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The fracas over Don Lemon of CNN laughing at his panel's insults about the intelligence of Trump supporters raises a larger issue: the ignorant belief that Trump supporters are much dumber than the general public and much dumber than those who supported Clinton in 2016. Don Lemon and his guests specifically ridiculed Trump supporters for supposed problems with "readin'" and "geography" (e.g., picking out Ukraine on a map). Even without looking at the data, it would be surprising if there were any VERY LARGE differences in intelligence between the average Trump supporter and the rest of the general public. INTELLIGENCE OF TRUMP SUPPORTERS We don't have great data on the intelligence of Trump supporters, but the best available is in the 2018 General Social Survey. For those unfamiliar with the GSS, it is usually regarded as the leading omnibus academic survey in the US; it usually achieves response rates about 10 to 20 times higher than the typical public opinion poll. In 1974, the GSS adopted a 10-question vocabulary test (WORDSUM) that was extracted from a standard, widely used IQ test. The National Science Foundation (NSF), in its 2018 report on science knowledge, refers to this battery of GSS items as a "verbal ability" test. In the 2018 GSS, respondents were asked for whom they voted in 2016 (PRES16) or for whom they would have voted if they had voted (IF16WHO): Clinton, Trump, someone else, or no one. On the verbal ability test (WORDSUM), not surprisingly the median number of vocabulary questions correct was the same for both Clinton and Trump supporters: 6 out of 10 words correct. The mean verbal ability score for Trump supporters was 6.15 words correct, while the mean verbal ability score for Clinton supporters was 5.69 correct, a difference of nearly a half a question on a 10-question test. This moderate difference is statistically significant at p<.0005. Further, Trump supporters score significantly higher on verbal ability (6.15 correct) than the rest of the public combined (5.70 correct), whereas Clinton supporters score significantly lower on verbal ability (5.69 correct) than the rest of the public combined (5.98 correct). This should not be too surprising. On the 22 General Social Surveys using the verbal ability scale since 1974, for every single one, conservative Republicans score significantly higher than the rest of the public combined. As for Republicans overall, they score significantly higher in verbal ability than Democrats in all five decades, including for the 2010s combined. But the Trump era is helping Democrats to catch up: the Republican advantage dropped to insignificance in 2016, and in 2018 Democrats (6.03 correct) actually scored slightly (but insignificantly) higher than Republicans (5.98 correct). In 199[4], the GSS employed another module lifted from a standard IQ test, one testing analogical reasoning. Again, Republicans and conservative Republicans in 199[4] performed significantly better on analogical reasoning than the rest of the public and significantly better than Democrats. TRUMP SUPPORTERS' KNOWLEDGE OF SCIENCE These results on verbal ability are also consistent with the results of most (but not all) of the National Science Foundation's science knowledge questions on the GSS. Testing the hypothesis that Trump supporters have greater science knowledge than those who supported Clinton in 2016, on six questions Trump supporters offer the correct answer significantly more often than Clinton supporters: those about lasers, radioactivity, viruses, the father's contribution to the biological sex of the child (BOYORGRL), whether "according to astronomers" the universe began with a huge explosion (BIGBANG1), and that the earth goes around the sun and that it takes a year to do so (combined EARTHSUN and SOLARREV). On one science knowledge question—whether the center of the earth is hot (HOTCORE)—the superior performance of Trump supporters over Clinton supporters is borderline significant (1-sided Fisher's Exact Test p=.05-.10). On two questions, the structure of atoms (ELECTRON) and continental drift (CONDRIFT), Trump supporters score slightly, but insignificantly, better than Clinton supporters. On none of these nine science questions do Trump supporters score worse than Clinton supporters. When one compares Clinton supporters to the rest of the public combined, Clinton supporters perform significantly worse than the rest of the public on the same six science questions on which Trump supporters perform better than Clinton supporters. Indeed, less than half of 2016 Clinton supporters (49.6%) are able to answer correctly both of two related questions: whether the earth goes around the sun or the sun goes around the earth (EARTHSUN) and whether that takes a day, a month, or a year (SOLARREV). Remember these two questions are multiple choice! You would have a 50-50 chance of guessing correctly on the first part: whether the earth goes around the sun or vice versa. Sadly, the general public didn't do hugely better than Clinton supporters, with only 57.1% (compared to 49.6%) knowing that the earth goes around the sun and that it takes a year to do so. When one compares Trump supporters to all the rest of the public combined (rather than just to Clinton supporters), the pattern for these nine science questions is roughly similar (though weaker). Overall, on most science knowledge questions Trump supporters score significantly higher than Clinton supporters and significantly higher than the combined non-Trump supporting public. If, however, you asked about beliefs, rather than knowledge, on evolution and the origins of the universe you would get substantially better answers on individual science questions from Clinton supporters than Trump supporters. MAP-READING As for reading maps and picking out countries, which the CNN segment raised, I searched quickly and found two Pew surveys from 2013 that asked respondents to pick out Egypt or Syria on a map of the Middle East. Testing the hypothesis that Republicans were significantly better at finding an unlabeled country on a map than Democrats, one 2013 Pew study supported that hypothesis (Republicans were indeed significantly more likely to pick out Syria on a map), while the other 2013 Pew study reported that Democrats were insignificantly better at picking out Egypt on a map. Thus, neither of these two studies supports the CNN's panel's ridicule of right-wing map reading, and there is some weak evidence pointing in the other direction. Of course, this was a test of Republicans, not Trump supporters, but Trump supporters did better on the 2018 GSS verbal ability test and on 2018 science knowledge questions, so there is no strong reason to suppose that the results would be radically different if one were to test Trump supporters today rather than Republicans in 2013. In 2013 the differences were not large either way, and it's unwarranted to suppose that (in a study of the quality of the GSS) any differences in map-reading would be large today. IGNORANCE LEADS TO BIGOTRY Don Lemon laughed uncontrollably at his guests insulting the intelligence and knowledge of Trump supporters. The best evidence we have suggests that, compared to the general public, Trump supporters score significantly better than the rest of the public—and Clinton supporters score significantly worse—on a standard verbal ability test. Likewise, Trump supporters score significantly better on most science knowledge questions than Clinton supporters or the general public. In this essay, I analyzed the results of over 30 questions from 22 different representative national surveys, involving over 20,000 respondents. Not one of the questions I examined here supports the idea that Trump supporters are significantly less knowledgeable than Clinton supporters, and some of them point to small or moderate differences in the opposite direction. The idea that there are very large differences in intelligence or knowledge here is implausible without strong evidence. In short, Don Lemon is a bigot—and like most bigots, he's an ignorant one as well. [Disclosure: The author made a small donation to the Hillary Clinton campaign in the fall of 2016.] [Research Note: General Social Survey data were downloaded from NORC. GSS data are weighted by WTSALL. On science questions, I coded the correct answers v. those who gave wrong answers, said they don't know, or failed to answer. The Pew data were downloaded from the IPOLL database at the Roper Center, and the WEIGHT variable was used. For 2x2 tables, significance was determined by 1-tailed Fisher Exact tests. For differences of means, 1-sided independent T-Tests were used without assuming equal variances.]

about this card On Wednesdays I like to post a link to an older card and then spend the rest of my day campaigning for religious tolerance, particularly for all religions that correctly agree with my own views, unlike those other heretic religions that I hate and would burn to the ground if the law wasn't so restrictive.

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z - 7 + s. Determine o(k(x)). -51842*x**2 Let t(c) = 3*c**2 + 2. Let j(f) = -17*f**2 + 3*f - 4. Let i(b) = -j(b) - 2*t(b). Let u(n) = -n + 15*n - 9*n - 6*n. What is i(u(l))? 11*l**2 + 3*l Let h(n) = -243*n**2. Let w(m) = 11467*m. Calculate w(h(g)). -2786481*g**2 Let o(c) = -47*c - 6. Let j(k) = 90*k + 13. Let d(u) = -6*j(u) - 13*o(u). Let n(t) = -t**2 + 13*t. Calculate n(d(i)). -5041*i**2 + 923*i Let h(z) = 2*z. Let t(g) = -3*g**2 - 2639011*g - 1. What is t(h(n))? -12*n**2 - 5278022*n - 1 Let m(x) = 9*x + 60*x - 31*x - 10*x. Let q(d) = 7*d**2 + 6. Let z(o) = -o**2 - 1. Let l(j) = -q(j) - 6*z(j). What is m(l(f))? -28*f**2 Let u(c) = 2*c**2 + 5*c. Suppose -8 = 61*d - 65*d. Let r(f) = 58*f**2 - 113*f**d + 56*f**2. Determine r(u(y)). 4*y**4 + 20*y**3 + 25*y**2 Let m(p) = -308*p - 5. Let w(f) = 2*f**2 + 86*f. Determine m(w(s)). -616*s**2 - 26488*s - 5 Let j(q) be the third derivative of q**8/20160 + q**5/15 - q**4/12 + 170*q**2. Let z(m) be the third derivative of j(m). Let g(f) = 29*f. What is g(z(i))? 29*i**2 Suppose 0 = 4*r - 4 - 4, 3*r + 639 = 5*u. Let n(y) = u*y + 14*y + 17 - 17. Let c(g) = 11*g. Let t(h) = -77*c(h) + 6*n(h). Let l(o) = -4*o**2. Give l(t(k)). -484*k**2 Let p(z) = -z. Let i(y) = 129 + 135 + 1384*y - 264 + 1307*y. Determine i(p(h)). -2691*h Let i(t) = 310*t**2 + 312*t**2 + 1 - 1 - 626*t**2. Let n(m) = 12*m + 9. Let v(u) = -3*u - 2. Let b(p) = -2*n(p) - 9*v(p). Determine b(i(x)). -12*x**2 Let w(x) = 2*x**2. Let a(i) = 625757*i**2 + 10*i. What is a(w(k))? 2503028*k**4 + 20*k**2 Suppose 5*m = 2*b + 8, -4*m - 4*b = -0*m + 16. Let o(f) = -f + m*f + 0*f. Let d(w) = -8*w**2 + 1 - 1. Calculate d(o(s)). -8*s**2 Let u(t) = -1229*t. Let q(m) = 2042*m**2 + 18. Calculate q(u(n)). 3084320522*n**2 + 18 Let b(h) = 87*h**2. Let w(f) = -188433*f. Determine b(w(d)). 3089108607543*d**2 Let l(w) = 5*w + 28. Let x(r) = -12*r**2 - 22*r + 1524. Determine x(l(g)). -300*g**2 - 3470*g - 8500 Let j(o) = -o**2 - 5*o. Let f(w) be the first derivative of -w**3/3 - 3*w**2/2 + 28. Let p(l) = -10*f(l) + 6*j(l). Let c(t) = t**2. Calculate p(c(q)). 4*q**4 Let h(k) = 2*k**2. Let i(b) = -3225108 - 198*b**2 + 3225108. Give i(h(d)). -792*d**4 Let d(v) = 3*v**2. Let y(q) = q - 810732. Calculate y(d(x)). 3*x**2 - 810732 Let w(q) = -66*q**2. Let i(s) = -4*s**2 - 6*s - 6. Let y(m) = 11*m**2 + 16*m + 16. Let j = 719 - 716. Let l(c) = j*y(c) + 8*i(c). What is l(w(u))? 4356*u**4 Let u(s) = 14862*s. Let w(r) = 2*r + 11463. Give u(w(v)). 29724*v + 170363106 Let z(d) = -182*d**2. Let s(g) = 17*g + 1 - 4 - 10*g + 3. Calculate z(s(y)). -8918*y**2 Let x(z) = -z**2 + 13*z + 84. Let y be x(17). Let v(i) = 39*i - 17*i - 20*i - y*i. Let p(h) = 2*h**2. Determine p(v(j)). 392*j**2 Let a(q) = -9*q + 6078. Let o(i) = 2*i**2 + 79. Give a(o(s)). -18*s**2 + 5367 Suppose -f - 7*m + 6*m + 31771 = 0, 5*f - 5*m - 158805 = 0. Let s(n) = f*n**2 + 3*n - 3*n - 31764*n**2. Let h(x) = 11*x. What is h(s(p))? 22*p**2 Let m(s) = 10*s - 7. Let q(a) = 128*a - 6. Let t(v) = -1645*v + 77. Let u(x) = 77*q(x) + 6*t(x). Calculate u(m(f)). -140*f + 98 Let c(k) = 7*k**2 - 25*k. Let h(z) = -10*z**2 + 35*z. Let f(j) = 7*c(j) + 5*h(j). Let m(u) = -12*u + 4*u - 21 + 5*u + 2*u. What is m(f(p))? p**2 - 21 Let t(p) = -2*p. Let s(i) be the third derivative of -109*i**5/30 - i**4/8 + 878*i**2. Give t(s(o)). 436*o**2 + 6*o Let s(y) = -67*y. Let v = -210 + 207. Let b(l) = -67*l. Let i(w) = v*s(w) + 2*b(w). Let g(a) = -2*a. Give g(i(n)). -134*n Let j(t) = 6*t - 1. Let y(s) = 17*s - 3. Suppose z - 23 = 5*u, -2*z + 5*u = -17 - 4. Let w(o) = z*y(o) + 6*j(o). Let a(x) = 152*x. What is a(w(n))? 304*n Let d(x) = -41*x - 69*x - 51*x + 136*x. Let s(p) = 6*p - 1. What is s(d(f))? -150*f - 1 Let u(l) = 3494920*l - 3494920*l - 2*l**2. Let w(a) = -41 - 41*a**2 + 41 + 145*a**2. What is u(w(f))? -21632*f**4 Let j(v) = 3021 - 9577 + 2*v + 4997. Let s(g) = -2*g. Give s(j(h)). -4*h + 3118 Let b(s) = 2*s. Let d(h) be the third derivative of 0*h + 0*h**3 - 262*h**2 + 1/24*h**4 + 0. Determine d(b(r)). 2*r Suppose -2947*a = -2943*a - 20. Let u(r) be the third derivative of -6*r**2 + 0*r**4 + 0*r**3 + 0 + 0*r + 1/30*r**a. Let n(g) = 6*g. Determine u(n(f)). 72*f**2 Let t(h) = -20*h + 5. Let n(d) = -8*d + 2. Let m(j) = -7*n(j) + 3*t(j). Let c(z) = -29*z. Determine m(c(o)). 116*o + 1 Let o(w) = 216*w**2 + 2*w + 1. Let g(j) = 808*j. What is g(o(a))? 174528*a**2 + 1616*a + 808 Let u(d) = -d**2. Suppose 0 = -11*w - 25 + 223. Let f = w + -16. Let i(g) = -2 + 2 + 829*g**2 - 803*g**f. Calculate u(i(b)). -676*b**4 Let j(h) be the first derivative of 5*h**4/24 + 153*h**2/2 + 112. Let l(s) be the second derivative of j(s). Let c(u) = 4*u + 6. What is l(c(m))? 20*m + 30 Let o(c) be the first derivative of -2*c**3/3 - 3789. Let z(f) = 2037*f. Let t(g) = 291*g. Let d(s) = 15*t(s) - 2*z(s). Give d(o(v)). -582*v**2 Let c(s) = 3*s. Let k(t) = 4456487*t. Calculate k(c(r)). 13369461*r Let r(y) = -y**2 + 5. Let u(a) = -8*a**2 + 50. Let b(c) = 10*r(c) - u(c). Let s(v) = 3615*v + 2. Give b(s(n)). -26136450*n**2 - 28920*n - 8 Let s(q) = -412*q. Let p(v) be the second derivative of -4*v**4/3 - 732*v + 1. Give p(s(j)). -2715904*j**2 Let s(m) be the third derivative of m**5/20 + m**2 + 275*m. Let d(r) = 6*r - 64. Calculate d(s(c)). 18*c**2 - 64 Let i(b) = 1075002*b. Let f(z) = 270*z**2. What is f(i(q))? 312019911001080*q**2 Let a(u) be the first derivative of u**2 - 543. Let l(j) = 39*j - 9. Calculate a(l(f)). 78*f - 18 Let w(j) = 133*j**2. Let i(m) = 2*m. Let z(c) = -2*c. Let a(r) = -r**3 + 15*r**2 - 18*r + 58. Let s be a(14). Let l(k) = s*i(k) + z(k). Determine l(w(f)). 266*f**2 Let c(n) = -11*n**2 + 24*n**2 - 36*n**2 + 24*n**2. Let v(u) = -263*u**2 - u. Determine v(c(p)). -263*p**4 - p**2 Let q(v) = 3142*v**2. Let g(y) = -2913*y**2. Calculate g(q(r)). -28757613732*r**4 Suppose 0 = -145*j + 140*j + 30. Let u(c) = 11 - j - 5*c**2 - 2*c - 7. Let s(r) = -r**2 + r + 1. Let y(k) = 2*s(k) + u(k). Let h(m) = 2*m**2. Determine y(h(t)). -28*t**4 Let u(k) = 2*k + 1. Let d be (-5 - 243/(-45))*5. Let t(h) = 161 - 324 + 163 - d*h. Give t(u(b)). -4*b - 2 Let z(o) = 29*o. Let x(k) = 30*k + 9. Let t(b) = -3 + 0 + 4 + 7*b + 1. Let u(c) = 9*t(c) - 2*x(c). Calculate u(z(j)). 87*j Let w(p) be the first derivative of -2*p**3/3 + 173. Let u be (-12)/(-8) + (-4)/(-8). Let r(v) = 5*v**u + v**2 + 6*v**2. Give w(r(n)). -288*n**4 Let f(d) = -18*d - 6. Let y(h) = -124*h - 38 - 23 + 21. Let v(k) = 20*f(k) - 3*y(k). Let i(o) = 9*o. Calculate v(i(q)). 108*q Let p(q) = -4*q - 3. Let z(r) = -8*r**2 - 695*r - 2. Give z(p(d)). -128*d**2 + 2588*d + 2011 Let f(y) be the first derivative of 16*y**3/3 + 190. Let g(r) = -52*r**2. What is f(g(s))? 43264*s**4 Let l(p) be the second derivative of -p**3/2 + 2*p. Let m(q) be the second derivative of 0*q**2 + 2*q + 0*q**3 - 8 + 5/12*q**4. Calculate m(l(w)). 45*w**2 Let t(k) = -5*k**2. Let f(z) be the second derivative of 7*z**5/120 + 239*z**3/6 + 142*z + 1. Let p(v) be the second derivative of f(v). What is p(t(l))? -35*l**2 Let a(b) = -10*b**2. Let t be (8454/(-102) + 2/(-17))/(-1). Let q = 87 - t. Let m(v) = q*v - 13*v + 2*v + 4*v. Give a(m(x)). -90*x**2 Let i(j) = 282*j + 42. Let m(x) = 87*x + 14. Let h(c) = 4*i(c) - 13*m(c). Let g(k) = 17*k**2. What is g(h(w))? 153*w**2 + 1428*w + 3332 Let o(m) = -7303099*m. Let r(x) = 4*x - 3. What is o(r(h))? -29212396*h + 21909297 Let q(n) = -194*n**2. Let t(j) = 19*j + 12*j + 22*j - 80*j + 17*j. Calculate t(q(i)). 1940*i**2 Let l(r) = 14*r - 3. Let d(u) = -767385*u. Calculate l(d(j)). -10743390*j - 3 Let k(x) = x. Let i(g) be the third derivative of 2*g**5/5 + 37*g**3/6 - g**2 + 8*g. Let j(z) be the first derivative of i(z). Give j(k(q)). 48*q Let c(q) = 2*q**2. Let h(z) = 6113*z - 4. Let l(p) = -154555020*p + 101133. Let d(j) = 101133*h(j) + 4*l(j). What is c(d(g))? 70781202*g**2 Let h(m) = 124*m**2 - 560*m**2 + 502*m**2. Let z(k) = 35*k**2. What is z(h(b))? 152460*b**4 Let k(x) = 31*x + 48 + 56 - 154 + 47. Let z(p) = 20*p**2. What is k(z(v))? 620*v**2 - 3 Let h(r) = -311*r. Let x(m) = -3519*m**2. Determine x(h(a)). -340361199*a**2 Let v(i) = -i. Let o(p) be the second derivative of -5*p**4/12 - p**3 - 57*p**2/2 - 3846*p. What is v(o(b))? 5*b**2 + 6*b + 57 Let c(w) = 2 - 9*w**2 + 34*w**2 - 4. Let t(m) be the second der

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James Roach on Twitter: similarly, going back to friendsim would boot up friendsim, and there would be a continuation of the story in there. again: this would have taken forever but damn it woulda been cool. i wanna try something like this for my own works. i briefly had this idea that the things you did in PQ with your retcon abilities would change things that already happened. if you ended up going to the epilogues or meeting UD etc, like, literally changing the like… epilogue pdfs or w/e, but this would have taken so long LMAO part 2: in the aradia route theres a point where you try to go back to friendsim and originally i wanted it to open friendsim and continue in there but nobody knows you because of doc scratch. this was obviously a bit much, and also what about the people who didnt own it etc so when they told me that PQ was its own sort of “locked” canon, i got the idea that you try and go back and theres nothing there. you’re not just locked out, it just doesn’t exist. it has been forcibly removed from your canonical story. during aradias route i wanted to show the same sort of.. importance of the fandom and the reader: the errors in continuity you create cause interest and support to wane. the universe cannot exist without the people who care. even if they care about, you know, bullshit details. so as you go in and start moving things around to where they shouldn’t be, it literally starts breaking things apart. i’ll be the first to say a lot of the fans care way too much about nonsense but i hope that was seen as the nod it was meant to be. without you, this is nothing

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"Sick of those flat grey space-taking IDE cables that are sitting there in your system, waiting to be modded? Why spend ridiculous amounts of cash on pre-rounded IDE cables when you can do it yourself!? Of course, that is the modder's mentality. Well, I decided to do this for my own system, because I had some flat IDE cables and some sleeving laying around." Done the slicing for years; there is "soft" and "hard" type flat cable, I prefer the "soft" type. As for sleeving it, I don't recommend; taking the connector out is the easy part; snapping them back in making sure good conductivity is hard to do.

Woman sexually assaulted in her South Loop garage A woman was sexually abused outside her home in the South Loop. (WGN - Chicago) A woman was sexually abused outside her home in the South Loop. (WGN - Chicago) By Staff report A 56-year-old woman was sexually assaulted in her garage in the South Loop by a man with a gun, police said. The attack happened around 6:40 p.m. Wednesday in the 1400 block of South Clark Street, police said. She was approached while she was seated in her car inside her garage and the man showed a gun and told her to open her car door, police said. Police originally had said she might have been forced into her car. The man then assaulted her, according to a police alert issued this afternoon by Area Central detectives. Her attacker took her keys and went into her home after the attack and robbed her 54-year-old husband, police said. The attack is described as a black man, between the ages of 30 and 33, standing between 5-foot-6 and 5-foot-8 and weighing between 165 and 185 pounds. The man had black hair, brown eyes and a medium complexion. He was wearing a black ski cap with red trim and a dark-colored sweater, police said. Two suburban men assaulted and robbed a panhandler on the South Side on Monday—then came back and beat him again after one of the men left his cellphone at the scene, prosecutors said at a court hearing Tuesday. A day after Trevor Noah was declared the new host of "The Daily Show," his graphic tweets targeting women and Jews are causing a social media backlash and Comedy Central is defending its newest late-night star. Ronit Bezalel has seen just about everything on Chicago bike paths, but on her Monday morning commute she found something that shocked even her: A silver Buick, almost unscathed, in the middle of the bike path.

"She wasn't having an affair with Rupert. It was just a fleeting moment that shouldn't have happened," says the source. "She never meant to hurt anyone. She's a good person who just made a bad choice." A rep for Sanders, who is married and has two children, could not be reached for comment. A rep for Stewart had no comment. You have to be cynical... I mean I get that she and that Pattinson guy were on set together for years, and shit happens, and all the external pressures for them to be together IRL for the fans, for $$$, for exposure, etc. That all had to be there. It doesn't mean that either of them were "the one" for each other or some such fairy tale. I think they both got trapped in a machine that was destined to churn them out in to some sort of "scandal" like this, but the fact of the matter is that they were doomed from the start. Full disclosure: I've never seen a minute of a Twilight film, and never will. You have to be cynical... I mean I get that she and that Pattinson guy were on set together for years, and shit happens, and all the external pressures for them to be together IRL for the fans, for $$$, for exposure, etc. That all had to be there. It doesn't mean that either of them were "the one" for each other or some such fairy tale. I think they both got trapped in a machine that was destined to churn them out in to some sort of "scandal" like this, but the fact of the matter is that they were doomed from the start. Full disclosure: I've never seen a minute of a Twilight film, and never will. You have to be cynical... I mean I get that she and that Pattinson guy were on set together for years, and shit happens, and all the external pressures for them to be together IRL for the fans, for $$$, for exposure, etc. That all had to be there. It doesn't mean that either of them were "the one" for each other or some such fairy tale. I think they both got trapped in a machine that was destined to churn them out in to some sort of "scandal" like this, but the fact of the matter is that they were doomed from the start. Full disclosure: I've never seen a minute of a Twilight film, and never will. Click to expand... i've seen 3 of her movies, and in all of them she was horrible. the best way i can describe it was awkward. You have to be cynical... I mean I get that she and that Pattinson guy were on set together for years, and shit happens, and all the external pressures for them to be together IRL for the fans, for $$$, for exposure, etc. That all had to be there. It doesn't mean that either of them were "the one" for each other or some such fairy tale. I think they both got trapped in a machine that was destined to churn them out in to some sort of "scandal" like this, but the fact of the matter is that they were doomed from the start. Full disclosure: I've never seen a minute of a Twilight film, and never will.

Q: USO DE SED COM UMA VARIAVEL estou precisando configurar dois arquivos .sh, o primeiro arquivo sshpasssrv.sh vai ser responsavel por preencher o segundo arquivo que sera sshpass.sh, o primeiro arquivo quando executado, vai pedir o ip, então ele vai preencher o segudo arquivo com o ip que eu quero na seguinte linha de comando: sshapss -p "senha" ssh [email protected] por exemplo, tenho mais ou menos a ideia que segue abaixo, preciso que preencher o segundo arquivo so com o ip. #!/bin/bash #Aki pega o que digitar e coloca na variavel sshpass echo "IP DO ARQUIVO SSHPASS :" read ip # Aki ele nao faz nada + do que a saida do comando echo $ip ele coloca no arquivo sshpass.sh echo $ip >> sshpass.sh sed "sshpass -p "pdvlinux" "$ip sshpassh.sh A: Se eu entendi o que você quer fazer. Que seria, adicionar um comando no arquivo sshpassh.sh baseado no IP que foi informado. Você não precisa adicionar o IP e depois dar um sed para alterar a linha. Altere as duas ultimas linhas do seu código para: echo "sshpass -p \"senha\" ssh root@$ip" >> sshpassh.sh Se quiser sempre substituir o comando que já estava definido no arquivo, troque de >> para >. Dica: Não seria melhor fazer o ssh com chave privada/estrangeira ao invés de utilizar o sshpass?

"People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use." - Søren Kierkegaard Ah, election season! If there is any one time that guarantees a radical libertarian a barrel of laughs, it is the periodic selection of slave masters, masquerading as a key component of freedom. For the record, selecting which arrogant, well-connected megalomaniac will: kill foreigners (supposedly) on your behalf; redistribute your money to whomever he pleases ostensibly on behalf of helping those who cannot help themselves; and, maintain the cash cow that fictitious property – otherwise known as intellectual property – has provided for firms like Microsoft and Apple, all via the barrel of a gun, is not a practice endemic to freedom. It is exactly the opposite. We have been taught to think that it is. Furthermore, the language has been perverted to support these fallacious thoughts. Entitlements? (How can one be entitled to that of another?) Running the government "like a business"? (How can you run an enterprise wherein all feedback necessary for making business-enhancing decisions, and the commensurate negative feedback from poor decisions, has been removed, like a business?) Tax cuts for the rich? (As a matter of mathematical fact, the so-called rich pay the bulk of the taxes in the United States. Nobody should have money forcibly taken from him, but the terminology "tax cut" implies that the mafia boss is doing you a favor by taking less this time. He is simply raping you more gently.) The U.S. political process – and the popular culture that feeds it – is rife with bogus meanings for words and phrases that have been hijacked. It would be illustrative, and likely educational as well, to examine some of these phrases more closely, but another subject beckons. This time of year – election season – also holds special meaning for black people. If you’re black, and you’re radical libertarian, A.K.A. anarcho-capitalist, or market anarchist, or whatever moniker we’re using this week, you very likely don’t put a lot of stock in voting generally, and voting in presidential elections specifically. And if that is the case, you will – almost guaranteed – hear the phrase, "…someone died to give us that right" bandied about. Powerful words indeed, and I’ll admit, persuasive as well. No one cognizant of debts paid by brave people before him wants to simply forget those debts. However, let me ask a more basic – and likely more controversial – question: Was voting ever a right worth dying for? First, a little background is needed. My own proclivities with regard to voting – and my current disdain for the practice – are well catalogued, on LewRockwell.com, at Strike-the-Root.com, and elsewhere. But it wasn’t always that way. I voted for Ross Perot, not once, but twice. (I recently finished paying off the bill to my therapist in the aftermath of those 2 suspect decisions.) As recently as the 2004 presidential election – and paying homage to the prevalent anybody-but-Bush thought process of many liberals of those times – I voted for John Kerry. Honestly, I’ve yet to forgive myself for that. Kerry was not only an unapologetic dyed-in-the-wool statist, having then served multiple terms in Congress, but he was also a milquetoast of a candidate, failing to excite his ostensive base in any meaningful way. This against a man, in George W. Bush, who was even by that point, plumbing new depths of embarrassing sentence composition as the supposed Leader of the Free World. If you are debating Rain Man and don’t come out looking like William Shakespeare in the process, how can you claim to be qualified to lead a nation? So yes, I have voted in the past, and it is those experiences that fuel my current disdain for the process. Surely, voting in national elections is the epitome of the aforementioned suggestion box for slaves, barely poking its head up into the category of "Waste of Time." The historical context is more interesting though. Returning to the question at hand, if previous generations of black leaders and black citizens actually died so that I might have a chance to participate in the ritual of voting, am I disrespecting that debt when I choose to stay home on November 6th? First of all, and going back to a more basic point, voting is not a right. Voting is a privilege. That is, voting is a practice one may enjoy, but only given certain prerequisites, none of which are bestowed upon an individual as a function of being a person. For example, being safe and secure in your body – in your person – is a right. You obtain that by simple virtue of leaving the womb. Furthermore, it is universal, in that everyone enjoys it – or should enjoy it, in a moral society – the same as anyone else. Any abridgement of said right can only be justified on arbitrary grounds. It is also negative in its action. No other person is affected in any way by my being secure in my person. It gives me no positive claim on others; it only means that they cannot make a positive claim on me. Rights – legitimate rights – are all exactly like that. They are negative in their application and in their effect. Privileges are often – although not always – positive. They are bestowed upon the recipient by virtue of distinctions often justified and implemented in positive terms, i.e., in direct contravention of the rights and property of others. In the early days of voting in the United States, voting was reserved for people of either wealth or property, and most likely both. It was "about" the maintenance of those two articles of ownership. It served as a prophylaxis against the unlawful – although that’s not quite the correct nuance – removal of that property or taking of that wealth. In short, voting was a way for the rich folks to keep the poor folks from taking their stuff, while allowing the rich folks to divvy up whatever was left. Some might say "divvy up" is too negative. Fair enough. Voting gave the propertied citizenry a means to peaceably maintain what they believed to be the trappings of society. I rather think that’s overly generous, but let’s move on. In that context, one can see that those who did not own property or have substantial wealth – and, ergo, did not vote – might get a little cheeky about not having the opportunity. In fact, one could begin to view voting as a means to obtain some of the wealth that seemed to be protected by that selective privilege. Stated differently, if one believes that voting is the means by which those who do vote maintain their socio-economic distance from those who do not vote, it makes sense to seek to widen the availability of the privilege. This is particularly true if the privilege is functionally tied to the acquiring the wealth, i.e., if voting is the means by which one obtains his money. But it is not. It never was. Nor should it be. To be clear: One does not obtain lawful property or legitimate wealth via voting to take it from others. As one example, consider the Iroquois. The Iroquois Confederation, from whom the so-called Founding Fathers took a portion of the practices of the new American Republic, also practiced voting. In that case, only the women voted. In fact, in the Iroquois society, only women owned property. The braves simply lived with the women, did the hunting, and all the other "man stuff" while the women selected the chief. (Apparently, they figured a male chief would be helpful in dealing with male-centric societies.) This is another case of tying the voting privilege to property ownership, but the ownership came first. While it is ironic – if expected – that the rich white males who founded the United States republic neglected to incorporate that whole women-owing-all-the-stuff-and-voting thing into their plans, it seems pretty logical for the privilege of voting to follow the ownership of property. Voting, in its purest application, allowed for peaceful policy-making among those for whom the policies held direct effect. It was not a way to determine how existing income and property should be redistributed, but rather a way to best utilize that which was jointly owned, and simultaneously protect that which was individually owned, albeit via positive action. It has become almost exactly the opposite in today’s America. Voting is about who gets to infringe upon whom – via the guns of the State – which is the very antithesis of freedom and morality. As Bastiat said, "Government is the great fiction through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else." Not simply protection, but infringement. This is infringement is not only domestic, but also international. This is infringement not to help the many, but to enrich the few. Conclusion A privilege might be nice to have, but it is still just a choice, an option. Whether or not it is worth dying to obtain is tied up in the concept of subjective value. That you might feel it was worth dying for places no legitimate claim upon me. If you want to die to get something you feel is important, I salute you. But your decision – and whatever logic you used to justify it – places no obligation upon me, nor does it provide any clues to an appropriate valuation of your action on my part. You like vanilla. I like chocolate. Whatever. In the United States, black people – particularly African slave-descended black people – have long been treated as wards of the state. In this capacity, our actions, our beliefs, our options, and in fact our epistemology has been shaped by allegiance to, and support for, a system that was initially used – dare I say designed – to subjugate us in the most heinous of ways. Factually, the same U.S. Constitution that supposedly bestows upon us the right to vote was used to lawfully place us in the ownership of landowners in the rural South. I’ll just be damned if I’ll willfully support and legitimize, with my participation, a system so arbitrary and immoral. Sometimes people die for dumb reasons. This is just one of those times, as far as I’m concerned. _ Wilt Alston [send him mail] lives in Rochester, NY, with his wife and three children. When he’s not training for a marathon or furthering his part-time study of libertarian philosophy, he works as a principal research scientist in transportation safety, focusing primarily on the safety of subway and freight train control systems.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi called for White House chief strategist Steve Bannon to be fired in a statement following Saturday’s terror attack in Charlottesville, in which a white supremacist plowed his car into a crowd of protestors, killing one person and injuring 19 others. Bannon’s standing in the White House, as the former chairman of Breitbart News — a website he once described as “the platform of the alt-right” — has drawn intense criticism from Democratic lawmakers since President Donald Trump’s inauguration. And this isn’t the first time Pelosi has called for his ousting. But in light of the terror attack at the Virginia white supremacist rally, and Trump’s ambiguous statement in response to the incident, calls to purge the White House of its far-right staffers have re-ignited — as #FireBannon trends on Twitter. In Pelosi’s statement, she claims that Trump’s equivocations in his initial statement on the attack are “a direct reflection of the fact that his chief strategist, Steve Bannon, is an alt-right white supremacist sympathizer and a shameless enforcer of those un-American beliefs.” Trump on Monday delivered remarks from the Roosevelt Room explicitly condemning the “KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and other hate groups” — though critics dismissed his comments as coming days late. Pelosi called the comments “long overdue,” before noting that if “the President is sincere about rejecting white supremacists, he should remove all doubt by firing Steve Bannon and the other alt-right white supremacist sympathizers in the White House.” Read the statement below: If @realDonaldTrump is sincere about rejecting alt-right white supremacists sympathizers, he should start at the White House. #FireBannon pic.twitter.com/m2bfps3Q5g — Nancy Pelosi (@NancyPelosi) August 14, 2017 [image via screengrab] — Follow Aidan McLaughlin (@aidnmclaughlin) on Twitter Have a tip we should know? [email protected]

Facebook removes a post about leaving Facebook - vermilingua https://www.reddit.com/r/assholedesign/comments/9k3hxu/facebook_removed_my_post_about_leaving_facebook/ ====== ericlewis Wonder why. ------ desperatelover Nothing shocking there, Facebook doesn't want you to give ideas about leaving it to others

In a way, Lower the Bar is the perfect title for the new Steel Panther album. You see, whether consciously or not, that’s what they’ve done on two consecutive albums now, following the two relatively lights-out records (Feel the Steel and Balls Out) that broke them out. Album No. 5 is still unmistakably a Steel Panther record — and, to its credit, one that boasts a couple of absolute panty-dropping tunes — but something’s just amiss this time out. Continue reading → March 20, 2017 Good morning, it’s time to metal. Here’s some news you might have missed from over the weekend: First things first: as always, a whole bunch of bands dropped new music on Friday, including Woe, Obituary and more. Check out Josh’s recap here. This isn’t nearly metal, but it’s still a damn shame: rock ‘n’ roll originator Chuck Berrypassed away over the weekend at age 90. Hell of a life, and an incredible loss. Rest in peace, Chuck. Well, this sucks: Singaporean grinders Wormrot havecancelled their planned U.S. tour due to concerns over having proper papers in the current political climate. That includes their appearance at Maryland Deathfest. Fuck the Orange One forever. Baroness frontman John Dyer Baizley, who curated this year’s Roadburn Festival, announced that he, bandmates Pete Adams and Marek Sarba, and Neurosis frontman Scott Kelly will join forces to perform a set of punk covers at the festival. I’m totally not upset that I’m not going to Roadburn this year. Not upset at all. Not one bit. Ahead of their upcoming debut album, supergroup Dead Cross — featuring Mike Patton, Dave Lombardo and others — dropped a new song called “Shillelagh.” I don’t know who or what a “Shillelagh” is, but you should listen to it. Because Mike Patton. And finally, Steel Panther put out another new music video called “I Got What You Want,” which — let’s be real — there’s no way I wasn’t going to include in this round-up. Check it out below: The band’s new album, Lower the Bar, drops this Friday. Anyway, that’ll do it for now — check back this time tomorrow for our next edition!

Democrats are killing live babies now. In January Virginia Governor “Blackface” Ralph Northam endorsed killing babies after they were born alive in a radio interview. In February 2020 Democrat presidential candidates Senators Kamala Harris (CA), Bernie Sanders (VT), Cory Booker (NJ), Kirsten Gillibrand (NY), Amy Klobuchar (MN), and Elizabeth Warren (MA) all voted “NO” on this bill that would have required doctors to provide proper degree of care to babies born alive after attempted abortion. This is a barbaric new low for the abortion party. Many honest Americans would call this pure evil. TRENDING: BREAKING: Black Lives Matter Rioters in Hollywood Chase Down and Attack Driver.. UPDATE... DRIVER DETAINED BY POLICE (SHOCKING VIDEO) Now this… New data has revealed three babies were “left to die” in Minnesota last year after they survived an abortion. This is murder. Life News reported:

On the George Washington Bloom Project: The Northern Clemency 05Dec08 In which The Gay Recluse reads dead flowers. When we first read about The Northern Clemency by Philip Hensher, we were excited! Not only was it short-listed for the Booker Prize, but it was rated the #1 Editors’ Pick for Best Book of 2008 by Amazon.com.* And oh yeah, Hensher is “openly gay” — kinda hate that expression, but whatevs — and has written trenchantly about the lack of gay actors in Hollywood, so without knowing that much about the book, we expected some insight into what we tend to think about as gay identity, or the gay voice. The first quarter of the book is stunning. In exquisitely lyrical prose, Hensher describes the interactions among and between two families in a northern British suburb, one that has lived there for some time and another that is relocating from London. It’s the early 1970s, and as Hensher easily shifts perspective — at his best, reading him is really like getting wrapped up in a good teevee series — from the mothers to the daughters and the sons, he perfectly captures a sense of suburban ennui on one hand, and a kind of crushing terror of adolescence on the other. There are a few scenes — e.g., one of the mothers sort of loses her shit after her husband goes A.W.O.L. and kills her son’s pet, another in which a boy’s leg is broken during an elementary school recess — that are shockingly disturbing and brutal and ultimately heartbreaking, because we are taken back to the inexplicable cruelty and horror of youth as it plays out under the tranquil sheen of the suburbs. Moreover, we are left with the sense that one or both of the youngest boys in the families are — or will be — gay, because they are nervous and obsessive and uncomfortable in ways that resonated with our own 1970s suburban upbringing, and so as the first section of the book ends, we look forward to learning more, not only about the boys, but about their older siblings, each of whom has appealing quirks and charms and less-appealing faults. At this point, however, the tone of the book completely changes as we jump the shark lol ahead perhaps a decade into the future. We briefly meet the boys — both are out of high school — but they are now beyond our empathy: one is sort of a freakish communist/Marxist who now hates his parents and agitates with some snobby leftist students on behalf of the local union, and the other has dropped out of college and moved back to London, where we don’t learn much about him except that he occasionally dates women (but without success), likes classical music and works a boring job. In short, we kind of suspect that he’s probably gay, but we don’t really get any insight or exploration into his condition, just a kind of blanket denial — at one point he sort of holds out that he’s asexual — that ultimately fails to hold our interest. Meanwhile, none of the other characters are developed with greater resolve, so that as we trudge forward, we find ourselves longing for the beginning of the book. Also, instead of focusing on his core characters, Hensher allows the plot to seriously drift and instead offer pages and pages and pages — to give what is perhaps the most pointlessly egregious example — of a subplot involving a drug-dealing/money-laundering scheme. (We cannot help but wonder: did anyone edit this book? It could have easily been 200 pages shorter without losing anything.) True, the mother had an affair with a man in the scheme, but do we really need to follow him to a country house and meet his mafioso boss and family, when all we’re interested in is the fact that the woman had the affair and the ways it has impacted her relationship with her husband (i.e., the father of one of the boys)? If Hensher’s objective was to elevate the mundane into the dramatic — and he does this brilliantly at the beginning — why introduce a cheesy teevee plot device like this? Which — i.e., the drug-dealer subplot — may have been forgivable except the rest of the book never recovers from similar digressions — e.g., an Australian we meet on one page kills himself in act of auto-eroticism ten pages later! someone starts dating a working-class girl, whose parents of course are sweet and lovable and dance the tango and earnestly offer tea in their best china — so that by the end, we don’t really have much sense of — or feelings for — any of the characters (much less insight into questions of gay identity). We’re not saying that Hensher — or any gay writer — has a responsibility to explore these issues, but after setting them up so beautifully, he seemed to miss an opportunity to explore the truth as it’s so rarely done. If the book at its best feels like it was made for teevee, this is also its flaw; it’s like one of those series that starts out with promise, but quickly drifts into hackneyed melodrama, leaving us with a longing — even if we choose to watch — to change the channel or perhaps fall asleep, where we can dream in images that while at times blurry at least hold some sign of our true selves. *Despite our mixed feelings, we still encourage everyone to buy this book and judge for yourself. Well, I think I will miss this one…. Have you seen the series (I believe it was made for Brit TV) called THE LINE OF BEAUTY, from the novel of the same name? It might be more to your liking (both the novel and its adaptation), and it’s available from most online rental services…. Hi James — Yes, I’ve read THE LINE OF BEAUTY and several other books by Alan Hollinghurst, who is a hero as far as I’m concerned for his ability to combine high-minded literary themes/writing with graphic depictions of gay sex. Haven’t seen the teevee series, though, but will def add to the queue! Damn, baby, I love your posts so much–where else can I read a really good book review while also looking at pictures so pleasing and beautiful I sigh?! I always wonder what the editors do when a book loses focus like this. I read and liked the first part of a Susan Cheever memoir and then it fell apart into morbid confessional, confusing events (as it gets closer to the present she seemed more reticent and things were left out) and name dropping. It was as if the good parts of the book were pulled out of a highly polished proposal, but then the later parts were her just trying to finish the damn thing and also did not have the benefit of being reworked after sitting for a period of time. You’d hope an editor would horn in at that point but then again I guess editors are not magicians.

