hold my head down, right into my own bile’s. I felt like I was suffocating and honestly did not know if I was going to make it through that restraint alive. I was in ultimate fear for my life. I was only around 120 pounds, which for my height of five foot and nine inches, is underweight. I struggled trying to breathe with all of these people sitting on me, as well as trying to breathe with my face being held to the floor, and in my bile’s. After this 30 minute restraint, I was carried into the “time out room” in which I was stripped of my clothing, and was changed into blood stained hospital gowns.
The first two months I was at Peninsula Village, I was restrained a total of forty two times and twenty two of those restraints, were mechanical and chemical restraints. That was only the first to months, which many more to come. Some days, I would be restrained several times in one day. An example of my longest restraint is from October 14, 2004. Physical restraint was initiated at 7:13 AM; I was transferred to the restraint bed in which a body net was used, at 7:40 AM. At 10:50 AM, I was released from the restraint bed, only to be physically restrained again, at 11:02 AM, moved back to the restraint bed, and was not released until 9:25 PM. During that time, I was given 0.5 MG of Klonopin and 5 MG of Zyprexa.
As a result of restraints, I had bruises all over my body. At one point, they had to order X-Rays of my wrist and jaw, from one of my restraints. I had also filed a grievance against one of my counselors, in which Child Protective Services had to come in and investigate. The results of the investigation; however were supposedly, that the abuse was unsubstantial.
A simple breakdown, of what life was like at Peninsula Village, beyond all of the restraints was sickening as well. We sat on our beds, most of our waking hours, were prohibited from looking and/or speaking to any of our peers. The only time we were allowed to speak at all, was if granted permission by staff, or in therapy groups. I was denied access to a phone at all times, unless I had the privilege of family therapy. Our mail was monitored, both incoming and outgoing. In communication with my father, I was prohibited from speaking about what was going on daily. We were forced to attend a chemical addiction group, even if we had no substance abuse issues. I have never had a substance abuse issue, yet they convinced me I was addicted to downers and being restrained. Confrontational therapy is what they practiced. We were also forced to study the Native American Medicine Wheel spiritual opinion. Bathroom times were on their terms. If we had to go when it was not bathroom break, we had to wait, and if it was a real emergency they would allow it but then you would get consequence for it later on in consequence group. Who ever thought of being consequence for having to use the bathroom? We were not allowed to talk except in group therapy or if we raised our hand and were actually called on. You had to sit on your bed with your back up against the wall. If you got off your bed, or just hung your legs out (from sitting Indian style) to stretch them, you would be restrained. There were level systems which always made me feel bad about myself. When you were restrained they would strip you of your clothing and make you wear hospital gowns until you contracted to move up to wearing scrubs then contracting to wear your clothes. The director of my unit at the time was not licensed he was actually denied by the board of health so he was misrepresenting himself. He told me once, "If you think you are smart enough to get kicked out of here and escape it here you are wrong" I would not see my dad for weeks sometimes over a month. My family therapy sessions would get taken away from me in which I could not talk to my dad much less see him if when I was talking to my dad and I tried to tell him how bad it was there they would end the family therapy session right there. They also told him I was incompetent and did not know what I was talking about when he heard me tell him about my bruises. I was covered in bruises from the head down. My mail was monitored by staff both outgoing and incoming. When we went to the bathroom, we were timed. We had to tell them how long we needed in the bathroom. One minute to pee, two minutes for a bowel movement, and an extra 30 seconds if we had our period. A level 2 would check our stall before we could flush, and if we were not out of the bathroom on time, we were consequence. Our showers were monitored, in which a level 2 would run shower time. We had 7 minute shower time, in which you had to shower, brush your teeth, comb your hair, put on your deodorant, and get dressed. If there was hair left in your brush or toothpaste in your sink, or a hair in your shower stall, you would be consequence. The level 2 would watch us undress, and would keep a close eye on us, which made me feel highly uncomfortable, as some of them would stare at me as I was undressing to shower.
In order to talk to staff, you had to raise your hand, and if 3 hands went up in the air, we had to do a 5 minute halt, in which we all had to stand (completely still) and stare at the clock on the wall, and staff would walk around and check to make sure our eyes were focused on the clock; if we were not, or if one of us fidgeted, or moved, we had to start the time all over.
We ate our meals on our beds, we did our schoolwork on our beds, and we would have quiet time for about 4 or 5 hours a day. We were not allowed to look at our peers, make any form of contact with them. Peers would confront others for any little thing you did wrong, everything from leaving a hair in your shower, to being "entitled".
We never went outside, except to walk out the door (escorted) and down the stairs to nursing. We were not allowed to look out the windows, not allowed to look at male staff if they came on the unit. The staff would pick on me, because when I got nervous, I would have an "incongruent smirk" on my face. A nurse that I speak to now from Peninsula Village claims that they knew from the very beginning that I did not belong there, yet they kept me there. I was a private pay patient.
Our counselors had no formal training, nothing more than a GED or high school diploma. Some of them were only a few years older than me. They were the ones there with us all the time, running our groups, and everything that was done on the unit.
It was constantly beaten into my head what a worthless excuse of life I am and that I am just an entitled little bitch.
They performed psychological testing on me, and determined that I was "malingering", yet they kept raising my dosage of Antipsychotic Medication, to a dose that most have never heard of.
(I have attached a breakdown of the psychotropic medication regimen, from admission to Peninsula Village to discharge.)
After discharging from Peninsula Village, I was transported to Liberty Hill, Texas and was admitted to Meridell Achievement Center. At Meridell, they helped me to “break away” from the abuse I endured at Peninsula Village. They helped me transform from a “bruised girl who was afraid to speak, move, or do anything” to a more normal state of mind. After discharge from Meridell, I finally returned home to New Jersey.
After all of my personal experiences, I am now highly active in working to prevent what happened to me, from happening to any one else. I am committed to being proactive and constructive, every day of my life. For a long time after the abuse, I would ask myself why this happened to me, and the reason that I came up with, that I can live with, is simple. It happened to me, because I am now, going to do everything in my personal capacity, to make a difference.
Once again, I want to personally express my gratitude, to all of those involved in making a difference. I have met some wonderful people in the short time that I have been involved in working vigorously to make a difference and stand up for what is right.
In Greatest Sincerity,
Kristin E. Stattel
The Following Survivor Story was sent into TroubledTeenSurvivor.com
After the first time I attempted suicide, in 1998, I ended up in a long-term “treatment” facility called Peninsula Village, which is located outside of Knoxville, Tennessee. Yes, I was a troubled teenager -- like most, I suppose -- but the only difference between some others and me was that I had untreated depression and anxiety disorders. These factors made it very hard for my family to deal with me at times, and my parents eventually fell under the spell of Peninsula Village’s staff and their lies. However, my parents did not inform me about the extent to which I would be staying at the Village -- at least 11 months until I turned 18 and could sign myself out. My parents also did not inform me about the extent to which the staff will go in order to “discipline” the children, but in fairness, the Village staff lied to my parents and omitted key facts. The issues this caused me during my stay eventually led to my escape -- the second, fully successful one in 13 years at the time -- but the memories of that place haunt me to this day.
The staff at Peninsula Village view discipline as treatment, but not “time-out” discipline, I’m talking about “slamming.” Slamming is a word we used to describe what was done to us (the children) if we “acted-up.” It involved the staff pressing a siren button that hung around their necks. Then, at least 6 burly staff members would come flying into the room through every entrance, and basically, they would tackle the child, slam his (I only witnessed the males) face into the ground, and dig their elbows and knees into his back and limbs, making it hard for him to breathe. This would last a relatively long time, and would always lead to the removal of the child’s clothing in exchange for bloodstained hospital gowns. The child would also get a one-way ticket to the “quiet room” -- a slightly padded, tiny, cold room with a cement floor covered by linoleum -- for an indefinite amount of time. On occasion, the child would also receive a hefty IM (intra-muscular) dose of a sedative, like Thorazine, that would leave him drooling for hours. Even more disturbing, there were many occurrences of bloodshed during these slammings. The emotional and physical pain I heard in the cries, screams, groans, and sobs during the slammings, coupled with the sight of blood pooling around a child’s head, and 8 adults kneeling on him, is truly haunting. Most of the slammings occur in the STU (Special Treatment Unit), but the staff will not hesitate to slam someone outside in the gravel, mud, manure, or whatever else one might be standing in.
STU is where they put all the new admits, and a stay there can last anywhere from 2 months to more than a year. While in STU, the staff forced me to strip naked, bend over and expose my anus, and expose and lift my scrotum. They also put me on an anti-depressant medication called Paxil, but immediately at a very high dose that left me buzzing and tingling. I had them decrease the dose soon after. In addition, they forced me to sit, Indian-style, on a small, cubicle-like bed all day under fluorescent lights -- lights that they never fully turned off. One day, a staff member caught me slouching very slightly, and made me stand and watch the clock for ten minutes, then forced me to sit back down on the hard, wooden bed box, but without the mattress for the remainder of the day. That’s not the half of it because the entire time one is in STU, one has to remain silent and non-communicative with other peers; however, the staff will sit and chat all night long while we try to sleep under the dimmed lights, then, they wake us up at 6 A.M. by yelling, and slapping the cubicle tops. I didn’t dare speak though, aside from the occasional group “therapy” session where the staff tells everyone how much he sucks, and that he’s a worthless piece of crap. The Village’s lead psych. doctor was very good at this. They also force everyone to “admit” he has a drug and alcohol problem, join AA/NA, and become spiritual, even if he doesn’t have a problem or have spiritual beliefs. Aside from groups, bathroom breaks were the only other time we could get up from our beds. We only got 3 minutes to defecate, 1 minute to urinate, and 4 minutes to shower. If we went over our allotted time by even 1 second, we would loose minutes from our next shower time. I never lost shower time, but I frequently had to let soap dry in my hair or on my body, and it would sometimes become itchy. The other bad thing about STU was we were allowed no time with our parents, on the phone or in person. I spent 2 ½ months in STU, living as a monk, and the only communication I had with my parents was my outgoing letters that were read, and censored, by staff. I could not write anything slanderous about the goings-on there, or my letter would not be mailed. The staff does not show STU to parents on their tour of the facilities because I doubt any parent would allow their child to stay at the Village if they witnessed what went on in there.
All of the slammings I witnessed were during my stay in STU. The first time I developed a fear of the alarm buttons was after I saw one guy’s scabbed face early in my stay. The entire right side of his face was covered in scabs, and he was wearing the hospital gowns. I managed to ask him about it before the start of a group session one day, and he said it was from the staff slamming him, and then dragging his face across the carpet. The next time I saw a slamming, the boy ended up getting a large dose of Thorazine in the butt because, if I remember correctly, he was in the quiet room afterward, and couldn’t stop sobbing. I remember during his slamming he was in a lot of distress from all the force being applied to his small body. He was having difficulty breathing, and he was in a lot of pain, and he was voicing these complaints to the best of his ability, but the staff wouldn’t let up. I think they enjoy restraining children just to feel powerful or something. They could have easily restrained him with half as many staff members, and quickly put him in the quiet room, but no, they decided to prolong the enjoyment. Eventually, once he was good and high, they let him come out to join us in group therapy. I don’t see any reason, other than to scare the rest of us, for them letting him join us because he was droopy-faced and drooling on himself. Another slamming I witnessed was even worse. The boy was smaller, and the slamming was more forceful, so much in fact, that he might have had his nose broken. All he did to be slammed was shrug his shoulder when a staff member grabbed his arm to lead him back to his bed box after he wouldn’t go by command. I saw him lying in a large pool of his own blood, where they held his face for quite some time, and then they swapped his clothes for the gowns, and stuck him in the quiet room as well. I heard a number of other slammings happen on the other boys’ side of STU, although I didn’t witness them. I did see the aftermath of at least one of those though. One boy was crying, and sitting in a padded room with a straight jacket on. This boy couldn’t have been older than 12 or 13.
Once I “graduated” to the outdoor cabin program, I was able to speak again, but there were a completely new set of rules, and I was forced to do even worse things. I was also constantly condescended, laughed at by staff, and made to feel stupid and worthless. The staff all acted as if they were gods or something. As far as strange rules go, one was that I was never allowed to look at another female. One guy in my group did, and we were forced, as a group, to do a “pyramid 15.” That’s where we had to do 15 pushups, 14 pushups, 13 pushups, etc. After that same guy was caught looking at girls three times, our group had to eat our meals in our cabin for a week. That meant hiking a half-mile to pick up the food, hiking a half-mile back to eat it on a wooden cabin floor, hiking a half-mile to bring the food tub back, and then hiking a half-mile back to our side of the grounds to continue with our daily activities. Two miles of hiking for each meal, and every meal ended up being cold for a week. Then, one time, a staff member (notice I don’t call them counselors -- I don’t think they were qualified) forced us to clear a path that was overgrown with poison ivy, but he forced us to do it with our bare hands! We complained, but he said not to be babies and that if we washed our hands, we’d be fine. It took us over an hour to clear the path, and we all ended up with poison ivy. That wasn’t even the worse day I can remember though. I think the worse day I had, physically, was on a day the temperature reached the upper 90’s, and the humidity was probably in the same range. We were working in the garden, breaking up dirt clumps, and had very little water available to us, relative to the conditions. There were at least eight of us, only 5 gallons of water on site, and we were working there all day. I got so hot and red, and had so much sweat dripping from my face, that I started to have blurred vision and lose my balance. I was very near heat stroke. We worked in that garden 3 or 4 times per week during the summer. If we weren’t working in the garden, we were building a brick barbeque pit -- hardly things that were conducive to the therapy for which we were there. We only had school two days per week, and even that was a half-ass, teach-yourself kind of thing. After working, we would run around the cabin trails. They would force us to train for occasional 5k races. This training was mandatory. After working outside most of the day, I had to run in the Tennessee heat and humidity for over an hour, 3 times per week. In the beginning, it was too much for me, and I was so tired that I wouldn’t swallow to conserve energy. I was barely jogging to avoid being reprimanded, I was dizzy and had blurred sight, and I was drooling, but I could not stop. We were reprimanded for any number of things, even leaving hairs in the shower. For every hair left in the showers, we would have to do a pyramid 15 as a group. We usually had to do pushups after shower time, so I’d get clean, do some pushups, and then go to bed sweaty. We never cleaned our sleeping bags either. Once per month we would find a spot of sun peaking through the trees in the woods, and try to drape the bags over foliage to catch the sun in an attempt to “sterilize” the bags. Sometimes kids would wet their beds -- probably due to stress -- but they didn’t dare say anything to staff for fear of the consequences. They would just sleep in it. This is how much psychological stress and fear the staff impose on the children during their stay. The worst consequence I ever had while at the Village was when I had to carry a 40lb. Limestone rock in a milk crate, wherever we went as a group, for a week, while still carrying all of my other responsibilities (water gott, backpack, notebook, etc…it changed daily). During that same week, on July 4, 1998, I had to do 2,600 pushups, and 12 one-minute-leg-lifts. This punishment was a plea bargain I made, for the original punishment would have required 3 months of the rock and crate, and about 15,000 pushups. How ridiculous is that? It makes no sense. The staff also has no sense of safety, for one time we were made to dig out a large stump with shovels and an axe. The stump could easily have weighed as much as a small car, it was just as big, and we were forced to climb around it in a 4-foot deep trench to cut at the roots. If the stump had shifted on anyone, he would have been crushed to death. Not only do they have no sense of safety, they have no sense, period. They forced all of us to attend outside AA/NA meetings, and they tried hard to make us spiritual. I never believed I had a problem with drugs or alcohol, but they said I did. I have also never been spiritual, but they forced some Indian Spiritual Wheel belief system upon all of us. That was the whole basis of our level system. Just for the record, I still have no problem with drugs or alcohol 10 years later, and I stopped going to AA/NA after I left the Village.
It would have been nice to voice all my concerns to my parents, but the staff “preps” all the parents by warning them that their children are excellent manipulators, and that they will say anything to leave the Village. During therapy sessions with my parents, the therapist would try to avoid letting me say anything about the Village. If I was able to say something about the conditions, she would quickly respond by making it seem like I was just a whiner and manipulator, and that that is part of my problem, and she would change the subject. Then, for the next week, during group sessions at the cabin, I’d have to talk about how much of a whiner I am. It’s like they brainwash everyone. They brainwash the children into thinking they have issues they do not really have, they brainwash themselves into thinking they are real therapists, and they brainwash the parents into thinking they are doing the right thing by sending their child there. I think this allows them to keep kids there indefinitely in order to gain more and more money. At $500 or more per night, I think they are motivated.
I played their spiritual-level-system game for about 5 months in the outdoor program until I eventually had my high level stripped from me due to someone else’s mistake. Our group was put on shut down, which is essentially the same as STU life, complete with silence, but in a non-air-conditioned cabin, and we cannot sit on our beds, so we sit back-to-back on the hardwood floor all day. We also have to do the two miles of hiking for every meal while holding onto a small length of rope, and trying not to trip over each other’s feet. A shut down can last for months, and I had already worked so hard to gain my privileges. I was not going to be able to sit on a hardwood floor in silence for another 4 months until I turned 18. This event woke me up, and broke me of my brainwashing. I decided to escape the hell of Peninsula Village.
I decided to make my break for it during morning twilight, right after the group used the tubes (PVC tubes buried in the ground near the cabin that are used as urinals). I let my group get ahead of me a few paces, then I ran into the woods behind me, and never looked back. I had to run through the girl’s side of camp, so I was cautious, and fearful that a female staff member would come outside looking for me any moment. Eventually, I made it to the edge of the property, and with the sound of SUV’s roaring in the background, I jumped across the property line, and into more brush, just as a vehicle went by. The staff didn’t see me, but I lost my glasses in the brush, and I couldn’t find them after a few minutes of searching. Therefore, I continued my hike with limited sight, and tried to keep the only road into the peninsula within view as I kept myself hidden in the woods. I followed the winding road for hours, became dehydrated from the exertion, and soaking wet from the morning dew. Eventually, I found a shed near a house where I was able to hide, re-hydrated from a nearby spigot, rest, and change my clothes. Another few hours later, I made it to the end of the road just as one of the nurses drove by, but a couple minutes after that, someone stopped to pick me up since I had my thumb up. The staff missed me by minutes. I hitched many rides over the next 3 days to get to a friend’s house a few states away. One man gave me $20 for food, and drove me 20 miles out of his way. Another man tried to get a room with me so I could take a bubble bath, drink a beer, have a warm bed to sleep in, and sit back so he could “play with it a while.” Needless to say, I stayed in the woods on the side of an off ramp that night. I barely got any sleep, and I nearly got hypothermia, but it was better than the alternative. Remember, during this entire trip, I’m hiking and hitching without my glasses, so it was very hard to tell if a cop was coming down the road or not -- I just had to chance it. The morning after my cold night, I managed to “thumb” a Virginia State Trooper as he drove by, but he never came back, and I got a ride with an eighteen-wheeler about ten minutes later. I spent about 66 hours on the road to get away from Peninsula Village. Once I got to my friend’s house I managed to get a job in food service, but soon quit in order to move out of state again to live with a different friend -- away from bad influences -- and finish high school.
Even though I attained a relatively high-level while at the Village, I don’t think I actually achieved any kind of gains in my emotional recovery, nor was I put on the right medication or dosage. My parents were conned into spending the $50,000 college trust fund, set up by my grandfather, to have me verbally abused, indirectly physically abused, brainwashed, emotionally tortured, and to have me witness, beyond reasonable cause, the direct physical abuse of other children. In the end, my “treatment” was all a farce. I was stripped of all my privileges for something I had no control over and no part in, and I was able to put everything I “learned” behind me and see the truth. I think the events surrounding my escape prove that I was merely brainwashed the entire time, and once I was shocked awake, nothing, or very little, had changed in me. To this day, I am haunted by my memories of the sights and sounds in the STU, and I remain forever begrudged by the tasks, rules, and punishments for which I was forced to comply. I even find myself quickly looking at the ground when my eyes meet a female’s from time to time, because of how taboo the Village made it. Just to affirm how much Peninsula Village affected me, it took me 10 years before I so much as googled it, and once I did, I found numerous “survivor” stories that truly struck a nerve in me, and I began to sob. The stories of others took me right back to the time I was in the Village, and I realized it wasn’t just a dream I had -- it all really happened, it’s happened to others, and it’s happening to others right now. I hope someone else can identify with my story as well, and know that they are not alone in this sort of thing. I am amazed that these “treatment” places exist, and that people allow them to continue to exist for so long without consequence. I hope, through the shared stories of other survivors, and the diligence and courage of advocates like Ms. Stattel, that places like Peninsula Village will soon face their due consequences.
- John O. |
The issue of the crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus (Isa) is rejected by most Muslims, but similar to Christians they believe that Jesus will return before the end of time. Most Muslims believe Jesus was not crucified, but was raised bodily to heaven by God. A similar belief is found in the Gospel of Basilides, the text of which is lost save for reports of it by other early scholars like Origen (c. 185 – c. 254). Basilides, a theologian of Gnostic tendencies, taught in Alexandria in the second quarter of the second century. However, this view is disregarded by mainstream Christianity which only accepts the four gospels contained in the New Testament as genuine. The general Islamic view supporting the denial of crucifixion was probably influenced by Manichaenism (Docetism), which holds that someone else was crucified instead of Jesus, while concluding that Jesus will return during the end-times.[1]
Depending on the interpretation of the following verse, Muslim scholars have abstracted different opinions. Some believe that in the Biblical account, Jesus's crucifixion did not last long enough for him to die, while others opine that God gave someone Jesus's appearance or someone else replaced Jesus and the executioners thought the victim was Jesus, causing everyone to believe that Jesus was crucified. A third explanation could be that Jesus was nailed to a cross, but as his soul is immortal he did not "die" or was not "crucified" [to death]; it only appeared so (this view is rare). In opposition to the second and third foregoing proposals, yet others maintain that God does not use deceit and therefore they contend that crucifixion just did not occur.
That they said (in boast), "We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah";- but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not:-
Nay, Allah raised him up unto Himself; and Allah is Exalted in Power, Wise;- Qur'an, sura 4 (An-Nisa) ayat 157–158[2]
Earliest reports [ edit ]
Most Islamic traditions, save for a few, categorically deny that Jesus physically died, either on a cross or another manner. The contention is found within the Islamic traditions themselves, with the earliest Hadith reports quoting the companions of Muhammad stating Jesus having died,[3] while the majority of subsequent Hadith and Tafsir have elaborated an argument in favor of the denial through exegesis and apologetics, becoming the popular (orthodox) view.
Professor and scholar Mahmoud M. Ayoub sums up what the Quran states despite interpretative arguments:
The Quran, as we have already argued, does not deny the death of Christ. Rather, it challenges human beings who in their folly have deluded themselves into believing that they would vanquish the divine Word, Jesus Christ the Messenger of God. The death of Jesus is asserted several times and in various contexts. 3:55; 5:117; 19:33.[3]
Some disagreement and discord can be seen beginning with Ibn Ishaq's (d. 761 CE/130 AH) report of a brief accounting of events leading up to the crucifixion, firstly stating that Jesus was replaced by someone named Sergius, while secondly reporting an account of Jesus' tomb being located at Medina and thirdly citing the places in the Qur'an (3:55; 4:158) that God took Jesus up to himself.[4]
An early interpretation of verse 3:55 (specifically "I will cause you to die and raise you to myself"), Al-Tabari (d. 923 CE/310 AH) records an interpretation attributed to Ibn 'Abbas, who used the literal "I will cause you to die" (mumayyitu-ka) in place of the metaphorical mutawaffi-ka "Jesus died", while Wahb ibn Munabbih, an early Jewish convert, is reported to have said "God caused Jesus, son of Mary, to die for three hours during the day, then took him up to himself." Tabari further transmits from Ibn Ishaq Bishr: "God caused Jesus to die for seven hours",[5] while at another place reported that a person called Sergius was crucified in place of Jesus. Ibn-al-Athir forwarded the report that it was Judas, the betrayer, while also mentioning the possibility it was a man named Natlianus.[6][7][8]
Al-Masudi (d. 956 CE/343 AH) reported the death of Christ under Tiberius.[6]
Qur'anic commentators seem to have concluded the denial of the crucifixion of Jesus by following material interpreted in Tafsir that relied upon extra-biblical sources, venturing away from the message conveyed in the Qur'an,[9] with the earliest textual evidence having originated from a non-Muslim source; a misreading of the Christian writings of John of Damascus regarding the literal understandings of Docetism (exegetical doctrine describing spiritual and physical realities of Jesus as understood by men in logical terms) as opposed to their figurative explanations.[10] John of Damascus highlighted the Qur'an's assertion that the Jews did not crucify Jesus being very different from saying that Jesus was not crucified, explaining that it is the varied Quranic exegetes in Tafsir, and not the Qur'an itself, that denies the crucifixion, further stating that the message in the 4:157 verse simply affirms the historicity of the event.[9]
Ja'far ibn Mansur al-Yaman (d. 347 AH/958 CE), Abu Hatim Ahmad ibn Hamdan al-Razi (d. 322 AH/935 CE), Abu Yaqub al-Sijistani (d. 358 AH/971 CE), Mu'ayyad fi'l-Din al-Shirazi (d. 470 AH/1078 CE ) and the group Ikhwan al-Safa also affirm the historicity of the Crucifixion, reporting Jesus was crucified and not substituted by another man as maintained by many other popular Qur'anic commentators and Tafsir.[9]
In reference to the Quranic quote "We have surely killed Jesus the Christ, son of Mary, the apostle of God", Muslim scholar Mahmoud Ayoub asserts this boast not as the repeating of a historical lie or the perpetuating of a false report, but an example of human arrogance and folly with an attitude of contempt towards God and His messenger(s). Ayoub furthers what modern scholars of Islam interpret regarding the historical death of Jesus, the man, as man's inability to kill off God's Word and the Spirit of God, which the Quran testifies were embodied in Jesus Christ. Ayoub continues highlighting the denial of the killing of Jesus as God denying men such power to vanquish and destroy the divine Word. The words, "they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him" speaks to the profound events of ephemeral human history, exposing mankind's heart and conscience towards God's will. The claim of humanity to have this power against God is illusory. "They did not slay him...but it seemed so to them" speaks to the imaginations of mankind, not the denial of the actual event of Jesus dying physically on the cross.[11]
Jesus lives [ edit ]
Discussing the interpretation of those scholars who deny the crucifixion, the Encyclopaedia of Islam[citation needed] writes:
The denial, furthermore, is in perfect agreement with the logic of the Quran. The Biblical stories reproduced in it (e.g., Job, Moses, Joseph, etc.) and the episodes relating to the history of the beginning of Islam demonstrate that it is "God's practice" (sunnat Allah) to make faith triumph finally over the forces of evil and adversity. "So truly with hardship comes ease", (XCIV, 5, 6). For Jesus to die on the cross would have meant the triumph of his executioners; but the Quran asserts that they undoubtedly failed: "Assuredly God will defend those who believe"; (XXII, 49). He confounds the plots of the enemies of Christ (III, 54).[citation needed]
Jesus lives after having died [ edit ]
In regard to the interpretation of the Muslims who accept the crucifixion, Mahmoud Ayoub states:
The Qur'an is not here speaking about a man, righteous and wronged though he may be, but about the Word of God who was sent to earth and returned to God. Thus the denial of killing of Jesus is a denial of the power of men to vanquish and destroy the divine Word, which is for ever victorious.[12]
Substitution interpretation [ edit ]
Unlike the Christian view of the death of Jesus, most Muslims believe he was raised to Heaven without being put on the cross and God created a resemblance to appear exactly like Jesus who was crucified instead of Jesus. Muslims believe Jesus ascended bodily to Heaven, there to remain until his Second coming in the End days.[13]
The identity of the substitute has been a source of great interest among Muslims. One proposal is that God used one of Jesus' enemies.[14] Judas Iscariot, Jesus' betrayer, is often cited, and is mentioned in the Gospel of Barnabas. The second proposal is that Jesus asked for someone to volunteer to be crucified instead of him.[15] Simon of Cyrene is the person most commonly accepted to have done it, perhaps because according to the Synoptic Gospels he was compelled by the Romans to carry Jesus' cross for him (there is no indication in the Gospels that he volunteered).[citation needed] Al-Baidawi writes that Jesus told his disciples in advance that whoever volunteered would go to heaven.[16]
Tabari's versions of events [ edit ]
Tabari (d. 839–923/ 224–310 AH) divided the early reports regarding Jesus crucifixion into two groups. According to the first, one of Jesus disciples volunteers to take the form of his master and is crucified. According to the other, the Jew mistakenly carried only an empty resemblance to the cross.[17]
Tabari narrated the first strand as follows:
Jesus went into a house together with seventeen of his companions. The Jew surrounded them but when they burst in God made all the disciples look like Jesus. The pursuers, supposing that they had bewitched them, threatened to kill them all if they did not expose him. Then Jesus asked his companions which of them would purchase paradise for himself thath day. One man volunteered and went out saying that he was Jesus and as God had made him look like Jesus they took him, killed him and crucified him. Thereupon "a semblance was made to them" and they thought that they had killed Jesus. The Christians likewise thought that it was Jesus who had been killed. And God raised Jesus right away.[18]
The second strand is narrated as follows:
The Jews were looking for Jesus. They took hold of Simon, one of the disciples, and they said, "This is one of his companions." And he denied it and said, "I am not one of his disciples." So they left him. Others took hold of him and he likewise denied it. Then he heard the sound of the cock and he wept and it grieved him. 'On the morning of the next day one of his disciples went to the Jew and said, "What will you give me if I lead you to the Messiah?" He accepted their offer of thirty dirhams and led them to him. And a semblance had been made for them before that, and they took him and made certain of him and bound him with a cord and began to lead him and to say to him "You used to bring the dead to life and to drive away Satan and heal the jinn-possessed so why not deliver yourself from this cord?" And they spat on him and cast thorns on him until they brought him to the wood upon which they wanted to crucify him. And God raised Jesus to Himself. And they crucified the semblance which was made to them. And [Jesus] tarried seven [hours]. 'Then his mother, and the woman whom God had freed from jinn-possession when Jesus treated her, came weeping to where the crucified [semblance] was. And Jesus came to them both and said, "Why are you weeping?" They said, "Because of You." He said, "God raised me to Himself and I came to no harm. This [corpse] is something which was "made a semblance to them". Order the disciples to meet me at such and such place." Eleven met him at the place. Jesus missed the one who had sold him. They said, "Because he regretted what he had done he commited suicide by strangling himself." Jesus replied, "If he had turned towards God, God would have turned toward him".[19]
Ibn Kathir's version of events [ edit ]
Ibn Kathir (d. 1373 CE/760 AH) follows traditions which suggest that a crucifixion did occur, but not with Jesus.[20] After the event, Ibn Kathir reports the people were divided into three groups following three different narratives; The Jacobites believing 'God remained with us as long as He willed and then He ascended to Heaven;' The Nestorians believing 'The son of God was with us as long as he willed until God raised him to heaven;' and the third group of Christians who believing; 'The servant and messenger of God, Jesus, remained with us as long as God willed until God raised him to Himself.'[21]
The following narration recorded in the Qur'anic exegesis of Ibn Kathir verse is related to the substitution of Jesus:
Ibn Abbas said, "Just before God raised Jesus to the Heavens, Jesus went to his disciples, who were twelve inside the house. When he arrived, his hair was dripping with water (as if he had just had a bath) and he said, 'There are those among you who will disbelieve in me twelve times after you had believed in me.' He then asked, 'Who among you will volunteer for his appearance to be transformed into mine, and be killed in my place. Whoever volunteers for that, he will be with me (in Paradise).' One of the youngest ones among them volunteered, but Jesus asked him to sit down. Jesus asked again for a volunteer, and the same young man volunteered and Jesus asked him to sit down again. Then the young man volunteered a third time and Jesus said, 'You will be that man,' and the resemblance of Jesus was cast over that man while Jesus ascended to Heaven from a hole in the roof of the house. When the Jews came looking for Jesus, they found that young man and crucified him. Some of Jesus' followers disbelieved in him twelve times after they had believed in him. They then divided into three groups. One group, the Jacobites, said, 'God remained with us as long as He willed and then ascended to Heaven.' Another group, the Nestorians, said, 'The son of God was with us as long as he willed and God took him to Heaven.' Another group of Christians who said, 'The servant and Messenger of God remained with us as long as God willed, and God then took him to Him.' The two disbelieving groups cooperated against that third Christian group and they killed them. Ever since that happened, Islam was then veiled until God sent Muhammad." - Al-Nasa'i|Al-Kubra, 6:489[citation needed]
At another place in his Quranic exegesis, Ibn Kathir narrates the story as follows:
(The people conspiring against Jesus) envied him because of his prophethood and obvious miracles; curing the blind and leprous and bringing the dead back to life, by God's leave. He also used to make the shape of a bird from clay and blow in it, and it became a bird by God's leave and flew. 'Jesus performed other miracles that God honored him with, yet some defied and belied him and tried their best to harm him. God's Prophet 'Jesus could not live in any one city for long and he had to travel often with his mother, peace be upon them. Even so, some of the Jews were not satisfied, and they went to the king of Damascus at that time, a Greek polytheist who worshipped the stars. They told him that there was a man in Bayt Al-Maqdis misguiding and dividing the people in Jerusalem and stirring unrest among the king's subjects. The king became angry and wrote to his deputy in Jerusalem to arrest the rebel leader, stop him from causing unrest, crucify him and make him wear a crown of thorns. When the king's deputy in Jerusalem received these orders, he went with some Jews to the house that 'Jesus was residing in, and he was then with twelve, thirteen or seventeen of his companions. That day was a Friday, in the evening. They surrounded 'Jesus in the house, and when he felt that they would soon enter the house or that he would sooner or later have to leave it, he said to his companions, “Who volunteers to be made to look like me, for which he will be my companion in Paradise.”' A young man volunteered, but 'Jesus thought that he was too young. He asked the question a second and third time, each time the young man volunteering, prompting 'Jesus to say, “Well then, you will be that man.” God made the young man look exactly like 'Jesus, while a hole opened in the roof of the house, and 'Jesus was made to sleep and ascended to heaven while asleep. God said, “O 'Jesus! I will take you and raise you to myself.” When 'Jesus ascended, those who were in the house came out. When those surrounding the house saw the man who looked like Jesus, they thought that he was Jesus. So they took him at night, crucified him and placed a crown of thorns on his head. They then boasted that they killed Jesus'. Some Christians accepted their false claim, due to their ignorance and lack of reason. As for those who were in the house with Jesus, witnessed his ascension to heaven, while the rest thought that the Jews killed 'Jesus by crucifixion. They even said that Marry sat under the corpse of the crucified man and cried, and they say that the dead man spoke to her. All this was a test from God for His servants out of His wisdom. God explained this matter in the Glorious Quran which He sent to His honorable Messenger, whom He supported with miracles and clear, unequivocal evidence. God is the Most Truthful, and He is the Lord of the worlds Who knows the secrets, what the hearts conceal, the hidden matters in heaven and earth, what has occurred, what will occur, and what would occur if it was decreed. - Kathir I. , Tafsir Ibn Kathir[citation needed]
Barnabas' version of events [ edit ]
The Gospel of Barnabas (dated to the late 16th or early 17th centuries), also promotes a non-death narrative. The Gospel of Barnabas has been considered to be pseudo-biographical, or a false work, to the majority of western scholars. However, some academics suggest that it may contain some remnants of an earlier work (perhaps Gnostic, Ebionite or Diatessaronic), redacted to bring it more in line with Islamic doctrine.
According to the Gospel of Barnabas it was Judas, not Jesus, who was crucified on the cross. This work states that Judas' appearance was transformed to that of Jesus', when the former, out of betrayal, led the Roman soldiers to arrest Jesus who by then had already ascended to the heavens. The narrative states this transformation of appearance was unnoticed by the followers of Christ and his mother Mary. The Gospel of Barnabas then mentions that after three days since burial, Judas' body was stolen from his grave with rumors spreading of Jesus being risen from the dead. In following with Islamic lore, when Jesus was informed in the third heaven about what happened he prayed to God to be sent back to the earth, and later descended and gathered his mother, disciples, and followers and told them the truth of what happened. He then ascended back to the heavens, with the narrative continuing Islamic legend mirroring Christian doctrine of returning at the end of times as a just king.[22]
Docetism theory [ edit ]
A less common opinion among Islamic scholars hold that the crucifixion of Jesus was just an illusion.[23] Accordingly, Jesus' body was really put on the cross, but his spirit did not die, but ascended to heaven. Thus the Jew erred because they did not recognized the "Messiah", the spiritual form of Jesus.[24] Docetists were some sects of early Christians who believed that Jesus' physical body was an illusion, as was his crucifixion; that is, Jesus only seemed to have a physical body and to physically die, but in reality he was incorporeal, a pure spirit, and hence could not physically die.[citation needed]
The Gospel of Peter is a docetic gospel. F. F. Bruce writes in a commentary of this gospel (Jesus and Christian Origins Outside the New Testament, p. 93):
"The docetic note in this narrative appears in the statement that Jesus, while being crucified, 'remained silent, as though he felt no pain', and in the account of his death. It carefully avoids saying that he died, preferring to say that he 'was taken up', as though he - or at least his soul or spiritual self - was 'assumed' direct from the cross to the presence of God. (We shall see an echo of this idea in the Qur'an.) Then the cry of dereliction is reproduced in a form which suggests that, at that moment, his divine power left the bodily shell in which it had taken up temporary residence."[citation needed]
Another scholar, Leirvik, believes that Quran and Hadith to have been influenced by the non-canonical ('heretical') Christianity that prevailed in the Arab peninsula and further in Abyssinia.[citation needed]
Acts of John is also a docetic gospel. It is a collection of narratives and traditions ascribed to John the Apostle, who was the author of the Gospel of John. It is long known in fragmentary form. Together with the Acts of Paul it is considered one of the most significant of the apostolic Acts in the New Testament apocrypha. It was condemned as a Gnostic heresy by the Church.
Chapter 101 of this work continues with phrases like "Therefore I have suffered none of the things which they will say of me", "You hear that I have suffered, yet I have suffered not," and "(they say) that I was pierced, but I was not wounded; that I was hanged, but I was not hanged; that blood flowed from me, yet it did not flow; and, in a word, those things that they say of me I did not endure.[citation needed]
Swoon theory [ edit ]
Some modern Muslim scholars believe that Jesus was actually crucified on the cross but didn't die, instead pretending to be dead, or that he fell unconscious ("swooned") and was later revived in the tomb in the same mortal body. Accordingly, His appearances after three days in the tomb were merely perceived to be resurrection appearances. These types of theories are also known as swoon theory. These theories were first proposed by 17th or 18th century western scholars.[citation needed]
Muslim preacher Ahmed Deedat of South Africa wrote several books, one particularly entitled Crucifixion or Cruci-fiction along with many video lectures widely printed and distributed all over the Muslim World. He takes a critical look at the events from the canonial four Gospels and theorizes an alternative scenario of what really happened, a scenario very similar to the swoon theory.[citation needed]
Another Muslim Scholar Zakir Naik also uses these theories in a debate with Pastor Ruknuddin Henry Pio.[citation needed]
The Islamic interpretation of the events at the end of Jesus' earthly life [ edit ]
Some Islamic scholars like Sheikh Mohammed al-Ghazali (not Imam al-Ghazali) and Javed Ahmad Ghamidi argue that Jesus was rescued but was given death by God before he was ascended bodily as God never allows His messengers to be dishonored, even their dead bodies.[citation needed]
Thomas McElwain states that the context of the verse is clearly within the discussion of Jewish ridicule of Christians, not in context of whether or not Jesus died. He continues that the text could be interpreted as denying the death of Jesus at the hands of Jews rather than denying his death. He adds, however, "the expressions against the crucifixion are strong, so that to interpret the meaning for Romans rather than Jews to have committed the act is also suspect" and that if this meaning is correct, "it would have been more effective to state that the Romans killed Jesus, rather than to emphasise that the Jews were not in possession of the facts."[citation needed]
According to some translations, Jesus says in the Qur'an:
I said not to them except what You commanded me - to worship Allah , my Lord and your Lord. And I was a witness over them as long as I was among them; but when You took me up, You were the Observer over them, and You are, over all things, Witness. - Qur'an, sura 5 (Al-Ma'ida) ayah 117
The majority of Muslims translate the verb "mutawafik" (متوفيك) "to terminate after a period of time" while others translate it "to die of natural causes".[citation needed] Islamic scholars like Javed Ahmad Ghamidi consider it as the physical death of Jesus, and hence question the return of Jesus.[citation needed] Geoffrey Parrinder discusses different interpretations of the Qur'anic chapter 19, verse 33 and writes in his conclusion that "the cumulative effect of the Qur'anic verse is strongly in favor of a real death".[26] This verse could also refer to the Second Coming of Jesus.
The following minority of translations or translators translate "to die":
However, the majority of Qur'anic translators,[citation needed] including Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Muhammad Habib Shakir and Marmaduke Pickthall, do not translate as "to die".
Ibn Babawayh (d.991 CE) in Ikhmal ad Din recounts that Jesus went to a far country. This was adapted by the Ahmadiyya as the basis of their Jesus in India theory[27] This is promoted also by writers such as Holger Kersten (1981). They claim Jesus is buried at the Roza Bal shrine in Srinagar. However, the Sunni Muslim authorities at the shrine deny this as heretical and say that it is a Muslim saint buried there. The claims of the theory have been examined in documentaries[28] and generated tourist visits to the site.[29] Scholarly reception has consistently dismissed the theories, such as Norbert Klatt (1988),[30] and labelled speculation by Indologist Günter Grönbold (1985).
David Marshall Lang stated in his 1957 book The Wisdom of Balahvar that confusion in diacritical markings in Arabic documents resulted in confusing Kashmir and Kushinara (the place of Buddha's death) with the place of the death of Jesus.[31] Lang has stated that the term Budhasaf (Buddha-to-be) became Yudasaf, Iodasaph, and then Yuzasaf, and resulted in the assertions of Jesus being buried in Srinagar.[31] In 1981 (in Jesus i Kashmir: Historien om en legend) and then in 2011, Per Beskow also stated that confusion about the traditions regarding Gautama Buddha in the Bilawhar wa-Yudasaf legend had resulted in the confused assumption that Jesus was Yuzasaf and was buried in Kashmir.[32]
Ahmadiyya view [ edit ]
Similar to mainstream Islamic views, the Ahmadiyya Movement consider Jesus was a mortal man, but go a step further to describe Jesus as a mortal man who died a natural death in India as opposed to having been raised alive to Heaven.[33]
The view of Jesus having migrated to India had also been researched in the literature of authors independent of and predating the foundation of the movement but has almost universally been dismissed.[citation needed]
See also [ edit ]
References [ edit ] |
UPDATE 8/1/2016: A similar bill in Illinois was unanimously passed by the state legislature and signed into law by Republican Governor Bruce Rauner. The legislation forbids prior restraint and declares that student journalists have the legal right to determine "the news, opinion, feature, and advertising content of school-sponsored media" so long as they adhere to reasoanble journalistic standards. According to the Student Press Law Center, the legislation essentially reverses Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier, a 1988 Supreme Court decision that permitted school officials to exercise prior restraint of student newspapers.
Original post:
A proposed bill in New Jersey will offer sweeping free press protections to student journalists and their teachers in the state’s public schools and universities.
According to the Student Press Law Center, a member of NCAC's Free Expression Network, the legislation, co-sponsored by Assemblywoman Gail Phoebus (R-Sussex) and Assemblyman Troy Singleton (D-Burlington), will require each school district in the state to implement written policies protecting student journalists’ right to determine “the news, opinion, feature, and advertising content of school-sponsored media.”A proposed bill in New Jersey will offer sweeping free press protections to student journalists and their teachers in the state’s public schools and universities.
School districts will also be prohibited from vetting articles prior to publication—with the exception of those that are libelous, unwarrantedly invade privacy, violate the law, or incite students to disobey school policies or otherwise interfere with the operation of the school. The bill also forbids school districts from taking action against faculty members who protect or advise these student journalists.
Although the bill permits schools to limit student expression that is “profane, harassing, threatening, or intimating,” it nevertheless will prevent administrators from censoring student journalists who criticize the school district or write controversial pieces.
The bill is supported by Garden State Scholastic Press Association, the Society of Professional Journalists, the New Jersey Press Association, and the New Jersey Education Association. The Student Press Law Center has also promoted the bill via its New Voices campaign, a student-run initiative designed to promote free press in schools and colleges. |
The most difficult thing to do in politics is to change course -- admitting that everything that was right yesterday is wrong today. It is a particularly challenging maneuver when the decision is between war and peace.
Winston Churchill, stubborn as he was, never could admit that he had made a mistake in 1915 when, as first lord of the Admiralty, his strategic error helped lead to the bitter defeat of the Entente troops at the hands of the Ottoman Empire at Gallipoli. Similarly, it took 30 years for former US Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara to acknowledge that the Vietnam War had been a mistake.
The German government, NATO and the West shouldn't wait that long. Together they should realize -- and admit -- that the war in Afghanistan is not going to end in success. We have failed. The war has been lost. The country that we leave behind will not be pacified. It is possible that we could have been successful had we understood earlier how the country works. But now, we are no longer a part of the solution -- increasingly, we have become part of the problem. It is best just to leave now, before additional blood is spilled. The secret war logs given by WikiLeaks to SPIEGEL confirm as much.
Led by the US, NATO and other Western allies have been trying to pacify Afghanistan for almost 10 years -- with little success. War aims have changed frequently. None of them, however, has been achieved. The intervals between the large-scale Afghanistan conferences, from Berlin to Paris, London to Kabul, have become ever shorter, but the list of problems has only grown. The country remains a potential breeding ground for terrorism as it was prior to the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in the US. And little that the West has imported to Afghanistan since then has put down such deep roots that it would survive a pullout for long. Girls' schools, wells and newly paved roads are pleasant side effects of the NATO mission in Afghanistan. As a justification, however, they are not enough.
Clearer from a Distance
"Nothing is good in Afghanistan," said Margot Kässmann, then-head of the Protestant Church of Germany, a few months ago. The angry response from German political leaders was quick and biting -- and showed that she had touched a nerve. Her comments were criticized, with some justification, for having shown a lack of detailed knowledge of NATO's mission in Afghanistan. But sometimes things are clearer from a distance.
Afghanistan is a nightmare, a graveyard of empires. The British came first, followed by the Soviets; now NATO and the UN are losing their innocence on the battlefields of Afghanistan. In total, the US, its allies and private security firms have almost 200,000 soldiers stationed in the country, roughly equal to the number the Soviets stationed there in the 1980s. It wasn't enough then, and it won't be enough now. And increasing that number would be militarily difficult and politically impossible. The West has bitten off more than it can chew.
When sending troops abroad, governments take out a kind of loan from the populace -- a loan of trust. This is particularly true in Germany. Should payments not be made on that loan, the electorate eventually calls it in completely. And without the support of the populace, overseas missions become increasingly difficult. This point has been reached already in Berlin and in a number of NATO capitals.
Losing with Dignity
It is difficult to ignore the political parallels to the Vietnam War. The Western alliance has reached the point where calls for patience and for continued support have become increasingly shrill, even desperate. Politicians' words are sounding increasingly hollow. In a recent government statement, Chancellor Angela Merkel was so uninspired that she resorted to borrowing former Defense Minister Peter Struck's famous formulation that Germany's security is being "defended in the Hindu Kush."
Before the Afghanistan mission's aim becomes only that of saving face, we should withdraw. Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger demanded in 1971 that his country should lose the Asian war with dignity. To achieve that aim, the US stayed in Vietnam for two more years -- years which resulted in the deaths of additional hundreds of thousands of people in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.
One can hear similar expressions of desperation these days. Only recently, German Development Minister Dirk Niebel said on television that Germany has to stay in Afghanistan. Berlin owes it to those who have lost their lives, he said.
One wonders how much longer we will have to listen to such justifications. |
ROME (Reuters) - Italy’s new prime minister threatened on Monday to resign if a plan to reduce the powers of the upper house of parliament, a central part of his ambitious constitutional reform agenda, is blocked.
Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi arrives to attend a meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama at Villa Madama in Rome March 27, 2014. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi
In the latest step of Matteo Renzi’s reform drive, the cabinet is due to approve a draft bill on Monday to transform the Senate into a non-elected chamber stripped of the power to approve budgets or hold votes of no-confidence in a government.
Renzi, who became Italy’s third prime minister in a year in February, has said that without a change in the system, the country risks being stuck with a rotating series of short-lived governments incapable of passing meaningful economic reforms.
“I have put all my credibility into this reform; if it doesn’t succeed, I can only assume the consequences,” Renzi, Italy’s youngest prime minister at 39, told the Corriere della Sera newspaper.
Renzi, head of the center-left Democratic Party, made a similar threat to quit over Senate reform on March 12 while pushing through a package of tax cuts aimed at reviving Italy’s sluggish economy, the third largest in the euro zone.
The former mayor of Florence came to power after a party coup, taking over the unwieldy cross-party coalition formed after last year’s deadlocked election which left no side able to govern alone.
BLOATED POLITICAL SYSTEM
His bill would scrap the current fragmented system, which grants equal powers to the Senate and the lower house Chamber of Deputies but elects them by different rules which make it hard for any group to win a stable overall majority in parliament.
The reform is a key part of a wider drive to slim down Italy’s bloated political apparatus, which comprises 950 Senators and deputies - almost twice as many as the 535-strong U.S. Congress - as well as many thousands of local politicians.
But despite loud public calls for change from all sides of the political spectrum, the reform is expected to encounter strong opposition from many in the 320-strong upper house who will have to vote to scrap their own jobs.
Another proposal, to cut layers of local government, had to be forced through the Senate last week with a confidence vote after it ran into heavy opposition in committee.
Changing the status of the Senate is bound up with a separate reform of the electoral law intended to favour strong coalitions in the lower house which Renzi has said he wants to see approved in parliament by the end of May.
Final approval of the Senate reform will require a constitutional change expected to take as much as a year to complete but the bill has already come under fire from politicians and some constitutional experts.
On Sunday, the speaker of the Senate, former anti-mafia prosecutor Piero Grasso, criticised Renzi’s proposal to make the upper house a regional chamber of city mayors and insisted it should include directly elected representatives. |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican candidate Donald Trump said he is unhappy with the dates set for this fall’s presidential debates, but White House rival Hillary Clinton countered that the schedule was decided long ago and vowed to show up regardless of his objections.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump works the ropeline at Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum following a campaign rally in Denver, Colorado, U.S., July 29, 2016. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
The nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates has scheduled three televised debates ahead of the Nov. 8 election - Monday, Sept. 26, Sunday, Oct. 9, and Wednesday, Oct. 19. The dates were set almost a year ago.
Trump and other Republicans said they should be changed because of conflicts with National Football League games.
“I think two of the three are against the NFL, so I’m not thrilled with that,” the Republican presidential nominee said in an interview with ABC’s “This Week” that aired on Sunday.
Speaking to reporters while campaigning at a cheese barn in Ashland, Ohio, Clinton noted that the debate schedule had been established long before the two major political parties chose their nominees.
“I’m going to be there. That’s all I’ll say,” Clinton said just days after the end of the Democratic National Convention, where the former secretary of state accepted her party’s presidential nomination.
In a statement, the commission said the chosen dates “will serve the American public well,” adding that it was impossible to avoid all sporting events when working out the schedule. It said the debates had never been rescheduled for such conflicts.
Trump, who tweeted on Friday that Clinton was “trying to rig the debates” so that fewer people would watch, suggested in the ABC interview that his rival wanted the debates to be held “when nobody’s home” to watch.
Newt Gingrich, a Trump adviser and former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, tweeted that the scheduling “makes me think the commission is rigged to help hide Hillary from the voters.”
‘MAXIMUM AUDIENCE’
The commission was established in 1987 by the Republicans and Democrats to ensure the debates became a permanent part of the campaign after a series of “hastily arranged” events in 1976, 1980 and 1984 - and no debates in 1964, 1968 and 1972.
Neither party is involved with running the commission, which is governed by an independent board of directors. It is co-chaired by former Republican National Committee chairman Frank Fahrenkopf and Mike McCurry, a former press secretary in Bill Clinton’s White House.