We're all insane lol. Everyone in the whole world is insane. We all deny eachother. We shutourselves in...We usually take the most difficult path out of fear If you came here, if you reached out, that makes you a little more sane. Bit of a Catch 22, huh? lol

Tag: horrycountyacc Theoretically, if I hold to my original setup today would be the last day of my social media vacation. This is the 28th day since I queued up a bunch of “send later” tweets and Facebook status and then shut all that crap down. I did violate the embargo last week to announce the news about CREATE South becoming sponsored by the Horry County Arts and Cultural Council, and then shut it all down again. Here’s the deal. While I acknowledge that Twitter has upsides, I believe they come at too high a price for it to be a tool to draw my attention all day every day. I don’t anticipate ever returning to my previous levels of usage. A lot of the Twitter critics from big media, the same people that criticized bloggers 5 years ago, focus on the unseemliness of the hoi polloi enjoying the same ability to communicate as them. Screw those people, they can bite my ass. My criticism is the opposite. I see value in ordinary people having the channel to communicate, however I find the act of following it closely all day every day to be detrimental to peace of mind. Operative word: peace. To use Twitter anywhere like the intended pattern involves a twitchiness and jangliness, like the shakes you get after your 7th cup of coffee. Either you are scanning it over and over manually, or you have something that notifies and interrupts you when messages occur. Either way involves Twitter taking your attention at frequent intervals, and usually for ephemera. I stand by my original statement that there are only really three use cases for when I need information from Twitter right now: 1) when traffic is backed up between where I am and where I am going; 2) when I’m looking for someone with whom to have lunch; and 3) when I’m at a science fiction convention and I’m trying to find the room party that my friends are at. Everything else can wait, and it is detrimental to my life to be notified frequently. The act of getting notified reduces my life enjoyment more than the information increases it. So, even though I’m coming off of Twitter/Facebook prohibition, I’m retreating from ongoing usage. I’m not sure if that means I only look at them at certain relatively infrequent times, only on specific days, or if I just say screw it and shut it down most of the time until I just feel like participating in them. For years I’ve been arguing with Steve Gillmor (I’d link to him, but links are dead) about the value of real time data streams. He finds them amongst the most important and salient bits of digital life. I’m finding them amongst the worst aspects of my modern life. Most people, myself at the head of the list, flatter themselves by feeling the need to be this connected. Most things in the world don’t need you, you don’t need most things in the world. I now choose to sacrifice connection for peace of mind and the satisfaction of being present in my daily life. I’m choosing to live at a slower pace. I haven’t looked at a 24 hour news channel in 6 years. I’m clamping down my social media usage. Somewhere between Cory Doctorow and Ted Kaczynski is a happy medium, and for better or worse I’m falling on the latter end of that compromise.

K.J. Stewart Hi, I'm K.J. and I'm a fairly prolific writer, having written more than 1000 articles across various websites - including the likes of TheRichest.com, DailySuperheroes.com, SportsKeeda.com, TopTenz.net and WhatCulture.com. Now I also put sh*t together for CollegeHumor.com. Feel free to follow me on Twitter: @KevJStewart

Last year, Mindy Kaling, the 36-year-old Indian-American writer, actor and producer, was asked to present the Emmy nominations live on television. She was thrilled, “for one reason, and one reason alone. I thought: ‘This might help me get an Emmy!’” Her show, The Mindy Project – in which she plays Dr Mindy Lahiri, a celebrity- and fashion-obsessed obstetrician and gynaecologist – was in its third season and she really, really wanted to win. It was only when the president of the awards academy patted her arm and told her,“You know, you’re in such a tough category”, that it dawned on her that she might not even be nominated. As her co-presenter, Carson Daly, read out the nominations for lead actress in a comedy drama, up popped the faces of Amy Poehler and Melissa McCarthy on screen – but no Kaling, who stood by Daly’s side, concentrating very hard on maintaining her smile. It’s an experience detailed in Kaling’s second book, Why Not Me?, right down to her bolting to McDonald’s straight after the ceremony and eating two Egg McMuffins, hash browns and a large orange juice alone in the parking lot. “You can choose not to write about your embarrassments and things that make you feel vulnerable,” she says now, “but it’s not like people can’t see them anyway. Most people think that everyone’s life is so easy in Hollywood. And, for the most part, life is pretty great. So those moments when you are embarrassed, or you feel slighted, or an idiot, or miserable – I think they’re good to write about. I mean, really, I cringe when I’m reading it. But it’s really funny.” Kaling is the sort of relentlessly cheery person who says things like, “Everything just gets better! That’s been my experience.” We meet in a sunny Los Angeles photography studio, where she’s changed out of the va-va-voom outfits chosen by the stylist and into a loose, printed smock, and settled on a sofa, a small picnic of Doritos resting between us. Her onscreen persona is that of your imaginary best friend – flawed, funny, generous – and it’s a role she plays up to: her first book, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, includes a list of “best friend rights and responsibilities”. The new book features a charmingly boastful list of “the pros of being friends with me”, for instance: “I am one of the best people you could take to your ex-boyfriend’s birthday party that you were dreading going to. I am always up for dessert. I am always up for skinny-dipping.” Beneath the pep, Kaling demonstrates a formidable focus. She regularly works 18-hour days: how else do you create, write, produce and star in your own show? The Mindy Project, now in its fourth season and with a clutch of Critics’ Choice Awards to its name, is sweet, rude and peppered with little jolts of strangeness. It will often veer close to well-trodden romcom territory, but then take a swerve. Like a Kardashian, Dr Lahiri believes she is a “brand”, but she’s also a highly educated, professionally accomplished doctor. As one critic put it, she’s a complicated character pretending to be simple. “Absolutely,” Kaling says. “I love that description. The show has a lot of fun satirising the certain girl who has the wrong fixations. I like that she thinks she’s a little bit famous.” “You know what I’ve noticed lately?” Kaling continues. “There is an earnestness and a chipperness to comedy now, more than the sad tale of a pessimistic standup comedian. You hear that story less and less.” With Chris Messina in The Mindy Project. Photograph: Everett/Rex Features Kaling’s own story – an Indian-American girl who became one of the most powerful women in TV – is heard even less. Vera Mindy Chokalingam was born to Avu, an architect, and Swati, an ob-gyn doctor. Her parents, both Hindus, were born in India, met in Nigeria and emigrated to the US in 1979, the year their daughter was born. She attended a private high school in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she was a conscientious student and an enthusiastic member of the Latin Club. She has written about her “powerful and driven work ethic, handed down to me from my immigrant parents and my suburban Boston peer group of kids with undiagnosed Asperger’s syndrome”. In 1997, she enrolled at Ivy League Dartmouth College in rural New Hampshire. Here, she found that “a chirpy, Indian improv comedian who was constantly talking was something of a novelty to the scores of wordless men named Brian”. After graduating, she moved to Brooklyn and started gigging as a standup. Her break came when Greg Daniels, the creator of the American spin-off of The Office, saw her in Matt & Ben, a small off-Broadway play in which she and a friend played Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. Daniels hired the then 24-year-old Kaling to work on his show, making her the only woman on its writing team. She also starred in it, as Kelly, the irrepressibly perky customer service representative who likes, in her own words, “Beyoncé, pink (the colour), Pink (the singer), basically anything that is awesome, hot dogs, and snowcones.” I'm often the only woman, and the only person of colour at an event. Me being there makes other people look open-minded But after eight years, during which she wrote 24 episodes, The Office began to feel, as she put it, “like the office”. Increasingly hungry to do her own thing, she negotiated a development deal with her manager and set to work on creating The Untitled Mindy Kaling Project, brimming with confidence and outsized optimism. When NBC passed on the pilot, “I sat in my trailer and wept.” Finally, however, Fox said yes, and the first episode aired in September 2012. “It’s very nice,” Kaling admits, “to have a show at a time when a woman who is not traditionally beautiful having her own comedy show and being openly pro-choice is commonplace. Right now, all my favourite shows star women who, if not producing it, created it themselves. I’m glad I’m coming up at this same time.” With the cast of the US Office. Photograph: NBC-TV/The Kobal Collection Last year, Kaling appeared on the cover of US Elle, alongside three other female TV stars. Amy Poehler, Zooey Deschanel and Allison Williams, all white and slim, were shot full-length and in colour. Kaling was shot in black-and-white and cropped. The internet duly screamed “racist” and “fattist”. Kaling, however, loved the image, and her response was a masterclass in self-promotion and humour: “Wishing for more skin on my @ELLEmagazine cover?” she tweeted. “Chris Messina & I are naked on a brand new #themindyproject tonight, ya pervs!” Kaling never set out to become a spokesperson, but simply by being a high-profile Indian-American woman who is not size zero, she has been forced to become one. She tells me about her frequent invitations on to Hollywood panels: “When I get invited, I’m often the only woman and I’m often the only person of colour at this event. So if I can’t make it because of my work, I get an enormous amount of pressure to come, because if I’m not there, a minority and a woman will not be represented. That pressure sometimes is a little unfair, because me being included makes other people seem like they’re open-minded and diverse.” Kaling is frequently praised as “real”, a word she bemoans in her new book. “I don’t want to be real! When I think of things that are ‘real’, I think of income taxes and Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Real is bad! I want fantasy!” She is disarmingly honest about her body image. “The fact of the matter is,” she writes, “I absolutely do try to conform to normal standards of beauty. I am just not remotely successful at it.” Then she counters with a big-sisterly note: “I never want to be part of the problem. I want to always be as body-positive as girls hope that I am.” What about the paradox that, by talking about body image, she only invites more focus on herself? “Yeah,” she says drily, chewing Doritos. “You know what’s funny? If I call myself a cute, chubby girl, the natural kind woman’s response is, ‘You’re not chubby! You’re beautiful! And thin!’ And I always want to hug the person and say, ‘It’s OK, I identify as someone who is cute and chubby – that doesn’t mean I’m not worthy of love and attention and intimacy.’ And also, my priorities are not such that I’m mortally offended by someone thinking that.” She thinks for a moment and adds, deliberately: “Insults about the way I look can’t be the thing that harms me and my heart the most. It has to harm me the least. If I have a daughter, I’m going to tell her that. Far too many women are much more hurt by being called fat or ugly than they are by being called not smart, or not a leader. If someone told me that I was stupid or that I wasn’t a leader, or that I wasn’t witty or quick or perceptive, I’d be devastated. If someone told me that I had a gross body, I’d say, ‘Well, it’s bringing me a lot of happiness.’ Like, I’m having a fine time of it. Having my priorities aligned like that has helped me have a happier life, I think.” Presenting the Emmys for a category in which she expected to be nominated. Photograph: Reuters This happiness bubbles through her writing, much of which reads like a particularly juicy email from a well-caffeinated friend: intimate, gossipy, irreverent. One section, titled I Love Sex Scenes!, divulges her unabashed pleasure in kissing co-stars, with tongues. There’s also a wonderfully candid section about her dating a White House aide that reads more like a plotline from a female-driven romcom than anyone’s life. Kaling, who is currently single, happily attests to the pleasures of “a nice, well-structured date – that’s one of the great joys in life. Like, an uncomplicated but focused series of two events that happens between 7 and 11pm.” Her relationship with the writer and actor BJ Novak, whom she met on The Office, has been the subject of endless speculation. The two dated on the show, then dated in real life, then broke up, but remain so intriguingly close that there are Tumblrs and timelines devoted to their “weird as hell” (her words) relationship. A whole chapter of Kaling’s new book is devoted to him, detailing their friendship and their most common arguments. The pair have now signed a book deal worth a rumoured $7.5m. A legion of fans are hoping, in When Harry Met Sally style, that the two will end up together. “When people say that, it makes me feel so cool,” says Kaling. “Like, oh, people are thinking about me like I’m a character. We are so different and we fight a lot, but the gift he [Novak] has always given me is the utter and total belief that I am one of the greats. And it is an intoxicating feeling.” In 2012, on the same day The Mindy Project was greenlit, Kaling’s beloved mother died of pancreatic cancer. As an ob-gyn doctor, she had counselled her daughter against including medical stuff on the show, “because it’s sad and it’s gruesome sometimes, and hard to explain”. Kaling has written only glancingly about losing her mother, but tells me evenly, “The only good that came from the experience is that it really is as bad as it gets to have a parent who dies of cancer. It really doesn’t get worse than that. Like a lot of people, I care desperately what people think, but I’m also like, oh well, it can’t hurt me too deeply. It’s never going to be as bad as losing your mom. Right now, I’m still in the place where I feel so robbed of her that if I write about her it would just be a piece about grief and anguish instead of a real celebration of what she was like.” And then she blinks and grimaces, but not with emotion. “I’m wearing these enormous false eyelashes,” she says, squinting, gesturing at the lovely but absurd fronds. “But they make me feel like… like a fraudulent person. We did this for the photoshoot. I don’t always wear lashes on a Saturday afternoon,” she insists, sternly. There is a flash of her off-screen persona – she doesn’t want to be misunderstood. “I’m really impatient,” she says, “and sometimes my impatience, which has been such a useful tool in my professional success, can be hugely detrimental to my personal relationships. I can get very brusque.” When she began The Mindy Project, Greg Daniels, her former boss from The Office, offered some wisdom. “There’s a thousand things he could have told me, and his advice was to be kind. I was very surprised at how simple that was, but it’s the hardest thing to do. I work very hard, and I expect everyone who works for me to work as hard. And I sometimes forget: yeah, but my name’s on the show, I’m the one that’s doing interviews, when I go to the airport, people are stopping me. So much of the credit of the show [goes to me]. So I think I have had to learn.” She hesitates, then says finally, “I think Greg’s advice about being kind has been very helpful to me as a boss.” I ask what’s next: is she happy? “The field that I’m in, I feel very set,” she says. “I feel like I’m in a good position because of years and years of work.” But that’s not quite the same as being content. “I want so much,” she says. “Ever since I was a small kid, I’d make a list of everything I wanted going into a new situation.” And then she rattles off a smorgasbord of ambitions: including writing a drama, directing a movie, becoming a mother, “having a small part in a big ensemble comedy like Hannah And Her Sisters, [and living] in New York City again full time, but also on the beach in California”. “So,” she says finally, “there are so many things I want to do, I’m like, I don’t know if I can do this all in one life.” A beat. And then she grins: “Good thing I’m a Hindu.” • Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling, is published by Ebury Press on 12 September at £12.99. To order a copy for £10.39, go to bookshop.theguardian.com, or call 0330 333 6846.

Look , its all homerism 101 here. Would any of us "attacked" (mocked) Ryan Mallett's father had he been picked by the Dolphins instead of the Patriots.I dont think Lebrons mom was attacked in this thread but you have to think she looked down on that valet.I think she has a history of this (drinking) so hopefully she will be humbled & get some help. If I did it in person, you would go crying for a napkin to wipe it off. And let me go ahead and predict your next reply for you... You're going to boast about the hand to hand combat training you've had and perhaps give us examples of your exploits in beating (imaginary) people up. Save it Tommy. Your act is tired and old. You've been run off and banned from other sites for it. Everyone laughs at you for it. No one respects you for it. This is where you're wrong Dick, I mean Rich. It won't even come to that because you're too much of a whimp to actually do it. Now since you're the one who instigated this whole thing, maybe I should call my buddy Defense54 and have you thrown in the county lockup. Maybe the guy who cornholes you will be another Dolphins fan. It'll give you something to talk about when you're cuddling afterwards. If I did it in person, you would go crying for a napkin to wipe it off. And let me go ahead and predict your next reply for you... You're going to boast about the hand to hand combat training you've had and perhaps give us examples of your exploits in beating (imaginary) people up. Save it Tommy. Your act is tired and old. You've been run off and banned from other sites for it. Everyone laughs at you for it. No one respects you for it. This is where you're wrong Dick, I mean Rich. It won't even come to that because you're too much of a whimp to actually do it. Now since you're the one who instigated this whole thing, maybe I should call my buddy Defense54 and have you thrown in the county lockup. Maybe the guy who cornholes you will be another Dolphins fan. It'll give you something to talk about when you're cuddling afterwards. But not as pathetic as a Lakers team who didn't even bother trying to compete against the Mavs... True that. People can make up excuses, and logical ones. But the bottom line is that these guys are paid millions of dollars to live everyone's dream....to do what the Lakers did was pathetic and I'm still pissed at everyone minus Kobe. FINesse, I understand your point on how this team came together and all that. I don't like it either. But don't blame the Heat or the 3 players, blame the NBA for allowing it. They took advantage of a bogus system; You, I and anyone else in that situation would do the same. [quote="Phins Rock] But don't blame the Heat or the 3 players, blame the NBA for allowing it. They took advantage of a bogus system; You, I and anyone else in that situation would do the same. Hopefully the new CBA doesn't allow for this to happen again...[/quote] Could you explain? I'm curious as to where you are going with this.[/quote] The NBA doesn't have a hard cap like the NFL does. The Heat, because of stupid sign and trade rules, and the vet minimum BS, were able to go way over the cap without actually going over. Of their 12 players, 7 were playing "over" the cap, without actually counting against it. I'm not going to pretend to understand the luxury tax, and trade exception stuff (I don't think that came into play with the Heat anyway), but it's all stupid, IMO. The owners are trying to put a hard cap in place in the next CBA, and I hope they get it. Would eliminate all of these loopholes that allow for 3 "max" players to come together like this while still being able to acquire good veteran talent around them the way the Heat did this Off Season, and the Celtics did two years ago. If I did it in person, you would go crying for a napkin to wipe it off. And let me go ahead and predict your next reply for you... You're going to boast about the hand to hand combat training you've had and perhaps give us examples of your exploits in beating (imaginary) people up. Save it Tommy. Your act is tired and old. You've been run off and banned from other sites for it. Everyone laughs at you for it. No one respects you for it. This is where you're wrong Dick, I mean Rich. It won't even come to that because you're too much of a whimp to actually do it. Now since you're the one who instigated this whole thing, maybe I should call my buddy Defense54 and have you thrown in the county lockup. Maybe the guy who cornholes you will be another Dolphins fan. It'll give you something to talk about when you're cuddling afterwards. Don't beat your keyboard up too bad... internet tough guy... Do me a favor. Get back to stroking that lil Rich of yours and leave football and basketball to the real fans.

Last night, I literally gave my blood, sweat, and tears. >> [APPLAUSE] >> I laid it all on the line and left it all in the ring. But to tap out not once but twice, then almost just break my leg. It broke my heart. >> [SOUND] >> For the last couple of months, Charlotte I have gone to war. Me and Charlotte have made history. A Fall Count Anywhere match. The first ever woman's Hell in a Cell match, an Iron Man match. Last night at Roadblock: End of the Line, I walked out without my Woman's Championship. >> [SOUND] >> [LAUGH] And as much as it hurts me, it legit kills me to say, the better woman won. >> [SOUND] >> Charlotte, as Champion, I learned how to win, and lose, with respect. So Charlotte, I'm asking you to come out here so I can look you straight in your eyes, >> [NOISE] >> And congratulate you. >> [NOISE] >> I don't know why Charlotte isn't here. I don't care. You call yourself the boss all you want, and you can be a boss to all these sheep out here. >> [NOISE] >> You'll never be the boss to me. You're weak. You're wounded. And above all else, you're just a little girl. >> [SOUND] >> God. >> [SOUND] >> I respect [INAUDIBLE] to make a statement, but that was just uncalled for. >> [SOUND] >> Come on, now. >> Sasha's defenseless! >> [SOUND] >> I'm the boss, Sasha! >> My goodness. >> Help her! >> [SOUND] >> What is Nia trying to prove here? >> [SOUND] >> No no no no no no. Ple- >> [NOISE] >> Pathetic display. >> [SOUND] >> Yeah, really easy to kick someone when they're down. >> [SOUND]

Out damned spot(s)… Give them shelter from the weather but let them out to roam across the fields & pastures. That’s how pigs were always treated until the comparatively recent advent of factory farming and a lot of people are currently now, and rightly, trying to reverse this decline. The pig farms I knew and lived on as a boy* were already showing signs of becoming the precursors to these huge, profit driven, stark “meat production” units now common. Huge covered stalls, pigs crammed inside all day & night, no room to move, to play, to explore, antibiotics used like Smarties. There isn’t as far as I know, an equivalent word for pigs, to “inhumane” used for the two legged people. There should be. *[As a side-note, I well remember on one farm, a huge barrel of black, molasses-like treacle, used as a treat for the pigs — it was also a treat for any children who managed to dip their fists into it whilst running past, trying not to let the farmer (and my father who was one of them) see your act of thievery.] It was understandable why most farmers chose to take this approach, as both pricing, being driven by huge buying units, such as the supermarkets, pushing down prices to a rock-bottom and “taste” (driven by ill-conceived government edict & ill-informed “medical” advice) were changing the economics of farming, in a way that hadn’t been seen in any of the previous hundreds of years leading up to the last century and, counter-intuitively, was one of the reasons why Danish bacon managed to get such a strangle-hold on the English market and shopping basket. If you want bland, tasteless, watery, lean pork (lean pork; whoever thought this was a good thing?), supplied through a supermarket counter, then this is where your meat still comes from — but if, like us, you want good meat, flavoursome, different, interesting meat, from people who care passionately about their animals, then buy from the increasingly common small, far less intensive, rare breed suppliers. [And before I get torrents of abuse from UK farmers: Yes, I know that pig living conditions have been improved slightly recently – although it took legislation to force you to make this happen – and that European farmers are now worse villains in the piece, as they’re failing to implement the relevant directives. But it’s still hugely far from the ideal.]

The ex-Beatle serenaded his wife at her office festive do in New Jersey, to the delight of revellers. Here are some top tips to make yours as memorable So the New England Motor Freight Company in Jersey City, New Jersey, had some entertainment at its festive bash. A singer by the name of Paul McCartney performed. Yes, the Macca, on account of his missus, Nancy Shevell, working there. He serenaded her with a rendition of I Saw Her Standing There, delighting guests, who immediately posted footage online. Here’s a few other tips to make your Christmas office party memorable. Even if no one in your office is married to an actual Beatle ... Someone is going to know someone who knows someone who used to be in Hollyoaks. So invite them. Seriously, anyone famous, it will make it amusing. So, for example, if I knew Michael Gove, I would bring him along to do his Stormzy impression. Christmas rapping, tough on grime, he set trends dem man copy … aarrrggh! Pump up the budget Yeah, none of this lean times, £20-a-head nonsense. Push the boat out. Like Bloomberg, whose Christmas party in 2000 was reported to have cost £1m and was themed on the seven deadly sins, complete with rooms for gluttony and lust. Or like Blackstone founder Steve Schwarzman who, in 2010, rented out the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and served mini salted-caramel ice-cream cones among priceless Egyptian relics. Combine the office party with a blind date Like David Brent in The Office, remember? And, improbably, it kind of worked. He and Carol hit it off, though then Chris Finch went and spoiled it by being horrible about her. It certainly worked as television – it was one of the most memorable, moving TV moments of the 00s. Although that had more to do with Dawn and Tim than with Ricky Gervais’s character. Hang the mistletoe In the photocopying room obviously, traditionally the place for love at Christmas. Should you go there? Absolutely. It is – as I said – traditional. With the boss, the boss’s husband, Tony from security, anyone. Sure you will probably lose your job, but hey, it’s nearly 2020, a job is just for Christmas, not for life. Top up the toner Another lovely Christmas tradition. But if you are going to risk your job by photocopying your arse, you want more than a blank piece of A4 for a memento right? The website the Register recommends you don’t, mainly for health and safety reasons. Boring. Definitely don’t go too far, though In 2013, a riotous Christmas party at the Honduran embassy in Bogata, Colombia, involved extreme drunkenness and wild behaviour. Someone even defecated in the ambassador’s office. Ambassador, that’s not spoiling anyone, it’s just disgusting. Most importantly: get a pay rise Ask for one anyway. They’re drunk, you’re drunk. What have you got to lose? Well, apart from your job.

Pages Wednesday, August 10, 2011 Better Banking and Better Credit Cards We are all angry at the big banks like Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Chase and Citibank because of their predatory lending practices, terrible customer service and greedy, selfish politics and business practices. Basically these banks and similar ones have screwed working class and middle class Americans and made a profit off our suffering. Then they got bailed out with OUR tax money when their lousy business practices and predatory lending hit them in the ass. These banks got us into the economic mess we are in and the CEOs of these banks took America to the cleaners and have been reaping the profits while we suffer foreclosures and tough times. And the fees they charge are insane! That is why I advocate breaking ties with these big predatory banks and finding alternatives. I personally have been divesting myself of these big bad banks like Bank of America, Chase, Wells Fargo and Citibank and instead switching my mortgage, accounts and credit cards to USAA (which only works with Veterans and their families), TD Bank (a large bank that actually has excellent customer service and did not engage in predatory lending), and local credit unions. I have particularly liked TD Bank who refinanced my mortgage at a much better rate and much simpler than the big bad banks. But so far my wife and I still haven't been able to get rid of all our Chase and Bank of America credit cards. Paying off the debt is tough, but we are working on it. But I would like to find better credit cards to use. Well, Green America has some suggestions I would like to pass on to you. Cards Connected to Better Banks There are socially responsible banks and credit unions that exemplify responsible lending practices—as well as community investing institutions that take the social mission one step further by also investing in low-income populations. Wainwright Bank Visa Cards (fees and rates vary): Wainwright, a Boston-based bank with a tradition of “socially progressive” banking, offers six different Visa credit cards with different rates and terms. All of these cards are issued and managed by Elan, a financial services company. Steven F. Young, senior vice president at Wainwright, says they “chose Elan because we felt their consumer practices were best.” Permaculture Credit Union’s (PCU) Visa card (13% apr, no annual fee): Based in New Mexico, PCU is committed to Earth-friendly and socially responsible loans and investments. PCU’s card is issued by the Illinois Credit Union League to anyone, whether or not they are a PCU account holder, though applicants should mention they are “affiliated” with Permaculture Credit Union. ReDirect Visa (15.15% apr, no annual fee): The ReDirect card is issued by Washington state’s ShoreBank Pacific.Depositors fuel the bank’s lending programs, which enable sustainable community development. ShoreBank Pacific issues the card by way of TCM, which is owned by ICBA Bancard, a subsidiary of the Independent Community Bankers of America. Your card fees support ShoreBank Pacific’s community investing mission, and half of the card’s proceeds go toward reducing CO2 emissions through Sustainable Travel International’s “MyClimate” high-quality offsets. In addition to a conventional rewards program, the card also earns cardholders discounts at the sustainable businesses listed in regional “ReDirect Guides” for Denver/Boulder/Fort Collins, CO; Portland, OR/Vancouver, WA; and Salt Lake City/Park City, UT. Those businesses that offer Internet purchasing will extend ReDirect discounts to any cardholder. There’s no need to have a ShoreBank Pacific account to apply. Salmon Nation Visa (15.15% apr, no annual fee): This card, also from ShoreBank Pacific, directs a percentage of its income to growing a community of citizens that practice environmental stewardship of “Salmon Nation,” a bio-region stretching from Alaska to Oregon where wild salmon live. Like the ReDirect card, Salmon Nation Visa isn’t benefiting a mega-bank, and you don’t need a ShoreBank Pacific account to apply. The Loop Card (11.99% apr, no annual fee): A Visa from Albina Community Bank in Oregon. Profits from this Visa from Oregon’s Albina Community Bank not only support Albina, but one percent of every purchase goes to Portland’s neighborhoods, funding education, health, social services, environment, the arts, or economic development projects. You do not have to have an account with Albina to get the card, and it is not connected to a mega-bank. Shorebank’s Elan Visa Consumer Card (variable apr, no annual fee): ShoreBank, in the Midwest, is a community development and environmental bank that issues a credit card available to anyone nationwide through Elan, the same company servicing Wainright Bank’s cards, at a rate determined by your credit history. Self-Help credit union cards (9.95–12.95% apr, no annual fee): Self-Help, headquartered in North Carolina, works in communities traditionally underserved by conventional financial institutions. It offers Classic and Platinum Visa credit cards to members, and through online banking, anyone nationwide can become an account holder and apply. The cards are issued by Self-Help, a community development bank. For those purchases you make by credit card, using one of these best-option cards can make your charges a force for good. One of my goals this year is to switch from my current credit cards, which are still mega-bank linked, to one or two of these cards. I hope you will all join my in making the switch.

"THE DALAI LAMA based on true events" "It's like "Pilot Guides" meets "The Money Programme"." "Frank and I get 50,000 kroner in cash and go off to somewhere in the world." " Bang, do something, move on." " Where would you go?" "Anywhere." "From Iceland..." "To Africa." "Africa is great." "TV Zulu in Africa would be cool." " Who would host the show?" " We've had many ideas." " Maybe Gintberg?" " Yes..." "He's an old pal, but who wants to dance to a car alarm all night?" " He's got that... he's a screamer." " Maybe Mattesen? "The Duck"." "He's great too." "But the thing is..." "He doesn't look into the camera naturally." "He's got that blank, feverish stare." "His eyes are empty." " Maybe he's better on location?" " He's got "reptile eyes"." "What about the Angora boys?" "Angora-Angola-Africa..." " They're really hot right now." " You said it. "Right now"." "It's like a fireworks rocket." "Who wants it once it has fallen down?" " Hell, it could be the two of you." " That crossed our minds, too." " It would be a new thing for you." " Your channel needs "big" hosts." "You want people on TV Zulu who've hosted shows on the main channel." "I like it." "It's at least 50-50." "No, with you as hosts it's 80-20." "Excuse me, I have to get this..." " It's from Szhirley." "You know her?" " The singer?" "She's hot." " You're dating Szhirley?" " Not quite." "She's hard to get." " She's The Joker's ex-girlfriend." " Really?" "Isn't "The Joker" a ridiculous name for a rap singer?" " Yes, but the chicks love it." " Hey, can I borrow your jacket?" "I want to look businessman-like when I meet Szhirley." " I haven't got an extra one with me." " I think you'll be fine, Frank." "You'll get it tonight." "I'll give it to Casper." "I'll take care of it, Frank." "It's just a jacket." "No, it's a jacket that I'm very fond of." "I'm not the careless type, you know." "Say hello to Szhirley." " You got tickets for the Dalai Lama?" " Yes, Iben is really into it." "We'll see you there, too." " Great!" " 80-20." "It's in the bag." "Yes!" " Did I get tickets for the Dalai?" " No, only Casper got those." " Why didn't I get any?" " I don't know." "Casper often gets invited without you." " Did you have a nice day?" " Yes." "How did the meeting go?" "Super." "Palle really liked the idea." "He wanted to do the show." "He said it was 80-20." "Palle always indicates the chances of a project with a percentage." "Frank, would you move those bags and boxes from the spare room?" "Sidse is going to stay here for a couple of days." "Your old schoolmate?" "She's going to a seminar, so she might as well stay here." "Sweet girl." "Great." "Very charming, in fact." "She's such a sunny person." " She's what?" " Sunny." "She lights up a room." " Has she got a boyfriend?" " No, not at the moment." "I'll have two naughty pussycats in the house." " She really is a naughty pussycat." " Yes, she's a zesty chick." " She's got pizzazz." " She's been in trouble." " I never told you about that." " No." "She's worked as an escort girl." " Sidse worked as an escort girl?" " Yes, she did." " She has quit now, but..." " We'll have a hooker in the house." " Don't talk about it." " Who would I tell?" "I'm going to have a hooker staying at my place." " What do you mean "staying"?" " You've met Sidse." " And she's a hooker?" " She used to be." "You can't have a hooker staying at your place." "You can't control yourself." "No man would be able to." "Imagine that Mia says, "I'm off to the shop for a couple of hours."" "And you're alone with Sidse." "You sit in the sofa watching a film." "She unbuttons her jeans and tucks her toes under your leg." ""Will you massage my feet? " she asks." "Then she looks at your dick and says:" ""Let's do something about that. 500 kroner and I'll give you a blow job."" "So you think, "Have I got time?" "Have I got 500 kroner?" "You bet."" "And you're at it." "Halfway through getting head you think, "Fuck it."" "And you rip off her jeans and screw her." "If that's what happens, you're right." "Nip it in the bud, Frank." "You can't handle it." " It's no good." " It never occurred to me." "I just know it." " Did you get my jacket?" " From Palle?" "No." "Strange." "He promised to give it back." "Hi, honey." "Hi." "Hi..." "Frank." " Long time, no see." " Hi, Sidse." "Come here..." " Nice to see you." " You're all sweaty." " I've been working out." " Yeah, you gave me a good hug." "You felt it?" "I guess I got a good grip there..." " Where is Mia?" " She went shopping." "Let's have a glass of wine and a chat." "Come on." "I'll get the wine." " I don't want any wine." " Why not?" "No alcohol for me." "I'm going to work out." "See you later." " Palle?" "Are you walking the dog?" " You know Frank?" " Sort of..." " Hi, Szhirley." "Nice meeting you." "You're a great singer." "I have some of your albums." " Are you on your way to the dump?" " No, that's stuff I just bought." " I paid a lot of money for that." " Let's move on." " Is that my jacket you're wearing?" " Yes." "I'll see you, Frank." " I'd like to have it back." " You'll get it tomorrow." " You said I'd get it yesterday." " Can't it wait?" "We're busy." "It's a cool jacket that I got in New York." "I'm a bit fussy about it." "Palle just borrowed it to impress you." " He has already impressed me." " Can't it wait till tomorrow?" " You'll get it tomorrow." " I'd like to have it now." " You can't give it to him now." " It's not work clothes, you know." " Jesper would never have done that." " Who's Jesper?" " Jesper would never have done that." " Who's Jesper?" " That's The Joker, isn't it?" " See you, Frank." "Palle?" "There's a stain on it!" "Darling?" " Do you want a cup of tea with us?" " No." "Just have a nice chat, you two." "Want a biscuit?" "I found these knickers on the floor." " Oh, there they are." " I thought they were yours, Mia." "They were lying on the floor." "Rig ht..." "I've got work to do." " Mia?" "Will you give me a back rub?" " No, not now." "I guess I stood the wrong way on the step machine." " Is it bad?" " Well, you know..." "Is it here?" "Sit down." "Come on." "Don't be silly." "It'll take two minutes." "Is it up here, in the shoulders?" "I stood the wrong way on the step machine." "Yeah, I can feel that." "It's all hard." "Relax." "Breathe in and breathe out." " Do it one more time." " Are you coming to bed?" " Yes." "Thank you." "That helped." " You're welcome." " I'm off to bed." " So am I. Good night, Mia." "Good night." "Do you think Sidse is attractive?" " Jesus." " I just asked." "She does nothing for me." " She's nice enough, I guess." " Would you have sex with her?" "Do you want me to be honest?" "Totally honest?" "No, I wouldn't." " Shanghai." "In an opium den." " Casper?" " Yes?" " Palle's on the phone." "Hi, Palle." "Casper here." "What's up?" "Why?" "Oh, come on, you know Frank." "Okay." "Right." "Bye." " What did Palle say?" " He cancelled the project." "Apparently because you..." "In his version of the story..." "humiliated him in front of Szhirley." "You tore the jacket off him, and he ran after Szhirley who'd walked off." "Nonsense." "I asked for my jacket and he gave it to me." "And he just walked away." " And he's stained my jacket!" " Forget that stupid jacket, Frank." " I don't know what it is." " It's shit." "How do I get it off?" "Maybe it's dogshit." "Szhirley's got a dog." "Okay." "Give me that bag." "Look at it from my side." "The whole project is slipping." "I'll talk to Palle and get it sorted." "We have to get it back on track." "I'm off." "I need a cab." "Are you staying here?" "Of course you are." "You can't go home." " Frank's got a hooker at his house." " You've been with a hooker?" " Frank's got a hooker at his house." " You've been with a hooker?" "You've got a hooker and a girlfriend." "It's too much." "Oh, never mind..." "Frank!" " You left the door open." " I thought I was alone." "Remember to close it." "I didn't know you were in the bath." "That's how situations like this arise." "Sorry!" "I screwed up today." "I went to the loo while Sidse was in the bathtub." " Was she naked?" " I guess so." "Oh." " Did you stand there looking at her?" " No, I hurried out." "I just wanted you to know." " It's just an awkward situation." " It's all right, darling." "Casper!" " What did Palle say?" " He was sort of..." " He can be a bit... unmanly." " You said it." "So I said, "Listen, that jacket and Frank and all that jazz..."" "You're not at all ready, darling." "You're all... crimpled." "So I said, "Percentage-wise, where are we? "" "So he says blah-blah and I say, "Give me a number."" ""80-20." So we are back where we were." " Stop talking." "We're late." " Then he'll just have to wait." " The Dalai Lama?" " Isn't it odd I'm not invited?" "I don't know." "I guess it's for the cultural elite." "Casper's only going because I'm invited." "I have an idea:" "Why don't you grab hold of Palle and Szhirley and come to my place afterwards and have some champagne?" " Lovely." "With Palle and Szhirley?" " I want to make it up to them." " We have to go." " Lock up and turn off the light." "I read a stupid Dalai Lama quote." ""The little finger is weaker than the thumb."" ""But when you have to clean your ears, the little finger is useful."" "Hi there." "The project is back on track." "Casper talked to Palle." "I invited them over for champagne." "Frank, I've just been telling Sidse that..." "That you know she was a prostitute." " Now I understand why you were..." " Yes, I felt a bit awkward." "That story really affected me." "I wasn't sure how you..." "I'm not used to having a girl who has worked in that profession here." " I guess it rattled me." " Like the episode in the bathroom." " Yes." "That was a nasty accident." " It wasn't an accident." " I could see you were horny." " Why do you say that?" "I was in the bathtub and suddenly I hear a cell phone ringing." "And I see you there with your trousers down..." " I went to the toilet." " Well, it didn't look that way." "Why didn't you tell me?" "I was going to tell you, but..." "I forgot." "Listen." "I went to the toilet and suddenly I saw Sidse in the bath." "You were pooping with Sidse there?" "Yes!" "Welcome." "Hi there." "Hi, Szhirley." "Palle." "It was fantastic." "The Dalai Lama is a true star." " It was a shame you didn't go." " I wasn't invited." " Too bad." "It was really fantastic." " It was energy, it was light..." "It felt as if a burden was lifted off of your shoulders..." "I've opened a bottle of champagne to celebrate the revival of the project." " Come in and have a glass." " Thanks." " Is that Sidse in there?" " Yes." "Hi, Mia." "Great to see you." "Hi." "My name is Casper." "Hi Sidse." "Thank you." "I'd like to propose a toast for the project that is back on track." " It's a fine project." " Good luck with it." " Where have I seen you before?" " I'm sure I haven't seen you before." "No." "I'm quite sure I've seen you before." "I'm quite sure we've met." " The only thing I can think of..." " Don't say anything, Sidse." "Why do you want her to shut up?" "Do you know where it is?" " Come on, say it." " All right, I'll say it." "A couple of years ago Sidse worked as an escort girl." "I'm out of here." "I'm going home." "Jesus Christ, Palle." "I'm going home and you're not coming." " Come and have a drink, Szhirley." " Forget it!" "I'd better give Szhirley a lift." "I'll talk to her and then I'll call you." "Frank, you really are a clown." " Bye." " Are you going home too?" " Did you bring my jacket?" " No, I've got it at home." " I'll drive you home and pick it up." " No need." "I'll get a cab." " There." " Bye." "I'll wait here while you get the jacket."

It has been seven plus years since the Edmonton Oilers have made the playoffs and as we enter the second week in November the Oilers are already out of this year’s playoff race with a 4-14-2 start. I am a long time Oilers fan and I have to be vocal about the futility of this hockey franchise. The glory days are long gone. With the exception of perhaps a fluke trip to the finals in 2006 with a loss to Carolina in game seven, really what have the Edmonton Oilers done in the past twenty years? The answers not much. Frankly the fans, myself included are getting pretty pissed off. Yet the Oilers still sell out every game. So today after another loss (3-0 to Dallas 0n home ice) GM Craig McTavish goes off on how he is pissed off that the start of the Oilers has not been what he expected. Well no kidding. Truth be told I’ve never been a fan of MacT. Not when he was coach of the Oilers and not as a GM. He was fired as coach for a reason. Behind the yes, yes I know he is good friends with Oilers owner Daryl Katz. They spend time together here in Kelowna in the off-season. I’ve bumped into Craig at the airport on occasion. I also am aware of some recent health problems that MacT has had and I can say that I do not “not” like him as a person, but he’s simply not one of the guys that should be running the Edmonton Oilers. The same can be said about Kevin Lowe. Kevin is an articulate person but he has failed in hockey management. The futility experienced by Oilers’ fans in the past 20 years is something that should not be experienced by any hockey fan. The fans, myself included, are frustrated. Don’t believe me? Here are some fan comments courtesy of tsn.ca after MacTavish’s latest tirade. What a mess the Oilers are from the front office to the players on the ice cant recall any pro sports team to have that many high draft picks, year after year, and yet continue to fail so miserably year after year.. what a total embarrassment.. and then when the franchise had a chance to re-build from the ground up, what do they do? they re-hire MacTavish.. pathetic! Lip service… As a long time Oilers fan I hate to say this (for another season). The Oilers are pathetic on so many fronts – this team will not win 20 games – then what? Lowe, MacT, Eakins all stay and the kids increase their losing skills I really feel for the loyal Oiler fans… such tremendous young talent and they just can’t seem to get the job done. Change doesn’t happen over night, but after how many years, something drastic needs to change in the locker room and management to get things going. Look at Colorado.. they only needed 1 first overall pick to climb the standings ‘The blueline needs to be improved upon’ Good thing you traded away Smid!! Wow, I feel sorry for oiler fans, this team is going nowhere with the management it has in place! all they need is a new president, a new gm, 5 defencemen, a goalie and some grit and watch out Kevin Lowe’s hand prints on this team is the problem Such a poorly built team.. Sick of seeing ‘this team will get better’ every single year as they finish last, or 2nd last. Pathetic, time to rebuild the rebuild, get some proven veterans, then get some stud rookies. Who are your vets edm, Ryan Smyth? Hemsky? laughable. Andrew Ference the only capable veteran I see. MacT sees progress ? Huh ? ‘The blueline needs to be improved upon’ Nice work Craig, you just traded your best Dman for almost nothing but cap space and now you want a Dman? lol. Way to go ‘Eventually’???!!! Really, MacT? Eventually has been since 2002. Since then, it’s been all ‘rebuilding’ to a 4-14-1-1 record. Maybe the Oilers will get a clue once the fans start failing to sellout Rexall Place Mac T is in over his head. He has no plan and the frustration is showing. Why Katz keeps him and Lowe is beyond comprehension. As for Eakins, he’s another Guy Boucher. He’s better suited for the AHL. Sad state to the once proud franchise of Edmonton..MacTavish..Lowe and the rest of the Oilers in the front office need to be fired and sent packing. The Oiler’s are a clear example of how NOT to run an organization. You cannot finish last and be awarded the 1st overall pick 3 years in a row and not improve your team. The best talent available doesn’t always mean it’s the best possible pick for your team. It’s ironic how they draft the highest skilled offensive player in the draft and suddenly want/expect that offensive minded player to play defense??? REALLY?!!!! It took Kovy 8 full NHL seasons before he knew what a D-zone was….. Oil Brass – give your head a shake please. You drafted wrong. End of story. The best 2 way player w/ nearly Yak’s skill level was MTLs Galchenyuk… Sorry about your luck. Enjoy last place again. (Although we (NJ) will finish right beside you….) Mac T is frustrated…now he knows how an entire city has felt for the last 7 years…why did I think buying a mini pack to watch this team play was a good idea?! The blueline needs to be improved upon… do we need a big stud defenceman? It would help immensely,’ said MacTavish. But MacTavish explained that he’s not willing to part with one of his team’s core pieces at this time…That is BOLD MacT. im sure your fans have all the patience in the world after a decade of embarrassment… Please, Kevin Lowe, for the love of hockey in Edmonton, STEP DOWN!. Maybe if everyone going to the game Friday takes a sign pleading with Lowe to step down, he would get the message. Hmmm, draft all scorers and now you expect them to play D? Maybe you should draft based on your needs. MacT should never have been brought back. This team needed fresh, new executive leadership to match the young team. All they got was the same old same that hasn’t worked in Edmonton in nearly 30 years. Oh yeah, they had that one run: That’s just how good Pronger was. Maybe they should think about drafting a D-man who can play D. Mac-T’s comments today are all about timing … the Oil play the Sharks Friday night then the despised Flames on Saturday … he’s attempting to downplay his teams pathetic position in light of these 2 upcoming potential blowouts especially the Flames who only are one year into a rebuild yet light years ahead of the Oil … One of the biggest problem’s hiring a coach with no NHL head coaching experience. Krueger was actually doing a great job and the Oilers were playing meaningful hockey in April! Isn’t this comparable to all the time’s coaches have done a great job in NCAA football but completely bomb in the NFL? It’s a huge step in both cases. Here’s the problem. You got a rookie coach with rookie players. I’m still mind boggled about how this team is doing so bad compared to last year when on paper they should be a much better and well rounded team….. Why Lowe still has a job is a mystery. Last year the Oilers were close to the playoffs and could have made it except for a late 10 game slump. Bringing in Eakins has set the team backwards although he is tied to MacTavish’s poor decisions (Ferrence, LaBarbera, Larsen, Belov, trading Smid) and saddled with two ex Oiler assistants (Smith and Buchberger). The team has had enough make overs, it is time for the management to move on. Katz – clean house, please! I wouldn’t support getting rid of a new coach this early but I do wonder what Eakins is teaching. Their game is lacking any sort of structure. I recognize that systems can take a while to implement effectively as a new coach but that group of players needs a plan to move forward. It seems like a clear plan for how to improve is missing both on the ice(coach/players) and off(gm/president). So basically, he’s upset like all the fans are, but nothing is changing and things will continue to go downhill. Got it. I see MacT is not willing to part with one of the team’s core pieces at this time…Exactly what is this team’s core at this time? As a Canuck fan, I should be loving this, but I don’t. I feel bad for the Oiler fans who stand by their team. Time for the fans to be rewarded. May need to blow it up. These kids may be better off separated, and the Oilers can get some quality vets in return for some of them. Hang in there Oiler fans, it has to get better. As a flames fan, I don’t think Eakins is the problem. It is MacT and I knew this was going to be a disaster when he was hired as GM, and so did my oiler fan friends. Lowe is no better with his horrible contracts he signed after 2006 season. You guys deserve better than this! From a flames fan. Don’t worry. Kevin Lowe knows a thing or two about winning. I guess Oiler fans have renewed their prospect magazine subscritions. Should give one to the oilers scouting department. Have not got an impact player beyond the first round in 8 years that is good enough to make the team. Honestly the Oiler’s problems stem from very poor scouting. Not one guy from round 2 plus has made any impact. Terrible. MacT needs to a lot of help from scouts and they are the problem not the solution. Take in to account the Oilers were picking first in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th rounds as well. I will tell you that the coaching change scared me a little at the start of the season and now my fears have come true. Dallas Eakins may become a very good Head Coach in this league some day but maybe they should have brought him in as an assistant coach first. The Oilers were in the top 10 in powerplay and penalty killing last year and their 5 on 5 was hurting. Now everything is a shambles and they have no confidence and no continuity in management. MacTavish probably thought that bringing in a ‘Hammer’ was needed. What they really need is a systems coach. An NHL systems coach not an AHL systems coach. Ralph was an NHL systems coach and the players responded with a very good powerplay and penalty killing. We need a Kruger/Hitchcock type with serious systems. Oilers will continue to be non-competitive until the management group is replaced. They need defence, and they trade Smid, the best defencemen on the team. Bad choices, repeated again and again. Sabres ownership was bold enough to clean house, why isn’t Katz? Turn it around? look at the Oilers division it will take around 100 points to make the playoffs…do the math the season is over.

Your Entertainment Destination A Young Charlie Sheen Stole His Dad's Credit Card To Pay For A Prostitute July 6th, 2012 10:07am EDT Share Google Tweet Pin it Comment A 15-year-old Charlie Sheen lost his virginity to a Las Vegas hooker and used his father's credit card to purchase her sexual services. The "Anger Management" star doesn't regret the act itself, but he felt bad when his actor dad, Martin Sheen, found out about it. Sheen told Playboy magazine, "I'm watching TV in our living room, and he's in his office 20 feet away... All of a sudden a piece of paper falls in front of me... It's his Visa bill. There's one thing circled, and it's $350. There's an arrow pointing to it and three words: 'What is this?' He had gone back into my bedroom and was just waiting for me... That was a long walk... I was like a defence attorney going to trial against video evidence." But Sheen admits his dad was fair and simply wanted to make sure his son realised that sex with a hooker wasn't real love: "I was like, 'Really? You should have seen her.'" Photo Credits: PR Photos Sign up for our daily newsletter with great stories like this and more!

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3486177601646533834.post9010167866165892041..comments2015-05-22T07:40:24.197-04:00Comments on Womanist Musings: Claudette Osborne: More Than A Sex Trade WorkerReneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/[email protected]:blogger.com,1999:blog-3486177601646533834.post-66493771154327381692012-11-14T16:49:41.082-05:002012-11-14T16:49:41.082-05:00Meh dime a dozenMeh dime a [email protected]:blogger.com,1999:blog-3486177601646533834.post-75062919954694811562008-09-19T07:19:00.000-04:002008-09-19T07:19:00.000-04:00Thank you for publishing a more accurate account o...Thank you for publishing a more accurate account of who Claudette is.<BR/>She is one of over 625 women of Aboriginal ancestry who has gone missing or who have been murdered across Canada.MOST OF THESE CASES REMAIN UNSOLVED!<BR/>www.missingnativewomen.orgAmberhttp://[email protected]:blogger.com,1999:blog-3486177601646533834.post-6941041220658366622008-08-12T20:06:00.000-04:002008-08-12T20:06:00.000-04:00@Kitty that was one bad ass commentary...wow, well...@Kitty that was one bad ass commentary...wow, well said.Reneehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/[email protected]:blogger.com,1999:blog-3486177601646533834.post-85634125811196038042008-08-12T18:22:00.000-04:002008-08-12T18:22:00.000-04:00Claudette is a mother, sister and daughter but the...<I>Claudette is a mother, sister and daughter but the CBC wants to make sure that you remember that she is a sex trade worker. The title of this piece is not at all accidental. By identifying Claudette as a sex trade worker instead of one of the various roles in which she participates the CBC is in effect slut shaming.</I><BR/><BR/>Yes it is slut shaming. The label opens up the justification forThe Fabulous Kitty Glendowerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/[email protected]

President Donald Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions will be derelict in their duties if they do not launch a full investigation into the Harvey Weinstein sexual assault scandal. At the very least, the next pompous award show would be a whole lot more muted, and justifiably so. In what many celebrities, to include Mr. Trump himself, likely acknowledge: The depths of sexual criminality in Hollywood are almost certainly not limited to the likes of Weinstein and his company. Indeed, the so-called “open secret” has not been much of a secret as of late. Hollywood has been openly raping women and children for decades. There’s Polanski. There’s Woody Allen. There’s Sean Connery bragging about smacking women around. [dcquiz] More recently, Corey Feldman and Elijah Wood, both one-time child actors, had to “walk back” their allegations of Hollywood’s wide spread child sex peddling. Worse yet, X-Men director Bryan Singer made headlines a few years ago for allegedly throwing drug-fueled “twink” parties in which scantily clad teenage boys pranced around partaking in any number of illicit activities. And, of course, there is the cliche “casting couch,” Hollywood’s pressure-filled obstacle course of auditioning, renowned for being step one on the way to sexual exploitation. Mr. President, if you want to lead the “law and order” White House, now is your chance. There is only upside to a far-reaching investigation of Hollywood’s elite production companies. Tweet by tweet, suit by suit, indictment by indictment, Trump would win back the American people. Who can disagree with defending women and children? Forget about Nazis. Rapists and child molesters are perhaps the most detested among us. MERYL STREEP JOINS IN WEINSTEIN-BASHING FOR A POPULARITY BOOST: Politically, consider it the NFL kneeling cycle on steroids. Such an investigation would almost certainly yield massive results. The Russia investigation would pale in comparison. Trump’s base would rally. Trump detractors would be paralyzed. Hollywood would choke on its own faux virtue. Moreover, it would rob the stage of all the stuffy Streeps, Clooneys, and Sarandons. It would force Mark Ruffalo to eat his own insufferable pontification, to finally sit down and give the microphone to the platoons of people who almost made it. Finally, Trump could take away an award Hollywood has always loved to bestow upon itself. He can give voice to the voiceless. He can give victims the opportunity to shake the shackles of Hollywood exploitation. Give them justice, Mr. President, give them a win. Anything else would be dereliction of duty.

Daily Archive Almost a year ago, a storm very similar to this one descended upon the denizens of Cincinnati, with much of the same effect – a two hour car ride home, which is usually 15-20 minutes, for me, ill preparedness, and drivers freaking out and doing dumb things. I did have my own little freakout myself today, but it was warranted – I drank about 60 ounces of coffee prior to my departure and my oil light decided that this would be the opportune time to tell me I didn’t have any. My car is one of two expensive things that I own outright – the second of course being my viola which sadly doesn’t see the light of day too often. The lil’ neon has gotten me all over the place, mostly safe, several trips to Colorado and the Rocky Mtns, down Kelly Drive and the unsavory parts of Philly, Chicago for MOLA, Pittsburgh for IKEA, Cleveland for Nana, but a few. For as much shit as I give my car, it has delivered me consistently – barring the incident at the Dayton airport two years ago, quite possible the biggest hassle ever. So while I mock my own car regularly, I was quite happy that it made it home. Sure, there were plenty of SUV van hummer monstrosities passing me, and of course part of the time I had no control of what direction I was heading, but I passed those sporty high-performance vehicles with ease and accepted that I would not make it up to Priscillaneous other than walking. So thank you Neon, I think you’ve earned yourself some new breaks. At least an oil change. Update – I’ve discovered my trunk no longer opens. Who can say how long that’s been a problem…

Other Gaming Forum I wish the Vita would wait a while before release. Holiday is way too soon in my opinion. I know its essential to get that christmas granny cash, but the 3DS has a lot riding on it for the holiday with Mario and Mario Kart. My grandmother can go on about Mario, but she has no clue who the hell Sack Boy or Nathan Drake are lol I will never understand why Nintendo fanboys insist that Sony doesn't have any "games." Sony publishes almost as many games ITSELF than Nintendo. Let alone the third party exclusives, or the fact that Square Enix is aligned more closely to Sony than the other two. Sony was responsible for Demon's Souls - the best, bar none, new RPG IP this generation. For the more traditional RPG experience, Sony has White Knight Chronicles - controversial game, but some love it. Sony is responsible for some of the best online MMO experiences of all time - most recently Magic the Gathering Tactics. Sony has thrown money at the FPS genre. Sony's responsible for putting up the money for one of the most artistic games of all time - Ico (and Shadow of the Colossus while we're at it).Gran Turismo is another investment by Sony and if you're into serious racing simulations you're going to want a PS3. For the casual audience? Sony came up with a little franchise called Buzz. There's God of War. That's pretty cool, most people agree. And let's not forget the more experimental stuff, like Eye of Judgement: doing AR before Nintendo even thought of it. And all of that's not including the really obvious ones, like SOCOM, Uncharted, LittleBigPlanet. we can do without the name-calling — TBD Edit: I just KNOW someone's going to reply and say something like "yeah but all those games sucked" or something. So to preempt that, my response: No one cares about what you personally think is good or not. But those games are crap!!! NIntendo games are fun who wants to kill someone on a console? This just shows sony is making people vialant! I will never understand why Nintendo fanboys insist that Sony doesn't have any "games." Sony publishes almost as many games ITSELF than Nintendo. Let alone the third party exclusives, or the fact that Square Enix is aligned more closely to Sony than the other two. Sony was responsible for Demon's Souls - the best, bar none, new RPG IP this generation. For the more traditional RPG experience, Sony has White Knight Chronicles - controversial game, but some love it. Sony is responsible for some of the best online MMO experiences of all time - most recently Magic the Gathering Tactics. Sony has thrown money at the FPS genre. Sony's responsible for putting up the money for one of the most artistic games of all time - Ico (and Shadow of the Colossus while we're at it).Gran Turismo is another investment by Sony and if you're into serious racing simulations you're going to want a PS3. For the casual audience? Sony came up with a little franchise called Buzz. There's God of War. That's pretty cool, most people agree. And let's not forget the more experimental stuff, like Eye of Judgement: doing AR before Nintendo even thought of it. And all of that's not including the really obvious ones, like SOCOM, Uncharted, LittleBigPlanet. we can do without the name-calling — TBD Edit: I just KNOW someone's going to reply and say something like "yeah but all those games sucked" or something. So to preempt that, my response: No one cares about what you personally think is good or not. But those games are crap!!! NIntendo games are fun who wants to kill someone on a console? This just shows sony is making people vialant! It's a pity The Black Dragon censored me, because my Q.E.D moment doesn't quite have the same impact now. But really if you think Demon's Souls, God of War and Ico, Buzz and Little Big Planet are crap games then you have terrible taste in games. But really if you think Demon's Souls, God of War and Ico, Buzz and Little Big Planet are crap games then you have terrible taste in games. LOL at your claim. This should be good. How are those bad games? No, no not that. Just the fact someone can't dislike a system or group of games without being false or in some way negative is what I was pointing out. It's their opinion lets just leave as it is for it will not change no matter how butt hurt you get over the internet. Just for you."I'm just a musical prostitute, my dear." - Freddie Mercury I do not like LittleBigPlanet. Level's were boring and repetitive. Online levels are very bland and not very creative. I was bored out of my brain by the time I finished the millions of tutorials in the level editor. Sure, it's fun with friends, and it is, but why not give me a multiplayer only experience then? I bought this for $40, pre-owned and I still felt ripped off, never touching it again unless I'm carrying it to the store to trade it in. Buzz, a quiz game. Ingenious. Let's pay for all these extra controller's we will only use for one game, when we could have bought Trivial Pursuit for a fifth of the price, and probably have more fun with it. Yet, Monster Hunter, amazing game. Great depth, looks great. Portal, funny, great gameplay mechanics and a great story. FFXIII, in-depth battle system, amazing story, yet I don't like LBP or Buzz, so I must have awful taste in games... But really if you think Demon's Souls, God of War and Ico, Buzz and Little Big Planet are crap games then you have terrible taste in games. LOL at your claim. This should be good. How are those bad games? No, no not that. Just the fact someone can't dislike a system or group of games without being false or in some way negative is what I was pointing out. It's their opinion lets just leave as it is for it will not change no matter how butt hurt you get over the internet. People hide behind that "it's my opinion" thing too much. Having an opinion doesn't automatically entitle you to be correct. Claiming a list of some of the best games across casual and hardcore in the last decade are crap is not an opinion. It's being childish. Consider the difference: "I'm not a fan of Super Mario Galaxy, but I can understand why it's so well loved." I do not like LittleBigPlanet. Level's were boring and repetitive. Online levels are very bland and not very creative. I was bored out of my brain by the time I finished the millions of tutorials in the level editor. Sure, it's fun with friends, and it is, but why not give me a multiplayer only experience then? I bought this for $40, pre-owned and I still felt ripped off, never touching it again unless I'm carrying it to the store to trade it in. And the rest? Not everyone is going to like every game in any given list of games. That's besides the point - and you know that full well Consider the difference: "I'm not a fan of Super Mario Galaxy, but I can understand why it's so well loved." "Super Mario Galaxy is crap." The former is an opinion. The latter is a childish troll. The former, an opinion of someone who hasn't played the game, nor who wants to play the game as they are not intrested nor appealed to the concept.The latter, someone who has played the game and disliked it for various reasons. Yes there is a difference. Doesn't mean someone is a troll. People hide behind the United States being a free country a lot as well, but can you really take that away from them? Can you really say "No you can't be free because I'm sick of you saying that"? Now that's childish. Your getting butt hurt because no one wants to agree with you and you stand alone as a one man army. Just for you."I'm just a musical prostitute, my dear." - Freddie Mercury Navi, just consider this conversation in context for a second <_< I merely listed a bunch of games Sony itself published or developed. Not the best games of all time. People hide behind the United States being a free country a lot as well, but can you really take that away from them? Can you really say "No you can't be free because I'm sick of you saying that"? Now that's childish. Your getting butt hurt because no one wants to agree with you and you stand alone as a one man army. A lot of people in the United States (and anywhere else in the world) are stupid, too. That doesn't magically make their opinions equal. "Opinion" isn't a magic word that gives you the right to be taken seriously. I'm fairly confident I'm not the only person who thinks that Sony has published or developed some good games. And the rest of them? If you can give me a genuine reason that each and every game that Sony has published is a crap game (and note, not just a game you're not interested in, but a crap game), then you've proven me wrong. Until then, my point stands. Nintendo isn't the only one that publishes and develops good games. But those games are crap!!! NIntendo games are fun who wants to kill someone on a console? This just shows sony is making people vialant! And I'm guessing from this post that Nintendo games are making people illiterate. And no one says you need to agree with those games being good/fun....but seriously--not crap. I hate Demon's Souls with a passion but I'd be a moron to call it a crap game. Same with Ocarina of Time--it puts me to sleep, but I will never claim it's a crap game. Or I could not bother, play the game's I enjoy, and not care about your thoughts that Sony are Gods. I never said Sony are Gods? You play the games you enjoy. I wasn't ever arguing with you in the first place FFS. My problem is with people that limit themselves to some kind of blind faith in one console or one company. Nintendo isn't the only one capable of producing good games (or consoles) - any more than Capcom, Sony, Square Enix, Microsoft or anyone else. To dismiss an entire range of games because they come from Sony is just silly. I'm going to assume you knew all this already Navi and just decided to debate for the sake of it, because I know full well that we think the same way here.

1979 Kung Fu Grip. Well, the group is a group now. After a shaky start they’re learning to trust one another. Jessica’s real world knowledge of grifting will serve them well. She’s already becoming the defacto leader although they don’t realize it yet. Her charisma and willpower make her a natural leader, for good or ill. She’s also dwarven enough that Mike’s character took a liking to her almost instinctually. Jo is getting her bearings since an in game motivation hasn’t presented itself in a way that resonates with her yet. It’s very much still just words and paper. Something will need to happen to spark her imagination and make it real. 33 Comments Probably a stupid question, but do you already have a fully planned out set of motivations for the D&D arc or are you just kind of letting the characters lead the way? If this isn’t me prying or anything. Dear Jackie: you have this DM-ing thing down to a science! My hat is off to you! Back in the day I thought the reason for dungeons and dragons was to get together as a group and live out the characters having the sexual encounters we wanted- but were years away from getting. …and the occasional Wild fantasties that were tame enough to let others see we had. One guy let on that he would have sex with anything… Any Thing, that would/could give consent. We all thought he was a little odd, – hunh-, turns out he was more forward thinking/respectful than any of us others were. He was forty years ahead of his time. The worst part of it is getting the Toilet Paper out of your knapsack when you’re in a hurry, hurry, hurry, to get to the bushes Quick, … and you have to do it all with one hand. Knapsack starps are very hard with one set of fingers. And a knotted shoelace… Yeah, just ask for help. Which if I am not wrong again, is something Ed doesn’t care to do. I really like Jo’s interactions in this storyline! They’re so honest to the way a person who’s trying really hard to engage with the game but doesn’t have a clear sense for how to approach it feels and acts. I’ve BEEN that person. Have to say they’re coming together as a party better than I expected. It’s the sign of a good DM to not over-control the adventure. Some of my favorites were when the group did what they wanted and eventually found the adventure I had actually planned. Sometimes though, the party is just doomed from their own real-life circumstances. I had a divorcing couple in one group. He was an avid player, she was not, but insisted on being there just to annoy him. And she did. Now, I made it a habit to pass a lot of pointless notes to players and encouraged them to pass the same back. That way, when there was anything really important and secret, the passing of notes wasn’t anything to raise an alarm. Usually it was stuff like, “You see a spooky shadow” or “You crave whiskey” or “This is a nothing note. Make a concerned face, chuckle, or look intensely at one of the other players.” They might respond by scribbling a nonsense symbol or something else amusing. The divorcing wife sent me a lot of notes saying what she was going to steal from his character, bad rumors she’d spread, or if she would light him on fire and when. Those games were fun for me, to a point, but the divorce ended badly for him. She insisted on getting all his D&D materials in the divorce (he caved) and she burned it all on his lawn.

Annihilation, Afterlife, Majesty &amp; Immaculate Conception [quote author=“CanZen”]That being said I still believe that you are lying andonstop when you say: “Quoting just your conclusion was an effort at brevity,” because the part you left out is the part where the FACTS are inserted, and nowhere do you acknowledge that. In fact, you do just the opposite and completely ignore those FACTS just to enable the assertion of your own agenda. Then you go to another thread and quote the same “brevity” without any of the FACTS, but then you go one step farther in your explicit lie and claim that I have no facts to support my position so that makes my “belief” unfounded (or based on a kind of faith). You are still in all of your subsequent postings ignoring the FACTS. This has to stop andonstop. I will not respond to such outright deception again. I am sorry you feel that way, CanZen. Obviously I cannot convince you otherwise. Please understand my “go to another thread” was simply the accident of a novice blogger/forumer trying to reply to multiple posts and ending up with a different thread. My response to the facts issue has already been posted on the other thread, “Have you even read the Bible?” Would you say that a White person was begotten and a Black person was created? Would you say that a Man was begotten and a Woman was created? So, why is your comment that Jesus was begotten and Humans were created any different? You can understand why Blacks resent being called inferior to Whites, and women being called inferior to men. But you completely fail to understand why Humans might resent being called inferior to your diety. [quote author=“Joad”]You can understand why Blacks resent being called inferior to Whites, and women being called inferior to men. But you completely fail to understand why Humans might resent being called inferior to your diety. I’m not sure, but I strongly doubt there is any society or human that has considered themselves inferior to any life form or another group’s diety. Usually the inferiority (or disdain) is projected upon another group. Perhaps that is another reason I don’t like the religious - they claim superiority first then move on to pity or contempt for others who don’t believe as they do, which is just as ridiculous as owners of Chevys scorning owners of Fords. The stronger you cling to distinctions the stronger you build the prison walls around yourself. [quote author=“Skipshot”][quote author=“Joad”]You can understand why Blacks resent being called inferior to Whites, and women being called inferior to men. But you completely fail to understand why Humans might resent being called inferior to your diety. I’m not sure, but I strongly doubt there is any society or human that has considered themselves inferior to any life form or another group’s diety. Usually the inferiority (or disdain) is projected upon another group. Perhaps that is another reason I don’t like the religious - they claim superiority first then move on to pity or contempt for others who don’t believe as they do, which is just as ridiculous as owners of Chevys scorning owners of Fords. The stronger you cling to distinctions the stronger you build the prison walls around yourself. Very profound about the prison walls, Skipshot. I also think your comparisons regarding inferiority are very perceptive. Please consider that in a true relationship with God, there is no subservience. If you are lucky enough to have a loving human father, could you not love him and do what is best for him without being inferior? One can choose to serve without being subservient. One can hold a deep, devoted, reverential love for God and humankind with an honest desire to serve both while standing majestically and honorably with head held high. Service in its highest sense equals leadership in its purest form. The best way to convince people to treat others well is to demonstrate the majesty of the attitude of a desire to do good to others. andonstop, I do not question your relationship with your diety, I question how that realtionship affects your perception of those who do not believe in your diety. I’ve seen piousness as thinly veiled arrogance. Admittedly there are Christians who see further than what scripture tells them, and they see the commonality the major religions have - one truth, one center, the whole. But the small minded see distinctions which are used to divide men, and THAT is why I do not like any religion which makes distinctions of men. For example, the Episcopal church is tearing itself apart on the issue of homosexuality - a distinction of men. Muslims and Christians kill, discriminate, obstruct, lie, cheat, withhold aid and benefits, etc. over the proper interpretation of the Koran or Bible. And that’s just among themselves. Worse is reserved for infidels. How can arbitrary distinctions written and followed as objective distinctions be good? Read Dr. Seuss’s story about the Star-Bellied Sneeches and you’ll understand my point. Enjoyed Dr. Seuss’s Sneeches, Skipshot. Thanks for the recommendation. It would be good reading for any religious thinker. I’m guessing Mr. McBean also invented the radar gun and the radar detector. I do not dispute your assessment of the divisiveness of much of Christianity. The saddest part to me is that so many choose to focus on petty things in direct conflict with one of their teachings—a house divided cannot stand. But I believe those so misdirected are the more vocal and more noticed minority. The silent majority quietly goes about their daily lives living as decent human beings. You ask how I perceive those who do not believe in “my” deity. First, I see it as my relationship with the deity. I wish all people the best possible relationship with God. I do not expect people to limit their beliefs to mine. All people are not equal on this world. Some are tall, some are bright, some are not. But all have the same eternal potentialities. We are all on different levels of spiritual evolutionary development, which makes us on different levels, not better or worse. Those interested in making the world a better place, whether they do it to live a more Godly life, or whether they do it to make the world a better place, make the world a better place. In every mortal there exists a dual nature: the inheritance of animal tendencies and the high urge of spirit endowment. What someone says their faith is, is of little consequence. The truth of faith is in the living. To me, an accurate measure of faith is how people treat those from whom they have nothing to gain. Often those who claim to have no faith, do; just not in the conventional organized religious definition. It is my humble opinion that anyone who appreciates Sneeches has a Godly level of faith. How do you see yours? In every mortal there exists a dual nature: the inheritance of animal tendencies and the high urge of spirit endowment. I disagree on both points though both say the same thing, essentially. I am not looking for answers to why I am here, I know that already and seek no further information on this because I am happy with what I accept as fact. Spirituality is a religious state. I don’t like the word because people seem to use it to justify their beliefs in ghosts; spirits, if you will. It denotes a faith based attitude towards the real world and that doesn’t ring well in my ears. Would you say that a White person was begotten and a Black person was created? Would you say that a Man was begotten and a Woman was created? So, why is your comment that Jesus was begotten and Humans were created any different? You can understand why Blacks resent being called inferior to Whites, and women being called inferior to men. But you completely fail to understand why Humans might resent being called inferior to your diety. What are you babbling about? The difference is in the context of the conversation. The context was about striving for a state of perfection. And, I was clearly speaking about MY beliefs. You extended that to some sort of personal affront. Not everything is about you. You can believe what you want, just please extend the same courtesy to me. This kind of irrational and insecure sensitivity is exactly what makes fundamentalism such a problem, and it answers your final statement as to why people resent having their flaws pointed out. No one likes being told they are wrong. But here’s the thing; I never said anything about you - you took that upon yourself. Sounds like a guilty conscience to me. If you were truly secure in what you believed and who you are, why would you care one whit what I think about anything? The room is full of people, so nobody knows to whom he is replying until he bites somebody’s head off. Ted, you’re the closest to the Wookiee in the room. So consider your head bitten off. And don’t bring up strawmen. Don’t even start. I have registered a mark for describing the worst excesses of these sorts of arguments: This kind of irrational and insecure sensitivity is exactly what makes fundamentalism such a problem Accusing someone of fundamentalist atheism is an oxymoron, if not a downright StrawHerring™. The fact that you are here baiting atheists rather than somewhere else baiting fundamentalist theists amply demonstrates something about you that I cannot quite put into words. Bwaaahhhhrrrrrmmm! In every mortal there exists a dual nature: the inheritance of animal tendencies and the high urge of spirit endowment. I disagree on both points though both say the same thing, essentially. I am not looking for answers to why I am here, I know that already and seek no further information on this because I am happy with what I accept as fact. Spirituality is a religious state. I don’t like the word because people seem to use it to justify their beliefs in ghosts; spirits, if you will. It denotes a faith based attitude towards the real world and that doesn’t ring well in my ears. “You must understand that none of the gods are seekers after truth. They do not long for wisdom, because they are wise—and why should the wise be seeking the wisdom that is already theirs? Nor, for that matter, do the ignorant seek the truth or crave to be made wise. And indeed, what makes their case so hopeless is that, having neither beauty, nor goodness, nor intelligence, they are satisfied with what they are, and do not long for the virtues they have never missed.” “Then tell me, Diotima, ...who are these seekers after truth, if they are neither the wise nor the ignorant?” “Why a schoolboy… could have told you that…. They are those who come between the two, and one of them is Love.” Symposium 204a,b Ted, you’re the closest to the Wookiee in the room. So consider your head bitten off. And don’t bring up strawmen. Don’t even start. I have registered a mark for describing the worst excesses of these sorts of arguments: This kind of irrational and insecure sensitivity is exactly what makes fundamentalism such a problem Accusing someone of fundamentalist atheism is an oxymoron, if not a downright StrawHerring™. Really? How are atheists immune from fundamental thinking? Last time I checked, fundamentalism was the “strict adherence to ANY set of basic ideas or principles”. Its that strict adherence that produces the insecurity that keeps different views from being appreciated. Or perhaps there is a very basic definition of fundamentalism that you strictly adhere to here? [quote author=“Ted”]How are atheists immune from fundamental thinking? Last time I checked, fundamentalism was the “strict adherence to ANY set of basic ideas or principles”. Its that strict adherence that produces the insecurity that keeps different views from being appreciated. Or perhaps there is a very basic definition of fundamentalism that you strictly adhere to here? Fundamentalist fundamentalism restricts one to the interpretation of a particular text. That’s not an atheist-derived definition, but a theist-derived one. If any word ought to have a specific definition, and one which believers should own, and own up to, this might be the one. Perhaps you would care to characterize the text that offers the source of the basic ideas or principles to which “fundamentalist” atheists are “adhering”. But you may wish to go along as you do, defining words in such a way that the definitions constitute your arguments. By the way, as you burn your own StrawHerring™, keep in mind that while it casts a lovely brownish light, also creates a terrific stink. [quote author=“Salt Creek”][quote author=“Ted”]How are atheists immune from fundamental thinking? Last time I checked, fundamentalism was the “strict adherence to ANY set of basic ideas or principles”. Its that strict adherence that produces the insecurity that keeps different views from being appreciated. Or perhaps there is a very basic definition of fundamentalism that you strictly adhere to here? Fundamentalist fundamentalism restricts one to the interpretation of a particular text. That’s not an atheist-derived definition, but a theist-derived one. If any word ought to have a specific definition, and one which believers should own, and own up to, this might be the one. Perhaps you would care to characterize the text that offers the source of the basic ideas or principles to which “fundamentalist” atheists are “adhering”. But you may wish to go along as you do, defining words in such a way that the definitions constitute your arguments. By the way, as you burn your own StrawHerring™, keep in mind that while it casts a lovely brownish light, also creates a terrific stink. Oohhh, “fundamentalist fundamentalism”. I see, now. How dopey of me. The fundamental thinking I was referring to is what appears to be blocking some atheists here from engaging in a meaningful discussion about anything that smacks of having theistic connections. An idea, regardless of its source, can be either good or bad (or so i’ve been told by the wisest folks out here). But so blinded are some people by their hatred and distaste for theism, they cannot seem to get past that. Sounds like cognitive dissonance created by strict adherence to a basic set of rules (godhead bad, me good). Joad has had a partiicularly difficult time getting his head around concepts that sound remotely theistic, “It is the basic reason I detest Theism. It is far less a love of a god than a hatred of humanity.” He cannot possibly imagine any good coming from a theistic concept, even a concept like constantly striving for perfection (or at least bettering oneself). Its the same fundamental thinking that prevents some Christians to get their heads around the concept of real and meaningful love between two people of the same sex. So, don’t pull this holier than thou, sorry, unholier and perfecter than thou attitude. “I’m an atheist, that makes me above any prejudicial or fundamental thinking. I have the most open and rational mind, cause theres no god telling me what to think. only wookies.” I just want to make a comment on the idea that there are fundamentalist atheists. I really don’t see how rejecting certain ideas or dogmatic texts can make a person fundamentalist? What most atheists are doing is getting rid of beliefs that have no evidential justification, in that sense they are returning to a cognitive purity in which they originally came to be as conscious beings. I’m not saying that they are returning to the state of a new born baby, but rather after careful examination of their religious (theistic) indoctrination they realize that these beliefs (in a deity) are unfounded. And they have tons of evidence that proves this unfoundedness. They don’t have any proof that god doesn’t exist, but there is plenty of evidence that acceptable alternatives to a belief in a deity can account for this cognitive delusion. They thus return to a state of purity, by rejecting beliefs that require faith, they are not fundamentalists. Unless you see them as fundamental in their purity . . . but that’s a good thing as far as I’m concerned. [quote author=“CanZen”]I just want to make a comment on the idea that there are fundamentalist atheists. I really don’t see how rejecting certain ideas or dogmatic texts can make a person fundamentalist? What most atheists are doing is getting rid of beliefs that have no evidential justification, in that sense they are returning to a cognitive purity in which they originally came to be as conscious beings. I’m not saying that they are returning to the state of a new born baby, but rather after careful examination of their religious (theistic) indoctrination they realize that these beliefs (in a deity) are unfounded. And they have tons of evidence that proves this unfoundedness. They don’t have any proof that god doesn’t exist, but there is plenty of evidence that acceptable alternatives to a belief in a deity can account for this cognitive delusion. They thus return to a state of purity, by rejecting beliefs that require faith, they are not fundamentalists. Unless you see them as fundamental in their purity . . . but that’s a good thing as far as I’m concerned. Bob But there can be atheists who are dogmatic about their rejection of religious belief. You can tell them by their reaction to religious types—their ranting as it were.

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Gay, Muslim, Hispanic: meet Donald Trump's most unlikely supporters September 26, 11:51 PM Kicker This is a kicker. Offence has become Donald Trump's currency in his race to the White House. But some voters on the receiving end have become his most ardent \- and most surprising \- defenders. _By [Tom Rowley,](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/tom\-rowley/) Monday 26th September 2016_ If anything comes between Donald Trump and the White House, it is unlikely to be self\-doubt. Whichever section of the American electorate he contemplates, he finds supporters. I have a great relationship with the blacks, he once said. Another time, he told a television reporter: Im doing good for the Muslims. And last year, he reported one upside to his plans for the economy: The Hispanics are going to get those jobs \- and theyre going to love Trump! > Voting for Trump is like being a unicorn. Its pretty sad. According to polls, however, these groups of voters are markedly less enthusiastic about a Trump presidency. A recent [Washington Post\-ABC News poll found Hispanic voters favoured Hillary Clinton by a 41\-point margin](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/clinton\-holds\-lead\-over\-trump\-in\-new\-poll\-but\-warning\-signs\-emerge/2016/09/10/800dee0c\-76c8\-11e6\-b786\-19d0cb1ed06c\_story.html), while African Americans backed the Democratic candidate over Mr Trump by 82 points. Another poll, by the Council on American\-Islamic Relations, found that only [one in 10 American Muslims supported the Republican nominee](https://www.cair.com/press\-center/press\-releases/13423\-cair\-super\-tuesday\-poll\-shows\-muslim\-voters\-support\-hillary\-clinton\-concerned\-about\-islamophobia.html), who has also struggled to attract support from gay people and college\-educated women. [Crude generalisations about minorities](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/28/donald\-trumps\-anti\-immigrant\-rhetoric\-sparks\-rush\-for\-american\-c/) \- as well as plans to build a wall on the Mexican border and a mooted ban on Muslims entering the country \- have hardly helped his cause. Yet Mr Trump retains cheerleaders in surprising quarters. As the race for the White House enters its final stretch with the first televised presidential debate on 26th September, _The Daily Telegraph_ toured the United States to meet Americans who are bucking demographic trends \- and sometimes ignoring the candidates own barbs \- to back Mr Trump. From a gay New Yorker to a Muslim immigrant, these are some of his unlikeliest supporters. Trump's wall would stop the illegal activities happening along the border The Hispanic, just a mile from Mexico Most people would call me Mexican, says Jesus Flores, and I dont have a problem with being called Mexican. But if someone asks me, I say Im a US citizen with Mexican heritage. Im proud to be American. The 63\-year\-old was born in Laredo, Texas, where he now runs a business repairing sewing machines. His father was Mexican \- as is his wife \- and half of his customers come from Nuevo Laredo, just a mile across the border. Even so, he does not recoil from Mr Trumps judgement that when Mexico sends its people, theyre not sending the best They bring crime. Theyre rapists. Mr Flores wouldnt repeat his words but shares some of the fears Mr Trump has stoked. As a child, he would cross the Rio Grande, which forms a natural border in this corner of Texas, every day to visit his grandmother, but now ventures across the bridge only a few times a year. It got harder over the years because of all the violence in Mexico, he says. Theres gunfights, there are drug cartels. If you cross the river, youre risking very much \- youre risking life, if you dont know where you are. > Theyre bringing crime. Theyre rapists. And some, I assume, are good people. A few months ago, Mr Flores bought his first gun, so concerned is about the risk posed by illegal immigrants. Mr Trumps proposed wall would, he says, stop the illegal activities happening along the border: the crime, the drugs and everything else that goes on. I wish he would tone down his talk sometimes, concedes Mr Flores, but he is what he is. Theres more things I like about him than I dont. I think he can create jobs in America and the black community need them desperately The black campaigner Of the 2,472 Republican delegates sent to the partys national convention this summer, only 18 were black. Its like being a unicorn, says one of their number, a 40\-year\-old Texan called Henry Childs. Its pretty sad. The media wanted to know why, says the lawyer from San Antonio who advises Mr Trumps national diversity coalition. Do you have access to a mirror? You realise youre black, right? > What the hell do you have to lose? Republican presidential candidates have often polled poorly among black voters. Even by those standards, Mr Trumps performance is woeful: in one poll, he attracted only one percent support from African Americans. A lot of black people werent sure about Trump, says Mr Childs, who criticises the candidate for some of his clumsy remarks, including his insistence that black voters have nothing to lose by backing his candidacy. Being a black person, its like, no, weve been slaves. Weve experienced a lot worse than this. But Mr Childs is willing to overlook the colourful rhetoric because he believes Mr Trump has the experience needed to revive the American economy. I think he can create jobs in America and we need them desperately, he says. The black community is disproportionately affected by high unemployment, low income, crime and poverty. So being a black person in America wanting to help the community get better, you have to focus on the economy. I feel Mr Trump treats men and women the same.. hes an equal opportunities offender The college\-educated woman After securing his third primary victory, in Nevada, Mr Trump effusively thanked different groups of his supporters. He ticked off evangelicals, the young, the old and the highly educated. Then he came to the poorly educated. I love the poorly educated! he yelled. The feeling was mutual. Mr Trump has consistently performed best among white voters without college degrees while, according to the recent Washington Post\-ABC News poll, Mrs Clinton held a 23\-point lead among white college\-educated women. > I think it is wonderful that a female has been nominated as a presidential candidate. Its unfortunate shes Hillary Clinton But Delizia Gallivan, who has a masters in health administration as well as a college degree, bucks the trend. Ive been a supporter from day one, says the 43\-year\-old nurse from San Antonio, Texas. He is really bold in his statements and hes authentic. He has a strong personality and hed be a strong leader. She is not deterred by barbs Mr Trump has directed at women in the public eye, such as calling the businesswoman Ariana Huffington unattractive, both inside and out and questioning whether Megyn Kelly, a Fox News anchor, treated him harshly because she had blood coming out of her wherever. I feel Mr Trump treats men and women the same, she says. If someone says something about him, whether its a man or a woman, he is going to respond. Its been said hes an equal opportunities offender. Nor is she tempted to vote for Mrs Clinton simply to put a woman in the White House. I think it is wonderful that a female has been nominated as a presidential candidate, Ms Gallivan adds. Its unfortunate shes Hillary Clinton. Shes been in office 30 years and I cant really think of any accomplishments other than raising money for the Clinton Foundation. In the end, she says, it really doesnt matter about candidates gender: It matters what their values are and what they are going to do for the country. It was a lot harder to come out as a gay conservative than come out as a gay man The gay New Yorker One year in, Christopher Roehrs is growing accustomed to the opprobrium. The 52\-year\-old corporate lawyer from New York has supported Mr Trump since he announced his candidacy but, as a gay man in a liberal city, has endured accusations of being a sellout. Socially, its the kiss of death, he explains, in his apartment overlooking the skyscrapers of Manhattan. If I run into openly gay folks and say Im a Trump supporter, Ill get nothing but disdain. The first thing theyre going to think is Im uneducated and if they realise I am educated, they probably just assume Im mentally unstable. > I just dont feel good about it. I dont feel right about it. It was a lot harder for me to come out of the closet as a gay conservative than it was to come out as a gay man. Some of his gay friends who support Mrs Clinton have begun blanking him; others keep their own support of Mr Trump secret. None of this has dampened his enthusiasm for the campaign. I love Trump, he declares, even though he holds a more nuanced view than the Republican candidate on immigration and does not support a border wall. He tells it like is, as trite as that is. I view him as very pragmatic. Based on the fact that hes a successful businessman, hell appoint the best people to the best positions. I think on balance Clinton says more pro\-gay things than Trump but I look at things holistically. If Trump said I think we should bury gays up to their heads in sand and stone them, that might be a deal breaker for me, but he doesnt. Mr Roehrs was particularly pleased when Mr Trump pledged to protect our LGBTQ citizens in his speech to the Republican convention following the mass shooting in a gay club in Orlando. I really appreciated that, he says. I don't agree 110% with whatever he says... \(but\) I don't want to see anything happening to America The Muslim immigrant When Sajid Tarar came to America from Pakistan thirty years ago, he quickly fell under the spell of Ronald Reagan. We came here and bought an American dream, the 56\-year\-old says now. Buying an American dream and becoming successful is a Republican philosophy. The bow\-tie\-wearing businessman from Baltimore, who keeps a framed photograph of himself posing with George W Bush in his office, is now campaigning to put another Republican in the White House. > People from war\-torn countries or where states are involved in terrorism \[should be banned\] Still, as the founder of American Muslims for Trump, he agrees that he has an uphill battle on his hands. He claims to have about 4,000 sympathisers but has also received hateful emails calling him a traitor. It's tunnel vision, he says. They automatically think \[a Muslim\] will become a Democrat. On Mexicans, announcing his candidacy, June 2015. Surely, I ask, it cannot help that last December, following the Isil\-inspired attack in San Bernardino, California, Mr Trump called for a total and complete shutdown on all Muslims coming to America until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on? I dont agree 110 percent with whatever he says, explains Mr Tarar, who delivered a benediction at the Republican convention in Cleveland. First of all, banning all Muslims is not possible. Even so, he says, there should be a ban on people from war\-torn countries or where states are involved in terrorism. It has to be stopped, he adds. Im an American and Im a father of four kids who were born here. Theyre Americans and I don't want to see anything happening to America. Read more from [Tom Rowley](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/journalists/tom\-rowley/) Read more on the [US election](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us\-election/)