David Axelrod, a former senior adviser to President Barack Obama, suggested on Twitter that Trump could be “just trying to ditch” the debates.
When asked directly whether Trump would participate, his campaign manager, Paul Manafort, said the Republican candidate “wants to participate” but also seeks “the maximum audience.”
“So we’re going to sit down with the commission in the next week or so and we’re going to start talking to them and we want to make sure we have a broad audience, understanding, watching the debates,” Manafort told CBS’s “Face the Nation.”
RNC Chairman Reince Preibus said the debates would get more viewers if they were on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday nights.
“We’re going to be working with the commission and what they’re putting together,” Preibus said on CBS. “We’re not going to agree with anything that our nominee doesn’t agree with.”
Clinton adviser John Podesta called the complaints “more Trump debate malarkey. We will be at the debates set by the bipartisan debate commission and expect he will too,” Podesta said on Twitter.
Trump also told ABC he had received a letter from the NFL saying the debate dates were “ridiculous.”
But Brian McCarthy, a spokesman for the NFL, said there was no such letter.
“While we’d obviously wish the debate commission could find another night, we did not send a letter to Mr. Trump,” McCarthy said on Twitter. |
The official website for the television anime of Mimana Orimoto's BAKUON!! manga announced on Thursday that Ibuki Kido (Tokyo ESP's Rinka, Pan de Peace!'s Minami Tani) will join the cast as Chisame Nakano, another character from the manga.
Nakano will be a new member of the motorcycle club who rides a Honda NSF100. She is very talented because she's been active on the circuit from a young age, but has a complex about how short she is.
The Bakuon! anime premiered on April 4 and Crunchyroll and The Anime Network are streaming the series.
Sentai Filmworks licensed the series, and describes it:
Moe and motorcycles have never looked better together in this sports comedy about a group of students in the motorcycle club of their all-girls school. When Hane Sakura sees the wild-hearted Onsa Amano riding a motorcycle to school, Sakura is inspired to join the motorcycle club and get her license. However, nothing could have prepared her for the challenges, or the joys, that come with hitting the road on the wings of a real bike!
Junji Nishimura ( Simoun , Dog Days' , GLASSLIP ) is directing the anime at TMS Entertainment, and Kurasumi Sunayama ( Gunslinger Girl , Monster , Romeo × Juliet ) is in charge of the series scripts. Isao Sugimoto ( Sketchbook ~full color'S~ , Girls und Panzer , Moonlight Mile ) is designing the characters, while Manabu Nii ( Samurai Flamenco , Karneval ) is credited for sub-character design. Yoshio Mizumura ( Lupin III: Seven Days Rhapsody , Yowamushi Pedal ) and Yasuhiro Moriki ( Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs , Banner of the Stars , Silent Möbius: The Motion Picture ) are credited for design works. Shunichiro Yoshihara ( Yowamushi Pedal , JoJo's Bizarre Adventure , Garakowa -Restore the World- ) is in charge of art direction. Takeshi Takadera ( Initial D: Second Stage , Yowamushi Pedal ) is handling sound direction, while Ryosuke Nakanishi ( High School DxD , Sakura Trick , Love Stage!! ) is composing the music.
Source: Moca News |
It's clear that Mike (Patrick J. Adams) and Rachel (Meghan Markle) have been living in a state of denial about their future ever since they got engaged at the end of season four. But everything came full circle in last week's "Mea Culpa" episode, in which Mike's former flame, Claire (Troian Bellisario) returned with his secret in tow when she was assigned as his opposing council on his very first case as junior partner.
When the action picks back up in this week's episode, the fallout will continue to weigh on Mike and Rachel as she marches on with wedding planning, which leads to more concerns about how the guest list could expose her fiancé as a fraud.
The Hollywood Reporter caught up with Markle to get her thoughts on filming those Rachel-heavy scenes with Adams' real-life fiancée, Bellisario, whether Rachel is growing any the wiser about her situation, and what's in store for the star-crossed couple.
What kinds of preparations did you make for "Mea Culpa"?
It was five years in the making, and it feels good to finally come out with a bang. I didn’t know it was coming but I was so excited when I read it because it’s the kind of material I’ve truly been waiting for. We’ve watched the progression of Rachel from being really savvy and having this intellectual prowess to it very quickly shifting into this more puppy love version of herself. Then in season three, I just cried so much. Not me personally, but my character was tearful about everything, I’ve appreciated being able to play all these different layers of vulnerability and whatnot but then to have something where she’s flexing some muscle... and of course the stakes are so high, there’s some gravitas behind it.
What I didn’t anticipate happening was I got the worst cold of my entire life the day before we started filming. I lost my voice. I’m shocked that it turned out the way it did and you can’t really tell. That was the most tumultuous couple of days I’ve ever had filming, for sure.
Now that she's realized what she's signing up for with Mike, are those puppy love blinders coming off?
I wouldn’t say that Rachel has blinders. Everyone around her is making her aware of what a risk this is and she really is realizing the stakes of it. In the next few episodes it really comes to a head -- as though it hadn’t already in this one. The difference would be before it was more puppy love in its approach because they were living together, they’re a happy couple, but they weren’t engaged. They weren’t really talking about the logistics of building a life together. Now, the fact that this is becoming more and more real, Rachel is defending it with such earnest. I look at it from the outside and go, "What is she thinking? Rachel, this is not the right life choice for you." But that’s the joy of playing a character. I may not always agree with her choices but I certainly want to sell them in a way where I go, I might not get it but I can sympathize with how much she loves this man.
Did you feel the weight of playing a scene in which two females were going toe-to-toe the way you and Troian Bellisario were?
To really just be head-to-head with another woman where you both feel as though you’re on the same level – that was really exciting to play. Troian had just flown in the night before for her scenes so we didn’t have any time to rehearse. I shot her an email to see if she wanted to but we were both so busy that we weren’t able. That may have in fact made it even better because what it did was put us in this power play of really trying to find that nuance in what that would be like. That was one of the first scenes we shot together. It was really quite a way to start the introduction of it, especially coupled with this scene that comes later in the episode where Rachel’s really begging her for her help.
Jessica seems to be grooming Rachel this season. Are you playing that mentorship aspect?
Jessica’s definitely grooming Rachel. Now that Rachel is acting more like an associate and she has this role that is much more prevalent within the firm, yes. Without question Jessica’s a really strong benchmark of the kind of person that Rachel wants to be in the world. It’s really nice to do those scenes with her, because just as Rachel gets a little nervous around Jessica despite their relationship, I have this great friendship with Gina [Torres] off camera I still get a little nervous too. There’s this amazing presence that she has that’s unnerving. It’s great to see how that translates onscreen also.
Last season, Rachel had a breakdown for taking on too much with school and work. Now she's also got a wedding. How is she surviving?
Her plate is insanely full but it’s all purpose-driven. She wants to be a lawyer. I think she will end up being a partner at that firm at some point. She wants to see this through with Mike. She is the ultimate overachiever. Could it come to a head again at some point? I imagine that it probably would. But I could also see Rachel fighting to the death to make all of it work because that’s just who we’ve always known her to be.
Rachel is finally wearing her wedding ring, is that a sign of good things to come, despite the scenes between Mike and Claire at the end?
I can’t spoil anything. Mike Ross has a really heavy decision to make and the stakes couldn’t be higher. Not just in this moment but really in the life of their relationship. If Robert Zane were to find out... It’s just all of those layers of it, so Rachel is really making a bold statement in how much she is standing by her man. All I will say is, I really hope she doesn’t end up heartbroken in whatever capacity that may be.
Do you think Mike and Rachel are doomed? Sound off in the comments below.
Suits airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on USA.
Twitter: @amber_dowling |
Just in time for a new crop of students, the University of Toronto's Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library is completing an inventory of its books, scrolls and manuscripts — and encountering some forgotten treasures in the process.
Opening the boxes that hold the libraries rarest materials has yielded some surprises, said Pearce Carefoote, interim head of rare books and special collections, in an interview on Metro Morning.
"In the old days, we didn't necessarily catalogue things down to the very last description," he said Tuesday, explaining that the last inventory — performed 40 years ago — left some details out, for example, the materials out of which a book is made.
The current inventory has turned up books bound with silver and gold thread, elaborate embroidery and silver filigree, now searchable for any library user.
Another ornate 18th century book that was re-discovered through the inventory process, this one bound in velvet and decorated with silver filigree. (David Fernandez/University of Toronto)
"You're thinking, 'Isn't this wonderful information to add?" Carefoote said.
The library, attached to the larger Robarts Library, houses materials that ranges in age from a 4,000-year-old cuneiform tablet to papers and manuscripts from Leonard Cohen and Margaret Atwood.
It's a big job to go through every piece of the collection, but Carefoote said it's something that he and his staff looked forward to doing.
They've been cheered to find that, by and large, their organization system works well — books are turning up where they are supposed to be.
"That makes us very happy," Carefoote said.
In the last few years, the collection was threatened by moisture that seeped in through concrete walls.
Last winter, the exterior of the library was clad in a special foam to keep the books safe and dry. |
For my trip around the Mediterranean, I’m asking readers to plan a fun-filled, smartly-themed, low-budget five-day trip to somewhere on the Italian coast. It’s up to you to come up with a destination and associated theme. A multiday hike through gorgeous countryside and small towns? A lesser-known side of a much-visited tourist destination? Sampling the seafood specialties along a string of coastal villages? Anything goes, as long as you can get me there from Naples (where I’ll be the week before) and keep the budget light.
The Frugal Traveler’s Mediterranean Trip Follow me on Facebook or on Twitter.
There’s no need to have been to Italy yourself to plan an itinerary – I rarely find myself planning trips to places I’ve already been. The Internet has endless travel planning tools, and you’re free to use them all, as well as whatever Facebook, Twitter or other social networking resources you can engage. On the other hand, if you’re reading this in Italy and want to use first-hand knowledge, that’s fine too. Just note: the itinerary should be replicable by other travelers, so suggestions to “stop by my grandmother’s for dinner” won’t work (unless your grandmother runs a restaurant).
The budget:
I’m not going to set an exact limit, but needless to say, the cheaper the better. Meals over 15 euros ($21) and lodging over 70 euros ($100) a night are strongly discouraged; anything much, much cheaper is strongly encouraged. A rental car is acceptable only if getting around by bus or train or bike or foot is utterly unfeasible.
The itinerary:
The trip must start in Naples on a Wednesday, run through Sunday and end somewhere with public transportation. The format is flexible, but should have an introduction, and a day-by-day outline with details on transportation, meals, lodging and activities/attractions whenever possible. Please give pricing details wherever you can, and include Web links and/or phone numbers wherever possible. Also, estimate the total cost of the trip.
The logistics:
Your itinerary can be sent in the body of an e-mail or as a Word attachment — with links to relevant Web sites wherever possible but NO PHOTOS — to [email protected] by noon eastern time on Friday, June 3, 2011. Please include “Frugal Italy” in the subject line.
Disclosure:
If you have a commercial or financial interest in any of the places you are recommending, let me know.
Tips:
1) I eat anything and sleep anywhere, as long as it is not hazardous to my short-term health. (Occasional dangers to long-term health, like eating fried food and incurring a sleep deficit by being awakened by roosters at 5 a.m., are permissible.) Like any sane person over the age of 25, however, I prefer private rooms to shared dorms, when possible.
2) Not all specifics need to be spelled out for each day. For example “choose one of the low-budget restaurants around xxxx church” is just fine.
3) Off the beaten path is great, but alternative ways to experience mainstream destinations on a limited budget can be just as good.
4) Have fun, and have me have fun.
Prize: Absolutely nothing, except your name in the column and lunch on me whenever our geographic paths next cross. |
Lately it seems like anybody and everybody has been creating nail polish collections inspired by today's hit TV shows, and now another one is about to join the mix. Lena Dunham, the creator, director and star of HBO's series "Girls" has teamed up with Deborah Lippmann to make this collection possible.
Next week, 4 unique shades will become available, each color representing one of the hit characters of the show: Hannah, Marnie, Shoshanna, and Jessa. Deborah Lippmann was kind enough to give us a sneak peek of these shades on her website.
Hannah is a described as a "hopeless hunter green" and appears to be pale green shade with little to no shimmer. Marnie, described as a "prim and proper pink" appears to be just that. Light pastel pink perfect for those upcoming Spring days. Shoshanna, described as a"virtuous vivid violet" is another soft pastel in a purple shade and Jessa appears to be the perfect "Bohemian burgundy" to round the collection out.
The collection will become available next week and will retail for $45.00.
Photo Credit:Deborah Lippmann |
BAGHDAD — Militants with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria gained control of the main road that links Baghdad with the northern provinces for a short time on Sunday, while a series of explosions around Iraq left up to 25 dead, according to security forces.
In the deadliest blast of the day, a car bomb was detonated as a joint patrol for the police and army passed through Mosul in the north, killing 10 and wounding 12 others, the security forces said.
Members of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, a powerful jihadist group once affiliated with Al Qaeda, kidnapped five people, including an oil executive, who were traveling on the road in Salahuddin Province that links the north to the capital.
All of the attacks came less than a week after the 11th anniversary of the toppling of a statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad, an event that many Iraqis regard as the fall of the capital, and just two weeks before the first parliamentary elections since the United States withdrawal from Iraq in 2011. The vote is scheduled for the end of the month. |
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption BBC'S David Sillito looks back on Oliver Sacks' life.
British neurologist Oliver Sacks has died at the age of 82, it has been confirmed.
The acclaimed author, whose book Awakenings inspired an Oscar nominated film of the same name, reportedly died of cancer at his home in New York.
In February he wrote about his illness - and being "face to face with dying".
His publicist Jacqui Graham paid tribute to Dr Sacks, saying he was "unlike anybody I have ever met", while JK Rowling said he was "inspirational".
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Oliver Sacks spoke to the BBC about his life and how much we still have to learn about the brain
Dr Sacks was best known for his writing, including his book Awakenings - his account of how he brought a group of patients "back to life" after they spent years in "frozen states" after an illness.
The film version, which starred Robert De Niro and Robin Williams, was nominated for three Academy Awards in 1991, including best picture.
Dr Sacks, who was born in London but had lived in New York since 1965, was also the author of several other books about unusual medical conditions, including The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat and The Island Of The Colorblind.
He was awarded several honorary degrees recognising his contribution to science and literature, as well as a CBE in 2008 in the Queen's Birthday Honours.
Mrs Graham told the BBC Dr Sacks was "unlike anybody else I've ever met".
She said she received an email from his long-time PA saying the neurologist had "a very good death, in the same way that he'd had a very good life".
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Oliver Sacks discussed Awakenings and the impact music can have on the brain when he appeared on Desert Island Discs in 1994
Mrs Graham said: "He died surrounded by the things he loved and the people he loved, very peacefully, after an illness he had known about since January this year. He taught us a great deal, right up until the very end.
"He always taught us what it was to be human, and he taught us what it is to die."
'Humane, inspirational'
Paying tribute to Dr Sacks, she added: "To say he was unique is for once in the world true.
"He was completely himself - eccentric, but in a marvellous way. He was just completely full of love for life and very impish, and he was childish in the very best sense."
Other tributes to the author have been paid on Twitter, including by the author JK Rowling, who called him "great, humane and inspirational".
Biologist Richard Dawkins tweeted: "I met Oliver Sacks only twice, but greatly admired him. Sad to hear of his death."
Image copyright PA Image caption Dr Sacks received a CBE from the Queen in October 2008
Dr Sacks earned a medical degree at Queen's College, Oxford University, and later began working as a consulting neurologist for Beth Abraham Hospital, in the Bronx, New York, in 1966.
While there he encountered patients who had spent decades in frozen states, unable to initiate movement.
He recognised the patients as survivors of a pandemic of sleepy sickness that had swept the world from 1916 to 1927, and treated them with a then-experimental drug, L-dopa, which enabled them to regain consciousness.
They became the subjects of Awakenings and also later inspired a play by Harold Pinter - A Kind of Alaska.
In The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and An Anthropologist on Mars he described patients struggling to live with conditions ranging from Tourette's syndrome to autism, epilepsy, phantom limb syndrome, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer's.
He also investigated the world of deaf people and sign language in Seeing Voices, and a rare community of colour-blind people in The Island of the Colorblind.
More recently, he served as a professor of neurology and psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Centre from 2007 to 2012.
He was also a professor of neurology at the NYU School of Medicine. |
Researchers for the Campaign Opposing Police Surveillance (COPS) warned today that, following the first major release of papers by controversial new spycop inquiry chief Sir John Mitting, it looks like the Met may be successful in hiding the names of officers linked to their disgraced undercover operations team.
COPS has finished analysing a large release of papers by the Undercover Policing Inquiry following the recent release of three cover names (John Graham, Rick Gibson and John Edwards) of deceased officers who infiltrated groups in the 1970s, including:
The Revolutionary Socialist Students Federation
Vietnam Solidarity Campaign
Big Flame
The Troops Out Movement
Anarchist groups
Dambusters Mobilising Committee
Tricontinental
and says that among the hefty tranche of new papers are “grave indications of that he is seeking to prevent the full truth coming to light.” COPS said this was broadly in line with the Met’s hoped-for strategy of redacting any information which might place non-retired officers in a position of having to put up with public opprobrium:
Having dragged out the process of beginning the inquiry for years, earlier this year the Metropolitan Police were given a firm timetable for applying for ‘restriction orders’ for the anonymity of undercover officers.
As expected, the Met are pushing for maximum secrecy, arguing that it would make officers worried and sad to be publicly known for what they’ve done. The Met also argue that the officers would be at risk of violent reprisal, despite nothing of the kind happening to the swathe of officers who have been very publicly exposed since 2010. With deadlines passing, the Met have had their hand forced and, finally, we are getting a small measure of new information from the Inquiry.
As had been suggested by some victims, the new names are all from the early days of the Special Demonstration Squad in the late 1960s and early 1970s. With those involved being of advanced age, there’s some merit in tackling these cases first. Indeed, one of the three newly named officers is already dead.
We’ve been given only the officers’ cover names, but not their real identity. These three releases have major redactions, including whether the officer had intimate relationships or was arrested. Given the long history of SDS officers having such abusive relationships and instigating miscarriages of justice, these are very serious omissions.
The new disclosures bring the total of exposed undercover officers to 23 out of a total of at least 144. A further 25 have had their anonymity considered and the Inquiry has published a brief profile of each. Of those 25, only eight have had full decisions and of those, three have had cover names witheld:
2 names are due for release soon
3 are dead with no known cover name, their real names will be published later
2 have only real names, which won’t be released
3 will have both their real and cover names witheld
1 existing confirmed cover name will not be linked to their real one
3 are undecided
3 will involve having secret hearings with the Inquiry before a decision is made
1 has been given more application time
7 backroom staff will have their real names published later
COPS noted:
This is not a good ratio. Without the publication of the overwhelming majority of cover names we cannot know who was spied on, so we cannot hear from victims and establish the truth. Mitting is giving a lot of weight to the possible psychological impacts on spycops if they are named, but since when are abusers given protection because exposure would be detrimental to them?
One officer waiting for a secret hearing is “N81,” who is known to have spied on Stephen Lawrence’s family as they campaigned for justice for their murdered son. Inquiry core participant Carolyn Wilson told Pitchford Watcher:
The police tend to tell us “If you’ve nothing to hide, then you’ve got nothing to fear”. People are trying to come to terms with the very real trauma of finding out they’d been deceived into intimate relationships with cops from these secret units. They are desperate for information so they can deal with what’s happened, and heal their lives.
How dare those same cops now have the nerve to claim that they face being “traumatised” by details of their past activities being brought out in public? If they haven’t done anything wrong, why would they be embarrassed about their neighbours and families finding out about it all?
Earlier this month core participant Helen Steel, who was deceived into a relationship by John Dines, highlighted the “incredible” spectacle of a Met inquiry submission suggesting that it was right to hide officers’ names because the uncovering of former spycop Bob Lambert had led to a campaign for him to be sacked from his positions at St Andrews and London Met Universities.
In the submission, the police seemingly argue that publicly expressing concern for the safety of students working under a man known to have fathered a child in the course of manipulating young activists into his bed amounted to harassment — Lambert later resigned. |
Daniel M. Porush, executive vice president of Stratton, said on Friday that the S.E.C. investigation "has had zero effect on the operation of the firm, and we do not anticipate it having any impact on the firm or its stocks." He added: "They're entitled to look. I don't know what they're looking for."
The S.E.C. does not comment on such things, but the existence of the investigation was disclosed in January in a Stratton prospectus for IPS Health Care, which operates mobile magnetic resonance imaging centers.
The prospectus, in an uncommon departure from most initial public offerings, reported, "The company has been advised by the underwriter that the Securities and Exchange Commission has issued an order directing a private investigation by the staff of the S.E.C. in order to review certain sales and trading activities and practices of the underwriter not involving the company." No specific charges have been levied, the document continued, and Stratton Oakmont will "cooperate fully" with the S.E.C.
Incidently, the prospectus also reported that Todd W. Skulte, the president of IPS Health Care, was censured by the S.E.C. in May 1988, when he was treasurer of Strategic Financial Planning, a financial advisory firm. The complaint was that he did not keep accurate records, thereby "aiding and abetting" the firm's violations of various provisions of the Investment Advisers Act.
The market's response to this pedigree? IPS Health Care started trading at just under $8 a share and soared to $10.25 in just five months; it now trades at about $6.50 a share.
More recently, there was Ropak Laboratories, which came to market via Stratton Oakmont in May. The Ropak prospectus also disclosed the S.E.C. inquiry but with an added caveat: "An unfavorable resolution of the S.E.C. investigation," it said, "could have the effect of limiting the underwriter's ability to make a market in the company's securities."
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And did potential investors read this and run? No, Ropak's shares came public at $4.50 and zoomed to $9.25 a share in less than four months, before subsiding to $8.50 a share. But even today's prices are a boon to the lucky people who owned warrants to buy Ropak's stock at $2.25 to $4 a share, of course.
The Ropak warrant holders include two men -- Harvey Bibicoff, a Hollywood executive, and Gerald L. Cohn, a director of Hazleton National Bank in Hazleton, Pa. -- who seem to pop up in many Stratton deals.
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Mr. Cohn is an big investor in IPS Health Care and arranged for it to get financing through the Hazleton bank. He is also a director of the DVI Financial Corporation, which leases equipment to IPS Health Care and raises money through Stratton. DVI's shares traded at less than $9 last October and almost doubled to $14.125 in March, before drifting back to $8.60 recently.
Mr. Bibicoff, too, is an investor in IPS and was an early investor in DVI Financial. But his starring role is as chairman of the Ventura Entertainment Group, a television production company, which sold shares through Stratton last year.
A careful reader of that prospectus, dated May 31, 1990, might have noticed a regulatory flag. Ventura disclosed that the S.E.C. was seeking information about, among other things, "the relationships between the company's principal stockholders and certain underwriters and market makers of the company's securities."
In February, while already negotiating with the N.A.S.D., Judicate announced that it had hired Stratton, which was already under S.E.C. scrutiny, to raise money through a private placement. Judicate also awarded the brokerage firm a stock option convertible into about a 10 percent stake in the company and has engaged some of its executives as employees and consultants to help develop Judicate's own telemarketing sales effort.
"I needed people who have expertise in closing sales on the phone -- a telemarketing department," said Jay D. Seid, president of Judicate. "There is a talent there."
Mr. Seid continued: "If the S.E.C. is indeed investigating their sales practices, presumably that is because there are standards and rules that are required to be followed in the securities industry. Those rules are different from what my operation is about; the consulting services and assistance I am deriving has nothing to do with selling practices, but with building a sales structure."
Mr. Seid added, however, that if Judicate were asked to mediate an investor's dispute against Stratton Oakmont, he would refuse. "There is no way we could handle an investor mediation case arising from Stratton Oakmont," he said. "That is clear." |
During the 1992 Democratic presidential primaries, former Massachusetts Sen. Paul Tsongas denounced rival Gov. Bill Clinton (D-Ark.) as a "pander bear" who "will say anything, do anything to get votes." Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) is clearly following in her husband's electoral footsteps by proposing a "gas tax holiday" for the summer driving season. When primary votes are at stake, who needs to heed the laws of economics or even good sense?
Clinton's idea, which is also endorsed by Republican presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), is to suspend the 18.4 cents per gallon federal gas tax for three months in order to give cash-strapped motorists relief at the pump. Assuming that dropping the tax would actually lower the price per gallon by the full 18.4 cents, how much would this actually save the average family?
Let's make a rough calculation, using an average commute of 20 miles per day in an automobile with a 15 gallon tank getting the corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) mileage of 27.5. A commuter would then fill up every 20 days. There are 98 days between Memorial Day and Labor Day, so that means five fill-ups over the summer. Five 15 gallon fill-ups at 18.4 cents per gallon less would mean that motorists would save a total of $13.80 for the summer. Let's double that for vacation driving and shopping and that comes to a grand total of $27.60 in savings. About enough to buy five Big Mac Combos.
But would prices actually go down by 18.4 cents? Not likely. As the Tax Foundation reports, most economists assume "that a temporary gas tax holiday would merely increase the profits of the oil industry due to the inability of domestic supply to respond to increased demand in the short run."
In addition, if the federal gas tax is dropped for the summer, the highway trust fund that pays for the upkeep of our crumbling roads and bridges will be short $10 billion. Not to worry, says Sen. Clinton: We'll make up for that fiscal shortfall by taxing the excess profits of Big Oil.
Clinton clearly hopes that primary voters will want to stick it to the greedy oil companies. After all, Exxon Mobil just announced $10.9 billion in profits for the final quarter of 2007. So Sen. Clinton says she'll take away some of those profits to pay for her gas tax holiday. And Clinton's not alone. Her Democratic rival, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) is also calling for a windfall profits tax on oil companies. But will it work?
The last time the United States imposed a windfall profits tax on oil companies was in 1980 and it lasted until 1988. The result, according to a 1990 Congressional Research Service analysis, was that the tax on oil company profits decreased domestic production by 3 percent to 6 percent and increased dependence on foreign oil by 8 percent to 16 percent. Keep in mind that the big private oil companies actually control only about 6 percent of the world's known oil reserves—the rest are owned by gigantic foreign national oil companies. And just where do private oil companies get the billions they invest in projects to increase supplies? That's right; their profits. In other words, Clinton actually ends up sticking it to consumers when she tries to stick it to Big Oil.
Sen. Clinton may be feeling the pain of motorists right now, but once she's in the White House, she plans to inflict more pain at the pump. In fact, all three presidential hopefuls plan to do this. Why? Because Clinton champions "the most aggressive approach to reducing global warming out there." She wants to cut the emissions of greenhouse gases that warm the planet by 80 percent by 2050. To do this she favors a cap-and-trade market on carbon dioxide emissions. The Progressive Policy Institute has calculated that a relatively modest $15 per ton price for carbon dioxide emissions would boost the price of gasoline by 15 cents per gallon. But Sen. Clinton is counting on voters failing to connect the dots between gasoline prices and her global warming policies.
This past weekend, on ABC News' Sunday talk show, "This Week," Sen. Clinton was asked by host (and former Bill Clinton aide) George Stephanopoulos, "Can you name one economist, a credible economist who supports the suspension?" Sen. Clinton replied, "I'm not going to put my lot in with economists." For their part, economists are certainly not putting their lot in with Clinton. According to Bloomberg News, 200 prominent economists, including four Nobelists, have signed a petition denouncing Clinton's gas tax holiday as a "bad idea." Even the New York Times' Clinton votary economist Paul Krugman grumbled that her ploy is "pointless, and disappointing."
We will find out soon if Democratic Party primary voters are really stupid enough buy into this cynical Clinton pander.
Ronald Bailey is reason's science correspondent. His book Liberation Biology: The Scientific and Moral Case for the Biotech Revolution is now available from Prometheus Books. |
Dive Brief:
The recent disclosure by Facebook that the company overestimated video viewing metrics for two years is "troubling," ANA President and CEO Bob Liodice said in a blog post late yesterday afternoon.
With marketers spending more than $6 billion on Facebook, an audit and accreditation by the Media Ratings Council are imperative if Facebook is to achieve the level of measurement transparency that marketers require, Liodice said.
“ANA does not believe there are any pragmatic reasons that a media company should not abide by the standards of accreditation and auditing,” Liodice wrote in the post.
Dive Insight:
The news about Facebook’s video metrics misstep made a big splash when it first broke, but it has been downplayed by some in the days since.
However, ANA's Liodice says the news points to a bigger issue, which is that independent auditing and accreditation are “table stakes” for digital advertising, yet Facebook and other digital platforms have avoided them so far.
The statement from the leader of a well-respected organization that represents a large swath of big brands steps up the pressure on Facebook to allow a third-party like the Media Ratings Council to measure its ad inventory for viewability. Liodice said that while mistakes do happen, this does not resolve the bigger issue, which is the need for Facebook and “other such major media players" to be audited and accredited.
Facebook has been able to skirt accreditation until now because the platform has grown quickly and the appropriate measurements for social media marketing are still in flux. But Facebook’s revelation last week that its video viewing metrics had been inadvertently inflated for the past two years shows just how critical standardized metrics are to the industry. Marketers are spending heavily on Facebook, often in favor of other platforms, but if its numbers are inaccurate, that money could be misspent.
Digital platforms such as Facebook, YouTube and Snapchat are heavily dependent on advertising and so far have been able to attract big brands because of their large user bases. But if these platforms are growing without paying proper attention to metrics, they could begin to lose the goodwill of marketers. |
It seems folks have a lot to say about Seattle’s food carts. My post last week spurred several others, each with their own lively comment strings (see: the P-I, Crosscut, Seattle Reddit, Publicola, the Sun Break, and Seattle Transit Blog 1 and 2; and beyond Seattle: Vancouver Open File, Georgia Straight, Slate, and Grist).
The topic elicits mixed reactions, ranging from “who cares,” to ardent support, to harsh criticism of Seattle’s current program. I want to follow up with a couple of points that have come up in these discussions.
First: I want to make it clear that I think the verdict is still out on Seattle street food. Yes, the current numbers for applicants who are using city streets and sidewalks are low: around 10 applicants since the rules changed last August. But the numbers are deceptive—and clearer ones are harder to find. King County actually had 408 food carts in 2011. But about half of those were labeled “Risk 1”: basically coffee carts and hotdog vendors. Only 201 carts were “Risk 3,” and permitted to vend their cuisine of choice. To date in 2012, only 163 vendors have applied for Risk 3 permits. It’s very uncertain how many vendors we’ll see as we get closer to summer.
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It could very well be that Seattle is on the cusp of an explosion, and vendors are just waiting for sunny skies. Or, new regulations could have added enough costs and process that we’ll see a fall in the number of carts permitted in 2012. It’s just too early to tell.
Second: Other folks have shared some great policy insights. At Slate, Matt Yglesias wonders if it’s really a question of policy mechanics, or if the City is “protecting the profits of incumbent business owners.” Meanwhile on Sightline’s own blog, Fusion on the Run owner Cassandra Seaman explains that finding a place to vend in Seattle is very expensive. High costs for vendors could explain why Seattle’s trucks tend toward costly, high-end cuisine. Additionally, Seaman notes a cart in Portland can open in weeks, while it took her half a year (my understanding is that the permitting process in Seattle has sped up, but is still quite slow compared to Portland).
While the future of Seattle street food is still uncertain, it still seems to me that the city and (maybe more importantly) the county’s policies are stifling to potential business. The City of Seattle should nix the 50 ft setback, list pre-approved vending sites, and drop the no-overnight rule; the King County Department of Health should ditch the commissary requirement and instead require that mobile vendors get their truck, cart, or commissary inspected before they’re permitted to prepare and sell food; and both could work on speeding up the pace of permitting.
Third: A lot of folks worry about the impact of food carts on restaurant business. However, in Portland a thriving street food scene has gone hand-in-hand with a national reputation for the city’s restaurants. Most of the time, the choice isn’t between a sit-down meal or a food cart. Street food is popular at lunch and late at night. You don’t go to a restaurant just for the food—you may also go for the ambiance, leisure, and experience. A food truck can’t replace the same comforts.
Limiting street food is unfair protectionism of brick and mortar restaurants. We don’t outlaw libraries to protect bookstores, even though that industry probably needs more help than restaurants.
Fourth, for the “who cares?” crowd: Yes, there’s a “foodie” element at work here. But street food also makes for good urban policy. It makes neighborhoods more walkable, streets more engaging, and provides affordable food choices. Lower-cost business opportunities are also good for the economy—particularly for immigrant communities and young people.
Over at Seattle Transit Blog Matt Gangemi has a great rundown of what kind of downtown he’d create, given a magic wand. He points out that dense, side-walk oriented businesses—like you have in Pike Place Market—bring down rents and allow for more diverse businesses to grow. They draw more residents into dense, urban settings like downtown.
His solution: open up alleys. |
After a successful revival earlier this year, the new Robot Wars is gearing up for two festive specials this holiday season called Robot Wars: Battle of the Stars.
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Prepare to deck the halls with robot bodies as Angela Scanlon and Dara Ó Briain return as hosts, presiding over two hour-long episodes that will see teams of celebrities (rather than the usual enthusiastic amateur roboteers) compete to build their infernal devices and battle it out in the arena.
What time is the Robot Wars Christmas Special on TV?
The first hour-long part of the Christmas “Battle of the Stars” will air at 8pm on Wednesday 28th December on BBC2, while the second part will be shown on Thursday 29th December at 8pm on BBC2.
Who’s in it?
As noted hosts Angela Scanlon and Dara Ó Briain are back in the arena to preside over the battles, and you can expect the usual presence of House Robots Sir Killalot, Matilda, Shunt and Dead Metal.
Sir Killalot, Matilda and Shunt
The celebrity guests (who will team up with an experienced roboteer from the series to build and battle some ‘bots) will include Radio 1 DJs Scott Mills and Chris Stark, with more celebrities revealed over the coming months.
Are any other robots coming back?
Outside the House Robots it’s a bit unclear, but we’d imagine the experienced contestants teaming up with the celebrity guests will be familiar faces from the most recent series, so it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to have cameos for their robot creations.
What are the best shows to watch on TV this Christmas?
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And what time are they on? |
GREEN BAY, Wis. -- No one ever asks who the Green Bay Packers are going to pick in the fourth round ... or the fifth or sixth or seventh.
Maybe they should.
While the focus is always on who the Packers will take in the first round, general manager Ted Thompson would appear to rely on -- and hit on -- those third-day picks as much as he does the ones on the first two days of the NFL draft.
According to a study by ESPN Stats & Information analytics writer Sharon Katz, the Packers have gotten more out of their late-round picks than any team in the NFL over the last 10 years. They opened last season with 19 players on their 53-man roster who were picked in rounds four through seven. That was two more than the next-highest team -- the Minnesota Vikings with 17.
Part of it could be Thompson’s commitment to his draft-and-develop philosophy. He doesn’t add many free agents, therefore leaving roster spots available for draft picks, some of whom won’t play much (or at all) as rookies.
Josh Sitton, a fourth-round pick in 2008, might be the best find of the Packers' many late-round offensive line gems. Wesley Hitt/Getty Images
However, Thompson has done especially well with offensive linemen in the later rounds. Four of the Packers’ five starters fit into that category. Only right tackle Bryan Bulaga (a first-round pick in 2010) was taken within the first three rounds. Three starters -- left guard Josh Sitton, right guard T.J. Lang and left tackle David Bakhtiari -- were fourth-round picks while center Corey Linsley was a fifth-rounder.
In Katz’s study, Sitton came out as the Packers’ best late-round selection.
Offensive line could be a priority this year even if Thompson waits until the second or third day given the contract status of several starters.
Sitton, Lang and Bakhtiari all would be free agents next offseason unless they reach extensions some time before next March. All three present different, yet equally difficult, decisions for Thompson.
Bakhtiari, at age 24, is the youngest of the trio and plays the all-important left tackle position. His value was never more evident than late last season, when he missed three games (including the playoff opener against the Washington Redskins), and the Packers tried three different fill-ins (Don Barclay, Sitton and JC Tretter).
Bakhtiari’s price tag will the highest among the three, so if there’s a thought at all in Thompson’s mind that he won’t re-sign him, then drafting another tackle is paramount unless, of course, Thompson and coach Mike McCarthy believe Tretter could be a future tackle. He showed against the Redskins that he might be able to handle that job.
But guess what? Tretter, a former fourth-round pick, is also entering the final season of his rookie contract.
Sitton and Lang present different issues. Both have been ultra-reliable and productive; Sitton has been a Pro Bowler and an All-Pro pick, while Lang isn’t far behind. But Sitton will turn 30 in June and Lang 29 in September. They also have battled through injuries -- Sitton a bad back and Lang a shoulder that was surgically repaired in the offseason -- and there’s reason to wonder if Thompson is worried about how much longer they will hold up.
Still, Thompson insisted recently that future needs won’t influence his draft decisions.
“Not at all,” he said. “Again, we feel like it’s best to stay true to form and try to take the best player available. We’re not going to stray off that. Again, that could be temporary. You might have a quote-unquote expiring contract, but you also might be in a position where you’re hopeful to do a reconstruction.”
Here are the late-round drafts picks (fourth through seventh rounds) on the Packers' opening-day roster last season: |
“In our stores, we sell numerous foods which are produced in the various regions of Germany,” a spokeswoman for Edeka told the Independent. “But only together with products from other countries, it is possible to create the unique variety that our consumers value.”
The effort drew praise from the vice chair of the Christian Democratic Union, Chancellor Angela Merkel's party, who praised it on social media as a “wise action.”
A customer, Sven Schmidt, shared images of the store on social media. He told the Independent that he liked the campaign. “Looking at all the mentions of hate and lack of understanding of other people I got, I'm happy that I posted it and showed my two cents against the racists, even though I know it was mainly about diversity,” he said.
But others criticized the store. Marcus Pretzell of the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany party called it “completely mad.” Others accused the supermarket of using a loaded political issue as a publicity stunt.
Immigration and Islam have become fraught issues in Germany, where citizens go to the polls next month to choose their new leader.
Much of that anxiety stems from Merkel's 2015 decision to allow more than a million asylum seekers and migrants into the country. Many came from Syria or other parts of the Middle East. Germany has a rapidly aging workforce, and Merkel said the newbies would be a boon to the economy.
The influx, however, sparked a backlash, particularly among the far right. Opponents worried that the migrants weren't assimilating, a sentiment fueled by news stories of crimes and rapes committed by migrants (many partially or totally fabricated). They warned, too, that an influx of mostly Muslim migrants put Germany at risk of increased terrorism.
Merkel's position led to a serious drop in her popularity. But she has since bounced back in the polls, and experts predict that she will easily win reelection.
Amanda Erickson writes about foreign affairs for The Washington Post. Previously, she worked as an editor for Outlook and PostEverything.
Post Recommends |
Welcome to Ars Cardboard, our weekend look at tabletop games! Check out our complete board gaming coverage at cardboard.arstechnica.com —and let us know what you think.
What’s the best modern strategy card game?
If you said anything other than "Race for the Galaxy," I have some news for you—you’re wrong. (We’d also accept Magic, but that’s a whole other thing).
Race for the Galaxy, a game where players compete to build the most powerful galactic empire in the shortest amount of time, is the quintessential modern card game. Released in 2007, the game has solidified its "classic" status due to its complex strategy, clever interactivity, and infinite replayability. It’s a truly great game.
Game details Designer: Tom Lehmann
Publisher: Rio Grande Games
Players: 2-4
Age: 13+
Playing time: 10-30 minutes
Price: $19.95 on Amazon, £24.25 on Amazon UK Tom LehmannRio Grande Games2-413+10-30 minutes
But there’s a problem: Race for the Galaxy is notoriously difficult to teach. Its core mechanics can feel unintuitive to new players, and the game’s generous use of initially inscrutable iconography makes it such a chore to teach that it’s almost not worth trying to bring new players into the fold unless you’re sure they’re going to love it.
In 2014, Race designer Tom Lehmann and co-designer Wei-Hwa Huang released Roll for the Galaxy, a dice-game take on the Race formula. Roll for the Galaxy’s tiles—the game's analogue to Race’s cards—were still emblazoned with all manner of arcane iconography, but the symbols were also accompanied by text explainers, making Roll a much easier game to teach. (It also happens to be an excellent game, and it’s where we’d suggest starting if you want to dip your toes into the Race universe.)
But say the relatively short playtimes of Race and Roll are still too long for you. Say you want to build and rule over a galactic empire... in the time it takes to make a sandwich. Enter Lehmann’s newest title, Jump Drive, a game that’s billed as an “introduction to the Race for the Galaxy universe.” You can think of it as a sort of ultra-fast, super-simple distillation of the core concepts found in its bigger siblings.
Go ahead and jump
The goal of Jump Drive, as in every “___ for the Galaxy” game, is to conquer the galaxy through clever cardplay. Here, players race to cross a 50-point threshold, at which point the game is over and the highest score wins. The game generally lasts a brisk seven-or-so rounds.
Jump Drive keeps the wildly addictive “engine-building” gameplay from the other games in the series while shrugging off any rules that can’t be explained in seconds. From a starting hand of five cards, you’ll piece together a card-drawing, point-generating machine that propels you to victory.
Each turn, players simultaneously and secretly choose to play either one or two cards face down in front of them. When everyone is ready, players flip up their cards, which stay in front of them, making a “tableau” for the rest of the game. Cards come in two types, ”worlds” and “developments”—essentially planets you can take over and technologies you can develop to help you take over planets more efficiently. Each card has a cost, which you pay by discarding other cards from your hand. Each card, then, represents one of two options—an addition to your empire or the currency to pay for those additions.
If you play two cards, you have to pay full price for each. But if you play only one card, you get a bonus—a discount or a refund, depending on the type of card you're playing. Since the game is a race, you want to quickly play as many cards as possible, but that gets expensive. You'll have to decide whether you can afford to discard that one perfect card to get that other perfect card into your empire this round. The decision is often excruciating, an essential design element ported over from Race.
At the end of each round, everyone gets two types of income—cards and points. Every card tells you what it gives you, and these values snowball as the game progresses. In round 1, you might draw 2 cards and score 1 point; a brief six rounds later, you could be scoring 20 points per round and drawing a huge stack of cards (to keep things balanced, you have to discard down to 10 at the end of the round).
Although the mechanics are completely different, this sense of absurd escalation from "I have nothing" to "I'M THE UNSTOPPABLE RULER OF THE GALAXY" reminds me of Star Realms, another super-quick sci-fi card game. It's tremendously satisfying. |
President Barack Obama sent Congress legislation on Wednesday to authorize military force against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, asking lawmakers to "show the world we are united in our resolve" to defeat armed fighters who have overrun parts of the Middle East and threaten attacks on the United States.
In urging Congress to back military force, the president ruled out "enduring offensive combat operations," a deliberately ambiguous phrase designed to satisfy lawmakers with widely different views on any role for U.S. ground troops. But the White House said troops may be used on the ground in hostage rescue operations.
Republicans in Congress responded warily to the request.
Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, expressed doubt it would "give our military commanders the flexibility and authorities they need to succeed and protect our people." He said changes were likely before the measure comes to a vote. An initial House committee hearing on the authorization was set for Thursday.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., like Boehner, said the proposal would receive serious consideration.
There was no timetable for Congress to act on the president's request, which triggers the first war powers vote in Congress since President George W. Bush sought and won an authorization in 2002 before the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
In a letter to lawmakers that accompanied the three-page draft legislation, Obama said ISIL "poses a threat to the people and stability of Iraq, Syria and the broader Middle East and to U.S. national security."
While asking Congress to bar long-term, large scale ground combat operations like those in Afghanistan and Iraq, Obama said he wants the flexibility for ground combat operations "in other more limited circumstances." Those include rescue missions, intelligence collection and the use of special operations forces in possible military action against ISIL leaders.
The issue of ground forces is likely to prove difficult in the administration's attempt to win passage of legislation.
While some Republicans favor their use, many Democrats oppose it, mindful of the long and deadly war in Iraq.
The House Democratic leader, Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, issued a statement that refrained from endorsing Obama's proposal. It said Congress should act judiciously and promptly to pass legislation "narrowly tailored" to the fight against ISIL. She said previously she opposes deploying U.S. boots on the ground.
Obama arranged to speak publicly about the request later Wednesday.
In his letter, he referred to four American hostages who have died in ISIL custody — at least three of them beheaded. He said the group, if left unchecked, "will pose a threat beyond the Middle East, including to the United States homeland."
Among the four hostages was Kayla Mueller, a 26-year-old humanitarian worker whose death under unknown circumstances was confirmed Tuesday. In addition, the group has urged sympathizers to attacks Western targets.
Obama proposed a three-year limit on the authorization, which would remain in force through the first year of his successor's term in office.
He also proposed no geographic limitations where U.S. forces could pursue the combatants. The authorization covers ISIL and "associated persons or forces," defined as those fighting on behalf of or alongside ISIL "or any closely related successor entity in hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners."
Obama's resolution would repeal a 2002 authorization for force in Iraq but maintain a 2001 authorization against Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. He said in his letter to lawmakers that his goal is to refine and ultimately repeal that measure as well.
The silence on the 2001 authorization drew criticism from some Democrats. "It makes little sense to place reasonable boundaries on the executive's war powers against ISIL while leaving them unchecked elsewhere," said Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., in a statement.
At the White House, press secretary Josh Earnest said the ground troop limitation would allow special operations missions, such as potential raids targeting ISIL leaders and the failed attempt last summer to rescue Mueller and other hostages held by the group.
"It's impossible to envision every scenario where ground combat troops might be necessary," he said in an interview with The Associated Press. "The president believes this sort of strikes the right balance of enforcing what he has indicated is our policy while preserving the ability to make some adjustments as necessary."
Obama has said the congressional authorizations that President George W. Bush used to justify military action after the Sept. 11 attacks are sufficient for him to deploy more than 2,700 U.S. troops to train and assist Iraqi security forces and conduct airstrikes against targets in Iraq and Syria.
Obama cast the measure as sending an important message to America's allies and enemies. "I can think of no better way for the Congress to join me in supporting our nation's security than by enacting this legislation, which would show the world we are united in our resolve to counter the threat" from ISIL, he wrote to lawmakers.
Al Jazeera and The Associated Press |
A feasibility study on adopting a land-based Aegis missile defense system to deal with North Korea’s missiles will be expedited, government sources said.
The idea to add the Aegis Ashore system to the nation’s multi-tiered ballistic missile defenses is aimed at dealing with what Tokyo calls the “new level of threat” posed by North Korea’s weapons programs. Deployment could take place several years from now, the sources said Friday.
The government has also considered adopting the state-of-the-art Terminal High Altitude Area Defense missile shield system but decided to focus on Aegis Ashore, which is less expensive and has a broader defense range.
Still, the government has not yet completely rejected introducing THAAD, which South Korea has allowed the United States to deploy on its territory.
According to the sources, THAAD costs about ¥125 billion ($1.1 billion) for each unit, and Japan would need around six units to protect the whole country. An Aegis Ashore unit costs about ¥80 billion and only two would be needed to cover the same amount of area.
Japan’s ballistic missile defense system has two layers. The first is the Maritime Self-Defense Force’s Aegis destroyers, which are equipped with Standard Missile-3 interceptor missiles that can stop enemy projectiles in the outer atmosphere. If those fail, the Air Self-Defense Force’s Patriot Advanced Capability-3 surface-to-air guided interceptor missiles are the next line of defense.
Aegis Ashore uses the same components as those on the Aegis destroyers, but because the system is land-based and permanently installed, it will be easier for the Self-Defense Forces to gear up for missile interceptions.
A large amount of land would be required to host the system, and the government is looking for candidate sites that include areas along the Sea of Japan, which faces North Korea, the sources said.
The move comes after the ruling Liberal Democratic Party proposed in March that the government consider developing the ability to strike enemy bases. The LDP also floated the idea of introducing a new missile shield system.
The proposal was based on concern that Japan may not be able to sufficiently defend itself using its current defenses if North Korea simultaneously launches multiple ballistic missiles toward the country.
On March 6, North Korea tested four ballistic missiles that fell into the Sea of Japan around 300 to 350 km east of Akita Prefecture.
According to the Defense Ministry, three fell within Japan’s exclusive economic zone, which reaches some 200 nautical miles (370 km) from the coastline. |
Posted in Past Shows by Neal at 03:49, Aug 28 2015
Eileen Dietz the face of the devil in the iconic film The Exorcist joined us! We talked about the movie, conventions, current work, horror films and her book "Exorcising My Demons" for information on the book and current contest visit her site or message on Facebook! EileenDietz.com
Then the WYH Crew took over going over:
- Red Dragon on Hannibal
- Barbie Wilde of Hellbound's new anthology book
- Witch trailer
- Mad Mikkelsen joining Marvel's "Dr Strange"
- alien egg laying sex toys ?!?
- Neal looking like a serial killer as a child
- Forbidden Zone Ultimate Edition review, coming soon to DVD and BluRay
- Much more!
Artist of the month The B Movie Monsters!
facebook.com/thebmoviemonsters
Tracks for this podcast -
Without Your Head by Strange Nocturnal
Beware The Moon by The B Movie Monsters
Salem's Lot by The B Movie Monsters
Let's Kill the Prom Queen by The B Movie Monsters
10-31 by The B Movie Monsters
Please help keep WYH running!
Please SUBSCRIBE and rate on iTunes:Podcast feed please SUBSCRIBE:Join in the fun at: www.facebook.com/groups/withoutyourheadhorror |
North Dakota Republican Rep. Rick Berg‘s first Senate campaign ad may seem impressive, but it lacks something important -- originality.
The ad -- which shows Berg sitting at a table with his mother, reminiscing about the past -- is almost identical to an ad previously released by Ward Armstrong, the former minority leader in the Virginia House of Delegates. Berg's "Mom" ad is executed almost exactly like Armstrong's "Taught" ad, right down to the use of family photos and handwritten-style font.
Berg came under fire for the ad after a Florida blogger noticed the similarity between the two campaign spots. On Friday, the Democratic-Nonpartisan League of North Dakota released a statement hitting Berg for the recycled ad.
“North Dakotans shouldn’t be surprised that Rick Berg plagiarized an East Coast politician’s ad,” said Alison Kelly, spokeswoman for the Democratic-NPL. “In Washington, Congressman Berg has been an active player in the petty partisan squabbles that are driving our country off the cliff, putting his own national political career and Washington political games before the interests of North Dakota. Now, Berg is approaching his Senate campaign with the same cut-and-paste Washington approach.” |
Korea has one gay celebrity. If you Google “Gay celebrity in Korea,” the only result will be “Hong Soek-cheon.” For many Koreans, homosexuality is a lurid, outlandish concept. One Korean American who returned to his ancestral homeland said that Koreans “completely ignore the reality of gay people who exist. They pretend that it’s just this fairytale from the West.” Many Americans view Korea as the same kind of uncanny, alien place. Maybe you are one of the 10 million people who saw Conan’s recent video, where he swam in pools and sat in close proximity with old, naked, sweaty Korean men, while they commented on each other’s bodies. This sauna was in New York but it was still a mostly accurate representation of the Korean sauna experience. It was, however, sanitized for American audiences. They missed the part where old naked Korean men soap up each other’s plump, glistening buttocks. This is usually done between friends, but it is also acceptable to ask a stranger “could you please suds-up my buttocks?” (Or some approximate translation if your Korean is up to par.) In Korea it is completely acceptable to caress the dimples on a strange man’s lower back. But, sadly, if you kissed that same man on the lips, you would be met with stares, shock, and likely even shouts of profanity and reprobation from old men who weathered a regime that once arrested men for having long hair or women for having short skirts. In cultures where homosexuality is taboo, heterosexual men can experience a level of comfort with each other that people in more “progressive” cultures cannot.
Homophobic societies consider homosexuality to be so improbable that they are completely comfortable with being physically affectionate and intimate with other heterosexual men. Many straight, relatively progressive Americans can’t put their arms around another man because they fear being perceived as gay. Most Americans would consider it unthinkable to hold hands with their friends, as my students do when a game of English Grammar jeopardy can be won or lost by just a few points. Many straight, relatively progressive Americans will never know the comfort and closeness that comes from participating in a massage train. Many will never experience “the [platonic] love between a man and a man which is more powerful than that between a man and a woman,” that a Greek friend of mine described.
My time as a Protestant Christian missionary in Greece taught me a lot about how much homophobia obstructs the function of healthy, male friendship. Growing up in the states, I remember, at the age of 8, feeling a distinct sense of shame that I still gave my Dad a goodnight kiss on the cheek. I remember my friends returning from a bible distributing, house building, sightseeing trip to Ethiopia and hearing the shock, wonder, and lurid excitement in their voices when they recounted school boys walking hand in hand on dirt roads. When I flew to Greece and started working with a Christian nonprofit that catered to Afghan, Iranian, Iraqi, Moroccan, and Syrian refugees, I remember talking with a friend and trying to hide my discomfort when he gave me a friendly neck message. I tried to smile when an Albanian friend would rest their hand on my thigh while we drank coffee together, and I tried to forget the violation of a coarse beard against my cheek when an Afghan would greet me with a traditional kiss once on my left cheek, then my right, then my left, then my right again. But, once I got used to it, I found a sense of almost delirious happiness in constantly being close to other people. I felt closer to people with a single digit English vocabulary than I have with some people I have talked to for years. I became comfortable talking about my doubts and fears rather than repeating the same jokes, rating the same women, and rehashing the same games and matches and fights. But, when I came home, I found that when I would laugh at a friend’s joke and pat their thigh, the look in their eyes would be like someone who had just seen a huge wasp land on their nose. In their eyes I saw that feeling love or connection with another man was something to be feared. Behind those eyes lay an American mind that perceives the enjoyment of another man’s touch as intrinsically, irretrievably “gay.” And, even if we profess to be progressive, as long as we think that feeling gay or being seen as gay is something to be feared, we continue to give homophobia control of our affections.
In the 4 months I spent in the U.S. after returning from Greece, the first man to say “I love you” to me was my partner. My beer pong partner at a frat party near Union Square. He was clutching my shoulder in one hand and a PBR in the other. It turned out he was from New Jersey too. We had met in line for the urinals, talked for a bit, then our conversation stopped until both of our respective penises were no longer visible. “I fucking love you man, we should definitely hang out in Jersey sometime,” he said, before leaving to meet up with a Tinder date, never to be seen again. Drunken “I love yous” are the only time most American males get to express affection for another man, and they are a poor substitute for a true, deep male friendship. These friendships require throwing off the feelings of shame and latent homophobia that still run in supposedly progressive minds. They require the boldness to shout, as Jonah Hill and Michael Cera say in the privacy of their tent in Superbad:
EVAN: I love you. Why don't we say that everyday? Why can't we say it more often?
SETH: I just love you. I just want to go to the rooftops and scream, "I love my best friend, Evan."
[...]
SETH: "Boop." |
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption More than 50 sponsors have withdrawn ads from Mr O'Reilly's show
Presenter Bill O'Reilly has been dropped from Fox News over sexual harassment claims, the company says.
"After a thorough and careful review of the allegations... Bill O'Reilly will not be returning," the network said in a one-sentence statement.
He has been on holiday since 12 April, and was seen shaking hands with Pope Francis at the Vatican on Wednesday.
O'Reilly said it was "tremendously disheartening" to leave over "completely unfounded claims".
More than 50 sponsors have withdrawn ads from his show, The O'Reilly Factor.
Pressure on Fox has mounted since recent reports that five women had received $13m (£10m) in payouts because of O'Reilly's behaviour.
The prime-time presenter, who has been with the US network almost since its inception, has denied all of the allegations.
"It is tremendously disheartening that we part ways due to completely unfounded claims," he said in a statement released after his dismissal.
"But that is the unfortunate reality many of us in the public eye must live with today."
Fox broadcaster Tucker Carlson will be taking over Mr O'Reilly's slot, the company said in a follow-up statement.
Trump defends Fox host amid sex claims
Image copyright Reuters Image caption A Vatican photographer captured O'Reilly meeting the Pope after his public address on Wednesday
In an internal memo sent to 21st Century Fox employees, the company wrote that the decision had been made after "extensive review done in collaboration with outside counsel".
The letter - signed by Rupert Murdoch and his sons Lachlan and James - praised Mr O'Reilly as "one of the the most accomplished TV personalities in the history of cable news".
It added that the network was committed to "fostering a work environment built on the values of trust and respect".
Analysis: Anthony Zurcher, BBC News, Washington
The sexual harassment charges against Bill O'Reilly aren't new. They've bubbled up before and have been quietly ushered from view, thanks to multimillion-dollar legal settlements.
Now, however, they have brought down the top-rated conservative talk show on cable news.
So what changed? Was it lurid details of his alleged behaviour? The protests? Commercial sponsors abandoning his show? The impact the scandal could have on 21st Century Fox's attempts to purchase European broadcaster Sky?
All probably contributed to O'Reilly's exit. The crack in the proverbial dam, however, came when Fox News head Roger Ailes was sacked for his own sexual harassment scandal.
If Mr Ailes, who built the conservative television empire, could be laid low by his tawdry behaviour, no one was untouchable - even Mr O'Reilly.
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Mr Ailes was sacked over a harassment lawsuit filed by anchor Gretchen Carlson (L)
Welcome to Fox News in the Donald Trump era. Mr Ailes is out. Mr O'Reilly is gone.
Presenter Megyn Kelly has bolted to NBC. The only giant left standing is Trump super-fan Sean Hannity.
A network that defined itself by blanket opposition to Barack Obama now appears adrift, challenged by more aggressive conservative media outlets and toxic to the left.
It's a tricky position to occupy - a victim of its own success… and hubris.
The O'Reilly Factor drew nearly four million viewers per night.
The most recent allegation came on Tuesday evening when lawyer for a former African-American clerical worker at Fox alleged her client had been harassed by Mr O'Reilly in 2008.
Lawyer Lisa Bloom said the Fox News host had referred to the unidentified woman as "hot chocolate".
"He would leer at her," said Ms Bloom. "He would always do this when no-one else was around, and she was scared."
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Protesters have been rallying outside the Fox offices in New York for weeks
Media-watchers say the allegations had become too much of a liability for 21st Century Fox.
A concern for the Murdoch family is their pending $14bn (£11bn) deal to buy out satellite provider Sky, which is being scrutinised by British regulators.
Earlier this month authorities with the European Commission cleared 21st Century Fox to acquire the remaining 61% of Sky that it does not yet own.
Sources at the company tell US media that Rupert Murdoch was in favour of keeping Mr O'Reilly in his post.
But James Murdoch, chief executive officer of 21st Century Fox, reportedly argued that Mr O'Reilly should go.
The company reputation has taken a hit after sexual harassment allegations were also levelled at Roger Ailes, the former head of Fox News.
Mr Ailes resigned in 2016 after being sued by a former Fox News presenter, Gretchen Carlson. |
EVANSTON, Ill. --- "Getting under your skin" takes on a brave new meaning thanks to Northwestern University research that could transform gene regulation.
A team led by a physician-scientist and a chemist -- from the fields of dermatology and nanotechnology -- is the first to demonstrate the use of commercial moisturizers to deliver gene regulation technology that has great potential for life-saving therapies for skin cancers.
The topical delivery of gene regulation technology to cells deep in the skin is extremely difficult because of the formidable defenses skin provides for the body. The Northwestern approach takes advantage of drugs consisting of novel spherical arrangements of nucleic acids. These structures, each about 1,000 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair, have the unique ability to recruit and bind to natural proteins that allow them to traverse the skin and enter cells.
Applied directly to the skin, the drug penetrates all of the skin's layers and can selectively target disease-causing genes while sparing normal genes. Once in cells, the drug simply flips the switch of the troublesome genes to "off."
A detailed study of a method that could dramatically redefine the field of gene regulation will be published online during the week of July 2 by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
Early targets of the novel treatment are melanoma and squamous cell carcinoma (two of the most common types of skin cancer), the common inflammatory skin disorder psoriasis, diabetic wound healing and a rare genetic skin disorder that has no effective treatment (epidermolytic ichthyosis). Other targets could even include wrinkles that come with aging skin.
"The technology developed by my collaborator Chad Mirkin and his lab is incredibly exciting because it can break through the skin barrier," said co-senior author Amy S. Paller, M.D., the Walter J. Hamlin Professor, chair of dermatology and professor of pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. She also is director of Northwestern's Skin Disease Research Center.
"This allows us to treat a skin problem precisely where it is manifesting -- on the skin," she said. "We can target our therapy to the drivers of disease, at a level so minute that it can distinguish mutant genes from normal genes. Risks are minimized, and side effects have not been seen to date in our human skin and mouse models."
A co-senior author of the paper, Mirkin is the George B. Rathmann Professor of Chemistry in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and professor of medicine, chemical and biological engineering, biomedical engineering and materials science and engineering. He also is the director of Northwestern's International Institute for Nanotechnology.
Mirkin first developed the nanostructure platform used in this study in 1996 at Northwestern, and the FDA-cleared technology now is the basis of powerful commercialized medical diagnostic tools. This, however, is the first realization that the nanostructures naturally enter skin and that they can deliver a large payload of therapeutics.
"The field of medicine needs new constructs and strategies for treating disease," Mirkin said. "Many of the ways we treat disease are based on old methods and materials. Nanotechnology offers the ability to very rapidly create new structures with properties that are very different from conventional forms of matter. This collaborative study is a case in point."
The key is the nanostructure's spherical shape and nucleic acid density. Normal (linear) nucleic acids cannot get into cells, but these spherical nucleic acids can. Small interfering RNA (siRNA) surrounds a gold nanoparticle like a shell; the nucleic acids are highly oriented, densely packed and form a tiny sphere. The RNA's sequence is programmed to target the disease-causing gene.
"We now can go after a whole new set of diseases," Mirkin said. "Thanks to the Human Genome Project and all of the genomics research over the last two decades, we have an enormous number of known targets. And we can use the same tool for each, the spherical nucleic acid. We simply change the sequence to match the target gene. That's the power of gene regulation technology."
The nanostructures were developed in Mirkin's lab on the Evanston campus and then combined with a commercial moisturizer. Next, down in Paller's Chicago lab, the researchers applied the therapeutic ointment to the skin of mice and to human epidermis. The nanostructures were designed to target epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), a biomarker associated with a number of cancers.
In both cases, the drug broke through the epidermal layer and penetrated the skin very deeply, with cells taking up 100 percent of the nanostructures. They selectively knocked down the EGFR gene, decreasing the production of the problem proteins.
After a month of continued application of the ointment, there was no evidence of side effects, inappropriate triggering of the immune system or accumulation of the particles in organs. The treatment is skin specific and doesn't interfere with other cells.
Interdisciplinary research is a hallmark of Northwestern. Paller and Mirkin said their work highlights the power of physician-scientists and scientists and engineers from other fields coming together to address a difficult medical problem.
"This all happened because of our world-class presence in both cancer nanotechnology and skin disease research," Paller said. "In putting together the Skin Disease Research Center proposal, I reached out to Chad to see if his nanostructures might be applied to skin disease. We initially worked together through a pilot project of the center, and now the rest is history."
Northwestern has one of nine Centers of Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence funded by the National Cancer Institute and one of six Skin Disease Research Centers funded by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.
"This study is a landmark achievement in the area of gene regulation -- I believe our work has a chance to positively and irreversibly change the field," Mirkin said. "The skin is a very tough barrier to go through, which is why this effective gene knockdown has not been accomplished before. The power and elegance of this system are in its simplicity."
###
Mirkin and Paller are both members of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University.
The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, the National Cancer Institute and the Army Research Office supported the research. The Northwestern Skin Disease Research Center provided core resources and a pilot grant.
The title of the paper is "Topical Delivery of siRNA-based Spherical Nucleic Acid Nanoparticle Conjugates for Gene Regulation." In addition to Mirkin and Paller, other authors of the paper are Dan Zheng, David A. Giljohann, David L. Chen, Matthew D. Massich, Xiao-Qi Wang and Hristo Iordanov, all from Northwestern. |
As declassified British government documents relating to a secret ‘interrogation centre’ were released to the press this week, one of those hooded, beaten and subjected to brutal psychological ‘techniques’ tells his story.
Earlier this week, the Pat Finucane Centre released declassified British government documents to the local press which they say show that two official inquiries and the European Court of Human Rights were kept in the dark by the British security services about the top secret Ballykelly interrogation centre.
Michael Donnelly was one of 12 men interned and subjected to ‘deep interrogation’ at the secret Ballykelly centre. On August 1971, over 350 people were arrested and interned, 12 of whom would later become known as the ‘hooded men’. One of these men, Michael Donnelly, is in no doubt that the ‘deep interrogation’ techniques to which he was subjected constituted torture.
In the declassified British government documents, descriptions of the five-techniques (wall-standing, sleep deprivation, white noise, a diet of bread and water, hooding) state that internees wore hoods “quite voluntarily”, and that they were not subjected to wall standing for more than six hour intervals “at a stretch”.
Mr Donnelly described claims anyone would wear the hoods voluntarily as “ridiculous”. He recalled struggling to breathe through his own blood-soaked hood. The wall-standing, he said, was simply done as “somewhere to put you” between interrogations, beatings and psychological ‘torture’.
The former internee also claims that whilst being transported from Ebrington Barracks,he was taken in the back of a “furniture removal lorry” in the midst of a British army convoy, contrary to claims that the interrogations were ‘RUC led’.
The former prominent Republican described how an RUC officer refused to cooperate and serve papers after seeing Mr Donnelly’s blood-spattered and bruised face for the first time as his hood was removed. He described the mental ‘torture’ techniques’ and revealed his suspicions that he may have been drugged with a psychoactive substance during the secret ‘interrogations.’
He said: “I was lifted and taken to where Victoria Carpark on the Strand Road is - that was an army base then. I was held there for about an hour and put in the back of a lorry and there was another fellow along with me. They took us in the back of a lorry. We were roughed up a bit - hit with rifle butts and beat around a bit, nothing too bad. They had the rifles and they cocked them - some of them did - and they started pushing them into my side. It was very painful, and of course I was thinking that if we had’ve went over a pothole I would have been gone.
“We were taken to Ebrington Barracks, all lined up, hands above our heads - a big line of people - and they came down and started sorting people out. This old man was dragged in, he had come looking for his son. I knew him, I knew his son. They didn’t get his son so they took the father in. The man must’ve been well into his sixties with the white hair. They dragged him in and threw him down. He was a grey colour and he was moaning. They held him up in the back of the land rover. They were looking for the son. They held him up and put a rubber bullet gun into his stomach and they fired it. There was a bit of a crowd. They sort of held back from throwing stones in case they did something to the old man. Myself and another man went to help him and we were beat to the ground with rifle butts. The old man died not long after it. He had emergency surgery but he never recovered.
“It was in Ebrington Barracks anyway. We were taken into a room. You were held all the time by British soldiers - maybe four or five around you. There were two Special Branch men sitting at the table. One of the Branch men turned round. There was an army blanket in the room with a slit in it about that size (Mr Donnelly indicates a slit around four or five inches). They would say, ‘what about this one?’ The blanket opened a wee bit, so somebody peeked out. In my case somebody said ‘yes.’”
“Once we were selected, the people they had picked up generally, by mistake anyway, were let out and the people they wanted to let out were let out. The rest of us were taken to Magilligan. It was in a Nissan hut in Magilligan. We were taken down one at a time. It would have taken about two minutes to walk down to the interrogation centre and you sat down, and the offer was given: ‘You’re definitely going to jail. The more you tell us, the sooner you’ll get out. Tell us a little and you will be in for a long time. Tell us a lot and you won’t be in so long.’
“My answer was, ‘I don’t know what you are talking about. Mistaken identity’, something like that. ‘You’re sticking to that?’ they asked me. ‘Yeah’. Within about two or three minutes you were back up again.”
The Hooded Treatment
“I was obviously selected for the hooded treatment. Most of the people were taken away. It was myself, Paddy Joe McClean, Mickey Montgomery and Pat Shivers. The place was empty and we were the only four left. It looked very ominous, the more everybody disappeared. It started to get dark. We knew we weren’t going anywhere. Paddy Joe McClean, he said, ‘I don’t like the look of this. I think we’re in for some sort of special treatment. You better brace yourself for it boys.’ We were kept there all night. The soldiers must’ve been told to keep us awake so they banged on the tin roof with their batons.
“Some time in the early hours of the morning, the middle of the night, some fellow had a hold of my arm. The police stepped in then. There were soldiers all around us. The next thing the hood was stuck over my head.
“Hooded, we went away in the helicopter. In the helicopter they said, ‘so you won’t talk’. We were told we were over the Irish Sea and they were going to throw us out. We were up in the air. You knew you were up in the helicopter because of the vibrations of it and all that. I heard - I mean they were shouting over the noise of the helicopter - somebody was obviously dragged to the door and I could hear them shouting. You could feel the wind coming in the door. They were shouting, ‘This is your last chance. Are you going to talk?’ Every one of them refused. The next thing I heard was ‘aahhh’. They had been thrown out. It came to my turn and I said something very patriotic. I can’t remember what it was - ‘long live the Republic’, I think. I hit the ground. It wasn’t just a wee, small drop. They pushed the back of your head so you ‘burled’ round, you know. I landed on the ground - boof! It knocked the wind out of me. I was picked up and dragged across the place and a boiler suit was put on you, which in my case was far too wee. It wasn’t very comfortable.”
The Torture began
“That was when the torture began. There was this noise. White noise is a fairly apt description. It seemed to come in like ‘fingers’. That is the only way I could describe it. Of course, it affected your ears and that, but the very strange thing was it seemed to go into your head and go out the other side. It seemed to go into your body and go out again. I’ve never heard anything like it. It was 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 different pitches. It was quite a weird sound. A wee bit like a helicopter taking off - whirring and hissing - but nothing really like that. That’s about as close a description I could get.
“One of the things that occurred to me at the time was - I had been watching a documentary, it was the height of the Cold War, that the Russians had tortured people using noise techniques and hooding. So I started to realise, even though the program had said the Russians were doing it, that the British were doing it.
“I started to realise, this is happening to me. One of the things was, it was a bit of an advantage in that you could keep a wee bit ahead of it if you realised what was happening and try and stay in control of it.
“We were taken away, up in the helicopter again and certainly badly beat up along the way. We were brought back then. At this stage, I don’t know, maybe two days after it - you lost all track of time. It was the same hood the whole time, double-lined. It was starting to slip over my face. All the time I was trying to breathe out the bottom of it, I was sucking up air, but the hood was really like a plastic bag. I didn’t realise - I thought at the time I was sweating - but when you took the hood off it was blood. It had been sticking to my face with my own blood but I didn’t realise. I thought it was sweat.
Detention order
“This time we were brought back and they served a detention order on us to try and in some way make it legal. By this stage we hadn’t been served with anything so prior to that, even by their law, it was illegal. I was badly beaten up on the way. We were handed over to the RUC and they really went to war. One of the things that saved me was that they were kicking each other. I was at the bottom of a scrum and there were so many of them all trying to get at me. I heard one of them screaming because he had been kicked by one of the others trying to get at me.
“At this stage I couldn’t say I felt any physical pain, I just felt a dull thud, but no sort of sharp pain. I had been beat sort of halfway unconscious at this stage. I was held back in a chair. I could see the arms so I knew it was RUC. The hood was pulled off. When the hood was pulled off there was a police sergeant. I could tell it was a police sergeant because in those days they wore bright gold stripes - very prominent.
“He had his head down. When the hood was pulled off I was looking at the top of his head. He was looking at the papers he was about to serve. I suppose he was rehearsing his wee bit, you know. He looked up, when he saw me he said ‘aww Jesus! Look what ye’s did. Look what ye’s done! How are we going to cover this up? You’ve killed him!’
“I was thinking: ‘This is me he’s talking about. God, I must be in a bad way if he is talking about me like that.’ He refused to serve the papers. He was really in shock.
“What they did then was - my hair was long back then - they held my head back by my hair and one of the other ones took the papers. He shouted at your man ‘you serve them, you serve them papers’. The man said he was having nothing to do with it. The other one took the papers and smeared them into my face and said ‘read that.’ When he took it away it was like the Turin Shroud. My blood was all over it.”
Everything went black
“They took us away again in the helicopter. It might have been Magilligan again, it might have been another part of Ballykelly. It felt like about a half an hour in the helicopter but it might have been just ten minutes. You have no sense of time.
“I had handcuffs on behind my back. There was this RUC man and he was shouting ‘let me, let me’ and I got hit in the chest. If you can imagine, it went straight through me. I got badly winded and everything left me. I went to breathe in again and I couldn’t. When I look at it now, I suppose my chest was black, blue and purple. I imagine he kicked me, because I don’t think he could have hit me that hard. He must have kicked me in the chest as if he was kicking a door down. I went to breathe back in and nothing happened. Everything went black. It felt like the blackness came up from below and when it got to my eyes I passed out. When I came back I was being dragged off the helicopter again towards the interrogation centre. It was, well they talk about wall standing, but that’s just where you were. You were being beat up all over the place and that was just somewhere to put you in between rather than having you lying down or sitting.”
Drugged
“I always maintained that we had been drugged at some stage. They talk about LSD. I had no experience of taking drugs either before or since, so I would have nothing to compare it to. At one stage towards the end of the thing. I think they say in that report that we got bread and water. I only got it once. They were very anxious that I took it. Of course I refused: ‘I’m not going to do this.’ I think that programme had talked about the noise machine and drugging as well, so I was a bit wary. I wouldn’t take anything at all. I kept my mouth clenched shut. They put something into my mouth, they actually broke a bit of my tooth, wedged my mouth open. They shoved a bit of bread into it and the bit of bread was miniscule. They poured in water and it was like I nearly drowned and I had to swallow it. I think whatever they were giving me was in the bread. That was the only bread I got. I thought I was drugged. They made sure I had swallowed. We were taken into a wee room, a cell. We were pushed in there and there was a mattress on the floor. They went out and slammed the door. I was pulling the hood up, but bluffing them so that they couldn’t see that I had taken it off, so that I could see out. The room started swimming, very quickly. I don’t remember very much about that. I heard music. At that time I had been listening to a particular version of a song that I had listened to quite a lot and particularly liked it. I heard the whole thing, from start to finish. Some of the other people said they heard music as well. Paddy Joe McClean said he heard some classical piece. It was always something they had listened to recently, we all heard different tunes. Obviously it was all in the head.
Crumlin Road
“I remember then, coming round. The last interrogation I had. I found out afterwards how long I had disappeared for. They took us in the helicopter up to Crumlin Road. There was a hole knocked in the wall specially for it. We were took into the basement in Crumlin Road. Anybody that tried to get into the cell, I went for them. They were trying to get me something to eat, but I just went for them. I was thinking I was going to be poisoned again. One of the screws, a PO, was a reasonable type of Principal Officer. I heard him giving out to people outside who were shouting things in. So, he came in, and said ‘I’ve seen others like you and I know what you’ve went through. Stay in there, I’m here now and you’re under my control. Nobody is eating anything, none of the others are eating anything.’ He threw the newspaper in, I think it was the Irish News, and the date was on it. I thought that it couldn’t be nine days. It felt like less. It felt like three or four but it couldn’t be nine days. We were taken up the stairs later, to C-Wing.”
Location of the secret interrogation centre
He said: “In terms of the location of the place, it was always thought to be Girdwood Barracks, in Belfast. Nobody had a clue. My son, he was only an infant at the time, and he was very sick at Altnagelvin, so I got six or eight hours out of Long Kesh. The screws took me in a prison van and took me to York Street railway station in Belfast. I went to Derry on the train, and as the train was going through Ballykelly - it was an airfield at one time, during the second world war but by then it was an army base and there were jeeps all over the place - when the train went into Ballykelly they sounded the horn.
“At intervals during the torture - it was quite well spaced out, maybe once every six hours or so - you would have heard this horn. Near where I lived, in behind the Guildhall, there used to be boats and on foggy nights they would have sounded the horn. It sounded exactly the same. So when I was getting tortured, you were always trying to figure out where you were and when I heard this horn, I thought this must be somewhere near the docks. Later, when I was on the train going through Ballykelly I heard the sound of the horn and I went ‘woah’ that’s where I was. It was in Ballykelly.” |
You have arrived at the home of the game Multi-User Dungeon, or MUD, also known to former players on CompuServe as British Legends.
MUD is the world's oldest virtual world. It is a text-based game played using a TELNET program. Text-based and old? No, this is not a retro-gaming site. Just like good books didn't go out of fashion when motion pictures were invented, many of us are of the opinion that good text-based games have a place to stay. And MUD is not simply the first of the genre; many of its fans argue that it is also the best.
By following the menu links at the top of this page, you can start playing right away, read more about the game and its history, or participate in our player community. Or, just click the screen image above to start playing.
Oh, and don't forget to check out http://www.gamblingonline.com/casino/roulette/ for a list of articles pertaining to roulette strategy which includes learning roulette odds.
Vote! You can now vote for our game at topmudsites.com by clicking this logo: Or, please vote for us at the MUD Connector:
accesses to this page since September 9, 2000. |
The work of excavators and bulldozers brought down the building fast. Now the question is, how long will it take us to forget what was there?
Sketched Sept. 15, 2015
With so much demolition and construction going on in booming Seattle, I’m afraid I’m becoming numb to all the changes. How should I feel about another old building going away? Will I like whatever replaces it?
At Stewart Street and Eighth Avenue this week, I watched a high-reach excavator tear down some of the last remaining walls of the 1927 downtown bus station, where I spent some time sketching a few of years ago. The entire block is being razed to make room for a 45-story hotel tower that may open as early as 2018. Greyhound, in case you are wondering, now operates from a new base near Safeco Field.
The work of excavators and bulldozers brought down the building fast. Now the question is, how long will it take us to forget what was there? I know I will have to revisit my own sketches to refresh my memory. |
Renegade Kid's much-anticipated platformer comes to the 3DS eShop alongside some quality DSiWare releases. Let's jump in and see what's available today.
3DS Download Software
Mutant Mudds (Renegade Kid, $8.99) — This cutesy 2D platformer is a bit of a belter, netting a 9/10 in our Mutant Mudds review. Don't be put off by the comparatively high price: this is quality download gaming.
3DS Demo
Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games Demo (SEGA, free) — All being well you should be able to download a free trial of Mario and Sonic's sporting endeavour at 9am Pacific time/12pm Eastern time today.
DSiWare
Flipper 2: Flush the Goldfish (Engine Software, 500pts) — Speaking of quality downloads, here's the sequel to DSiWare favourite Flipper, fresh from its appearance in Europe. An intense one-button experience, our Flipper 2: Flush the Goldfish review has all you need to know.
Lola's Alphabet Train (BeiZ, 200pts) — Speaking of quality downloads... If ever you've wanted to learn your ABCs from a talking train, your prayers have just been answered. Rest assured we'll be putting full steam to bring you a review soon.
WiiWare
Newton Vs The Horde (RadiationBurn, 500pts) — No, not a biographical piece about the time Nintendo Life editor James Newton gave Super Mario 64 DS 7/10, this is a physics-based game about inflicting as much pain as possible. For 500 Points it could be worth a look, so we'll crack on with our review. |
Chris Osgood was already on the bench when he watched Marc-Andre Fleury crush his dream of winning a fourth Stanley Cup championship.
Fleury robbed Henrik Zetterberg with a pad save and slid across the crease to get his blocker on Nicklas Lidstrom's shot that appeared to be targeted for the open net. Fleury's Pittsburgh Penguins won Game 7 of the 2009 Stanley Cup Final, 2-1, against Osgood's Detroit Red Wings.
Fleury was a hero, forever a legend. The feeling was that nobody in Pittsburgh would ever question him again.
"That's how I think of Marc-Andre Fleury," Osgood told NHL.com.
That's not how Fleury is viewed anymore -- not after he wore the goat horns last April, when he allowed 26 goals in a six-game first-round loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. It wasn't all Fleury's fault. He deserved his share of the blame, but he wasn't as bad as his 4.63 goals-against average and .834 save percentage would indicate.
But as the goalie, he took the fall. There was no way around it.
The Stanley Cup Playoffs are a goalie's crucible. How he handles the pressure and the rising heat goes a long way in determining how far he goes, how successful he is.
"The goalie gets too much credit and gets blamed too much. That's never going to change," Osgood said. "But goalies have to learn to deal with it. If you have a bad game and you're getting the Bronx cheer you've got to deal with it. You've got to play. You've chosen that position. It may not be your fault, but the average person doesn't know that. They're going to see you win and that's all they care about."
The 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs will be no different.
Heroes will emerge; others will be crushed under an avalanche of pressure. The reputations of first-timers James Reimer and Viktor Fasth will grow or be sullied with successes and failures.
Past champions or Cup Finalists -- Fleury, Jonathan Quick, Antti Niemi and Ray Emery -- will be graded against their past performances. Fairness has no place. What they have done to be great is now a measuring stick for what they should do again, regardless of team, opponent or situation.
The less experienced goalies -- Corey Crawford, Carey Price, Jimmy Howard, Braden Holtby, Brian Elliott, Craig Anderson and Jonas Hiller -- will be expected to take the next step, to advance further than they have before. If they don't, they'll enter the offseason burdened by doubters even if they don't want to admit it.
(Photo: Len Redkoles/NHLI) Henrik Lundqvist will be watched closely to see if he can get it done this postseason.
Cory Schneider and Tuukka Rask rose to be No. 1s for their respective teams because they're supposed to have the mental capacity to succeed in the spring. We'll find out quickly.
Henrik Lundqvist will be watched closely to see if he can get it done. He has been close, including the Eastern Conference Finals last season, but is he a champion or is he a contender who will never get over the hump, never be elite enough in the spring to be worthy of the accolades he receives every fall and winter?
"There's a thin line for a goalie in the playoffs between being a goat and a hero," NHL Network analyst Kevin Weekes told NHL.com.
"How many times do you hear someone say, 'You can't win in the playoffs without good goaltending?'" Weekes added. "Nobody says, 'We need our centers to be playing good two-way hockey to give us a chance.' Nobody says, 'We need our third-pair defensemen to be rock solid, play a good 12-13 minutes and they can't cost us anything when they're out there.' Nobody says that. They just keep saying, 'Without good goaltending you can't win.' You feel that."
And it can be quite a drag.
Weekes, who played eight games in Carolina's run to the 2002 Stanley Cup Final, said it doesn't have to be as long as a goalie doesn't let the magnitude of the moment get to him.
"You've gotta breathe," he said. "It's easy to get caught up in the moment, but one thing that helped me was deep breathing in between stoppages of play. Deep inhales, deep exhales and positive self-talk."
What about mindset?
"A big thing is trying not to let in the first goal," Weekes said. "You do that every game in the regular season, too, but really putting extra pressure on yourself now to not let in that first goal. Patrick Roy always said a big part of his success was his mindset, including his mindset for not wanting to allow the first goal. That rings even truer in the postseason."
Viktor Fasth Goalie - ANA RECORD: 15-6-2
GAA: 2.18 | SVP: 0.921
Even if a goalie does all of that, it won't shield him from blame if things go south. That's a result of the attention. The goalie is typically the most sought-after player by the media after games and on practice days. He is always in the public eye.
"You can't hide," New Jersey Devils goalie Martin Brodeur told NHL.com. "It's like a pitcher. It's like a quarterback. In big games you can't hide. As a goalie you'll be judged. If you win you're the second coming. If you lose, it's, 'I can't believe he can't get it done.' In the regular season you can be as good as you want, but it's just a different ballgame in the playoffs."
So much so that Brodeur said he recalls times when he thought about what he was going to say to the media immediately after he let in a so-called bad goal, like the one he gave up in Game 3 of the 2003 Stanley Cup Final, when he fumbled and dropped his stick only to have the puck go in off of him. The Devils went on to win the series in Game 7.
"I took it like it was funny and my own players were laughing at me," Brodeur said. "That's the attitude you need to have when bad things happen."
Osgood, though, said a goalie has to self-analyze more in the playoffs because a bad goal can be looked at one way by a critic and totally differently by a goalie. The goalie has to trust his own perspective.
"I would say for the most part if you're watching the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in its entirety, there are not a lot of bad goals," Osgood said. "But these are goals that I would deem bad, that I know are bad. There are ones that are great shots and good shots that maybe aren't the ones that a normal person would like, that people call bad goals, but that isn't the case. I definitely think there is overreaction."
Even if the goalie trusts his judgment, it doesn't tend to matter when the stakes are high and everything is magnified. The key is to not let it get to him, to not take it home from the rink. But that's impossible.
Jonathan Quick Goalie - LAK RECORD: 18-13-4
GAA: 2.45 | SVP: 0.902
"You do take things home with you because everything is so magnified and the people around you make it that way," Brodeur said. "If you have friends and family and you're seeing them, it makes it hard because you want to be in your own shell. There are some people around, they're on your toes about what to say, and you feel that.
"You take stuff more to heart in the playoffs. That's the nature of it."
Reimer and Fasth are about to figure that out. Schneider and Rask are, too. It's a different level now.
Fleury, Quick and Niemi have been to the top, so naturally they're supposed to get there again. If they don't, they'll hear the word disappointment.
Crawford, Holtby, Price, Howard, Anderson, Elliott and Hiller have no more excuses. They know what this is like. They know the pressure. They've lived this before.
Emery, Lundqvist, Evgeni Nabokov and Niklas Backstrom, who hasn't been to the postseason since 2008, may not have too many chances to live it again. They don't have time to get used to the pressure.
"The moments are huge," Weekes said. "Each moment within a game is so much bigger than it would be in a regular season. So many people are watching. The atmosphere inside and outside the arena is crazy. The media is crazy heightened."
One goalie will be called a hero. Several will be labeled goats. Welcome to the playoffs.
"You just can't be average," Brodeur said.
Even if you were great once before.
--- |
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We are pleased to announce the release of Qt Creator 4.2
Qt SCXML Editor
Qt SCXML is a new module in Qt that allows you to create state machines from State Chart XML and embed them into Qt C++ and Qt Quick applications (Overview). It was released as Technical Preview in Qt 5.7 and will be released fully supported with Qt 5.8.
Qt Creator 4.2 now supplements the Qt SCXML module by offering a graphical editor for SCXML (experimental). It features editing states and sub-states, transitions, events, and all kinds of properties. The editor is experimental and the plugin is not loaded by default. Turn it on in Help > About Plugins (Qt Creator > About Plugins on macOS) to try it.
Projects Mode
We reworked how you select the project and its diverse settings in Projects mode. Instead of nested tabs, you now select the project from a dropdown. The settings form a tree that shows all available kits and other categories, making for a much cleaner UI. Enabling use of a kit for a project is now easily done by clicking the entry in the tree. Please provide feedback on any remaining issues through our bug tracker.
Qt Quick Designer
Qt Quick Designer has received many smaller features in this release. In the connections editor, there is a new section for managing the imports and property definitions that are necessary for using C++ backend objects (documentation). Also, support for padding (Qt Quick 2.6) was added, and you can now edit the when condition of states, and the diverse font properties of text items.
CMake support
Several fixes and improvements were implemented, like: Improvement of performance when opening CMake projects, and support for predefined options for properties. In addition, Tobias contributed the server-mode to CMake in preparation for a much more complete CMake support in the next Qt Creator release.
QML Profiler
When profiling your QML code you now have the option to show memory usage and allocations as flame graphs as well. You can now position orientation lines.
Other Additions and Improvements
We added Tools > Diff > Diff Current File and Diff Open Files for showing a local diff of the modifications of files in Qt Creator with respect to their versions on disk.
There were many more changes, which are described in more detail in our change log.
Get Qt Creator 4.2
Head over to the Qt Account Portal or to the download page, get and install Qt Creator 4.2. As usual, the bug tracker will accept bug reports. You also find us on IRC on #qt-creator on chat.freenode.net, and on the Qt Creator mailing list.
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from New Antarctica
As one more US aircraft carrier steams off to confront the North Koreans and threaten nuclear war once again , it is timely to recall that 60 years ago the United States and its allies (including a very compliant New Zealand) began a genocidal bombing of every town and city in the north of Korea. Millions of Koreans died.
Since that war ended, the largest and nuclear superpower in the world has refused to sign a peace treaty with North Korea, has stationed thousands of troops and weapons along its South Korean border and has regularly threatened to nuke North Korea, applied annual large scale attack manoeuvres along the border with North Korea, as well as implementing sanctions that in several years since the war, caused mass starvation in the north. Small wonder that the North Korean regime might be considered paranoid and unstable!
Ironically, the United States has absolutely no interest in the Korean peninsula and its peoples; its sole rationale for maintaining the ongoing conflict with North Korea is to justify maintaining the extensive military bases encircling China, with the support of the Japanese. China has recently proposed:
As a first step, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) may suspend its nuclear and missile activities in exchange for the suspension of large-scale U.S.-Republic of Korea (ROK) military exercises,”
…but this eminently reasonable offer has been once again refused by the United States because it would reduce the threat to China.
While the latest American President is also considered unstable and unreliable, it is important to recognise that every American president’s foreign policy since the 1900s has almost entirely consisted of a psychopathic policy of violence and war and repeated acts of genocide:- in the Philippines, at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, in Korea, Vietnam and Laos, in Iraq, and Libya, as well as support for unspeakable acts of murder and terror in South America.
Its full logistical and weaponry support for the starvation of millions of Yemen ‘s children by Saudi Arabia because they do not share the Saudi regime’s extremist and sectarian Wahhabist views, (ably supported in this war of terror by its sycophantic ally, the United Kingdon), tells you exactly where the United States’ current moral and ethical foreign policy stands.
Its foreign policy does not recognise the international rules of war or human rights obligations; it stands above any necessity for humanity or compassion or peaceful solution to conflicts.
It is in fact, a rogue state. |
Thrice-married and long out of office, he's got a history of shady dealings. Why are Republican voters so keen on the former House speaker?
Across the country, a Newt Gingrich surge is occurring.
There's no denying it: America's Republican primary voters clearly are giving the former House speaker a chance in the spotlight. It's tempting to dismiss it as fleeting, and all to easy to dissect his many deficiencies. But what is it about him people like? What are voters seeing in Newt all of a sudden?
Like his shortcomings, Gingrich's strengths can be explained as a combination of his personality, his resume and his place in the present moment.
Personality: Sure, he can be condescending and prickly. But in public, Gingrich is mostly an overwhelmingly charming figure.
At a campaign office opening in South Carolina last weekend, he endeared himself to the small group that had come out for the event by first introducing his school-aged grandchildren, who he said were his debate coaches. Aww. Then he talked about the importance of South Carolina, segueing into his call for seven Lincoln-Douglas debates against President Obama: "And to be fair, I'm willing to allow him to use a TelePrompTer." He vowed that, like Lincoln, he would trail his opponent across the country until he accepted -- never mind that Lincoln lost that election.
Gingrich assured the crowd that this wasn't just a pipe dream: Obama, he noted, is an intelligent man with a healthy self-regard. He went to Ivy League schools. "How's he going to look himself in the mirror and say, 'I'm afraid of someone who taught at West Georgia College?'" For all his reputation as obnoxious, Gingrich has a way with an audience.
Resume: Gingrich has a long list of crowd-pleasing accomplishments he likes to tick off, in particular being part of balancing the budget in the 1990s and enacting welfare reform. Of course, he doesn't often mention his crucial partner in these endeavors, President Clinton. But for an electorate that is looking for evidence of effective leadership that doesn't constitute selling out, Gingrich has a good story to tell.
And then there's his post-electoral life as the GOP's resident traveling intellectual. For a decade now, Gingrich has been speaking at Lincoln Day dinners and other grassroots events across the nation, soaking in the adulation as a rock star of the conservative base. Those visits kept his brand alive, so that now, when he actually wants something from GOP voters, he has a lot of goodwill to bank on.
"He has spent a lot of time in the last 12 years around the country with center-right audiences," said Joe Gaylord, the longtime Republican strategist who spent 30 years as a Gingrich confidant. "He knows what moves them."
Place in the moment: The revolving-door nature of the 2012 Republican primary has been much noted. But it's not Groundhog Day. Conservative voters don't wake up every day with no memory of what came before and then decide en masse, like goldfish, that there's some new candidate they want to reward with their momentary favor.
Rather, it helps to consider each candidate who's found temporary favor as a reaction to what came before. Michele Bachmann was legitimate, compared to Donald Trump, and authentically passionate, compared to Tim Pawlenty. But she lacked heavyweight experience -- so along came Rick Perry. Perry had a great resume, but he was a terrible salesman, so Herman Cain, the ultimate salesman, came along. Cain, though, ultimately couldn't be taken seriously, and he was too much of an unknown quantity.
Gingrich, whose persona is multifarious, manages to embody the response to all the the flawed contenders who preceded him. He has the credentials Bachmann lacks. He's articulate, and then some, as Perry is not. Unlike Cain, he's already been vetted -- his baggage, though ample, is already well known. As Garp says after watching a plane hit the house he wants to buy in the movie version of The World According to Garp: "It's pre-disastered. We're safe here."
Gingrich's former spokesman and longtime aide Rick Tyler said voters are coming around to Gingrich after a long period of disenchantment with all the other candidates.
"They had this idea that some new savior was going to come along and be the perfect candidate," Tyler said. "They tried to fill all these different candidates with their hopes and dreams, and they found out that they're all human beings with flaws."
They come to Gingrich with their standards not necessarily lowered, but made more realistic.
"They're looking for someone articulate, and Newt's definitely articulate," he said. "They're looking for someone who can defend their values and principles, and Newt has done that in the debates. But you can't win a campaign just on the idea that you're going to beat Obama at debating. That's not enough. Voters want to know, how do I know that you'll actually do this? And Newt is the only one who can say, 'I did balance the budget. I created the political environment in the country that won the argument with the American people.'"
Image credit: Reuters/Daron Dean
We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to [email protected]. |
OUR MAYAN LEGACY
The esteemed Mayan astronomers left us with little human traces, but they did leave us some monumental artefacts in the shape of calendars. For this discussion we mention two of them, the 5100+ year calendar and the 260-day calendar. We surely found out about their proposed reset of the 5100+ calendar to happen in 2012, generally believed to be the winter solstice. Their 260-day calendar is also called the 20-13 calendar because it’s made up of 20-day months in a series of 13 months. Currently there are 4 different proposed staring dates for the new 5100+ calendar, so for the purposes of this prose-byte let's stick with the more mathematically elegant version that starts on the first day of 20-13.
BITCOIN'S MAYAN BIRTHDAYS
And so, let's apply the same logic to the birth pangs of bitcoin. Bitcoin was conceived in secret sometime during 2007 and birthed into the rarefied atmosphere of cypherpunkspace on 3rd Jan 2009, that's day 101 of cycle minus 6 relative to cycle zero starting 1st Jan 2013. Satoshi had a consuming interest in legacy banking , so much so that s/he coded this cryptic message in the genesis block:
This becomes somewhat less cryptic when we read further:
The Chancellor will decide within weeks whether to pump billions more into the economy as evidence mounts that the £37 billion part-nationalisation last year has failed to keep credit flowing. Options include cash injections, offering banks cheaper state guarantees to raise money privately or buying up “toxic assets” , The Times has learnt. [could Satoshi have surmised that this quoted figure of £37 billion would be just a touch over the current market cap of bitcoin-BCH the to-be-forked version of bitcoin less than 8 years in the future?]
Fast forward to 1st august 2017
That was the day when the bitcoin chain divided into chain BTC and chain BCH after bitcoin blank created its historic block #478,558 that would soon be shared by both chains. So soon after, we witnessed the inauguration of two new chains both with their new genesis mark II blocks. And any doubter could take notice that after several hours block #478559 on chain-BCH checked in at over 1 meg, while it could be seen that during those quiet few hours on the nascent BCH chain, chain-BTC had been chugging merrily onwards first creating its genesis mark II block #478559 and subsequently generating new blocks every 10 minutes or so all checking in as usual with a size equal or less to the authorized 1 meg. And to mark the occasion, The Guardian [UK] ran a full-page article in its financial section entitled ...
"all eyes on the real-world ascent of digital currencies"
delving deeper we read ...
" Russia's deputy finance minister, recently said they hope to recognise bitcoin and other cryptos as legal financial instruments next year"
MOSTLY 500% INCREASE DURING A MAYAN CYCLE
We've plotted how the price has moved over the cycles of the Mayan calendar and there are some interesting correlations between the number of elapsed days from the sync. point and the prices on that day as shown in green on the chart, the final one being our projection. As with most sync points we need to work backwards with the gift of hindsight. On the 1st august 2017 and the 23rd December 2017, we can notice two such noteworthy correlations, so we worked backwards from that date as shown in the chart.
Looking at the results we see 2 cycles where the price decreased by 62% and 65%, but apart from those, all the other cycles since the $13 mark have given us an average of 500% increase in price. So, extrapolating, that gives us an anticipated price of $35k on the 9th September 2018. Of course, time will tell if this correlation will withstand the rigors of the upcoming cycle....
MAYAN MATHS
Why 260 days we may ask. Well there are good reasons for that...
1) THE 26,000-YEAR[approx.] PRECESSION OF THE EQUINOXES
or axial precession is the wobble of the earth, where one wobble completes in approximately 26,000 years. The duration of one wobble is vary across the ages somewhere between 25,765 and 26,000. This gives us 2 different ways to measure a year, the tropical and the sidereal, one currently measured as 20 minutes different from the other.
2) SERIES OF CIVILIZATIONS IN 2,600-YEAR [approx.] CHUNKS .
Now as we speak, we're in the midst of building a new series based on the truth and transparency of the blockchain technologies. The previous series of civilizations was kick-started by this experienced team of 13 avatars, over a century, 651 BCE until 551 BCE, given here with their approx. years of birth ....
Bias of Priene, 651 Zarathustra , 651 Cleobulus of Lindos, 649 Chilon of Sparta, 649 Pittacus of Mytilene, 640 Solon of Athens, 631 Gautama Buddha , 630 Periander of Corinth, 627 Thales of Miletus, 624 Pherecydes of Syros, 618 Pythagoras , 608 Lao Tzu , 600 Confucius , 551
3) MAYAN / HUMAN CYCLE OF 260-DAYS [precise] .
The medical figure for human gestation is 273 days. However, if we consider the first 13 days as somewhat experimental, then we could say that day 14 is decision day.... will the blastocyst hatch out of the zona and seek shelter under the wall of the uterus, or will it fail nature's QA and be discarded in the monthly menses? By we're reading this, it's safe to assume that we did indeed pass Nature's Quality Assurance and merrily completed the 260-day course of gestation in the uterus. This means that when we finally emerged into the unfamiliar atmosphere of mostly nitrogen, we are already celebrating our first Mayan birthday aged one cycle on that calendar.
4) OUR SPECIAL 26-DAY [precise] PERIOD |
San Francisco - Andrew "Weev" Auernheimer today was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison for revealing to media outlets that AT&T had configured its servers to allow the harvesting of iPad owners' unsecured email addresses. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is joining Auernheimer's legal team to litigate his appeal before the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, arguing that fundamental problems with computer crime law result in unfair prison sentences like the one in this case.
In 2010, Auernheimer's co-defendant Daniel Spitler discovered that AT&T deliberately configured its servers so that when they were queried with a number that matched an iPad's SIM card identifier, AT&T would reveal the email address of the iPad's owner. Spitler wrote a script that used the security hole to collect roughly 120,000 email addresses. Then Auernheimer sent a list of the email addresses to several journalists to spotlight the security problem. AT&T subsequently fixed the vulnerability.
The government charged Spitler and Auernheimer with conspiracy to violate the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) and identity theft law. Spitler reached a plea deal with the government in June 2011. In November, Auernheimer was convicted of two felonies after Spitler testified against him.
"Weev is facing more than three years in prison because he pointed out that a company failed to protect its users' data, even though his actions didn't harm anyone," EFF Senior Staff Attorney Marcia Hofmann said. "The punishments for computer crimes are seriously off-kilter, and Congress needs to fix them."
EFF has long criticized the CFAA for its vague language, broad sweep, and heavy penalties. Since the tragic death of programmer and Internet activist Aaron Swartz in January, EFF has redoubled its efforts to reform the law.
"Weev's case shows just how problematic the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act is," EFF Staff Attorney Hanni Fakhoury said. "We look forward to reversing the trial court's decision on appeal. In the meantime, Congress should amend the CFAA to make sure we don't have more Aaron Swartzs and Andrew Auernheimers in the future."
Other attorneys on Auernheimer's appellate team are Tor Ekeland and Mark H. Jaffe of Tor Ekeland P.C., Nace Naumoski, and Professor Orin Kerr of the George Washington University Law School.
For more on this case:
https://www.eff.org/cases/us-v-auernheimer
Contacts:
Marcia Hofmann
Senior Staff Attorney
Electronic Frontier Foundation
[email protected]
Hanni Fakhoury
Staff Attorney
Electronic Frontier Foundation
[email protected] |
The fall of the eastern neighbourhoods of Aleppo to forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad last December marked a turning point in the war and ended a half-year long siege. Four months later, the city is only just emerging from years of brutal infighting and the country is still trapped in a major conflict – but a new normality is slowly settling over Syria’s second city.
Originally captured by rebel fighters in July 2012, the eastern half of Aleppo suffered years of shelling and air strikes. According to one Syrian expert, some 70 to 80 percent of the material destruction in Aleppo is concentrated in its eastern neighbourhoods.
After December, the former rebel enclave was virtually empty of people. Three quarters of its civilian population had been displaced into western Aleppo by the fighting, and the remaining quarter was controversially bussed out alongside opposition fighters to the rebel-held countryside west of the city.
Now the eastern half of the city is slowly being repopulated as returnees trickle back, despite extraordinary destruction, dire economic conditions, and an apparent lack of security. While outside observers tend to view the events in eastern Aleppo solely through a political lens, informed by the terrifying violence that led to the fall of the rebel enclave, many of those returning seem to be adapting pragmatically to their difficult circumstances, struggling to make life work under Bashar al-Assad just as they did under his enemies.
Rival narratives
The circumstances of the fall of the opposition enclave remain disputed. The governments of Syria, Russia, and Iran all flatly deny the brutal nature of their re-conquest of eastern Aleppo, but rather than welcoming an investigation of what happened, Syrian authorities have continued to prevent independent access to the city by journalists and human rights researchers.
The Syrian opposition and anti-Assad nations like the United States have, for their part, indulged in over-the-top rhetoric about Aleppo as a successor to the Bosnian and Rwandan genocides. In contrast to the hundreds of thousands of dead in Rwanda, UN researchers received information on 82 murdered civilians as pro-government troops secured the eastern neighbourhoods in December 2016.
If that number seems surprisingly low considering the intensity of the preceding battle, it may be because those most involved with the uprising were already gone when the government took control – they had been bussed out among the 36,000 who left for the rebel-controlled countryside following a deal between the opposition and the government on 13 December.
The 13 December agreement prevented a final battle in overcrowded residential neighbourhoods, reduced the number of people at risk of retribution from al-Assad’s government, and limited subsequent friction with the authorities in Aleppo, although those 36,000 are now trapped in another conflict zone. Yet it remains deeply controversial. The UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic has declared that the agreement amounted to the war crime of forced displacement, saying civilians were never given a choice over whether to stay or to leave. But perversely, it also seems to have prevented a much bloodier outcome.
Arrests, looting, and corruption
Since December, the situation for civilians inside Aleppo is difficult to discern, with the facts scrambled and distorted by propaganda from both sides.
So far, al-Assad’s repressive rule appears to be re-establishing itself without any major flare-ups or mass killings. A senior military source in Aleppo told IRIN in December that although those guilty of “severe criminality” would be tried and judged, “the state is open to these people returning to their normal lives.”
Little is known about the treatment of civilians since then. The director of the opposition-friendly Syrian Network for Human Rights, Fadel Abdul-Ghany, told IRIN that his organisation is aware of 891 arrests of civilians after the regime re-conquest, but he added that most were men between 19 and 40 who were wanted for compulsory military service rather than for political reasons.
However, Abdul-Ghany said the government has continued its “systematic policy in arresting civilians and looting their properties under the pretext of dealing with armed opposition factions,” while noting the “extraordinary challenges and difficulties” in collecting information on government abuses.
Bassam Diab/UNHCR Mohamad 62, returned to his shop in Al-Mshatieh neighborhood of eastern Aleppo and started to clean up the debris with the help of his children Mohamad and Esraa.