Myself as Commander Shepard from Mass Effect 2 (Kasumi's mission).I've always failed trying to make my femshep look like me ingame, so I thougt making this costume was a funny way to fix that XDDDD That's why I'm not wearing any wig or any special make up. Just me, Laura Shepard WOW! Nailed it, seriously nailed it!I remember that dress so vividly from stolen memory, it gave fem Shep a massive dose of sex appeal!Fantastic work on this piece, Now one of my all time favorites sexy sexy SEXY!! Looks really spectacular, and I am just so amazed and impressed with how you managed to get that odd texturing the dress has in-game to really work in your cosplay. I hope you do more, always nice to see more femShep

The controversial detective made the shocking claims on Aussie TV show Sunday Night, which looked into the unsolved disappearance and suggested Madeleine’s body could be hidden in a well on Praia da Luz. Goncalo Amaral claimed MI5 and Gordon Brown organised a cover-up Amaral suggested MI5 "for sure had an involvement", either by helping to hide Maddie's body or covering up the alleged crime. When informed of Amaral's latest conspiracy theory by a journalist who suggested he also thinks Gordon Brown was involved, Gerry McCann said: "The less said about Goncalo Amaral the better." Professor Dave Barclay: I think the Portuguese police and tourist board would have been quite keen not to feature the number of burglaries in the Algarve, and the fact there were random paedophiles snatching children from their beds would have been a disincentive for families to go there, so I think that's possibly an explanation as to how the Met recently found more evidence of children being snatched. Let's not forget, antis denied for years that holidaying children had been assaulted in their beds - unthinkable, in the earthly paradise that is PDL! Then the truth came out, thanks to the PJ. Not only had children been attacked, the PJ had DNA from at least one of the attackers. Something else Amaral 'forgot' to mention. Comment from another forum with thanks.Like when she was mouthing off about 'suing' Amazon and the McCanns?Why does she imagine she's been defamed? It's no-one's fault but her own that she ran her mouth off on telly and made an idiot of herself - again.Nobody has forgetten her getting the boot from Fox, live, on air. The US criminal profiler featured on Channel 7's Madeleine McCann documentary is threatening legal action to sue journalist Rahni Sadler and Seven West Media. Crime expert Pat Brown said she was "absolutely appalled" at how the Sunday Night show was edited to produce a one-sided pro-McCann view, and claimed she had been set up to be humiliated by Sadler. A former Scotland Yard detective who also featured in the documentary told Nine.com.au his analysis of Maddie's disappearance had been heavily distorted and that he would never work with Seven again. The episode promised "major new developments", but ultimately failed to deliver on the much-hyped bombshell lead that would break the almost decade-long cold case open. Washington DC-based Brown told Nine.com.au that Sadler interviewed her exhaustively for an hour but only used fractional snippets that could ultimately make her a target for legal action from the McCanns. "They edited it poorly. They edited it exactly the way they wanted to make me look - which was an idiot," Brown said. Brown said Sadler "interrogated" her at length about the physical, circumstantial, and behavioral evidence that supported her theories that Kate and Gerry should still be considered suspects in what happened to Madeleine. But Brown said only one part of the interview about theories of Kate and Gerry disposing of their daughter's body made it to the screen - and that did not include any of her reasoned analysis. "They wanted the viewers to believe I said the McCanns were guilty of a crime. Then they did not use any of the important evidence I put forward to support a theory that the McCanns may well be involved. "They edited a number of other statements to make me look ridiculous." One such moment in the documentary came when Sadler asked Brown how it was possible the McCanns' friends, otherwise known as the Tapas 7, could all be involved in a cover-up. Brown told Nine.com.au her reply had been chopped, and it removed the crucial part where she said it was possible that one or two friends had helped create an alibi for the McCanns. Jane Tanner, a friend who was holidaying in Praia da Luz with the McCanns, was critical in driving the theory Madeleine was abducted after allegedly seeing a man carrying a child near apartment 5A. But Portuguese police have always harboured doubts over the validity of Tanner's statements, which changed several times as the investigation got underway. "Everything that I was trying to explain was eliminated in the final production," Brown said. The documentary suggested Brown's book had been dropped by retailing giant Amazon because of its speculative content which theorised Kate and Gerry may have hidden Maddie's body after an accidental death in the holiday apartment. The reality, according to documents seen by Nine.com.au, was that Amazon was threatened by Carter-Ruck, the notorious London libel firm long employed by the McCanns to shut down negative headlines. Brown said she had made numerous appearances on major US TV networks over a 15-year career and had never wanted to sue – until now. US-based attorney Brian Close, who is representing Brown, said he has identified defamation, intentional misrepresentation and false light as grounds for legal action against Sadler and Seven West Media. Former London Met homicide detective Colin Sutton was also angered at the way his commentary had been manipulated in the edit suite. He told Nine.com.au the misrepresentations were "unfair, unethical and represents the sort of journalism with which I do not wish to be associated." Nine.com.au has contacted Seven West Media for a statement but have not had comment at the time of publishing. 'THEY ANNIHILATED ME'. Madeleine McCann crime expert who told doc her parents Gerry and Kate may have hidden body plans to sue show for twisting her comments. Criminal profiler says her views on Maddie's disappearance were misrepresented. A CRIME expert who told an explosive documentary that Kate and Gerry McCann could have hidden their daughter Madeleine’s body plans to SUE the Aussie TV channel which ran the show. US criminal profiler Pat Brown featured on Channel 7’s Sunday Night show claiming the McCanns could have put Maddie’s body in a bag, hid it at the beach and moved it weeks later. But the expert – who told the show there was a possibility Madeleine had been killed as the result of an accident, neglect or abuse – now plans to sue for defamation as although she said it was possible, she never said the McCanns did it. Pat claims in her original hour-long Skype interview with journalist Rahni Sadler that she made it clear this was only a theory based on her view of the evidence available. Pat, who said she has received hate mail since the show aired, revealed: “I thought whether people agreed with the evidence or not, I would be able to present this as a professional. “I never stated the McCanns were guilty of anything other than neglecting their children, and I will stand by that. “I never said the McCanns are guilty of covering up the death of their child or moving their child’s body. “The show purposefully set out to destroy my reputation. The only reason I was featured was to annihilate me by making me look foolish.” Pat’s lawyer Brian Close said he had identified multiple misrepresentation, false light and defamation claims against Seven West Media and Rahni Sadler. He said: “The misleading edits portray Pat Brown in a false light by contorting her statements and changing their substance, and the broadcasts and publications have done and continue to do damage to Ms Brown’s professional reputation wherever they are viewed around the world." Seven News Media, which runs the channel, has been approached for comment. On the programme, Pat said: “There are other cases where a child has come to some kind of harm by way of a parent either by neglect or abuse and the parents have indeed covered that crime up by trying to move the child’s body and claim that the child has gone missing and has been abducted.” And in a trailer for the show, she was quoted as saying: "They are lying and they are concealing guilt". The programme also aired claims from ex-top cop Goncalo Amaral, the original lead investigator into Madeleine’s disappearance. He alleged that MI5, Gordon Brown and the British Government could have helped the McCanns cover up Maddie's death. Other theories discussed by experts included that Madeleine could have been run over by a drink-driver who left her body in one of the area’s 600 secluded wells or that she had been stolen by a human trafficking gang "working to order". The show also claimed Scotland Yard were chasing a new lead on an employee working within the holiday complex at the time of Maddie’s disappearance. In response to some of Sunday Night’s allegations, Gerry McCann told the programme: “How could we have disposed of or hidden her body? It’s just nonsense. Would it really be possible for one of the McCanns to cart the body of their daughter back to England? Yes, absolutely. Because of the climate in Portugal, it is possible that should they have buried Maddy in a shallow grave in a sandy substrate, her body would have mummified. Mummification is a desiccation of the corpse where the fluids drain into the ground and the rest of the body dries up. There is relatively little odor associated with a mummified body. If this occurred, the body would be easier to transport; it would be lighter and drier and lacking the horrible smell of a corpse. Such a body could easily be placed in a sealed bag and placed in a suitcase. Screening of stowed luggage is not likely to uncover a body inside of a suitcase and when the traveler reaches the other end and goes through customs, they enter the "Have nothing to declare line," and just walk through (unless they exhibit concerning behavior that raises a red flag and launches a search of the luggage). As to the McCanns, I seriously doubt they were searched upon arrival, not with all the press surrounding them and the mass of curious onlookers, reporters, and VIPS lurking about. To elaborate for those who do not know what the bushmeat connection is the name is used for wildmeat, or game meat from non-domesticated mammals, reptiles, amphibians and birds hunted for food in tropical forests. Commercial harvesting and the trade of wildlife is considered a threat to biodiversity. In the past it has been smuggled through various airports in the UK. Her idea was that the parents used the 'bushmeat trick' to get the corpse into the UK. Sykes Oh, not running the country, then?Or negotiating Brexit?Or fighting a general election?No, that nutjob obsessive thinks the PM has nothing to do except plot evil plots with a pair of middle-class NHS doctors. Actually she is campaigning in Wales for the upcoming General Election. Sykes “I never stated the McCanns were guilty of anything other than neglecting their children, and I will stand by that. “I never said the McCanns are guilty of covering up the death of their child or moving their child’s body. Yes, she did - she has done so repeatedly, as anyone that can use google can see for themselves. In her latest bog, she states: There can only be ONE reason; Gerry does NOT have a solid alibi for the time of the Smith sighting and Gerry most likely IS the person carrying a little girl toward the beach at the time the Smiths saw the man in the street. Does she not understand what words mean? She's repeatedly accused the McCanns of heinous crimes - including smuggling his daughter's desiccated corpse through British customs. The internet doesn't do 'forgetting', and she's making herself look not just foolish, but downright deranged, without any help from other people. If she goes ahead with her threat of legal action, she will be destroyed in court. By her own words.

Q: Scala Array map function documentation (PSSQ #1) PSSQ stand for Possibly Stupid Scala Question :) Getting to know Scala a little bit, and in the obligatory Hello World example (code below) the arguments to the main function is an array of strings. object HelloWorld { def main(args: Array[String]): Unit = { args.map((arg:String) => arg.toUpperCase()); printf("%s %s!", "Hello", "World"); } } In the example, I'm using the map() function on the array. However, when I check the Scala API documentation, map() isn't listed as one of the functions available for Array. Is there some kind of magic going on, or am I missing something obvious in the API documentation? A: This is because of one key feature of Scala called implicit conversions. There is plenty of documents about them on the net, for instance see this one: http://www.codecommit.com/blog/scala/scala-for-java-refugees-part-6 The upcoming Scala 2.9 REPL can help you find out which might be involved here: scala> :implicits -v ... looking for Array we find several ones that go to mutable.ArrayOps. The scaladoc for that one: http://www.scala-lang.org/archives/downloads/distrib/files/nightly/docs/library/scala/collection/mutable/ArrayOps.html This means that since the implicit conversion method refArrayOps is in scope (in the default Predef), whenever you try to call a method on an Array that is not defined for Array but for ArrayOps, scala will insert (implicitly) the conversion, hence you actually have Predef.refArrayOps(args).map(...)

By AMY CHENEY I found this today in my daughter’s room. My daughter is seven. It was innocently sitting on the floor amongst the Polly Pockets, friendship bracelets and a variety of other crap seven-year-olds love to hoard. Diyet. Jesus. Where did she learn the word diet? How does she even know what a freaking diet is? Whose fault is this? Is it mine because I let her play with Barbies? Because sometimes she’s allowed to watch Total Drama Action? Is it because when I draw with her I can only draw stick figures? Seventeen Poosh-ups two times a day. I felt sick. Physically ill. Like someone had knocked the air from my chest. I could feel myself getting increasingly anxious the more words I was able to interpret from her seven-year-old spelling. Three Appals, One Per, Two Keewee Froots. How did this happen? I am smart about this stuff. I have a degree in early childhood studies. Our family focuses on and promotes healthy eating and healthy bodies. Our attitudes are reasonable and balanced. Weight has never been an issue in our home – it is, for the most part, irrelevant. I have never stood before my husband and queried ‘does my arse look big in this’. Ever. Rid my bike three time a day. And then I got angry. Really, really angry.

It Can Be Done Amigo It Can Be Done Amigo (Italian: Si può fare... amigo) is a 1972 Spanish / Italian / French film directed by Maurizio Lucidi. The film is also known as Saddle Tramps (English title in Canada) Plot summary Coburn is pursued by the gunfighter and pimp Sonny, who wants to kill him for seducing Sonny’s sister Mary, but not until they have married so she is made an honest woman. When they confront, Sonny usually gets knocked out. Coburn meets the boy Chip, whose uncle has just died, and follows him to his hometown. They settle in Chip’s house. Franciscus, the town priest, sheriff and judge – who is rumoured to be responsible for people being run out of the area – offers to buy the place and so does eventually a stranger who buys pieces of clay and tastes them. Chip does refuse the mounting offers, to Coburn's consternation. Franciscus allies with Sonny, and they capture Coburn and marry him. However, when Sonny is about to shoot Coburn Mary says that she is pregnant, so Sonny decides to postpone the killing until the child is 21. Franciscus protests and is knocked out. He sends his secret partner, the horse thief Big Jim (who earlier received a good thrashing when he tried to rob a bank where Coburn was to make a deposit) to shoot Coburn. But Sonny, who is promised one third of the house by Chip, shoots off his pants. Franciscus and Big Jim return in force when the wedding party has started, and there is a big brawl. The fireworks explode and oil gushes from the well. The bandits are flattened, but Franciscus leaves together with Sonny and the whores. Mary reveals to Coburn that she lied about the pregnancy, and he sets about to redress this so enthusiastically that the whole house falls down, while Chip smiles. Cast Bud Spencer as Hiram Coburn Jack Palance as Sonny Bronston Renato Cestiè as Chip Anderson Francisco Rabal as Franciscus Dany Saval as Mary Bronston Luciano Catenacci as James Roberto Camardiel as L'udriaco Franco Giacobini as the man who eats mud Serena Michelotti as the Warren widow Manuel Guitián Salvatore Borghese Marcello Verziera Dominique Badou Dante Cleri Luciano Pigozzi Dalila Di Lazzaro Luciano Bonanni Franca Viganò Reception In his investigation of narrative structures in Spaghetti Western films, Fridlund notes that while Coburn is indeed very similar to the Bud Spencer's Bambino character in They Call Me Trinity and Trinity Is Still My Name, some of the properties of the Trinity character in the latter films here are carried by Sonny (quick gun and unwanted partner) and Chip (unpredictable partner). Also, instead of the heroes helping religious communities in the Trinity films, the villain is (disguised as) a priest in It Can Be Done Amigo. Releases Wild East released this in its uncut theatrical dramatic form on a limited edition R0 NTSC DVD in 2011 Soundtrack Notes External links Category:1972 films Category:1970s Western (genre) comedy films Category:Spanish films Category:Italian films Category:French films Category:Italian-language films Category:Films directed by Maurizio Lucidi Category:Films shot in Almería Category:Films with screenplays by Rafael Azcona

I went to my very first-ever cycling related press conference yesterday, wherein Lance sat down and talked to the cycling press. Here he is, talking: The following things happened at this press conference: Lance told us everything he already talked about in New York yesterday. Namely, he’s going to Astana, his main objective is to campaign against cancer, and he can’t guarantee that he’ll win the Tour next year. Greg Lemond was in the front row, and jumped in with the first question, and then wouldn’t shut up. He tried to turn this conference into an ad-hoc trial / referendum. It was stupid and obnoxious, and it wasn’t the right time for that kind of ambush. As soon as I get home tonight, I’m going to steam the decals of my Fillmore. Eddy Merckx was also there, as a surrogate for his son Axel, who could not be there due to family medical reasons. I am pleased to say that I behaved exactly like the consummate journalist I am, by begging for a photo with Eddy. Dear Greg, move on already! Yay Lance! Yay Cannibal and Alex! YAY! Fatty! Yes, you are certainly related. See if you can get him to invite you to his house to check out family resemblance to other Merckxs. WIN SUSAN!!!! [...] Fatty Attends a Press Conference With Lance Armstrong Posted by admin on September 25, 2008 random I went to my very first-ever cycling related press conference yesterday, wherein Lance sat down and talked to the cycling press. Here he is, talking: [...] Well done Fatty for totally scooping the rest of the Worlds biking media over the Lemond thing. I do wish somebody would tell the silly man to get over the fact he’s no longer USA Cyclings #1 poster boy and find something constructive to do. Apparently there’s another Jared in the comments now. I too think you two might be family (Fatty and Eddy). When is Lance gonna reveal his master plan? I’m tired of these regular answers that any cyclist might give. We all know Lance has something grander and is hiding it, that rascal. Lance and Greg should just break out into an argument along the lines of “who has the biggest … *thingy”. Lemond: “I won the tour 3 times!” Audience: ooohhhhh! Armstrong: “I won the tour 7 times in a row!” Audience (to Lemond): Burn. He’s got you covered buddy. All of the great disputes in the world could be solved with an audience with a teenager mindest. I love you Fatty, but I agree with bob. I wasn’t there in person, but I listened to the full audio on The FredCast. I thought LeMond’s questions were intelligent and reasonable. And it was precisely the right time to ask them. Lance had Catlin there at his side, obviously the anti-doping program was a significant part of the press conference. Greg asked legitimate questions about that program. Catlin was surprisingly befuddled, I thought he’d be up on recent anti-doping theory, but he did seem interested in learning more about what Greg was talking about. Fatty – I read about the Lemond thing in the paper this morning and couldn’t believe it! I want some first person details. Lance must have been PISSED. Did Lemond just give up eventually or was he shouted down? How bizarre; and you got to see it all: do share. Wasn’t the Eddy cardboard image later moved to the parking lot to facilitate photo taking at the request of the fire marshall as the line in the expo was blocking the aisle? Just wondering as I had a similar pic only it’s of me and Lance taken at my LBS after his last TdF win. Lemond must have a dual personality. I’ve chatted with him a few time, most recently after the Fat Tire in Wisc last year. He always come off as normal (as normal as any top athlete can be). Then, he does this kind of crap. I just don’t get it… Greg has always seemed to be a very bitter person. However,his commentary at the tour this year was quite good. I agree with Boz…dual personalities or something…at least he’s entertaining…never know what you are going to get with the guy..By the way fatty, Me and my riding buddies are green with envy looking at all your pics from the show. [...] Armstrong Foundation Posted by admin on October 08, 2008 random On September 25, I attended the Lance Armstrong press conference. I had a few questions written down about how Lance hoped to use his return to the sport to fight [...] I happen to think LeMond has a point. Armstrong’s relationship with Michele Ferrari has to be scrutinized. LeMond has nothing to gain, except help the sport of cycling, by speaking out. He has tons to lose, as was seen when Armstrong tried to get Trek to drop LeMond. I just think Armstrong has so much to protect that he would lie if he doped. Don’t bag on LeMond too much. You have to respect the man for winning the Tour clean. Lemond is the greatest that ever lived and I’ll ride his bikes forever you cowards. Lemond is the best thing that has ever happened to cycling you bunch of Armstrong wannabees. You people could’nt peddle a 14 pound carbon Trek up your driveway. All of you follow the “in thing” and probably know nothing about someone like Indurain or any other past champs. your a bunch of followers. Now go dust off your dusty garage bikes and get riding. Lance is so you have to also until he retires again then it’s back to the garage with the bikes. Put them all on ebay so I can buy them for cheap. LeMond was great. He was my hero and got me into competitive cycling many years ago. Unfortunately now he has to recall his former glory by casting innuendo at others. He needs to act like what he is: a page in the history of cycling. Go away, Greg.

WASHINGTON—Experiencing searing abdominal pain brought on by the healthy fare, President Trump reportedly suffered horrible indigestion Wednesday, the morning after he ate a fresh, well-prepared meal at his first state dinner. “Ugh, my God—why the hell did I eat all that garbage last night?” said the wincing, sweating president, remembering the perfectly cooked rack of spring lamb, fresh vegetables from the White House garden, and other nutritious items that had not been deep-fried, smothered in gravy or cheese, or processed in any way. “That was a huge mistake. What was I thinking? Aw, Christ, I think I’m gonna be sick.” At press time, sources confirmed Trump’s stomach had settled and he was feeling better after eating a light lunch of two Big Macs, two Filet-O-Fish sandwiches, and a large chocolate shake. Advertisement

Okay, so this is the new location its a ghost town would You look at this It's crazy how it's still standing don't you think? We got something up in that place It's crazy how good they built it. I mean it's not falling or anything Look at all that Look at this road yea since this was built on the mountain as you could see looks like this was most likely the only road you get up Look at that Got my quad right there. Didn't decided not to bring it up Damn look at this What was that? That's crazy lookin looks like they had something So you could see there's nothing around us This looks like it was something definitely yea Guys would you look at this looks like they got wood stacked up yeah it looks like they had something because look at that rock wall It's crazy how they have this fenced off actually oh This isn't a very famous place because their gold is like It's all dug out and stuff This says something Okay, you can see people did get through Let's take a look at this Crazy lookin yea this place is a good condition Compared to a lot of places it's still standing Like it's all that So people must not go to this a whole lot dang shelving look at all those nails Don't know if you could read that That's crazy, I don't know how good that ground is wanna watch out Damn look at that this is one creepy place keep hearing noises damn So look at the walls they use like newspapers and stuff, to It's odd isn't it You can see this looks like they use it for something that was the view Damn is this glass? oh I'm no its not damn oh damn take a look at this lets go in we didn't look at this side of the house yet as you could see guy's had the walls this looks like it was a small room You got that Look at that And they had this room that just goes into mountain so they dug this out Otherwise it was maybe a mine that's connected to the house I don't know but look at all that rock that like it's been Let's get back in the house, I didn't show you guys this side, because I got distracted with that room damn look at that they had screens but I dont see any windows No they got glass All right, let's go to the next place Yeah look at this somehow this manages to stay up

12 January, 2017 Today is my 41st birthday, and I swear the sun here in Whangamata is trying to make sure it’ll be my last. I still don’t fully understand why the New Zealand sun is so much more “intense” than in other places – why half an hour outside here will burn you more than a day in other countries where summer temperatures are regularly 10 degrees higher. And I definitely don’t understand what it is about this East coast town that’s amplifying the effect even further – all I know is that I step outside and the sunlight feels like knives. No, I know what it feels like: There’s a period of Egyptian art that includes depictions of the sun-worshiping Pharaoh Ahkenaten and his family having life bestowed upon them by the disc of the sun – this is depicted as rays of light extending down towards the royal family, each ray terminating in a hand holding an ankh. Imagine that picture, only with me instead of the Pharaoh, and instead of ankhs, each hand is holding a syringe full of skin cancer. That’s what it feels like. I have a theory that the reason why sun block works is nothing to do with filtering out ultraviolet radiation; the act of applying it is just a ritual designed to debase ourselves until the hateful Sun is sufficiently entertained to let us go about our business unsinged. “Yes, smear it on. All over yourself, you little piggie. You love it, don’t you piggie? And soon you’ll start sweating and it’s all going to run into your eyes and sting and you’ll love that too, won’t you? SAY YOU LOVE IT, PIGGIE!” I’m just saying, do we have proof that sun block isn’t just bottles of the Sun’s jizz? Still, it’s my birthday today, which means I can refuse to leave the shade of the house and no-one can tell me different. I’ve received presents – stuff I needed, stuff I wanted, stuff I don’t know I wanted until I got it – so that’s nice. And with little else to occupy me, I’ve been doing a lot of reading, of whatever crappy crime novels have been left lying around down here and also the book of Neil Gaiman essays I was just given. Writers always say that in order to write you have to read a lot, which is something I’ve always rolled my eyes at a bit. That would imply that, having made my way through more books in a few days than I normally read in a year, I’d then feel the need to put up a blog post on a site that I haven’t touched in almost as long. Piffle. I see the Lazy Town post is getting more traffic than ever, and it seems like at least some of it hasn’t come from Google searches for underage pornography. So that’s nice.

"What do you reckon?" "Yeah." "It's good." "It's pretty hardcore?" "It is hardcore but it's also classy." "Classy." "Yeah." "Is that a gangbang?" "No, that's a threesome." "Two guys can't be a gang?" "They're definitely ganging up on her." "Yeah, but she's cool with it." "She's smiling." "Look." "Oh, yeah." "Grumio, how many times do I have to ask you to empty the bin?" "I squashed it down instead." "Oh." "Fine then!" "And now you're looking at porn." "First class slaving!" "Er, this is not porn." "This is vintage erotica." "For his birthday." "Of course." "One of those thoughtful gifts that was clearly bought for yourself." "No." "It's for him." "What?" "Even though he's never expressed any interest in pottery, porn or, well, anything." "Oh, ay'up." "Look at her." "Who does that remind you of?" "Erm..." "Give me a clue." "Cynthia." "OK." "That's quite a big clue." "What?" "Let me see." "Nope." "I can't see how you're getting Cynthia from..." "Oh, wait." "Hang on." "Oh, wow." "Yeah!" "Got it." "This gift just keeps on giving." "Looks nothing like her." "It does from a certain angle." "Where?" "What angle?" "Hey." "What you up to?" "Not much." "Nothing." "Just got a new vase." "OK." "What are you doing later?" "Um, can't quite hear you." "No, don't come in." "We've just mopped." "Oh, sorry." "No, we haven't." "What are you - Just lean." "Oh, come on." "Lean in." "Stop it." "I was just seeing if" " Still can't hear you." "Sorry." "Just lean in a tiny bit more, like, an inch." "Just a tiny bit..." "There!" "Stop there." "Now we can hear you." "I was wondering if you had plans tonight." "His cousin's in town." "We're meeting at the bar." "You should definitely come." "Coolio." "See you there." "You saw that, right?" "I take it back." "It's a great gift." "So, how old are you going to be tomorrow?" "Dunno." "You don't know?" "When his parents got me, no-one knew my age, so I just started again." "I could be anywhere between 18 and 45." "Wow." "You have incredible skin for a 45-year-old." "Cheers." "Right." "Everyone grab one of these." "Top shelf challenge?" "Top shelf challenge." "What's that?" "Family tradition." "One shot from each bottle on the top shelf which, in this place, includes vinegar and brass polish." "So, pick wisely." "I want a drink." "I don't want a challenge." "You need to loosen up, Marky boy." "Starting with this tunic." "Oi, don't touch it." "It's expensive." "How?" "There's hardly any material." "It's deliberately skinny." "It's anorexic, mate." "I can see the lot." "That look is very in right now." "I think it suits you." "Thanks very much." "Got you a birthday cocktail, Gru." "Happy birthday." "What have you got him for his birthday, Marcus?" "Ah." "Erm" " He's not got me anything." "What?" "Why?" "Seriously?" "Well, no - He says I don't deserve it." "That's cold." "I didn't say that." "That was a joke, Grumio." "Course he deserves it." "Being a slave is really hard work." "I know." "I'd like to see you do that." "Well, that is exactly why I have got him what I've got him." "What have you got him?" "Well, erm, tomorrow, I'm gonna...er..." "I'm gonna be his slave." "For the day." "And you'll be my master." "Because, as you say, they work so hard." "And it is very easy to forget that." "Wow." "What a truly amazing gift." "Yeah." "I'd rather have a cake." "I think that is so impressive." "Yeah, it is." "In fact, everyone, I would like to propose a toast." "To my tireless slave, but above all...friend." "Grumio!" "Me." "OK, that's the polish." "Happy birthday." "Cheers." "Is that my vase?" "Yea" " Mmm?" "Why were you in the bog with it?" "Er..." "I was just trying it out." "Seeing what it would look like in there." "Did it look like Cynthia?" "I didn't check." "Morning, all." "Happy birthday, G-man." "Yeah." "Ta." "Hang on." "Is this a walk of shame?" "Walk of pride, mate." "Who was it?" "Agentleman never tells." "Was it a gentleman?" "Which gentleman was it?" "OK, piss off." "It was a girl." "What girl?" "Was she in the bar?" "Yes, she was with us..." "Sort of." "You shagged Cynthia?" "You couldn't not." "Whoa, calm down." "I didn't shag Cynthia." "Right, so" " Metella?" "Bloody hell." "That's brave." "Not Metella." "Totally nailed Lucretia." "Yeow." "Go get em, tiger." "Boom." "Sorry." "No, hang on." "You shagged your cousin?" "Yeah." "It's no biggie." "I'm pretty sure it is a biggie." "Incest is one of the biggest biggies." "Does that count?" "You're related." "Your mums are sisters." "But they're not close." "Oh, well, if they're not close..." "I mean, this is so big I have no idea where to even start." "That's what she said." "Did she?" "Did she say that?" "Or did she say, 'What the hell are you doing?" "We're related?" "She's never had a problem with it." "You've done this before?" "Yeah." "On occasion." "How many occasions?" "I don't know. 10?" "12?" "A dozen?" "You've shagged your cousin a dozen times?" "A cousin's dozen." "A cousin's dozen." "When was the first?" "Er..." "Her mum's 50th." "We got wasted." "It was really boring and, you know..." "No!" "No, I do not know." "When my family get together they get drunk and argue." "Last summer, I helped my cousin Antonia pick up seashells." "What I did not do was fuck her." "I mean...this is depraved." "Even for you." "Bullshit." "It's not depraved." "The royal family always do it." "The royal family are mental." "In fact, that's why they're mental." "They're incest-y sickos." "You've got this one wrong, mate." "As the tight tunic proves, you're out of touch with what people think." "What about you, Grumio?" "Yeah, it's OK." "Don't ask him." "He won't know." "He once put his dick in a melon." "Yeah, why did you do that?" "I weren't hungry." "Ask around." "You will find this is not cool." "OK, Captain high horse." "I'll ask around." "But answer me this - which one of us got laid last night?" "Well, my family were all out of town, so" " I did." "So, I win, baby." "I win." "Argh." "Not on the tunic." "Oh, hey!" "Great night last night." "I love your cousin." "Yeah, I know." "Me, too." "That's amazing." "I made it myself." "Ah, cheers." "Sort of." "Well, Metella did the baking bit." "What did you do?" "I did the icing." "I meant to put Grumio but I ran out of space." "My fault for not making a big enough cake, apparently." "Let's not get into that again." "We're both to blame." "So, how's the swap going?" "Yes." "It's going well." "Isn't it, Grumio?" "What?" "What is?" "The job swap." "That we've done." "With you being the master." "Oh, no." "Can't be arsed with that." "That's a shame." "You don't have to do anything." "Just sit there with your feet up." "He's doing that already." "Exactly." "It's pointless, innit?" "He's not quite got the hang of it yet." "Who wants some cake?" "Master?" "Some cake for you?" "I will, please." "Just a slither." "Right you are." "A tiny slither." "Also, Marcus." "Not a criticism but acting wise, it might be a bit more realistic if your slave character is a bit more sad and hunchy." "Sad and hunchy?" "Erm..." "Hmm?" "Yeah, nailed it." "And if you want to be imperious, Grumio." "Can you be imperious?" "No, I can't." "One" " I don't know what it means." "Two" " I'm not playing." "Come on, Grumio." "It's fun, mate." "Why not get your slave to clean the toilet, Grumio?" "Nah, toilet's fine." "Blokes can just piss it clean." "Oh, dear." "I'll give it a wipe later." "So, there's nothing you want?" "Nothing at all?" "Go on, Grumio." "He'll do anything you say." "Anything?" "Er..." "Well... ..yeah." "Fine." "Game on." "Oh..." "Fantastic!" "Oi!" "Put that back." "H-How do I do that?" "Don't move and keep dripping." "That's mine." "It's rainwater." "I don't give a shit, mate." "It's my bucket." "You owe me for that." "Fine." "Landlord?" "Can I ask you a personal question?" "Go on." "Right." "Do you think it's OK to make love to your cousin?" "Good question." "What level of cousin are we talking?" "First." "The top floor." "OK." "Now, see, this is not a problem I have because my cousin Nigella's been very much beaten with the ugly club." "It's an ugly stick." "In her case it was a club." "I shouldn't really joke." "She is genuinely very unhappy." "On the flip side, I've got a mate Hector whose cousin is an absolute stunner." "If I was him, I would be in there like a rat up a drainpipe." "So, what you're basically saying is it depends on what she looks like?" "Very much so." "Does that help?" "Er..." "Sort of." "Yeah, cheers." "No." "That is not part of the game." "You said anything." "Yeah, I meant anything in terms of abstract tasks." "Not personal accouchements." "I'm giving you my time and energy." "Not my actual belongings." "What the fuck you talking about?" "You'll get it dirty." "You're dirty." "Oh, I see." "And, you know, Cynthia kind of likes me in it, so..." "I'm not bothered." "You're my slave, you do as I say." "That's the game, innit?" "You're just trying to annoy me." "Should've thought about that when you give me this shitty gift." "Now take off your bastard tunic." "Please, Grumio." "I'll buy you a hat." "What kind of hat?" "Pointy." "No, not pointy." "Smooth." "Any hat." "I want your tunic." "No!" "Categorically, no." "Or, I'll tell Cynthia what you've been getting up to in the bog." "With the vase." "At a certain angle." "I'm sure she'll be very impressed with that." "You wouldn't dare." "Just you try me." "Oh, yes." "That's much more slave-y." "Ha ha." "Yeah, thanks." "I thought so." "Keep up the hunching." "Eurgh, no. 1000% no." "Gross." "Hang on." "Has one of you humped your cousin?" "Well, no." "In theory." "Oh, my God." "Who was it?" "Well, who knows?" "OK." "I do." "It was clearly you." "Yeah, it was him." "You weren't meant to say!" "Marcus would never do something like that." "Correct." "Like he ever has sex with anyone." "Er, no." "That's not why." "You're a dirty perv." "So, it's right up your horrid alley." "I don't care what you think, mate." "She's hot as shit, so it's fine." "Really?" "What does she look like?" "Tall, dark, curly." "Exactly like him, basically." "Oh, wow." "This gets better." "You're knobbing your cousin cos it's the closest you can get to having sex with yourself." "You may as well bore a hole in a mirror and shag that." "That'll do." "Shall I take the piss out of that sack you're wearing instead, Marcus?" "Oh, no." "Go back to him." "Dirty, dirty, dirty dick." "You've got a dirty dick." "Eurgh!" "Gross." "Dirty cousin fucker." "You've got a dirty dick on the end of your dick." "Yeow." "Great night." "Ah, man." "It got proper messy in the end there." "We've gotta stop doing that." "Yeah, really?" "You think?" "Hell yeah." "Who dances on bars?" "We're such dicks." "Oh, yeah." "I thought you were talking about the whole us shagging thing." "What?" "Hey, we were on fire, cous." "If there'd been an audience, we would've got a standing ovation." "You see, I'm not sure we would." "OK, normal ovation." "Or maybe even booing." "What?" "What are you talking about?" "I've told a few people about what we do and they reckon it's...iffy." "That is horse shit." "What is iffy about it?" "I'm a girl." "You're a boy." "Yeah, but also...cousins." "We're close." "So what?" "There's close... and then there's so close that you're kind of inside each other." "Who cares what other people say, Sty?" "It's private and it's awesome, so chill the fuck out." "It's not like we're getting married or anything." "Yeah." "Fair point." "Although, meeting your family would be a breeze." "Salve, Grumio." "All right, Landlord." "That's a snazzy tunic." "Is your master in?" "He owes me money?" "No, he's at work, but I'm master today as it goes." "Oh, well." "In that case, you owe me money." "Fair dos." "Do you want some cake, by the way?" "It's my birthday." "Oh, really?" "Well, many happy returns." "Whatever that means." "Yeah, I could murder some cake." "Whoa!" "What is this?" "This is not part of the original furnishings, as I recall." "That's vintage erotica." "Lovely." "Oh, look at them go." "That really is fabulous." "Yep." "Yeah, I actually make that face as it goes." "That very much is the face I make when I'm doing...what he's doing." "There's a girl on the other side that looks like Cynthia from next door." "From a certain angle." "Really?" "How'd you get" " Ohhh, yep." "Got it." "OK, yeah." "Ohhh, can I borrow this?" "Borrow?" "Yeah." "I'm just toying with the idea of getting a vase myself." "So, I could really do with seeing what it looks like in my place." "How long's that gonna take?" "Oh, 10, 15 minutes should be fine." "OK." "Fire away." "I hereby call the first meeting of the office Incest Society." "Oh, fantastic." "Count me in." "Really?" "Of course." "I've been hooked since I was a wee lad." "I used to collect butterflies." "I once owned a purple emperor, if you can believe that." "Oh, no." "Sorry." "Incest." "Ah." "Right." "No, I didn't do that." "So, if you just put down 'anyone who enjoys relations with relations should come for a drink and a chat after work.'" "Got it." "Can I still count you in?" "I'm meant to be meeting my mother this evening." "Bring her along." "♪ My name is Stylax, I'm into weird sex" "♪ I shag my granny in her fanny" "♪ I kiss my brother, I fuck my mother" "♪ And all my uncles, in the...♪" "What a life you lead, Waterboy." "Waterman." "I was doing him." "Sounds like you were doing everyone." "You missed the beginning." "Lucky me." "Change your tunic, Copier?" "Sorry." "It's just for today." "No, no." "It's very you." "It's functional and drab." "Shredder, darling?" "Quick word in my office." "Yep." "Sorry if it's inappropriate or something." "Don't be." "I fully approve." "Really?" "As you might suspect, my family are both gorgeous and liberal." "So, I have, of course, climbed the family tree, swung from its branches and sampled its fruit and/or nuts." "Right." "So, you're pro..." "An old pro, yeah." "And I believe that society has no right to judge." "Each to their own, I say." "Mmm, I guess that's how incest works." "Was your one with a cousin?" "My one...was more of a three, actually." "My first affair was with an uncle when I was 17." "He was extremely generous as a lover, teacher and chef." "The second was with a first cousin and the third was with a second cousin." "I salute you, Shredder." "You're doing a noble thing." "I'm doing a terrible thing." "Yes, I know." "I've been telling you that." "What changed your mind?" "Flavia." "What?" "She told you off?" "No, she told me on." "She loves it." "And she's a bloody deviant." "I mean, she takes baths in arse milk, for fuck's sake." "Pretty sure that's ass's milk rather than arse milk." "Yeah, that makes sense." "I was wondering how you milk an arse." "What you gonna do?" "I'm gonna have to dump my cousin, aren't I?" "Brilliant." "As if family holidays weren't awkward enough." "Hey, Marcus." "Give this back to your master." "Erm, sorry." "Why have you got it?" "Just having a go on it." "What?" "From a certain angle, one of the girls looks" " I know." "I know about the angle." "All right, chill out." "Tell Grumio I meant to return it earlier, only I was trying it out in different rooms." "Yeah, I bet you were." "Oh, look... missed a spot." "Grumio?" "Do not lend Landlord the vase to wank over." "Hey!" "Hello!" "What are you doing here?" "Come and have a look at Grumio." "OK." "I mean, I have seen him before but..." "All right?" "Doesn't he look amazing?" "Yeah, that is...great." "Just stop a sec, please, mate." "How much is this costing?" "Oh." "Don't worry about that, slave." "It's my money now." "And Franco's worth every penny." "Glad to hear it." "Carry on, Franco." "Just watch the tunic would you, please, Franco?" "What's for my tea?" "Well, we've got potatoes and eggs and" " I want a goose." "We're not having a goose." "Master's asked for a goose." "Yes, but" " What were that you said about lending Landlord the vase?" "Let's have a goose, in fact!" "Why not?" "Groovy." "Do you wanna goose, Cynth?" "Do you?" "No, thanks." "There's still some cake left." "Franco?" "Goose?" "OK." "Two gooses." "Hmmm." "It's not you." "It's me." "In fact, it's not me." "It's us." "It's our grandparents being the same." "I know." "It's so weird." "People were properly judge-y when I spoke to them about it." "I know, right." "Maybe we're just ahead of our time." "Or behind our time." "Mmm." "So, are we ending it then?" "The incest bit?" "Yeah." "But we're still going to be friends, right?" "Hell yeah." "More than friends." "Exactly." "It's not like we won't see each other again." "We're all going to Auntie Augustus this summer which is now going to be boring as shit without the shagging." "Yeah, we'll have to do a crappy treasure hunt, eh?" "Yeah." "Come here, Cous." "And release." "Dinner time then, you curly twat." "Hurry up." "I'm starving." "Where's Franco?" "Oh, he couldn't wait for you." "So, what do I do with this goose?" "Whatever." "Release it." "Release it?" "OK, brilliant." "Off you go then, mate." "You're free." "Oi, that's not a goose." "Yes, it is." "Goose have got long bendy necks." "That's a shit goose." "No it's not a" " Do you mean a swan?" "That's it." "I want one of them arrogant pricks." "They don't sell swans." "Go and catch one then." "What...?" "Hang on." "What's that on my tunic?" "Is that dye?" "Have you dyed my tunic?" "That's from where I got my highlights done." "That's it." "Game over." "Take it off." "No, I'm the boss." "Not any more you're not." "We're stopping this." "I'll tell her about the vase." "Cynthia!" "Get that bloody tunic off, now!" "Maybe I'll show her the angle." "Cynthia!" "You can't prove anything." "Give it back." "Give it back." "Cynthia!" "You...big bastard." "Oops." "You want oops?" "I'll give you oops." "No, no, no." "Sto" " I'm eating the cake all wrong." "Oh, no." "Stop, stop it!" "That's worth more than you are." "You couldn't be arsed to get me a birthday present, so I know you think that." "Right." "It's mess you want, is it?" "I'll give you mess." "You pissing yourself?" "It's your tunic." "So, technically, I'm pissing yourself." "Ahhh." "It's like that, is it?" "It is, actually." "What are you doing?" "I'm upping the ante." "Grumio, stop it." "Seriously." "And touchdown." "Ah." "Have I got any more where that came from?" "No, don't." "Yep, we do." "Stop it!" "Ahhh." "Have you pissed and shitted yourself?" "Shat?" "Yeah." "And Stylax had sex with his cousin." "Ah, thanks for fixing it." "Can't quite find the angle anymore, though." "Ah, well." "I got stains out your tunic, by the way." "Oh." "Thanks, man." "It took ages." "It were dead soiled." "Sorry about the soil." "It's fine." "Shrunk a bit." "Yeah." "Might be too skinny now." "Yeah." "And it stinks of shit." "Go on, go on." "You can do it!"