Arbitrary arrests, kidnappings, and looting by pro-regime militias do seem to be a major problem in Aleppo, especially in the eastern parts, to the extent that the government itself has acknowledged the threat to public order. In March, a statement attributed to the head of security in Aleppo, Lieutenant-General Zaid Ali Saleh, was circulated online, in which he ordered a pro-Assad militia out of the city due to “acts of theft, plunder, stealing and attacks on public property, the freedoms of citizens and their private property.”
Russia has deployed military police to eastern Aleppo to monitor the fraught situation, clear unexploded ammunition, train local forces, and patrol the area alongside them, but it is unclear how effective this has been.
Aleppo Governor Hussein Diab previously told the pro-government daily al-Watan that local authorities would increase their patrols in recaptured neighbourhoods and arrest militia members involved in looting. The governor has also made sure to appear in local media in connection with crackdowns on criminal gangs, presumably to demonstrate that he takes the issue seriously.
However, the militias have powerful patrons in the country’s ruling family and among its allies, and the profits from stolen property and bribes collected at checkpoints tend to trickle upwards, which makes it dangerous for local officials to interfere in their affairs. The government also depends on these militias to deal with its security challenges. Thus, instead of trying to confront the problem, al-Assad’s regime has responded in typical fashion: by censoring criticism.
In March, for example, the Ministry of Information banned the popular pro-government reporter Reda al-Pasha, who works for an Assad-friendly Lebanese television station, from working in Syria. While no reason was given, it is widely assumed to have been punishment for his public criticism of militia leaders such as Ali Shelli, a notorious Air Force Intelligence-backed commander linked to looting, kidnappings, and killings.
(Representatives of the Syrian, Russian, and Iranian governments did not respond to requests for comment on the issues raised in this article.)
How many were displaced?
As some life begins to return to the city, the question remains just how many people were forced to flee the opposition-controlled enclave – an issue much debated during the months of siege.
Before the war, eastern Aleppo, which included some of the city’s poorest and most densely populated neighbourhoods, may have had as many as 1.5 million inhabitants. The number began to drop off after the rebel assault in the summer of 2012, which led to widespread fighting, shelling, and collapsing living conditions.
This escalated into a panicked mass flight when the Syrian air force stepped up its attacks on the city in December 2013, in a campaign that seemed deliberately intended to push civilians out of rebel-controlled areas. The effects were dramatic: as many as half a million people were reported to have fled their homes in only a few weeks in early 2014.
Although displaced civilians moved back and forth, the number of inhabitants in the rebel-held area continued to shrink steadily as increasing numbers sought shelter in western Aleppo, in the rebel-held countryside, or across the Turkish border. Additional tens or hundreds of thousands fled after Russia’s intervention on the side of al-Assad in September 2015 (which again intensified the aerial bombardment) and to avoid being trapped when pro-regime forces began to encircle the city in the spring and summer of 2016.
How many remained in eastern Aleppo during the siege that began in mid- 2016 is hotly debated. Opposition sources spoke of as many as 325,000 inhabitants, while pro-government voices gave figures in the 40,000 to 200,000 range. The UN, which was prevented by the government from entering east Aleppo, estimated the besieged population at between 250,000 and 275,000 people*.
When al-Assad’s army finally retook what remained of the enclave in December, the number of inhabitants was substantially lower. In January of this year, some 121,000 recently displaced civilians were registered as living inside the city of Aleppo, then fully under government control. An additional 36,000 had by then been given safe passage to opposition-controlled northwestern Syria, per the 13 December agreement. This adds up to around 157,000 people, or approximately 10-15 percent of the population in western Aleppo during the same period.
How many people are in Aleppo now?
The Syrian government has consistently framed its campaign in Aleppo as an attempt to restore normality for the large majority of inhabitants. “Liberation from terror groups, especially al-Nusra, will allow the hundreds of thousands of displaced persons to return to east Aleppo,” a Damascus-based source close to the government told IRIN in December, adding that a victory for the loyalist side would “hopefully put the city back on track to resume its economic and industrial activity, and be a safe haven for its more than two million inhabitants.”
Since then, the return of displaced people has been slow and the population of the eastern neighbourhoods remains smaller than before the siege, but it is increasing. According to a UN report from March 2017 that is based on figures collected by the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and government-approved charities, approximately 141,000 individuals have now been registered as living in the formerly rebel-held area, up from 56,000 in January. These figures seem to include both people displaced during the extreme violence of November-December 2016 and some who fled between 2012 and 2016.
Hameed Marouf/UNHCR Families return home after visiting an aid distribution point in eastern Aleppo's Al-Shaar neighborhood
Those who move back to eastern Aleppo often find their old lives shattered, Linda Tom, a Damascus-based spokeswoman for the UN emergency aid coordination body, OCHA, told IRIN. “Many returned to homes that either were partially or completely damaged and to neighbourhoods without water or electricity to light main streets and supply social services, such as hospitals and schools.”
According to Tom, unexploded ammunition and landmines have killed and wounded dozens of returning civilians, many of whom are children.
The conflict has taken an especially heavy toll on the adult male population, with several tens of thousands of Aleppan men killed or maimed in the past six years. Many more have been drafted by the government or are fighting in the ranks of one of Syria’s many militias, for or against al-Assad’s regime. Still others have fled to avoid conscription or to escape political persecution. Today, nearly two in five families in eastern Aleppo are female-headed.
Footing the bill for reconstruction
The future of the city and it’s civilians may depend on what sort of reconstruction ends up taking place, but the cost to rebuild Aleppo has been estimated at $35-40 billion, far beyond the means of al-Assad’s cash-strapped government. His allies have provided little aid for reconstruction, and traditionally generous donor nations in the anti-regime camp remain unwilling to subsidise stabilisation and rebuilding efforts if that also means subsidising the al-Assad regime, which, realistically, it does.
The government has tried to put on a brave face. In early April, the Aleppo branch of the ruling Baath Party held its annual congress, with much of the Syrian cabinet in attendance.
Reconstruction seems to have dominated the agenda as ministers rattled off statistics to prove that they are working to revive the city. Minister of Public Works and Housing Hussein Arnous vowed to build 6,000 new homes and Health Minister Nizar Yaziji said he is reopening health centres in eastern Aleppo. The minister of electricity promised electricity; the minister of water resources promised water; and, not to be outdone, the minister of tourism promised tourist attractions.
While some believe eastern Aleppo may soon become the next location for private real estate investment, much of the work for which al-Assad and his allies take credit appears to have been carried out by the UN and other aid organs. According to the latest figures, the UN has already allocated $19 million to clear rubble, construct emergency shelters, and provide food, water, sanitation, education, and other civilian needs.
A new normal?
While activists and politicians debate the numbers from afar, conditions in eastern Aleppo remain murky and open to conflicting interpretations. Syrians on the ground may view the situation differently from foreign observers, in so far as an end to hostilities offers them a measure of personal and economic security, which is understandably the first priority for many civilians.
Until the rebel capitulation in December, life in eastern Aleppo was a bloodbath, with constant bombing and attacks on schools and hospitals. Thus far, the aftermath to that battle is no Srebrenica and certainly no Rwanda, but something more akin to a brutalised and washed-out version of pre-war Syria. It will be a future filled with difficulties and problems – but also a familiar one.
“People lived with Bashar al-Assad for 10 years before this began,” a prominent pro-regime figure told IRIN in November with a gloomy shrug. “They know what it was like. Life was better for them then than it is now.”
Yet, with war still raging around the city, the deeper sense of normality that peace and the passage of time may offer must seem very far away. In Aleppo, neighbour has fought neighbour, and the city will be saddled with emotional trauma and unresolved grievances for decades to come. Though former enemies must now learn to live side by side again, the government’s rhetoric about reconciliation seems to be little more than a flimsy cover for continued rule by force. In the end, it will likely be up to Syria’s divided, brutalized, and politically powerless civil society to try to overcome the bitter legacy of war, and there is no overstating the difficulty.
_________
* Brita Hagi Hassan, an opposition leader who headed the Aleppo City Local Council until February 2017, told IRIN that the number of inhabitants had dwindled to 325,000 by July 2016, when roads out of eastern Aleppo were cut. A UN official put forth a figure of 300,000 in July 2016 but most UN bodies subsequently estimated eastern Aleppo’s population at 250,000-275,000 people. Government sources gave a range of responses, typically on the lower end of the scale. In a meeting with IRIN and other reporters in October 2016, President Bashar al-Assad said the eastern neighborhoods held 200,000 inhabitants, which was also the figure advanced by the late Russian ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Churkin. However, Assad’s foreign minister Walid al-Moallem stated that the number was 97,000, while another well-placed regime source informed IRIN that a final count of civilians in eastern Aleppo “will not exceed 100,000.” Yet another Syrian government source told a well-connected Syrian-American commentator that the number was probably between 40,000 and 60,000.
al/as/ag |
AP Though it's not uncommon for high-profile politicians to trek to social news juggernaut Reddit to participate in one of its famous "Ask Me Anything" Q&A sessions, one U.S. senator in particular has become a prominent and active user of the site. That senator is Vermont Independent Bernie Sanders, who has been active on the Politics "subreddit" section and has made "The Front Page of the Internet" multiple times in just one month. Sanders has taken to the Vermont "subreddit" to invite constituents to a showing of "Lincoln"in St. Johnsbury and a hangout session afterward. He has also asked young Redditors for stories of unemployment that he later incorporated into floor speeches and a running YouTube channel. One recent post Reddit Sanders' presence on Reddit signals a new social-media method for members of Congress to interact with their constituents, along with the more common Twitter and Facebook. A Sanders submission on tax reform earlier this week hung at the top of Reddit's front page for a day, which is no easy feat. Sanders' immediate popularity on the site has been fueled by his interest in many progressive issues that are staples of the Politics subreddit, such "Too Big to Fail," the progressive tax structure, student loan reform and youth unemployment. We talked over email with the Senator to find out more about his Reddit prowess. On what led him to gravitate to Reddit over other social networks:
"Reddit connects millions of users and allows them to democratically rate and share ideas.
"This is a perfect way to let people know what we are working on and to get feedback from the public. I've been pleased to see so many people willing to engage."
How direct engagement over Reddit helped him pursue his goals on the Hill:
"Social media can be a great way to speak directly to the public and get feedback about issues that are overlooked or ignored by the mainstream media.
"I think people are eager to tell their elected officials what they think and social media allows them another way to speak their minds."
Why Reddit's politics subreddit, moreso than many mainstream publications, is much more interested in issues like "Too Big To Fail," student loan reform and income inequality: "I think this is a very important observation because this gets to the fact that the issues that most people are concerned about are not always those being covered by corporate media. "People are concerned about the shrinking middle class, students graduating with massive debt and Wall Street greed causing enormous damage to our economy. "I'm not surprised to see that these are the issues that are popular on Reddit because I hear about them everywhere. "The media need to do a better job addressing the issues that truly impact people's lives, rather than focusing on political gossip and sensationalism."
How lawmakers can engage directly with people through sites like Reddit:
"When I am not in DC, I spend most of my time in Vermont talking directly with constituents. I suspect that, over the years, I have held more town meetings than any other public official in Vermont history - many hundreds of meetings.
These are simple and straight-forward meetings where Vermonters and I talk about the issues that are on their minds.
Social media is a great way to connect but it's also very important that lawmakers spend time getting to know the people they represent."
Click here to see his account > |
City to Bay future to be reassessed after low turnout in Adelaide fun run
Posted
Organisers of the City-Bay Fun Run are re-evaluating the event's future, following a significant drop in numbers and increased competition from similar events.
About 26,000 people are taking part in a three, six or 12-kilometre run or walk between Adelaide's CBD and Glenelg today — an annual event that started in 1973 and had a record 40,000 entries only a few years ago.
The 2017 City to Bay is expected to raise about $400,000 for various charities.
Race director Joe Stevens said it was sure to be an enjoyable day for competitors, but he said he was disappointed with entry numbers.
"It's our 45th year and we'd hoped to have it back up to [40,000]," he said.
"But we take what we can get.
"You've got so many events on now … nearly every weekend there's a community or charity event involving running or something else.
"We've sort of got to the stage where we're competing against a heap of other events."
Today's winner was Australian Olympian Brett Robinson, who finished in under 36 minutes.
The first women over the finish line was fellow Olympian Jess Trengrove, from SA, who completed the run in under 40 minutes.
Mr Stevens said the event would now be reassessed, though he said it was too early to know what kinds of changes — if any — would be made.
"We're going to [reassess] it now … we thought that the Bay-City, the reverse event … may have taken people away from [the City-Bay]," he said.
"So we're just going to [re-evaluate] it now with all our events that we do."
The Bay to City event, which is held annually during March, began in 2015.
Topics: community-and-society, glenelg-5045, adelaide-5000 |
Coolness between Qatar, which hosts vital US security facilities, and the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain adds to Washington's difficulty in juggling regional concerns.
NEW YORK // The diplomatic rift between Qatar and its GCC neighbours has raised concerns in Washington over the effect on US regional security interests.
The UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain last week withdrew their ambassadors from Doha after accusing Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad, of failing to implement an agreement not to interfere in their internal affairs.
Qatar’s foreign policy and its support for Islamist militant groups has long unnerved the Obama administration, but Washington’s primary concern with the split between its key Arabian Gulf allies is what it will mean for the GCC.
“It complicates his efforts to manage relations with the GCC now that the two [members] who are the most credible and powerful US allies are on strictly bad terms with a third ally,” said Bilal Saab, a senior fellow for Middle East security at the Atlantic Council think tank in Washington.
US president Barack Obama is scheduled to meet Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah in Riyadh and perhaps other Gulf leaders later this month.
Washington has downplayed concerns that it is abandoning its traditional role in the Gulf to focus more resources on Asia. But it has also pressed GCC leaders to further integrate their defence policies to better share responsibility for protecting vital oil shipping lanes in the Arabian Gulf.
At a December conference in Manama, US defence secretary Chuck Hagel announced plans to sell weapons systems to the GCC as a block rather than to individual members.
“The US has been pushing them for some time to act more collectively and selling arms to them as one unit,” Mr Saab said.
“But with this crisis now it’s going to be hard to do that.”
Shadi Hamid, a fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Saban Center, said that there are “many places” where the fractures among the GCC will “make things even messier than they already are.”
Many of Washington’s regional security interests — protecting energy resources, trying to mediate Syria’s war, helping oversee Yemen’s transition to democracy, and negotiating with Iran over its nuclear programme — will be affected by the fallout between Doha and Riyadh.
“It’s not just a bilateral thing you can work out between the two countries, there are a lot of regional issues intertwined as part of this divide,” Mr Hamid said.
Both Saudi and Emirati officials have privately pushed their US counterparts to stem the flow of private funding from Qatar to Islamist militants in Syria and elsewhere.
But analysts said that Washington is unlikely to put pressure on Doha to comply with Emirati and Saudi demands, because of the importance of its own strategic relationship with the Qataris.
In December, Mr Hagel and Sheikh Tamim signed a 10-year defence cooperation agreement, renewing a relationship that is important for both countries.
“Security relationships take a lot of political will to re-evaluate, and Washington today seems to have very little interest in using money or troops to substitute for Qatar in the region, even if the Qataris do things that give us rather persistent heartburn,” said David Weinberg, senior fellow focusing on the Gulf at the Washington-based Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.
Qatar’s Al Udeid air force base hosts one of the most important US military installations in the region, essential to Washington’s long-term counter-terrorism strategy and efforts to contain Iran.
The base is a hub for the US Central Command and the US Combat Air Operations Centre for the Middle East, which moved from Saudi Arabia to Qatar in 2003.
“Qatar has leverage with Al Udeid,” Mr Saab said. “It is a very, very important base for the US.”
These ties play an important role in Qatar’s ability to counter both Saudi Arabia and Iran, the regional powers that lie on either side of the tiny country.
Still, despite the close relationship, Washington remains concerned about Qatar’s support for Islamist militants.
Earlier this month, David Cohen, the US Treasury Department’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, singled out Qatar as a “permissive terrorist financing environment”.
And in December, the US designated Abdul Rahman bin Umair Al Nuaimi, the Qatari president of the Switzerland-based Al Karama Foundation, as an Al Qaeda supporter.
The US claims that Mr Al Nuaymi transferred nearly $600,000 (Dh2.2 million) to Al Qaeda’s now deceased representative in Syria, Abu Khalid Al Suri, last year.
In 2012, he also provided funds going to Al Qaeda affiliates in Yemen and Somalia.
And, for a period of time, Mr Al Nuaimi also oversaw the transfer of $2m per month from Qatari citizens to Al Qaeda in Iraq, according to the US Treasury report.
“The recent designation of Al Nuaimi,” who was well known to the Qatari government, “is indicative of the fact that there are real problems going on,” said Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, an assistant professor at Georgetown University’s security studies programme.
Qatar’s funding of extremists rebels during the 2011 uprising against Libya’s Muammar Qaddafi also raised tensions with the US.
However, Qatar’s support of Muslim Brotherhood parties across the Middle East and North Africa is less concerning to Washington, which does not view the group as a terrorist organisation.
The US “tends to see actors through the prism of material interests, but the UAE and Saudi probably see Qatari policies as being more ideological than we do,” Mr Gartenstein-Ross said.
“And as a result they have different perceptions of what the US should be doing.”
[email protected] |
The Democratic Party is the party of government because it embraces a proposition it has done much to refute — that government is a nimble, skillful social engineer — and because government employees are a significant component of the party’s base and of its financial support through government employees unions. Franklin Roosevelt, architect of the modern party, believed unionization would be inappropriate in the public sector. Today’s party, however, aggressively uses government coercion to create supposed “government employees” from whom unions can extract money, some of it for the party.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court will hear arguments about whether the Illinois government’s policy of herding home-care workers into unions violates the workers’ First Amendment rights. It does.
Because organized labor’s presence in the private sector has shriveled from about 35 percent of the workforce in the 1950s to 6.6 percent today, public-sector employees are labor’s oxygen. In Democratic-controlled Illinois, the relationship between the party and organized labor is, to say no more, mutually congenial. So the government declared that providers of home care — including family members — for the elderly and others are government employees because their compensation comes from Medicaid and because they participate in a state government program and are subject to state regulation.
In 2003, Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich, of fragrant memory, decreed that thousands of home-care workers were public employees and ordered recognition of whatever union thousands of caregivers would choose, which was the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). In 2009, the current Democratic governor, Pat Quinn, designated even more home caregivers as public employees, making them targets for “card-check” unionization drives. In this process for Illinois government employees, when a majority signs the cards, a unionization election has occurred.
The state government gave the SEIU and a rival union the names and addresses of all the freshly minted government employees. Pam Harris, who is suing to get Illinois’s system declared unconstitutional, gets a modest stipend from Medicaid to support her care for her disabled son. She remembers a young SEIU employee coming to her door to say just sign the card “so my boss knows I spoke to you.” A majority of caregivers in one Illinois program chose the SEIU.
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Illinois’s scheme is a trifecta of constitutional violations. It violates the right of free association of those who are coerced into a fees-paying relationship with unions — a right that, the Supreme Court has held, “plainly presupposes a freedom not to associate.” Not to associate, for example, with groups whose expressive activities are offensive to those who are coerced into joining the groups. Second, those coerced into unions are compelled to subsidize with their dues union speech with which they may strenuously disagree. Third, after being transformed by government fiat into government employees, they are denied the First Amendment right to petition the government for redress of grievances in their own voices, having been forced to allow a union to petition for them.
An amicus brief supporting Harris notes that “the state of Illinois has no cognizable interest in maintaining ‘labor peace’ among household workers or family members merely because they provide services to individuals who participate in a state program or because they are subject to state regulation.” “Labor peace” is the reason unionization is supposedly a legitimate state interest — sufficiently compelling, in certain circumstances, to allow states to compromise First Amendment protections.
“Labor peace” was an important interest when it entered labor law in 1917 in connection with a national railroad strike that might have seriously disrupted interstate commerce in wartime. But how could people providing home care — including parents such as Pam Harris — threaten labor peace? Caregivers do not work together in a factory or office. And they certainly do not threaten the flow of interstate commerce.
They actually are employees not of the government but of the care recipients, who hire the caregivers and determine working hours and conditions. So what is the point of a union in these circumstances? Enriching the union is the point.
Illinois’s system resembles that in some other states. Until Republicans repealed Michigan’s arrangements, the SEIU extracted more than $34 million from tens of thousands of caregivers. Patently, the purpose of such systems is to enable unions to siphon away, in dues, a portion of caregivers’ pay, some of which becomes campaign contributions for the political party that created the system. The court is unlikely to think the First Amendment should be diluted to accommodate this.
Read more from George F. Will’s archive or follow him on Facebook. |
As someone with asthma, I can tell you that it's not fun to feel as though a 200-pound man is sitting on your chest after you've just run a marathon. Up a flight of stairs. With a gag in your mouth. So when there's news about asthma research, my alveoli really perk up.
That's why I was drawn to new research from a team at Harvard University, recently published in the journal Lab on a Chip, that could pave the way for better asthma medication. They engineered a tiny bit of human airway muscle and mounted it to a glass chip. They then made the tissue asthmatic by introducing a substance known as interleukin-13 (IL-13), which causes lung tissue to react to allergens in asthmatics.
Then, for the allergen itself, they introduced a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine. Sure enough, the airway muscle contracted in the presence of the irritant -- so much so that it curled atop the glass chip. They were then able to get the muscle to relax using drugs called beta-agonists, which are used in inhalers, like the albuterol I use on occasion to mitigate the effects of an attack.
The scientists were also able to study changes in the muscle tissue after exposure to IL-13. One of the things they focused on was how IL-13 affects the release of chemicals known as RhoA proteins "which have been implicated in the asthmatic response, although the details of their activation and signaling have remained elusive," says a report about the research. They discovered that by using a drug called HA1077 that worked to mitigate the RhoA proteins, they were able to make the tissue on the chip more resistant to being triggered by an allergen.
The hope is that by being able to conduct extensive observation of lung muscle outside the human body and to see how it reacts to different treatments, the researchers will be able to create new medications to treat asthmatics, without the danger of having to use human subjects or without introducing the unreliability of testing on animals. Their work with HA1077, for example, saw "preliminary tests (which) indicated that using a combined therapy of HA1077 plus a currently approved asthma drug worked better than the single drug alone."
"The majority of drugs used to treat asthma today are the same ones that were used 50 years ago," says the Harvard report on the research. "New drugs are urgently needed to treat this chronic respiratory disease, which causes nearly 25 million people in the United States alone to wheeze, cough, and find it difficult at best to take a deep breath."
As one of those millions, I know I personally find the research a breath of fresh air. |
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The Manic Street Preachers bagged an Ivor Novello Award in London yesterday - for their inspirational work in the last 25 years.
It was the 60th annual awards for ceremony which honours the best songwriters in Britain and band member Nicky Wire collected the award from Tom Meighan and Serge Pizzorno from Kasabian.
On presenting the award Pizzorno said: "First and foremost, the Manics are the most beautiful people you'll ever meet and that's a rarity.
"For me their message was always clear: melody, integrity, honesty, to open our eyes and never be a bystander".
See who else turned out for the Ivor Novello Awards
Wire collected the award without fellow band members James Dean Bradfield and Sean Moore, and gave a short speech in which he thanked missing band member Richey Edwards for his "beautiful and brilliant mind".
He joked: "I wish I was hammered so instead I'm just going to read the Communist Manifesto".
Instead he thanked the band's record company Columbia Records and amongst a lot of swearing those who have inspired the group including Dylan Thomas, Abba, Karl Marx, Kurt Cobain, Philip Larkin, Top of the Pops and Joe Calzaghe.
The award comes just two weeks ahead of the Manic's biggest home headliner gig since the Millennium Stadium bash on New Year's Eve 1999, on June 5 they will play Cardiff Castle as part of The Holy Bible anniversary tour. |
The history of moronic moments in mixed martial arts extends back to before the was term was coined.
Muhammad Ali vs. Antonio Inoki, for example. June 26, 1976
Ali’s doctor Ferdie Pacheco explains the background:
“Ali’s fight in Tokyo was basically a Bob Arum thought-up scam that was going to be ‘ha-ha, ho-ho. We’re going to go over there. It’s going to be orchestrated. It’s going to be a lot of fun and it’s just a joke.’ Well, when we got over there, we found out no one was laughing.”
Pre fight, Ali was unfliustered:
“The guy comes for me. I just jab him, bop, bop, bop. He can’t get close enough. What’s karate from a distance man? Nothing. When I’ve jabbed him enough, I’ll knock him out.”
The Budokan sold out. Vince McMahon’s dad sold 32,897 tickets to a closed-circuit telecast at Shea Stadium. The world held its breath with anticipation.
Inoki was not allowed to wrestle, and so devised a unique strategy, what he called The Crab, an early form of Open Guard. Use of Guard in MMA can bore an audience. But MMA has three rouinds, five max. This one went for 15 rounds, during which Ali threw a total of six punches, and walked with $6,000,000.
Trevor Berbick vs. Nobuhiko Takada
Years before UFC I, in 1991, the Japanese again put on a mixed rules match between a top pro wrestler anda top heavyweight boxer. This time, no one told the boxer the rules.
(4:45 mark)
Bill Wallace’s commentary at Ultimate Fighting Challenge I, November 12, 1993
UFC 1 was the beginning of what eventually became the world’s fastest growing sport, but that success was not due to former PKA world kickboxing champ Bill ‘Superfoot’ Wallace.
The IFL January 7, 2006
Real- estate developer Kurt Otto and comic book magazine founder Gareb Shamus, inspired by the uplifting Mark Kerr documentary The Smashing Machine, founded the International Fight League. Mindful that the UFC would likely snatch up any stars that the new league developed, they instead determined to build city based teams.
The IFL went public, and at one point was worth more than the Brooklyn Dodgers.
However, as Dana White quipped, no one cares about the Sacramento Goony Birds fighting the Hairy Beavers of Oregon, and the IFL closed on July 31, 2008, having burned through a reported $55,000,000.
EliteXC
2006 was a busy year for doomed-to-failure MMA start ups, and included the birth of EliteXC. Helmed by boxing promoter Gary Shaw, with assistance from son Skala, the parent company bought up an array of successful promotions, and drove everything off a cliff.
Dana White aptly summed up the effort. “36,000,000 million dollar losing retards.”
Sometimes an image can capture the truth more accurately than words.
The brand re emerged recently with entirely new management, and has done a compelling job thus far.
YAMMA Pit Fighting April 11, 2008
When interest in MMA rose after the TUF show did well , original UFC promoter Bob Meyrowitz decided to re enter the sport, in a bowl.
Meyerowitz declared the event a success, and never returned to the sport.
X-Arm
That same year, another founder of the UFC, Art Davie, decided MMA would be more entertaining if it was conducted while arm wrestling, and X-Arm was born.
It quickly died.
A third pivotal figure in the early days of the UFC, John Peretti, at one point announced plans to merge MMA with Calcio Storico, medieval Italian Soccer brawling. Sadly for this list, it never came to pass.
Dave Gardnder vs. Shinya Aoki, March, 07, 2009
The most destructive submissions in the sport belong to Shinya Aoki. Thus it was all the more astonishing when David Gardner waved and in middle of a fight with Aoki on his back, and mouthed a greeting to the host country – “Hello Japan.”
Strikeforce Brawl April 17, 2010
Strikeforce did a tremendous job of bringing MMA to the mainstream, including a show on CBS with Gian Carano and Herschel Walker that remains the most watched MMA fights in US history. When it finaly returned to CBS, a post fight brawl broke out. Commentator Gus Johnson blurted out “These things happen in MMA.” And the sport was done on CBS.
Strikeforce Nashville Brawl by snakerattle79
Paul Daley sucker punches Josh Koscheck, May 8, 2010
Paul Daley hits Josh Koscheck after failing to do so for 15 minutes, fired from UFC.
UFC gives James Toney high profile fight Aug 28, 2010
An extraordinary boxer, Toney relentlessly stalked boxing fan Dana Whit, until he was offered a contract, to fight Randy Couture.
When Toney finally met Couture at UFC 118, he was taken down and exited the sport without having thrown a single punch, or side check kick. Toney is rumored to be fighting Ken Shamrock.
Where’s Nick?
Nick Diaz fails to play the game, skips two press conferences, loses title fight that would have made him more money than all his previous purses combined. |
Click to viewWhat do you do with a 25-meter-high acrylic glass cylinder, 238,000 gallons of sea water, 2,600 fish from 56 different species, and two divers? The Aquadom, the largest cylindrical aquarium in the world, that's what. In its core there's an elevator that travels through a cylinder of glass. As you will see in the videos after the jump, it's simply stunning.
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Located in the atrium of the 5-star Radisson SAS Hotel in Berlin Mitte, the $18.8 million aquarium is 36 feet in diameter and sits on a 29.5-foot-tall concrete foundation. Without a doubt, the most impressive thing about the aquarium from an engineering point of view is the glass surface. Built by Reynolds Polymer Technology, it required 41 R-Cast pannels, 26 for the outside cylinder and 15 panels for the inside, plus 16 on-site bonds. The precision of the work, required to hold that water volume and pressure, it's amazing. Reynolds is specialized in creating this kind of aquarium, among other things, which other jewels like the AB Baltic Mega Mall Aquarium, which holds 43,000 gallons of water but has reef sharks, or the aquariums of the famous the Burj-Al-Arab tower, in Dubai.
It was built in 2003, but we just came across it as we prepare our trips to CeBIT 2008, which is going to happen in Hannover on March but will serve as a perfect excuse to jump to Berlin in order to see friends for the weekend.
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Click to viewNeedless to say, the Radisson SAS Hotel Berlin is going to be one of our destinations, hopefully staying in one of the rooms that overlook this awesome piece of engineering. And I will get my diving computer, just in case we can convince the pair of full-time divers that clean and feed the fish every day to let us dive for 30 minutes. [Flickr, Radisson SAS Hotel Berlin, Reynolds Polymer and Wikipedia via Below the clouds] |
Probiotics are meant to make the gut healthier.
But more than half of the popular brands in the market are making it worse.
People suffering from the immune disorder called celiac disease are in danger to experience adverse reactions, because the probiotics on the market contain traces of gluten.
When the person suffering from Celica eats gluten it causes adverse reactions in the small intestine.
If such reactions happens too often then the lining of the small intestine gradually damages, and rendering nutrient absorption so much more difficult.
Gluten is a protein which is found in barley, wheat and rye.
People suffering from celiac disease should avoid food products made with these ingredients.
According to a new study it is found that certain supplements with probiotics are not completely free from gluten and hence putting patients with celiac disease in harm’s way.
Researchers form the Columbia University Medical Center analyzed 22 popular products and found that 55 percent of the brands contain gluten though the labels say otherwise.
Dr. Peter Green, director of the Celiac Disease Center said, “We see a lot of patients [with celiac] and we have a lot of patients who have it and don’t feel better. We found previously that about 25% of celiac patients use supplements or non-traditional medical products, and probiotics were the largest and most frequently consumed. Those people [who used probiotics] had more symptoms compared to people who weren’t taking these supplements.”
Researchers have found that the four products labeled gluten free contained less than 20 parts per million of gluten, a concentration within prescribed limits.
Researchers have warned people with celiac disease and gluten allergy to be cautious about probiotics as their benefits are yet to be established.
Dr. Green said, “People have great faith in natural products, and that’s why a lot of people eat probiotics. They should be studied and they should be regulated.” |
Image: Clear Flight Solutions
Remember the "Miracle on the Hudson," that gilded news story about Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger III splash-landing in New York's Hudson River? The whole debacle went down because some errant geese smashed into the Airbus minutes after takeoff, forcing the crew to bail in the river as smoothly as possible.
Nobody was harmed in the Miracle on the Hudson (thus the "miracle" part), but airplane bird strikes are frighteningly common, and usually dangerous. Over 250 people have been killed after these collisions since 1988, and they cause an estimated one billion dollars in damage to aircraft worldwide. And of course, the birds themselves rarely survive playing chicken with an airplane, which is an added bummer.
Fortunately, a Dutch robotics company called Clear Flight Solutions has a potential answer for the bird strike conundrum. Founded in 2012, the company has been 3D printing robotic birds of prey, or "robirds," designed to scare the hell out of birds around airports, wind turbines, and other places that these oblivious fliers endanger themselves and others.
Basically, these remote-controlled raptor drones are like airborne scarecrows, taking the form of bald eagles and peregrine falcons. The verisimilitude between their flight behavior and that of real raptors is kind of uncanny, as you can see for yourself in this video of the peregrine falcon model.
Robird Peregrine Falcon from Clear Flight Solutions on Vimeo.
That falcon drone can travel at speeds of 50 miles per hour, and is designed to scare away birds weighing up to 6 pounds. The eagle model, however, can chase off a bird of any size, because no bird wants to fuck with an eagle.
"From a biological point of view, the thing that triggers a bird's instinct about a predator is the combination of silhouette and wing movement," said Clear Flight Solutions' co-founder and CEO Nico Nijenhuis in an interview with Audubon. "Birds don't care about our technological advancements; they care about nature."
In other words, birds aren't going to stick around to investigate whether these raptor drones are made from feathers and blood like themselves. If they did, they'd discover that the robirds are constructed from 3D-printed nylon and glass fiber composite surrounding a battery-powered motor that powers the wings.
But even if the robirds were to encounter a particularly daring opponent, it would still behave like a regular raptor. "The robirds really do need to fly at the birds; they need to attack the birds," Nijenhuis told Audubon. Robot or not, a bird of prey must hunt if it's to maintain its allure.
Clear Flight Solutions is already in talks with several international airports about implementing their raptor drones, and the founders hope to start selling them to the public in 2015. Until then, they are testing the efficacy of robobirds in less hazardous areas, like landfills.
Indeed, waste management is another area that could really use some faux fliers. Landfills and other waste treatment centers are a veritable bird buffet. Terrestrial scavengers are easier to manage, but it's much trickier to keep avian species off the grounds. These garbage-loving birds spread disease, scatter waste, and often harm themselves by eating plastics and other toxins.
That's why most of the preliminary testing of the raptor drones has taken place in landfills, and the results have been very positive. In some cases, the wild bird population was decreased by 75 percent. No more free trashy lunches for the birds, and that's positive for everyone involved, no matter the species.
Chasing birds from Clear Flight Solutions on Vimeo.
But landfills aren't the only areas birds hit up for a quick bite, which is why Clear Flight Solutions also anticipates interest from agricultural developers. The battle between the hardworking farmer and the pilfering bird is as old as agriculture itself, and traditional scarecrows just aren't cutting it.
"We know stories of farmers having to sow their land three times over," Nijenhuis said in the Audubon interview. Launching a few predatory raptor drones, however, might make birds think twice about chowing down on crop fields, lest they be chowed down themselves. Or maybe just once. They're birds, after all. Ruminative decision-making is only not a strong point for most of them (excepting crows, those creepy brainiacs).
Beyond all of the utilitarian applications for the raptor drones, the models themselves are aesthetically stunning. When orders open to the public next year, anyone will be able to purchase their very own custom robobird. So if you've always wanted to be a falconer-lite—and who hasn't?—this is your chance. |
Have you ever wondered what the equivalent of the phrase, “as American as apple pie,” would be in other countries? For other nations, what widely loved dessert produces that same mixture of traditional comfort and nostalgia?
For Japan, you could make a strong case for anko, or sweet red beans, which show up in all manner of snacks and sweets. As we’ve talked about before, anko makes everything better, and it’s about to do the same for the Golden Arches, as McDonald’s Japan is about to start selling anko pies.
If you’ve only eaten Western-style desserts, the concept of sweet beans may take a little getting used to. Trust us when we say they’re awesome, delivering sweetness that avoids being cloying and has just a touch of saltiness. Plus, while it’s still not health food by any means, anko tends to contain far less fat than a similar-sized serving of chocolate, custard, or most other gooey, delicious pie fillings.
Like so many other snacks in Japan, McDonald’s 124-yen (US$1.10) anko pies will only be available for a limited time. They’ll only be sticking around until “late November,” according to vaguely phrased reports. That still gives you a pretty long window in which to try the treats, though, since they’re scheduled to go on sale October 1.
October 1 at 5 a.m., specifically, after which McDonald’s website says the anko pies will be available “every day from 5 a.m. until 4:59 a.m. the following day.” We’re not sure why the chain feels the need to be so specific, or apparently to cut us off for a moment each morning. Sure, it may be just for a minute, but once you learn just how good anko tastes, 60 seconds can be a long time to have to wait for your fix.
Hmmm, I wonder if McDonald’s will add these things to their breakfast delivery menu…
Source: Narinari
Images: McDonald’s Japan |
Overhauling the tax code is a task Republicans in Congress have been attempting to accomplish for 30 years. On Wednesday, President Donald Trump unveiled his administration’s tax plan, called the “Unified Framework For Fixing Our Broken Tax Code.” The plan is reported to cost an upwards of $5 trillion dollars and has been described by his officials as “completely designed with the middle class in mind.”
Trump has promised he would “cut taxes tremendously for the middle class” while also promising as recently as September 14 that the wealthiest Americans “will not be gaining at all with this plan,” but the framework provided by his administration proves otherwise.
Here’s what the tax plan actually does.
Repealing the individual alternative minimum tax
The alternative minimum tax (AMT) will be eliminated under Trump’s tax plan. The AMT, which was created to ensure that wealthy taxpayers pay their fair share and don’t take advantage of all the deductions in the current tax code, is the only reason Trump paid significant taxes in his leaked tax return from 2005. In 2005, he paid a total tax rate of about 24 percent on $150 million of income; without the AMT, he would have paid less than 4 percent.
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Since it was enacted, the AMT has gone under several iterations and now affects roughly over 4 million taxpayers, mainly those who earn $250,000 in adjusted gross income. Tax policy experts have concerns that repealing it would result in a federal budget shortfall.
Progressive politicians like Bernie Sanders have also proposed to eliminate the AMT, but replacing it with a flat tax on the wealthy of around 28 percent.
Repealing the tax deduction for state and local taxes
This is the tax measure that will cause the biggest trouble for state lawmakers. The Trump tax plan includes repealing itemized deductions for state and local taxes as a way to help pay for the massive tax cuts provided to individuals and corporations.
This is good news for Republicans, as the state and local tax deduction (SALT) is most valuable in blue states like New York and New Jersey, but bad news for tax payers in those states. Rep. Pete King (R-NY) a Trump loyalist, has said he can’t vote for any bill that repeals the SALT. In New Jersey, losing the break would cost taxpayers an upwards of $3,500, and Rep. Leonard Lance (R-NJ) told Bloomberg he has the “gravest reservations” on voting for a bill that includes a repeal of the SALT.
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There are 52 Republicans from districts in blue states that use the state tax deduction disproportionately, just enough to stop any legislation in the House that repeals the state and local tax deduction.
Eliminating the estate tax
Trump’s tax plan includes a tax reform measure many Republicans have wanted to repeal for a long time: the estate tax. It’s a 40 percent levy on assets that exceed the $5.49 million exemption per person and $10.98 million for a married couple. This measure is only really utilized by the country’s wealthiest tax payers, affecting less than half of a percent of all estates today, according to IRS figures. This is another tax break to the wealthiest Americans.
Slashing corporate tax rates
Some good news for Trump’s friends in the business world: the corporate tax rate will be lowered nearly 15 points, from 35 percent to 20 percent. When Trump was on the campaign trail, however, he repeatedly promised a 15 percent tax rate, which many experts saw as nearly impossible.
The plan also includes a special income tax rate for “pass-through” businesses, which include partnerships and LLCs. These businesses don’t pay the corporate rate, rather their owners pay taxes on their share of the profits from the business at their own personal rate, which now will be lowered to 35 percent under the Trump plan. There’s a provision in the Trump plan that would cap the rate on income from pass-through businesses at 25 percent.
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The Trump Organization, which still has ownership of, owns more than 500 pass through business entities. This loophole would slash the tax rate on the profits from these businesses by more than a third.
Raising the bottom tax rate and cutting the top rate (while doubling standard deductions)
Republicans have agreed on raising the bottom tax rate two percentage points to 12 percent in order to offset a huge tax cut for the top individual tax rate, down nearly five points to 35 percent from 39.6 percent. However many tax experts say this doesn’t come anywhere near close enough to paying for those massive tax cuts for wealthier individuals.
By raising the bottom rate to 12 percent, the plan consolidates the seven current tax brackets into just three, set at 12 percent, 25 percent, and 35 percent, with the option of including a fourth tax bracket should the tax writing committees in Congress deem it necessary to include one, but the plan doesn’t detail at what income levels these individual brackets will be set at, also leaving that up to congressional committees.
Trump’s tax plan also proposes doubling the standard deduction, which is generally good for lower to middle income families, but when paired with other tax measures, like the elimination of the personal exemption, can end up actually raising taxes on middle-income families.
Eliminating personal exemptions
The personal exemption, currently at $4,050, will be eliminated under the White House’s tax plan. Bloomberg estimates that a middle-class couple with three kids would actually have to add $20,250 to their taxable income to make up for this. That amounts to nearly double the “benefit” they would receive by a doubled standard deduction. It’s again hard to determine the exact impact on a particular family because the plan lacks critical details.
The White House plan also proposes an increased child tax credit of over $1,000 dollars while also creating a $500 dollar tax credit for tax payers with non-child dependents, which they hope will offset the elimination of the personal exemption. However, because the White House didn’t provide at what income level the three individual tax brackets will be set at, middle-income families will just have to take the administration’s word for it and depend on the work of the tax writing committees. |
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Welcome to Middle East Live as momentous events unfold in the Libyan capital Tripoli.
Here's a summary of the main developments overnight. You can read more details on Sunday's extended live blog:
• The rebels reached Green Square in the heart of Tripoli and vowed to rename it Martyrs' Square, as it was originally known.
• There are reports of heavy clashes around Muammar Gaddafi's compound in Tripoli. His forces are believed to be in control of up to 20% of the capital. Gaddafi's whereabouts are unknown.
• The International Criminal Court said it had confirmation that Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam, had been arrested. Gaddafi's eldest son Mohammed is also believed to be under house arrest.
• The rebels' spokesman promised they would guarantee Gaddafi's safety and said they wanted to see him stand trial in Libya and nowhere else.
• Barack Obama has put out a statement on the situation in Libya in which he says Gaddafi must "acknowledge the reality that he no longer controls Libya. He needs to relinquish power once and for all".
• Gaddafi issued a desperate call to Libyan tribes to come to the capital to defend it, while government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim proposed a ceasefire.
Fighting has broken out near the Rixos hotel in the Tripoli, a doctor told Sky News.
Is is likely to be day of wild rumour and conflicting reports, not least about the whereabouts of Muammar Gaddafi. Diplomats told AFP that the Libyan leader is still in his residence in Tripoli. There have also been reports that he has fled. All this is impossible to verify.
"It ain't over yet", Luke Harding reports from Tripoli after coming under fire while entering the city.
Tripoli hasn't fallen ... we came under fire about five or ten minutes ago ... there are clearly some people who are extremely unhappy about the rebels. They are either trying to defend their property, as they see it, or just stop the advance. There are pockets of resistance all over the place - this fight is not over. The other big question is where is Gaddafi? There have been rumours that he is in Algeria, that he is near the Algerian border, that other diplomatic sources saying he is still hold up in the compound. We simply don't know where he is. It is just impossible at this early point to say how things will play out today. It maybe that the resistance kind of crumbles and it is all over fairly quickly or it maybe that we are in for a few days of street-to-street fighting. We will just have to see, but it ain't over yet.
_
The phrases "endgame" and "Gaddafi on the brink" compete for prominence on the front pages of today's newspapers in the UK. The New Statesman has a gallery of the coverage.
"Libyans deserve a moment of exultation," writes the Middle East analyst Juan Cole.
In a blogpost Cole, a supporter of the Nato campaign, argues that the way the end of the conflict is playing out is best that could have been hoped for.
The secret of the uprising's final days of success lay in a popular revolt in the working-class districts of the capital, which did most of the hard work of throwing off the rule of secret police and military cliques. It succeeded so well that when revolutionary brigades entered the city from the west, many encountered little or no resistance, and they walked right into the center of the capital ... The end game, wherein the people of Tripoli overthrew the Qaddafis and joined the opposition Transitional National Council, is the best case scenario that I had suggested was the most likely denouement for the revolution.
Turning briefly to Syria - the Assad regime's decision to allow a UN mission to visit the country appears to be backfiring.
Nour Ali (a pseudonym for a reporter based in Damascus) has this:
Activists told the Guardian at the weekend that a clean-up operation was starting in preparation after the mission from the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs was promised full access to the country. However, the efforts don't appear to be concealing the extent of the crackdown or levels of antipathy towards the regime. A western diplomat with reliable sources on the ground in Syria told the Guardian the mission was "turning into an anti-government roadshow with the whole thing backfiring on the Syrians who were hoping to make a PR stunt out of it". The diplomat said the delegation's visits to two towns close to Damascus, Moadimiyeh and Douma, yesterday, were met by protesters chanting against president Bashar al-Assad. People were reaching out to give their names and tell their stories and some showed the mission signs of torture from periods of detention, the diplomat said. "The whitewash has become a fiasco," the diplomat said. The delegation is due to visit Homs and Banias today and Latakia tomorrow.
On Sunday a defiant president Bashar al-Assad warned against outside interference in Syria and shrugged off international criticism in a live interview with state television.
World leaders are calling on Gaddafi to relinquish power. AP has this round-up of some of the reaction:
• Italian foreign minister Franco Frattini said: "The only path Gaddafi must take is that of surrender."
• David Cameron, the British prime minister, cut short his holiday today to chair a meeting of the country's special security committee on Libya. His office said that it was clear "the end is near for Gaddafi," and called on him to "go now to avoid any further suffering for his own people."
• The Danish prime minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen said: "The Libyan people's struggle for freedom has gone into the play-offs."
Nato secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the "Gaddafi regime is clearly crumbling" (see below).
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"There is tremendous gratitude towards Nato," Luke Harding reports in his latest audio dispatch from Tripoli.
This district where I am is completely in opposition hands. I met one guy in an England T-shirt who was praising loudly David Cameron and Nicolas Sarkozy, saying "England good, England good. Thank you, thank you." It was almost like a Conservative party spin doctor's dream.
Speaking above the sound of gunfire, Luke said he had heard that Gaddafi's tanks had entered the area around Green Square. There is also sniper fire.
Locals say there are not huge pockets of resistance from the regime, but there are what they call fifth columnist losing off a couple of shots and then running away.
_
The rebels' advance on Tripoli last night is a morale boost for Syrian activists hoping that once Gaddafi goes Syrian president Bashar al-Assad will be next on the list, writes Nour Ali.
"The germs of Syria congratulate the rats of Libya," read many a Tweet, referring to the terms used by each of the countries leaders for those fomenting unrest against the autocrats' rule. Others activists used the network to urge Assad to watch the news and realise he was next. The situation in Syria is less certain as the regime continues to crack down against almost exclusively unarmed protesters and without the appetite for military invention that helped push the Libyan rebels to victory. But the impending end of Gaddafi's rule - who came to power just a year before the Assad dynasty in Syria - has certainly bolstered morale among protesters. It is also likely to rattle the regime in Damascus despite Assad's assertions during a television interview last night that he is "not worried". "It is a great boost to morale," Ahmad, an activist and protester from Latakia told the Guardian. "On the street pro-regime people said Gaddafi will stay even with military intervention, but now it shows that is not true. I think it will cause fear. And maybe that those who want to be on the winning side will start shifting." Another protester, a 30-year-old man from Damascus, said he was "so happy" at the news and felt more determination to carry on. "I think there will be more international attention on Syria now," he said. "We are seeing freedom all over!" Some diplomats have expressed fears that last weeks call by the US and UK for Assad to step aside in combination with the endgame in Libya will lead to calls for military intervention in Syria. So far that has been resolutely rejected by Syrian protesters as well as the international community.
Nour Ali is a pseudonym for a reporter based in Damascus
Foreign media, who have been corralled in the Rixos Hotel in Tripoli for the past six months, appeared to be trapped inside the compound due to heavy fighting in nearby streets, writes Harriet Sherwood (who had a stint in the notorious hotel earlier this year).
The hotel is close to Bab Al-Azizya, Gaddafi's sprawling compound in the city which has been bombed repeatedly by Nato war planes. Journalists at the Rixos reported that most of the government officials and minders have left in the past 24 hours. "I noticed the translators we have been working with for months now had also left. So too the state television staff who have worked out of here since their headquarters were bombed by Nato," wrote BBC correspondent Matthew Price. The media corps held a meeting to discuss tactics as rebels entered Tripoli. There have been fears among journalists for months that they could be held as human shields by Gaddafi loyalists in the face of a rebel onslaught on the capital.
Gaddafi's forces control only 10-15% of Tripoli, according to the Italian foreign minister Franco Frattini.
Reuters reports:
Frattini told Sky Italia television that "time has run out" for negotiations over a possible exile for Gaddafi and he must face trial at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. "Not more than 10-15% of Tripoli is in the hands of the regime," Frattini said, adding that the arrest of two of Gaddafi's sons was a decisive moment in the conflict.
The Guardian's Luke Harding said such "slide rule" calculations about the level of control of Gaddafi's forces were impossible to verify on the ground (see 8.17am).
The Libyan charge d'affaires to Britain claims we are witnessing a rebel victory in Tripoli, writes Lizzy Davies.
Mahmoud Nacua, the recently appointed diplomatic envoy to the UK, has just told me he is certain of imminent victory, and says that once it is secured, the rebel-led government will move from the east of the country to Tripoli. "It will soon move from Benghazi to Tripoli to start a new era for Libya," he said. A new transitional government would be appointed, he added. "That will happen in a few days after Tripoli has been secured," he said. Despite the recent symbolism and revolutionary cache of Benghazi, the stronghold of the rebels, Nacua said there was no question the capital of a post-Gaddafi Libya would not still be Tripoli. "It is symbolical and historical," he said. "All the people in Libya insist it is the capital of the country ... because of its history and also because it was the last target [of the rebels]." Asked if he could shed light on Gaddafi's whereabouts, he said: "We don't know exactly where he is but the fighters will look to find him. Maybe it will be hours or days - I don't know - but his era is over." He denied reports that up to 20% of the capital was currently under pro-Gaddafi forces' control. "Our fighters control at least 95% of Tripoli. There are some small pockets of resistance [but] I think victory is going on. People are celebrating."
Ed Miliband (left), the leader of the opposition in Britain, has put out a statement saying that the situation in Libya is "fraught and fragile" but it is clear that Muammar Gaddafi's regime is "crumbling".
Miliband, the leader of the Labour party, said:
Anybody looking at the scenes from Tripoli will see a people who want to be freed from the repression which has marked Colonel Gaddafi's rule ... The international community has come together on Libya to show it can unite and stop the brutal murder of his own people that Colonel Gaddafi threatened. The challenge now is to ensure that a transition takes place from popular revolt against Colonel Gaddafi to stable government without him.
He said that transition had to be "led and enforced" by the Libyan people, informed by "the lessons of the past, including Iraq".
Is Libya heading for an Iraq-like crisis? Not if the lessons from the post-Saddam era can be learned, writes the Guardian's Middle expert Brian Whitaker:
There is also no reason to suppose that Libya will turn into a failed state. Under Gaddafi, it ranked 111 out of 171 in the Failed States Index – closer to Finland and Norway (the least failed states) than to Somalia or Afghanistan. Regardless of the eccentricities of its leader, and despite the corruption and the secret police, Gaddafi's Libya also had most of the apparatus for government that would be found in a "normal" country. The need here is to heed the lessons of Iraq and not dismantle it at a stroke and then start again from scratch but to take control of it and reform where necessary. Libya also has a couple of advantages over its revolutionary forerunners, Tunisia and Egypt, which could prove important in the immediate aftermath.
Middle East analyst Issandr El Amrani is worried that the apparent success in Libya will be used to justify more military interference in the region.
Personally, as happy as I am about last night's developments, I fear that the fall of Gaddafi is already being spun to sanctify the principle of humanitarian interventionism, which I am against, after its misuse in Iraq. The case might be made that the principle of Responsibility To Protect (R2P) will get a boost out of the Libya case, and perhaps the case can be made that no-fly zones have proven their effectiveness. Nato went further than that, though, and that troubles me — because that's not what the citizens of Nato countries were told would happen, and it's not what the UN sanctioned. The usual blowhard neocon commentators are now using this not only to defend the idea of humanitarian interventionism, but to bash [Barack] Obama for not committing greater resources (and presumably more aggressive tactics) to Nato because it might have ended the civil war more quickly. That's impossible to know, though, and to me remains as dubious as the argument that not intervening at all would have spared us six months of civil war and a Libya that might be destabilised in the long-term.
Here's the latest from Lizzy Davies on the situation in Tripoli.
Rebels say they are near the presidential compound but Muammar Gaddafi's forces are resisting, Sky News is reporting. Sky's reporter in the west of the city showed graffiti painted by the rebels on the walls of streets as they swept through western Tripoli saying: "Never again" and "Thank God Libya is free". Libyan flags had also been painted on the wall – presumably the old royalist flag that many of the rebels have adopted. "The whole way in from Zawiya is a sea of rebel flags," the channel's reporter says.
Video has emerged purporting to show the moment on Sunday when rebels stormed the home of Gaddafi's daughter Aisha.
Gunfire can be heard throughout the clip. Towards the end rebels dressed in T-shirts and shorts are handed automatic weapons as they enter a walled compound.
Enduring America's Libya live blog posts this video of what it says is celebrations in Tripoli early this morning. Gunfire, cheering, car horns beeping, and chants of "Allahu akbar" can be heard throughout in the crowded night-time streets.
David Cameron is speaking now. He says the vast majority of Tripoli is under rebel control although fighting remains fierce.
Gaddafi must stop fighting without conditions ... As for his future that should be an issue for Chairman Jalil and the new Libyan authorities.
The transition must be a Libyan-led and Libyan-owned process, Cameron says. Clearly the immediate priority today is to establish security in Tripoli.
The British prime minister says he has spoken to the rebel leader Mustafa Abdul Jalil about "respecting human rights and avoiding reprisals".
We will establish a British diplomatic presence in Tripoli as soon as it is safe to do so, Cameron says.
We will soon be able to release the frozen assets that belong to the Libyan people, Cameron says. William Hague is returning to the UK to help with the process.
He suggests Nato's decision to intervene in Libya has been vindicated. It has avoided the slaughter by Gaddafi of his people. "It was right, because the Libyan people deserve to shape their own future, just like the people of Egypt and Tunisia are now doing."
Our forces showed great bravery and professionalism, Cameron says.
Today the Arab spring is a step further away from oppression and dictatorship and the Libyan people are a step closer to their future free from Gaddafi, Cameron says.
Cameron is asked what should happen to Gaddafi - should he leave Libya?
I would like to see Colonel Gaddafi face justice for his crimes, Cameron says, but it is up to the Libyans to decide – and "first they have to find him".
We don't know where Gaddafi is. We don't know if he is in Libya.
There is still much more to be done. It is still a difficult situation in Tripoli, Cameron says.
This is about a country in north Africa that wants freedom and democracy and wants to be part of the Arab spring.
Is such intervention a model for the future?
"We have tried to learn the lessons of the past", in terms of doing things "legally" through the UN and not using ground troops, Cameron says – seemingly like Ed Miliband using Iraq as a comparison.
Britain has played its role; I think we can be proud of that role, Cameron says.
With that David Cameron finishes speaking. Here are the key points from the British PM's statement:
• The vast majority of Tripoli is under rebel control.
• Fierce fighting continues in areas of the Libyan capital.
• Nato does not know where Muammar Gaddafi is.
• Cameron believes what happens to Gaddafi should be up to the Libyan people, although he would like to see him "face justice".
• Cameron believes Nato's decision to intervene in Libya has been vindicated.
The streets of Tripoli were deserted this morning apart from armed men at impromptu checkpoints, Robin Waudo from the International Red Cross in the Libyan capital told Peter Walker.
There is, he said, still fighting going on, with gunfire audible this morning. While at his home, near Tripoli's main court building, Waudo said, he heard heavy fighting from Saturday night onwards, and knew that rocket-propelled grenades had been used.
His organisation's priority is to distribute surgery and blood transfusion kits to hospitals and clinics. Waudo said his staff had visited one "overwhelmed" clinic where all 40 beds were full of injured people, with new arrivals being placed in nearby homes. He said:
We have credible information that there must be many people all over the city who have been affected.
France aims to host a meeting of international partners as soon as next week to discuss what happens next in Libya, Reuters reports.
French foreign minister Alain Juppe (above left) said: "We propose an extraordinary meeting of the contact group at the highest level as soon as next week to lay out an action plan with the Libyan authorities." French president Nicolas Sarkozy will speak by telephone later on Monday with Mahmoud Jibril, leader of Libya's National Transitional Council, and Jibril is expected in Paris "in the coming days", Juppe said
The full text of Cameron's statement is now available on the Number 10 website.
New footage from the BBC underlines that fighting is far from over. It shows a rebel convoy coming under attack from a 20mm anti-aircraft gun, on the seafront in Tripoli.
Rupert Wingfield-Hayes, who was in the convoy when it was attacked, reported: "It is clear that despite overnight celebrations this is a city that is far from safe and secure."
The rebel flag is flying over Green Square, Luke Harding reports from Tripoli.
From where I'm standing I can see the rebel flag - the red, black and green tricolour - hanging over the Ottoman place in the centre of Green Square, as well as three giant yellow cranes which were supposed to lift a giant portrait of Gaddafi, but never did so. This morning it has been pretty tense, but here at least it is fairly calm. I haven't been all over the city so it would be premature to say it is all over - one person said there had been fighting by a sports centre. But it seems to be isolated groups of regime loyalists who are fighting rather than a co-ordinated offensive or counter attack by Gaddafi's forces. Whereever they are they seem to have melted away at least in the centre. I can't see any tanks at all [from the square] ... but an awful lot of debris. There is fantastic damage here ... A lot of people seem to be in a surreal daze as if they can't quite process what's going on ... Slowly it must be sinking in to everybody here that Gaddafi is gone and he won't be coming back ... The city is waking up after an enormous hangover.
Apologies for the quality of the line.
_
There have been some interesting reports from Libyan embassies across the world:
• AP: Police have surrounded the Libyan embassy in Sarajevo after a dozen of Libyans entered the building, threw Gaddafi's pictures out of the windows, raised the rebels' tricolour flag. Former embassy employee, Libyan Amira Berma told the Associated Press that the ambassador Salem AA Finnir was a die-hard Gaddafi supporter who refuses to leave. Bosnian police are inside and around the building trying to keep the negotiations peaceful.
• AFP: The Libyan embassy in Damascus says it is siding with the National Transitional Council.
• Turkey's Hurriyet: Libyan opposition members took down the official Libyan state flag at the Libyan Embassy in Ankara and raised the National Transitional Council, or NTC, flag in its place on Monday.
• Al Arabiya: Libyan embassy in Algeria announces its loyalty to the Libyan revolutionaries.
Muammar Gaddafi's former right hand man, Abdel-Salam Jalloud, who flew to Italy on Saturday after defecting, has said he doubts Gaddafi will surrender, but has claimed he "doesn't have the courage, like Hitler, to kill himself," writes Tom Kington in Rome.
Jalloud told Italy's state TV network RAI on Sunday that at the start of the rebellion, Gaddafi had mistakenly believed he would be able to retake Misrata and Benghazi rapidly from the rebels.
Tripoli, said Jalloud, had briefly been taken over by rebels in the early stages of the uprising. "Thousands of people came out in every neighbourhood, but the regime cruelly cracked down," he said.
Sidelined by Gaddafi in 1992 after a reported falling out over policy, Jalloud claimed that he recently turned down an offer from Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam to rejoin the government. On Monday Italian foreign minister Franco Frattini said Jalloud could now play an "important" role in a post-Gaddafi administration.
In an interview with Italy's La Stampa newspaper on Monday, Frattini said Gaddafi must face trial at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
Frattini said sources in the National Transitional Council had said that mercenaries "of various ethnicities" were currently fighting each in Tripoli for the right to loot. "They are killing each other in order to sack the city," he said.
My colleague Paddy Allen has produced this interactive guide to the fighting in Tripoli and across the country.
Linsey Hilsum of Channel 4 News tweets:
Half a dozen vehicles full of women and children driving past, giving "v" for victory signs and cheering #Libya #Tripoli
And Sky's Alex Crawford reports from Tripoli on the medical situation there:
Sound of gunfire and shelling continues. Docs appeal for pressure on both sides to stop attacking the hospital. Horrendous conditions here
On Sky News a commentator is emphasising how much potential Libya has for providing gas to Europe. There are already supply lines to Italy, he says.
The LA Times looks at the importance of the rebels in Libya's western mountains to the fight against Muammar Gaddafi.
The uprising in the Nafusa Mountains was so little noticed early on that the fighting often barely merited mention as the world focused on dramatic events in and around Benghazi and Misurata. In the end, however, the western rebels' tenacity and proximity to Tripoli seemed crucial in breaking down what the government had long boasted was a virtually impregnable wall of security around the capital.
Nick Clegg (left), the British deputy prime minister, has given a speech this morning on the Arab spring. He said this about what was happening in Libya:
The advances made by the Free Libya Forces in Tripoli would have been unthinkable just a few months ago. Unimaginable, even, for the generations of young Libyans who have never known a world without Gaddafi. Now, that world is within their reach. The momentum for change is breathtaking and, for the cynics who said change wasn't possible, who had written off the Libyan uprising, written off the Arab spring, clearly, they were wrong. The movement for freedom hasn't been stamped out. It's alive and kicking, and it's here to stay.
He justifies Nato's intervention in Libya in humanitarian terms:
In those early months, had Gaddafi been allowed to massacre protesters in Benghazi, what message would that have sent to protesters in Manama? Sanaa? Damascus? And, today, as the colonel's regime crumbles around him, as the people of Libya fight to take back their country, what message does that send to other dictators who ignore their people's demands?
Clegg also said that the UK was "leading efforts to agree a new round of EU sanctions" against the Syrian government.
Chris Stephen writes from Misrata to say he can foresee the rebels falling out amongst themselves over whether to hand Muammar Gaddafi to the international criminal court, or give him an "off with his head" type of trial in Libya.
Chris says he feels the key to the rebels' rapid success over the last few days was Nato. Gaddafi could not replace the kit being blown up every day by Nato raids, but instead of shortening his lines, he kept them in place. The rebels played a subsidiary role, says Chris: their own poorly planned attacks helped with attrition and the other key role was that by forcing Gaddafi to defend the front lines they made Gaddafi concentrate his tanks and guns on the frontlines, giving Nato handy targets.
Chris says the rebel National Transitional Council has a problem with legitimacy. It took power in a revolution, but if it does anything certain tribes or sections of the population do not like, the result will be protests claiming they are dictators. It will be interesting, Chris says, to see in the coming weeks whether the NTC brings forces from outside Tripoli in to control the capital.
Chris also says he has heard that Nato suspects the Gaddafi regime put its communications base in the basement of the Rixos hotel where all the western journalists are staying, knowing Nato would not bomb it.
Here is a lunchtime summary:
• The vast majority of Tripoli is under rebel control after opposition fighters swept into the capital over the weekend. The rebels' flag is now hanging over Green Square in the city centre. The rebels' sudden success has variously been put down to Nato's help, the strength of the forces in the western mountains, and the under-reported anti-Gaddafi feeling in the capital.
• Fierce fighting continues, however, in areas of the Libyan capital, and the battle for Tripoli is not over yet.
• Nato does not know where Muammar Gaddafi is, David Cameron reported. Gaddafi's former close aide Abdel-Salam Jalloud said he thought the Libyan leader would not surrender or kill himself. The Guardian's Chris Stephen predicted division among the rebels over whether to hand him to the international criminal court or not. World leaders are calling on Gaddafi to stand down. His son Saif al-Islam has been arrested and another son, Mohammed is reported to be under house arrest. The home of his daughter Aisha was stormed yesterday.
• France aims to host an international meeting as soon as next week to discuss what happens next in Libya.
• Cameron said he believed Nato's decision to intervene in Libya had been vindicated.
• In Syria, activists are hoping that the fall of Gaddafi will lead to their own president, Bashar al-Assad, standing down. There is vague speculation the international community may now pursue a harder line against the Syrian government, in the wake of seeming success in Libya.
In Syria there appears to be more evidence that the government's decision to allow a UN mission to enter the country is backfiring.
The regime was hoping that mission would present a PR opportunity, but video today showed crowds of protesters greeting what appear to be UN vehicles in the central city of Homs. The crowd can be heard chanting for the over throw of the regime. As they surround the UN vehicles, some protesters hold up banners in English. One reads: 'SOS', another says: 'We will never give up until we get our freedom'.
Mustafa Abdul Jalil (left), leader of Libya's National Transitional Council, is giving a press conference in Benghazi. He thanks the international community for supporting Libyans and preventing casualties.
He pays tribute to the "heroic efforts" of fighters in Misrata and the western mountains.
Speaking through a translator, Jalil says: "God has chosen that Gaddafi's end should be at the hands of these youth, so that they may join the Arab uprising. I declare that Gaddafi's rule is at end. The future will not be a bed of roses ... I call on all Libyans to act with responsibility and not take justice into their own hands ... treating prisoners of war well and kindly ... We all have the right to live with dignity in this nation."
Jalil confirms that the rebels do not have control of all of Tripoli and the surrounding areas.
He also confirms Gaddafi's sons Mohammed and Saif al-Islam are being detained by the rebels.
Jalil reveals that one of Mohammed Gaddafi's guards was killed during his capture, but he insisted that Mohammed and his family were not hurt.
On Muammar Gaddafi, Jalil says: "We hope he is captured alive so that a fair trial can take place ... I have no idea how he will defend himself against these crimes."
Jalil urges opposition supporters to act within the law, and expresses concern about the actions of some.
The NTC will move to Tripoli when a constitution has been drawn up.
There is heavy fighting in Zlitan, where the rebels are pushing west and south and meeting resistance and artillery fire, reports Chris Stephen from Misrata.
Opposition activist Ashour Shamis is asked on Sky News whether Muammar Gaddafi could face the death penalty if he faces trial in Libya. Libya does have the death penalty, Shamis, says, so "you never know".
Sky News emerged as the runaway winner in the battle of the broadcasters for its coverage overnight of the rebels entering Tripoli, MediaGuardian reports.
While journalists from the BBC and other networks were contained within the city's Rixos Hotel by armed guards loyal to Gadaffi, Alex Crawford, Sky's special correspondent, scooped all her rivals by broadcasting dramatic live footage from within the advancing rebel convoy. Her bravery won legions of fans. At one point on Sunday night, Crawford was trending worldwide on Twitter, while Baroness Ashton, the EU's foreign policy chief, said her reporting was "quite astonishing".
Opposition activist Ashour Shamis tells Sky News Nato's military role must end after Gaddafi is overthrown, but co-operation between Nato and the new Libyan regime will be strong. He is asked if former Gaddafi officials will take part in the new administration. Anyone not involved in killing and other crimes is welcome, Shamis says.
Chris Stephen in Misrata reports on fierce fighting taking place today in Zlitan, 80 miles (128km) east of Tripoli, with government forces continuing to offer resistance as rebel forces push towards the Libyan capital. Chris writes:
Government forces dug in along a line of hills south of Zlitan are bombarding the town, one shell killing a six-year-old-child and wounding his three-year-old brother. The wounded three-year-old, Mohammed Halifa, was this morning lying in a cot in Misrata's Mujamma Aledat hospital with both arms and hands bandaged, and a dressing on a wound caused by a shell splinter in the abdomen. He was sedated but appeared confused, trying to move his heavily bandaged arms and mouthing words. "He was in the house when the [mortar] came in," said surgeon Mohammed Ahmed. "I don't know why he [Muammar Gaddafi] is still killing. Gaddafi is lost, but these people are still killing, I don't know why." Dr Ahmed said the boy's injuries did not appear life threatening. Sources in Misrata, the base of the rebel force fighting in Zlitan, said they had hoped to send a truce unit across the lines to meet with government forces to discuss a possible surrender. Such plans appear to be on hold as rebel reinforcements in black-painted jeeps mounting machine guns and recoil-less rifles drove at speed up the main highway to Zlitan today. Misrata, along with Benghazi, saw a night of wild celebrations with fireworks and machine-gun fire into the air starting late yesterday on news that rebel forces had entered Tripoli. Hospital officials said nine people were treated for minor burns from fireworks some of which exploded amid the crowds. Misrata military council confirmed that a unit of 200 rebel fighters landed by sea at Tripoli over the weekend, bringing weapons and ammunition for rebel fighters and including a team of medics.
At least three international broadcasters ended up with teams in Green Square in the early hours of Monday morning, all led by female correspondents, my colleague Matt Wells writes from New York. Sky's Alex Crawford was followed into Green Square by crews from Al-Jazeera English and CNN: Zeina Khodr of AJE reached the square just before 2am local time, and Sara Sidner of CNN got there shortly afterwards. Sidner was forced to pull back to the outskirts of the city when the mood of celebration in Green Square turned tense.
Kodhr said her colleagues in the Rixos hotel, where international journalists sanctioned by the Gaddafi regime have been based, were still holed up there. "They are not able to leave the hotel because there are Gaddafi men in the building and around the area. They have been trapped there even before the rebels advanced into the city," she reported.
Libyan state TV has gone off air, Reuters is reporting.
Luke Harding describes a gun battle on the Tripoli seafront in his latest audio dispatch.
Speaking above the sound of mortar shells, Luke says:
There is now a gun battle going on ... with the rebels firing across from where I am, trying to flush out pockets of resistance from Gaddafi guys. There doesn't seem to be very much answering fire, but since we last talked the mood has grown ugly again. It is like flicking a switch here; one minute it is flashing V for victory signs, but now the fighting is intensifying ... It is a fluid situation here ... I suspect we are going to have several hours of fighting now.
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the Libyan leader's son, could be tried in Libya and not handed over to the international criminal court in the Hague, Libya's rebel envoy to Paris has said. Mansour Saif al-Nasr told Reuters:
Everything is possible. It is up to the NTC [National Transitional Council] to decide. It is possible that he will be handed over to the ICC but it's also possible he won't.
Saif and his brother Mohammed were both arrested by the rebels as they swept through the west of Tripoli yesterday.
Al-Nasr said he did not know where Muammar Gaddafi was, but said he would be brought to justice.
It is finished. Since yesterday we have turned the dark page of this dictatorship.
He ruled out the idea of a UN force providing security and humanitarian aid over the coming weeks and said the new Libyan government would welcome the participation of many Libyans, not just those connected to the NTC and its base in Benghazi. "Everything will be open to those who have not been tainted by blood," he said.
A UN human rights expert says Arab nations agreed today to demand that Syria allow an international probe within its borders to see whether crimes against humanity have been committed. Jean Ziegler, a member of the UN human rights council's advisory committee, told the Associated Press that Kuwait will make the demand on behalf of Arab nations during the council's special session today.
Lockerbie campaigners fear Abdelbaset al-Megrahi's safety is at risk from the rebels because the convicted Lockerbie bomber's close ties to the Gaddafi regime mean he would be a great prize for the rebellion, reports Scotland correspondent Severin Carrell.
A spokesman for East Renfrewshire council said: "Right up to this point, there has been no breach of the release conditions and nothing up to know which gives us cause for concern. The conditions in the country put us into the position where we will need to contact him immediately to make sure we can still maintain that contact."
Two years ago, Megrahi was freed on licence from Greenock prison because he has terminal prostate cancer. Scottish ministers claimed in August 2009 he had about three months to live; he has now lived eight times longer than that and celebrated the second anniversary of his
release yesterday.
Rebel gains in Tripoli get the Taiwanese news animation treatment from NMA.
More on Abdelbaset al-Megrahi (see 3.12pm) from Owen Bowcott. The US justice department is still interested in bringing the convicted Lockerbie bomber to trial despite the fact that he has already appeared in a UK court.
"The majority of those [on the Pan Am flight] were US citizens and there's a strong interest in the US to achieve justice. It was an act of terror," Stephen Rapp, the US ambassador-at-large for war crimes, told the Guardian last month. "There's jurisdiction in the UK and US over individuals who were involved. I can't speak for the [US] department of justice, but there would be an interest in the US … in continuing the investigation and going beyond Mr Megrahi and determining whether other individuals [were involved]."
Egypt is set to recognise the rebel-led National Transitional Council as the legitimate government of neighbouring Libya, Jack Shenker reports from Cairo. Foreign minister Mohammed Kamel Amr made the announcement at a press conference in Cairo today, as the last vestiges of Gaddafi's regime continued to crumble in Tripoli.
Egypt's military junta has been in something of a bind since the Libyan revolution broke out in February, torn between the need to offer public support to a revolt that was partially inspired by Egypt's own political upheaval, and private concerns over the possibility of violence and refugees spilling across the border at a time of heightened instability at home. Despite Cairo being home to the Arab League - which provided limited support for the Nato intervention - Egypt's transitional rulers declined to offer any military resources to the Libyan war effort, prompting some domestic criticism.
Thousands of anti-government protesters took to the streets across Syria today after a televised appearance by Bashar al-Assad, shouting for the president to step down and chanting: "Gaddafi is gone, now it's your turn, Bashar!"
Al-Arabiya is reporting that another of Muammar Gaddafi's sons, former footballer Al-Saadi, has been captured.
The Associated Press has put up this guide to the rebel attack on Tripoli.
Deputy Libyan UN ambassador Ibrahim Dabashi, who sides with the rebels, says he thinks most of the people fighting on the Gaddafi side now are fighting for their own safety rather than because they believe in Gaddafi. As soon as Gaddafi is captured or killed this will be over, Dabashi says. He says he thinks the rebels now control 90% of the country.
Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the prosecutor of the international criminal court, has spoken to representatives of the National Transitional Council today. In a statement, the ICC said "further conversations" would decide how to implement "the possibility to apprehend and surrender to the court" Muammar and Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, and Abdullah al-Senussi, Gaddafi's head of military intelligence. Arrest warrants against the three were issued on 27 June for "inhuman" war crimes. The statement also mentioned that the three may be "investigate[d] and prosecute[d] … in Libya for crimes committed previously."
Reuters is reporting that Muammar Gaddafi's forces now appear to hold only small areas of Tripoli, including the leader's Bab al-Aziziya headquarters. But the Associated Press reported Moammar al-Warfali, whose family home is next to the Gaddafi compound, as saying: "When I climb the stairs and look at it from the roof, I see nothing at Bab al-Aziziya. Nato has demolished it all and nothing remains."
Gaddafi's prime minister, Al Baghdadi Ali al-Mahmoudi, is in Tunisia, Reuters reports. Rebels say they have seized the transmitters of state TV and that is why it has gone off the air.
The Associated Press said "euphoric residents" were celebrating in Tripoli's Green Square. But many other residents remained indoors and many shops were shuttered up. No looting was reported.
A rebel official in the opposition capital Benghazi said some of the NTC's representatives had visited Tripoli in recent days to make contact with Gaddafi loyalists in order to avert a breakdown of order in the capital.
A government official told Reuters that 376 people on both sides had been killed in Tripoli and 1,000 wounded, but it was not clear how the figures were arrived at.
South Africa has denied it is planning to shelter Gaddafi.
NTC head Mustafa Abdel Jalil said the new government would favour foreign countries that had supported the rebellion as competition for Libya's oil and gas seems certain to heat up.
Abu Dhabi's crown prince has phoned Jalil to congratulate him on victory. Turkey's foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, is due to travel to Beghazi tomorrow. He said the likely end of Gaddafi's rule was a lesson for Middle Eastern leaders who ignored the demands of their people.
Jordan has recognised the NTC as the sole representative of the Libyan people.
Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, called on Gaddafi loyalists "to turn their back on the criminal and cynical blindness of their leader by immediately ceasing fire, giving up their arms and turning themselves in to the legitimate Libyan authorities".
Barack Obama, his US counterpart, said: "Muammar Gaddafi and his regime need to recognise that their rule has come to an end."
The US said today it did not plan to send any ground forces to assist with international peacekeeping in Libya. Pentagon spokesman Colonel Dave Lapan said he believed Gaddafi was still in the country, but gave no further details.
Nato says it will continue its air campaign until all pro-Gaddafi forces have surrendered or returned to their barracks. Nato warplanes have hit at least 40 targets in and around Tripoli in the past two days the highest number on a single geographic location since the bombing started more than five months ago, the alliance said.
The World Bank said it would "re-engage" with Libya as soon as it could be "helpful".
Chris Stephen writes from Misrata with news of how the National Transitional Council, which has been based in Benghazi in the east of Libya, now plans to assert itself in Tripoli. Chris says it is far from clear that the NTC's authority will be welcomed in the capital.
The undeclared aim of the arrival by sea of 200 fighters from Misrata in Tripoli over the weekend was to help the NTC establish an armed presence there. Today a group of leaders from Tripoli's rebels who are loyal to the NTC were meeting military leaders in Misrata to co-ordinate strategy. No word of their discussions was made public but it is understood that the NTC is keen to get a firm security presence in the capital. Factionalism has been a key problem among Libya's rebels in this six month war, with the still unexplained murder of army commander Abdul Fatah Younis seeing units loyal to him coming back to the front and threatening violence against NTC officials they blame for the killing. Their anger was assuaged only with the appointment of a new army commander, Suleiman Obedi, who is from the same Obedi tribe as Younis. Another split has been between Misrata and Benghazi. After the assassination, Misrata rebel army spokesman Ibrahim Betalmal underlined to the Guardian that Misratan units did not accept orders from NTC military command, while continuing to remain on paper loyal to the NTC. The NTC has included members from different parts of Libya in an attempt to present itself as a government in exile, but those members were chosen by Mustafa Abdul Jalil and his Benghazi-based colleagues, and many parts of Libya, including Misrata, the third city, and the capital, may refuse to accept that these appointees represent them. The litmus test of NTC authority will be the ability of Jalil to establish control over rebel forces now spreading out across Tripoli, and whether the Gaddafi regime, likely soon to be shorn of its leader, tries to reestablish itself as a political force.
Here is an evening summary:
• Muammar Gaddafi is still in hiding, his whereabouts unknown, as the Libyan rebels tighten their grip in Tripoli after sweeping into the capital over the weekend. Fighting continues in some areas of the capital, but Gaddafi's forces are said to only control small areas. The rebels' sudden success has variously been put down to Nato's help, the strength of the forces in the western mountains, and under-reported anti-Gaddafi feeling in the capital. Nato says it will continue its air campaign until all pro-Gaddafi forces have surrendered or returned to their barracks.
• Gaddafi's sons Saif al-Islam and Mohammed have been arrested. Reports that another son, Al-Saadi, had also been captured, could not be confirmed. The international criminal court said it was in discussions with the rebel National Transitional Council about apprehending Saif, for whom it has a warrant out on war crimes charges. His father and Abdullah al-Senussi, Gaddafi's head of military intelligence, are wanted by the court too. The Guardian's Chris Stephen predicted division among the rebels over whether to hand Muammar Gaddafi to the international criminal court or not.
• The head of the rebel National Transitional Council, Mustafa Abdul Jalil, said the NTC would move to Tripoli from Benghazi in the east when a new constitution has been drawn up. He urged opposition supporters to stay within the law, to treat prisoners of war well and not take justice into their own hands, and said he wanted to see a "fair trial" for Gaddafi.
• There was fierce fighting between pro- and anti-Gaddafi forces in Zlitan, 80 miles (128km) east of Tripoli.
• France aims to host an international meeting as soon as next week to discuss what happens next in Libya.
• David Cameron, the British prime minister, said he believed Nato's decision to intervene in Libya had been vindicated.
• In Syria, activists are hoping that the fall of Gaddafi will lead to their own president, Bashar al-Assad, standing down. Crowds there chanted: "Gaddafi is gone, now it's your turn, Bashar!" There is vague speculation the international community may now pursue a harder line against the Syrian government, in the wake of seeming success in Libya.
This is David Batty and I'll be taking over the live blog for the rest of the evening. You can follow me on Twitter @David_Batty
My colleague Luke Harding has sent through his latest dispatch from Tripoli where he has been talking to the inhabitants about the rebels' seizure of most of the city:
In areas liberated by the rebels the mood was one of euphoria. Locals stood on street corners, flashing V-signs as opposition militia from towns across Libya swept past. Women cheered and whooped from upper stories; by the afternoon mosques were broadcasting polite requests not to fire in the air but to conserve ammunition instead. Nobody listened. From checkpoints hastily set up fighters continuously let off a festive pop-pop. In the district of Gurji householders were sitting on the pavement, smiling and still evidently stunned by the dramatic events of the previous 12 hours. "We are with Cameron and Sarkozy 100%," Walid Margani, a 45-year-old school inspector, offered spontaneously,
in comments that will doubtless delight Downing Street. "They helped us in having a new life. For 42 years we've had no rights." In a defiant audio broadcast Gaddafi's had denounced his enemies – who began their uprising against him on February 17 – as "rats". "He's the rat," Margani said. "We have not seen him on the TV for more than four months. He's been hiding like a rat underground." What should happen to him now? "We don't want to hear his name any more. We want him to be judged and to disappear," Ahmed Zidan, 45, said. One Tripoli resident, Tariq Hussain, 32, however, admitted to feeling a bit ambiguous about the rebel's victory. "I'm afraid of them, to be honest," he said. Others, however, were jubilant. "Forty two years too much. It's game-over Gaddafi," Abdul Mohammad said, as a group of teenagers stomped on a green Gaddafi baseball hat. "There's no person here supporting Gaddafi," Nasar al-Fahdi, a translator explained. "It was just about fear. When someone says you have to support him, and he has a whole army behind him, what can you say?" One waiter also admitted he had mixed feelings. Surveying the destruction, he added:'There's not going to be much money around here."
Britain has stressed the importance of Libyans avoid revenge attacks as it puts into motion stabilisation plans to avoid the chaos that engulfed Iraq after the US-led invasion in 2003, my colleague Mark Tran writes.
Andrew Mitchell, the international development secretary, said the UK had learnt from Iraq and had laid the groundwork for a post-Gaddafi Libya. While emphasisng that the transition should be Libyan-led, Mitchell said Libya's allies had outlined steps to ensure a smooth transition. "We have made clear that there should be no revenge attacks," said Mitchell. "Libyans have to work together for a new Libya. They should keep in place the sinews of security. The National Transitional Council in Benghazi has good informal connections with security officials in Tripoli and have told them: 'you've got a job, please help us keep stability."
Storify has compiled tweets, videos and photos from journalists about the rebels advance into Tripoli - many from correspondents trapped inside the Rixos hotel.
Here's the latest Guardian gallery on today's events in Libya. There another gallery of striking images on the Atlantic magazine's website.
Despite reports that several high-ranking Mubarak-era officials were on Gaddafi's payroll, the Egyptian authorities will be relieved that the violent conflict next door appears to be drawing to an end, Jack Shenker writes.
The various political actors jockeying for position in post-Mubarak Egypt have been quick to speak out over what seems to be an approaching rebel victory. "The Freedom Train for the locally occupied Arab world has left the station and will not stop ever. Rejoice, the dream is fast becoming reality," former UN nuclear weapons chief and presidential hopeful Mohamed ElBaradei wrote Twitter this morning; rival candidates Abdel Moneim Abuol-Fotouh and Hamdeen Sabahi offered similar sentiments online. The influential April 6th youth movement also issued a statement expressing solidarity with the Libyan people, and urged NATO to leave Libya as soon as possible. Meanwhile hundreds of Libyan expats and their supporters have gathered outside the Libyan embassy in Cairo to celebrate Gadaffi's demise. "This is not a protest; it's a celebration!" one activist told local news outlet Al Masry Al Youm. "Libya needs us now. It's about time we go back and build up our country."
Médecins Sans Frontières have sent out more medical teams out to areas on the frontline of the conflict in Libya.
In a statement the relief agency said it had sent teams out to the frontline south of Zawiya due to a rise in wounded admissions to a hospital it supports in nearby Yefren. Today it also sent another team inside Zawiya to support the general hospital, which has also been inundated with more of those injured in the fighting.
"Health structures in the area have been overwhelmed with high numbers of surgical cases and health personnel are completely exhausted," said Mike Bates, MSF head of mission in Libya.
"We have sent a surgical team to support them and a medical team will also help them organise patient triage, the emergency room as well as post-operative care."
MSF's emergency coordinator, Jonathan Whittal, who has been in Tripoli since early August, also warned that several medical facilities in the capital report serious shortages of staff and essential equipment:
Some hospitals have run out of life-saving medication and equipment. There is little electricity and insufficient fuel to run ambulances and some crucial equipment. The current fighting in the city will put strained medical facilities under even more pressure.
The White House says there is no reason to think that Gaddafi has left Tripoli. President Barack Obama is expected to make a statement on Libya at 2pm EDT (7pm BST).
Meanwhile a White House spokesman said Obama "has not changed" his opposition to putting US troops on the ground in Libya.
The Guardian's Datablog has compiled a breakdown of the humanitarian aid pledged to Libya by EU countries. The European Commission states that more than €150m (£131m) has been donated.
German chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday the world must help maintain stability in Libya after rebels topple Gaddafi's regime.
"Today is the day when we lived to see that the former leader of the Libyan regime and his rule and power have begun to crumble," Merkel said.
After the regime falls, "It is of utmost importance to prevent any further bloodshed."
"We must quickly create political structures which will enable a transition from the current situation into a peaceful, democratic and free society," Merkel said. "The Libyan people have suffered too much."
Gaddafi's money must be "secured in the name of the Libyan people and used to support the transition to democracy in Libya, because the Libyan people have earned that money," she added.
International Criminal Court says it is unclear whether the rebels will turn Gaddafi over to them for prosecution or try him themselves.
Libyan state television is off the air amid reports that rebels have seized control of the station, AP reports.
Forces loyal to Gaddafi have helped his son Mohammed flee house arrest, Al Jazeera reports.
My colleague Chris Stephen in Misrata has heard that rebels from that city have now reached Tripoli:
"One of the rebels here told me that rebels from Misrata have reached Tripoli by road, having broken through the front line west of Zlitan. I am trying to check with the command office."
Here's my colleague Luke Harding's latest dispatch from Tripoli, where he has been speaking to residents about the rebels advance into the capital.
Here's the Guardian's interactive timeline of the rebels' efforts to topple Gaddafi.
My colleague Martin Chulov has written a piece assessing the challenges facing the rebels once they have removed Gaddafi.
Life after Colonel Gaddafi had been a distant utopia for Libya's rebels since they sacked Benghazi in February. Six months on, it may have come too soon. The National Transitional Council (NTC) that has come to represent Libya's opposition has been slow to win the support of many who fight under its banner. As the civil war that enveloped the country descended into stagnation and setback, three distinct rebel factions developed – all with disparate identities and different tribal roots. There were the originals in the east, drawn largely from a rebellious middle class; a second group in the centre, who fought the war's most intense battles; and the mountain men from the west who saw getting to the capital first as their higher calling. In the end, the western rebels did just that, breaking through Gaddafi's weakened lines late last week and moving forward to storm fortress Tripoli. With their triumphant arrival in Green Square comes a sense of entitlement. But for them and for the stragglers elsewhere, there will be little time for euphoria. Now comes the hard part. The real race will be to build a state from the ruins of four decades of totalitarian control, where institutions remain feeble and immature. Building the foundations of a freer society is a necessity that will make or break Libya's emerging new order.
Jane Kinninmont, a senior research fellow, Middle East and North Africa,
Chatham House, has also written a piece for Comment is Free about what form a post-Gaddafi government might take.
The UK's international development secretary, Andrew Mitchell, says Libyans must avoid post-Gaddafi revenge attacks, my colleague Mark Tran reports.
Commenting on the rebels' advance into Tripoli, President Barack Obama says although it is clear Gaddafi's rule is over, the situation in Libya "is still very fluid".
He appealed to Gaddafi to prevent further bloodshed and urged opposition forces to build a democratic government through "peaceful, inclusive and just" measures.
There remains a degree of uncertainty and there are still regime elements who pose a threat. But this much is clear. The Gadhafi regime is coming to an end and the future of Libya is in the hands of its people.
On Comment is Free, Brian Whitaker writes that other Arab dictators, particularly Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh, are unlikely to worry about Gaddafi's downfall or draw lessons from the passing of his regime.
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has called for the Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al Megrahi to be extradited to the US by the Libyan rebels, writes my colleague Severin Carrell.
In a brief statement, the former governor of Massachusetts, said a new Libyan government should "as a first step" towards proving it supports "freedom, human rights, and the rule of law", extradite Megrahi to the United States. In a statement, Romney said: "As a first step, I call on this new government to arrest and extradite the mastermind behind the bombing of Pan Am 103, Abdelbaset Mohmed Ali al-Megrahi, so justice can finally be done." Similar calls have been made by US relatives of those killed in the Lockerbie atrocity. Scottish legal and official sources think it highly unlikely the US government would demand the convicted bomber's extradition because it would be seen as legally highly dubious and conflict with the UK's continuing – if somewhat theoretical – legal jurisdiction over Megrahi. He's already been convicted in a trial supported by the US, in 2001, and as he's been
released on licence by the Scottish government, Megrahi is technically liable to arrest and recall to the UK first.
The New York Times has a piece on how the scramble for access to Libya's oil wealth by Western companies has begun – even before the rebels have complete control of Tripoli.
My colleague Peter Walker has a round-up of the possible whereabouts of Gaddafi and his family.
This piece takes a more detailed look at the possible whereabouts of Gaddafi.
For 42 long years, from the moment he came to power in a bloodless coup, Muammar Gaddafi did all he could to become ubiquitous. He made his Green Book of political philosophy required reading and ensured his portrait was hung in homes, plastered to buildings and engraved on the gold watches he gave as gifts. On Monday, however, the "brother leader and guide of the revolution" was nowhere to be seen. Nor was he heard, unlike on Sunday when he issued a series of audio messages calling on supporters to fight back against rebels.
My colleague Josh Halliday writes that the rebels' capture of the Libyan state TV channel in Tripoli marks a turning point in the revolution.
Hours after the Jamahiriya channel had broadcast increasingly desperate pleas from Muammar Gaddafi, TV screens airing the station suddenly turned black. Minutes later the network's logo appeared at the bottom right of the screen, but without any picture or sound. A spokesman for the rebel alliance claimed control of the media group's headquarters: "The revolutionaries stormed the television building … after killing the soldiers surrounding it. It is now under their control." Rebel forces also claimed to have detained Hala Misrati, the Libyan state TV anchor who famously vowed to die a martyr for Gaddafi while waving a gun on air on Sunday.
This Guardian analysis piece examines the key developments in the Libyan rebellion that brought about the collapse of Gaddafi's regime, including defections, squeezed supply lines, multiple fronts and sagging morale.
Britain is looking to release frozen Libyan assets to rebel forces, writes my colleague Allegra Stratton.
To enable this, she adds, David Cameron is pushing for the UN to draft a resolution that would give the opposition "legal, diplomatic, political and financial support".
Some 1.4bn dinars of Libyan money, worth £700m, was frozen by the British government when it was printed in the UK by banknote printers De La Rue, just as violence broke out in Libya. Rebel forces have campaigned to be able to access that money as they have struggled to finance their uprising, but the UK government has always said it was legally unable to transfer the funds. Now the government has decided that if a UN resolution can be passed it would allow it to transfer the money.
Relatives of US citizens killed in the Lockerbie bombing have welcomed the end of Gadaffi's regime, Reuters reports.
"I'm just so thrilled," said Kathy Tedeschi, whose first husband was on the flight destroyed on Dec 21, 1988. "If somebody could find him dead, all the better," she said of Gaddafi, who most believe ordered the bombing that killed the 259 passengers, most of whom were Americans, the crew and 11 people on the ground in the village of Lockerbie. "It's a bittersweet victory ... We wished this could have happened sooner," said Brian Flynn, vice president of the Victims of PanAm 103 group. "The Libyan people have freed themselves, and we did our part to help." Among many of the unanswered questions in Libya on Monday was the whereabouts of al-Megrahi, who was said to have prostate cancer with three months to live at the time of his release. But he appeared last month in a televised rally in Tripoli alongside Gaddafi. If al-Megrahi were found alive, there was no reason to have another trial, said Frank Duggan, president of the Victims of PanAm 103 group and a liaison between families and the U.S. government. "Just put him in a real jail."
Here's a timeline of the Libyan rebels' assault on Tripoli.
A Nato jet has shot down a scud missile fired from Sirat, Al-Jazeera reports.
Here's the full text of President Barack Obama's statement earlier today on the rebels' seizure of Tripoli.
Here are some key extracts:
I just completed a call with my National Security Council on the situation in Libya, and earlier today I spoke to Prime Minister Cameron about the extraordinary events taking place there. The situation is still very fluid. There remains a degree of uncertainty, and there are still regime elements who pose a threat. But this much is clear: The Gaddafi regime is coming to an end and the future of Libya is in the hands of its people. In just six months, the 42-year reign of Moammar Gaddafi has unraveled. Earlier this year, we were inspired by the peaceful protests that broke out across Libya. This basic and joyful longing for human freedom echoed the voices that we had heard all across the region, from Tunis to Cairo. In the face of these protests, the Gaddafi regime responded with brutal crackdowns, civilians were murdered in the streets, a campaign of violence was launched against the Libyan people, Gaddafi threatened to hunt peaceful protesters down like rats. As his forces advanced across the country, there existed the potential for wholesale massacres of innocent civilians. In the face of this aggression, the international community took action. The United States helped shape a U.N. Security Council resolution that mandated the protection of Libyan civilians. An unprecedented coalition was formed that included the United States, our NATO partners and Arab nations. And in March, the international community launched a military operation to save lives and stop Gaddafi's forces in their tracks. In the early days of this intervention, the United States provided the bulk of the firepower, and then our friends and allies stepped forward. The Transitional National Council established itself as a credible representative of the Libyan people. And the United States, together with our European allies and friends across the region, recognized the TNC as the legitimate governing authority in Libya. Gaddafi was cut off from arms and cash, and his forces were steadily degraded. From Benghazi to Misrata to the western mountains, the Libyan opposition courageously confronted the regime, and the tide turned in their favor. Over the last several days, the situation in Libya has reached a tipping point, as the opposition increased its coordination from east to west, took town after town, and the people of Tripoli rose up to claim their freedom. For over four decades, the Libyan people had lived under the rule of a tyrant who denied them their most basic human rights. Now the celebrations that we've seen in the streets of Libya show that the pursuit of human dignity is far stronger than any dictator. I want to emphasize that this is not over yet. As the regime collapses, there's still fierce fighting in some areas, and we have reports of regime elements threatening to continue fighting. Although it's clear that Gaddafi's rule is over, he still has the opportunity to reduce further bloodshed by explicitly relinquishing power to the people of Libya and calling for those forces that continue to fight to lay down their arms for the sake of Libya. As we move forward from this pivotal phase, the opposition should continue to take important steps to bring about a transition that is peaceful, inclusive and just. As the leadership of the TNC has made clear, the rights of all Libyans must be respected. True justice will not come from reprisals and violence. It will come from reconciliation and a Libya that allows its citizens to determine their own destiny.
Reuters has more on the suspected scud missile launch by pro-Gaddafi forces.
The launch originated near the city of Sirte, a US defence official told the news agency, adding he had no more details, including what might have been the target.
Here's the Guardian's latest report on the battle for Tripoli that states it has increasingly turned into a manhunt for Gaddafi, as the Libyan leader's last vestiges of power fell away at the end of a 42-year dictatorship.
Meanwhile the Guardian's editorial on Gaddafi's fall warns of the hard road ahead:
The always fractured return to normal life is in fact the essence of a successful liberation. Things will not be made perfect. But they will, or they can, be made better. The problems facing Libya are difficult, but it also enjoys significant advantages. The first problem, at least in terms of time, is unity. The National Transitional Council, until now weighted toward easterners and Benghazi people, must swiftly bring in a balancing percentage of westerners and a significant representation of Berbers from the south. Equally, it must reach out to engage people from Muammar Gaddafi's core tribal constituencies. Tribe matters much less in urbanised Libya than it used too but it is still important, and discrimination on tribal grounds would be foolish. That would be playing Gaddafi's own divide-and-rule game after he is gone. A parallel process under which large parts of the police and the armed forces, apart from those with serious blood on their hands, will be retained is already envisaged in plans made by the NTC. This avoids the error deemed so critical in Iraq, where disbanding the army left a security vacuum and fed an insurrection, but it will nevertheless not be easy.
Scottish officials overseeing the parole of the Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al Megrahi want to contact him now that the rebels have reached Tripoli.
George Barbour, a spokesman for East Renfrewshire Council near Glasgow, says the council wants to contact Megrahi soon, given the fighting in Libya's capital, AP reports.
He said the council wants to ensure it can continue to contact Megrahi in the same way it has for the past two years.
PA has more on the news that Scottish officials overseeing the parole of the Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al Megrahi want to speak to him "imminently".
A council spokesman said they wanted to ensure they could continue to maintain contact with Megrahi if the political situation in Tripoli deteriorates.
He said: "Right up to this point, there has been no breach of the release conditions and nothing up to now which gives us cause for concern. The conditions in the country put us into the position where we will need to contact him imminently to make sure we can still maintain that contact." He said monthly medical reports on Megrahi's prostate cancer continue to be sent to the council. Downing Street said Megrahi's future was a "matter for the authorities there". A spokeswoman added that Megrahi had been convicted of the "most appalling" act of terror and the prime minister still believed "it was wrong he was released". But a Scottish Government spokesman said: "Al Megrahi was sent back to Libya according to the due process of Scots law because he is dying of terminal prostate cancer, he is being monitored by East Renfrewshire Council under the terms of his release licence which he has not breached."
Here's a couple of updates from Western journalists in Libya, including the scene tonight at the Rixos hotel in Tripoli.
Channel 4 News's Lindsey Hilsum tweets: "No power or water in our #tripoli house. But it's quiet in the west of town and it seems safe."
CNN's Matthew Chance posted this earlier tonight: "Very dark, very quiet at the #Rixos some gunshots cracking outside. We raided the hotel larder and got tons of cheese!"
Here's another atmospheric photo of journalists working in the hotel.
Meanwhile the Committee to Protect Journalists has released details of the brutal attack on Australian freelancer Tracey Shelton in her hotel room in Benghazi on 11 August:
Two armed men wearing military fatigues broke into Shelton's room at the Africa Hotel, tied her up, beat her, and attempted to kidnap her. The journalist escaped by jumping to a neighbouring balcony.
Here's a round-up of how events in Libya are covered on the front pages of tomorrow's UK newspapers.
The manhunt for Gaddafi is the lead story of tomorrow's Guardian, which examines how the battle for Tripoli has turned into a hunt for the Libyan dictator.
The Times takes a similar angle with its lead story, which poses the question Where is Gaddafi?
Gaddafi 'hiding like a rat' is the assessment of the Mail's lead story about the Libyan dictator's situation.
Under the headline Bloody battle for Tripoli the Telegraph focuses on the heavy fighting between the advancing rebels and the last pockets of resistance by pro-Gaddafi forces.
The Financial Times takes a similar angle with its lead story, Rebels fight to control Tripoli.
The Independent also focuses on the battle for the capital with a story headlined Gaddafi goes down in flames.
Pro-Gaddafi forces have fired three Scud-type missiles from the Libyan dictator's stronghold of Sirte towards the rebel-held coastal city of Misrata, Sky News reports.
Libya could get back to producing the amount of oil it did before the rebellion, according to Markus Karlsson, business editor at France 24.
He tweets: "Libya could be producing pre-war levels of oil within 12 months. Spoken to several experts today who seem to be making that argument."
Nato is bombing Gaddafi's compound in Tripoli, Al-Arabiya reports.
US airstrikes on Libya intensified in the days before the final rebel push into Tripoli, according to data released by the Pentagon.
There were a total of 38 air strikes over 10-22 August – an average of just over three a day. That compares to a total of 224 strikes between 1 April to 10 August – an average of just over one and a half a day.
There have been a total of 101 unmanned strikes by Predator drones since April, with 17 of them since 10 August, the figures also show.
Nato has confirmed that pro-Gaddafi forces fired three Scud-type missiles from Sirte towards the rebel-held city of Misrata.
Meanwhile the fighting in Tripoli early on Tuesday remains concentrated on Bab al-Aziziyah, the compound where some believe Gaddafi might be hiding, Reuters reports.
"I don't imagine the Bab al-Aziziyah compound will fall easily and I imagine there will be a fierce fight," Abdel Hafiz Ghoga, spokesman for the rebel National Transitional Council, told Al-Jazeera.
Al-Jazeera also reported violent clashes near the oil town of Brega.
Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, who was reportedly was captured by rebel forces on Sunday, has been seen outside the Rixos hotel, CNN's Matthew Chance reports.
Chance tweeted earlier: "11.30p local time in #Rixos hotel – press conference with #Saif al-Islam Gadhafi called!! But he was a no-show.
"Official Explanation- Saif didn't realize there was no electricity in hotel. Allegedly arrived & changed his mind – will update."
We're wrapping up this live blog now but coverage will continue.
In the meantime, here's a round-up of the main recent developments in Libya:
• Muammar Gaddafi is still in hiding, his whereabouts unknown, as the Libyan rebels tighten their grip in Tripoli after sweeping into the capital over the weekend. Fighting continues in some areas of the capital, but Gaddafi's forces are said to only control small areas.
• Nato has confirmed that pro-Gaddafi forces have fired three Scud-type missiles from Sirte towards the rebel-held city of Misrata. Nato warplanes have also carried out further strikes on Gaddafi's compound in Tripoli on Tuesday morning.
• Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam has not been detained by rebels as earlier suggested. Journalists reported seeing him in Gaddafi's residential compound in Tripoli and outside the Rixos hotel. International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo had earlier said the 39-year-old was arrested and in detention. Libya's US ambassador has also confirmed that another of the Libyan dictator's sons, Mohammed Gaddafi, has escaped from the rebels. Reports that another son, Al-Saadi, had also been captured, could not be confirmed.
• US president Barack Obama has said Gaddafi's regime is coming to an end but warned there remained a degree of uncertainty about the outcome of the revolt as there were still supporters of the dictator who pose a threat.
• David Cameron, the British prime minister, said he believed Nato's decision to intervene in Libya had been vindicated.
• The head of the rebel National Transitional Council, Mustafa Abdul Jalil, said the NTC would move to Tripoli from Benghazi in the east when a new constitution has been drawn up. He urged opposition supporters to stay within the law, to treat prisoners of war well and not take justice into their own hands, and said he wanted to see a "fair trial" for Gaddafi.
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A teacher's aide at Bay View High School was arrested Wednesday, hours after he pushed a student and held him to the floor by the throat. A 17-second video of the attack was shared with WISN 12 NEWS via Facebook at midday Wednesday, about an hour after the incident at the school on the 2700 block of South Lenox Street. The video does not show what led up to the physical altercation, but it shows the 39-year-old aide shoving a student in a red shirt down into a chair and then down to the floor of a classroom.The 14-year-old student can be seen reaching up with his hands when the aide's hand is on the student's neck. The aide is heard asking the student, "What the did I tell you, ?" MPS spokesman Tony Tagliavia called the video "disturbing." VIDEO: MPS responds to video of teacher's aide attacking student "As soon as the school administration was notified of the incident, the Milwaukee Police Department was contacted and the staff member was removed from the classroom," he said. Tagliavia said the aide faces disciplinary action and could be terminated. A Milwaukee Police Department spokesman said the student was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment of minor injuries. The aide was arrested, and the police spokesman said the case would be turned over to the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office.
A teacher's aide at Bay View High School was arrested Wednesday, hours after he pushed a student and held him to the floor by the throat.
A 17-second video of the attack was shared with WISN 12 NEWS via Facebook at midday Wednesday, about an hour after the incident at the school on the 2700 block of South Lenox Street.
The video does not show what led up to the physical altercation, but it shows the 39-year-old aide shoving a student in a red shirt down into a chair and then down to the floor of a classroom.
The 14-year-old student can be seen reaching up with his hands when the aide's hand is on the student's neck.
The aide is heard asking the student, "What the [expletive] did I tell you, [expletive] [expletive]?"