Here’s everything You Need To Know About Removing Blackheads In the last month, I feel like I’ve been seeing blackhead-busting products everywhere. It’s like, we got into the new year and everyone wanted not only to clean out their life but also their pores. And while everybody’s familiar by now with pore strips, there are newer blackhead removal methods popping up on social media, like a magical mask that pulls all the gunk out of pores in horrifyingly close zoom and a literal blackhead removal vacuum (!!!). Some of these blackhead tricks make sense, while others seem like they’ll leave you with a whole lot of inflammation and painfully irritated skin. To get down to the bottom of blackheads, and how to remove ’em, I had a chat with a few dermatologists to see what really works and get some general info on this clogged pore plague. What Are Blackheads, Really?Before you can begin to start treating blackheads, it’s a good idea to actually know what you’re up against. You can’t really fix a problem when you don’t know what’s causing it, right? Dr. Rita Linkner, MD, FAAD, a dermatologist at Skinfluence, explains that blackheads are really a specific type of acne, triggered by sebum (otherwise known as face oil) production. She says if a clogged pore “remains open to the air, the oils in the pores oxidize to a black color, which is why we called them ‘open’ comedones or blackheads.” So before you get all grossed out by blackheads, just keep in mind that they aren’t composed of dirt stuck in your pores. It’s really just the natural oil from your skin, turned a darker color. Those May Not Be Blackheads, After AllJust an FYI, not all large pores have blackheads. Also, all that gunk coming out on pore strips? Not always blackheads either. Grab your magnifying mirror and take a (much) closer look. You may just have microscopic hairs that mimic blackheads, says Dr. Linkner. She continues: “A visit to your dermatologist, to tell the difference between the two diagnoses, can make the difference in getting rid of these spots.” Besides microscopic nose hairs, you could have sebaceous filaments. These guys, instead of turning black, are pretty much clear. Dr. Craig Kraffert, board-certified dermatologist and president of Amarte, explains that sebaceous filaments don’t oxidize like blackheads do, meaning they don’t have the telltale color change. Dr. Kraffert went on to say that sebaceous filaments are like blackheads, in that they both have condensed oil and skin scales, but they aren’t totally congealed like blackheads. He says, “Sebaceous filament material may congeal into a true blackhead, and most blackheads have had former lives as sebaceous filaments. With proper cleansing and care, however, sebaceous filaments can be softened, dissolved, and/or lifted up and out of the oil gland ducts.”

Oh, but when he kicks the bucket there will be a memorial service, a memorial dvd collection with all the films you wish he'd never made, movie marathons on HBO, the plethora of biographies, the newspaper exposés, the spin-off series of Two and a Half Men (guess the title...), the stuffed toys and eventually the definitive film hailing him as a misunderstood genius and a great artist. The sharks have already smelled the blood in the water, and they're circling. Celebrities have always been required so people wouldn't have to do all that crazy stuff to have fun with it. They're life, one stage removed. If they didn't act like cunts, nobody would pay to watch them. They're our time's sideshow freaks. Personally, I've never seen the point when you can just cut out the middleman and be all the cunt you can be. It cuts down on the idolatry. _________________________ "I'd rather be right than consistent" - Winston Churchill Way back in the 17th century, savvy Parisiennes, obsessed with the despot who invented the chic life, would rush out at the turn of each season to snag the mode de rigeur according to the Sun King’s taste du jour. In English, Louis gave birth to the cult of celebrity and, ultimately, the people who would one day buy Stella McCartney dresses because Mischa Barton does. But how did we scruffy Americans make the jump from pious nation that revered statesmen and scholars—gents with strong moral fiber, like (ahem) Thomas Jefferson--—to a nation of celebrity cyber-stalkers for whom, as Calvin (yes, of and Hobbes fame) so pithily editorialized, “television validates existence”? II. Celebrity and the American Masses Around the turn of the 20th century, twenty-three million people immigrated to the United States. These teeming, huddled masses brought with them mass culture, which was fascinated by the entertainment industry. Amy Henderson, historian at the Smithsonian Institution, writes in “Media and the Rise of Celebrity Culture” that, “the ‘genteel tradition’ that had been the sinew of American mainstream culture and its heroes dissolved in this mass new urban stew.” Couple this with the centralization of the entertainment industry in New York in the early 20th century and you have a booming celebrity-centric market. But we can’t just blame the dirty masses for this cultural tilt. The old boys played their part, too. Lawrence W. Levine, late Professor of History and Cultural Studies at George Mason University, argued that because the upper crust felt their way of life was threatened by the influx of immigrants, cultural consciousness shifted away from a focus on character and towards personality in order to distinguish themselves from the masses. Projecting an external persona in lieu of cultivating internal qualities became a means of self-preservation. Henderson continues, “In a culture preoccupied with personality, ‘celebrity’ became a measure of success.” And it was thus that the swells helped set the stage, if you will, not only for obsession with celebrity, but also with personal celebrity. III. Celebrity, a Higher Calling Later in the 20th century, society really went to hell in a hand basket. First of all, if you haven’t heard yet, according to Nietzsche, “God is dead.” Sorry. No, but really. While Christians still far outnumber secular Americans and Americans of other religious persuasions, the percentage of secular Americans grew by 110 percent between 1990 and 2000, while Christians only increased their ranks a measly 5 percent. No, we’re not as existential as Europe, but we’re on our way. Arthur W. Hunt III, PhD, Christian educator and Christian Research Journal contributor, agrees: “The Christian consciousness is fast fading.” Warren Susman, the late Rutgers historian, said in “Culture and Communications” that even by the 1930s man had replaced the vision of “God as a god of design. In a world increasingly out of order . . . man as designer was called upon to find some new order in the world.” If man had already begun in the early part of the century to take the reins from God, it only took a few decades for this trend to evolve into the full deification of man. By and large, sociologists agree that celebrities have become the gods of 21st century America. Neal Gabler, entertainment scholar, author, journalist and political commentator, writes in his book Life: The Movie, that American society sees celebrities as “icons on their way to apotheosis”, that we “seek . . . exegeses of their lives as if they are sacred texts” and revere “artifacts as if they were relics.” Britney’s chewing gum on Ebay, anyone? IV. Celebrity Worship Today: When Religion Turns Into a Scary Cult God may well be halfway out the door, but other factors contributed to this societal evolution as well. Just as centralization of the entertainment industry in turn-of-the-century New York fueled the rise of nascent celebrity culture, history repeats itself; the 1990s media mergers and technology boom only propelled existing celebrity culture from fascination to obsession. After a wave of mergers in 1994, the American entertainment industry saw itself consolidated into a handful of players, all of who recognize the importance of celebrities “in promoting the aspirational nature of consumerism” and seek “to colonize the imagination of consumers through the cult of celebrity,” as Stuart Nicholson says in “How Big Business Can Kill Jazz—if We’re Not Careful.” Sex sells, celebrities sell. It’s fairly simple. Add to this the rise of the Internet and you get the current state of affairs: celebrity ubiquity. It’s kind of like the chicken or the egg. The media both capitalizes on and creates the obsession. Certainly in a celebrity-saturated society we’re more likely not only to be obsessed with the rich and famous, but also to suffer from the pangs of fame-hunger ourselves. But Murray Milner, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture, argues that a shrinking sense of self, caused by globalized social networks, is also at play. In “Celebrity Culture as a Status System”, Milner explains that, “The larger and more complex the social network, the more problematic visibility is and the more it becomes prerequisite to status.” As technology, especially the Internet, expands our social circles from the city block to the global block, being known around town is no longer enough. As Milner says, “Gaining visibility . . . becomes an accomplishment in itself.” I am famous, therefore I am? This means that fame has now become as democratic as it is apparently necessary. Twenty-first century America churns out celebrities—real and pseudo—like high-fructose corn-syrup, whether in the form of hot new “It” actresses, reality TV rookie celebs, rich nobodies with image consultants or scandalous girl-next-doors on YouTube. V. The Future of Celebrity What shall become of us, then? Shall ours be the fate of those fools who “changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man” (Rom. 1:23)? Has God already given us up to uncleanness through the lusts of our hearts (Rom. 1:24)? Whatever, all I know is fifteen minutes of fame will no longer do it for me. I have to like Charlie Sheen if only for his absurdity. He is entertainment for those that can see something disgusting and be tickled to death by it. He's what he isn't supposed to be, therefore, some degree of hilarious, at least to myself. Further, he is a master of rallying the brain-dead these days, it seems, whether purposefully or not, and that makes it all the more funny. And still, I don't think I could be bothered to read or watch anything about him I didn't accidentally stumble upon. Excellent paper, D, thanks for sharing! Although I can't come up with any really convincing examples at the moment, I think the practice of elevating a person to divinity and then sacrificing him/her to release the deity within was widespread throughout antiquity. Er, wait, xtianity... Seriously, it's an ur-story that predates xtianity with such force and regularity it's amazing we don't see our celebrities' divine status as some hilarious joke. The best part of it, however, is how the great unwashed take such pleasure in watching their gods crumble into mediocrity, hoping that by bringing their gods down to their level, they will somehow obtain divinity. Bringing us neatly back to the sideshow. The debasement of the worshipped entity to make our own mediocrity sting a little less. In a society such as this, arrogance and nobility become prime virtues. Among the collectivist relativists, the unashamedly individualistic rise to the top. Just don't self-destruct like Charlie boy, or you'll feed another generation of celebrophages. _________________________ "I'd rather be right than consistent" - Winston Churchill I like Charlie.He hasn't pretended to be something else.From his interview in Hustler years ago, to his romps with hooker cheerleaders, he has never hid who he was.He has always managed to be true to his drugs of choice, hookers, coke, and fame. I think that maybe since he has gotten older and society has become less tolerant, that "it" finds his antics far from funny now. "They" expected him to grow up, and the winning warlock hasn't. I hope he doesn't, in a really fucked up way he's comparable to Peter Fonda. Morgan _________________________ Courage Conquering Fear Fuck em if they can't take a jokeDon't Like What I Say, Kiss My Ass This is my take on what’s happening in Charlie’s head: I’ve got more money than I could ever spend, I’m in a show I don’t care much about to satisfy a fickle public and asshole bosses - why not just say to hell with it? They want a show, I’ll give them a real show directed and produced by me. Call it The Meltdown. It’s not career suicide; it’s Two and a Half Men suicide. As long as he’s Charlie Sheen, there will be work available if he wants it (assuming he avoids any long prison sentences). The question, of course, is does he want it? Does he ever want to perform again for shits and giggles or is he content with an early retirement, a permanent vacation? Not a bad position to be in. Not to mention that when you look at it, his character he played on "Two and a Half Men" is not very far from his real-life persona: An alcoholic, self-obsessed man-whore. It's going to be tough for the show's producers to find someone with so much real-life experience to fill in for Sheen. It's going to be tough for the show's producers to find someone with so much real-life experience to fill in for Sheen. Oh, I dunno... I could point them in the direction of San Francisco's Tenderloin district for alcoholic douchebags... or Boston's Combat Zone... couple of places I know in Vegas... the Kaiserstrasse in Frankfurt... Quite frankly, I found it rather comical to hear he's doing a "stand up" act after this stupid brewha the media has made over his real life. Ah well, the man has money and wants to waste it on things he does enjoy. If he burns himself out, oh well.

Romania Scandinava, episodul 1. Unii au descoperit societati fericite, in care oamenii traiesc frumos si echilibrat, altii insa au fost interesati doar de legile permisive. Ii veti cunoaște pe toti incepand de marti, cand Stirile PROTV demareaza campania: "Romania Scandinavă", un demers jurnalistic in Suedia si Finlanda. Am intalnit acolo romani, printi si cersetori. Ii veti vedea si pe cei care dezvolta aplicatii inteligente, dar si pe cei care dezvolta filiere de trafic de persoane. Va vom arata fetele raiului scandinav, cu povesti despre succes, fericire, bunastare, dar si cu momente de confuzie, teama, mizerie sau tupeu. "Fur, politia ma lasa in pace. Daca faceam in Romania ce fac aici, infundam de mult puscaria" - sunt declaratiile uluitoare ale unui conational intalnit in Suedia. Este unul dintre miile de barbati si femei cu cetatenie romana care stau cu mana intinsa in tarile de Nord. Cersesc mila si cei mai multi sunt dispusi sa incalce legea, pentru ca au intalnit oameni toleranti. Unii dintre ei recunosc ca acasa, in Romania, au vile si masini scumpe, in timp ce in Scandinavia pozeaza drept milogii Europei. Suedia, Finlanda, Norvegia si Danemarca. Patru tari cu orase aerisite, piete spatioase, artere de shopping aglomerate, cu oameni care nu se gandesc sa-si fereasca gentile si bunurile. Dar si cartiere rezidentiale linistite, cu vile la mare distanta una de cealalta. Cu imobile ridicate in stil minimalist, fara perdele la ferestre, in care vezi tablourile de pe pereti, aparatura electronica si argintaria de pe mese. Comunitati unde oamenii pleaca de acasa cate o luna, fara sa incuie usile. O societate hiper dezvoltata, linistita si fara temeri. Roman: "Daca aude ca sunt din Romania, se sperie de noi!" Tarile scandinave par a fi paradisul hotilor de buzunare, al spargatorilor de case si al cersetorilor care fileaza si cunosc tot ce misca. Patru popoare nu stiu cum sa reactioneze in fata unui val de infractiuni, ai caror protagonisti au cetatenie romana. Finlanda, zona garii din Helsinki, circulatie intensa la ora tarzie. Un tanar spune ca politia finlandeza a comis abuzuri impotriva sa. Recunoaste ca a mai fost arestat si in alte tari si ca ofiterii finlandezi au gasit asupra sa bani suspecti pe care ar fi incercat sa-I schimbe. Tanar suspect: "Aveam o bancnota de 500 de euro, gasita, nu falsa, cum ar veni, cu eticheta pe ea, m-a luat pentru ea si m-a tinut 24 de ore acolo. Si am spus daca am furat ceva, tineti-ma arestat. Am doua saptamani si de 5 ori am fost arestat aici. Nu stiu motivul, pentru ca sunt suspect." Finlandezii sunt oameni toleranti, dar reactioneaza mult mai rapid fata de suedezi, cand vine vorba de suspuciuni la adresa romanilor. Tanar suspect: "Esti roman, gata furi, te duci la puscarie, ce inseamna asta domnule? Dar sunt si altii care fac? Da, normal, ia pe altii, nu pe altii care nu fac." Tanar suspect: "De dormit unde sa dorm, dorm in gara aici. Am mai fost in Italia, Franta, Germania, Spania. Eu am actele in Suedia, am interdictie pe 10 ani. Am avut niste probleme acolo." Problemele cu adevarat mari nu sunt in Finlanda, ci in tara vecina, Suedia. O piata centrala din Stockholm se anima la prima ora, pe acordurile celebrului film cu mafioti "Nasul". Lautarul e roman, la fel cum sunt si toti cei care se aduna ca la un semn pe bancile din zona. Sunt mai numerosi decat grupurile de turisti calauziti de ghizi. "Acesta e un punct de intalnire, pare ca in spatele meu e o intreaga satra, si apoi se disperseaza catre strazile cu artere pietonale si cu magazine", relateaza Rares Nastase. In timp ce femeile merg la cersit, barbatii pleaca prin oras. I-am urmarit si am vazut ca unii dintre ei par sa piarda vremea. Nu stau insa degeaba, ci supravegheaza case, magazine, depozite de marfa. Sunt grupuri de cate 3 au 4, care, chipurile, cauta de lucru prin zona. L-am abordat pe unul dintre ei, la Stockholm. L-am intalnit la o cantina sociala, amenajata din grija unei biserici, si unde oamenii fara adapost primesc o masa calda si haine. Suedezi milosi trimit pachete cu alimente si imbracaminte. Fin cunoscator al vietii din Suedia, omul incepe sa vorbeasca fara ocolisuri. Roman: "Ar vrea multi sa faca ce fac eu, dar n-au sanse. Sa iti spun direct? Spun direct? Fur, mai, frate. Vrei sa spun ca fur? Pai da, uite, numai asa ca sa vada romanii. Uite, ca sa vada romanii, uite tata, ce am furat numai azi. Uite, vezi? Numai azi." Sunt declaratii suprinzatoare, pe care omul le face pe fondul increderii ca nu i se va inampla nimic, intr-o tara permisiva. E la varsta pensiei si tocmai si-a luat o bautura energizanta, ca sa il tina vigilent. Roman: "Pai in Romania, daca fur ma manca puscaria. Nu? Nu ma manca puscaria? ici te aresteaza de la o suma, cand furi din magazine, furi peste o mie de coroane, intelegi, peste o mie, atunci iti face ceva, adica te tine pe la politie o ora doua." Cat timp legea are portite, exista suficienta abilitate sa o ocolesti, sustine romanul cu pumnul plin cu bani. L-am intrebat daca tot face sute de euro zilnic, de ce mananca laolalta cu restul grupului, la cantina sociala. Roman: "Pai acum nu trebuie sa ma dau si eu ranit? Care-I problema? Ce ai vrea sa spun acum? Sa spun ca o duc bine?" Aceeasi abordare sincera o gasesti si in tabere rromilor cersetori din orasul Malmo. Dar ca declaratia a fost obtinuta pe ascuns. Tinerii plecati din Romania nu vor sa afla suedezii despre situatia lor de acasa. Romi: "Ne vezi cum suntem aici? Acasa suntem smecheri, avem masini Mercedes-uri, de lux avem. Asa e, mah, avem bani, aici ne dam si noi loviti." De cele mai multe, ori hotii sunt surprinsi ca suedezii nu isi iau masuri de siguranta. Instrusii gasesc des usi deschise. Exista insa multe camere de supraveghere care demonstreaza modul usor in care suspectii isi pun in aplicare planurile. Bogdan Airinei e om de afaceri stabilit de mai bine de 2 decenii in orasul Goteborg. Locuieste intr-o zona de lux, fiind vecin cu directori de banci, sportivi, si artisti, cum sunt cei din trupa Ace of Base. Povesteste ca a ramas perplex cand a vazut ca un roman prins la furat, nu numai ca nu a fost dat pe mana politiei, dar proprietarii i-au dat cateva plase pline cu bunuri. Bogdan Airinei, om de afaceri: "Marea majoritate nu isi dau seama ce se intampla, pentru ca e un fenomen cu totul nou pentru ei. E pacat ca invata fara sa vrea un lucru pe care ei nu l-au trait, nefiind in cultura lor. In acelasi timp, e adevarat ca devin mult mai tematori, mult mai precauti, si de aceea mult mai neincrezatori." Suedezii primesc vizitatori fara voia lor si dupa trecerea hotilor, proprietarii trebuie sa faca drumuri la firmele de asigurari, ca sa-si recupereze pagubele. Datele politiei suedeze arata ca cele mai multe spargeri au loc in lunile iunie iulie, cand oamenii sunt plecati in vacante. Sunt oameni onesti, care tin totul la vedere. Bogdan Airinei, om de afaceri: "Sunt niste notiuni anacronice lor, si nu pricep de ce se intampla asa, ai au, prin cultura lor, ei nu inteleg ca exista furt. Furtul pentru ei e ceva pe care omul il face in disperare. Ei au fost invatat cat de putin sa aiba, sa gestioneze, dar sa nu ia de la altcineva. Si atunci cand cineva fura? Nu mai e haiducie, e ceva bizar pentru ei si de asta se si sperie." Fostul ambasador al Romaniei la Stockholm spune ca suedezii vor fi mult mai atenti la crima organizata care s-a dezvoltat si se extinde pe spatele valului de imigranti care pozeaza in romani sarmani. Raduta Matache , ambasadorul Romaniei in Suedia: "Criminalitatea asociata retelelor care exista si care aduc o parte dintre aceste persoane vurnerabile va fi avuta in vedere intr-un mod foarte activ. E vorba adesea de criminalitate transnationala si atunci necesita automat cooperarea cu autoritati din alte state UE, inclusiv cu Romania. Nu aveau situatia asta." Nu aveau situatia asta, dar incep sa ia masuri. Tot mai multi suspecti sunt deportati pentru a fi judecati in Romania. Un lucru care ii nemultumeste pe cei care locuiesc in tabere clandestine. Un barbat aflat la Malmo spune ca romanii din tara ar trebui sa fie multumiti de infractionalitatea din Scandinavia, care altfel, s-ar putea muta… in Romania. Roman din Suedia: "Daca noi ajungem acasa, o sa devina furturi si toate prostiile. Eu te vad pe mata cu buzunarul dumneata sa te fur. Si iasa toate prostiile astea. Ca eu nu am cu ce sa mai traiesc. Si copiii plang acasa. Si daca vad ca tu ai mai mult in portofel, trebuie sa iti iau si eu ceva!" Aceasta haiducie incepe sa-i deranjeze pe nordici. Suedezii se dovedesc cei mai toleranti intre cele 4 popoare scandinave, dar pana si ei incep sa aiba o problema. Societatile nordice, cu un nivel ridicat de educatie si bun simt, incep sa judece o natiune dupa infractorii ei. Inca o pata pe obrazul Romaniei, ai carei imigranti onesti au de suferit. Ne facem de ras in toata Scandinavia, unde turistii si oamenii muncitori sunt tot mai mult asociati cu cersetoria, furtul, mizeria si vandalismul.

Library Collections: Document: Item Description Excerpt from:Report Of The Committee Of The Connecticut Asylum For The Education And Instruction Of Deaf And Dumb PersonsIT will be very gratifying to the patrons and friends of this institution to learn, that through the blessing of a kind providence, its doors are now opened, notwithstanding the numerous obstacles and disappointments which have been encountered from the commencement of our labours. A numerous and interesting family of the unfortunate are already assembled, and we behold those minds which were like a waste hedged about with thorns, now yielding to the cultivation of science, and daily affording promise of abundant intellectual improvement. Are any still skeptical on the subject of promoting the happiness of the deaf and dumb by education? Let them visit the Asylum...

Herbert Kickl Innenminister Kickl kündigt nach Zahlen härtere Gangart gegen kriminelle Asylwerber an Mit „sehr sehr strengen Maßnahmen“ will Innenminister Herbert Kickl (FPÖ) auf die Zahlen des neuesten Sicherheitsberichtes, die am Dienstag dem Ministerrat vorgelegt wurden, reagieren. Denn daraus geht hervor, dass sich die Zahl der ausländischen Tatverdächtigen in den letzten zehn Jahren auf 105 Tausend nahezu verdoppelt hat, jeder fünfte davon ist ein Asylwerber. Grenzen sichern, Asylbetrug aufdecken Angesichts dieser Zahlen sieht Innenminster Kickl raschen Handlungsbedarf. Er betonte in der ZiB 1, dass es möglichst zu verhindern gelte, dass eine große Masse an Menschen unkontrolliert ins Land komme. Zusätzlich erachtet er eine restriktive Asylpolitik für notwendig. Konkret müsse man dort restriktivere Maßnahmen zum Einsatz bringen, wo man nicht ehrlich mit uns umgehe. Dazu gehöre auch das Auslesen von Telefondaten, wenn es darum gehe, Reiserouten von Asylwerbern zu rekonstruieren. Islamisten mit Staatsverweigerern gleichstellen Für Staatsverweigerer, die den Staat nicht anerkennen wollen, gelten strenge Regeln, so Kickl. Ein ähnliches Modell könnte er sich auch für Fundamentalisten, die aus religiösen Motiven heraus de facto Staatsverweigerung betreiben, vorstellen. Dies würde insbesondere für rund 300 islamistische Gefährder gelten, die sich derzeit in Österreich aufhalten.

Okay, that’s what I thought. Perhaps “genre-warping” isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. While I can stop this nonsense, you’d have to endure another 8 minutes if you were to listen to Colin’s beloved album. And, lest we forget, those excruciating 8 minutes are followed by the Beatles’ second-worst creation (I hesitate to use the word “song”): “Good Night.” Game. Set. Match. I thought I’d be generous; I thought I’d be compassionate; I thought I’d make this contest interesting and give Colin a fighting chance by excluding Disc 2 from our little debate—if you can even call it that. But no, Colin got greedy—and now I’m going to make him pay for it, in blood. He says Disc 1 of the White Album is better than Abbey Road. Admittedly that’s a tough pill to swallow, but I can do it with a strong chaser. But to have the audacity to state that the entire White Album is superior to Abbey Road, well that’s like taking a shit in a cup of Dubra, swishing it around in your mouth as if it were a fine wine, and then spitting it out just to get the flavor. Or, if you will, like swallowing a slice of “Honey Pie.” Still, when I first read Colin’s argument, my reaction wasn’t anger; it wasn’t sorrow; it wasn’t even disbelief. It was pity. In fact, I prayed for the poor soul. The good news is Colin can still be saved, but the path to redemption is long, rocky, and barren. Further, it requires him to embrace every single word I write as if it were a divine proclamation. Except for this one: bogart. I just like the word. It’s a funny word. Okay, now let’s begin.* Colin—in his futile attempt to reason with me—stated that “Happiness is a Warm Gun” was enough to propel the White Album far above Abbey Road. To be sure, I’m sexually attracted to the brilliant Lenon track. It’s the greatest song ever recorded. Unfortunately, being an abstract entity, it lacks the proper organs necessary for me to express my love. Score one for Colin—he’ll need it. But, if one song is enough to elevate the White Album, surely the two most heinously awful Beatles songs hold equal weight? At best, they negate “Happiness.” At worst, they completely eliminate the album from contention. True, Colin, God may be on your soccer team, but you also have that overweight, pale kid with the hiked-up shorts, thick glasses, and acne-scarred face playing goal. Quod Erat Demonstrandum. After all, it is Abbey Road—not the White Album—that allowed each Beatle to shine. It includes George’s two best songs, “Something” and “Here Comes the Sun,” as well as Ringo’s hit “Octopus’s Garden,” which is far more interesting than “Don’t Pass Me By.” And let’s not neglect Paul’s very best song, “You Never Give Me Your Money”—or John and Paul’s final medley, which is the greatest stretch of songs ever recorded in pop history. While John’s best may appear on the White Album, so do some of his worst. Perhaps this is my point. The White Album is a great album. But when the fantastic four missed, they missed badly (something apparent on Disc 1, but even more so on Disc 2). I’d like to conclude by examining Colin’s laughable premise that individual songs are more important than a cohesive album. Colin, let me pose a question to you: if you could vomit all of your favorite Beatles songs onto a CD, would your soggy, multi-colored chunks of songs be better than Abbey Road, or, if you must, the White Album? Of course not. To do so would destroy all continuity, theme, and emotion. That’s why even you—in your obsessive song worship—never listen to a “greatest hits” album. And before we get too carried away, let’s keep in mind that the White Album is far from a collection of greatest hits. If anything, it is a collection of greatest hits AND MISSES. *ED. “Don’t bogart the can… man.” Rebuttal: White Album Colin: Fine…let’s just assume, for the sake of argument, that there is some sort of overriding value to the “meta-structure” of the album—that is, the relationships between songs. I suppose I could just use the term “structure,” but “meta” makes it sound like I actually know what I’m talking about. Anyway, Abbey Road certainly isn’t the shining example of such meta-structure. First of all, notice how different in style and substance the A- and B-sides of the album are: this is because John and Paul (with George Martin on his side) were basically at each other’s throats by this point, and had to divide the album straight down the middle with a chalk line, I Love Lucy-style. To be conciliatory, they mixed-and-matched some of each other’s songs, but each side was essentially a one-man show in terms of song selection. Granted, the crux of your argument is the medley…you sort of disregarded the entire A-side, which I think is kind of foolish, given the strong showing by John. But even the medley is more fractured than you would like to admit: Paul didn’t conceive of the thing as a medley…all of the songs were written individually (most of them, by the way, during the fertile period in which they were composing the White Album). He reworked the order again and again before the final release…in fact, “Her Majesty,” which you refer to as an “appendix to the record” was originally cut from the record by Paul. It was in the middle of the medley, and a sound engineer, upon receiving instructions to cut it out, and having received previous instructions to never ever erase anything the Beatles recorded, moved it to the end of the reel, 15 or 20 seconds after “The End.” The effect seemed sufficiently whimsical that they left this mistake in. And a good mistake it was, but certainly not planned. The medley effect, therefore, is secondary to the songs within the medley. I mean, what if I wrote a medley? Certainly no one would listen to it, even if it might have a great deal of this zen-flow you seem to be referring to, because the songs that made up this medley would suck. I must reiterate: the basic unit of pop music is the song, not the album. That being said, we are debating on the topic of best Beatles album, not song. But nonetheless I contend that a pop album, being a collection of songs, must be judged on the merit of the individual songs of which it is composed. And I personally count no fewer than nineteen absolutely phenomenal songs on The White Album (a list of which I will gladly provide to my opponent) and eight others that no mere mortal could write. This leaves only three so-so songs. One-tenth of a two-disc album falls flat…certainly not the “skip-skip-skip” arrangement you spoke of. An album is not a novel, as you claim it is. An album is an album. To say that the definition of a good album is one in which “each song is connected to that which precedes and follows it” is unnecessarily narrowing the scope of all the things a good album can be. Take a live album, for example: the best albums of many bands (the Velvet Underground comes to mind, or just about any jazz musician for that matter) are recorded live, and are essentially a reassembling of their previous studio work, usually in a radically different order from that originally set down. Please, Douglas, admit the profound error of your ways.

o-o-o-o​ o-o-o-o​ o-o-o-o​ Spoiler: Dice Hazō, Deception: 12d100: 757 You just used up all the luck on your next ten rolls. I'll get you next time, my pretty! Lord Kuwabara: ?d100: 472 Way to bomb your roll, dude. Spoiler: Dice Hazō, Deception (conceal the fact that you wants to punch the head right off this bragging twit who wouldn't even know which end of a kunai to hold and certainly has never seen anyone die yet still feels the need to yammer on about the 'glory' of killing people as though his opinion on the subject were worth a single drop of squirrel pee): 12d100 - 3d100 (Thousand Yard Stare) 15,61,89,44,89,31,53,83,97 => 562 Lord Kuwabara, Deception (notice that Hazō wants to punch your head off for being a bragging twit whose opinion isn't worth a drop of squirrel pee): ?d100=> 641 o-o-o-o​ Spoiler: Dice Hazō, Taijutsu (dodge): 15d100: 97,12,74,93,63,65,46,90,97,26,40,33,79,19,43 => 877 Mari, Taijutsu (Inoue Taijutsu-Style: Hair Ruffle no Jutsu!): ?d100: 886 Geez, Mari, the dice have a permanent hate on for you. Why do you always roll low?? o-o-o-o​ Hazō tried to talk to the scary guy with the sword. That worthy stared at him without saying a word, stroking his sword lovingly the whole time. Hazō couldn't find a good reason why his civilian persona would have pursued contact with the guy so he left him alone after that. You set up a variety of passwords, duress passwords, variations on same, etc. Keiko was involved, so assume it was pretty thorough. Hopefully everyone will remember all the variations. Kagome was unwilling to talk about his seal ideas until you are in a completely secure area (i.e., way to hell and gone out in the wilderness), and shushed you every time you even started to say the word 'seal'. "No," Keiko said.Hazō blinked. "What?""I said no, I am not going to focus my training efforts on stealth," she said, vibrating in place as she pushed chakra through her muscles for no purpose other than to use it up. Empty your coils, then let them refill; the nausea and muscle aches made the training miserable, but it was the only way to stretch your coils enough to increase capacity quickly."Ohkaayy," Hazō said. "Why not? We're about to go on a stealth-focused mission.""Our opponents on this mission are civilians and genin," she said. "I am skilled enough at stealth for that. Going forward, I need more chakra for summoning. I was only able to summon Pankurashun because I was able to use Noburi's chakra water to overcharge my capacity. I cannot rely on that in an emergency and it has harmful long-term effects if used regularly. Right now I have a mere two contracts; Pandā is a non-combatant and Pankurashun is not willing to be summoned. I need to gain more contracts and I need to have the capacity to summon them. The summoning contract is my primary contribution to this team—""No it isn't!" Hazō said. "Why would you think that? Keiko, you're an incredible fighter and a brilliant tactician. Even before you got the contract you were an amazing asset to this team.""Thank you for the support," Keiko said politely. "If you'll excuse me, I need to focus.""Here," Kagome said, his tone darkly satisfied. "This will work. Keep an eye out." He knelt down to unseal a bundle of poles and started digging two of them into the ground so that they just barely poked up through the clump of bushes he and his partner knelt behind. Akane nodded and stretched up tall so she could see in all directions. She carefully said nothing; this was not the best time to talk to Kagome.To say that the sealmaster was not thrilled about being here would be an understatement. He was onboard with the "conquer the world and turn the stinking stinkers into a lovely red mist against the wall before blowing up the wall and then doing a victory dance on the rubble" plan, but it didn't mean he enjoyed leaving their safe and comfortable lair in the woods. For the first time in years he'd actually been enjoying doing seal research—indeed, he'd managed to remember the thing that had been his single pleasure through most of his adult life. The fact that heto abandon that idyllic life in order to conquer the world so he could do his victory dance on the aforementioned bloody-mist-soaked wall had him feeling generally grumpy and twitchy.Should the team need to come out of the resort hot, whoever was pursuing them was going to discover just how grumpy Kagome was feeling."Not bad," Mari said, studying Akane's expression. "Relax your forehead a little more. Yes, like that. Let's try it again. Remember, correct yourself on a minor detail.""Hello," Akane said, smiling brightly and bowing to her sensei. "My name is Arakida Kanna. My father and I are bakers and we just arrived from Wave on Thursday—well, Wednesday night—and we're looking for new customers. Would you be interested in a regular delivery contract?""Not bad," Mari said, her tone indicating that 'not bad' was the accurate phrase. "Still needs some work, though. Okay, let's practice microexpressions again. What did I just show?""Happiness, sensei," Akane said immediately. "The corners of your eyes crinkled and your cheeks were raised.""Good!" Mari said, clapping the genin on the shoulder. "Excellent. We'll make a spy out of you yet." She suddenly laughed. "And, young lady, just showed me a microexpression of unhappiness. Don't worry, I promise I'll be gentle.""Ahhh," Hazō said, leaning back in the hot water with unfeigned satisfaction. Say what you would about the safety and relative comfort of their hidden forest cave, relaxing in a hot mineral spring was amazing. As was having a proper toilet nearby instead of a latrine two miles away."Not bad, eh?" said one of his fellow bathers, a red-faced and fleshy man in his fifties with a bald spot that was still painfully obvious no matter how much hair he swirled around it. He lazily waved one hand in the air to indicate the entire facility. "I should have come here ages ago. Much better than that Mizuchi place." He snorted. "Do you know, they don't even have guards there? Random commoners were wandering in all the time. I had to share a bath with a dockworker. Ugh."Hazō made a sympathetic noise. "Ugh. How horrible—you're right, this is much better." He offered a casual nod that was the relaxing-in-a-hot-spring equivalent of a bow. "I'm Lord Oisha Dai, pleasure to meet you." He laughed self-deprecatingly. "And before you ask, yes, just a hill daimyo. Tiny little place on the border of Earth, but it's been in the family twenty generations, so that's something."The other man smiled and nodded. "Lord Kuwabara Seiji. No shame in being born to a small holding, Dai," he said magnanimously. "Pity this isn't the good old days, right? Used to be you could train up a group of samurai, hire some ninja for backup, and claim all the land you liked." He took a pull from his sake cup and shook his head sadly. "Glorious times, those. A man could really be a man back then." He tossed back the rest of his sake and refilled it from the bottle on the ledge beside him before waving the bottle in Hazō's general direction. The genin took it with a grateful smile, poured some into the cup that the man handed him, and took a polite sip."You ever fight?" Kuwabara asked slyly. "Nothing gets the blood going faster. Sometimes I think about starting a mercenary company, eh? Could be great fun, riding around having adventures. Kill the odd chakra beast here, carve up a few bandits. If things heat up any more between Fire and Mist there might even be work there, securing borders and what not. Keep the peasants in line while the ninja are fighting. Great fun!"Images blinked through Hazō's mind in a series of lightning flashes: the town near Hidden Swamp with the fierce women guards and the fisherfolk and weavers from the lake town in Iron—people carving a life from a harsh world through sheer grit. The merchants in Yuni, running caravans that were the lifesblood of a hundred tiny villages. The civilians in the Liberator's camp, their spirits soaring at the simple opportunity to build lives for themselves.Hazō nodded politely to Kuwabara and forced his mouth into the closest approximation of a smile he could manage.Kuwabara took one look at Hazō and went sheet white. He fumbled his cup back onto the ledge, not even noticing that he'd knocked it over in his haste to scramble out."Just remembered," he babbled, wrapped his robe around him with shaking fingers. "Have a massage I need to get to. Terribly sorry, lovely to meet you. Enjoy your soak. Yes. Right. Goodbye!" He rushed away.Hazō watched him go with a feeling of resignation. He wasn't sure if Inoue-sensei would laugh at him or scold him about this, but she was definitely going to give him a furious hair-ruffling.He'd known exactly what was coming, he knew when it was going to happen, and he'd planned carefully. He was across the table from Inoue and he actually started dodging before he even spoke the words. Somehow, she still got him, although only barely. He sighed and sat back down, combing his hair and swearing to himself that some day,day, she would miss."So, Hazō pooched it in the baths," Inoue said. "How about the rest of you. What did you get?"Noburi and Keiko exchanged looks. "Go ahead," Noburi said. "You were the one who found it.""We found a significant point of attack," Keiko said. "Poisoning or drugging the food supplies for the dogs would be straightforward. Doing the same for human supplies is feasible, but it would be difficult to make it useful."Wakamoto, the company that provides the food for the resort, supplies the dog food as well. The dogs are fed a mash of meat, lard, and vegetables. Wakamoto makes up a fresh batch every week and delivers it the following day. He uses a vat with an automatic stirring apparatus powered by a water wheel; the vat is frequently unattended and if drugs or poison were dropped in they would be thoroughly mixed into the mash without anyone noticing. The next batch will be made tomorrow and shipped in the following morning.""Nice one," Inoue said. "Really nice. Getting the dogs out of the way would make things a lot easier. You mentioned that drugging the humans would be harder. Why is that?""Wakamoto's cold room is in the back of his shop, and his shop is his living quarters," Noburi said. "Because they live there they don't actively guard the place. It wouldn't be too much trouble for us to get in at night, but civilians aren't going to pull it off. We could put whatever we want in the food, but there's no way to predict who would get what or when. Once the food gets to the resort it's kept in the icehouse—dog food and human food both. The resort's icehouse is actually pretty well guarded; they've had trouble with staff pilfering the tasty stuff in the past. There's always two guards, and the patrols check in on an irregular schedule but at least once every two hours. Also, they've got the strictest inventory system I've ever seen outside of the Academy. The manager, Sekine Shou, is a fussy little guy." (A hint of approval flickered across Keiko's face.)"Okay," Inoue said. "That gives us a way to clear out the dogs, which is good. I managed to get up close to the owner's daughter and have some girl talk. Her name is Honami, she's twenty-three, doesn't get out much these days. She's having a tough pregnancy—lots of pain and swelling, nausea, the works. They've had herbalists and even a med-nin in; it helps, but not much. Fortunately the baby is due in six weeks so it's almost over."Inoue leaned back, smiling. "Bright girl," she said. "Reads, writes, and can do basic math. She's actually pretty well read, all things considered. She's got the entire staff wrapped around her little finger, and was cadging lessons from them since about a minute after she learned to make puppy-dog eyes. Her dad's furious about it—thinks that it's inappropriate for a girl to be educated. There's a lot of resentment there, actually. Her father's been trying to marry her off for years, and I have a feeling she got pregnant just to keep that from happening. Still, Dad's hung the moon about having a grandson, so he's willing to forgive his daughter 'for being a strumpet.'""What if the child is female?" Keiko asked."That could be bad," Inoue said. "He's rich, powerful in a merchant sort of way and used to getting what he wants. Doesn't deal well with rejection, apparently, and what he wants is a grandson. He wanted a grandson, but I think he'll take what he can get. If it's a girl, I'm not sure what he'll do. Give it to the orphanage would be my guess.""What about the ninja?" Kagome asked. "There was supposed to be a ninja living there. And those twerps on the walls, of course." He sniffed dismissively."Ah, yes," Inoue said. "Royama Mariko. Lovely woman. She's from Earth, got hurt in a fierce battle with a chakra dragon that attacked Iwagakure."Hazō's eyebrows shot up. "Really?""No," Inoue said, laughing. "She was embarrassed to admit it, but I eventually weaseled it out of her: she's a jonin and her baby brother recently got promoted to chunin. They were having the celebration here, she got drunk at the party, and she fell off a table while sword-dancing. Her brother and his friends had to report back to Iwa for duty, but she's on medical leave while her leg heals.""Wait, what?" Noburi asked. "She fell off a table?""I told you she was embarrassed about it," Inoue said, grinning. "The funny part is that I think she really did—she's a taijutsu type, and if she were going to self-injure just so she could skive off then she wouldn't have chosen something that would reduce her mobility. Also, the woman can't lie for beans." She winked at Akane. "I don't suppose you have any family in Iwa, do you kid?"Akane blushed furiously but laughed."Anyway, she's healing up nicely," Inoue continued. "I think she's actually ready for duty now but she's milking it for all the time she can get. I sure would."She sighed. "So. We've got all this wonderful intel. Anyone notice the one piece of information we havemanaged to get?""Where our target is?" Noburi asked. "I haven't seen a single person with red and green on them.""And the prize goes to the water master," Inoue said. "Gotta say, I hate missions like this. I don't mind ones that take a few months to set up, but I don't like it when the location of the objective isn't known. Too many ways for things to go wrong when you might not even be operating in the right area."No one had anything to say to that.After a few seconds of awkward silence, Inoue glanced at the water clock on the mantel. "Come on, it's getting late," she said. "Everyone hit the sack, I want to be out early tomorrow. According to Honami that big important guest is supposed to be arriving in the morning. His name is Joutano, he's some lord she's never heard of, and he demanded their very best suite for himself and his friends."The next day Inoue and Hazō were at the resort—she was sunbathing on a deck lounger, lying on her belly with her top down and her head shaded by a wide straw hat as she sipped on a cold drink and read, in a very lazy fashion, through a poorly-written romance novel that she'd borrowed from the resort's library. He was a few dozen yards away, participating in an abstract painting class alongside a group of civilians who were mostly thirty years older than Hazō's henged twenty-something appearance.All activities screeched to a halt at the arrival of Lord Joutaro and entourage."Who do I have to bribe to get some service here?!" the barrel-chested giant bellowed, the very moment that his foot touched the ground inside the resort's fence. "HO! Manager! Get some people out here to take our bags!" He strode towards the reception house, the ponytail of long white hair bobbing behind him serving only to emphasize the oversized tachi he wore across his back, angled for a left-hand draw.Joutaro had taken hardly two steps when a pack of bellhops descended on the tired-looking woman and the clearly embarrassed teenage boy that were trailing along in his wake. They snatched the bags out of the hands of both woman and boy and hustled off with a hasty volley of bows, asking if the most honored guests would please deign to follow them to this humble resort's best quarters which they dearly hoped would be adequate for the honored and mighty guests.Inoue groaned and pulled the hat all the way down over her head. OfJoutaro was wearing the red-and-green scarf. Of course.Vote time! What to do now?Voting ends on Wednesday, July 27, 2016, at 12pm London time.A few other things:

"And He was giving orders to them, saying, 'Watch Out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."' (Mark 8:15) Leaven is budding yeast. It's scientific name is Saccharomyces derived from the Latinized Greek meaning "sugar mold" or "sugar fungus", used since ancient times in baking and brewing. A very small amount of yeast or leaven will thoroughly permeate bread dough. In the Bible, leaven is often used as a synonym for sin that can increase exponentially corrupting Christians and Churches; "A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough." (Galatians 5:9) The leaven of the Pharisees is legalism, which is a perversion of the true Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ substituting self-justification for the justification provided by God through the cross of Jesus Christ. Like Cain, many self-righteous people today vainly try to worship God on their own legalistic terms; "But in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men." (Mark 7:7). The Jewish Pharisees were the religious rulers in Israel. In their pride they believed that because they were Jews, descendants of Abraham, they were justified before God. In their self-righteousness, they believed their many offerings, sacrifices and observance of myriad religious traditions pleased God. As Paul wrote concerning his Jewish brethren; "For not knowing about God's righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God." (Romans 10:3) The leaven of Herod is licentiousness, a false doctrine that presumes on the grace and mercy of God while embracing the secular world;"Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him." (1 John 2:15) Like many people today who claim to be Christians, the Jewish Herodians were self-righteous hypocrites;"...ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and lord, Jesus Christ." (Jude 4) The Church is under relentless attack by those who teach these false doctrines, promoting the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod; "But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them..." (2 Peter 2:1). Watch out! Beware! Maranatha!