MPS spokesman Tony Tagliavia called the video "disturbing."
"As soon as the school administration was notified of the incident, the Milwaukee Police Department was contacted and the staff member was removed from the classroom," he said.
Tagliavia said the aide faces disciplinary action and could be terminated.
A Milwaukee Police Department spokesman said the student was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment of minor injuries. The aide was arrested, and the police spokesman said the case would be turned over to the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office.
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When Dr. Benjamin Carson lit up Barack Obama over his landmark health-care legislation at last month’s National Prayer Breakfast, it appears he was … holding back.
Not so in his speech today at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
Watch CPAC live, right here!
“I’m want to talk a little bit about what’s logical and what’s common sense today, because we don’t hear a lot of that,” began Carson director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital. “Liberals and everybody else should understand and enjoy common sense also. For some strange reason, sometimes they don’t.”
Among his “common sense” barbs: Members of Congress ought to remember they work for the people, not all black people think alike, nor should they be expected to, and the current policies and tactics of Obama and his allies are working to “destroy this country.”
“Let’s say somebody were [in the White House] and they wanted to destroy this nation,” Carson posited. “I would create division among the people, encourage a culture of ridicule for basic morality and the principles that made and sustained the country, undermine the financial stability of the nation, and weaken and destroy the military.
“It appears, coincidentally, that those are the very things that are happening right now,” Carson concluded.
The solution to this path of destruction, he suggested earlier in the speech, is an informed and active population willing to hold rogue government officials’ “feet to the fire.”
“Congress has a nine-percent approval rating, and yet we returned people at a rate of 90 percent to Congress. Now what does that tell you?” Carson asked. “What I’m saying to people, to the people of America today, is that we are responsible. This is a country that’s ‘for, of and by the people,’ not for, of and by the government, and if we turn it over to them, we cannot complain about what they’re doing. … We have to hold their feet to the fire.”
Dr. Carson’s full comments can be seen in the video above.
Watch the rest of CPAC live, right here!
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SAN ANTONIO -- Overtime victories on back-to-back nights in different cities left the San Antonio Spurs spent.
Fidgeting with a game book, Danny Green widened his gaze upon noticing he hadn't played 38 minutes "in a long time." To Green's right, LaMarcus Aldridge slouched in his locker wrapped in towels and jokingly wondered whether he'd "be able to walk" the next day.
Across the room, Kawhi Leonard stood up and pulled on a hoodie.
"It is what it is," he said. "Everybody plays back-to-backs."
It's tough to complain when this is what Leonard craved all along.
Ken Blaze/USA TODAY Sports
From David Robinson to Tim Duncan, Duncan to Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker, and now on to Leonard, the Spurs continue to transition from one superstar to the next, all the while never missing a beat. San Antonio clinched its 20th consecutive postseason berth Saturday by defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves 97-90 in overtime, and for the first time in 19 seasons they accomplished the feat without Duncan.
The Spurs belong to Leonard now, and he has snatched the proverbial torch from The Big Fundamental on the way to setting the league on fire.
"They've been very smooth," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich told ESPN.com in explaining the team's various transitions over the years. "The fact they've been so smooth is just a testament to the character of the people involved. Their awareness of the situation they're in, their ability to have gotten over themselves and know where they are at that point in their career, and to look around and be knowledgeable enough to know what the newcomer can give -- well, that's what we've had all the way down the line. Those guys understanding that and wanting that to happen.
"They'd rather play for 10 more years, but realize that's not going to happen. When they see the obvious abilities of the younger guys coming along, they've actually helped them and created an environment where they can be successful. So it's really a tribute to their character and their understanding of what's going on."
Not prone to hyperbole, Popovich apparently knew all along what the Spurs had in Leonard. In responding to a question from a fan in a Spurs mailbag going into Leonard's second NBA season in 2012, Popovich wrote: "I think he's going to be a star. And as time goes on, he'll be the face of the Spurs I think."
That time is now.
MVP candidate
Leonard is one of just three players in league history, along with Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon, to win NBA Finals MVP and NBA Defensive Player of the Year. He joined more elite company on March 1, when he scored 31 points against Indiana to become the fourth player in franchise history with 20 or more games with 30-plus points in one season, joining George Gervin (7), David Robinson (4) and Tim Duncan (1). Leonard now has 23 such games after Monday night's heroics vs. Houston.
Against Indiana, Leonard backed down Paul George to hit the winning basket of a 100-99 thriller. The shot improved Leonard to 3-for-5 over the past two seasons on potential go-ahead attempts in the final 5 seconds of a game, which registers as the best percentage in the NBA on such shots (minimum five attempts) in that span.
"He is a really unique player. You don't want to say Michael Jordan, but it's that type of situation, where you've got a really, really good offensive player and a tremendous defensive player." Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry on Kawhi Leonard's impact on the NBA
Leonard relishes those opportunities.
"I work all summer and throughout the whole season to be prepared for the challenges that I have to face," he said. "You just have to keep going. If you play bad or go 0-for-10 in the fourth, whatever, you've just got to keep pounding and going and going, and not give up if you want to become that guy."
That's one attribute Popovich loves about Leonard. The coach said very few athletes possess that mentality.
"He handles the responsibility well. Most importantly, he knows that things are not always going to be positive in the sense of win, lose, or make or miss a shot," Popovich said. "And that's what's been very good about him, because some people don't understand that, and they're afraid to have that responsibility night after night after night. You think of Kobe [Bryant], you think of LeBron [James], you think of Michael [Jordan], and you think of all these guys that had to do that. They got to the point where they realized the shot wasn't going to go down all the time, or they might even turn it over. But they come right back. They don't shy away the next time. They want it again. Kawhi has that knack. He has that ability, and that's important because very, very few people have that."
Leonard ranks No. 2 in the NBA in Player Efficiency Rating at 28.68, behind Oklahoma City guard Russell Westbrook's 29.81, though Leonard's Spurs are winning games at a much higher rate than Westbrook's Thunder -- .790 for the Spurs compared with .556 for the Thunder.
Kawhi Leonard lets loose the winning shot over Indiana's Paul George, capping a 31-point effort in the Spurs' victory on March 1. Soobum Im/USA TODAY Sports
Leonard also ranks third in win shares (11.3), just behind Harden and Kevin Durant. Leonard and Durant are the only players in the league to rank in the top three in both win shares and PER, and they are the only two players to rank in the top 10 of both offensive and defensive win shares.
Leonard is averaging a career-high 26.1 points per game, and according to Elias Sports Bureau, he is one of just three players to increase his scoring average in each of the past five seasons, joining Gordon Hayward (six straight) and Jimmy Butler. Leonard has also produced five games this season in which he poured in 30 points to go with four steals or more. No other player has produced more than two such outings.
"He is a really unique player," New Orleans Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said. "You don't want to say Michael Jordan, but it's that type of situation, where you've got a really, really good offensive player and a tremendous defensive player. He impacts the game. There's very few guys in this league that can impact the game on both ends of the floor like he can. For the last 15 years, they've been flying under the radar. So it's nothing new. They're just a very good team, and they got a very great player. And, yeah, where they are record-wise and everything, he definitely has to be heavily in the conversation for MVP."
Last year's runner-up in the MVP voting, Leonard said he isn't concerned about where he'll fare in a race that also includes James Harden, James, Durant and Westbrook. In fact, Leonard said "it's pretty easy" for him to block out the outside noise.
"I don't watch ESPN, don't listen to the radio," Leonard said. "I just go home and deal with my family."
But even they have to be discussing what's expected to be a heated MVP race, right?
"It depends on who I'm with, but we don't really talk about it," Leonard said. "I'll just be chillin'. We could talk about it, but we've got to wait and see really."
Waiting to be 'the guy'
Waiting seems to be what Leonard has done most of his career in the shadow of Duncan, a future first-ballot Hall of Famer. But Leonard never became impatient.
"I was just coming in and doing my role, and that's basically it," Leonard told ESPN.com. "I was working, hoping that I could get an opportunity to be able to lead. That's all it was, just being focused, and just trying to be the best player I could be at the time."
Teammates certainly took notice.
Editor's Picks Drug test can't wait after Leonard lifts Spurs Kawhi Leonard elevated his candidacy in the MVP race Monday night. His reflections were then made to wait, as the Spurs forward was tabbed for a random drug test after the win over Houston.
"It's been good to watch, because he's taken the necessary steps to be able to get to where he is today. He didn't jump any steps," Patty Mills said. "He went through the route in terms of learning from Timmy, learning from Tony [Parker] and Manu [Ginobili] and understanding what it takes to be able to be who he is now. He really learned and evolved into the player he is by doing all the little things, understanding what this culture is all about, understanding who he is as well in trying to work all that in together.
"So it's been good to watch, because he's deserved it. He really has. He's understanding what his expectations are from the coaching staff and from the whole organization, and he's just been a professional about it. He's fallen into that category of no hurrah like Timmy, and has just gone about business day in and day out. I wasn't here at the beginning years of Timmy, but I've heard the stories about him just getting up every night for a game and producing. Well, that's what Kawhi has been doing this year. In that sense, it's really impressive to watch."
After San Antonio's loss to the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs in 2014-15, Leonard discussed with Popovich the improvements he needed to make for 2015-16. Popovich, expecting opponents to start regularly fronting and double-teaming Leonard, asked him to become more comfortable in the post.
So Leonard learned to improve his decision-making in the post and spent that summer watching film of Charles Barkley to learn all the aspects of post play.
After last season's loss to Oklahoma City in the Western Conference semifinals, Leonard spent the summer improving his ball-handling and moves on catch-and-shoot situations.
All the work continues to manifest itself on the court.
"I've been here watching him throughout the years blossom and grow, which has been kind of fun for me and interesting," Green said. "Each year, he's always come back with something new, something better, and he's always gotten better. He's worked on his game. He has more poise and is better at decision making. You can tell he wants to be one of the greats in this game, and he works at it."
Popovich agreed, saying Leonard has handled all the new responsibilities "fantastically."
"He's really quiet as we all know, very respectful as we all know. But he has a hunger in him as far as wanting to be a great player," Popovich said. "Everything that I've given him, he's taken it seriously, and he handles criticism because he wants to learn. He just adds something to his game every season."
Having been involved in San Antonio's continuous passing of the torch since the age of 19, Parker, now 34, is fine with Leonard now carrying the load. Such is the circle of life in San Antonio.
"I love it," Parker said. "I think the evolution of anybody's career is as you get older, you have to adjust to who are the main guys on your team [and] try to be a factor just like Manu did, just like Timmy did. I just try and do the same thing."
Someday, Leonard will find himself in a similar situation. But until then, the plan for Leonard is to continue to ascend in his new leadership role, and hopefully -- like Robinson, Duncan, Ginobili and Parker before him -- take the Spurs on a few more championship runs.
After all, this is what Leonard has always wanted. Leonard let out a rare laugh when asked whether the enormity of this current undertaking ever scared him.
"There's nothing to be scared of," he said. "We're playing basketball. The only thing that could happen is you failing. But as long as you're going hard, there's nothing to be scared of for me. I don't know what there is to be scared of." |
You would cry, too, if it happened to you.
Yes, it’s Senator John Ensign’s (52nd) birthday today. And yes, our junior senator is crying us a river. In the form of complaining that he is a victim of “gotcha” journalism.
Yes, really.
When asked whether he’s been subpoenaed in the grand jury probe into his after-affair attempts at damage control – some of which may have been slightly illegal – he rebuked the press for its coverage of the scandal (per Politico):
“Seeking of the truth should be not only part of the Justice Department and part of our judicial system, but also should be … a goal of reporters today,” Ensign said. “Unfortunately, too much of our press is … (1) biased or (2) just about ‘gotcha.’”
And:
“It’s just, I have a responsibility to do my job and, as part of this republic that we have, the fourth estate does too, and they’re both important roles,” he told POLITICO. “Unfortunately, some in my part don’t give it a good name. But some in your part don’t give it a good name, [and] it’s all of us trying to do our best. That’s all I’m trying to say.”
And also:
“Whether it’s Republican or Democrat, it’s about nailing somebody,” Ensign said. “So sometimes people look at something, and whether or not it’s true, they want to try to nail them on it.”
Ah, the melodramatic machinations of a once a rising star in the GOP galaxy. There are few things more painful to watch than a graceless fall from grace.
I borrow from an email sent out this morning by the DSCC and and offer Ensign this birthday gift and a token of sympathy. Behold, the world’s smallest violin: |
Project Noah (Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards) may be expiring in February but the weather bureau will adopt it and will also be institutionalized in other government agencies involved in disaster risk reduction and management, according to the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).
In a statement on Monday, Science Secretary Fortunato de la Peña also said proponents of Project Noah could submit another project proposal in a related area, which would undergo evaluation and consideration for funding.
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“It has to be understood that research projects have start and end dates. In this particular project, the promised deliverables have been met and are now ready for adoption and use,” said De la Peña.
He explained that Project Noah was one of the research and development initiatives funded by the DOST.
The state-run flood and rain forecasting system was launched in 2011 under its disaster risk reduction program following Tropical Storm “Sendong,” which killed hundreds of residents in northern Mindanao.
Most of its component projects were completed in 2015 but it was extended last year “to cover additional targets and deliverables,” said the DOST chief.
De la Peña had to make a clarification on the status of Project Noah after its executive director Mahar Lagmay revealed on Twitter that the government was shutting down the project due to lack of funds and support.
Lagmay claimed that Project Noah was undermined under the previous administration “and they are still doing the same” under the new administration.
De la Peña explained that the project was given an extension until the end of February this year with a condition that the technologies that would be used to continue its operations would be transferred to the government agencies that had the relevant mandate.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) had been identified as the principal government agency that would take over the operations of the delivered outputs or technologies of Project Noah, he said.
“The outcomes or result of Project Noah is now due for use and adoption, specifically by Pagasa. Its adoption ensures the Noah tools to be institutionalized,” he said.
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He also noted that the details of the turnover had already been discussed by DOST and Pagasa officials with Lagmay late last year.
But he said that if the researcher had a new project proposal similar to Project Noah, “it can be submitted, evaluated and considered for funding.”
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Minneapolis has been named “The Healthiest City in America”, and GetKnit is committed to inspiring our community to maintain that accolade for many years to come. We are excited to continue the fun this fall with a fresh take on fitness by inviting you to join us for a Yoga class in a new and intoxicating environment – a brewery! Get a jump-start on your active weekend fun with this exclusive experience which includes a morning Yoga fitness class at the brewery followed by a sampling of refreshing local brews.
To help kick off this series this fall we’ve just added Insight Brewing Company (Saturday, September 24) and Bent Brewstillery (Saturday, October 15) to our line-up!
Upon arrival at your selected brewery, opened early just for us, your local GetKnit Gurus will get you checked-in and set up on one of our Yoga mats in a one-of-a-kind “classroom” among kegs and beer fermentation tanks or on a unique patio.
Once everyone has arrived, the professional Yoga instructors from YogaFresh of Woodbury will begin our hour-long private class. We will be led through various poses and postures that are sure to challenge both beginner Yogis and veterans of Vinyasa.
After toning our bodies and focusing our minds, we will turn our attention to communal health as we join together to enjoy flights of five brews from our brewery of choice.
After joining GetKnit for a little exercise, some laughs, and a few brews, you can leave with your head held high knowing you have done your part in helping defend our city’s “healthy” title – we’ll drink to that! |
August 2, 2009 — Patrick Zimmerman
Bananas: The Insatiable Greedy Urges of Banana Lust!
Bananas is an extremely humorous 3-min. animated short film by Zach Parrish, which won a First Place Award in the 2009 SIGGRAPH Competition. Bananas tells the funny story of a monkey named Bruce, who’s a subject in a behavior modification experiment. The story explores the urges of Bruce’s banana-lust, and just how far he’ll go to satisfy his greedy desires. Bruce really wants a banana, but when he’s given one banana, he wants even more. He gets a little bit greedy and becomes extremely upset when his new-found supply of delicious bananas seems to dry up. Suddenly, he starts to imagine the sounds of that sad old song, “Yes, we have no bananas….” Finally, he does get what’s coming to him, but it’s a very big surprise and not at all what he was expecting!
Bananas: The Insatiable Greedy Urges of Banana Lust!
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Russian President Vladimir Putin calls the United States a threat to Russia's national security in a New Year's Eve official document.
Russia’s expanded role internationally has caused “counteraction from the USA and its allies, which are striving to retain their dominance in global affairs,” the document reads, according to Reuters.
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The updated assessment, called "About the Strategy of National Security of Russian Federation," is the latest sign of the tension between Moscow and the West.
The previous version, from 2009, mentions neither the United States nor its NATO allies, according to Reuters.
Relations between Moscow and the West soured after the Russian forces annexed Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014. The West also accuses Russia of backing separatists in eastern Ukraine, which Russia denies.
More recently, Russia’s intervention in Syria has drawn rebuke from Western powers. Russia began launching airstrikes in September, saying it was fighting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). U.S. officials have said the strikes are instead bolstering Syrian President Bashar Assad and targeting Western-backed rebels.
The national security documents say Russia’s increased role in international conflicts brings it new threats.
“The strengthening of Russia happens against the background of new threats to the national security, which has complex and interrelated nature," the document says, according to Reuters.
With regard to Ukraine, the document says there is a divided society and military conflict because the United States and European Union supported an “anti-constitutional coup d'etat,” Reuters reported.
The document also cited as threats the expansions of both NATO and a U.S. network of military-biological laboratories in countries adjacent to Russia. |
Interpreted, dynamically typed languages such as Python, Ruby or Javascript are: easy to use, allow fast development and have a great number of libraries. Unfortunately, they are not very good when it comes to performance.
For this reason, I felt the need to look for something different for some projects. However, I didn't want to lose the simplicity other languages gave me. Essentially, I wanted something that could give me:
Good performance
Easy concurrency
Easy error handling
Safety
Fast development time
Good libraries to ease my development
Go was the obvious choice - I had previously worked with it and knew I could achieve all of these points.
So what is Go?
From the Go documentation page
Go is an attempt to combine the ease of programming of an interpreted, dynamically typed language, with the efficiency and safety of a statically typed, compiled language.
An attempt which I believe was mostly successful. But let's dive into some points to understand Go's beauty.
Simple and easy
Go is a "simple" language - it only contains 25 keywords (Python 3.5.0: 33, Ruby 2.2.0: 41, ANSI C: 32). Obviously, a small number of keywords doesn't necessarily mean it's easy - Brainfuck only has 8 and its name suggests how easy it is to program in it.
And Go does have trade-offs for using such a small number of keywords. For example, it only has one loop (keyword for ), which can be seen has a nice thing since you really only have to know one word. But it can take several forms:
for condition behaves like a while
behaves like a while for i,v := range list ranges over a list
ranges over a list for i=0;i<10;i++ for a C style classical for
which might confuse/annoy some people.
However, I do believe Go is easy to understand and learn, and you can see it for yourself by doing the
Golang Tour, which will teach you the essentials.
Standard Library
Furthermore, Go has got a robust standard library which allows quick and easy development of common essential tasks:
net (http, mail)
archives (zip, tar, gzip)
encodings (json, csv)
cryptography (aes, des, md5)
html template system
generic sql drivers
logging system
and many others...
Easy to read
Any programmer can tell you that reading other people's (including your past self) code is a daunting, hair-ripping task. However, it's usually inevitable, so it is nice to see a language which in a way facilitates this.
What I'm talking about is the gofmt tool which formats all Go code the same way, thus making it easier to: read,
write, maintain, and eliminates endless discussions and Stackoverflow questions about whether one should use spaces or tabs, brace positioning, etc...
Sure it might not be the kind of formatting you are accustomed to, or even like, but, at least, it's always the same. Whether I am reading library A, B, C, or D the format is always the same which facilitates source code reading.
gofmt is not the only tool which Go has to offer, many more are available. To name some:
golint to check for style violations
to check for style violations go vet to check for programming errors
to check for programming errors go test to test the code
to test the code go tool cover to get coverage reports (given tests)
to get coverage reports (given tests) go doc to generate documentation
This great tooling ecosystem makes it so that I don't have to worry about many things when patching a bug for some library. Is my formatting correct? Is the testing library I am using the correct one? Is the style correct?
Being able to just focus on the logic instead of all those details when contributing to a project is one of the aspects I love about Go. I hope to see more languages adopt this in the future.
Let's get to the code
But enough talk, let's see an example of how easy and faster Go can be when compared to other options
REST API
Recently I needed to develop a REST API and decided to choose Go because I wanted good performance.
At the time I went with the Gin Framework which would result in the following code:
package main import "github.com/gin-gonic/gin" func main() { r := gin.Default() r.GET("/", func(c *gin.Context) { c.String(200, "Hello World!") }) r.Run(":8080") }
Which as you can see is very straight forward. You setup the framework with default options, setup the route and run it. However, more recently I have started to use the standard http library:
package main import ( "fmt" "net/http" ) func main() { http.HandleFunc("/", func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) { fmt.Fprintf(w, "Hello World!") }) http.ListenAndServe(":8080", nil) }
which is as simple as the framework above.
Furthermore, I was also interested in checking out the performance gains against Python and Ruby (languages I would probably use by default for this kind of task).
Figure 1: Comparison of performance for single page http servers
As you can see in the picture above Go was able to perform much better than the python and ruby examples. Small note: this was just a quick comparison, it is by no means a proper analysis, as a sub-note always
be wary of benchmarks you find on the web.
Obviously, I wanted to do more complex things, but this small example shows how powerful Go can be whilst keeping things simple for the developer.
Conclusion
Go can be very powerful while relatively simple. Certainly, you can find faster languages and easier languages but the equilibrium Go gives between optimization and complexity is ideal for a lot of use cases I believe. |
Three Toronto police officers have been charged with assault causing bodily harm following a probe into a 2013 arrest that landed a man in hospital with a "serious injury," the Special Investigations Unit announced Tuesday.
The three officers — Const. John Darnell, Const. Piara Dhaliwal and Const. Adam Morris — were involved in the arrest of a 46-year-old man in February 2013.
"While transporting the man to the police station, there was an interaction between the man and three officers," according to a statement from the SIU.
The man who was arrested was later taken to Humber River Regional Hospital and was found to have been seriously injured, the SIU probe found.
The three officers will appear in provincial court on Nov. 3.
The SIU began investigating the incident in 2015, although it occurred two years earlier. The arm's length agency, which investigates incidents involving police that result in a civilian injury or death, said in a release that it began looking into what happened as soon as it learned of the incident. |
Alberta is promising to offer the abortion pill free of charge to all women.
The decision from Rachel Notley's NDP government makes Alberta the second province in Canada to say that it will offer universal access to Mifegymiso, a two-drug medical abortion kit that received an important endorsement from an expert committee on Thursday.
"The Alberta government strongly supports women's reproductive health options," Tim Kulak, a spokesman for Alberta Health, said in response to questions from The Globe and Mail. "In light of the [Common Drug Review] Canadian Drug Expert Committee's positive listing recommendation, Alberta will be taking steps to make this drug available free of charge to all women in Alberta who may need it."
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Related: Canada considering global fund to counter Trump abortion directive
The province does not yet have a firm date for when public funding will take effect.
Other provincial governments canvassed by The Globe said they need more time to consider public funding for the medication, which became available in Canada in January, usually at a price of $300.
Right now, women have to pay that cost out-of-pocket unless they have a private health insurer that covers the drug.
Some provinces, including Manitoba and Ontario, said they would wait for the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance (pCPA), which negotiates confidential deals on behalf of the provincial, territorial and federal public drug plans, to reach an agreement with Celopharma Inc., Mifegymiso's Canadian distributor.
"This [pCPA] process will occur before we make a decision whether to add Mifegymiso to our provincial drug formulary," a spokeswoman for the government of Manitoba said by e-mail.
Every province except New Brunswick – which earlier this month promised public funding for the abortion pill – has been saying for months that it would not move to cover Mifegymiso until the Common Drug Review, which advises the public drug plans on whether to cover new medications, weighed in.
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The CDR's expert committee released its final report on Thursday.
As first reported in The Globe, the document endorses public reimbursement for Mifegymiso because of its safe and effective record, and its cost competitiveness with surgical abortions.
"We're delighted. [The report] really is good news," said Vicki Saporta, president of the National Abortion Federation, which represents abortion providers in Canada and the United States. "Now I think we really will see [Mifegymiso] expanding to the more rural areas and it can finally live up to its promise of increasing women's access to very safe, effective abortion care."
Paula Tenenbaum, the president of Celopharma, also took the report as a reassuring sign. "I trust provinces will follow [the] recommendation and in fact cover this medically necessary medication for all women of Canada," she said by e-mail.
But not everyone welcomed the possibility of public funding for the abortion pill.
"Most provincial health-care plans are in a crisis situation and have been for decades," said Johanne Brownrigg, a lobbyist for the Campaign Life Coalition. "When you weigh the side effects [of Mifegymiso] and you weigh the costs, it's dumbfounding that this is the direction the report would recommend."
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The CDR report said that in five studies of mifepristone and misoprostol – the two drugs that make up Mifegymiso – no patients died or withdrew because of adverse effects. Serious adverse events were reported in only one of the studies. |
Why I Feel Betrayed by Hillary Clinton’s Choice of VP and Ask You to Vote for Gary Johnson
No To Big Government Blocked Unblock Follow Following Jul 23, 2016
Charles Kinsey is shot by police. This is what implicit racism looks like. This is betrayal.
First, let me establish my credentials: For the past six months I have spent any free time I had, and then some, campaigning for Hillary Clinton. Not officially mind you, I was no $hill. I never signed up as a volunteer nor donated to her. One day, just on my own, I created this account on Medium, as well as one on Instagram, Twitter, Reddit and Imgur because those were outlets that allowed me to respond to her detractors and encourage her supporters. Even though I did not agree with the entirety of the Democratic platform and had an uneasy sense that there was corruption within it, I went all in for Hillary. My largest motivation for doing so was the unfair way that I saw her being treated by the media, by her main opponent, and most especially, by his supporters. The vileness of the attacks against Hillary made me cry for her, for her dehumanization. I felt a great empathy that no person should be attacked so violently, so underhandedly. The misogyny levied against her pulled at something in me that pushed me to fight back, to not be silent in the face of hate, to defend Hillary Clinton the person. I knew I didn’t agree with her on everything, I knew she wasn’t perfect, but I didn’t hate her, I still don’t, and no one should either. Hate like the kind that is so casually lobbed against her has no place in our politics. We should strive to treat each other with a modicum of respect and look at candidates’ policy proposals with objectivity and reason.
But to support Hillary Clinton I had to compromise or push down some of my ideals. I was ok with doing so because the alternatives were two men I saw as frauds. The fact that neither Donald Trump nor Bernie Sanders have to this day revealed their tax returns, while calling the one person who has, Hillary, dishonest, all the while the media sits silently allowing these men to get away with it disturbs me deeply. It should disturb you too. The fact that both Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump have been supported by Vladimir Putin’s Russia upsets me greatly. It should upset you too. They both are suspect in my eyes; they both are disqualified from the US presidency.
For the past six months I have waded into the horror that is partisan politics, burning with anger at the ignorant, deceptive and sometimes ridiculous accusations against Hillary Clinton, doing all I could to reason with people, to educate them on history, to give a different side of Hillary than the monster they described.
My Hillary, the Hillary Clinton I was fighting for, was a fundamentally good person who wanted to help others and who understood the problems, and most importantly, the solutions that would strengthen the US economy and restore a sense of belonging to everyone that felt threatened by the racism and bigotry spewing from Donald Trump’s Republican Party. My Hillary was a champion, a fighter, a uniter — who was just.
The Hillary Clinton who said to the League of United Latin American Citizens on July 14, 2016, “I see you, I hear you and I am with you.” The Hillary Clinton that told the city of Flint, Michigan, “I want to be a president who takes care of the big problems and the problems that are affecting the people of our country every day.” The Hillary Clinton that said “Race remains a deep fault line in America. Millions of people of color still experience racism in their everyday lives.” The Hillary Clinton that said we are stronger together. That was my hero. That was the person I was fighting for against the internet bullies and the mean-spirited trolls. That person would have picked Tom Perez as her VP.
The symbolism of Tom Perez would have been great. He is an Ivy League educated civil rights lawyer and former Assistant Attorney General who has personally dealt with one of the most pressing domestic issues of our time: the increased racial tension resulting from clear police brutality against innocent African Americans that has led to too many unjustified killings, and the retaliation that has led snipers in multiple cities to murder innocent police officers in cold blood. The most recent case involves a healthcare worker, Charles Kinsey, who while on his back with his hands up trying to explain to a police officer that his patient suffering with autism had a toy train and not a gun, was still shot by the police. There is no clearer case of implicit racism than this. What else is a citizen supposed to do? He should not have been required to prostrate himself on the ground in the first place, he should not have had to raise his arms in the air, but he did it anyway and he still got shot. Better training, training on implicit bias, having more police officers reflect the areas they patrol culturally, being part of the community, would help police officers treat people with respect so that a person explaining the situation is believed rather than made to feel accused and then shot, usually fatally. What happened to using non-lethal forms of control anyway? Why go right for a gun, especially when children are involved?
Tom Perez has experience investigating, prosecuting and advising on civil rights, worker’s rights and constitutional issues, and has sought practical solutions to help prevent hate crimes. He oversaw the division responsible for training police officers in the wake of the vicious, cruel and horrific murders of LBGT Americans like Mathew Shepard, and African Americans like James Byrd Jr., How significant would it have been to hear about his vast experiences and about his commitment to the victims of violence, on the day that Hillary made her VP announcement, July 22, 2016, when she visited the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, the site of one of the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.
And how impactful would it have been to hear about his achievement as the United States Secretary of Labor. Again, Tom Perez could have spoken knowledgeably about policy that protects consumers and workers, like his implementation of the fiduciary standard, that FINALLY, required retirement advisors to put their clients’ best interests first, and not their own. He would have been able to discuss the need to negotiate agreements between companies like Verizon and labor unions in order to achieve mutually beneficial results. He would have spoken out powerfully about his work to allow home health care workers to receive minimum wage and overtime compensation. These issues about jobs, about opportunity, about fairness represent the other great pressing domestic issue of our country.
Tom Perez could have been an expert voice in the defense of trade, that engine that binds our world together — a multicultural wonder that allows the best products to be widely distributed, while powerfully arguing for the protection of workers, for paid leave, for equal pay for women, for job training internships. He is as prepared as anyone to ameliorate the current imbalance that seems to have decimated our middle class and made too many Americans fearful for their economic futures.
As a Latino, in this year of increased hate against non-white peoples, Tom Perez would have galvanized all of us who embrace the promise of America as a welcoming place for all who yearn to be free. The America that the Statue of Liberty symbolizes and is reflected in the lines:
“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.”
This is who we are as Americans. Our diversity is our strength. That’s the progressive value that Hillary Clinton claimed. That we are stronger together.
By all accounts Tom Perez is the intelligent, policy directed, studious, analytic problem solver that we need in leadership positions. A knowledgable, serious person. But symbolically, he standing alongside Hillary Clinton, behind the banner emblazoned in capital letters STRONGER TOGETHER, how beautiful would that message be! It would resonate. It would declare, unabashedly that we are all immigrants, that exceptionally qualified people should be given opportunity, not shut out because of the color of their skin or their ethnic background. Wasn’t that Hillary Clinton’s promise? Tom Perez would clearly counter the canard that Latinos in the US are all recent immigrants, and all low wage service workers. Latinos have been part of this country since the beginning and wealth and education levels span the whole gamut. Also, Latinos for the most part are a mixture of Native American, with origins in Asia, African and European, and so implicitly represent a great number of different traditions and cultures. Isn’t it the promise of America that all of us can belong, that we can be a multicultural quilt united by the principles that binds us as Americans, the principles of individual freedom, equal opportunity and justice for all — and not divided by sects as Donald Trump is trying to do?
It is against the overt racism of Trump’s America that Hillary Clinton could have stood up and declared that we’ve had enough and that his bigoted caricature of Latinos is inaccurate. Tom Perez would refute these old stereotypes by his presence, by being given the opportunity to speak about a more inclusive future, and Hillary Clinton standing by him, supporting him, would have channeled to all that most hopeful of chants: “Yes We Can”, “Si Se Puede”. But instead, like her vote for the war in Iraq, Hillary Clinton made the safe choice, Tim Kaine — but not the right choice. The vice-presidential pick represents her vision of the future for the United States, and instead of being one of inclusion, of diversity, the message she chose to send is one of exclusion. The “Stronger Together” banner wrapped around two privileged white people sends a chilling message to everyone who isn’t.
The Hillary Clinton I thought I supported would have chosen Tom Perez as her VP. The Hillary Clinton I thought I supported was a leader, someone with vision, someone who understood racial bias and subjective bias and strived to correct it. Now all I see is someone who panders, who says the right things, but doesn’t really understand the significance of the words.
She experienced first hand how much a sense of pride and yearning to see oneself reflected in our president created a loyal swell of support from the African American community toward senator Obama in 2008. Had Hillary Clinton chosen Tom Perez, she would have gotten an equal jolt of enthusiasm from Latinos and others who want to feel included in this country. No, it isn’t “reverse racism” to shine a light on the imbalance of power in our society, just like it is not “reverse sexism”, as Bernie Sanders perversely claimed, to support her historic candidacy over his. If our society were more fair, more inclusive, more just, you would not need to highlight this imbalance nor seek to quench the thirst for equality of representation that supporting women and minority candidates epitomizes. There would be no need, we would all obviously be treated equally and be represented proportionally in positions of power. But this is not reality, is it?
Instead, Hillary Clinton decided, as it happens so often to minorities, that despite clear qualifications, clear intelligence, clear workhorse ethics, a white person is preferable for the job. That was not the right message to send. Not now. Not in this election. It is particularly galling that many made the argument that since Latinos are so repulsed by Trump that she did not need to pick a Latino VP. How dismissive of a group of people that is! How ready to decide that Latinos are not really that important. And how willing to have low expectations for their potential as a new loyal voting block. How easily and cavalierly they can be excluded as members of American society.
Everybody sane is repulsed by Trump, why be so quick to drop a minority candidate from serious consideration? Why is the minority person the first to be dropped?
Hillary Clinton’s decision then, fits. It fits, given the betrayals of the Democratic Party: to not push for immigration reform early in Obama’s first term, and then for him to heartlessly lead in the number of mass deportations while the Democratic party twiddled along as a group of people, mostly poor and powerless, were being scapegoated and villified in a perverse modern retelling of the rise of Nazi Germany.
Yes, perhaps there may have been a racist backlash because Hillary Clinton dared to pick a minority as a VP, but had she done so we could have had the national discussion we need to have: that we should judge each person by their character, their qualifications, not their origins. Tom Perez is a good person and a powerful speaker, and I feel confident that as the public would have gotten to know him and seen what he brought to the table, that any immediate racial animosity would be tamed, and Hillary Clinton would have gently guided our broken and fractured country into a future where fear and apprehension of each other would be replaced by respect and acceptance of one another.
But instead, I feel that those words Hillary spoke, about seeing and understanding, were just the words of a politician pandering. Yes Tim Kaine is well qualified as well. Hillary had to choose between two fine candidates, but the fact that she chose the white male is disappointing because 1) she did it even after being on the losing end of a movement of support away from her in the 2008 election because of the yearning minorities have to be included in the power structure and the main-stream culture, and 2) she did it even though Tom Perez was uniquely prepared to guide the conversation about police justice and income inequality that are our most pressing issues now.
What a lack of insight to not embrace the opportunity to be the champion she claimed to be, to fight for Tom Perez and symbolically through him, fight for the immigrants she claims to support, the very ones that are being demonized by the new Republican Party. And what a lack of vision for the future of a more inclusive America where one’s race is not a detractor, a negative that has to be overcome by perfection, while others get to have their imperfections diminished or ignored.
It goes back to the reason that motivated me to support Hillary Clinton’s campaign as much as I did in the first place: I thought people were demanding that she be too perfect and too pure, and berating her for normal and common human failures. Her treatment clearly is sexism. NO! She does not have to be perfect, there is no such thing, and neither did Tom Perez. But somehow an Ivy League Latino civil rights lawyer with an impressive resume and deep experience in the two most important issues of our time is also not perfect enough for her? Somehow the implicit bias is so strong that it blinds people to the fact that Tom Perez has enough experience and intelligence to step into the role of president, particulary when compared to other recent presidents when elected and current presidential candidates who have or have had much less of a background in government to help them navigate the levers of power.
And therein lies the rub. The Hillary Clinton I thought I was supporting did understand implicit racism and sexism. She was introspective and saw her biases and fought against them. But that Hillary Clinton is not reality. The real Hillary apparently lets the fears decide, similar fears like the ones that led that police officer to shoot Charles Kinsey, the healthcare worker who was prone on the ground with his hands up.
Hillary Clinton found comfort in picking a white person, and felt it was too risky to align herself with a non-white person. This is implicit bias. This is the wall that keeps many qualified people from succeeding in this country.
Hillary Clinton is not the leader we need if the pretty words she says carry no meaning.
It’s been such a tough, frustrating and sometimes infuriating experience to defend Hillary from her detractors, from sexism. And I am drained. But I promise you, had she picked Tom Perez I would have done even more than I have up to now. It would have energized me and given me new life. ClintonPerez2016 was a beautiful dream that would have sustained me, but the reality is a nightmare.
The reality is the horrible realization that I do not know who Hillary Clinton really is, what she actually understands, or what her goals really are. She embraced the mantle of progressive but rejected Tom Perez, one of the few that would have been acceptable to them. The Hillary I thought I was supporting would have honored and respected the message she’s been receiving all year to unify the party along idealism and hope. She would have given form to the promises she was making, reassured doubters of her integrity, and channeled a new confident vision of progress for America by picking Tom Perez.
But instead, her choice of Tim Kaine as VP is proof that she values crooked cronyism over the lives of the poor and vulnerable. This is how she will govern. You can expect that she will reward a long line of her cronies before the common good, before what is best for our country and its people.
Tim Kaine is a man who has accepted more than $160,000 in gifts, like a $18,000 Caribbean vacation, from companies that wanted to do business in Virginia. There can be no doubt that this kind of corporate cronyism is not in the best interest of the public. It should be obvious to everyone that the corrupting influence of money on decision making pits what is best for citizens against what your “friend” wants; this is bad governance and undeniably wrong. The fact that crooked politicians have written the laws to make it legal to accept these kinds of gifts in Virginia reveals that the system is rotten to the core. In this country, where slavery was legal, women were property and currently people use the term “illegal” to dehuminize migrants and refugees, nobody should need to be reminded that “legal” does not mean moral. Not only is the corporate cronyism of the type that Tim Kaine practiced a bad omen for Hillary Clinton’s presidency, it demonstrates how this kind of cronyism keeps minorities from getting opportunity, it keeps poor people from advancing, and it sustains a kind of class system that values connections over merit. None of this is just.
Being jolted by a betrayal so profound as I felt when she picked Tim Kaine has broken wide open the lid I had placed on my ideals. That lid had allowed me to support Hillary even though she was not perfect and even though the Democratic Party did not function in the way I hoped government would.
The truth is that I am an independent. I don’t believe public service workers should be unionized. Government should work for the citizens, we the people are the union, and anybody who is not working hard or is not competent should not have eternal job protection in some government agency. The same thing goes for public schools. The teachers union should be abolished. For the most part, it stands in the way of and hurts students, particularly poor ones who are squeezed together in failing schools and treated like criminals creating a devastating and racist school-to-prison pipeline. It is such high hypocrisy that the Democrats tout teachers and public schools but most of them choose to send their kids to expensive private schools. Even the teachers that teach in these schools send their kids to private schools. The Clintons, The Gores, The Obamas — none chose the DC public schools for their kids! What shame to purport to be for the poor and not allow vouchers or charter schools, that is, competition, so that poor parents can also choose better schools for their kids. This is a matter of justice. Our failing educational system is a major reason why our students are not competitive and why high tech companies hire employees from overseas on visas. Is it any wonder that resentment and powerlessness would result from this?
The truth is also that the government is too big, too inefficient, and should not be involved in massive programs like universal healthcare that decrease competition and therefore innovation and cost constraints. The evidence is crystal clear about this given the fact that even our most cherished and vulnerable citizens, our veterans of war, were neglected and mistreated because of despicable care at the Veterans Health Administration. A better approach is to let veterans choose where they want to get their healthcare, and not force them into subpar government run facilities with long wait times. Like school choice, we all should be free to decide for ourselves and not be made to pay very high taxes just to limit our choices down to a single noncompetitive, poor quality solution that does not even work for most. But at the same time I cannot be a “pure” Libertarian because I believe the government should provide a wide safety net, should have a strong EPA, should invest in research, in infrastructure, and should set health, education and safety standards and have regulatory powers. There should be a regional minimum wage that provides for a living wage, but because the cost of living varies widely across the country a national minimum wage does not make sense. Someone working full time, all available work hours, earning the minimum should be able to afford decent housing and the staples of life, and not be forced to live out of their cars. It is precisely because there is racism, sexism, and bigotry that talented people, hard working people, can only find low paying jobs. It is not right to punish them twice over by letting companies exploit their work. The government needs to protect workers’ rights, workers’ lives. But socialism and communism are disastrous dependencies that rob people of their individual drives. Anyone reading about what is happening right now in Cuba and in Venezuela, seeing the devastation that socialism and communism have brought repeatedly everywhere, cannot rationally support these forms of government. They are clearly and unambiguously harmful to the average person. Moreover, our national debt weakens our enonomy and puts our security at risk. We should live within our means; we cannot afford massive government run programs.
What’s more, the current complexity of our tax code is regressive. It allows the wealthy and well connected, like Mitt Romney, to pay less taxes than the average middle class worker, and some people like Donald Trump to pay $0 taxes. The complexity is tantamount to an added tax for paying your taxes because most people need to hire a professional to file taxes at an average cost of $200. It is the working class and the poor who are hurt by the US tax code, but you haven’t heard a peep about this from the Democrats because they want to protect their cronyism. This is a matter of justice. A simpler tax code, where people only pay taxes on products they buy–a consumption tax, is what Gary Johnson, the Libertarian currently running for president, is offering. Food and basic necessities would be not taxed, they would be prebated, so the poor would not be unfairly punished. If you don’t buy anything other than basic necessities, you pay no taxes. But if you buy a yacht, a gold watch or a bottle of perfume, you pay taxes when you make those purchases. Companies/corporations/businesses make purchases so they would be paying taxes. But there would be no added income, payroll or estate taxes. We would all be free of the April 15 burden. Like school choice, he is right that this is the correct direction for our country, for the poor, for the working class and for the wealthy.
Gary Johnson is not perfect, but his platform, his focus on fiscal responsibility, curtailing unsustainable spending, encouraging school choice, allowing for a robust flow of immigration dictated by the marketplace with migrants protected from exploitation and scapegoating through efficient work visa distribution, and above all his belief that we all should be treated as individuals free to make our own choices as long as no harm comes to others, and not as sects fighting one another, makes him very appealing. Having a more efficient, fiscally responsible government would help reduce the tax burden on people and help build a stronger economy.
I write this not with the intention of punishing Hillary Clinton and the Democrats because I didn’t get what I wanted in the selection of her vice president. I believe some are doing the best they can, and obviously how I see problems and solutions is likely not how they see problems and solutions. This isn’t a grudge out of pettiness. If you think it’s petty or small, you’re not listening. For all the issues that I care about, I’ve lost confidence in Hillary Clinton’s and the Democrat Party’s ability to recognize the root of the problem and advocate for the best solution, the just solution. The people I thought had this judgement would have chosen Tom Perez as VP.
My intent is to not remain silent when I see an injustice, as I did when I invested all my energies in her campaign.
Hillary Clinton is the victim of sexism and misogyny, which is unjust and a real shame. If it weren’t for those attacks we could have been having policy discussions, talked about the value of unions in the private sector, and perhaps about their detriment in the public sector, about fiscal responsibility and the importance of balancing the budget while upholding the functions of government that it does well and that we all need. But the media, and her opponents, turned this election into an assassination of her character instead, which served no one.
Yet I cannot help but put the blame on Hillary Clinton for sending the nasty, deflating and negative message that it’s too risky, too divisive, too un-American to choose a superbly qualified Latino like Tom Perez for Vice President. Again the words, “stronger together,” are pretty, just like the praise for public schools sounds grand, but she chose a private school for her kid and chose to ignore our diversity in her VP pick.
That’s not the America I want; I’ve had enough of being pandered to. I’ve had enough of the soft bigotry of Liberals when the results are essentially the same as the overt bigotry of right-wingers. The correct choice was Tom Perez. I’m not bowing down in the face of Trump’s triumph of racism, I’m not cowering in fear, in order to support an equally pernicious form of bigotry. It is from a position of strength, in knowing what is right, what is just, that I take this stand.
Don’t ask minorities for their vote and then ignore them election after election while their standard of living remains unimproved generation after generation.
Obviously the two major political parties have failed our country, and so with the shock of Trump rising and the lack of vision and leadership to change our current track emanating from the Democrats, maybe it’s time to reset and let a new party take power.
No platform, no candidate, is likely to be perfect or perfectly aligned with anyone’s ideals. As voters, we have to compromise on some things to get others, but in doing so we expect that those things that were promised are delivered. For me, Hillary Clinton meant the promise of inclusion and the defense of minorities against a dangerous tide of hate. She failed to deliver that by not choosing Tom Perez.
And so, I call on all good-hearted decent Republicans and conservatives, all minorities who are done waiting for a savior that never comes, all Independents that want to see real change in the status quo that protects individual freedoms, while rejecting a police state and a nanny state – I call on all of you to support Governor Gary Johnson for president in this 2016 election. He is on the ballot in all 50 states and therefore has a legitimate chance to win. But most importantly, the future with him looks a lot brighter. #USA #LiveFree |
Source: Public domain via Pixabay
NOTE: Since I wrote this blog entry initially, a new analysis of this data set by Holger Spamann has become available. This analysis indicates that the effects reported in the original paper by Cho et al. were not as strong as the initial paper suggested. In addition, analysis of a newer data set that includes sentences given from 2004-2016 does not support the conclusion that sleepy judges are harsher judges. On the basis of this analysis, I no longer endorse the conclusions I drew in this earlier blog entry. I am keeping this entry active in case someone who read it previously returns to it in the future.
I should say that science progresses by doing studies and then continuing to examine phenomena. That means that sometimes research results will be published that are later overturned. It is important to be skeptical of new conclusions until the field has had a decade or so to replicate the results and understand them in context.
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There are lots of benefits for getting good . Sleep improves your retention of information and skills you encountered the previous day. Sleep helps your the day after you sleep. Good sleep also helps you to regulate your mood.
All of this data suggests that people should try hard to get a good night’s sleep as often as possible. Sometimes, of course, it is not possible to control your own sleep schedule. People who travel may have to wake up early to catch a flight and then may suffer when they arrive at their destination. Work and may present assignments that lead people to work deep into the night. I am a musician, and my band sometimes plays until the wee hours of the morning.
In the United States, there is also an enforced change in schedule twice a year as we shift from standard time to daylight savings time and back. In the Fall, the clocks are set one hour back early on Sunday morning so that the night has an extra hour. In the Spring, the clocks are set one hour ahead so that the night has one fewer hour. While people could try to adjust their sleep schedules immediately, it is quite difficult to do that, and so people are usually somewhat sleep deprived after the time change in the Spring.
Does that time change have any practical implications?
This question was addressed in an interesting paper by Kyoungmin Cho, Chistopher Barnes, and Cristiano Guanara published in the February, 2017 issue of Psychological Science.
They looked at the sentences handed out by judges in court in the United States using data available from the US Sentencing Commission. They explored the prison sentences handed out between 1992 and 2003. They compared the sentences given out on the Monday after the Spring time change to the sentences given out the week before and the week after on Mondays. The statistical analysis they did also took into account the committed as well as the particular court handing out the sentence (because some judicial districts tend to give out harsher sentences than others).
Overall, judges gave out sentences that were 5% more severe on the Monday after the Spring time change than they did a week before or a week after the time change. By Tuesday, though, the effect went away. So, the effect of sleep deprivation was short-lived.
You might think that this effect has to do with a disruption of schedule rather than sleep deprivation. However, the researchers did a similar analysis for the Fall time change in which the night is an hour longer. The sentences on the Monday after this time change did not differ significantly from the sentences a week before or after.
This finding demonstrates how even a fairly small disruption in sleep can have a big practical impact. It suggests that the kind of emotional disruption caused by lack of sleep can affect the quality of people’s lives. Even though most of us may not be handing out criminal sentences, we may have a negative influence on our and colleagues on the days that we do not sleep well.
This finding is also one more piece of evidence that we should get rid of daylight savings time. It has little practical benefit for most people, and the consequences of the time change can be severe. |
Movie Review Movie Review The Way He Looks B- Movie Review The Way He Looks B- B- The Way He Looks Director Daniel Ribeiro Runtime 95 minutes Rating Not Rated Cast Ghilherme Lobo, Fabio Audi, Tess Amorim (in Portuguese w/subtitles)
It’s easy to label director Daniel Ribeiro’s queer-themed feature debut (Brazil’s official submission for Best Foreign Language Film to the 2015 Academy Awards) as a “sweet nothing,” so tender are its intentions and so fleeting its overall effect. Yet the movie’s overarching compassion does count for a lot. Leonardo (Ghilherme Lobo) is a blind São Paulo teenager going through many of the usual growing pains (he’s dreaming of his first kiss) and several others unique to his disability. Bullies at school tease him about the clacking assistive typewriter he uses in class, and his parents, his mother especially, are overprotective to the point of exasperation. (Even asking permission to go on a supervised field trip is a production.) All told, though, Leonardo is pretty well adjusted, in large part thanks to his best friend, Giovana (Tess Amorim), who’s always there to lend a literal and figurative hand. But then handsome new kid Gabriel (Fabio Audi) enters the picture, quickly befriending Leonardo and stirring both his and Giovana’s adolescent emotions.
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There are so many cheap and hokey ways this love triangle could play out that it’s almost a relief Ribeiro (expanding his own 2010 short film I Don’t Want To Go Back Alone) keeps things consistently tranquil. Situations that would be treated histrionically in many movies (like the young protagonist’s unwitting confession to Giovana that he’s in love with Gabriel) are passed over with relative placidity—a ripple as opposed to a tidal wave. The Way He Looks’ tone complements the easygoing Leonardo, who loves classical music (Arvo Pärt’s overused “Spiegel Im Spiegel” gets cued up twice) and even flips the bird at his tormentors with an endearing gentleness. The film’s idea of stirring the pot is having Gabriel introduce his Handel-loving new buddy to the work of Belle & Sebastian.
As far as queer coming-of-age first features go, The Way He Looks doesn’t hold a candle to Ira Sachs’ The Delta or Patric Chiha’s Domaine, both of which churn with youthful fervor. Here, there’s never any doubt Leonardo will make it through the pre-adult gauntlet fully intact, so the narrative has a wispy, anti-dramatic quality, almost as if Ribeiro is so focused on making all the little details ring true that he’s ignoring the larger picture. Nonetheless, those small moments are often quite beautiful, like the empathetic way the writer-director introduces his lead character’s blindness—focusing on the young man’s momentary distress after Giovana dives underwater in a pool and doesn’t answer him—or the incisive scene in which Leonardo puts on Gabriel’s hoodie, smelling it and caressing it as if it had talismanic powers. Ribeiro captures the experiential awkwardness of young love pitch-perfectly. (A terrific party scene brims with shuffle-’round-the-dance-floor gawkiness.) Would that he could wrangle it all together into something that truly sang and touched the soul. |
As people age out of the workforce, state job growth will depend in part on young educated professionals staying in Wisconsin. However, many young graduates are leaving, joining a trend commonly referred to as the “brain drain.”
Stevens Point native Brian Novotny has been at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for six years. He calls Madison an “amazing” city, but he wants to leave the state after he graduates and use his master’s degree in kinesiology to coach sports or work in physical therapy.
“I don't like winter, so I'm hoping to move to California or North Carolina,” he said.
Angela Limbach, from Milwaukee, has an undergraduate degree in geology, and is finishing up a certificate in geographic information systems at the UW. She'll locate where there are suitable jobs, but as a climber, she'd like to be around mountains.