Italian President Sergio Mattarella just blew up the European Union. His refusal of the coalition agreement between The League and Five Star Movement threw the best chance for the EU to face its burgeoning political crisis before it became a full-blown sovereign debt crisis. With U.S. and U.K. markets closed today the full force of the damage done by the EU’s Hail Mary to prevent the Italians forming a government to their specification is actually muted. Things like this always happen on a weekend where the powers that be have enough time to figure out a messaging game plan and reassure markets they’ve got everything under control. But, let’s round up a bit shall we? Italian bonds off 25 basis points (!). The euro flirting with $1.16. Spanish and Portuguese debt sold hard, off 5 to 12 basis points. Gold is off a few dollars. Mattarella, nominally, did this because he didn’t like the choice of Finance Minister, a man who was in favor of Italy leaving the euro. Whatever, he found an excuse. And someone in one of Berlin, Brussels or Washington told him to give a non-hacker the reins to try to form a government. As Zerohedge reports this morning, that’s simply a non-starter. There is no way that the Italian parliament will approve another technocratic Vishy government on Italy, circa 2011 and Berlusconi’s ouster during the last flare up of Europe’s intractable debt problem. No, this has to be about something else. This is simply yet another instance of Europe kicking the can down the road. Sanctions Uber Alles Look, at the risk of sounding like a guy with a hammer looking to pound in some nails, I have to think that the re-authorization of the EU sanctions on Russia in July is what prompted this desperation move. But, if a re-vote in Italy can be put off until August (convenient that) then that gives the Trump Administration another six months to exert maximum pressure on our “allies” on trade and tariffs. It makes sense that Washington is mostly behind this, but don’t underestimate the stupidity of people like Donald Tusk and Jan-Claude Juncker who will literally burn the continent to the ground before giving up their dream of an Europe united in their Orwellian Nightmare. It is the U.S., however, that stands to gain the most from this move. As I’ve said in previous blog posts, Italy gave German Chancellor Angela Merkel a way to leave the sanctions regime, move closer to Russia and end the sanctions without having to do anything which looked disobedient to the U.S. empire. The ECB wants debt consolidation and greater control. For the EU to survive this is necessary. Germans and the rest of the northern countries don’t want to be seen bailing out the “Club Med” countries. That would be interpreted as yet another submission to Washington and New York. Merkel cannot go through horrific debt relief talks like she did with Greece in 2015. It would destroy what’s left of her political capital. If she stands tall against Trump over Iran, however, she gains a lot. The uncertainty over how Trump will react sends the euro down, pressuring the ECB to finally move on dealing with the debt. Europeans want normalized relations with Russia and open trade, especially German industry. There are tens of billions in investments in Russia and Crimea waiting for the sanctions to end to travel to Russia, especially with such a weak Ruble, thanks to Trump’s moronic sanctions. Only Poland and the Baltics don’t. But, they don’t matter. It only takes one finance minister to vote against extending Russian sanctions to end them. If Merkel stands up to the U.S. on Iran, it makes it easier for Italy to force Germany to stop bullying everyone into maintaining them. It looks like Merkel and company want to stand up to Trump over trade sanctions and tariffs. Public opinion turns in her favor strongly if she does. Own Goal So, to me, the big loser in the long run would be the U.S. because Italy will force the EU’s hand to finally come to grips with its internal contradictions or break apart. And when that happens, any benefit the U.S. gains from cleaving off countries like Spain and Italy from the EU it loses due to a loss of leverage over them vis a vis Russia, China and Iran. Trump wants solidarity in pressuring Iran and North Korea to give up its nukes and submit totally to U.S. primacy. Without it he can’t get what he wants. Holding onto sanctions against Russia and invoking a debt crisis in Europe again will unleash chaos that cannot be controlled. No longer could we use quislings and satraps in the EU bureaucracy to scuttle big projects like Nordstream 2 and force 27 nations to act in our favor. And with Trump going full scorched earth to define who is and who isn’t with him, an EU break up over political divisions works against his stated goals. But, then again, the Italians may already be a lost cause from that perspective and any move to keep them where they are for the time being could be seen as a win. Don’t forget the U.K. in all of this, either. London is now looking at this situation and wondering just why it is they are playing footsie with the EU over Brexit. If anything this is a further wake-up call to the people of the U.K. that their government doesn’t work for them and heeds to be overhauled, held to account and do their bidding. EU Only Die Once The bottom line is that regardless of who instigated this move it will be a terminal one for the EU. Italians are not going to go back to the polls and weaken the mandate for The League/Five Star. The latest polls have them up near 56% total. By the time an August re-vote rolls around that number could easily be 60% and at that point, any obstruction by Brussels or Washington will need to take the form on military occupation to install a government to their liking. And at that point, however, the whole EU charade is history. I don’t give that high odds, but the stakes are high enough that anything is possible. If they weren’t Mattarella wouldn’t have done what he did yesterday. Those who wield the real power in the world will not go gently into that good night. 2018 was always the focal year from a cycles perspective according to Martin Armstrong. And here we are. The U.S. is literally lashing out like an abusive drunken father at anyone who dares to look sideways at him, reflecting his own sense of inadequacy. The EU is holding onto dreams of power it never earned and behind them the banks are scared to death that the central banks won’t be able to paper over the cracks and keep them from collapsing. Things will spiral out of control from here. The EU is headed for a debt crisis the likes of which the world has never seen. The dollar will rise from here, gutting emerging markets creating a gyre of widening defaults. All in all not bad for a Monday morning. Meanwhile in Moscow after a very successful St. Petersburg International Economic Forum where more than $38 billion in deals were agreed to … To support more work like this and get access to exclusive commentary, stock picks and analysis tailored to your needs join Tom’s more than 120 Patrons on Patreon and see if I have what it takes to help you navigate a world going slowly mad.

566 P.2d 539 (1977) 30 Or.App. 93 STATE of Oregon, Respondent, v. Edward Debbs McFarland, Appellant. Court of Appeals of Oregon. Argued and Submitted May 23, 1977. Decided July 18, 1977. *540 Gary D. Babcock, Public Defender, Salem, argued the cause and filed the brief for appellant. John W. Burgess, Asst. Atty. Gen., Salem, argued the cause for respondent. With him on the brief were James A. Redden, Atty. Gen., and W. Michael Gillette, Sol. Gen., Salem. Before SCHWAB, C.J., and THORNTON and LEE, JJ. SCHWAB, Chief Judge. Defendant appeals from his conviction by a jury of first degree assault, ORS 163.185, and assigns as error the trial court's denial of his motion for a mistrial made after the prosecutor asked defendant two questions about prior acts of misconduct by defendant. In the evening of August 3, 1976, police officers David Burley and Michael Gibson responded to a call reporting that a domestic dispute was in progress at defendant's apartment. Upon arriving at the apartment complex the officers were greeted by defendant's wife who told them repeatedly only that "he's got my baby" and directed them to defendant's apartment. The officers met defendant in the doorway of his apartment and asked him to step outside to talk. Defendant refused and shut the door. Burley believed that if the officers left, defendant might harm the child. Burley forced the door open and found defendant holding the child. Burley requested that defendant release the child and come outside to discuss the matter, but defendant again refused and retreated into the kitchen. As the officers followed defendant, Burley observed defendant looking at a steak knife in a dish drainer. Gibson then reached for the child while Burley tried to restrain defendant. As Gibson grasped the child, he was stabbed twice and received several lacerations from the knife. After defendant was arrested, he stated several times that the officers had no right to be in his apartment and that "if I would have had a gun, I would have shot both them bastards dead." At trial defendant testified that he did not remember whether he had stabbed Gibson and repeated his belief that the officers had no right to be in his apartment. The record reveals that defendant relied primarily on the defense that the assault was made in the defense of his child and himself. Defendant admitted on direct examination that he had been convicted of assault, attempted possession of stolen property and several charges of driving under the influence of intoxicants. On cross-examination, the prosecutor asked the following question: "Isn't it true that you had some difficulties in school because you were taken out of the schools and you were placed in MacLaren?" Defendant's counsel objected before the question was answered and promptly moved for a mistrial. The court sustained the objection but denied defendant's motion on the grounds that "the defendant has taken the stand and he's admitted the commission of several crimes. I don't see how it can do him that much damage." The prosecutor resumed his cross-examination, and later the following exchange ensued: "Q: [By the prosecutor]: Now, do you recall stabbing Officer Gibson? "A: No. "Q: So, it's your testimony that you do not recall ever stabbing anybody, is that correct? "A: I don't know. We were fighting and hassling. I don't know if I stabbed him or not. "Q: Okay. My question is: Do you recall ever stabbing anybody? "A: No. "Q: On any occasion? "A: No, I've never stabbed anybody. "Q: You've never stabbed anybody, is that what your statement was? "A: Yes. "Q: Isn't it true that four years ago that you were picked up by the police for stabbing your brother in the back? *541 "Mr. Forcum [defense counsel]: I'm going to object, Your Honor. * * *" Defendant then moved for a mistrial. The court sustained the objection but denied defendant's motion, commenting: "* * * I'm going to deny your mistrial motion because I don't think there has been any prejudice done by that type of statement. The reason for that is that the testimony came in beforehand: `You've never stabbed anyone else?' "`Answer: No.' That came in twice without objection." The court then warned the jury: "Ladies and gentlemen, the objection to the question has been sustained and I should caution you that statements by either counsel, questions they ask, are not to be considered by you as evidence. The evidence by which you should judge this case comes from the mouths of the witnesses." The state does not contend — and could not do so successfully — that the prosecutor's questions set out above were proper. State v. Rollo, 221 Or. 428, 351 P.2d 422 (1960); see State v. Manrique, 271 Or. 201, 531 P.2d 239 (1975); ORS 419.567(3).[1] The state rather argues that the court did not abuse its discretion in not granting a mistrial. In State v. Bauer, 16 Or. App. 443, 448-49, 519 P.2d 96, 99, Sup.Ct. review denied (1974), we held that: "* * * [T]he granting of a motion for a mistrial by a defendant must depend upon the particular facts. The trial court has wide discretion in the granting or denial of such a motion. * * *" The trial court's discretion, however, is not without bounds, and a motion for a mistrial should be granted when it is apparent that some aspect of the conduct of the trial has interfered with a defendant's ability to obtain a fair adjudication of the facts. See State v. Treit, 29 Or. App. 461, 564 P.2d 708 (1977). A number of factors lead us to the conclusion that the trial court's decision to deny a motion for mistrial was not error. First, defendant's character had already been impeached by his testimony on direct examination that he had been convicted of several crimes. Second, the prosecutor's question about a prior arrest for stabbing was directed at disproving defendant's claim that he was acting in self-defense. This defense, predicated on the notion that defendant feared that either his or his child's safety was endangered by the officers, had been at least partially discredited by the testimony of several police officers as to prior encounters with defendant during domestic altercations. Third, the attention of the jury was not repeatedly drawn to the subjects of the prosecutor's improper questions — defendant answered neither question, the objections to the questions were promptly sustained and the prosecutor made no attempt to reopen either matter once the trial judge had sustained the objections. Fourth, the trial judge adequately instructed the jury not to consider the prosecutor's questions as evidence. Affirmed. NOTES [1] ORS 419.567(3) provides: "No information appearing in the record of the case or in reports or other material relating to the child's history or prognosis may be disclosed to any person not described in subsection (2) of this section without the consent of the court, and no such information may be used in evidence in any proceeding to establish criminal or civil liability against the child, whether such proceeding occurs after the child has reached 18 years of age or otherwise, except for the following purposes: "(a) In connection with a presentence investigation after the guilt of the child has been admitted or established in a criminal court. "(b) In connection with a proceeding in another juvenile court concerning the child or an appeal from the juvenile court."

Lonesome Jim Lonesome Jim is a 2005 American comedy/drama film directed by actor/filmmaker Steve Buscemi. Filmed mostly in the city of Goshen, Indiana, the film stars Casey Affleck as a chronically depressed aspiring writer who moves back into his parents' home after failing to make it in New York City. His older brother (Kevin Corrigan) already lives there with his two daughters. Liv Tyler stars as a good-hearted nurse who begins a sexual relationship with Jim and starts to see him as a potential stepfather for her son. Lonesome Jim premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize, but it lost to Ira Sachs' Forty Shades of Blue. The screenplay was based on characters and events in author Jim Strouse's life. The entire film was shot on a mini-DV digital video camera instead of actual film. Plot Jim (Casey Affleck) is a perennially gloomy 27-year-old aspiring writer from Goshen, Indiana who had moved to New York City in hopes of finding success with his writing. After two years of barely making a living as a dog walker, he decides to move back home to his parents' house in Goshen. Jim's 32-year-old brother Tim (Kevin Corrigan) is a recently divorced father of two young girls whose business recently failed. Tim has moved back into his parents' home and works in the ladder factory that's owned and operated by their father Don (Seymour Cassel) and cheerful mother Sally (Mary Kay Place). Jim has no interest in the family business and he resists pressure from Don to start working there. Jim meets Anika (Liv Tyler), a nurse, in a bar and they end up having sex in a hospital bed, though Jim finishes almost immediately. After a conversation between the two brothers on whose life is more pathetic, Tim, having previously made repeated unsuccessful attempts to commit suicide, drives his car into a tree. He is gravely injured, in a coma, and hospitalized. Jim finally gives in to Don and works in the factory by taking over Tim's duties. He also takes over Tim's job as the coach of a girls basketball team. The team, which has not scored a single point in the last 14 games, includes both of Tim's daughters. While visiting Tim is in the hospital, Jim runs into Anika, who works in pediatrics. They arrange a date, but on arriving to pick her up, he discovers she is a single mother. Their relationship progresses, however. Anika is sympathetic to Jim's problems, and she decides to stand by him even when he tries to convince her that it's in her best interest to not be around him. At the ladder factory, Jim encounters his uncle Stacy or "Stace" (Mark Boone Junior), who prefers to be called "Evil." Over a joint, Evil offers advice about premature ejaculation, and they become better acquainted. Evil offers Jim some recreational drugs and asks Jim to open a checking account for him so he can pay for things by mail. Evil gives Jim $4,000, saying it is saved-up birthday and Christmas and graduation presents. Jim's mother, Sally, is arrested by DEA officers for allegedly shipping illegal drugs through the store's FedEx account. Evil is the drug dealer, but Jim cannot get him to confess. Evil points out that Jim will be implicated if he tries to report Evil, as he has opened an account with Evil's cash and will test positive for drug use. Eternal optimist that she is, Sally makes friends with her fellow prisoners and accepts a novel from Jim when he visits. Eventually she is released on bail. Despite working at the factory and feeling responsible for his mother's imprisonment, Jim allows his depression to be softened by Anika and finds himself believing that life is worth living. Jim invites Anika and her son to move to New Orleans with him, but after Jim gets cold feet and makes a questionable decision, the move seems to be off the table. Jim finally decides to leave town for New Orleans by himself, leaving a note for his parents promising not to take their love for granted again and revealing Evil as the drug dealer. Anika shows up at the bus station to say goodbye. Jim departs on the bus, but as Anika drives home with her son, Jim is seen running after them, luggage in hand. He asks "for a ride" and the movie ends with Jim, out-of-breath, finally getting a bottle of water from Ben in the back seat. Cast Casey Affleck as Jim Liv Tyler as Anika Kevin Corrigan as Tim Mary Kay Place as Sally Seymour Cassel as Don Mark Boone Junior as Stacy a.k.a. "Evil" Jack Rovello as Ben Production The film was originally a part of a deal with Universal Studios and had a proposed budget of $3 million. However, the deal with Universal was unexpectedly cancelled and Lonesome Jim then ended up being shot and produced on a meager budget of $500,000 with the original filming schedule being reduced from 30 down to 17 days. As a cost-saving measure, screenplay writer James C. Strouse, a native of Goshen, Indiana, employed two of his nieces as actors in the film, another family member as location manager, as well he used his parents' home and factory as a location for Jim's parents' home and factory. More money was saved by recording the entire film onto a mini-DV digital video camera rather than a film camera. Critical reception and box office During its theatrical run, Lonesome Jim never earned back its initial budget of $500,000; instead, the film grossed less than $155,000 domestically and less than $175,000 worldwide. The film received mixed reaction from film critics. The aggregate review websites Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic record a rating of 60 percent and 54/100 respectively as of October 28, 2008. Film critic Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times awarded the film three stars out of four, and it also received "Two thumbs up" on the film review television program At the Movies with Ebert & Roeper co-hosted by Richard Roeper. Mathew Turner of View London proclaimed "Lonesome Jim is one of the year's best films, thanks to a superb script, terrific performances and Buscemi's assured direction". Peter Travers of Rolling Stone awarded it three stars out of four, calling the film a "deadpan delight" and proclaiming "I can't recall having a better time at a movie about depression". Critic Christopher Campbell declared the film "hilarious throughout. By far it is the funniest thing I saw during the [Sundance film] festival". On the other hand, there were a number of unfavorable reviews. Stephen Holden of The New York Times did not give the film a very favorable review, criticizing the film's sense of humor by calling it "only as broad as the Mona Lisa's smile" and criticizing Affleck's portrayal of Jim. Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly awarded the film a grade of C-, writing that director Steve Buscemi "is stymied here by the inertia of his material". See also Cinema of the United States List of American films of 2005 References External links Category:2005 films Category:American independent films Category:2000s comedy-drama films Category:Films about depression Category:Films set in Indiana Category:Films directed by Steve Buscemi Category:American films Category:American comedy-drama films

And Congresswoman Giffords is no liberal. Rather, she is a blue-dog Democrat, and thus not a typical target of those who hate liberals. In any event, rather than easy labels, this appears to be the work of someone who is clinically insane. Indeed, Loughner has apparently been obsessed with “mind control”. Because Sarah Palin holds herself out as the leader of the Tea Party, many are attempting to blame the Tea Party for today’s shooting. But as one of the founders of the Tea Party – influential financial writer Karl Denninger – has repeatedly pointed out, Palin and her ilk have hijacked the Tea Party. Denninger says that the original intent of that group was to peacefully protest the big banks ruining the economy, and to call for criminal fraud by the banksters to be prosecuted. Denninger says that mainstream Republican party types moved in very quickly to infiltrate the Tea Party and make it something else entirely. So Denninger – one of the founders of the Tea Party – now hates it: [T]wo law enforcement sources said that FBI agents had found a 2007 letter from Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) to the shooting suspect, with the words “Die, bitch” and “Die, cops” scrawled on it. The letter, which thanked [Jared] Loughner for attending an event of hers, was found in a safe in his Tuscon home, the sources said. FAIR USE NOTICE: This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of political, economic, scientific, and educational issues. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to:

You certainly do deserve to be happy and satisfied. I’m sure there are Balck Bulls who would love to please you. Just don’t forget the primary duty of the white women to please (and always obery)as many Black Men as possilble. Your bautiful – Good Luck!

Speaking of impeachment: “This woman is an anti-Semite, a war mongering hate filled Palestinian who has vowed to try and destroy our constitutional rights, hates America, hates American citizens.” Yes, that’s right. There is no doubt that Tlaib will use her platform in Congress to spew lies and hatred against Israel, President Trump, and anyone else whom the left targets. This impeachment petition is unlikely to gain any traction, but it is a welcome sign that many Americans are not taken in by the media’s fawning over Tlaib, and are disgusted by her anti-Americanism and hatred. Unfortunately, she is likely to be in Congress for a very long time. “150,000 Sign Petition to Impeach Michigan’s Rashida Tlaib,” by Anthony Gockowski, Tennessee Star, January 12, 2019 (thanks to Mark): A Change.org petition calling for the impeachment of Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI-13) already has close to 160,000 signatures. “This woman is an anti-Semite, a war mongering hate filled Palestinian who has vowed to try and destroy our constitutional rights, hates America, hates American citizens,” the petition states. “She’s a danger to our sovereignty, a detriment to society, and to this country, and is unfit to serve in any capacity within our government.” take our poll - story continues below Will You Be Voting In Person November 3rd?(2) Will You Be Voting In Person November 3rd? Should the Government be Mandating Masks? * Yes No My State Is Not Allowing In Person Voting Email * Email This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Completing this poll grants you access to DC Dirty Laundry updates free of charge. You may opt out at anytime. You also agree to this site's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. The petition also takes issue with Tlaib’s election, claiming that she “lied about living in Detroit” by “using her father’s house address.” Tlaib made headlines earlier this week when she vowed to “impeach the motherf—” during a party in celebration of her being sworn in to Congress. “I stand by impeaching the president of the United States. I ran on that,” she said in an interview discussing her comments. She called her promise to impeach President Donald Trump something she “very much” holds “dearly.” “They love that I’m real, and that I am very much focused on getting the government back up and running, but also making sure we’ve held the president of the United States accountable,” she said. Tlaib later apologized that her comments caused a “distraction,” but refused to apologize for the explicit remarks…. ##### Courtesy of Freedom Outpost Article posted with permission from Pamela Geller Pamela Geller is the founder, editor and publisher of PamelaGeller.com and President of the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI) and Stop Islamization of America (SIOA). She is the author of The Post-American Presidency: The Obama Administration’s War on America, (foreword by Ambassador John Bolton), (Simon & Schuster). Stop the Islamization of America: A Practical Guide to the Resistance. She is also a regular columnist for World Net Daily, the American Thinker, and other publications. Follow her on Facebook & Twitter

Miranda Lambert Reveals Next Single to Country Radio! Miranda Lambert fans rejoiced to hear that a favorite from her album Platinum, “Bathroom Sink”, will be the next release to country radio next month (Nov.). The song was written entirely by Lambert, which the singer says makes it all the more “scary” to put out there. Lambert spoke to Billboard about the song: “I feel like on every record I’ve got one of those scary ones that I wrote by myself, so I can’t blame it on anybody else. It’s scary for the rawness, and for the emotion in it. It’s kind a like, ‘should I put this on there, should I not?’ because it’s just, ‘here I am, here’s me.’ It’s one of those where your mom says, ‘gosh, this makes me sad,’ and that’s exactly what she said. But it’s just real, just a real moment. I don’t’ live there, but it’s a real moment that you go through. Everybody does. I wrote it on a plane by myself headed to a show. It’s just one of those moments in time, and I am proud of it. I take a lot of pride in writing by myself, because I feel like sometimes its so easy to write with all these amazing writers, it’s so easy to lean on them for better lines than you can come up with. But sometimes it’s important to just sit down with a guitar and write a song by your damn self, to make sure you still can, for one thing.” Below you can listen to the songs that have already been released from Lambert’s 5th studio album Platinum, ending with the next single “Bathroom Sink”!

LES ARCHIVES DU FIGARO - Il y a 65 ans se déroulait au Vietnam le dernier acte de l’ultime grande bataille de la guerre d’Indochine: deux mois de combats acharnés qui se terminèrent par la défaite de l’armée française, piégée dans la «cuvette». L’héroïque résistance française. Le 7 mai 1954, le camp retranché français de Diên Biên Phu tombe sous l’assaut des troupes du général Giap, commandant de l’armée Viêt-minh. C’est la fin de la plus longue et la plus meurtrière bataille de l’après Seconde Guerre mondiale. Et la dernière grande bataille de la guerre d’Indochine (1946-1954). Mais cette défaite cuisante pour la France sonne aussi le glas de la présence coloniale française en Asie. C’est en 1953 que le corps expéditionnaire français en Extrême-Orient (CEFEO) établit un camp retranché dans la vallée de Diên Biên Phu -traversée par la rivière Nam Youm- dans le pays Thaï, près de la frontière laotienne et chinoise. Le but est d’arrêter l’avancée des troupes du Viêt-minh Hô Chi Minh vers le Laos. La position retenue est une plaine (le terme de «cuvette» est resté associé à Diên Biên Phu) de 16km sur 9, entourée par de petites collines -sur lesquelles sont construits des points d’appui qui portent des prénoms féminins («Gabrielle», «Béatrice», «Dominique», «Éliane», «Claudine»…). Le PC est installé au centre de la cuvette et au sud se trouve la base «Isabelle». 57 jours de combats acharnés La bataille de Diên Biên Phu débute véritablement le 13 mars 1954 avec l’assaut du Viêt-minh contre le point d’appui «Béatrice». Le camp est dirigé par le général de Castries. Les combats font rage pendant deux mois. Progressivement les troupes ennemies encerclent les positions françaises, dont les effectifs et le matériel sont numériquement plus faibles. Les blessés sont soignés sur place par l’infirmière Geneviève de Galard. Après une résistance héroïque -avec des combats au corps à corps- le camp retranché tombe le 7 mai 1954, jour de l’assaut final des forces du général Giap. Le cessez-le-feu est annoncé à 18 heures mais le dernier point d’appui, «Isabelle», n’est pris que le lendemain. Le 21 juillet 1954 les accords de Genève mettent fin à la guerre d’Indochine. » VOIR AUSSI - «L’ange de Diên Biên Phu» témoigne pour les 60 ans de la bataille en 2014 Les pertes sont lourdes. Au total plus de 15.000 militaires français ont participé à la défense du camp: plus de 3.300 sont morts ou portés disparus, 10.300 soldats sont faits prisonniers -dont 4.400 blessés- et internés dans des camps mais seuls 3.300 reviendront en France. Côté Viêt-minh: 70.000 combattants, environ 8.000 morts et 15.000 blessés. Retrouvez les dernières heures du camp retranché français grâce au récit de l’envoyé spécial du Figaro Yves Desjacques, au travers des derniers échanges radio entre le général de Castries et le général Cogny le 7 mai 1954. Article paru dans Le Figaro du 10 mai 1954. Les derniers moments de Diên Biên Phu Le silence est retombé sur la cuvette sur la cuvette du pays thaï qui fixa pendant deux mois l’attention et l’inquiétude du monde. C’est uniquement par radiotéléphonie, communément appelée «courants porteurs», que l’état-major du général Cogny, à Hanoï, a suivi les dernières heures du camp retranché. Vendredi matin, au début de matinée, le général de Castries appela l’état-major d’Hanoï afin de réclamer surtout des munitions et rendre compte de la situation. Guerre d’Indochine: carte indiquant les positions françaises et Viêt-minh lors l’assaut final de la bataille de Diên Biên Phu le 7 mai 1954. Rue des Archives/Rue des Archives/Tallandier «Cela va mal, très mal, dit Castries. Pour les stopper, il me faudrait six mille coups de mortier, deux mille obus. Nos canons ne tirent plus, nous manquons de munitions, nous sommes obligés de faire sauter les pièces pour éviter qu’elles ne tombent aux mains des Viets. Sur la face est, les points d’appui tombent les uns après les autres. Je voudrais empêcher les Viets d’arriver sur la Nam-Youm à cause de l’eau. Je n’ai plus assez d’effectifs. Que voulez-vous faires contre des gens qui ont tout et qui ne manquent de rien?» Castries avait demandé à l’aube, de toute urgence, 120 tonnes de munitions. Quand il comprit que la situation était sans espoir, il décommanda les munitions et demanda qu’on parachute à la place du ravitaillement conditionné pour que ses hommes continuent de «tenir». Quelques instants après, le général Cogny appelait l’héroïque défenseur de Diên Biên Phu. La conversation fut singulièrement poignante: «Allô! Castries? —Allô! mon général, ça va mal, je suis attaqué sur trois faces, je perds sans cesse des points d’appui. Sur la face est, le quatrième vient de tomber il y a quelques minutes.» Le général de Castries énuméra alors les points d’appui tombés: «Deux à Éliane, quatre à Claudine, etc.» Je sens que la fin approche, mais nous nous battrons jusqu’au bout. Le général de Castries. «Je vais tâcher de tenir sur la rive est de la rivière.» Le général de Castries fit ensuite le tableau de ses effectifs: «Sur tel point d’appui, au bataillon légionnaire de parachutistes, il reste une compagnie, et par compagnie il faut maintenant comprendre soixante à quatre-vingts hommes. De même pour les bataillons de parachutistes et pour les tirailleurs. Je n’ai plus assez de forces pour contre-attaquer. II me reste quelques centaines d’obus. Je n’ai presque plus d’autres munitions. Je vais essayer de tenter une sortie à la faveur de la nuit. Je garderai un rideau de troupe pour donner le change aux Viets et je resterai avec les blessés.» Bataille de Diên Biên Phu (du 13 mars au 7 mai 1954): le général Christian de La Croix de Castries dans un abri, le 5 avril 1954. Rue des Archives/Picture Alliance/Rue des Archive Le général Cogny, la gorge serrée par l’émotion, approuva les intentions du général de Castries et annonça qu’il continuait à envoyer des munitions et des vivres. Le général de Castries termina alors la communication en disant: «Voilà, mon général, ce que j’avais à vous dire... avant la fin.» Il était environ 10 heures. Vers 15 heures, un message annonçait que les Viets entouraient le centre de résistance principal où se trouvait le P.C. du général de Castries et qu’ils se trouvaient à 300 mètres des mitrailleuses et des armes braquées pour garder les abris et les blockhaus. À 16 h40, le général de Castries communiquait pour la dernière fois avec le général Cogny. «La situation est extrêmement grave. Les combats sont confus et se livrent partout, les Viets encerclent tous les points d’appui. Je sens que la fin approche, mais nous nous battrons jusqu’au bout.» Cogny: «Bien compris, vous vous battrez jusqu’à la fin. Pas question de hisser le drapeau blanc sur Diên Biên Phu, après votre héroïque résistance.» Castries: «Bien compris. Nous détruirons les canons, les chars et tout le matériel de radio. Le poste des «porteurs» sera détruit à 17 h30. Nous nous battrons jusqu’au bout; au revoir, mon général. Vive la France.» Ce furent les derniers mots du général de Castries. Les légionnaires parachutistes qui formaient le dernier carré tentèrent vraisemblablement une sortie pour rejoindre le point «Isabelle». Mais le Viêt-minh a annoncé que personne n’avait pu briser le cercle établi autour des assiégés. La fin d’«Isabelle» Avec «Isabelle», à quelques kilomètres plus au sud, la liaison se poursuivit à Hanoï jusqu’au milieu de la nuit. Castries avait demandé que les «105» de cette position tirent sur son P.C. et sur le centre de résistance central après l’occupation par les Viets; les artilleurs d’«Isabelle» exécutèrent la mission. Les légionnaires parachutistes et tirailleurs tentèrent une sortie aux environs de minuit. À 1h50, «Isabelle» lançait un dernier message recueilli par les aviateurs: «La tentative de sortie a échoué.» Dans deux minutes je ne pourrai plus communiquer avec vous. Nous faisons tout sauter. Un sergent radio. Le colonel Lalande avait préparé la sortie de sa garnison à la faveur de la nuit. Les 1.500 hommes qui lui restaient tentèrent de se frayer un passage vers le sud et la jungle, à la grenade et au couteau de tranchée, au travers des lignes viets. Mais après avoir péniblement parcouru une centaine de mètres, furieusement disputés, ils durent rebrousser chemin. Les communistes les talonnaient et les corps à corps se sont déroulés jusqu’à l’aube dans les retranchements bouleversés. À 1h50, samedi, un sergent radio lança ce dernier message au Dakota qui survolait: «Dans deux minutes je ne pourrai plus communiquer avec vous. Nous faisons tout sauter.» Les partisans thaïs explorent la jungle Malgré tout, il est possible que des poignées d’hommes aient réussi à franchir le cercle infernal de l’adversaire. Ils gagneront les massifs montagneux et essaieront de rejoindre les éléments de la colonne «Crévecœur» dans la nature, au Nord-Est de Muong-Khoua, entre 50 et 60 kilomètres de Diên Biên Phu. Des centaines de partisans thaïs ont reçu la mission de sillonner les pistes de la montagne pour porter éventuellement secours aux rescapés. Avant la chute de la forteresse, les axes de retraite avaient été désignés aux soldats de l’Union Française et des parachutages de vivres ont été faits sur certains villages dont les populations feront le maximum pour aider les survivants. Des prisonniers français le 8 mai 1954 au lendemain de la chute de Diên Biên Phu. Rue des Archives/Rue des Archives/Tallandier En fin d’après-midi, vendredi, plusieurs aviateurs remarquèrent que les combats se poursuivaient encore sur certains points d’appui; sur d’autres, des explosions soulevaient la terre et de longues colonnes de fumée montaient dans le ciel. Selon les premières estimations, une quinzaine environ de bataillons de troupes de l’Union Française, comprenant des légionnaires, des parachutistes, des tirailleurs marocains et algériens, des unités thaïs et un bataillon de l’armée nationale vietnamienne se trouvaient à Diên Biên Phu. Dans le bilan des pertes, il faut comprendre le matériel qui est tombé aux mains de l’ennemi, mais dont la plus grande partie fut sabotée et mis hors d’usage. C’est l’élite des bataillons de choc du corps expéditionnaire qui vient de disparaître. Lorsqu’on en parlait ici, il était coutume de les désigner par le nom de leur commandant, «le patron». Un fer de lance du commandement français s’est rompu, mais le combat continue et ces vétérans de Na-Sam, de Nghia-Lo, de Lang-Son, de Seno se sont sacrifiés jusqu’au dernier. Ils rejoignent dans l’histoire leurs aînés de Camerone, de Verdun, de Bir-Hakeim, d’Italie et d’Allemagne. Par Yves Desjacques VIDEO INA - Les Actualités Françaises du 18 mars 1954: À l’heure de l’assaut. » VOIR AUSSI - «J’ai l’impression de rêver», Colonel Jacques Allaire, ancien combattant à Diên Biên Phu Macron annonce une série d'actions pour la biodiversité - Regarder sur Figaro Live

TAMPA, Fla. — Mitt Romney rolled to victory in the Florida primary on Tuesday evening, according to early returns and exit polls, dispatching an insurgent threat from Newt Gingrich and reclaiming his dominant position in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. If Romney wins the nomination we can be sure that millions of FL who would have voted Republican will just sit it out in the General Election and FL communists Democrats will vote King Obama to win the State. Really screwed. I don't understand how anyone can vote for a guy who defrauded medicare of so much money that his company was fined something like $119,00,00. And he can't plead that he knew not because he was running the company. And the advertising that New was run out of the house in disgrace for unethical behavior when the IRS cleared him. That a total lie. Who would vote for a liar and a thief? Only a voter with no moral compass of his own. I hope Newt will stick with it because before it is over, Romney's lies will catch up with him. my family will never vote for ROmney and I guarantee that the establishment now say we must unite, we must defeat obama, look we’ll put VP on the ticket for you , don;t vote for Romney is a vote for obama Well they can all piss off, I;ve had it with all of those who attacked Newt, including FOX and I will never vote for him and be taken advantaged of like 2008 Your headline made me think of the novel, "The Devil's Advocate" by Taylor Caldwell. Here is a passage from that book: Now a bitter and raging anger began to fill him. This group of men, perhaps more than any other single group, was responsible for the muddy horror which had choked the people for decades. The free and independent press! the members of that profession had either supinely allowed themselves to be seduced into the betrayal of a nation, or had been had voluntarily silenced out of cowardice or expediency. Many of them had been engaged for years in active and deliberate treachery, using the powerful means oc communication to further the designs of wicked men. This latter half of the Press had deceived the people with lies and cunning anf falsehood and synthetic rages against "the special intersets" of the forties and fifties. They had denounced any man of spirit and courage who had dared speak against the foul servants of Communism and Socialism whether that man were Senator or fellow-scribe, private citizen, ambassador, statesman or writer. Scores of them had hysterically upheld any politician who had attacked or evaded the Constitution of the United states of America; they had been the idolators of Communist Russia and had labored fervently, for hire or through the evil imaginings of their perverted minds to thrust Marxism upon their nation. This was the same Big Media that kept John Edwards’ campaign viable (so as to block out Hillary’s threat to Obama by keeping her in a 3 way race for delegates) long past this timeframe in 2008 even after they knew of his bastard child. I guess we can look forward to more rigged “Twenty One” gameshow style debates from Democrat anchors tossing softballs to the Golden Child, while preparing to release more books in his favor on inauguration day. And Romney and his advocates will never speak as nasty about The One as they did about Cain, Santorum, and Gingrich. Mitt’s waged a scortched earth campaign and now it’ll be time to make nice. He’s safe to run to the left, as Soros says, there’s little difference except for possibly the VP choice and a future SC nomination. In Mitt’s favor, he wasn’t raised by an American hating red diaper doper baby on the knee of a Communist and brought into the political area by a former domestic terrorist and treasonous Communist who openly engaged in coordinated enemy attacks in a time of war. You know what? I think that, in the long run, replacing Obama with a paler Obama (Romney) with an R after his name could do more damage to the country than allowing Obama to be reelected, hopefully to trigger another Reagan revolution in 2016. I WILL NOT vote for Romney. I held my nose and voted for McCain, and it won’t happen again. It sends the wrong message to the RNC. Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Jury Deliberates Today On Ex-San Jose Cop Accused Of Raping Woman In Her Hotel Room While On Duty Prosecution of the former San Jose police officer, 40-year-old Geoffrey Graves for raping a woman while on duty began on February 1st before Judge Ron Del Pozzo at the Hall of Justice in San Jose. Today the jury will begin its deliberations. With the help of a Spanish to English translator, a 36-year-old undocumented immigrant told her story of how Graves followed up on an investigation into a fight she had had with her husband with other officers, but returned to the woman’s hotel room under the pretense of using the bathroom to rape her. Mercury News reports: The receptionist gave the defendant access through a secured area and up an elevator to the third floor, but he never used a bathroom at the lobby, Vega said. Under questioning by Vega, the woman said she was still awake when she heard a knock at the door and answered to find Graves. The woman asked what Graves was doing there and he walked inside the room without her permission. Graves took off pants, placed his duty belt on a small table and repeatedly called her crazy, the woman testified. She was in tears as she recounted that he pushed her on the bed and took off her clothes despite her multiple objections. The woman said she resisted and tried to push Graves away, but he allegedly raped her for about five minutes until calls were made from his police radio. Graves’ defense attorney, Kristin Carter says that sex occurred but was consensual. DNA from the victim had been found on Graves’ bulletproof vest. Yet Carter claims that the woman’s behavior after the incident was not consistent with that of a typical rape victim. In his closing arguments, Santa Clara County prosecutor Carlos Vega said that he had taken advantage of one of the most vulnerable members of society and had found this woman to be the “perfect victim” as she had just been removed from her husband and relocated to a room in the hotel where she had worked as a maid. She was undocumented, intoxicated, unsophisticated and with limited command of English. “A police officer didn’t rape Ms. Doe,” the prosecutor stressed. “The defendant was a rapist who masqueraded as a police officer.” A jury of five women and seven men will now be tasked with deciding who is lying. Graves faces eight years if convicted of rape or a maximum of life in prison if it is determined that he entered the hotel room with the intent to assault the victim.

Malignant Sertoli cell tumour in a young Simmenthal bull--clinical and pathological observations. Tumours are rare in the bovine testicle. A case of malignant Sertoli cell tumour in a 29-month-old Simmenthal bull that was hospitalized with a history of severe unilateral scrotal swelling is reported. On inspection and palpation, the scrotal sac was found enlarged with fluctuant content in the right side. The right testicle was enlarged, hard and indolent. Also the right plexus pampiniformis and funiculus spermaticus were enlarged. Sonograms revealed severe changes in the right testicle with a loss of homogeneity and multiple hyperechogenic areas. After slaughter, the scrotum with testicles were removed and evaluated pathologically. On section, the right testicle contained areas of necrosis, haemorrhage, and mineralization. Histology showed Sertoli cells in tubular structures surrounded by dense fibrous stroma replacing normal testicular tissue. Both lymphatic and blood vessels were infiltrated by neoplastic cells. Immunohistochemically, the neoplastic cells stained positive for vimentin and negative for cytokeratin and S-100. Based on the pathological observations a diagnosis of right-sided malignant Sertoli cell tumour with vascular invasion and hydrocele was established.

The former deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has urged the government to allow the manufacture of poppers to continue while a review of the recreational drug takes place. Poppers – or alkyl nitrates – are due to become illegal in the UK when the Government’s new Psychoactive Substances Bill is implemented on 6 April, banning so-called “legal highs”. The Bill will apply a blanket ban to any substance that produces “a psychotic effect”, including Nitrous Oxide or “laughing gas”. A host of exemptions have had to be included for products such as alcohol, tobacco, coffee, tea, food and other medicinal products. A review of the ban is due to take place after many MPs criticised the bill in January and urged that poppers be removed from the legislation. Britain is the largest market for poppers in the EU The findings of the review are due to be reported before the summer recess in July, leaving a three month gap in which UK poppers manufacturers may be put at risk. Mr Clegg is leading a campaign urging EU leaders to back a reform of drugs laws. He told the Guardian: “Poppers have been around for decades. “The evidence shows they don’t pose any risk to health, and that’s why they’ve never been banned before. “While there is a review on going, of course the legitimate business that produce poppers should be allowed to continue to operate.” Britain is the largest market for poppers in the EU with 670,000 people aged 15 to 24 experimenting with them, according to a study by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime in 2013. The largest manufactures in Europe are located in Yorkshire, with major factories located in Huddersfield and Leeds. The two northern companies sold 2 million 10ml bottles of the drug last year, the Guardian reports. The plan to outlaw poppers is part of a piece of legislation aimed at countering the rise of designer drugs blamed for 60 deaths in 2013 in England and Wales, according to a new report by the Home Affairs select committee. However, many have taken Mr Clegg's line and called for poppers to be removed from the Bill. In January, Conservative MP Crispin Blunt said he used Poppers and described the ban as “manifestly stupid”. Poppers’, physical effects, which include a short-live high and the loosening of muscles, have been known to improve anal sex and the drugs are used chiefly, although not solely, by gay men.