“My family's here and I love it here, but going somewhere that fits my recreational interests would be better for me,” said Limbach.
The departure of young people like Novotny and Limbach from Wisconsin is a cause for concern for many economic experts. They say such people are needed not only to help bolster job growth, but to help form a stable tax base and boost declining populations in rural areas as well.
Earlier this year, the Governor's Conference on Economic Development discussed the brain drain. One of the featured speakers was UW-Madison's Morris Davis with the Wisconsin School of Business, who had crunched some numbers on age and job growth that he wanted to share.
“Job growth is on everyone's mind, and I wanted to get a handle on what kind of job growth we could expect in Wisconsin,” said Davis.
Davis said that between 2008 and 2012, on average Wisconsin lost 14,000 college graduates per year, with most of those leaving between the ages of 21 and 29.
Still, he said, Wisconsin is doing better than neighboring states.
“If you were to rank the (Midwestern) states we're second-best relative to Minnesota,” said Davis. “But it doesn't mean that we don't have a problem. It’s just that Illinois and Michigan’s problems are worse than ours.”
Average Annual Net Migration To Wisconsin Of People With At Least One College Degree By Age (2008-2012)
Source: Morris Davis
Average Annual Net Migration Of People With At Least One College Degree By State (2008-2012)
Source: Morris Davis
Communities in Search of a Solution
The brain drain isn't new to Wisconsin, according to Jeff Sachse, a labor economist with the Department Workforce Development.
“It's an issue that we've certainly been aware of within the department, and certainly others have been looking at this since the 1990s,” said Sachse.
What's different now, he said, is that quality of life issues are increasingly important for young professionals and new college graduates. Groups like the Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group and the Rockefeller Foundation say access to public transportation is one factor that helps millennials decide where to live.
Once residents leave, it can be hard to get them back. In Price County, the population actually grew during the ’70s and ’80s but shrunk in 2000.
“When the wood industry declined, I lost a lot of human capital to the Twin Cities,” said Gail Huyke, the community development educator in Price County. “Young engineers, folks who served on school boards, heads of civic groups. When the economy took a downturn, a lot of them left our community and the state to go to the Cities.”
Price County is currently conducting a survey aimed at those between the ages of 29-39 to find out why they left and what would bring them back.
On a bigger scale, the state's lead economic development agency, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, along with the Wisconsin Alumni Association, is hoping to lure some Wisconsin natives back.
“In fact we just hosted a reception for Wisconsin graduates in Denver when we were out there for another conference,” said Reed Hall, CEO of WEDC. “These are small things, but we'll be doing more of these things to remind people Wisconsin is a great place to live and work.” |
A rare, large-scale map of Baltimore County Maryland and one of the very few maps of southern counties published before the Civil War.
This minutely-detailed wall map depicts the county’s twelve districts, road network, railroads, post offices, mills, foundries, schools, taverns, country seats, and the names of thousands of landowners. There is a large inset plan of the City of Baltimore at right, which appears to be based on the 1822 Poppleton plan, a new edition of which was published in 1851, the same year as this map. The visual appeal of the whole is greatly enhanced by the decorative foliate border, within which are embedded vignettes of county landmarks, including the Washington Monument in Baltimore, Fellows Hall, Jones Falls, the Court House, the Exchange, Baltimore Cemetery, and Green Point Cemetery.
Although the map bears the name of James Stephens as the publisher, Papenfuse and Coale state that it was actually published by Robert Pearsall Smith of Philadelphia, whose name appears in the copyright line. The map’s maker, James C. Sidney, was a “clever civil engineer from England” who was employed by Smith and was responsible for numerous county maps as well as maps of Baltimore, Philadelphia, Boston, New York City, Trenton, and other cities. All are wall-sized and, in Ristow’s view, “attractively and neatly composed, lithographed, and printed.” (p. 257) The Maryland State Archives provides some valuable background gleaned from the period press:
“On March 30, 1850, the Baltimore County Advocate published a notice soliciting subscribers. Work was completed during the summer and an advertisement in the Advocate on September 14, 1850 advises that the map is available. This same issue offers a brief review, making note of some errors, and observing, “we can heartily recommend the map to our readers, as forming a not only an ornamental but useful appendage to the walls of hall or cottage, where on some rainy day, every one may travel around the county and see how his fellow citizens are fixed, without stirring from under his own shingles”.”
This is the second state of the map; the first appeared in the previous year. A quick comparison reveals no major differences, though in the second state the B&O Railroad is extended further along the Patapsco River.
This map of Baltimore County is very rare. I find a total for the two states of only eight institutional holdings and no record of another example having appeared on the antiquarian market. The example offered here previously appeared as item 28 in Cohen & Taliaferro’s Catalog Two: Fine Antique Maps and Atlases (2012).
References
Papenfuse & Coale, Atlas of Historical Maps of Maryland, figure 129, p. 114. Phillips, Maps of America, p. 133. Stephenson, Land Ownership Maps, #283, gives a 1st edition held by the Library of Congress. OCLC #556499736 (1850 1st edition, British Library) and #57212208 (Library of Congress and Penn State, giving a dubious date of 1857). Other examples are held by the Peabody Library at Johns Hopkins University (2 copies), the Maryland State Archives, and the University of Maryland. OCLC #22216788 and 29852179 list a reproduction issued in 1993 by Family Line Publications. |
How can we help prevent sexual assault in the future? Teach every child not to rape. Zach Rosenberg and his son are starting early.
“Because that’s rape,” I answered, matter-of-factly.
“What’s rape?” my four year-old son asked as he lined strawberries along the edge of his plate, the breeze outside pushing through our windows as the blinds scratched against the window sills. We could hear the sounds of his cartoons pouring around the corner from the living room. My son never looked up as I explained, in simple terms, why it isn’t right to force yourself onto someone else.
I always wonder if I’m speaking over my four year old’s head. My wife used to tell me that I spoke to my god daughter, and then our own son, like they were teenagers—no baby talk, no funny voices. Real talk. We now attribute that as one of the reasons our son forms oddly complex sentences and ideas, but hey, we’re also just proud parents.
But this was the first time I’d breached the topic of rape with my son.
It wasn’t rape that we were really talking about per se. By definitions, it was probably sexual assault, but I strangely felt more comfortable using the R-word than the S-word with my son.
Here’s how it all started: you know how preschoolers think they’ve got a girlfriend or boyfriend at school? And if the families know each other, it becomes the (*cough*) moms’ obsession to get them to hold hands, hug and kiss? Well, our son has always been very physically loving to his mother and I, which we adore. Nothing’s better than my son hugging and kissing me. But I never really like the idea of kids kissing each other. They’re playing house; they’re copying what they see everywhere. And sometimes, they’re fulfilling the wishes of parents who scramble for their iPhones to take adorbs Facebook photos. Innocent, right?
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Before lunch that day, my son told me that his girlfriend was no longer his friend. It was her idea, he insisted. I let it go for a while, as he told me about his new friend (another girl) and how they were going to get married. I told my son to just be friends. We sat down at the table and as he eyed his strawberries, holding each one up in the midday light, he said again that his girlfriend didn’t want to be his friend.
“Why doesn’t she want to be your friend?”
“She didn’t like that I kissed her,” my son says, pushing his index finger into the middle of a strawberry.
“Well, did you ask her first? Or did you just try to kiss her?” He looks up and takes a bite, nonchalantly saying within a shrug “I just tried.”
“Oh, well, dude, you can’t do that,” I say, thinking this will end here.
“Why not?”
That was when I dropped the R-word.
After I explain, the world is still the same. The cartoons are still on, the strawberries are still lined up on his plate. My wife is still out doing an errand. Nothing’s changed, except I’ve started a meaningful conversation about rape with my son. He’s four, but he understands right and wrong. Kids just want to mimic their parents; my son sees me kiss my wife whenever I get it in my head to do so, and sees that she welcomes it. So, he, in turn, thinks that he can kiss the girl that the whole school staff had confirmed one day to my wife and I was his girlfriend.
Later, I know, we’ll be having deeper conversations about sexual assault and rape. Part of being a man is respecting women. This isn’t a feminism thing or a men’s rights violation. My son is already interested in girls as girlfriends and wives (no, really, he dropped this one on me later that day). He doesn’t know about sex, but he knows about kissing and hugging. And that’s our entry point into the conversation. Glen Canning recently made a statement about his daughter Rehtaeh Parsons. She was a Canadian teen who was raped and bullied until she hung herself. She lived through it, but was hospitalized and died Canning’s letter, “Rehtaeh Parsons Was My Daughter” is a tough read. He mourns a wonderful father-daughter relationship, cut short. He wonders how the Canadian police can’t find enough evidence for the case, while the perpetrators have traded photos around the school that prompted other boys to send lewd texts to Rehtaeh and girls to call her terrible names.
Canning says his daughter was disappointed to death; “the court system in Nova Scotia,” says Canning, “was just going to rape her all over again with indifference to her suffering and the damage this did to her.”
My heart hurts for Canning and Rehtaeh’s mother. And as a father of a son, I don’t know how I could raise a daughter and have to tell her one day to “be careful” as she left for a party or a friend’s house. I don’t know how I could understand why I’d be buying her pepper spray “just in case,” knowing that if if it came down to it, it would likely be turned on her by an attacker. I’m not cut out for raising a girl with headlines like the ones telling Rehtaeh Parsons’ story.
Rape has been all over the headlines lately, and because of that, on my mind lately. During the long and arduous Steubenville rape case, a mom blogger friend of mine had written an article I was sure I’d hate based on the title alone. Eve Vawter’s piece, “It’s Official, Rape Is No Longer A Girl Problem, It’s A Boy Problem. So Shut Up About Girls ‘Preventing’ Rape,” discusses the dystopian reality we’re in where men rape but we educate women on how to not get raped.
While the reported and accepted statistics show that men are more often the aggressors in sexual assault, we see few classes for men about, frankly, not raping. We see plenty of women’s self-defense and rape prevention classes. When I first read Vawter’s piece, I was infuriated. As a dad blogger and a mild nightwatchman for men’s rights, I immediately take offense to sweeping generalizations and dogmatic misandry. But as I read more, I got past my own feelings. I thought back to the last time I was in an organized group that was telling men, directly, not to rape women.
High school.
It was part of the then-evolving “Becoming a Man” class at my all-boys, Catholic high school. A mix of religious, morality and sexuality topics rolled into one class, it fielded the topic of respecting women, and the decisions to make if you were to ever have doubts about a woman’s willingness to engage in sexual activity. My best friend actually ended up teaching the class years later, and now at a different (charter) school, says he still fields the rape topic with his male students. “Ethics should be taught across the board,” he told me, adding, “rape is a crime of power not passion—so we teach it as a manifestation of tyrannical behavior.”
Now here’s something that will really bake your noodle: three priests from my old Catholic high school were accused of sexual abuse. At least one admitted guilt, and another had been arrested years later for assaulting a boy at a bus stop. I’ll just leave that there.
Convicted Steubenville rapist Ma’lik Richmond’s lawyer is planning to appeal the guilty verdict because – he says – at 16 years old, his client’s brain isn’t fully developed, and as such, he might not understand that rape is wrong.
My son, all of four years old, is chewing his last strawberry mouthful as I finish my definition of rape and sexual assault, and my explanation of why forcing himself onto a girl—even his “girlfriend”, even just a kiss—is wrong. He gets it. His brain is far from fully-developed, but he nods as my sentence trails off and my hands fall back down to the table. “Okay, daddy. I won’t do it anymore,” he says. He slides off of his chair and gallops back to his cartoons.
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I know my son didn’t rape his preschool ex-”girlfriend.” And in all liklihood, he didn’t sexually assault her either. But when she let him know that she didn’t like him kissing her, it opened up our first conversation on the topic. And though I’m not completely sure I’m speaking on his level, I know I’d rather speak to him now so he knows that this is a topic between us. The rougher road lies ahead, but I’ve paved the first block and that’s what matters.
Also read:
The Healthy Sex Talk: Teaching Consent, Ages 1-21
A Letter to My Son About Consent
Photo courtesy of the author |
The move was curious for more than its timing. Usually, the Eastern Conference’s fourth-place team would not offload its top role player with half the season left to play. Even if they were inclined to do so, they would typically avoid sending such an asset to the league’s defending champion.
And yet, this is how Kyle Korver became a Cleveland Cavalier last weekend.
So pronounced is Cleveland’s dominance over the East — or, at least, so sure is the expectation they’ll win the conference in a walk come spring — that the Atlanta Hawks ceded ground and willingly delivered Korver into LeBron James’ beckoning arms. The Cavaliers lead the conference by 3.5 games as of Wednesday, and now have one of the great sharpshooters in NBA history.
The Hawks, meanwhile, likely aren’t finished dealing. Their best player could be next.
Paul Millsap, Atlanta’s three-time All-Star power forward, has emerged as basketball’s most coveted name six weeks before the NBA’s Feb. 23 trade deadline. The Hawks, fearful of losing Millsap for nothing when he hits free agency in July, floated his name in trade discussions last summer and started listening to prospective offers again at the start of January,
Atlanta reportedly yanked Millsap from the trade block earlier this week, in what could very well be a bit of posturing from general manager Wes Wilcox. After Korver was pawned for Mike Dunleavy, the effectively retired Mo Williams and a first-round pick in 2019, guaranteeing some sort of return for Millsap would be a logical next step, especially since he’ll be in high demand.
This is where the Toronto Raptors come in.
The Raptors are Cleveland’s strongest challenger in the East, save, perhaps, the Boston Celtics. They’re blessed with striking depth, but lack a top-tier power forward. They shoot the ball exceptionally well, but no team is worse at defensive rebounding. As such, the thought of Millsap pairing with centre Jonas Valanciunas is tantalizing.
Millsap, an 11-year veteran, is a perpetual double-double threat: He’s 14th in the league since 2013-14, when he arrived in Atlanta, with 88. He’s a credible outside shooter; in three-plus seasons as a Hawk, he has attempted 3.2 three-pointers a game and connected on .340 of them. And his career Total Rebound Percentage — a measure of rebounds he snags while on the floor — of 14.9 compares favourably to Patrick Patterson and Pascal Siakam, the Raptors’ power forward tandem in the absence of the injured Jared Sullinger.
Whether the Raptors move to consummate such a possibility will hinge on team president Masai Ujiri’s willingness to break from his incremental approach to roster building. It will also depend, obviously, on other teams — the Orlando Magic, Denver Nuggets and Sacramento Kings are all said to be enamoured of Millsap — and on what Atlanta would want in return. Before wavering this week, the Hawks’ asking price began with a “quality” first-round draft pick, per ESPN.
Toronto has an advantage there. The Raptors circuitously obtained the Los Angeles Clippers’ 2017 first-rounder by trading Greivis Vasquez to Milwaukee two summers ago, a deal that also netted them Norman Powell. Like the Raptors’ own pick, that selection won’t be especially high in this June’s draft order, but Ujiri has, at minimum, greater leverage than usual should he want to make a splash.
Then there’s the Raptors’ depth. They platoon the rangy Siakam and glue guy extraordinaire Patterson at power forward. Powell and Terrence Ross spell DeMarre Carroll on the wing. Centre Lucas Nogueira swings the score in Toronto’s favour when he takes the court. All five will come off the bench when Sullinger returns from foot surgery, in addition to Cory Joseph.
Powell, who has scored and defended well in the rare games he’s been given extended minutes, could make Ross expendable in a potential deal. Ross’ increasingly efficient shooting — his effective field goal percentage of .553 is well above his career best — may entice Atlanta or another team looking to make a prominent move before the deadline.
Losing Patterson, a seamless fit in Toronto’s best lineups, or Sullinger, a decent scorer and estimable rebounder in his own right, would sting, but one of them might also be necessary to command a player of Millsap’s calibre. Acquiring a power forward while retaining Patterson, Sullinger and Siakam would create a frontcourt logjam, even if the Raptors committed to playing without a centre for long stretches. And to a team retrenching for the off-season, Patterson or Sullinger’s expiring contract could be a boon.
Beyond those players, the Raptors could grease the skids on a deal by bandying fledgling talent from the end of the bench. Jakob Poeltl, Delon Wright and the enigmatic Bruno Caboclo, Toronto’s first selections in the past three drafts, won’t log significant minutes for a couple more seasons at the earliest. The arrival of an all-star would make any of their departures somewhat palatable.
All this is to say that if the Hawks curtail their hesitation and start accepting calls on Millsap, and if Ujiri decides depth won’t be enough to catch Cleveland, the teams would be fitting partners.
Mortgaging the bench for a pending free agent is a risk, and a big one at that. But Toronto’s options are plentiful, and the prospect of drawing ever closer to a conference title might be worth it.
Email: [email protected] | Twitter: @nickmfaris |
Recently there has been much debate in the Bitcoin community regarding Segregated Witness, hard forks and soft forks, and the usage of alternative node and mining software. The Armory developers (goatpig, droark, and achow101) support Segregated Witness as is in its current form, and also support Bitcoin Core. The Armory developers also oppose hard forks that may attack the original chain. Should a long-lasting hard fork that does not attack the original chain exist, we would consider implementing functionality required to allow Armory users to transact on that chain only if absolutely necessary (e.g. the transaction format for that chain is changed). Depending on how drastic the changes are, we may implement the change fully, implement a migration tool to another wallet that supports the change, or simply not support the fork at all.
Although the Armory developers do not support malicious hard forks and may not support a non-malicious hard fork, the Armory wallet software does not perform any consensus checks as it relies on its connection to a local Bitcoin node. This node is typically Bitcoin Core, but anything based upon Core, including Bitcoin Unlimited, will work so long as no changes are made to the transaction or block formats. So long as both formats do not change, Armory should be compatible with the hard fork and will allow users to continue to transact on the forked network.
Because transactions for both the forked and the original networks will primarily be valid on both networks, there is the risk for replay attacks to occur and for the loss of coins due to transaction replay. The following will help users avoid transaction replay should Bitcoin Unlimited or another similar block size increase hard fork proposal be activated. However, this procedure is not necessarily guaranteed to work and assumes that the forked chain will have significantly lower transaction fees than the original chain.
Should a chain fork occur, more up-to-date information about what Armory users can do will be posted on the Armory forums and on this website.
The setup
The Armory database engine builds off of on-disk blockchain data and does not enforce consensus rules. In other words, any client that uses the same block data format and magic word as Bitcoin Core is compatible with Armory. From your perspective, running Armory against the BU chain will show you your BU balance, and vice versa.
In practice, this means that to be able to interchange seamlessly between your Core and BU transaction history, you need 2 copies of the blockchain data; one for the Core chain and one for the BU chain. The same goes with the Armory database, as it is intimately tied to the underlying block data. You do not need to rescan the pre-fork BU chain to get a copy of the pre-fork Core database to work off of the pre-fork BU chain. However, to be absolutely safe, you should use Armory’s Rebuild and Rescan Databases feature to update both databases after the fork. In addition, it may be necessary to fully re-download the blockchain if the blockchain and database copies are made post-fork.
To summarize, you need:
1 copy of the blockchain to run exclusively against the Core client, with the associated Armory database directory.
1 copy of the blockchain to run exclusively against the BU client, with associated Armory database directory.
You can swap between the two by pointing Armory to the relevant pair of block data folder and database folder by using the --satoshi-datadir and --dbdir command line options respectively.
Avoiding Transaction Replay
A transaction replay attack is where one transaction can end up confirmed in both blockchains, thus resulting in coins on one chain being spent when you did not want those to be spent. This can happen either accidentally or intentionally due to someone broadcasting your transaction on both networks.
In order to avoid transaction replay, you must “taint” your coins; you want to get a transaction on one chain that is not valid on the other. Once you have that, you can mix all of your remaining coins with the “tainted” output to the same effect. At this point none of your unspent transaction outputs (UTXOs) on one chain are valid on the other, which guarantees that your transactions are immune to transaction replay attacks.
Tainting on BU is actually fairly easy. They want to increase the block size limit and reduce tx fees. At the same time, the departure of hash power from the main chain will result in slower Core blocks and thus less capacity and higher fees.
Hence, the simplest way to taint on BU is this:
Create a transaction sending coins back to yourself, with a fee low enough such that it will quickly confirm on BU and will probably not confirm quickly on Core.
Once the transaction is mined on BU, RBF the underlying output on the Core chain with a sufficiently high fee. This transaction can only be mined on Core now since it is invalid on BU (to which the transaction appears as a double spend).
Once your RBF transaction receives enough confirmations on the Core side – six should be sufficient – you will have a UTXO exclusive to the BU chain and a UTXO exclusive the Core chain. You are now safe to taint the rest of your coins on each chain, keeping in mind that untainted coins remain valid on both chains. Including untainted coins in a transaction with tainted coins will be sufficient for tainting the untainted coins. Because confirmations are likely to take longer on the Core chain, you may need to use RBF to bump the fee of the transaction multiple times in order to receive a confirmation more quickly.
In order to perform this tainting, you must use RBF, which is a feature currently planned for 0.96.
There is essentially no risk to tainting your coins on your own. At worst you are just sending your coins back to yourself on both chains and losing a small amount of coins in transaction fees. To be safe, we recommend starting with a small transaction that can be tainted with minimal risk, and then tainting the remaining coins all at once in order to minimize fee loss. |
Quảng Đức is descriptive of meritorious attributes: see Thích is a Buddhist honorary title andis descriptive of meritorious attributes: see dharma name
Thích Quảng Đức ( Vietnamese: [tʰǐk̟ kʷâːŋ ɗɨ̌k] (); 1897 – 11 June 1963; born Lâm Văn Túc) was a Vietnamese Mahayana Buddhist monk who burned himself to death at a busy Saigon road intersection on 11 June 1963.[2] Quảng Đức was protesting the persecution of Buddhists by the South Vietnamese government led by Ngo Dinh Diem. Photographs of his self-immolation were circulated widely across the world and brought attention to the policies of the Diệm government. John F. Kennedy said in reference to a photograph of Đức on fire, "No news picture in history has generated so much emotion around the world as that one."[3] Malcolm Browne won a Pulitzer Prize for his photograph of the monk's death.[4][5]
Quảng Đức's act increased international pressure on Diệm and led him to announce reforms with the intention of mollifying the Buddhists. However, the promised reforms were not implemented, leading to a deterioration in the dispute. With protests continuing, the ARVN Special Forces loyal to Diệm's brother, Ngô Đình Nhu, launched nationwide raids on Buddhist pagodas, seizing Quảng Đức's heart and causing deaths and widespread damage. Several Buddhist monks followed Quảng Đức's example, also immolating themselves. Eventually, a U.S.-backed Army coup toppled Diệm, who was assassinated on 2 November 1963.
Biography [ edit ]
Accounts of the life of Quảng Đức are derived from information disseminated by Buddhist organizations. He was born in the village of Hội Khánh, in Vạn Ninh District of Khánh Hòa Province in central Vietnam as Lâm Văn Túc, one of seven children of Lâm Hữu Ứng and his wife, Nguyễn Thị Nương. At the age of seven, he left to study Buddhism under Hòa thượng Thích Hoằng Thâm, who was his maternal uncle and spiritual master. Thích Hoằng Thâm raised him as a son and Lâm Văn Túc changed his name to Nguyễn Văn Khiết. At age 15, he took the samanera (novice) vows and was ordained as a monk at age 20 under the dharma name Thích Quảng Đức. The Vietnamese name Thích (釋) is from "Thích Ca" or "Thích Già" (釋迦), means "of the Shakya clan."[6] After ordination, he traveled to a mountain near Ninh Hòa, vowing to live the life of a solitary Buddhism-practicing hermit for three years. He returned in later life to open the Thien Loc pagoda at his mountain retreat.[7][8]
After his self-imposed isolation ended, he began to travel around central Vietnam expounding the dharma. After two years, he went into retreat at the Sac Tu Thien An pagoda near Nha Trang. In 1932, he was appointed an inspector for the Buddhist Association in Ninh Hòa before becoming the inspector of monks in his home province of Khánh Hòa. During this period in central Vietnam, he was responsible for the construction of 14 temples.[9] In 1934, he moved to southern Vietnam and traveled throughout the provinces spreading Buddhist teachings. During his time in southern Vietnam, he also spent two years in Cambodia studying the Theravada Buddhist tradition.
After his return from Cambodia, he oversaw the construction of a further 17 new temples during his time in the south. The last of the 31 new temples that he was responsible for constructing was the Quan The Am pagoda in the Phú Nhuận District of Gia Định Province on the outskirts of Saigon.[9] The street on which the temple stands was later renamed Quảng Đức Street in 1975. After the temple-building phase, Đức was appointed to serve as the Chairman of the Panel on Ceremonial Rites of the Congregation of Vietnamese Monks, and as abbot of the Phuoc Hoa pagoda, which was the initial location of the Association for Buddhist Studies of Vietnam (ABSV).[9] When the office of the ABSV was relocated to the Xá Lợi Pagoda, the main pagoda of Saigon, Đức resigned.[7]
Religious background [ edit ]
A memorial to Quảng Đức located on the site of his death
In a country where surveys of the religious composition at the time estimated the Buddhist majority to be between 70 and 90 percent,[10][11][12][13] President Diệm was a member of the Catholic minority, and pursued discriminatory policies favoring Catholics for public service and military promotions, as well as in the allocation of land, business arrangements and tax concessions.[14] Diệm once told a high-ranking officer, forgetting that the officer was from a Buddhist family, "Put your Catholic officers in sensitive places. They can be trusted."[15] Many officers in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam converted to Roman Catholicism as their military prospects depended on it.[15] Additionally, the distribution of firearms to village self-defense militias saw weapons given only to Roman Catholics, with some Buddhists in the army being denied promotion if they refused to convert to Roman Catholicism.[16]
Some Roman Catholic priests ran their own private armies,[17] and there were forced conversions and looting, shelling, and demolition of pagodas in some areas, to which the government turned a blind eye.[18] Some Buddhist villages converted en masse to receive aid or avoid being forcibly resettled by Diệm's regime.[19] The "private" status that was imposed on Buddhism by the French, which required official permission to be obtained by those wishing to conduct public Buddhist activities, was not repealed by Diệm.[20] Catholics were also de facto exempt from corvée labor, which the government obliged all citizens to perform, and United States aid was distributed disproportionately to Catholic majority villages by Diệm's regime.[21]
The Roman Catholic Church was the largest landowner in the country and enjoyed special exemptions in property acquisition, and land owned by the Roman Catholic Church was exempt from land reform.[22] The white and gold Vatican flag was regularly flown at all major public events in South Vietnam,[23] and Diệm dedicated his country to the Virgin Mary in 1959.[21]
Buddhist discontent erupted following a ban in early May on flying the Buddhist flag in Huế on Vesak, the birthday of Gautama Buddha. Just days before, Catholics had been encouraged to fly the Vatican flag at a celebration for Archbishop Ngô Đình Thục of Huế, Diệm's elder brother. A large crowd of Buddhists protested the ban, defying the government by flying Buddhist flags on the Buddhist holy day of Vesak and marching on the government broadcasting station. Government forces fired into the crowd of protesters, killing nine people. Diệm's refusal to take responsibility—he blamed the Viet Cong for the deaths—led to further Buddhist protests and calls for religious equality.[24] As Diem remained unwilling to comply with Buddhist demands, the frequency of protests increased.
Day of the act [ edit ]
On 10 June 1963, U.S. correspondents were informed that "something important" would happen the following morning on the road outside the Cambodian embassy in Saigon.[26] Most of the reporters disregarded the message, since the Buddhist crisis had at that point been going on for more than a month, and the next day only a few journalists turned up, including David Halberstam of The New York Times and Malcolm Browne, the Saigon bureau chief for the Associated Press.[26] Đức arrived as part of a procession that had begun at a nearby pagoda. Around 350 monks and nuns marched in two phalanxes, preceded by an Austin Westminster sedan, carrying banners printed in both English and Vietnamese. They denounced the Diệm government and its policy towards Buddhists, demanding that it fulfill its promises of religious equality.[26] Another monk offered himself, but Đức's seniority prevailed.[4]
The act occurred at the intersection[b] of Phan Đình Phùng Boulevard (now Nguyễn Đình Chiểu Street) and Lê Văn Duyệt Street (now Cách Mạng Tháng Tám Street) at , a few blocks southwest of the Presidential Palace (now the Reunification Palace). Đức emerged from the car along with two other monks. One placed a cushion on the road while the second opened the trunk and took out a five-gallon petrol can. As the marchers formed a circle around him, Đức calmly sat down in the traditional Buddhist meditative lotus position on the cushion. A colleague emptied the contents of the petrol container over Đức's head. Đức rotated a string of wooden prayer beads and recited the words Nam mô A Di Đà Phật ("Homage to Amitābha Buddha") before striking a match and dropping it on himself. Flames consumed his robes and flesh, and black oily smoke emanated from his burning body.[26][27]
Đức's last words before his self-immolation were documented in a letter he had left:
Before closing my eyes and moving towards the vision of the Buddha, I respectfully plead to President Ngo Dinh Diem to take a mind of compassion towards the people of the nation and implement religious equality to maintain the strength of the homeland eternally. I call the venerables, reverends, members of the sangha and the lay Buddhists to organize in solidarity to make sacrifices to protect Buddhism.[7]
David Halberstam wrote:
I was to see that sight again, but once was enough. Flames were coming from a human being; his body was slowly withering and shriveling up, his head blackening and charring. In the air was the smell of burning human flesh; human beings burn surprisingly quickly. Behind me I could hear the sobbing of the Vietnamese who were now gathering. I was too shocked to cry, too confused to take notes or ask questions, too bewildered to even think ... As he burned he never moved a muscle, never uttered a sound, his outward composure in sharp contrast to the wailing people around him.[28]
The spectators were mostly stunned into silence, but some wailed and several began praying. Many of the monks and nuns, as well as some shocked passersby, prostrated themselves before the burning monk. Even some of the policemen, who had orders to control the gathered crowd, prostrated before him.[4]
In English and Vietnamese, a monk repeated into a microphone, "A Buddhist priest burns himself to death. A Buddhist priest becomes a martyr." After approximately ten minutes, Đức's body was fully immolated and it eventually toppled backwards onto its back. Once the fire subsided, a group of monks covered the smoking corpse with yellow robes, picked it up and tried to fit it into a coffin, but the limbs could not be straightened and one of the arms protruded from the wooden box as he was carried to the nearby Xá Lợi Pagoda in central Saigon. Outside the pagoda, students unfurled bilingual banners which read: "A Buddhist priest burns himself for our five requests."[26]
By 1:30 pm, around 1,000 monks had congregated inside to hold a meeting while outside a large crowd of pro-Buddhist students had formed a human barrier around it. The meeting soon ended and all but a hundred monks slowly left the compound. Nearly one thousand monks, accompanied by laypeople, returned to the cremation site. The police lingered nearby. At around 6:00 pm, thirty nuns and six monks were arrested for holding a prayer meeting on the street outside Xá Lợi. The police encircled the pagoda, blocking public passage and giving observers the impression that an armed siege was imminent by donning riot gear.[29]
Funeral and aftermath [ edit ]
After the self-immolation, the U.S. put more pressure on Diệm to re-open negotiations on the faltering agreement. Diệm had scheduled an emergency cabinet meeting at 11:30 on 11 June to discuss the Buddhist crisis which he believed to be winding down. Following Đức's death, Diệm canceled the meeting and met individually with his ministers. Acting U.S. Ambassador to South Vietnam William Trueheart warned Nguyễn Đình Thuận, Diệm's Secretary of State, of the desperate need for an agreement, saying that the situation was "dangerously near breaking point" and expected Diệm would meet the Buddhists' five-point manifesto. United States Secretary of State Dean Rusk warned the Saigon embassy that the White House would publicly announce that it would no longer "associate itself" with the regime if this did not occur.[30] The Joint Communiqué and concessions to the Buddhists were signed on 16 June.[31]
15 June was set as the date for the funeral, and on that day 4,000 people gathered outside the Xá Lợi pagoda, only for the ceremony to be postponed. On 19 June, his remains were carried out of Xá Lợi to a cemetery 16 kilometers (9.9 mi) south of the city for a re-cremation and funeral ceremony. Following the signing of the Joint Communiqué, attendance was limited by agreement between Buddhist leaders and police to approximately 500 monks.[31]
Intact heart and symbolism [ edit ]
The heart relic of Quảng Đức
The body was re-cremated during the funeral, but Đức's heart remained intact and did not burn.[4] It was considered to be holy and placed in a glass chalice at Xá Lợi Pagoda.[5] The intact heart relic[4] is regarded as a symbol of compassion. Đức has subsequently been revered by Vietnamese Buddhists as a bodhisattva (Bồ Tát), and accordingly is often referred to in Vietnamese as Bồ Tát Thích Quảng Đức.[7][32] On 21 August, the ARVN Special Forces of Nhu attacked Xá Lợi and other Buddhist pagodas across Vietnam. The secret police intended to confiscate Đức's ashes, but two monks had escaped with the urn, jumping over the back fence and finding safety at the U.S. Operations Mission next door.[33] Nhu's men managed to confiscate Đức's charred heart.[34]
The location chosen for the self-immolation, in front of the Cambodian embassy, raised questions as to whether it was coincidence or a symbolic choice. Trueheart and embassy official Charles Flowerree felt that the location was selected to show solidarity with the Cambodian government of Prince Norodom Sihanouk. South Vietnam and Cambodia had strained relations: in a speech on 22 May, Sihanouk had accused Diệm of mistreating Vietnamese and ethnic minority Khmer Buddhists. The pro-Diệm Times of Vietnam published an article on 9 June which claimed that Cambodian monks had been encouraging the Buddhist crisis, asserting it was part of a Cambodian plot to extend its neutralist foreign policy into South Vietnam. Flowerree noted that Diệm was "ready and eager to see a fine Cambodian hand in all the organized Buddhist actions".[35]
Diệm reaction [ edit ]
Diệm made a radio address at 19:00 on the day of Đức's death, asserting that he was profoundly troubled by the event. He appealed for "serenity and patriotism", and announced that stalled negotiations would resume with the Buddhists. He claimed that negotiations had been progressing well and in a time of religious tension emphasized the role of the Roman Catholic philosophy of personalism in his rule. He alleged that extremists had twisted the facts and he asserted that the Buddhists can "count on the Constitution, in other words, me."[29]
The Army of the Republic of Vietnam responded to the appeal, putting on a show of solidarity behind Diệm to isolate dissident officers. Thirty high-ranking officers headed by General Lê Văn Tỵ declared their resolve to carry out all missions entrusted to the army for the defense of the constitution and the Republic. The declaration was a veneer which masked a developing plot to oust Diệm.[36] Some of the signatories were to become personally involved in Diệm's overthrow and death in November. Generals Dương Văn Minh and Trần Văn Đôn, the presidential military advisor and the chief of the army who were to lead the coup, were overseas.[36]
Madame Nhu (a Catholic convert from Buddhism and the wife of Diệm's younger brother and chief adviser Ngô Đình Nhu), who was regarded as the First Lady of South Vietnam at the time (as Diệm was a bachelor), said she would "clap hands at seeing another monk barbecue show".[37] Later that month, Diệm's government charged that Đức had been drugged before being forced to commit suicide.[38] The regime also accused Browne of bribing Đức to burn himself.[39]
Political and media impact [ edit ]
Photographs taken by Malcolm Browne of the self-immolation quickly spread across the wire services and were featured on the front pages of newspapers worldwide. The self-immolation was later regarded as a turning point in the Buddhist crisis and a critical point in the collapse of the Diệm regime.[40]
Historian Seth Jacobs asserted that Đức had "reduced America's Diệm experiment to ashes as well" and that "no amount of pleading could retrieve Diệm's reputation" once Browne's images had become ingrained into the psyche of the world public.[41] Ellen Hammer described the event as having "evoked dark images of persecution and horror corresponding to a profoundly Asian reality that passed the understanding of Westerners."[42] John Mecklin, an official from the U.S. embassy, noted that the photograph "had a shock effect of incalculable value to the Buddhist cause, becoming a symbol of the state of things in Vietnam."[40] William Colby, then chief of the Central Intelligence Agency's Far East Division, opined that Diệm "handled the Buddhist crisis fairly badly and allowed it to grow. But I really don't think there was much they could have done about it once that bonze burned himself."[40]
U.S. President John F. Kennedy said that "no news picture in history has generated so much emotion around the world as that one."
President John F. Kennedy, whose government was the main sponsor of Diệm's regime, learned of Đức's death when handed the morning newspapers while he was talking to his brother, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, on the phone. Kennedy reportedly interrupted their conversation about segregation in Alabama by exclaiming "Jesus Christ!" He later remarked that "no news picture in history has generated so much emotion around the world as that one."[41] U.S. Senator Frank Church (D-ID), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, claimed that "such grisly scenes have not been witnessed since the Christian martyrs marched hand in hand into the Roman arenas."[42]
In Europe, the photographs were sold on the streets as postcards during the 1960s, and communist China distributed millions of copies of the photograph throughout Asia and Africa as evidence of what it called US imperialism.[39] One of Browne's photographs remains affixed to the sedan in which Đức was riding and is part of a tourist attraction in Huế.[39] For Browne and the Associated Press (AP), the pictures were a marketing success. Ray Herndon, the United Press International (UPI) correspondent who had forgotten to take his camera on the day, was harshly criticized in private by his employer. UPI estimated that 5,000 readers in Sydney, then a city of around 1.5–2 million, had switched to AP news sources.[43]
Diệm's English-language mouthpiece, the Times of Vietnam, intensified its attacks on both journalists and Buddhists. Headlines such as "Xá Lợi politburo makes new threats" and "Monks plot murder" were printed.[44] One article questioned the relationship between the monks and the press by posing the question as to why "so many young girls are buzzing in and out of Xá Lợi early [in the day]" and then going on to allege that they were brought in for sexual purposes for the U.S. reporters.[44]
Browne's award-winning photograph of Đức's death has been reproduced in popular media for decades, and the incident has been used as a touchstone reference in many films and television programs.
A still photograph of Đức's self-immolation taken by Browne was used for the cover of American rap metal band Rage Against the Machine's debut album which came out in 1992, as well as the cover of their single "Killing in the Name".
Precedents and influence [ edit ]
Despite the shock of the Western public, the practice of Vietnamese monks self-immolating was not unprecedented. Instances of self-immolations in Vietnam had been recorded for centuries, usually carried out to honor Gautama Buddha. The most recently recorded case had been in North Vietnam in 1950. The French colonial authorities had tried to eradicate the practice after their conquest of Vietnam in the nineteenth century, but had not been totally successful. They did manage to prevent one monk from setting fire to himself in Huế in the 1920s, but he managed to starve himself to death instead. During the 1920s and 1930s, Saigon newspapers reported multiple instances of self-immolations by monks in a matter-of-fact style. The practice had also been seen in the Chinese city of Harbin in 1948 when a monk seated down in the lotus position on a pile of sawdust and soybean oil and set fire to himself in protest against the treatment of Buddhism by the communists of Mao Zedong. His heart remained intact, as did that of Đức.[45]
After Đức, five more Buddhist monks self-immolated up until late October 1963 as the Buddhist protests in Vietnam escalated.[46] On 1 November, the Army of the Republic of Vietnam overthrew Diệm in a coup. Diệm and Nhu were assassinated the next day.[47] Monks have followed Đức's example since for other reasons.[48]
Đức's actions were copied by United States citizens in protests against the Vietnam War:
In an apparently non-political case of imitation of Quảng Đức, the young son of an American officer based at the U.S. Embassy in Saigon doused himself with gasoline and set himself on fire. He was seriously burned before the fire was extinguished and later could only offer the explanation that "I wanted to see what it was like."[50]
See also [ edit ]
Notes [ edit ]
• a)^ Hòa thượng means "The Most Venerable" in Vietnamese. • b)^ In the satellite image ( ) of the Saigon intersection where Quảng Đức performed his self-immolation, Phan Đình Phùng (now Nguyễn Đình Chiểu) Street runs NE-SW and Lê Văn Duyệt (now Cách Mạng Tháng Tám) Street runs NW–SE. On the western corner of the intersection stands a memorial to Quảng Đức. For many years a Petrolimex fuel station stood on the northern corner, but this was replaced with a memorial park for Quảng Đức.
References [ edit ] |
LWN.net Weekly Edition for March 12, 2015
Version 8.0 of the ownCloud web-service platform was released in February. As was the case with previous releases, a basic installation offers a variety of cloud-like services for managing information: shared file storage, contact and calendar synchronization, online document editing, and so forth. The project also supports an API on top of which a variety of third-party web apps can run. The new release brings with it a renewed effort to make installing and managing these add-on apps easier and more reliable, plus several tools to make running one's own, private ownCloud server simpler. Finally, the company that underwrites ownCloud's development has announced that users who run such private server installations will be able to purchase support plans—something that was previously reserved only for enterprise customers.
The 8.0 release comes about eight months after the last major update, 7.0. The project makes builds available in a variety of formats, from source archives to installer bundles intended for use on shared web hosting plans. Packages for a variety of Linux distributions are also available for download. There are desktop applications available for managing shared folders, and an Android app for device synchronization (the app, interestingly enough, is a for-pay offering in Google's Play Store, but is available for free through F-Droid).
Users interested in testing out ownCloud 8 on a publicly reachable server (as opposed to installing it locally on their own machine) also have an opportunity to do that. The project has a three-hour "test drive" program available through a web hosting provider. The trial offers 1GB of storage space and is fairly painless to set up (although one must still walk through the hosting company's full setup process, including frustrating steps like trying to guess at an available subdomain name).
There are a few changes in the project's release practices worth pointing out, though. First, in the past, there were two separate editions of ownCloud: the Community Edition and the Enterprise Edition—the latter being aimed at businesses and coupled with paid support plans from ownCloud, Inc. As of 8.0, the Community Edition has been renamed "ownCloud server" (although not all of the references on the web site have been updated to reflect this).
There are still functional differences between the offerings: the Enterprise version features integration with services likely to be necessary in corporate IT environments (like Microsoft SharePoint and Oracle databases), and it adds support for using some different file-storage back-ends (including Amazon S3 and Ceph) as primary storage. But, as of the 8.0 release, the extra functionality in the Enterprise edition comes via a separate set of Enterprise apps and different default configuration, not from a different server codebase. And non-Enterprise users can still use Amazon S3 and Ceph for storage—they simply do not come configured as the primary back-end storage layers.
The second change is that, starting with version 8, the project is moving to a time-based release schedule with an accompanying version-numbering scheme. Version 8.1 is scheduled to arrive in three months, followed by two more quarterly point releases (8.2 and 8.3), with 9.0 set to arrive one year from now.
Last, but certainly not least, ownCloud Inc. has announced that it will offer commercial support plans for users running the "server" (i.e., non-Enterprise) version of ownCloud 8. The support plans are on the low end compared to the Enterprise offerings—users get email support only, and only during 8-to-5 business hours (those hours being measured from offices in Europe or on the East or West coasts of the US). But that is still, hopefully, a more reliable tech-support avenue than asking questions on a community mailing list or IRC channel, and it may produce another revenue stream to support development.
So far, the company has managed to not build different features into the community edition and enterprise edition of the server, which is reassuring to see. Prior to version 8, there was an additional API in the enterprise edition; as will be discussed later, this has now been merged into the community version, too. There are also community-built substitutes available for several of the enterprise apps (such as logging or Shibboleth authentication).
To the cloud
All in all, the changes found in the 8.0 release fall into a few general categories. A lot of work has gone into making user-interface (UI) improvements, both on the user-visible side and in the administrative interface. There are also a handful of new and updated features. Finally, the new release integrates some changes to the way third-party apps are designed and deployed—changes that may primarily interest app developers at present, but should make for a better user experience in the long run.
On the UI front, there is a new interface for working with shared files. In the web interface, one can open a pop-up dialog for each stored file and folder to change the sharing settings. There is a download link to provide to everyone who needs access to the file, plus straightforward password-protection and time-expiration checkboxes to limit that access when necessary. Any active sharing enabled for a file is also visible in the file browser thanks to an indicator that appears next to the file name.
There is also a "favorites" feature that, at the moment, is fairly limited in scope: the user can star files in the main file browser, then access these "favorite" files in a separate sidebar. But the project indicates that there is more to come here: "favorites" are just the first metadata field tracked by the application. The plan is to roll out additional metadata filters (like "recently used" and "recently changed") in future updates.
The 8.0 release notes also tout an improved search interface, although my tests found this feature to be a mixed bag. It is, indeed, remarkably fast at showing search results (and the search box is available on every screen, which is key). But it only appears to search the contents of the current folder—not including subfolders—which leaves quite a bit to be desired. That is particularly frustrating because the release notes include a screenshot indicating that ownCloud-wide search ought to be supported.
Interface improvements are available on the administrative side as well, which (in a practical sense) is likely to be just as important as UI improvements on the user side—considering how many early ownCloud users run their own server. In particular, the various administrative tasks have been streamlined into a single page with handy links in the sidebar to the important sections. There are also improved tools for managing large numbers of user accounts and use groups, letting administrators search and sort on multiple fields, apply changes to multiple selected users, edit existing group names, and so on—features that were unsupported in the past.
Finally, app installation has been significantly simplified. The available third-party apps are listed in an app-browser reminiscent of Firefox's current add-on browser. Each available app has a single "install" button, version and update information is clearly listed for each app, and there is a one-click tool for restricting access to each app by user group.
Behind the clouds
Under the hood, the revamped app-management system also marks a functional change. In previous ownCloud releases, the download bundle included an entire suite of add-on apps that were not enabled in the default settings. That made activating them rapid, of course, but it also made for a much larger download. Starting in version 8.0, only the basic file-storage and sync apps come built in; all of the others (including standard apps developed by the project, like Calendar and Contacts), are downloaded when they are installed from the web interface.
Another set of less-visible changes affect file sharing. Starting with version 8.0, file sharing supports federation—that is, a folder can be shared directly between two ownCloud instances running on different hosts, not just between one ownCloud instance and a desktop machine. Users set up a federated share by entering [email protected] in the "Share with a user or group" field. At the moment, that relies on the user already knowing the correct username and address of the other ownCloud server, but it is a step in the right direction, and is more secure than emailing a public link to the folder in question.
The other new file-sharing feature is support for downloading a file directly from its underlying storage (e.g., Dropbox, Amazon's S3, a Gluster server). By bypassing the need to funnel the download through the ownCloud server, this should significantly speed up file access when large groups of people work on the same set of files, or for ownCloud servers that simply have a lot of user accounts.
For third-party app developers, ownCloud 8.0 also includes some changes to app packaging and development. Dependency management is now built into ownCloud server; an app needs to include a list of any dependencies in an XML file, but the ownCloud server will automatically resolve those dependencies (where possible) when a user installs an app. That includes dependencies on underlying system tools (such as a database version or library) and specific PHP extensions, as well as simpler dependency issues like ensuring that the correct version of ownCloud itself is running on the server.
There have also been a number of cleanups to the app API, with an emphasis on providing a more stable and predictable platform for app developers. Evidently, in previous releases, it was far from uncommon for a third-party app to rely directly on ownCloud's internal PHP classes and methods, leading to obvious stability problems across upgrades. The project has updated its developer documentation and tutorials to reflect this; users may only notice the change when they encounter less breakage in third-party apps.
There is also one entirely new API available in ownCloud 8.0: the user provisioning API, which enables external tools to query and change various user account settings like storage quotas, and to create or modify users and groups. It is most useful from an administrative standpoint, but it is interesting to note that the API was originally an Enterprise-Edition-only feature that has now been added to the non-Enterprise edition.
Evaluating the changes in ownCloud 8.0 can be a subjective affair. What one gets out of ownCloud depends on how one intends to use it. As a replacement for proprietary cloud services like Google Drive and Google Calendar, the latest version is easy to use and just as powerful. How one feels about all the additional apps might vary somewhat—I found the Documents collaborative-editor app to be a bit more awkward and less integrated, for instance.
But the project is doing well to focus on the core—whatever other apps anyone uses, everyone needs access to files of some sort. It will also be interesting to see how the support plans for non-Enterprise customers fare as a fundraising endeavor. Other free-software web-application projects would, no doubt, like to find a reliable revenue stream that does not hinge on "open core" shenanigans or charging for commodities like file storage. Perhaps lightweight end-user support, if done right, could be just such an opportunity.
Comments (5 posted)
When Karen Sandler, the executive director of the Software Freedom Conservancy , spoke recently at the Linux Foundation's Collaboration Summit , she spent some time on the Linux Compliance Project, an effort to improve compliance with the Linux kernel's licensing rules. This project, launched with some fanfare in 2012, has been relatively quiet ever since. Karen neglected to mention that this situation was about to change; that had to wait for the announcement on March 5 of the filing of a lawsuit against VMware alleging copyright infringement for its use of kernel code. This suit, regardless of its outcome, should help to bring some clarity to the question of what constitutes a derived work of the kernel.
In her talk, Karen said that the Conservancy gets "passionate requests" for enforcement of the GNU General Public License (GPL) from two distinct groups: "ideological developers" and corporate general counsels. The interest from the developers is clear: they released their code under the GPL for a reason, and they want its terms to be respected. On the other hand, a typical general counsel releases little code under any license. Their interest, instead, is in a demonstration that the GPL has teeth so that they can be taken seriously when they tell management that the company must comply with the license terms of the code it ships.
The VMware suit should bring some comfort to both groups, in that it targets the primary product of a prominent company that has long been seen in some circles as pushing the boundaries of the GPL. But, beyond that, the suit will be of interest to the larger group of people that would like more clarity on just where the "derived work" line is drawn.
The complaint
The complaint has been filed in Hamburg, Germany, in the name of kernel developer Christoph Hellwig; the Conservancy is helping to fund the case and the lawyer involved is Till Jaeger, who also represented Harald Welte in his series of successful compliance cases. It focuses on the "vmkernel" component of VMware's vSphere ESXi 5.5.0 hypervisor product — one of VMware's primary sources of revenue.
VMware openly uses Linux as part of the ESXi product, and it ships the source for (presumably) all of the open-source components it uses; that code can be downloaded from VMware's web site. But ESXi is not a purely open-source product; it also contains a proprietary component called "vmkernel." The bootstrap process starts with Linux, which loads a module called "vmklinux." That module, in turn, loads the vmkernel code that does the actual work of implementing the hypervisor functionality. [Update: in truth, newer versions of ESXi no longer need the initial Linux bootstrap; in current versions, vmkernel boots directly.]
To many, the mere fact that vmkernel was once loaded into the kernel by a module is enough to conclude that it is a derived product of the kernel and, thus, only distributable under the terms of the GPL. That would make an interesting case in its own right, but there is more to it than that. It would seem that vmkernel loads and uses quite a bit of Linux kernel code, sometimes in heavily modified form. The primary purpose for this use appears to gain access to device drivers written by Linux, but supporting those drivers requires bringing in a fair amount of core code as well.
If one downloads the source-release ISO image from the page linked above and untars vmkdrivers-gpl/vmkdrivers-gpl.tgz , one will find these components under vmkdrivers/src_92/vmklinux_92 . There is some interesting stuff there. In vmware/linux_rcu.c, for example, is an "adapted" version of an early read-copy-update implementation from Linux. vmware/linux_signal.c contains signal-handling code, vmware/linux_task.c contains process-management code (including an implementation of schedule() ), and so on. Of particular interest to this case are linux/lib/radix-tree.c (a copy of the kernel's radix tree implementation) and several files in the vmware directory containing a modified copy of the kernel's SCSI subsystem. Both of these subsystems carry Christoph's copyrights and, thus, give him the standing to pursue an infringement case against VMware.
The picture that emerges suggests that vmkernel is not just another binary-only kernel module making use of the exported interface. Instead, VMware's developers appear to have taken a substantial amount of kernel code, adapted it heavily, and built it directly into vmkernel itself. It seems plausible that, in a situation like this, the case that vmkernel is a derived product of the Linux kernel would be relatively easy to make.
Unfortunately, we cannot see the complaint itself, because "court proceedings are not public by default in Germany (unlike in the USA)," according to the FAQ maintained by the Conservancy.
A service to the community
In her talk, Karen stated that litigation is the Conservancy's last resort after every other approach fails to obtain compliance. Certainly there can be no accusations of a rush to litigation here; the first indications of trouble emerged in 2007. The Conservancy raised the issue with VMware a number of times with no luck. Christoph approached VMware in August 2014 with his own request for compliance, starting a series of communications that did not lead to an agreement. There was a meeting in December where, it is said, VMware wanted to propose a settlement but only under strict non-disclosure terms — terms which Christoph refused. So, it seems, going to court is about the only remaining option.
One might wonder about the choice to file in Germany. The FAQ says:
VMware distributes ESXi throughout the world, but Germany is close to Christoph's home and his lawyer was available to do the litigation work there. Finally, historically, Mr. Jaeger's cases in Germany have usually achieved worldwide compliance on the products at issue in those cases.
It is worth adding that Germany's courts seem to be relatively friendly toward this sort of claim, with the result that previous GPL-enforcement cases filed there have tended to go well for the plaintiffs. The ability to pick the battlefield is a powerful advantage in a dispute of this nature.
Filing an enforcement lawsuit is an intimidating prospect for a number of reasons. Karen's talk noted that there is a lot of tension around the topic of GPL enforcement. Some people would rather that it were not done at all, seeing it as an incentive for companies to avoid GPL-licensed code. There are not many developers who want to make a stand in an enforcement effort; the Linux Compliance Project, she said, contains a number of kernel developers, but almost none of them want to stick their necks out in an actual enforcement effort.
But, she said, there is value in such efforts. Companies worldwide spend vast amounts of money to ensure that they are in compliance with free-software licenses. In the absence of enforcement, some will certainly question the value and necessity of that expense — and some will decide not to bother. There are also highly successful projects that have resulted from enforcement efforts; router distributions like OpenWrt are usually featured at the top of that list. GPL enforcement, by making it clear that everybody needs to play by the rules, is, she said, performing a service to the community as a whole.
How that service plays out in this case is going to be interesting to watch, which is good, since we are likely to be watching for some time. Given that ESXi is at the core of VMware's business, VMware seems unlikely to either release the code or withdraw the product willingly. So the case may have to go all the way through trial, and perhaps through appeals as well. But, at the end, perhaps we'll have a clearer idea of what constitutes a derived product of the kernel; that could be seen to be a useful service even if the enforcement effort itself fails.
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Since opening its doors in 2008, GitHub has grown to become the largest active project-hosting service for open-source software. But it has also attracted a fair share of criticism for some of its implementation choices—with one of the leading complaints being that it takes a lax approach to software licensing. That, in turn, leads to a glut of repositories bearing little or no licensing details. The company recently announced a new tool to help combat the license-confusion issue: a site-wide API for querying and reporting license information. Whether that API is up to the task, however, remains to be seen.
None of the above
By way of background information, GitHub does not require users to choose a license when setting up a new project. An existing project can also be forked into a new repository with one click, but nothing subsequently prevents the new repository's owner from changing or removing the upstream license information (if it exists).
From a legal standpoint, of course, the fork inherits its license from upstream automatically (unless the upstream project is public domain or under some other less-common license). But from a practical standpoint, this provenance is difficult to trace. Throw in other GitHub users submitting pull requests for patches that have no license information, and one has a recipe for confusion.
The bigger problem, however, is that the majority of GitHub repositories carry no license information at all, because the users who own them have not chosen to add such information. In 2013, GitHub introduced its first tool designed to combat that issue, launching ChooseALicense.com, a web site that explains the features and differences of popular FOSS licenses.
ChooseALicense.com allows GitHub users to select a license, and the GitHub new-project-configuration page has a license selector, but using it is not obligatory. In fact, the ChooseALicense.com home page includes the following as its last option:
I don’t want to choose a license. You don’t have to.
That "no license" link, incidentally, attempts to explain the downside of selecting no license—most notably, it strongly discourages other developers (both FOSS and proprietary) from using or redistributing the code in any fashion, for fear of getting entangled in a copyright problem. But the page also points out that the GitHub terms of service dictate that other users have the right to view and fork any GitHub repository.
A new interface
One could probably quibble endlessly over the details of ChooseALicense.com and its wording. The upshot, though, is that it did not have a serious impact on the license-confusion problem. A March 9 post on the GitHub blog presented some startling statistics: that less than 20% of GitHub repositories have a license, and that the percentage is declining. The introduction of the license-selection tool in 2013 produced a spike in licensed repositories, followed by a downward trend that continues to the present. The post also included some statistics on license popularity; the three licenses featured most prominently on the license-chooser site (MIT, Apache, and GPLv2) are, unsurprisingly, the most often selected.
This data set, however, is far from complete; as the post explains, the team only logged licenses that were found in a file named LICENSE , and only matched that file's contents against a short set of known licenses. Nevertheless, GitHub did evidently determine that the problem was real enough to warrant a new attempt at a solution.
The team's answer is a new site-wide API called, fittingly, the Licenses API. It is currently in preview, which means that interested developers must supply a special HTTP header with any requests in order to access it.
But the API is, at least currently, a frustratingly limited one. It offers just three functions:
GET /licenses returns a JSON-formatted list of all of the licenses tracked by the site.
returns a JSON-formatted list of all of the licenses tracked by the site. GET /licenses/licensename returns the license text and associated metadata for licensename.
returns the license text and associated metadata for licensename. GET /repos/username/reponame returns any licensing information for username's reponame repository (along with other repository information).
Arguably the biggest limitation is that, as was the case with the statistics gathered for the blog post, the license of a repository is determined only by examining the contents of a LICENSE file. On the plus side, the license information returned by the API conforms to the Software Package Data Exchange (SPDX) specification, which should make it easy to integrate with existing software.
To be sure, determining and counting licenses is not a simple matter—as many in the community know. In 2013, for example, a pair of presentations at the Free Software Legal and Licensing Workshop explored several strategies for tabulating statistics on FOSS license usage. Both presentations ended with caveats about the difficulty of the problem—whatever methodology is used to approach it.
Nevertheless, the GitHub Licenses API does appear to be strangely naive in its approach. For example, it is well-established that a significant number of projects place their license in a file named COPYING , rather than LICENSE , because that has long been the convention used by the GNU project. Even scanning for that filename (or other obvious candidates, like GPL.txt ) would enhance the quality of the data available significantly. Far better would be allowing the repository owner to designate what file contains the license.
Furthermore, the Licenses API could be used to accumulate more meaningful statistics, such as which forks include different license information than their corresponding upstream repository, but there is no indication yet that GitHub intends to pursue such a survey. It may fall on volunteers in the community to undertake that sort of work. There are, after all, multiple source-code auditing tools that are compatible with SPDX and can be used to audit license information and compliance. Regrettably, the GitHub Licenses API does not look like it will lighten that workload significantly, since the information it returns is so restricted in scope.
Power to choose
GitHub is right to be concerned about the paucity of license information in the repositories hosted at its site. But both the 2013 license chooser and the new Licenses API seem to stem from an assumption on GitHub's part that the reason so many repositories lack licenses is that license selection is either confusing or difficult to find information on. Neither effort strikes at the heart of the problem: that GitHub makes license selection optional and, thus, makes licensing an afterthought.
SourceForge has long required new projects to select a license while performing the initial project setup. Later, when Google Code supplanted SourceForge as the hosting service of choice, it, too, required the user to select a license during the first step. So too do Launchpad.net, GNU Savannah, and BerliOS. FedoraHosted and Debian's Alioth both involve manually requesting access to create a new project, a process that, presumably, involves discussing whether or not the project will be released under a license compatible with that distribution.
It is hard to escape the fact that only GitHub and its direct competitors (like Gitorious and GitLab) fail to raise the licensing question during project setup, and equally hard to avoid the conclusion that this is why they are littered with so many non-licensed and mis-licensed repositories. An API for querying licenses may be a positive step, but it is not likely to resolve the problem, since it side-steps the underlying issue.
Hopefully, the current form of the Licenses API is merely the beginning, and GitHub will proceed to develop it into a truly useful tool. There is certainly a need for one, and being the most active project-hosting provider means that GitHub is best positioned to do something about it.
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Page editor: Jonathan Corbet
Inside this week's LWN.net Weekly Edition |
Perennial candidate Danny Tarkanian will challenge Sen. Dean Heller in Nevada's 2018 GOP primary, in the hopes of capitalizing on the incumbent's public clashes with President Trump.
Tarkanian issued a statement Tuesday aligning himself with Trump and promising to stick with the president if he is elected next year.
"I am a conservative Republican who supports the policies of President Trump to repeal Obamacare and end illegal immigration. I will continue to support President Trump's policies that have led to a 20 percent increase in the stock market in just six months. I will join Senator Lee, Senator Cruz, and Senator Paul fighting for real reforms against the liberals in our party," Tarkanian said, referring to three senators who also periodically oppose Trump.
Ed Goeas, a veteran Republican political consultant and Tarkanian's longtime adviser, confirmed to the Washington Examiner that he has cut ties with Tarkanian after the candidate ignored his counsel against challenging Heller. Goeas' firm, The Tarrance Group, advised Heller.
"I made it very clear in no uncertain terms I thought it was a foolish idea that I wouldn't not be involved," Goeas said Tuesday in a telephone interview.
The White House made no secret of its displeasure with Heller, who has never fully embraced the president, after he opposed the Senate GOP proposal to repeal and replace Obamacare. Heller later supported his party's bill, but the damage was done; Trump's official outside political group ran ads in Nevada criticizing the senator, despite his endangered status in the midterm in a state the president lost to Democrat Hillary Clinton.
But there is an upside for Heller. Tarkanian is a five-time failed candidate, and his decision to run could end up being a boon to Heller, who might otherwise have faced a fresh-faced conservative who could do more to excite the GOP base.
A Heller ally said the opposition research file on Tarkanian is thick, and would be devastating to his campaign.
"Danny Tarkanian is a perennial candidate who has spent millions of dollars on five campaigns over the last decade. Nevada voters have rejected him every time — including less than a year ago against Jacky Rosen," Heller campaign spokesman Tommy Ferraro said in a statement, alluding to Rosen, the Democratic congresswoman who is running against Heller and is her party establishment's choice to challenge the incumbent. "He's wasted conservatives' time and cost the Republican Party seats up and down the ballot." |
The 2014 NFL quarterback class is an interesting one, to be sure. Blake Bortles, Johnny Manziel and Teddy Bridgewater were the first three taken, while the only two taken in the second round were Derek Carr and Jimmy Garoppolo.
Carr has found more success than any listed above, but he’s hit a wall this season. Garoppolo sat behind Tom Brady, but was always considered a potential future starter. I bring this up because, among a slew of other things, ESPN insiders were asked which quarterback from the 2014 class would they prefer leading their franchise for the next 10-plus years.
Of the four answering, two of them went with Carr, a strong pick for a lot of reasons. He isn’t playing miserably this season, but definitely has regressed compared to his 2016 campaign. There is a lot to like with Carr, and I think the Oakland Raiders are still in a good position to re-evaluate things and field a playoff team in 2018.
But two others went a different direction, and they certainly didn’t go with Manziel. Bridgewater still has upside, as far as I’m concerned, but he’s still a big wildcard. Bortles’ time as a starter will probably not last much longer. The two other ESPN folks went with Garoppolo.
One of them says Garoppolo’s skillset is “fit for the modern NFL,” highlighting his accuracy, quick release and movement skills. “Garoppolo has the talent to play in any pro system,” he says. The second one talked a bit about Carr and how he’s a “tempting choice,” but said that Garoppolo has been “extremely impressive despite an underwhelming supporting cast on a young roster headed in the right direction.” |
Alex Rogan lives in a trailer court where his mother is manager and everyone is like a big extended family. He beats the Starfighter video game to the applause of everyone in the court and later that day finds he has been turned down for a student loan for college. Depressed, he meets Centauri, who introduces himself as a person from the company that made the game, before Alex really knows what is going on he is on the ride of his life in a "car" flying through space. Chosen to take the skills he showed on the video game into real combat to protect the galaxy from an invasion. Alex gets as far as the Starfighter base before he really realized that he was conscripted and requests to be taken back home. When he gets back home, he finds a Zando-Zan (alien bounty hunter) is stalking him. Unable to go home and live, Alex returns to the Starfighter base to find all the pilots have been killed and he is the galaxy's only chance to be saved from invasion. To defeat the invaders, who are ... Written by John Vogel <[email protected]> & Spokavriel updated |
Tom Dahlin/Getty Images
The Cleveland Browns host their first game of the new season facing the first overall draft pick Sam Bradford and his St. Louis Rams. As training camp comes to a close the preseason games are still on full throttle, so this should be a good one.
The Browns offense, and new starting quarterback Jake Delhomme, impressed in their first game at Green Bay last week. Coaches and fans will look for them to keep up that pace along with improvements on the defensive side.
The things the coaches will be watching for most in the second preseason game will be the continued development of defensive rookies Joe Haden and TJ Ward. Also they will keep an eye on an offensive line dealing with injuries and how Marcus Benard looks in the starting lineup.
Starting with the latter, the linebacker corps of this years team has been the center of most peoples attention in training camp. With an injury to starter and team leader D'Qwell Jackson, Browns coaches are shuffling around bodies to try to find the best fit.
The starters for tomorrow's preseason showdown will go as follows: Marcus Benard and Matt Roth on the outside and newcomers Scott Fujita and Chris Gocong starting as the middle linebackers.
Marcus Benard, who was an undrafted free agent signee last season, spent most of his rookie year on the practice squad. He burst onto the radar when he was activated in a home win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in which he had 2 sacks of Steelers quarterback Ben Roetheislberger.
As the season continued Benard showed he could be used as a pass rusher in the NFL, but to be a starter in Mangini's defense you can't afford to be just a specialist. On Saturday, Benard will try to show everyone he can be a complete player and deserves to start.
In their first action in a NFL uniform rookies TJ Ward and Joe Haden impressed the coaches. TJ Ward led the team in tackles and showed potential to be the safety this team has been searching for years. Cornerback Joe Haden got the start in place of injured Eric Wright and looked nervous but played better as the game went on.
For the rookies to keep impressing Ward will have to show improvement in coverage and Haden will have to lose the nerves early, especially since he's fighting for a starting spot.
The right side of the offensive line has been a mystery ever since tackle Ryan Tucker was injured a few years ago. Projected starters for the start of the season were Floyd Womack and Tony Pashos. Womack got hurt early preseason and wont be back until the season starts. Rookie draft pick Shawn Lauvao played well in his absence but has left the team for an unknown personal reason. At tackle Pashos has shown an inability to stay healthy for more then a couple of days but may be available for this weekends game.
With options warring down it will be interesting to see how they perform. Although it's just a preseason game for a rebuilding team such as the Browns these games still have importance. And it will be important to see how these things shake out. |
Martyr: Your friend is more of an idiot then I thought. =u=Breeze: Yep... But he's our idiot...=~=Banana: Heke? ouoThe second and last part of the Halloween special. Crossing over this time with my Twitch Plays Pokemon Tumblr series: Ask-TwitchPKMN8+! A side from the last panel ending, I wanted everything to go right with this comic to feel like a big crossover than a guest appearance (Like last comic with Ollie). From the text box, to both of Burrito & Martyr attitudes. I really enjoyed making this comic and glad to see I finally lived to what I always wanted to do and do a crossover of 2 long time series I've been doing.About Martyr & Burrito:We all know about Twitch Plays Pokemon base story lines right? Martyr is the False Prophet and everyone LOVES Burrito. In short for those who haven't know, Martyr is the current antagonist in the saga the cast members are in now. Her goal is to destroy Lord Helix Anarchy from their world and bring a new age of Lord Dome and Democracy. As for Burrito, Burrito was given to the voices/players by Bill (The voices biggest enemy for inventing the PC) as an Eevee. In time when Burrito evolved to an espeon, it was his heart warming light that won over the hearts of thousands of voices and became a love icon.You can read about their misadventures and more on the blog.Once again, sorry for the lateness and the lazy last panel. I hope it's worth the wait!Enjoy~ Now that's what I call "a kitty with FANGS on her".Breeze The Eevee (c) All the other characters (c) Pokemon (c) Game Freak & The Pokemon CompanyDark and Breeze Comics Gallery ---> pioxys.deviantart.com/gallery/… |
Albany
Green Party gubernatorial candidate Howie Hawkins believes the Working Families Party's controversial decision to support Gov. Andrew Cuomo provides a clearer choice for voters seeking an alternative to both major parties this fall.
"I think the Greens now become the standard-bearer for progressives that want to dissent from Cuomo's conservative economic policies," Hawkins said at the Capitol on Wednesday.
A night-shift UPS worker from Syracuse who pulled almost 60,000 votes in 2010, Hawkins pointed to a recent Siena poll that showed a generic liberal candidate could win more than 20 percent in the fall, most of it taken from Cuomo's support.
"I'm a working Teamster with a name," Hawkins said.
As in his 2010 run, Hawkins offers voters a modern twist on the New Deal, complete with a jobs corps and single-payer health care, as well as sweeping public investment in clean energy.
Hawkins scoffed at the idea that the Working Families Party could count on Cuomo to help engineer a Democratic takeover of the state Senate — now controlled by a coalition of Republicans and five breakaway Democrats — or achieve any of the progressive party's legislative goals.
"They don't have any assurances," he said. "Once Cuomo got the nomination ... the next day he started walking it back. ... He has all the power now; the Working Families Party lost all their leverage."
Hawkins said he hoped WFP candidate Zephyr Teachout, who lost to Cuomo when delegates met Saturday night at the Desmond in Colonie, would go ahead with a primary challenge to Cuomo — not because she'd be likely to win, but because she could "warm up my debates with Cuomo in the fall."
Cuomo drew almost 156,000 votes on the Working Families line in 2010.
[email protected] • 518-454-5619 • @CaseySeiler |
A federal court delivered a victory to a North Carolina convenience store owner from whom the IRS had seized $107,700, directing the government to reimburse him for more than $20,000 in legal fees and expenses.
Lyndon McLellan, who owns a convenience store in Fairmont, N.C., already had won back the $107,700 the Internal Revenue Service took from him in 2014.
A federal judge ruled Tuesday that the federal government is required to pay McLellan’s legal fees, his expenses, and interest earned on the money the IRS seized in a case that could set a “powerful precedent” for victims of forfeiture fighting to be made whole.
“When the government takes people’s property without justification and then tries to walk away—what this decision really stands for is the idea that the government doesn’t get to put the cost of its mistake on the person who has done nothing wrong,” Robert Johnson, a lawyer with the Institute for Justice, who represented McLellan, told The Daily Signal. Johnson added:
When the government takes someone’s life and turns it upside down by taking their money through civil forfeiture and then realizes it’s made a mistake, the government has to be the one to bear the costs.
The Daily Signal first reported in May that the IRS had seized the $107,000 from McLellan’s bank account. Days later, the government moved to dismiss the case and cited changes to the Justice Department’s policy regarding civil asset forfeiture made in March as its reason for dropping the action.
In his ruling, U.S. District Judge James Fox said McLellan was fully within his right to demand that the government pay for his legal fees and expenses, as is guaranteed under the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act of 2000. Fox wrote:
[T]he damage inflicted upon an innocent person or business is immense when, although it has done nothing wrong, its money and property are seized. Congress, acknowledging the harsh realities of civil forfeiture practice, sought to lessen the blow to innocent citizens who have had their property stripped by the government. … This court will not discard lightly the right of a citizen to seek the relief Congress has afforded.
McLellan and Johnson have fought for full compensation for McLellan for more than eight months. Although Johnson contended that the “wheels of justice turn slowly,” he called the decision a “vindication.”
“For Lyndon, I spoke with him, and he’s absolutely thrilled about this decision,” Johnson said. “This is vindication that has been a long time coming. Lyndon did nothing wrong, and it’s gratifying to see a federal judge stick up for that fact and to make things right.”
McLellan has owned and operated L&M Convenience Mart since 2001. According to court documents, the IRS seized his money because agents believed he had committed “structuring” violations. McLellan, however, was never charged with a crime.
Structuring involves making consistent cash deposits or withdrawals of just under $10,000 into or out of a bank account to avoid federal reporting requirements. Law enforcement targeted structuring as a way to stop money laundering and drug trafficking.
However, several instances have arisen involving innocent Americans, such as McLellan, who were unaware they were violating the law in the first place.
The government can seize money—as it did in McLellan’s case—from those accused of committing structuring violations under a subset of civil asset forfeiture laws that govern cash transactions.
Though McLellan went on to receive the full $107,702.66 the IRS seized, the government moved to dismiss the case without covering his legal fees and expenses, as well as interest earned on the money.
Under the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act, passed by Congress in 2000, McLellan and others who successfully challenge a forfeiture are entitled to those fees and expenses, which totaled more than $20,000 in McLellan’s case. Johnson, McLellan’s lawyer, said:
The court said very strongly if you’ve taken money from an innocent person and put them through what the court calls the harsh realities of the civil forfeiture practice, then you should have to make them whole. The government has a very aggressive interpretation of the structuring laws and believes that it was in its right to take Lyndon’s money.
Johnson said the federal court’s decision could have a significant impact on future cases involving forfeiture victims who are fighting to have their lawyers’ fees and expenses covered by the government.
He specifically cited the case of Iowa restaurant owner Carole Hinders, who, with the Institute for Justice, is heading before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit to argue that the government should pay more than $67,000 in legal fees and expenses she accrued by challenging the forfeiture.
The IRS seized nearly $33,000 from Hinders’ cash-only restaurant in August 2013, saying she committed structuring violations. She received her money back in December 2014.
“This decision gives us a very strong tailwind heading into that argument, and it’s something that we’re going to be citing to the court,” Johnson said. “Lyndon now is going to be made whole, and Carole deserves to have the same result.” |
This is a list of winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. Beginning with the 18th Primetime Emmy Awards, leading actresses in comedy have competed alone. However, these comedic performances included actresses from miniseries, telefilms, and guest performers competing against main cast competitors. Such instances are marked below:
# – Indicates a performance in a Miniseries or Television film, prior to the category's creation.
– Indicates a performance in a Miniseries or Television film, prior to the category's creation. § – Indicates a performance as a guest performer, prior to the category's creation.
Winners and nominations [ edit ]
1950s [ edit ]
1960s [ edit ]
1970s [ edit ]
1980s [ edit ]
1990s [ edit ]
2000s [ edit ]
2010s [ edit ]
Total awards by network [ edit ]
CBS – 26
NBC – 16
ABC – 7
HBO – 7
Showtime – 2
Amazon – 1
Superlatives [ edit ]
Superlative Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Actress with most awards Julia Louis-Dreyfus (7) Actress with most nominations Julia Louis-Dreyfus (11) Actress with most nominations
without ever winning Jane Kaczmarek (7)
Programs with multiple awards [ edit ]
6 awards
5 awards
4 awards
3 awards
2 awards
Multiple awards [ edit ]
Multiple nominations [ edit ]
See also [ edit ]
Notes [ edit ]
a b c d e f g h i Early Emmy ceremonies did not have genre specific acting categories |
The women’s game has truly hit new heights. This has been a FIFA Women’s World Cup of fabulous goals, wonderful games, and a sporting tournament that has truly made an impact across the globe.
The #FIFAWWC has inspired girls & women around world. Ask your Federation how to get involved. http://t.co/jTyEQmI8Cc pic.twitter.com/4oEjZAqlg8 — FIFA Women'sWorldCup (@FIFAWWC) July 5, 2015
In the United States, television audience records have been set. In Africa, nations like Nigeria and Cameroon have held their heads high. In the UK, the traditionally hard bitten media has finally been turned to shine a light on the game.
And here in Australia, the Matildas have garnered press attention, commercial TV mentions, and created a little bit of Australian football history into the bargain.
They have even knocked Tim Cahill off the Australian cover of FIFA 16.
From the perspective of SBS, this has been a ground-breaking month: every match available online, 41 matches broadcast live in high definition on TV, and a nightly highlights show. It’s been the most comprehensive coverage of women’s team sport ever seen on free-to-air television.
The results have been hugely encouraging: growing, engaged audiences, not just jumping on the “Aussie” bandwagon, but sticking around to see what Cameroon, Canada, China and Netherlands have to offer, too.
On Sunday, nearly 350,000 watched Australia fall to Japan in the quarter-finals, with the Women’s World Cup surpassing AFL and NRL activity on Twitter.
Overall SBS's coverage is approaching 2.5 million viewers, and it’s all been led by three women: Lucy Zelic, Sally Shipard and Joey Peters. The feedback has been tremendous.
Online, you’ve joined us in your tens of thousands, too, for live match streams. You’ve shared our content across your own social media pages and been part of some terrific conversations online that have only served the stand up the women’s game as the excellent spectacle it is.
As an example, when we shared that winning Matildas moment against Brazil on The World Game’s Facebook page, thousands of you shared it with your own friends and family, and hundreds of thousands of you watched it.
FIFA Women's World Cup Round of 16 RESULTBrazil 0-1 AUSTRALIAReport:... Posted by SBS The World Game on Sunday, June 21, 2015
The World Game website hit almost 1 million unique users through the World Cup month of June while our man on the ground, Vitor Sobral, was glowing in his praise of coach Alen Stajcic and the entire playing group declaring they were 'wonderful to work with' as he played his part in bringing you all the latest from the Matildas camp during their Canadian odyssey.
However, as good as the numbers have been, it was never the point. We didn’t decide to show the whole tournament to gain huge viewing figures or garner some sort of commercial success. We did it because it was the right thing to do.
At SBS, we are uniquely placed to offer alternatives. We can provide services that other media outlets simply would not bother to. We want to inspire and encourage passion communities and promote diversity and multiculturalism. We want to make a difference.
To this end, the FIFA Women’s World Cup can be held up as a figurehead for our purpose, for what we are about. And it's all those things that we are hugely proud of.
There’s a school of thought that women’s sport doesn’t interest people. People say it’s always going to be inferior to the games played by male counterparts. If that were the case, then this country would only ever show NRL, AFL, and cricket. Women would be relegated to cheerleaders and WAG’s.
“Pass us a beer love, the footy’s on.” How sad. No Cathy Freeman moment. No Dawn Fraser. No Opals, Hockeyroos, thrilling netball finals. No Anna, Sally, Steph, Kerryn, Leisel and Libby.
Perhaps most importantly, no role models for our young kids.
I have a daughter. She’s 7 years-old, going on 17. She swims, plays netball and football, and even cricket sometimes. She cheers on Spurs, Sydney FC and Wests Tigers (rarely) and the Socceroos. But this month I’ve been able to show her another side, an actual team she could get into. I’ve shown her a team of players she can relate to and aspire to, and that is priceless.
The groundswell of support for the Matildas has also opened up many debates around coverage, pay and acceptance.
It’s also opened many eyes. The challenge now, for us at SBS as much as anyone, is to keep those eyes open as the stardust of the World Cup fades.
When it’s back to 'normal' there are no guarantee. Yet for the first time, in forever, I get a real sense of change in the game, a sense that there’s a feeling of something significant building.
The Era of the Matildas is on its way. |
Things continue to get worse for the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) in Al-Hasakah City, as the Syrian Armed Forces and the predominately Kurdish “People’s Protection Units” (YPG) continue to tighten the noose around the remaining enemy combatants that are entrenched inside the provincial capital’s southern corridor.
On Thursday morning, the battle for Al-Hasakah City took a turn for the worst for the militants of ISIS, as the Syrian Armed Forces expanded their control over the remaining residential neighborhoods to the west of the Martyrs Cemetery in the Al-Ghuweiran Quarter.
This success near the Martyrs Cemetery comes one day after the Syrian Arab Army’s 104th Airborne Brigade of the Republican Guard captured the Vegetable Market located inside the east district of Al-Ghuweiran.
Following the Republican Guard’s success in the Al-Ghuweiran Quarter, the Syrian Arab Army’s 123rd Brigade of the 3rd Armored Division took control of the Dar Al-Thaqaqah building after a series of fierce clashes with the ISIS militants inside the provincial capital.
With ISIS’ repeated failures in the eastern corridor of the provincial capital; this has paved the way for the Syrian Armed Forces and the YPG to advance in the west district of the Al-Nishwa Quarter.
Much to the surprise of ISIS, the YPG has entered the west district of the Al-Nishwa Quarter, capturing the Dawar Al-Akheer building after intense firefights in the provincial capital’s western front.
Meanwhile, to the south of the YPG’s positions, the Syrian Arab Army’s 154th Brigade of the 4th Mechanized Division – in coordination with the Gozarto Protection Forces (Assyrian militia) and the National Defense Forces (NDF) – have taken control of more building blocks inside the Al-Shari’ah District of western Al-Nishwa, killing over 15 enemy combatants in the process.
For the first time in this war, the Syrian Arab Air Force and the Anti-ISIS Coalition are targeting ISIS militants in the same city, as U.S. aircraft were seen attacking the terrorist group at the west district of Al-Nishwa.
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BY: JESSICA BEUKER
Last month, Sweden’s Sodersjukhuset hospital opened the world’s first rape centre for male sexual violence victims. The hospital already runs a walk-in clinic for women and girls, and now will provide the same around the clock care for men and boys. The hospital opened the centre as part of a strategy to ensure ‘gender equal’ patient care.
According to the Daily Mail, emergency medical care for raped men will be free of charge, and offered 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The walk-in clinic for women and girls treats between 600-700 patients a year, but there are not any specific places for male victims of sexual assault to turn to.
According to the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention, in 2014, around 370 cases of sexual assault on men or boys was reported across the country. The actual figure is likely much higher, due to the fact that many cases go unreported. The clinic is exceptionally vital to the public health realm, due to the fact that Sweden has the highest rape rate in all of Europe.
Many victims of sexual abuse do not seek care because it is not easily accessible or available, but also because of the stigma attached to the issue of rape, particularly male rape. Because of the myths surrounding masculinity, men often find it difficult to open up and talk about their experiences, therefore the new male centre will employ a slightly different set of strategies when discussing sexual assault.
“Anyone, male or female, who has been sexually assaulted, is, by definition, coming to terms with their sense of vulnerability,” said Peter Pollard, a spokesperson for 1in6 – an organization dedicated to increasing awareness of and support for male victims of sexual assault, – in an interview with Broadly. “For men, the process is complicated by widely accepted norms, which teach boys from a young age that it’s socially unsafe for males to express vulnerability, fear, or sadness. So the very act of seeking help can, for men, initially stir a fear of increasing—rather than decreasing—vulnerability.”
There is also a wide misconception that men do not experience sexual abuse, which further adds to the stigma. However in 2013, the National Crime Victimization Survey released a statistic that was shocking to many – out of 40,000 households surveyed in the United States about rape and sexual violence, 38 percent of incidents were against men.
By portraying sexual violence against men as abnormal and rare, we are providing a catalyst for shame and preventing justice. The new rape centre is providing a safe space for men to open up and get treatment, but will hopefully also help dispel the myths surrounding male rape. “Rape is shameful—for the victims,” said Anna Starbrink, Stockholm County Council’s commissioner for healthcare, in an interview with Broadly. “That is a fact we need to change. The shame should only be on the perpetrator.”
Image sourcing: newsweek.com, breitbart.com, vice.com |
Center ice is shown during an open house for prospective 2017 Vegas NHL hockey season ticket holders at T-Mobile Arena Monday, Aug. 1, 2016, in Las Vegas. (Ronda Churchill/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Members of the Storm Youth Hockey organization skate on the newly installed ice at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2016. (Jason Ogulnik/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
A zamboni driver prepares the newly installed ice prior to members of the Storm Youth Hockey organization skate at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2016. (Jason Ogulnik/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Daniel Pray, left, and Michael Feeney explore seating options during an open house for prospective 2017 Vegas NHL hockey season ticket holders at T-Mobile Arena Monday, Aug. 1, 2016, in Las Vegas. (Ronda Churchill/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
T-Mobile Arena installs an NHL professional hockey rink for the first time. Saturday, July 30, 2016. (Glenn Pinkerton/Las Vegas News Bureauu)
Hockey fans are getting antsy again.
The owner is preaching patience again.
For months, the anxiety level of Las Vegas hockey fans rose to uncomfortable levels waiting for the NHL to officially award Bill Foley an expansion team. Since June 22, when the announcement was made, a new issue has fans acting restless — this time, it’s the team’s name and logo.
Though the team remains nameless, Foley said his choices are narrowed to four from an original 18 names the team submitted to the NHL for approval. His goal is to have everything in place, including merchandise to sell, when the name is officially announced in late September or early October.
“We’re making progress,” Foley said from his Whitefish, Montana, home. “We’re in a pretty good position now, and we’re meeting next week with the NHL and adidas to look at logos and designs. We’ll have a little more clarity in the next 30 days.”
Foley said he wanted to keep the final four names a secret until the official unveiling.
“We want to make it a special event for everyone,” he said. “I know everyone is anxious about the name. But we want to get it right.”
Foley said “Knights” is still in play in some form. But the name “Las Vegas Knights” isn’t likely because a Canadian junior hockey team in London, Ontario, owns the rights to the name “Knights.”
“The London Knights own the name in Canada, and to acquire the name from London is not economically feasible,” Foley said. “In the U.S., ‘Knights’ are fine. But we can’t use it in Canada.”
Attempts to reach London Knights owner Dale Hunter have been unsuccessful.
Foley said with general manager George McPhee and assistant GM Kelly McCrimmon in place to run the hockey operation, he can focus on building the business side of the team. He is looking to hire a president and has enlisted a consulting firm, Turnkey Search of Haddonfield, New Jersey, to recruit candidates.
“They are highly regarded and came highly recommended to me from a couple of NHL owners,” Foley said of Turnkey, which has helped identify upper management personnel for professional sports teams as well as athletic directors for colleges.
“The priority was to get George hired and get Kelly on board and get our scouts hired. Now we can turn our attention to the business side.”
Foley said the hiring of a president probably will be made in late October or November.
“There’s no need to rush with that position,” he said. “We want to find the right person, and I expect we’ll have some great candidates.”
Also, the Clark County permits for the team’s proposed practice facility are being finalized. Foley said the lease for the facility, which will be built across from Downtown Summerlin on Pavilion Center Drive, has been finalized with The Howard Hughes Corp.
Gillette Construction of Las Vegas will build the 105,000 square-foot facility, which will house two ice rinks and serve as the team’s headquarters.
“We’re looking at groundbreaking around Oct. 1,” Foley said. “The county is 100 percent behind us, and I’m hopeful we’ll have everything ready in time for our first season (in 2017).”
Contact Steve Carp at [email protected] or 702-387-2913. Follow on Twitter: @stevecarprj |
GREEN BAY, Wis. -- If the Seattle Seahawks think they have the Green Bay Packers' no-huddle offense figured out from watching Aaron Rodgers run it last Saturday at the St. Louis Rams, they should think again.
According to several Packers' players and coaches, the hand signals they are using in the preseason are nothing like what they will use to combat the noise when the regular season opens in the Pacific Northwest on Sept. 4.
"It's really geared towards our first game," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. "So you don't want to show a whole lot. I think our players, particularly, on offense have done a great job with communication. No-huddle is a big part of what we do. To have a set of signals for preseason and a whole different set for the regular season, this is really the first year we've done that. So, we just have a lot more going on."
The reason for the different hand signals is two-fold:
1. The Packers want to keep the Seahawks guessing.
2. They believe several of the players they cut in their roster reduction at the end of camp may be picked up by other teams on their schedule.
"It's tough, especially when you play in a no-huddle situation," quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt said. "You have 90 guys in camp but 53 are going to be around so, obviously, some people aren't going to be here. You try to have the second group of signals ready to go. Use the ones we use in camp then say, 'All right, guys, let's wipe the slate and here's the new set.' That's part of dealing with crowd noise is having the ability to change signals. Maybe one week the signal is 'this,' and the next week the same signal becomes the double move off of that. Just try to keep the defense guessing."
While much of the talk this offseason has been about what new wrinkles defensive coordinator Dom Capers may throw at the Seahawks that they have never seen from the Packers before, there's also plenty McCarthy wants to be a surprise from Rodgers & Co. That's why at the start of practice, when the defense is outside going through its pre-practice walk-through, the offense works behind the closed doors of the Don Hutson Center.
"It's the same offense; it's just different plays," receiver Jordy Nelson said. "It's nothing difficult. It's just plays that, as I said, us older guys have seen every play in the book. There's just plays that we'll probably run more throughout the season than what we'll run in the preseason. Preseason games are very vanilla and watered down. We're just getting more into those plays that might be deeper in the playbook. It's nothing difficult." |
10 Signs You Have Candida Overgrowth & How to Eliminate It July 23rd, 2018
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Candida overgrowth is one of the most common conditions I see in my clinic, especially among my autoimmune patients. I’ve seen thousands of patients suffer from digestive issues, fatigue, brain fog, recurring fungal infections, skin problems, mood swings, and more, all caused by Candida overgrowth!
I have also seen the incredible transformation that they experience by beating their Candida. I’ve witnessed energy and vitality return, mental clarity restored, and chronic symptoms fade away.
You might be wondering, “What on earth is Candida?” Candida is a fungus, which is a form of yeast, a very small amount of which lives in your mouth and intestines. Its job is to aid with digestion and nutrient absorption, but when it is overproduced it breaks down the wall of the intestine and penetrates the bloodstream, releasing toxic byproducts into your body and causing leaky gut. This can lead to many different health problems ranging from digestive issues to depression.
How do you get Candida overgrowth?
The healthy or ‘good’ bacteria in your gut typically keeps your Candida levels in check. However, the Candida population can get out of hand if a round of antibiotics kill too many of those friendly bacteria, you have a diet high in refined carbohydrates and sugar (which feed the Candida), high alcohol intake, are taking oral contraceptives, or any number of other factors including a high-stress lifestyle. Even a diet high in beneficial fermented foods like Kombucha, sauerkraut, and pickles, can feed Candida causing an overgrowth.
10 Common Candida Symptoms
Candida has the unique ability to change shape in order to protect itself from harsh environments. It responds to a shift in temperature or acidity levels by transforming from a rounded yeast cell into an elongated hyphal cell. These elongated cells have the ability to permeate the gut lining, causing leaky gut, and, once in the bloodstream, invade other tissues. This means that Candida can quickly transition from a gut problem to a full-body problem as it colonizes the skin, mouth, ears, thyroid, genitourinary organs, or elsewhere. For this reason, Candida overgrowth symptoms are wide-ranging and can present as the following:
Do you think you have Candida overgrowth? Take this simple quiz to find out!
The Candida & Autoimmune Connection
Once Candida has penetrated your intestinal lining and caused your gut to become leaky, it opens the floodgates for undigested food particles, toxins, viruses, and bacteria to pass through your intestinal wall and into your bloodstream. This triggers an inflammatory response from your immune system in an attempt to fight off these foreign “invaders”. As your gut remains leaky, your immune system continues sending out wave after wave of inflammation, and soon gets stressed, weakened, confused, and begins firing less accurately. When this happens, your own body’s tissues can end up in the crosshairs of your immune system. Over time this can lead you to develop full-blown autoimmune disease.
How do you test for Candida overgrowth?
IgG, IgA and IgM Candida Antibodies
Blood tests check for IgG, IgA, and IgM Candida antibodies in your blood, and can be performed at most any lab. High levels of these antibodies indicate that an overgrowth of Candida is present somewhere in the body and that your immune system is reacting to it.
Remember, Candida has the ability to suppress the immune system so it is important to ask your doctor to test your total IgG, IgA and IgM levels along with the Candida antibodies. Low levels of total IgG, IgA or IgM could cause a false negative response to the Candida antibodies, meaning you have Candida but since your immune system is lowered, you are unable to produce a response and your blood test comes back negative. Since I see so many patients with suppressed immune systems, I find in my clinic that blood tests can often be negative even when the stool or urine tests are positive.
Complete Blood Count (CBC)
Often, I will see clues on a CBC that let me know that Candida is present. A low white blood cell count (WBC) has been associated with Candida overgrowth as well as a pattern of high neutrophil and low lymphocyte count. While these are non-specific to Candida, after working with thousands of patients, I can tell you I see this pattern very frequently in those with Candida overgrowth.
Stool Testing
I personally find this to be the most accurate test available. This will check for Candida in your colon or lower intestines. However, you need to make sure that your doctor orders a comprehensive stool test rather than the standard stool test. With the stool test, your stool is directly analyzed for levels of Candida. The lab can usually determine the species of yeast as well as which treatment will be effective.
Urine Organix Dysbiosis Test
This test detects D-Arabinitol a waste product of Candida overgrowth. An elevated test means an overgrowth of Candida. This test will determine if there is Candida in your upper gut or small intestines.
How do you treat Candida overgrowth?
Effectively treating Candida involves stopping the overgrowth, restoring the friendly bacteria that usually keep them in check, and repairing your gut so that Candida can no longer enter your bloodstream. I accomplish this with a simple and proven three-wave attack in my 30-day Candida Breakthrough® Program. The steps are as follows: |
Alex Trebek may be one of the only Canadians on Jeopardy! next season. Producers from the show have barred Canadians from taking the most recent round of online tests, which recruit future contestants, because they are concerned about complying with Canada’s online privacy regulations.
Could Alex Trebek could be the only Canadian on Jeopardy!? ( AP )
“As international laws governing how information is shared over the internet are ever-changing and complex, we are currently investigating how we can accept registrations from potential Canadian contestants,” spokesperson Alison Shapiro said in an email. “The Jeopardy! Adult, Teen, and College tests have already taken place this year, and we are making every effort to find a solution before the next round of testing is available.” It’s a blow for the legions of Canadian Jeopardy! fans who dream of asking Trebek the right question and winning fame and fortune. The show’s silver-tongued host even felt compelled to comment on the exclusion, telling the Ottawa Citizen that it was “an issue affecting my native country and the show I love.”
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“It is true that for the most recent Jeopardy! contestant tryouts, Canadians were precluded from taking the online test, since the show must now comply with new rules set down by the Canadian government,” he told the Citizen. Because people stay on the Jeopardy! contestant list for 18 months, there may be some Canadians from last year’s test that could still be eligible, Trebek said, adding that several Canadians have already appeared this season. “We have had many Canadians as contestants throughout the history of the show, and we hope that will continue, because Canadians make great game show contestants. We look forward to having more try out as soon as we are sure we can comply with all Canadian online privacy laws,” he said. Neither Trebek nor the producers were able to pinpoint what exactly the issue is with Canada’s privacy laws that prevent Canadians from completing the online tests. Requests made by the Toronto Star to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission and Industry Canada were similarly fruitless.
No government department could say what the problem might be with the online test, or which department questions about the test should be directed to. Ultimately, it shouldn’t be too hard to create an online test that is compliant with this country’s privacy laws, said Chad Finkelstein, a lawyer with Dale and Lessman LLP who has written about business compliance with privacy laws.
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“It seems to me that those hurdles are very easy to get around,” Finkelstein said. The biggest difference between here and the United States, Finkelstein said, is how we treat spam. In force since July 1 2014, Canada's anti-spam legislation forbids companies from emailing citizens without their express or implied permission. In the U.S., it’s enough to allow customers to opt-out. If a person signs up for a product or service in Canada, companies can only communicate with the person about that product or service. Ryan Black, lawyer at McMillan LLP, said the decision could have been triggered by a new feature on the website, or the producers could have just gotten nervous. The penalties for breaking anti-spam laws are steep, and can rack up fines up to $10 million. “It’s especially onerous,” said Black, who specializes in anti-spam legislation. It’s not the first time an international enterprise has gotten cold-feet about Canadian anti-spam laws, Black said. For about one day in 2014, Microsoft decided it couldn’t send out notices about security patches. “They very quickly realized, ‘yes we can, we just have to do it in a different way,’” Black said. |
We know you’re all busy and might miss out on a day (or three) of the exciting things we’re talking about on Xbox Wire every week. If you’ve got a few minutes, we can help remedy that. We’ve pared down all of the week’s news into one easy-to-digest article for all things Xbox! Or, if you’d rather watch than read, you can feast your eyes on our weekly video show above. Either way, be sure to come back every Friday to find out what’s happening This Week on Xbox. Enjoy!
Biggest News of the Week
Windows 10 Creators Update Will Enable Any Gamer to Broadcast
At an event in New York City this week, Microsoft unveiled the Windows 10 Creators Update, a free update coming in early 2017 with a host of new features that empower people to create and share their experiences with others. For gamers, the Windows 10 Creators Update will allow anyone to easily broadcast their gameplay and create their own tournaments on the fastest, most reliable multiplayer network — Xbox Live. Read more.
Xbox One S Bundles for Everyone This Holiday
It’s been an exciting year for Xbox fans and this holiday is the perfect time to get your hands on the top selling console in the U.S. and U.K. the new Xbox One S. It’s the only console with built-in 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray and 4K video streaming including content from partners like Netflix and, coming soon, Amazon Video. In addition, the Xbox One S provides High Dynamic Range (HDR) for supported video and games like Gears of War 4, Forza Horizon 3, NBA 2K17 and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. Read more.
Feast on November’s Games with Gold Lineup
Games with Gold has four new titles for you to add to your game library for November. As with last month, Xbox One will get two dedicated titles, and two Xbox 360 titles, as well, through Xbox One Backward Compatibility, for a total of four completely free titles thanks to Games with Gold. Read more.
In Case You Missed It
Don’t Miss Out on Our Multiplayer All-access Event
This is a great opportunity for players across both consoles to experience one of the most-popular benefits of Xbox Live Gold membership; when it comes to multiplayer gaming, network reliability is everything. Log in now to play on a network that delivers as well as you do. Read more.
Play Borderlands: The Handsome Collection for Free This Weekend
Borderlands: The Handsome Collection is the essential Borderlands compilation and includes the definitive versions of both Borderlands 2 and Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, built specifically for next-gen consoles. Experience the absolute highest performance and highest fidelity graphics for any Borderlands game ever played on a video game console. Read more.
Guardians & Gratitude – Halo 5’s First Year
This week marked the one year anniversary of the release of Halo 5: Guardians! We can’t believe how much the game has grown over the first year of play and it’s thanks to you, our fans. You are the reason we do what we do, you challenge and inspire us every day and we love you for it. Read more.
How Watch Dogs 2 Improves on the Original
On November 15, Watch Dogs 2 returns to the always-connected (and extremely hackable) world introduced by Watch Dogs. The basic concept is the same — you’re set loose in a city where absolutely everything is online and lorded over by sinister tech giants — but this is a world that went through a lot of changes after Aiden Pearce rampaged through Chicago’s criminal underworld on a quest for revenge, and all those changes are designed to make Watch Dogs 2 a more fun, flexible experience than its gritty predecessor. Read more.
Halloweek Begins as Spooky Bundle Haunts Consoles!
Minecraft is kicking things off with the launch of the Spooky Bundle for Console Edition today: no tricks here, just three seasonal treats all rolled into one — the Halloween Mash-up, the Halloween Battle Map, and the Campfire Tales Skin Pack. Check out the chilling trailer above and witness a trio of grisly delights, guaranteed to haunt your dreams FOREVER! Read more.
Wailing Heights Brings Undead Adventure to Xbox One
Set in a town populated by folk-singing vegan werewolves, hipster vampire songwriters, and soul-singing zombies, you play as Francis Finklestein, one-time manager of the all-time greatest rock band that Great Britain ever produced: The Deadbeats. As our point ‘n click-inspired adventure begins, Francis is trapped in a Wailing Heights’ holding cell, charged with the crime of “not being dead yet!” Read more.
Xenoraid Delivers Modern Shoot ’em Up Action on Xbox One
Xenoraid‘s creator loved vertical shooters as a kid, but doesn’t care much for the current generation of the bullet hell-type shooters. So, when it came to designing Xenoraid, choosing its goals was easy. Firstly, the game would focus on shooting and have that be as satisfying as possible. Secondly, no memorizing levels or bullet patterns. Thirdly, he wanted a unique setting and a deep metagame to support the action. Read more. |
Longest covered bridge in Asia is destroyed after massive fire ripped through the 303-metre wooden structure
The Feng Yu Covered Bridge, in Chongqing, China, burned down last night
Was known throughout Asia for its traditional beauty and pagoda-style roof
Firefighters battled through night in a bid to quell the flames, but in vain
It is now little more than a row of stone bases and floating driftwood
First built in 1591 it was constructed entirely of wood without any nails
The longest covered bridge in Asia has been destroyed after a fire roared through the wooden structure last night.
The Feng Yu Covered Bridge, in Chongqing, China, is known throughout the Far East for its traditional beauty topped by a pagoda-style roof that stretched 303 metres across the region's Apeng River.
But last night the five-metre-wide crossing, first built in 1591, collapsed into the waters as the blaze turned it to ashes.
Destroyed: The Feng Yu Covered Bridge, in Chongqing, China, was the longest covered bridge in Asia
Wood no good: The bridge was built mainly of wood which fuelled the fire further
Inferno: Last night the five-metre-wide crossing collapsed into the waters as the blaze turned it to ashes
Horror: Onlookers watch in horror as the bridge that had stood for many of their entire lives crumbled in flames
Mystery: Authorities have now launched an investigation into what caused the fire
Firefighters battled through the night in a bid to quell the flames, but by the time they got them under control it was too late.
By morning all that was left were its row of charred stone bases surrounded by blackened driftwood floating in the waters.
Authorities have now launched an investigation into what caused the fire.
Ashes: Firefighters battled through the night in a bid to quell the flames, but by the time they got them under control it was too late
Reduced to driftwood: By morning all that was left were its row of charred stone bases surrounded by blackened driftwood floating in the waters
Nothing left: This was all that was left of the bridge by the time the fires subsided
No nails: First built in 1591, the Feng Yu Bridge was constructed entirely of wood without any nails
Dragon Bridge: The bridge has been likened to a dragon and it contains both intricate architectural features as well as artistic carvings
First built in 1591 and also known as the 'Luck Bridge' and 'Flower Bridge,' it was constructed entirely of wood without any nails.
Destroyed and re-built several times over the centuries - most recently in 1999 when its wooden base was replaced by stone - it has always been the transportation fortress of Hunan-Guizhou highroad as well as a busy place with merchants and tourists.
The bridge has been likened to a dragon and it contains both intricate architectural features as well as artistic carvings. |
John Darnley came up with the idea for a bike that could combine personal exercise with mobility for his wife, who lives with Parkinson's and is wheelchair bound.
There was a time when visitors would come for miles just to chat with Avis Darnley.
But as Parkinson's disease has melted away the muscles in her jaw and throat, left her in a wheelchair and stolen her ability to speak, life has got smaller.
Most days she was left with just her front room, her television, and husband John.
KEVIN STENT/STUFF John and Avis Darnley take a ride on the new pathway created as part of the Kapiti expressway.
Until John decided it was time they both got on with living.
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* Dancing helps Parkinson's patients
* What is Parkinson's disease?
* Cycleway to get extended?
The former mechanic, from the Kapiti Coast north of Wellington, has created a modified e-bike that allows him to hitch up his wife to the handlebars and enjoy the great outdoors.
KEVIN STENT/ FAIRFAX NZ John Darnley says the first time he rolled down the street with Avis on the front of his bike, she loved it.
Now the couple tour Waikanae and further afield, cycling the new bike track built beside the $630 million Kapiti expressway.
The pair, from Waikanae Beach, have been married for nearly 44 years, and the Parkinson's diagnosis came 11 years ago, after she had a fall. Since then, the degenerative disease has got worse.
John said the idea came after he started trying to think of ways to get some exercise, and free Avis from the house.
"I thought, 'I wonder if I could put the wheelchair on the front of the bike?', so I started to do things."
Inspired by the old icecream and butchers' bikes, he he came up with the idea of the modified three-wheeler. Instead of a chiller box on the front, he has Avis and her wheelchair.
He took the idea to Southend Cycles in Levin, which modified a electric three-wheeler with a frame that would hold the chair.
To date, their longest trip together has been a six-hour jaunt to Paekakariki and back.
"Not only are you out in the fresh air and the sunshine ... but we get toots, we get waves, we get people talking to us – strangers, friends, neighbours. Avis is part of that conversation."
On Thursday they biked about a 10-kilometre return trip to the supermarket in the morning, then made a 12km return trip to Paraparaumu in the afternoon.
The first time he rolled down the street with his wife, she loved it, he said. He knew from her eyes and her face.
And even though she now mostly communicates without words, it seemed the most important ones are the last to go.
Every night, as they go to bed, Avis still says "I love you" to her husband, and "thank you for the day". |
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