U.S. Oil Output Tops 12M Barrels a Day for First Time - aginovski https://finance.yahoo.com/news/u-oil-output-tops-12-120000720.html ====== jorge-d Oil is such a great industry. Most of the oil production increase in the last years in the US is due to fracking; such an amazing technology where a bunch of chemicals are injected directly into the ground. Ted-ed has a good video about it: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tudal_4x4F0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tudal_4x4F0) Lets screw up the environment by not quitting our society's oil dependency so that a few shareholders of [INSERT_RANDOM_OIL_COMPANY_hERE] can enjoy all the $$$ while future generations (and probably us too given how fast this go) get to pay the price. ~~~ rayiner > Lets screw up the environment by not quitting our society's oil dependency > so that a few shareholders of [INSERT_RANDOM_OIL_COMPANY_hERE] can enjoy all > the $$$ while future generations (and probably us too given how fast this > go) get to pay the price. This is sanctimonious and inaccurate. Oil allows our consumer culture to exist. We make plastic crap with oil, we import it from China using oil, we deliver it using oil to an amazon warehouse, and then deliver it again using oil to a Prime Member. That cycle, in turn, supports everyone else’s job. Indeed, the very web is built in that oil consumption cycle, since Google runs the web and 98% of Google’s business is helping sell more plastic crap to people. Oil and gas is not particularly profitable. In fact it’s less profitable than average: [http://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar/New_Home_Page/datafile/...](http://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar/New_Home_Page/datafile/roe.html). Return on equity is single digits, versus 20%+ for companies like Facebook. ~~~ jtr1 Please stick to the community guidelines and respond directly to the argument. Calling a response "sanctimonious drivel" does not make your reply more compelling. ~~~ rayiner The fact that OP is being sanctimonious is highly relevant to the point I’m making. It’s one thing to hold the opinion that we need to eliminate oil use because of the serious environmental repercussions. But if you’re living in america enjoying American employment options and living standards, you don’t get to engage in “holier than thou” “us versus them” rhetoric. Our entire economy and all of our jobs are predicated on cheap energy. Oil companies make a lot of money because they deliver an essential, high demand product. But given that oil and gas is less profitable than your average industry (as you’d expect a commodity to be) there is no basis for acting as if the benefits of cheap oil flow to oil company shareholders. It flows overwhelmingly to consumers. ~~~ jtr1 I'm not saying OP made a stellar point, but "drivel" is an unnecessarily aggressive descriptor here. Try to assume good faith and draw out an argument that elevates the overall discussion. You're raising a worthwhile concern. Raise it in a way that invites, rather than shuts down discussion. ~~~ rayiner You're right, "drivel" was unwarranted. I have deleted that. ~~~ 18pfsmt I drunkenly invited someone to Denver at my expense for a duel the other day (not literally, but figuratively). All this partisan, populist rhetoric is driving some of us a bit nuts, but you are usually a voice of reason. It's ok to slip up from time to time. ------ docker_up The transformation of the US for largest importer to largest exporter in only a few years is stunning. Unfortunately, this is a geopolitical tactic to crush Saudi Arabia and other oil-producing nations like Iran so that it defunds terrorism. The tipping point for the US between electric cars and gas is about $6/gallon from what I've read. CA is getting close, I'm paying $4/gallon but most of that is taxes these days. We can't move forward until we get rid of $2/gallon gas throughout the country. ~~~ pjc50 It's not so much a tactic as a technologically-enabled event. The US is not about to "crush" Saudi Arabia, it's actively fighting along side them in Yemen. UK petrol prices have been close to equivalent of $6/USgal for a while - currently about £1.20 per liter, £4.50/USgal = $5.67, and electric cars are still pretty scarce. Hybrid taxis have been popular for a while though. ~~~ CalRobert The falling cost of EV's and renewable energy is a relatively recent phenomenon too, though. Even 5 years ago vs. now, the choice to buy EV has gotten easier. If I were in the market for a new car, I'd be looking at EV's. I drive about 5-6000 miles a year and can't really justify the money, though (and tbh 6,000 miles a year at 50+mpg means driving is a relatively small part of my carbon footprint. Really, I need to fly less) ------ pjc50 Or 0.43 metric tons CO2/barrel, per [https://www.epa.gov/energy/greenhouse- gases-equivalencies-ca...](https://www.epa.gov/energy/greenhouse-gases- equivalencies-calculator-calculations-and-references) ------ rcMgD2BwE72F “Yes, the planet got destroyed. But for a beautiful moment in time we created a lot of value for shareholders.” ------ ComputerGuru Just yesterday, OPEC agreed to continue to reduce production through 2020 to counter falling demand/prices. Edit: Falling demand for _OPEC_ oil, I mean. ~~~ adventured They're not countering falling demand, so much as trying to keep prices high in the face of a wall of supply from the US. They're constraining their own supply, while the US absorbs most of the demand growth. OPEC's forecast for 2019 remains for an expectation of about a million barrels per day of global growth, mostly coming from India and China. ------ cronix Yet gas prices keep going up. Someone is making a lot of money. ------ MentallyRetired Wasn't there a political expectation that if we produced our own oil, the price would drop? That was false from the start because we're a part of OPEC, right? ~~~ skrowl The United States is not a member of OPEC, if that's "us" and "we" to you [https://www.opec.org/opec_web/en/about_us/25.htm](https://www.opec.org/opec_web/en/about_us/25.htm) ------ francisofascii Oil execs and lobbyists are worried about renewables. Better extract as much profit as we can now before renewable energy tech gets better. Keep prices low so consumption stays high. Convince the American people domestic drilling is a good thing, even though it depletes oil reserves for the long term. The oil industry today is similar to the logging industry a century ago. ------ perfunctory > Crude output from the Permian is expected to jump 50% by 2025, according to > BloombergNEF ------ entropea Glad to see we're hitting climate goals. ------ googoogaga Good. The more oil we pump, the less we import, the more we export (generally). Obviously different industries require different flavors of oil, but tight oil usually has great characteristics - light and sweet. A lot of people don't know this, but the oil industry was founded almost entirely by Americans, its good to see the US back on top. I've had the pleasure of working for a large driller as a software engineer. The innovation in drill tech is unbelievable. I hope all of you get the chance to read about the upstream industry - phenomenal work being done. Oil is an industry where a ton of the knowledge is only documented in books or the minds of the workforce. so better yet, visit your local rig site.

Sex-cess Did the title get your attention? As a marriage coach, sex and money are the two big topics that divide couples in my ministry. They are also the subjects that families rarely talk about. You can’t become knowledgeable, comfortable, and practiced on an issue when you don’t or won’t talk about it? Why do some couples avoid the topic of sex? A sampling of replies to my question: “Why don’t you talk about sex with your spouse?” I’m just not comfortable. Our family never talked about sex. I don’t really have much of a sex drive. If we talk about it, I’m afraid it will hurt my wife’s feelings. I’m not sure. I guess we should talk more about it. My husband is addicted to pornography. I’m angry at him, so why would I want to have sex with him. I don’t want sex. If I avoid talking about it, I’ll feel less pressure to have sex. I’m afraid to tell my husband what I really want because of what he’ll think of me. I’ve faked too many orgasms that I’m afraid to tell my husband the truth. He’ll think I’m a liar, and I don’t want him to feel bad that he didn’t please me. I love my husband though. I was sexually abuse as a child, and it’s too painful to talk about sex. For years, it’s all about him, not me. Why bother? I’m tired of asking, so I’ve just given up. We don’t need to. We have unspoken understandings. For me to get sex, I need to do …. What would you answer? Differences in individual values, needs, relationship conditioning, and preferences can naturally cause sexual conflict, but if you won’t talk through these differences, nothing will be resolved or managed? If you want to have a fulfilling, aka successful, sex life with your spouse, it starts with you. Becoming sex-cessful in the bedroom is a journey taken at a pace you’re comfortable committing to. You might consider the following steps: Sharing and learning about partner’s needs and wants as well as uncovering the whys and feelings behind both Negotiating, compromising, and developing a sex plan Acting on the plan You may think that may work for some, but what if my spouse and I have wildly different sexual appetites. That’s where you need to take a hard look at the cause. Is it because of conditioning, taboo stereotypes, performance anxiety, sexual abuse, or just plain skewed hormones? As with most problems, there’s usually more than one contributor. Identifying the main issues will give you a starting point on where to focus. In some cases, you may never fully emotionally or physically enjoy sex, but that doesn’t mean you should withhold sex from your spouse unless he or she is abusive. I know a few couples who have fluctuating and divergent sex drives over the course of their marriages. How do they handle the incompatibility? They give sex gifts? People routinely give gifts to family and friends whom they love and care about. What better way to love your spouse than to give them the gift of sex? There may be times when you’re both “into it”, and sex is a big theatrical production. Other times, it’s a gift of pleasure. As with any other gift, you don’t expect anything in return. Your spouse will appreciate your gift of sex, even when he or she knows you weren’t in the mood and gave it freely. Some believe they shouldn’t be pressured into sex when they don’t want to. I agree. I’m not suggesting they do something they don’t want to. I’m suggesting they intentionally give a gift to their life partner. Note: If you are in sexually abusive marriage or relationship or have untreated sexual trauma in your history, I encourage you to seek help. The effects of sexual trauma are devastating for the individual and their relationships. Seek the healing you need, so you can experience the power of healthy relationships and focus on the purpose God has called you into. About the Author: Sandra Dillon is a professional coach with an extensive background in life, premarital/marriage, finances, and ministry. She coaches individuals and couples to be the best versions of themselves. Sandra welcomes comments and conversations. You can reach out to her at [email protected]

Q: How can I stop users from writing curse words in Swift 3? I'm Using Swift 3 and firebase to create a social app where users can make posts but the thing is that I don't want the users to use curse words. Is there a way like to replace these words when the users writes them? Currently the users use a text view to write the things they want to post... How can I do it in like the easiest and simple way? I was looking for answers and I find this question Swift: how to censor/filter text entered for swear words, etc?. With this answer code: import Foundation func containsSwearWord(text: String, swearWords: [String]) -> Bool { return swearWords .reduce(false) { $0 || text.contains($1.lowercased()) } } // example usage let listOfSwearWords = ["darn", "crap", "newb"] /* list as lower case */ let userEnteredText1 = "This darn didelo thread is a no no." let userEnteredText2 = "This fine didelo thread is a go." print(containsSwearWord(text: userEnteredText1, swearWords: listOfSwearWords)) // true print(containsSwearWord(text: userEnteredText2, swearWords: listOfSwearWords)) // false But I don't really get it. How can I implement that in my project? Where should I paste that code? Or how can I link that code to my text view? And what it´s missing on that code to work as it should be? A: If you use UITextField on .editingChanged event. inputTextField.addTarget(self, action: #selector(textFieldDidChange(_:)), for: .editingChanged) func textFieldDidChange(_ textField: UITextField) { print(containsSwearWord(text: textField, swearWords: listOfSwearWords)) // Here you check every text change on input UITextField } UPDATE You must implement UITextViewDelegate (Official Documentation) Validate before input ends In textViewShouldEndEditing(_ textView: UITextView) validate user input and return true/false to allow editing end. Validate after input ends In textViewDidEndEditing(_ textView: UITextView) validate user input and show any warning if you found not allowed words.

I find the quibbling over “not an ally, but not an enemy either” both dumb and noncommittal. If you don’t know much about me, know this: I have found that I loath this kind of behavior. It pisses me off to no end. I encounter it every day on the road when I pause to let people by and they sit there like a lump-on-a-log, wasting my and their time/gas. Asked about the president’s comment, White House National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor said: “‘Ally’ is a legal term of art. We don’t have a mutual defense treaty with Egypt like we do with our NATO allies. But as the President has said, Egypt is long-standing and close partner of the United States, and we have built on that foundation by supporting Egypt’s transition to democracy and working with the new government.” Not only does he try to walk it back, but he sends some peon spokesman to do his graveling to the American people for the shake of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. I feel used. Instead, I will be personally working every day to get Governor Mitt Romney elected. I was at the Lake County, Florida REC yesterday and this woman was calling to complain that Mitt Romney isn’t doing enough to get elected. I told her we are the Romney Campaign (more or less, since we are the Republican Party) and we are doing everything we can, and that she should be there at the office making phone calls. She quibbled (again, something the pisses me off to no end) and then hung-up. So, what is it going to be RedState Reader? Are you going to quibble about what Romney is or is not doing*? Or are you going to go down to your local REC and start phone banking? Are you going to spend 24/7 here on RedState with people you already agree with**? Are you going to break open that Phone Book you normally use as a door stopper and start making calls yourself?

AH Squid Girl.......this anime has to be in one of my all-time top 5 of favorite comedy animes. If you must ask what #1 is.....it's likely one MANY MANY of you never heard of but it's fantastic...Nichijou. Those that are in my stream know I we've pretty much blitzed that anime about 3 times since 2015. It never gets old. Anyway back to Squid Girl I LOVE this anime. I will be very happy if some of you know this anime cause it's just gold. I HAD to finally make a Derpy anthro so why better not do it with one of the most random characters around in anime and a total idiot at time.....Squid Girl.So here's something funny. I have seen this type of pose EVERYWHERE in a way. I've seen this on prints on anime cons, in the pony fandom, and on random other anime characters I've seen here and there on the net. This was a pose I was intrigued about trying and I decided to fire it up with this one. The hardest part honestly trying out a pose like this is those legs. I am not used to putting and figuring out how the legs are suppose to bend like that so I got some help on that. My BGs I will say are getting better with each anthro I do. It tricky for someone like me who usually heavily free hands with the path tool if you ever seen my streams and stuff cause I literally have to think on the spot how to do these....and buildings are by far the biggest pain the ass I still have on BGs. Squid Girl has a LOT of buildings in them and while it's good practice this was one of those pics I severely underestimated how tricky that far part of this BG was gonna be. The anime has a pain of a time trying to figure out how those railings and barriers are suppose to be. What I mean is figuring out which going with a sidewalk and which is part of a fence. I literally had to dig through about 5 EPs to find out which was which. That said I got work to do to get better on these but it's good for what I can do for now.FYI....I love making the beach.Alright so...that will do it on this. As for why I did Derpy....easy.....Squid Girl is the Derpy of anime in a way. She's a nutcase but smart in her own random way.I really want to do another Squid Girl Derpy one down the road again. I really do like this anime a lot and I am a sucker for Derpy stuff so...we'll see.Onward to next comic. Derpy © HasbroArt © Me

Two arab kids attempt to stab Israeli police officers and get shot downThis happened after Israel let Jewish citizens into the Temple mount in Islamic "Sacrifice Feast" holiday

Personally, I think Datsyuk is better than Zetterberg. He's just as good defensively, is a better passer, and has moves that freeze even the best players. However, I'll agree that Zetterberg is an elite type of player. Even though he isn't having the best season statistically, he does everything to help his team win at the cost of his own personal agenda. Somehow the Wings always seem to find these players...in the 4th round of the draft...and get to sign them long-term for only a 6 million dollar cap hit when another team would easily have a hit of 8. God, that sucks. The Wings' are just the best run hockey team hands down. Oh, and Zetterberg's line got the match-up with Crosby last Sunday and Crosby didn't even get a shot on goal. The Wings looked like the play-off Wings...they didn't even have Franzen playing, and their backup was in net (although to be fair Conklin is playing way better than Osgood at this point). Damnit. Comparing what a center does to a winger on defense is ridiculous. Center acts as a third defenceman clearing out the front, grinding in the corners, starting breakouts. Centers have to be able to do it all. Although for some reason I always found playing a wing harder. Wing is more focused on physical athleticism. The kind of people who have no defense, skate really fast, have mad dangles, and have great wrist shots always end up on wing. That always sucked for me because I was none of that, and I still played wing. That's why I was stuck on the checking line, although that was also pretty fun. Quote: Who would I want on my team right now? Ovechkin no questions asked. Who would I want to build my team around... Crosby.

Q: ASP Classic functionality with ASP.NET MVC I have a current site written in classic ASP VB and I would like to upgrade it and I have been working heavily in ASP.NET MVC 3. I would like to find a solution to get a system that works with both CLASSIC and ASP.NET. Is there a way to develop a new system in MVC and navigate in and out of CLASSIC and back into MVC workflow? If so, whats the best way to achieve this? A: Your biggest issue is state. In ASP, chances are you threw a lot of crap into the Session object. ASP.NET (MVC or web forms) and ASP do not share the same session (state), so you end up having to store state somewhere to have it continue to work. As long as you can get a place to store the state that both ASP and ASP.NET MVC can both consult, you can start migrating the pages piecemeal. If you cannot figure that out, you will have to scrap the ASP after you completely rebuild the site in ASP.NET MVC. NOTE: I have been leading migrations (ASP >> ASP.NET (both flavors) and VB >> VB.NET). Unless you absolutely have to use a mixed mode, you are better to rebuild and then migrate the site over rather than rely on a mixed site. The worst thing that can happen is somebody stored something stupid in session or application, that you did not envision, and you are now in a place where you are not keeping something important. And you probably find it after a user complains about some transaction they did that did not migrate and now you no longer have any information about it. NOTE 2: Sometimes clients want to migrate piecemeal and refuse to listen to you stating it is a bad idea. Your option, at this time, is move on to another client (or job) or do it. If "do it" is the option, make sure you have your butt covered, as this is a minefield.

Episode 13 "So I just need a bit of help with the O.I.A.A.P." the new Boss blurts, bowling into Mission Control with a folder tucked under his arm. ... "The Overarching Information And Architecture Project," the Boss says, too green to know whether our blank expressions are genuine or whether we're being obstructive. "You know you're not suppose to capitalise the A in AND, don't you?" the PFY says, opting for obstructive. "It smacks of desperation. It should just be O.I.A.P." "He's saying you're pathetic," I say to the Boss. "I'd hit him!" "He was not!" the Boss says, not picking up the vibe of this conversation at all. "And I WILL not." "Suit yourself." "The Overarching Information And Architecture Project aims to determine the systems we have, the systems we need and what systems we will need into the future." "I'm sorry," I say. "I think I may have temporarily lapsed into a coma - It's a medical condition. I have a note." "The OVERARCHING INFORMATION AN.." "No, you lost me again," I interrupt. "I may need a lie-down." "And Overarching bit is a little redundant too isn't it?" The PFY chips in. "I mean you could just call it the I.A.P and it would still be the same thing." "Just a quick slap," I urge the Boss. "Then really put the slipper in when he goes down. It's the only thing he understands." The Boss, however, is maintaining his reserve. There are five main exercises undertaken by managers who don't have the wherewithal to do their job but want to look like they're contributing: A. A Review of "lessons from the past", B. The big push for documentation, C. An anal-gazing "Look-to-the-future" exercise, D. Team building and/or Group Dynamics, or, E. A comprehensive review of something to reach the conclusion they've already thought of. So we're talking about C or E. Either way, it's a black hole into which time and energy will be poured whereas the maximum workplace benefit would be derived from nailing the Boss into an airtight soundproof cupboard in the basement with an open drum of calcium chloride for several months. It's a fairly transparent attempt to get rid of everything we have here that he doesn't understand and replace it with some lame version of the same thing which costs four times as much, does half the job but produces a nicely coloured pie graph. So we're probably talking E. "What do you need?" the PFY asks. "I just need the Committee. I emailed everyone but only got one response." And we all know who the one respondent was - a crawly sycophantic toerag from the Hell Desk who thinks he can suck his way to the top by agreeing with every inane thought which crosses the Boss' mind. Allegedly. So it's Catch 22 - If providing input to this process is a drain on your time and will to live, being on the Committee is like being immersed in a jar of turd-scented treacle with a urinal drain as a snorkel. Which accounts for the lack of respondents. "Anyway, I was wondering if one of you two would li.." "YOU FAINTED!" I say, kindly, a couple of seconds later "AND HIT YOUR HEAD!" "Yes!" the PFY says, hiding his throbbing hand behind his back. "Let us help you into a seat." "Really?" the Boss says. "I thought I was going to ask you if you wanted to..." "YOU MISSED THE CHAIR!" I say, a couple of seconds even later, "AND BANGED YOUR HEAD ON THIS RUGGEDISED LAPTOP." You only get a chance to use the old "master reset" on a Boss a couple of times in their career before the deja vu kicks in - and if you've got to play that card you may as well play it to get out of being on a Committee. Especially a committee like this one which a scope so open-ended it could see you through to retirement. ... As it turns out while we dodged a bullet avoiding the committee we collected a 40 pound shell we got slapped onto the working party. Apparently the first thing the newly-formed two-man committee did was create a list of people who would be on the two-man "working group" - the PFY and myself. So perhaps one too many master-resets after all. Now the Committee of an infrastructure and architecture project has the dubious pleasure of scores of seemingly endless meetings to decide upon a project framework, project goals and project champions before getting down to the real nitty-gritty important stuff of deciding the font to use in the survey document, but the Working Group will be the people who'll actually administer the survey. They'll talk to people individually, collate their responses, analyse those responses against the project framework and present the analysis to the committee so that it can be completely ignored when the Boss does everything he wanted to do in the first place but needed an investigation to support. ... "...so to give you a bit of background for your questions I thought I'd give you an overview of our EXISTING infrastructure first" I say to the Boss and sycophant. "So you have a better idea of what we have and what we do and what to ask." "So we've got.... nothing?" the sycophant says sarcastically, gesturing around the mostly empty room. "Not quite nothing," I say, pointing as I step backwards through the door. "There's that large drum. And this nail gun." >SLAM< >CLONKA! CLONKA! CLONKA! CLONKA!<

Theroux always tackles touchy subjects, sometimes with interviews that make your skin crawl. His interview with Joe Jackson, and another with the Westboro Baptist Church were gob-smacking television. Upon his return, Theroux will be looking at the White Aryan Resistance movement in America, the KKK and Nazi’s who believe in ethnic cleansing. Bound to be unsettling and uncompromising. Intrepid television host Louis Theroux travels through California trying to find a little humanity amongst some of America’s most notorious and committed Nazis. Louis first encounters April Gaede at a Nazi rally where her two beautiful eleven-year-old daughters, Lamb & Lynx, sing racist songs to a captivated audience of skinheads. April sees the world entirely through racist eyes and has made her children poster kids for the neo Nazi movement in the States. The girls at times appear endearing, but Louis quickly becomes horrified when they describe their favorite computer game, Ethnic Cleansing, and sing boisterously along to white power songs in the car. Louis travels to Fallbrook, a small town half an hour outside San Diego to meet Tom Metzger and his family. Tom is one of America’s most famous racists. A Grand Dragon of the KKK in the seventies, a congressional candidate in the eighties, he’s now the leader of White Aryan Resistance, a self-styled revolutionary group. However, Metzger’s life seems full of contradictions, he happily sings karaoke to a bar full of non white clientele, and while doing the rounds one day for his television repair business we meet Oscar, a mixed race chap from Peru who Tom greets warmly and describes as a friend… could it be that Tom is a hypocrite? Tom’s support comes largely from people like Skip and his wife Heather – hardcore Nazi skinheads. During a Sunday barbecue things soon turn nasty when Louis refuses to declare if he’s Jewish...

About I was first introduced to the title “foodie” by some friends of mine from the Bay Area. They assembled a small group of friends who were bound together by, of all things, sportscar racing. Yes, a bunch of grease monkey types who liked to hang out with their cars on pavement for days at a time all got together for a weekend of tasting and enjoying wonderful food. We spent a weekend together, dining all over Southern California a few years back, grabbing brunch on Melrose at Blue Jam Cafe, beers and burgers at Father’s Office in Century City, an ice-cream cookie sandwich at Diddy Riese, Churrascaria at M Gril in Koreatown, and bottomless mimosas with ecclectic art and Japanese pop culture at Royal/T in Culver City. All over the place in just over 30 hours… yet, all right in my backyard of Southern California. A lot of people hear the term foodie and immediately equate snobbery. In fact, in my time moderating a foodie group, there have been quite a few who have attacked whenever a fast food meal is mentioned. “A real foodie would never eat that crap.” To that I say, “Bullshit.” Everyone has guilty pleasures, and now and then you have to indulge in an otherwise awful meal to truly appreciate greatness. You don’t have to dine at four star restaurants exclusively to be a foodie. You don’t have to ever dine out even, but of course personal chefs are not a requirement either. You don’t have to grow your own organic kale in your backyard to be a foodie. You don’t to grind your own coffee beans, or even make sure that they’re fair trade certified. You don’t have to cook every meal at home to gourmet standards, sometimes we all need a helping of blue box macaroni and cheese. Being a foodie is about taking time to appreciate what you’re eating, and probably more importantly who you’re eating it with. Being a foodie is appreciating that someone has taken time to prepare the meal which you’re about to eat, and often times has done it not because it’s a job, but because it is a passion. Being a foodie is about shared experiences with a meal, both good and bad. Most importantly, being a foodie is about being inspired by what you eat; so much so that you you simply have to share it with someone else in the hopes that they are inspired too. I started SCVFoodies to share what inspires me with you, and hope that it inspires you to try new things, rekindle old traditions, make memories with friends and family, and most importantly, taste the love that goes into every meal. Welcome. I hope that you’ll stay and enjoy, and share with us as you find your inspiration.

Ask HN: What tool do you use to keep track of all passwords? - DCTech What tool do you guys use to keep track of all of your startup accounts and passwords? ====== Rust My brains alone. Over the years I've developed a pattern I can remember easily, and apply another pattern to it based on the site or app's name. It's a simple math formula that changes the entire password instead of just applying a suffix or prefix to an existing strong password. Ironically, the only site this fails on is my banking site which has wish-it- was-2-factor authentication and a limit of 8 characters for the password. Stupid. ~~~ DCTech Right on! But what if you have a team of employees and interns that need access to different accounts. You can't expect them all to memorize unique passwords. ~~~ Rust True enough. But all they'd have to memorize is one hard password (or even a pattern like 102938), and one modifier pattern based on the URL of the site. A simple example, using 102938 as the base password would be taking the main name part of the url (eg. www.google.com would just be "google"), converting each letter to a number (g = 7, o = 15, o = 15, g = 7, l = 12, e = 5), adding them all together (61), divide that by the number of characters used (61 / 6 = int(10.16) = 10), then add that result to every pair of numbers in the original password (10 + 10 = 20, 29 + 10 = 39, 38 + 10 = 48), giving you a password of 203940 for that site :) EDIT: forgot to make this hard to crack. Again, the pattern approach can work - 203948 for "google" could easily and predictably become "go20og39le48@mycompany" or some such. ------ craigmd Lastpass. It's awesome. I use it for passwords, but also as a digital lockbox for random account information where I don't want to keep the cards. A lot better than evernote, which is where I used to keep this type of stuff.

Pin Share 1 Shares The erstwhile Queen of Nice is having a tough year. Rosie O’Donnell’s turbulent time on “The View” is but a memory. These days, she’s co-starring on the Showtime series “Smilf” and rage Tweeting against President Donald Trump. Her latest Tweet takes the proverbial cake. It also points to overtly illegal behavior. so how about this i promise to give 2 million dollars to senator susan collins and 2 million to senator jeff flake if they vote NO NO I WILL NOT KILL AMERICANS FOR THE SUOER RICH DM me susan DM me jeff no shit 2 million cash each — ROSIE (@Rosie) December 20, 2017 You don’t need to be a legal scholar to see what’s wrong with this offer, which she repeatedly backed up with subsequent Tweets. Social media wasn’t as kind to her as Newsweek, the fading/failing outlet which put the most whimsical spin on her comments. Twitter users begged to differ. Here are 12 response Tweets that will make O’Donnell’s bad 2017 a little worse. You’re concerned about “killing Americans with this criminal bill,” but not concerned about killing babies in the womb by abortion? — DeplorableShawnPatrick (@ShawnPatrickRI) December 20, 2017 The fact that you can pretend to know what’s right and wrong for our Country then tweet an absurdly illegal offer to get your wish is astonishing. Thanks for showing incompetency on these issues — Kevin McKernan (@Kevin_McKernan8) December 20, 2017 How bout you use your 4m to actually help some sick kids (St. Jude’s?)or homeless vets or put decent food in soup kitchens. 4m can go a long way to helping many people. Don’t be such a hack #Rosie — TonyNJ Proud Deplorable (@tcar633) December 20, 2017 How will we bury all the millions of dead after the Tax cuts are signed by the POTUS? This is going to be a logistical nightmare. — Remo Williams (@IamRemoWilliams) December 20, 2017 Congratulations, you just publicly attempted to bribe 2 US Senators! Enjoy the visit from the @FBI. Don’t bother deleting it. Screen shots abound. — Ted (@TAFischer) December 20, 2017 Because you have money, you should be able to influence politics more than the people who voted them into office? Typical. — Ally Taft (@AllyTaft) December 20, 2017 It’s this still up? 1. The bill passed. 2. You’re incriminating yourself 3. Do you have any idea how absolutely loony you sound? Probably not. 4. Merry Christmas! — JP Wells 🇺🇸 (@JPW3775) December 20, 2017 I for one am excited about the tax cut but being I don’t have 2 to 4 million dollars to illegally bribe any senators like you do Rosie I guess your say is more important than mine. Buying votes? The height of corruption. — oswin (@Win_some_) December 20, 2017 This completes a great 2017. Imagine a left loon, who extols the evils of the rich, using her (sorry if gender offends) wealth to control outcomes. The irony is palpable. #mirror — Taylor (@oldarmy1) December 20, 2017 If Trump doesn’t savagely dunk on Rosie on Twitter for trying to bribe Flake and Collins, why did we elect him? — Allahpundit (@allahpundit) December 20, 2017 Did Rosie O’Donnell actually publicly attempt to bribe GOP Senators or was that my pain medication? — Michele Frost (@michelelfrost) December 20, 2017 I would totally take Rosie’s 2 million, then still vote yes on the bill. — Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) December 20, 2017 BONUS: Here’s fellow Leftist Louise Mensch trying to reel her comrade back into Reality Land. It’s bribery, I know you’re joking but you cannot pay lawmakers to vote. We’re almost @Russia but not quite yet How about you help fund their opponents if they vote the wrong way, pretty sure that’s legal 🙂 — Louise Mensch (@LouiseMensch) December 20, 2017

IT WILL AIR ON DECEMBER 2nd ON THE 6:00 NEWS RIGHT HERE ON KELOLAND TV. GOOD NEWS FOR THE SIOUX FALLS SCHOOL DISTRICT. THE FINAL NUMBERS ARE IN ON THE NEW $9 MILLION HIGH SCHOOL, AND THEY ARE WAY UNDER BUDGET. THE NEW THOMAS JEFFERSON HIGH SCHOOL IN THE NORTHWEST PART OF THE CITY IS STARTING TO TAKE SHAPE. YOU'RE STARTING TO SEE SOME PRECAST PANELS GOING UP NOW ON THE GYMNASIUM, A LOT OF THE STEEL IS SHOWING UP ON-SITE, SO THERE WILL BE A PROGRESSION. Reporter: TODAY THE DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONAL SERVICES, JEFFCIDEER, VISITED WITH THE MEDIA TO UPDATE US ON THE PROGRESS OF THE NEW HIGH SCHOOL AND THE OVERALL NUMBERS. HE SAID THE BASED ON ALL OF THE PROJECTS SO FAR HAVE COME $5 MILLION UNDER BUDGET. I WOULDN'T PAN PICK WE PARTICIPATE LITTLE OVERBUDGET, SO I'M NOT GOING CELEBRATE TOO MUCH, GIVEN THE FACT THAT WE'RE UNDER BUDGET. BUT GIVEN THE ALTERNATIVE, OVER AND UNDER, I'M GLAD WE'RE UNDER AT THIS POINT. SO IT GIVES US A LITTLE WIGGLE ROOM, HELPS US PREPARE FOR ANY UNFORESEEN EXPENSES THAT COME OUR WAY. Reporter: CIDER SAID THEY ARE STILL WAITING FOR BIDS ON SOME OF THE INTERIOR WORK AND FURNISHINGSING, BUT THAT KNOWN IS ALREADY FIGURED INTO THE BUDGET. GRAPHICS FOR MASCOT ON THE GYM, PAINTED IMAGING IN THE GYM. THE VIDEO SCOREBOARDS. Reporter: AND THOMAS JEFFERSON HIGH SCHOOL IS ON

One woman's journey to go from a size 26/28 to a 8/6. One day at a time. Wednesday, June 17, 2009 Snakes vs Walking THEY WIN! So we went to a favorite ice cream shop with our friends. I had a kids sherbert LOL. It is about 8 miles away so I said to my friends who are all dieting too let's walk home. We do 5 miles a night walking together on the track this could be fun. So only 1 said ok. I didn't even think about the route and my fears1. no sidewalks we live in the country but are all from Long Island NY and NJ2. critters aka SNAKES!!!!3. dogs4. creepy men driving by5. dark streets and it was 730 when we started out So we walk and the ice cream place is in farm country and the first house we see I know from driving by that they have pit bulls. I tell my friend yep that is a pit so make no eye contact let's keep walking. They must have had a electric fence cause he stayed in the yard. But as we walk by the house my friend starts screaming SNAKE SNAKE did I mention I am deathly afraid of snakes? In the 5th grade I opened a book to a picture of one and threw it across the room they called my mom in to see if I was ok. As a child I grew up in FL until I was 6 and my brothers would torture me with snakes I think and lizards as any reptile really scares the beejezzies out of me.So we start running and the dog is barking and I am fearing that this damn snake is going to jump up and get either one of us and the dog is going to finish us off. My friend turns and says the dog is not coming and the snake is dead. But it is red. What the hell kind of snake is red? So we are walking in the middle of a road which by the way is a busy road 2 lanes and speed limit 55 and we come upon a recreational grass airport. I refuse to walk in the grass so I am in the road and we have a car that is turning out....well a van of men who start screaming and beeping at us.....Hello keep moving or get pulled into the van I am thinking. I was way to many CSI shows. So we are moving....I am keeping my eyes on the road and grass and see another freaking snake. It was black and greenish large and coiled up right on the side of the road in the grass. I scream to my friend, "Run it is a snake it is poised to attack!!!" I am in the middle of the road running in circles snake snake snake! She can't see it and is following me in circles. I scream give me your phone as she is pushing me out of the road to the other side of traffic so we can see cars coming cause I almost killed us in the road! I call my husband and tell him come get us! I am not walking home snakes are out to get us and we might just be moving if we have this many snakes here! So we are walking to this home community that is vacant no one is buying houses and what do we see another dead snake in the road in the subdivision!!!! So my husband got us he dropped us off at the track by our house and we walked 3 miles, we did at least a 1/2 mile on the snake infested road and a 1/2 mile walk back to my house to get home. So in all 4 miles at least for the day. I got a pedometer at walmart 5.00 not to bad right! It tracks steps and miles so I started yesterday with it. I did over 12K steps and I walked 3+ miles. I didn't go work out yesterday got my period and really didn't feel like working out. I took the kids for a 1 1/2 mile walk on the track yesterday but that was it. I go to get weighed in tomorrow my scale is up 2 lbs so I am probably going to be up but I am ok with it I was PMS'ing and didn't do so great these last 3 days.Hoping the scale is moving in the right direction for you all!Michelle 2 comments: ROFL... that's one of th only problems with walking in the country. Last time I walked out in the country I saw one snake, and a frisky little calf followed me for a while. Last pedometer I bought (for $15 at WalMart) was lousy. It measured 5 - 10 steps for each step I take. Some day I'm going to find one that works! About Me Wanna follow me on my journey? GOAL I started this journey in 2008 to find the skinny under my fat. I used Weight Watchers and the gym to try to find it. After 3 years and researching weight loss surgery I have decided to do RNY Gastric Bypass in the Spring of 2012. I will find the Skinny Under My Fat!

Agency at center of molestation controversy caught in flagrant lie in pathetic effort to counter growing resistance Paul Joseph Watson Prison Planet.com Wednesday, November 10, 2010 UPDATE: Drudge Stirs National Debate On TSA Abuse UPDATE: TSA Gives Rapists And Illegals The Green Light While Groping Children Despite multiple reports of TSA agents groping, molesting and sexually assaulting passengers in a nationwide epidemic of abuse, a TSA.gov website claims that there are no instances of groping or even squeezing occurring at all, and that TSA agents are completely “professional” in their duties. The denial appears on the blog.tsa.gov website, an official Transport Security Administration clearinghouse for news about the TSA and airport security. After being asked the question, “Why are you posting about this and not about TSA’s ongoing sexual assault on travelers who don’t wish to be irradiated by untested machines run by poorly trained screening clerks?,” Bob the TSA blogger responds with the following. A d v e r t i s e m e n t “There is no fondling, squeezing, groping, or any sort of sexual assault taking place at airports. You have a professional workforce carrying out procedures they were trained to perform to keep aviation security safe.” This claim is of course a flagrant lie designed to quell the massive backlash against invasive new airport security measures which is being led by numerous prominent travel and pilots associations. New TSA “pat down” measures introduced at the end of last month for people who refuse the dangerous naked body scan involve TSA agents using the front of their hands and literally cupping and squeezing women’s breasts and men’s testicles. As USA Today reported last week, “The searches require screeners to touch passengers’ breasts and genitals.” The video below demonstrates the procedure. The photograph linked here also clearly shows a TSA agent fondling a women’s breasts. Another image linked here shows a TSA agent fondling an elderly woman’s breasts. As ExpressJet Airlines pilot Michael Roberts recently told CNN, during the multiple times he was able to bypass airport security he witnessed passengers being “aggressively” groped and fondled. “They’re not just patting people’s arms and legs, they’re grabbing and groping and prodding,” said Roberts. Writing about his own treatment, Roberts relates the story of how he was interrogated and eventually had his job placed under threat after refusing to be groped by TSA agents. Don’t be fooled into thinking that sexual molestation of airport passengers is only a recent phenomenon. Back in 2002, we covered the story of how Nicholas Monahan’s pregnant wife feared losing her baby after a traumatic experience during which her breasts were fondled aggressively by TSA workers and she was made to lift her skirt in front of hundreds of other passengers. Monahan was subsequently thrown in the airport jail for complaining about the brutal treatment of his wife which left her in tears. (ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW) One of our own employees was also subject to sexual molestation at the hands of a male TSA worker, who groped and fondled her breasts and genitals, before attempting to do the same to her 8-year-old daughter. The ritual abuse and humiliation of innocent passengers at the hands of TSA thugs has been going on for at least nine years. We hear stories just about every week from people who go through traumatic and degrading experiences at the hands of low grade morons in TSA uniforms. The TSA blogger claims that the agency displays the characteristics of a “professional workforce”. If you consider screaming “I am god, I’m in charge,” as one TSA agent at LAX did earlier this year, or if you consider TSA colleagues taunting their co-worker about the size of his penis after he passed through a body scanner as “professional,” then you also probably think that discriminating against the elderly and disabled by subjecting them to intense harassment and debasement, while physically attacking women, is also perfectly reasonable. Pulling down disabled men’s pants to reveal their underwear in public view, stripping teenage girls with prosthetic legs, and making women pull out their nipple rings with pliers is also entirely “professional” according to the TSA. To claim that the TSA is a “professional” body could not be further from the truth. This is a cadre of mental incompetents, perverts and jackboots who get off on sexually molesting, interrogating and abusing mainly women, children and the elderly. Now that their reputation has been torn to shreds and a huge resistance is building against airport tyranny, TSA apologists are being forced to lie and spin the manifestly provable fact that travelers are now being subjected to abusive so-called “pat-down” procedures that would be considered too extreme for most prison inmates. ********************* Paul Joseph Watson is the editor and writer for Prison Planet.com. He is the author of Order Out Of Chaos. Watson is also a fill-in host for The Alex Jones Show. Watson has been interviewed by many publications and radio shows, including Vanity Fair and Coast to Coast AM, America’s most listened to late night talk show. This article was posted: Wednesday, November 10, 2010 at 6:11 am Print this page. Infowars.com Videos: Comment on this article

Thai skin-whitening ad sparks outrage on social media Wattanapak Jinsirivanich, managing director of Yulihan Group (Thailand), the company that produces Seoul Secret beauty products, poses next to an ad for Seoul Secret Collagen Peptide during an interview with Reuters in Bangkok January 9, 2016. REUTERS/Jorge Silva BANGKOK (Reuters) - An advertisement for a skin-whitening product in Thailand has drawn criticism on social media and sparked debate over beauty ideals and advertising standards by claiming you “need to be white to win”. A pale complexion is highly valued in Thailand, particularly by women, and is associated with a high social status. Darker, tanned skin is associated with lower class people who work outside in the fields. The advertisement, for a skin-whitening pill called “Snowz”, made by Thai brand Seoul Secret, and posted on video website YouTube, features one actress whose skin gets darker next to a rival with light skin. “You just need to be white to win,” runs the tagline. Some members of Thai-language forum Pantip.com were dismayed and angry. “I‘m perfectly fine being dark-skinned and now you’re saying I’ve lost? Hello? What?” said member 1575141. “Suggesting people with dark skin are losers is definitely racist,” said another user. It is the latest in a series of advertisements deemed insensitive that have drawn criticism in Thailand. “Thai craze for whiteness rears its ugly head again,” a prominent social-media commentator who goes by the name of Kaewmala posted on Twitter. The video was removed from YouTube later on Friday. Wattanapak Jinsirivanich, managing director of Yulihan Group (Thailand), the company that produces Seoul Secret beauty products, apologized and said the advert was not meant to stir controversy. “We did not intend to create this issue,” he said. “We would like to apologize and we will fix it.” “Our message is to take good care of yourself and continue to do so.” Additional reporting by Patpicha Tanakasempipat; Editing by Robert Birsel

Intersex intersectionalities with lesbian and gay communities Morgan Carpenter, OII Australia board member, wrote and presented this paper at the After ‘Homosexual’ conference in Melbourne on 4 February 2012. The conference marked the fortieth anniversary of Dennis Altman’s book Homosexual: Oppression and Liberation. The 10-minute presentation was delivered as part of a curated panel on intersectionalities. Introduction I’d like to pay my respects to the indigenous owners of the land, and their elders past and present. I’m speaking today as a member of OII Australia, a local intersex activist organisation that’s aligned with the LGBTI movement because of our common experience of homophobia, and misogyny. It’s clear at the conference that there’s no settled view on the inclusion of the ‘I’, so I’m going to present a few stories, mostly public ones, and a little history – to illuminate some of the intersections between intersex and the rest of the LGBTI communities. Firstly, though, what is intersex? Intersex is where a person’s biological sex is not clearly male or female; a person might have characteristics of both or neither. It’s always congenital. Someone can find out or be discovered to be intersex at birth, puberty, when trying to conceive a child, or serendipitously. It’s not an identity: it’s not in our heads, although some of us will opt out of the gender binary. It’s typically carved into our bodies. Two stories about heterosexuality Hanne Blank, a fat activist and writer of a new history of heterosexuality called Straight was recently interviewed in Salon magazine. It reports: While Blank looks like a feminine woman, her partner is extremely androgynous, with little to no facial hair and a fine smooth complexion. Hanne’s partner is neither fully male, nor fully female; he was born with an unconventional set of chromosomes, XXY, that provide him with both male genitalia and feminine characteristics. As a result, Blank’s partner has been mistaken for a gay woman, a straight man, a transman — and their relationship has been classified as gay, straight and everything in between. Phoebe Hart is a young, married, Australian woman with male chromosomes and Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome, which means that her body doesn’t respond to testosterone in a typical way. Her autobiographical movie, Orchids: My Intersex Adventure, screened on ABC1 last weekend and is still available on iView for another week. It has also screened during queer film festivals around the country and overseas. About half an hour into the movie, she asks her husband, James, how he felt when she told him she was intersex. He says: …once I found out what AIS was, I was confronted with the fact that I thought I might be gay myself. Genetically you’re a male! But I think you can fall in love with the person. Whether that person is male or female doesn’t really matter. As a side note, I had a similar discussion with my then long-term male lover just after diagnosis, with a very different outcome. Phoebe had internal testicles that produced testosterone. These were removed in adolescence due to a slight risk of cancer. What Phoebe doesn’t say in her movie is that risk is less than the cancer risk associated with having breasts. So why aren’t breasts routinely removed? The reason has to be that women are not supposed to have testicles. It’s a matter of shame, a secret. But bodies need sex hormones, to mature, to maintain a libido, prevent osteoporosis and a host of other reasons. Removing her functional gonads means that she now needs lifelong hormone replacement treatment, with all the risks associated with that. Medicalisation Medicalisation goes back centuries, and for much of that time there was no clear differentiation between LGB, T and I. Michel Foucault presented the case of Herculine Barbin, in nineteenth century France. Siobhan Somerville in Queering the Color Line reports “as late as 1921, medical journals contained articles declaring that a physical examination of [female homosexuals] will in practically every instance disclose an abnormally prominent clitoris” and that this is “particularly so in colored women”. A key change happened in the 1950s, when New Zealand doctor John Money declared that sex equals nurture, not nature. His (now discredited) work led to standard medical protocols that still result in cosmetic genital surgery on infants and children with intersex variations. Even now, in Australia, these are performed to prevent social and familial discomfort, despite medical research that shows poor satisfaction with surgery. The trauma associated with these surgeries led to the establishment of an intersex movement, initially through a magazine advert and later online. The immediate priority of the movement, led by the Intersex Society of North America, was to engage with the medical profession, and this led in 2006 to a “consensus statement” that changed the terminology associated with intersex. It introduced the term “Disorders of Sex Development” or DSD. The aim was to create a non-pejorative, value-neutral term to replace “intersex” and “hermaphrodite”. In a very literal sense it was homophobic: it aimed to eliminate a parental and social fear of homosexuality and queerness in an attempt to improve patient outcomes. It failed. Current rationales for infant genital surgery The 2006 Consensus Statement on management of intersex itself describes the “rationale for early reconstruction” on infant genitals as including, … minimizing family concern and distress, and mitigating the risks of stigmatization and gender-identity confusion… Prenatal treatment to prevent homosexuality and masculinisation in CAH women CAH, Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia, is a manageable salt wasting condition that requires lifelong treatment. In women, it’s also associated with higher levels of prenatal testosterone, and a degree of physical and mental “masculinisation”. In 1999, Columbia University psychologist Heino Meyer-Bahlburg published a paper entitled What Causes Low Rates of Child Bearing in CAH?: CAH women as a group have a lower interest than controls in getting married and performing the traditional child-care/house-wife role. As children, they show an unusually low interest in engaging in… maternal play, motherhood… Meyer-Bahlburg proposes that “treatment with prenatal dexamethasone might cause these girls’ behaviour to be closer to heterosexual norms”. In an analysis that clearly shows the homophobic nature of these concerns, Alice Dreger tells how Meyer-Bahlburg and Dr Maria New of Mount Sinai School of Medicine in NY published research in 2008 stating: Most women were heterosexual, but the rates of bisexual and homosexual orientation were increased above controls… and correlated with the degree of prenatal androgenization. Dreger describes, in 2010, New and fellow pediatric endocrinologist Saroj Nimkarn (Weill Cornell Medical College) to be “constructing low interest in babies and men – and even interest in what they consider to be men’s occupations and games – as “abnormal,” and potentially preventable with prenatal dex”. Dexamethasone is a class C steroid that, in tests on sheep, has been shown to result in reduced mental capacity. It’s also linked to low birth weight, a greater incidence of cleft palate and other issues. Terminations Genetic screening is now available for CAH and XXY, via amniocentesis. OII Australia is currently examining the effects of this in Australia, and preliminary research shows a drop in number of live births with these intersex variations. Conclusions The shift to DSD failed to change the system. It’s failed to change medical protocols. It has also come close to destroying the intersex movement. We’ve had to start almost from scratch. It is almost impossible for us to engage with the medical profession directly. In many ways, the experience of intersex people shows what happens when a group of “disordered” people are found to be “born this way”. Being trans remains a disorder, while no treatable biological cause has been established. Being gay or lesbian is no longer a disorder to doctors in most countries, even though this remains contentious in some major political and religious institutions. The big weakness in the early intersex movement was a failure to organise around the causes of this medical treatment – homophobia, misogyny. We have to focus on the human rights and ethical case for liberation. Intersex people are aligned with the “LGBTI” movement because of the nature of our oppression. We seek the right to be ourselves as we are, in the context of infant and adolescent surgery, adult relationship and medical issues. Even “straight” intersex people and their partners have to question and address issues with their sexual orientation and gender identity. We’ve been here all along, and we need to be included – especially in campaigns around health and social services practices and policies, employment protection, and other frameworks for our LGBTI communities. Notes 1. OII Australia does not support the establishment of a third gender category, but does seek the ability for all adults to opt out of the gender binary and use neutral sex or gender markers on legal documents. For more on the 2003 and 2011 ‘X’ passport reforms see here. 2. Intersex is about an experience of the body, not identity. Nor is intersex synonymous with androgyny. Any person, intersex or otherwise, may feel more comfortable with a non-binary identity such as intergender, or genderqueer. 3. There are many more intersex variations than those mentioned in this presentation. 4. We reject pathologising language, such as “disorders”. Intersex variations are a natural part of the human condition. 5. With thanks to Gina Wilson, chairperson of OII Australia, Hida Viloria, chair of OII, and Gavriel Ansara for help during the researching of this paper. The article includes some minor changes post-delivery at the conference. 6. Republishing this presentation is subject to written consent on terms available by request. (Sharing the link is, of course, ok).

p + u*o. What is p rounded to the nearest 100000? 300000 Let x = -13879490 - -9479490. What is x rounded to the nearest one million? -4000000 Let v be -3 + (392/12)/(4/78). What is v rounded to the nearest one hundred? 600 Let s(d) = 2*d - 5. Let j be s(4). Suppose -2*c - j*u = -2791, -3*u = -c - 53 + 1462. What is c rounded to the nearest one thousand? 1000 Let t = -28.4 + 32. Let g = -3.628 - 0.512. Let o = t + g. What is o rounded to one dp? -0.5 Let i = 18 - 18.009. Let d = i + 0.125. Round d to 2 dps. 0.12 Let t = -132711579 - -132711645.0000155. Let d = t - 66. Round d to 6 dps. 0.000016 Let a = 0.01 - -12.99. Let u = 13.00000101 - a. Round u to seven decimal places. 0.000001 Let t(j) = 63000*j**2. Let n = -4 + 5. Suppose 3*v = -2 - n. Let h be t(v). Round h to the nearest 10000. 60000 Let v(c) = 15557*c - 14. Let z(x) = 1. Let f(r) = -v(r) - z(r). Let u be f(9). Round u to the nearest 100000. -100000 Let p = 111550 - 58695. Let y = 187201 + -283056. Let i = p + y. What is i rounded to the nearest 10000? -40000 Let u = -40 + -171. Let o = 360 + u. Let b = -149.00000101 + o. What is b rounded to seven dps? -0.000001 Let n(h) = 12*h**2 - 10*h - 8. Suppose 5*s = 27 - 102. Let j = 8 + s. Let g be n(j). Round g to the nearest one hundred. 700 Let b = 525 + -525.0494. Let g = -0.25 + 0.3. Let z = g + b. What is z rounded to 3 dps? 0.001 Let o = -3 - 4. Let l(f) = f**3 + 8*f**2 + 6*f - 7. Let p be l(o). Let s be -5600000 - 1 - (-1 - p). What is s rounded to the nearest one million? -6000000 Let i = -0.2 - -21.2. Let x = 20.999962 - i. Round x to 5 decimal places. -0.00004 Let c(a) = a + 134. Let g be c(0). Let q = 1134 - g. What is q rounded to the nearest one thousand? 1000 Let m = 0.59 - 0.58999. Round m to 6 decimal places. 0.00001 Let k(b) = -889*b**3 + 5*b + 6. Let h be k(-6). Suppose -l = -5*l - h. Round l to the nearest ten thousand. -50000 Let t be 4 - 6 - -3200004 - 2. What is t rounded to the nearest 100000? 3200000 Let c = 112.879 + -112.429038. Let k = c - 0.45. Round k to 5 dps. -0.00004 Let l = -0.910376 + -0.089645. Let y = -1 - l. Round y to 5 decimal places. 0.00002 Let m = -15 - -15.00000054. Round m to seven dps. 0.0000005 Let g = 0.1090108 + -0.8584346. Let r = g - -1.149423. Let a = 0.4 - r. Round a to 7 dps. 0.0000008 Suppose 5*q + 1141643 = 6794273. Suppose 2*z - 1199990 = -5*k, 3*z + q - 2930528 = k. What is z rounded to the nearest one hundred thousand? 600000 Let f = 66.956 + 0.044. Let w = f - 67.29. Let v = w - -0.2866. What is v rounded to 3 decimal places? -0.003 Let k = 66.634 + -67.6. Let g = -2.246 - -2.2. Let d = k - g. Round d to one decimal place. -0.9 Let k = -0.59 - -0.55. What is k rounded to 1 dp? 0 Suppose 4*l = 2*v - 2, -4*l - 3*v - 12 = -35. Suppose 0*r + 2 = r + 4*z, 0 = -r + 2*z + l. Let s be 2 - 413 - (-2)/r. Round s to the nearest 100. -400 Let d = 41 - -397. Let l = 162 + d. Round l to the nearest 1000. 1000 Let t(l) = 149*l**2 + 3*l - 7 - 10*l - 34523*l**2 - 1. Let c be t(8). Round c to the nearest 1000000. -2000000 Let k = 9.8 - -230.2. Let y = k - 123. Let u = 117.051 - y. Round u to 2 dps. 0.05 Let j(r) = -132223*r**3 - 2*r**2 - 2*r + 3. Let n be j(-3). Suppose 5950012 = 5*o - 2*p - 2*p, 3*o - 4*p = n. Round o to the nearest one hundred thousand. 1200000 Let z = 1899978 + -1899818.7007. Let i = z - 159.2. Let s = 0.1 - i. Round s to 4 decimal places. 0.0007 Let f be -1*(3 - 4)*3. Suppose f*y - 3980 = 2*s + 2*s, -3965 = -3*y + s. What is y rounded to the nearest one hundred? 1300 Let r be -3 + 2 - 2/2. Let v be r/((-4)/14) - 1. Let f be (-4)/(-6) + 680/v. What is f rounded to the nearest 10? 110 Let w = -62 + 42. Let x = w - -19.72. Round x to 1 decimal place. -0.3 Let b(s) = -6699999*s + 1. Let a(z) = 13399998*z - 2. Let t(o) = 3*a(o) + 5*b(o). Let r be t(-1). What is r rounded to the nearest 1000000? -7000000 Let i = 138 + -70. Let l = 68.114 - i. What is l rounded to 2 decimal places? 0.11 Let k = -23 + 23.22. Let m = k - 0.09. What is m rounded to two dps? 0.13 Let g = -33 - -48. Let c be ((-20)/g)/(2/(-3)). Suppose 0 = 3*x - c*x + 87. Round x to the nearest ten. -90 Let x be 65/9 - (-6)/(-27). Let k = 5 - x. Let o(q) = 365001*q + 2. Let u be o(k). Round u to the nearest one hundred thousand. -700000 Let x = 1.61 - -11.19. Let r = -4 + x. Round r to 0 decimal places. 9 Let q(r) = r**2 - 9*r. Let l be q(8). Let z be (-4)/16 - 25665018/l. Let a = 1208127 - z. Round a to the nearest one million. -2000000 Suppose 5*x = 3*x + 102. Suppose 7*p + x = 4*p. Let f = p - -8. Round f to the nearest 10. -10 Suppose -3*f = -52988272 - 20782760. Suppose f = 3*i + i. Suppose j = -i - 1652414. What is j rounded to the nearest one million? -8000000 Let t = -41269 - -41310.093. Let p = t - 0.093. Let u = p - 41.82. What is u rounded to 1 decimal place? -0.8 Suppose -4 = -2*m - 6. Let t be 2 + (-299998)/(-2) + m. What is t rounded to the nearest one hundred thousand? 200000 Let t = -225 + 224.999853. What is t rounded to 5 decimal places? -0.00015 Let m(r) = r**3 - 3*r**2 - 3*r - 1. Let x be m(4). Suppose -4*o + 3*n - 131 - 2383 = 0, -x*n - 1896 = 3*o. Round o to the nearest 100. -600 Let u = 1.1 - -2.1. Let o = u + -3.219. What is o rounded to two decimal places? -0.02 Let w = -100.4 - -0.4. Let c = -164167 - -164266.909. Let b = w + c. What is b rounded to 2 decimal places? -0.09 Suppose -5*o + 0*b + 3*b = -115, -2*o + 25 = 3*b. Suppose -6*p + o = -2*p. Suppose z + 1800000 = p*z. Round z to the nearest 100000. 500000 Let p(i) = -72844*i - 4. Let n(d) = 1. Let g(j) = 5*n(j) + p(j). Let y be g(1). Let h = 103843 + y. What is h rounded to the nearest 10000? 30000 Let o = -10 + 9.99845. Round o to four dps. -0.0016 Let h = -12.627403003 + 23406.677407803. Let a = -23394 + h. Let p = 0.05 - a. Round p to 6 decimal places. -0.000005 Let b = 571.848 + -575. Let g = b + 0.052. Let q = 3.0892 + g. Round q to three dps. -0.011 Let m = 6 + 0. Let i = 2635597.000003 - 2635603. Let d = i + m. What is d rounded to six decimal places? 0.000003 Let c = -4004 - -2157. Let o = 443 - c. Suppose -i = l - 2302, 0*i + 5*l = i - o. Round i to the nearest 1000. 2000 Let i be (-22)/(-5) - 4/10. Let j be 4/(-12)*1*-18. Suppose -j = -w - w, -2*k + i*w = -1499988. What is k rounded to the nearest one hundred thousand? 800000 Suppose -12*q - 19680000 = -8*q. What is q rounded to the nearest one hundred thousand? -4900000 Let m = -50.963 + -0.037. Let t = -51.0021 - m. What is t rounded to 3 dps? -0.002 Let o = 3.91633 - 3.967. Let y = o - -0.05. Round y to 4 dps. -0.0007 Let a = -144 - -144.292. Round a to 2 dps. 0.29 Let j = -113 + -967. What is j rounded to the nearest 100? -1100 Let d = 8 - 9.5. Let m = -55211.49942 + 55210. Let r = d - m. What is r rounded to four decimal places? -0.0006 Let j = -11 - -17. Let m = j - 5.999989. What is m rounded to six decimal places? 0.000011 Let p = -0.01 + 0.08. Let h = 0.04 + p. Let y = h + -0.11000065. Round y to seven decimal places. -0.0000007 Let d = 0.067 + -0.041. Round d to two dps. 0.03 Suppose 0 = -5*h - 5*t + 5250005, 6*h = 2*h + t + 4199999. What is h rounded to the nearest 100000? 1100000 Let t(f) = -42333*f - 5. Let x be t(15). What is x rounded to the nearest 10000? -640000 Let g = -16275.2 - -16275.1599914. Let q = -4.6 - -4.56. Let z = g - q. Round z to 6 dps. -0.000009 Let o = -0.03 + 0.02. Let a = -0.01064 - o. Round a to four decimal places. -0.0006 Let d(c) = 223*c**2 + 8*c - 3. Let n(r) = 112*r**2 + 4*r - 2. Let y(f) = 3*d(f) - 5*n(f). Let p be y(-3). What is p rounded to the nearest one hundred? 1000 Let h = 0.296 + -0.058. What is h rounded to two decimal places? 0.24 Suppose 2915417 = 3*j - 2676664. Suppose -j = 4*v + 575973. Round v to the nearest one hundred thousand. -600000 Let s be 21/(-9) - (-3)/9. Let h be s/(((-21)/6)/(-7)). What is h rounded to 0 decimal places? -4 Let x(l) = l**3 + 5*l**2 + 2*l - 2. Let c be x(-4). Let t = 20 + -16. Suppose v - 1720 = -2*z + c*v, -2*z = -t*v - 1716. Round z to the nearest 100. 900 Let o(p) be the first derivative of -212246*p**3/3 + 9*p**2/2 - 9*p - 5. Let b be o(7). Round b to the nearest one million. -10000000 Let t = -14 - -5. Let y = 15 + t. Let h = 7.04 - y. Round h to 1 decimal place. 1 Let g = 435.0000494 - 435. Roun

Q: Cannot store a large double into Oracle (ORA-01426: numeric overflow) In my Oracle (Oracle Database 11g Enterprise Edition Release 11.2.0.3.0 - 64bit Production), this query fails: select 9.1E+136 from dual; It tells me something like: ORA-01426: numeric overflow (I've tried 9.1E136, 9E136 as well). Which is really strange, since numbers up to about 2E+308 should be supported (http://docs.oracle.com/javadb/10.10.1.2/ref/rrefsqljdoubleprecision.html). I've bumped into this problem from an Hibernate application, which maps a double field to FLOAT with default precision of 126 (Should be more than enough (http://docs.oracle.com/javadb/10.8.3.0/ref/rrefsqlj27281.html). Anyone any idea? Depends on some configuration parameter? Thank you in advance. A: OK, I've found a solution: there is the binary_double type, numbers like that are cast to it when a d is appended to their value: select 9.1E+136d from dual; # works select 9.1E+136 from dual; # doesn't work create table test ( no binary_double primary key ); insert into test values ( 9.2E136d ); # OK insert into test values ( 9.3E136 ); # Fails So needlessly stupid...

Q: jquery text toggle onclick This is probably a stupid question, but I've only started learning, so please be patient :) ... why does this text toggling not work please? $(document).ready(function(){ textSwap(); $("#showHi").on("click", textSwap); $("#showBye").on("click", textSwap); }); var isHi = false; function textSwap() { if (isHi) { $("#text").html("<a href='#' id='showHi'>Bye</a>"); } if (!isHi) { $("#text").html("<a href='#' id='showBye'>Hi</a>"); } isHi = !isHi; } and: <div id="text">some text</div> A: Since there is no anymore .live in jQuery (or it's Deprecated not 100% sure), you must use .on on this way and it will work $("body").on("click", "#showHi", textSwap); $("body").on("click", "#showBye", textSwap);

What Happens When the Lights Go Out Brookelyn Winters and Ashton Patterson are two people that should not be together, but yet they're perfect for each other. They become the deadliest couple in school Follow them and their crazy antics with slime, creepy dolls, jelly beans, and much more.

Posts by Mark Morgan Re: VbV Yes it does. It depends on the card issuer. One of my cards Verified by Visa asks for the full password the other asks for random characters. My biggest gripe with it is that it responds "no that is not your password", you shout at it "yes it is". Select change password; Answer some staggeringly easy questions (you know, like mother's maiden name and postcode) and set your new password and it says "you've used that one before you can't have it" - at which point you punch the screen shouting "that's the bloody one I was entering before". You just end up in a loop resetting your password every single time you're forced to use it. Verified by Visa is just the banks attempting to offload their fraud liabilities on to the retailer. Re: Santander must also not be hashing passwords Santander 'upgraded' (NOT!) their security. Old Santander accounts require customer ID, full passcode and full registration number. Accounts opened in the last couple of years required customer ID and three random characters from the passcode and three random characters from the registration number. So they must be storing them using reversible encryption. and to make it look like they beefed up security they just changed the front end. No changes have gone into the way the data is stored. What do customers do when presented with three random character shite? They chose simpler passwords don't they? No point in trying to use a 20-character random generated one when they pull this crap on you. I don't use the Santander mobile app so can't speak for that one. The Tesco's one is worse. The three random characters required by Santander are in fields named in the HTML as x1, x2, x3 and the three characters random are annoyingly not in order either. The Tesco's site asks for the username (not email address), full password (good) but the three random characters of the security number are presented and named as x1, x2, x3, x4, x5, x6 with the three you don't have to enter greyed out. Re: We need a good backup solution Multiple backups is what is needed. But a NAS device alone only defends you against HD crashes and not disasters that take out all of the IT kit in your house which is where the cloud comes in. But remember too that neither are fully secure as Cryptolocker would encrypt your cloud storage and NAS drives if it detected them mounted as a network share in Windows. Synology NAS devices have been hit by a Cryptolocker clone - Synolocker - when they had been opened up for internet access and we've all heard what happened to celebrity's iClouds recently and unconfirmed mentions of Dropbox contents being amongst the celebrity files doing the rounds too. Re: High handed google again! I suspect you didn't "leave Youtube" as you put it but in fact deleted your Google account. Your Youtube, Picasa, Panoramio, Google+ and Google account are all one and the same these days. Only the Google Mail account is separated as you can delete that without deleting your Google account. I predict massive overblocking If it's anything like the blocking that I've accidentally switched on on my Orange (EE) phone (and can't switch off without a credit reference check to prove I'm 18 - even though I've been paying by direct debit for 13-years and you can't have direct debits on an account until you are 18 - or showing my passport in an Orange shop) then it'll be pants and block everything in sight. For instance in the last week I've had blocks on Tesco and the whole of CNET. Re: Annoying promotions I can't remember which channel it is that does it but there's a couple that regularly put adverts for the next episode of the programme you are watching in the ad breaks within the programme which can end up being huge plot spoilers for the current episode! Re: quiet coaches I seem to remember years ago talk of the new Pendolino's having a Faraday Cage built in to the quiet carriage. Nothing came of it probably due to cost rather than illegality. Can't find an article about that but found this later one which is interesting http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/10/30/faraday_train_windows/ Doubt it'll be coming my way soon either. Live in a village so everyone is wired directly to the exchange and no cabinets are around. Exchange itself gets on to backbone via local town 5-miles away, I believe, which has been upgraded and is 'Accepting Orders'. I'm guessing that it is fibre between the exchanges anyway and the village exchange would need new equipment in it for me to get it. SamKnows gives a figure of around 700 premises for the exchange so not sure it would ever be a target. Although my router claims to sync at 8Mbps (numerous speeds tests have been all over the place with the best being around 6.5Mbps but regularly down below 2Mbps) but trying to watch iPlayer or YouTube ends up frequently buffering and iPlayer drops out claiming not enough bandwidth. Re: @ Irongut ""Would you prevent a family having separate accounts on the same CC" ? - Yes, absolutely." Why? This is a PITA. Some credit card companies issue additional cards against the primary card holder's account with exactly the same 16-digit card number, start date, expiry date and even CVV2 number - Tesco Visa I'm looking at you. Which means on the few websites which do check for this then my wife can't use her credit card if I have an account on the site too e.g. Paypal. Thankfully many credit card companies, Barclaycard included, issue additional cards against the primary card holders account with a different 16-digit number. Re: Too much security too often? "Most of my online banking consists of checking the balance and sending money to exactly the same set of people." That certainly used to be the case but with cheques being phased out everybody you used to pay by cheque - builders, plumbers, electricians, etc - now need you to use the Fast Payment System (FPS - BACS on steroids) to transfer money to their account. But the banks now have you jumping through hoops just to add a payee making your life difficult. I initially though my Natwest card reader device was a neat idea but they then stopped me using it for both my business account and personal accounts and before long I've ended up with five of the beeldin' readers in the drawer, a special transaction card just to use for my business and no idea which is the right reader for what. I'd have to say that the Halifax Intelligent Finance way of doing it by giving you half a code online then texting you the other half is a lot easier. Year 4000 We'll have even more problems come the year 4000 (ye olde Y4K problem) when we realise that we should have adopted John Herschel's 4000-year leap year rule because we'll end up a whole day ahead when we add a leap day that we shouldn't. Starbucks have had free Wi-Fi for ages I've been using Starbucks free Wi-Fi for a couple of years. You just register a Starbucks card on their website. When you fire up the laptop, connect to the Starbucks BT Openzone hotspot and fire up the browser. You end up on a BT Openzone landing page with a Starbucks login option - no need to sign up to Openzone. The only time I tried a JD Wetherspoons hotspot the laptop couldn't handshake with the router. Data security These wear levelling algorithms for flash drives is why it's very difficult to securely earse data from one. Use something like Heidi Eraser on a file on a flash drive and you can still recover it as the wear levelling has written the zeros / random data to another part of the drive and marked the file's sectors for reuse and later garbage collection. I believe the only way around it is to securely erase the whole drive and not just individual files. Google Toolbar I don't see anyone complaining that their Google Toolbar running in Firefox has been updated silently by the Google Updater. I think it's great the way Google Updater silently updates all Google its products in the background and doesn't even require a reboot every time. Adobe and Microsoft take note! The only reason I know Chrome has been updated is because Secunia PSI tells me. I just wish the lot of them would get together and make one Über 'Windows' update that did the lot for every product that registers wih the update service. Not Google's fault This is clearly the fault of the Florida Sun-Sentinel not dating their articles correctly (bad website design), the news agency who picked up on it and didn't check before writing their tag line and posting it and the traders who accepted it all on blind faith and it didn't ring bells as being somewhat familiar. I used to run a blog where I trawled news using custom RSS feeds from Google News. I used to see this sort of thing all of the time and it was always the same websites not dating their articles correctly, if at all. The key thing for me was I applied some common sense and could spot the rouge stories and didn't post them to my blog. RE: Very simple if you read the docs "<META NAME="ROBOTS" CONTENT="NOARCHIVE"> ..mines the one with "Read the manual" on the back." Indeed. There was a good case a couple of years ago where a Belgian newspaper company, Copiepresse - covering several countries, sued Google for making their copyrighted, paid-for, content available in their cache. Google didn't show at the court hearing and the judge ordered Google to remove all of the companies newspapers from the site. So, Google obeyed and removed the lot from the entire search index effectively wiping them off the net. Eventually the papers saw the idiocy in their ways fixed their headers and asked Google nicely to reindex them. Microsoft patches not applied I've got two (out of four) machines at home that are knackered if I enabled the Windows Automatic Updates service - a known issue apparantly. One, a desktop, the processor hits 100%, on the svchost.exe process that is running the service, and stays there. The other, a laptop, freezes completely. So off I pop to the Windows Update website to download the updates manually and it complains that the service is disabled! Argh! I have a daughter who spends her life on Bebo, MySpace and MSN and my ZoneAlarm Security Suite has found that virus numerous times now.

You can imagine they’re acting a certain way without actually seeking out proof. Have you ever been around someone who you thought hated you only to realize later that they were just having a horrible day? The assumption that they hate you can affect how you treat that person. You might change your actions around them fearing that they just don’t like you. And that can lead to a lot of miscommunication and problems later down the road. That Old Saying Have you ever heard that old adage about what happens when you assume something? You make an ass out of you and me. Old sayings aside, the danger of making assumptions is real. On the one hand assuming that scary person lurking down a dark alley might dangerous could save your life. But on the other hand, your assumptions might be ruining things for you. Written on 11/28/2012 by Steve Bloom. Steve is the writer behind Do Something Cool where he blogs about travel, motivation, personal growth and adventure. He’s always looking for ways to make life more interesting. Get tips on living life to the fullest through his Facebook fan page and Twitter. No comments yet. Hey You, Follow Us! Our writers are amongst the most talented group of individuals you can find in one place. They have written for the LA Times, The Washington Post, President Bill Clinton's White House, Forbes, and more. Learn how to: Our Awesome Writers! Become A Contributor! Our writers are amongst the most talented group of individuals you can find in one place. They have written for the LA Times, The Washington Post, President Bill Clinton's White House, Forbes, and more. Learn how to

La argentina nacionalizada española Jimena Rico Montero está desaparecida desde el último lunes, cuando luego de escapar de la familia de su novia en Dubai entró a Turquía y no se supo más de ella. La joven de 28 años huyó con su novia Sasha Se, luego de que el padre de la egipcia la secuestrara e intentara entregar a su hija a las autoridades para que la condenen con la pena de muerte por tener una relación homosexual, según denunciaron familiares de la argentina. LA NACION se comunicó con amigas de Jimena, quienes compartieron los últimos mensajes de la joven, que sufrió mucho desde su llegada a Dubai. "La familia está loca tía, nos van a matar", dijo Jimena desde el aeropuerto de Georgia, luego de que el padre de Sasha las haya perseguido hasta el país europeo para evitar que se escapen, según contaron las jóvenes. Luego de muchos idas y vueltas, Jimena y Sasha se habían instalado en Londres. Pero cuando el padre de la egipcia se enteró de su relación sentimental, inventó que su mujer estaba enferma y que debía ir a visitarla. A su llegada a Dubai, la joven pareja notó que era un engaño y que el hombre quería condenarlas por su homosexualidad, según contaron las chicas a sus amigos y familiares. La llegada de la joven argentina a Dubai "No me puedes llamar porque estoy en Dubai y no se puede llamar. Esto es rápido: me vine otra vez a Dubai con mi novia porque le mandaron un video falso de que su mamá se estaba muriendo. Llegamos hoy, era mentira y nos encerraron en la casa. La quieren literalmente matar, están hablando con las leyes de aquí y la quieren matar", dijo Jimena desde Dubai a una amiga. La joven ideó un plan para evitar que su novia sea condenada por ser lesbiana y se lo contó a sus amigos españoles. "Yo no voy a permitir que la maten. Los padres me sacaron un billete para que me vaya, no me pueden hacer nada. Cuando me lleven al aeropuerto, ella va a salir corriendo y va a estar una amiga esperándola para ayudarla. No tiene pasaporte para salir, pero vamos a llamar a todas las embajadas para tratar de sacarla del país por derechos humanos, por racismo o por locos", dijo entre lágrimas. Los pedidos de ayuda de la joven argentina desaparecida en Turquía "Lo único que les pido es que cuando no escuchen de mi en tres o cuatro días, me saquen de aquí por favor. Llamen a la embajada española o junten firmas, pero sáquenme de aquí. No puedo dejarla, no sólo por el amor por ella sino que lo haría por cualquier persona", agregó. Detenida en Georgia Los mensajes desde el aeropuerto de Georgia de la joven argentina desaparecida en Turquía Jimena y Sasha escaparon a Georgia y tenían pensado irse a Estambul, pero en un aeropuerto de ese país fueron sorprendidas por la familia de la joven egipcia. "Estábamos en el aeropuerto y el padre se presentó con la familia y una abogada y se la quisieron llevar por la fuerza. Estoy detenida con la policía de Georgia, ella está conmigo pero no sé qué voy a hacer. La familia está loca tía, nos van a matar, no sé lo que voy a hacer", sostuvo. Luego de esa conversación, la pareja ingresó a Turquía, según confirmaron a LA NACION las amigas de Jimena, pero nunca llegaron ni al hotel ni a la embajada.

Tag: acupuncture My name is Bridget. I am an herbalist, a queer person of color, a femme, an Iranian-American, and a lot of other things. How are you doing? I’m doing a lot better than I was a year ago. Like many others, I was in a dark place post-election. This year has included challenges, deep sadnesses, and frustrations, but it’s also been tempered with hope, community, and feeling more held. I’m doing better. Are there material shifts in your life you can trace to that change? I am in healthier relationships now than I was in the past. I’ve come out more to my family and to the world. I’ve been ‘out’ to friends since I moved here five years ago, but it’s been a slow coming out process to other people in my family and to the public. That’s felt good. I also got a well-paying, nice job at a bakery, Sweet Adeline’s, two blocks down the street where I show up, do my easy job with nice people, and make good money. That made a huge difference for me. I was struggling to thrive on herbalism stuff and not making enough money. How has coming out as a queer person been for you? I’ve known I was queer for a long time. My dad’s family is in Iran, so I grew up with my mom’s family. Most of them are liberal-leaning democrat-types, but the patriarch and matriarch — my mom’s parents — are Trump-supporting assholes who love their family but no one outside of it. It’s strange to be a racially mixed person in that family, and also queer, and nobody knows it. I hear both homophobic things as well as blatantly racist and Islamophobic things people say while knowing I’m middle-eastern and my dad is Muslim. Because of that and because of my identity as a femme it was easy to pretend to be straight. I was in a relationship with a cis guy and people would leave me alone. But more and more I want to be authentic to myself and care less about what other people are gonna think, say, and do. I’m not going to be someone else for your benefit. It’s taken a long time to arrive at and to be honest with my family about how painful it’s been being a mixed Middle Eastern person in a group where everybody else was white and christian. It’s been hard and super devastating, but being on the other side of it, it was a good idea. Ultimately I want to have more authentic connections with people including family members. If they can get to a place where they understand who I am and want to still engage with me, great. If not, it’s not a worthwhile connection for me anymore. How did you come to herbalism and what does that work look like in your life today? I came to herbalism from a health crisis. A decade ago I developed Graves Disease, an overactive thyroid immune disorder. The ‘normal’ treatment is to get your thyroid irradiated. I was 20, getting stressed out with heart palpitations and other weird symptoms. I went to a specialist’s office and waited an hour and a half for my appointment. I got in and the doctor was looking down at her chart when she walked in the door and didn’t even make eye contact with me. She was like, okay you have Grave’s Disease, when would you like to schedule your radiation? I was like, whoa — step one is to destroy this organ that isn’t working with radioactivity — so badly I can’t touch people for three days? I was like, is there nothing else I could possibly do? She said no. I decided to go home and do some research, and started trying some plants instead. After a year of taking a formula with lemon balm, I have totally normal lab work and I have ever since. My other option would have been to destroy this organ that’s basically the conductor of your entire system. I would have had to take a pill to replace it for the rest of my life and if I didn’t, I would die. After that I was student teaching and it was really challenging. I was 22, teaching 17 year-olds U.S. history at 7:30 in the morning their last semester of high school. There were 35 kids in my classes; there were kids in the class who couldn’t read in the same class with kids applying to Ivy League schools. I wanted to be a history teacher so I could change the world by making people think differently and showing them the truth. But all the kids I was taking care of were so ill all the time. They were getting coughs, colds, sore throats, stomach aches, and they were stressed and depressed. I realized I wanted to work at a different point in the line, and focus on more bodily and mind healing as opposed to political considerations. I came out here with the plan of going to school at the California School of Herbal Studies. When I moved out here I was just like, oh I’ll just save up money for a little bit and then be able to pay for it. Then I got to the Bay Area and realized that’s a joke, no one saves money out here. So, I have a deathly pine nut allergy. I ate something from Berkeley Bowl with pine nuts in it that was improperly labeled and ended up almost dying. I was blue and practically unconscious and having seizures when I got to the hospital. I ended up suing Berkeley Bowl, which I was torn about at first because I didn’t want to fuck up a local company. Then I realized their insurance company in Kentucky was going to give me money, not them, and was like, okay. They gave me just enough money to pay to go to school immediately. While I learned a lot about plants and met some of the most important people in my life at CSHS, the school itself sucked. It’s a bunch of white hippies appropriating indigenous, Asian, and other cultures, and not addressing it. It was horrible. It was hard being one of only two people of color in the whole class. When I was done I told myself I wouldn’t do a second year herbalism program unless it was in Oakland, in my price range, and taught by queer women of color. A year later,Ancestral Apothecary opened. I just finished my second year with them. It was the exact opposite of California School of Herbal Studies. Everything came from a place of — figure out what your ancestors did and cultivate that. Everybody has indigenous medicine in their line. You can share in that respectfully and not act like it’s yours. These days I go out into the hills to harvest things, and have a little garden going here. I’m learning more about the plants my ancestors used. In terms of having it as a business, that’s been challenging. Since herbalists aren’t covered by insurance, all the successful herbalists I know charge around $200 to see them for the first time. That is way too much for the population I’m interested in serving. Instead I’ve been charging people sliding scale to $0, which I feel privileged to be able to do. I respect my teachers and other folks who are charging that much money because they deserve to be able to survive on what they make. For me, my partner makes a good amount of money and I don’t think it’s necessary for me to make that much. I would prefer to be able to serve people who are broke and need attention in that way and not make too much money off of it and work at a bakery three days a week. The transition from teaching to herbalism is an interesting one, especially in the context of you always seeking to do political work. What do you think is important about supporting people in healing their minds and bodies, especially in a political context? I want to assist my extended community in feeling the way they want to feel. That’s different than being healthy or ‘well’. There’s this big idea about wellness in the health community. Being ‘well’ is not reasonable for everyone; that’s a normative social construct. There are mad people, there are disabled people, and there are chronically ill people who are never going to fit into what other people determine to be well or healthy. That’s okay. Maybe I can help someone who is manic — they don’t want to stop being manic entirely, but maybe they want to feel less exhausted after a manic episode, or have their episodes to be more manageable, or feel less pain during that time. Whatever their personal goals are, I want to help people to achieve that without people needing to strive for some ridiculous idea of perfection. The more our community feels the way they want to feel, the more they’ll be able to do their work, whatever that is. If they feel better about getting out of bed if they want to, or working from bed if they want to do that. I want to be able to help people to feel more comfortable in themselves. If there was an inverse of that doctor walking in the room staring at your chart, telling you what to do, then looking at you, that’s it. You’re coming in the room, looking at the person, and helping write that chart together. Yeah. The first time I had a health practitioner sit with me for an hour was transformative. I’d never experienced that kind of care before. So much of the healing was just in somebody sitting with me and being like, the floor is yours. Letting people conduct and craft the path that we’re gonna go down, not hounding them for answers, not forcing certain things, but just being like okay, what do you need? A lot of it’s talk therapy, honestly. It’s holding space for people while they talk about their lives and what’s hard, what works and what doesn’t, what’s been hurting, and why they’re tired and how sick they are and how frustrating that is. I’ve considered going to school to be a therapist or social worker but in this country you can’t actually combine herbalism with either of those. I couldn’t see someone as a therapist and then prescribe herbs. I’d have to have two separate practices. Wait, herbalism is regulated even though it’s not covered by insurance? Yes. It sucks. So I recently decided I’m going to go to school for acupuncture, for a few reasons; one of them being acupuncture is the most covered by insurance of any alternative medicine in this country because there are the most western studies proving its efficacy. As an acupuncturist you can do whatever you want with a patient and bill it as acupuncture — talk therapy, herbs, massage, all kinds of modalities. You don’t have to stick people at all if they don’t want that. I see becoming an acupuncturist as a way to become more accessible. I also like acupuncture because the needling itself is a way to bring someone immediate pain relief, which can be important for people who are experiencing pain right now, as opposed to herbs which often take time. As someone who moves through the world with a myriad of identities which I assume requires a lot of emotional labor and emotional self-protection all the time, what is it like for emotional labor to also be a huge element of your herbalism work? There’s certain grounding techniques and practices I’ll do to protect myself from people’s energies who I’m working with. Sometimes I’ll wear certain plants or stones on my body or use flower essences like yarrow to make sure that I have a boundary but not a wall between myself and other people. The population I work with is often people who have been pierced with all these swords — who have been abused, broke, homeless. Hearing these stories can be heavy and I do have that inclination of wanting to fall into it and give them everything. Thankfully, since I was raised in a family of nurses including my mom, I tend to get calmer the more escalated something or someone tends to be. I can just be like, okay, you just gave me a long list of terrible things that have happened to you — let’s see what we can do. What is the world you want to live in? I think a lot about my family members who live in Iran. I started going there when I was 22 and it changed my life and perspective a hell of a lot. A lot in that culture is beautiful and I wish we had more of it here; and there’s certain things that are really restrictive because of the political and government situation. I know I already live in the world a lot of my ancestors wanted to live in. Even though there’s war and death, my little piece of the world is already what my ancestors wish they could have lived in and even what a lot of my family members would also want to live in if they had the space to think about it. I want the kind of world where more people could enjoy and appreciate the joy, freedom, and expansiveness I’ve been able to experience. Happiness, freedom, and expansiveness is everyone’s birthright. I want a world where I don’t have to get nervous about flying back and forth between Iran and the US and I can bring my partners with me, and that world doesn’t exist yet. My dad’s country has been through so much war in his lifetime. Millions of people were gassed in the Iran-Iraq war in the 80’s; they lost so much of their population. Over here, we have a certain flavor of anxiety and depression — we feel like the world might end, but we’ve never actually seen it happen. Over there, the world has already ended, many times, and then it starts again. People keep going, people start over. I know there are folks for whom the world is ending or the world has ended already. The resilience that people have is incredible. I would love to see a world where the only kind of deaths and world-endings that we’re dealing with are the kind that are just about the life-death-life cycle that nature has, that people also deserve to have. What do you see as your role in helping to build that world? Being a healer is a part of that role — helping people who are in pain and being able to mitigate suffering. Bring down the pain, bring some grounding in. Another element of my role is expression, which is slowly coming along — writing, making art, and making music that expresses my perspective. Trying to reach out and connect with people in that way. One of my roles in this world is to honor my ancestors and do good by them. Like, hey, I’m alive, none of you are, so I should be doing good work, enjoying this, and honoring what you have done for me. What are the things in your life that support you on the path you’re on to making that sustainable, and what are the things that feel like barriers? There’s so many things that are necessary and helpful for that. Connecting with nature and water especially is really important. I grew up right on the water and it’s one of the most cleansing things for me. When I engage with it I feel renewed, like it helps to wash off other energies. Music, dancing, and being able to get out of my head and into my body is helpful. Engaging with other people with shared goals and experiences — carving out time to spend with other femmes of color because it’s uplifting and supportive to be together in that way. This part is hard for me — but being okay with when I’m not actively doing anything, and trying not to guilt trip. Spending a day where I don’t do anything except play guitar and make myself some dinner, and being okay with that. That’s not me being lazy or not contributing to the cause, I do think there’s a mentality about having to be ‘on’ every day. That really doesn’t work for me. I get super burnt out. Then I really can’t do anything for a while. I believe and identify as a witch and I believe in magic. And it’s all magic. Taking care of yourself is magic, taking care of other people is magic. Hanging out with plants is magic. We all deserve to have authentic experiences, and we don’t have to give that up to push forward politically. That is the end goal, that we can all just have authentic experiences with ourselves and others and not have to worry about it. We should get a taste of that now. Are there people, books, plants, works, art, etc that are inspiring you and helping guide the path you’re on? Rosemary has been my big star for the past couple years. Rosemary is about energetic protection and connecting, especially with feminine ancestors. I’ve called upon rosemary to protect myself from energies that are intrusive false authorities like cops, the law, all of that. She comes through from multiple of my ancestral lines — Italian and the Iranian side — so I feel her strongly. I love her a lot. I believe in the dream world as a real place where a lot of my magic comes through. I want us all to be able to pay more attention to our dreams, which is a luxury a lot of people don’t have. When you wake up you cant just lay there and think about your dreams and consider them and take in their messages, you have to run to work. But dreams are important. I’ve had some of my most profound experiences in my life in that world. We all deserve to engage with that because a lot of messages from our ancestors, from earth, and from ourselves come through there — but we have to be able to listen. I’m inspired by the messages that come through in dreams and I like to listen to, hold space for, and honor that. I’m inspired by my grandma on my dad’s side who is a dream healer. I want to be just like her when I grow up. Are there any other thoughts or feelings coming up in the course of this conversation that you want to share? This is important work. This is my second interview in two weeks; prior to that I don’t think I’ve ever been interviewed before. The other interview was someone doing her thesis on queer American Iranians. It was empowering to talk about my experience and to hear about others’. We need to tell our stories to each other more. It’s easy to get bogged down by all the hard, sad things, and to get too tired and stressed out to engage, hear people’s stories, or to be vulnerable enough to share yours. But it feels good to do this. Every time I read someone else’s story on The World We Want to Live In or in general, it’s like wow, they’re doing such amazing things! But I’m sure when they’re alone they have the same kind of process as me, like they’re depressed and anxious and freaked out and don’t know if they’re doing anything right. Then they talk about what they’re doing, and it’s like, wow, that’s amazing actually. I hope we can all keep validating each other in that way. Bridget Afsonna is a queer SWANA femme dream witch living on unceded Ohlone land. As an herbalist she is particularly focused on supporting queer, POC, formerly incarcerated, trans and gender-nonconforming, sex worker, indigenous, fat, neurodivergent, and low-income individuals. She does not believe in blaming people for their health statuses or circumstances, but acknowledges that our culture denies many kinds of people access to health and healthcare. She is interested in lifting queer people up with plants and magic so they can experience whatever they fancy. You can find her at bluewillowherbals.com. This interview is part of a series for The World We Want to Live in. This interview project asks: What is your role & work in this political moment? We all have a role to play in resistance against oppression and building a better world. Many of us who may not be full-time activists and organizers may have trouble discerning our role in this resistance, but we can all take part, especially in the era of Trump and cultural resurgence/increased visibility of white supremacy, imperialism, and fascism. The central question of this project is: who are you, and how does your life and work connect to resistance in this era? New interviews are published irregularly, but this project is active unless otherwise noted. Please follow us on Facebook or scroll down to subscribe via email so you can read ’em all!

How would you prefer to be objectified? Religious zealots can seize your body, make you wear a bag in public, treat you like a servant and generally treat you as a sex object to be owned.... Or porn fans can seize your body, make you wear nothing in public, treat you like a servant and generally treat you as a sex object to be owned. That's the choice offered up in a snarky student stunt called "Porno for Bibles": Atheist Agenda, an atheist group at U Texas San Antonio, staged a "Porno for Bibles" event, where they gave free pornography to people who traded in religious scripture.Now, I'm not ideologically against porn. I'm sure it does some good by keeping losers off the street -- their needs are in good hands, you know? [Update: It seems that, while the Atheist Agenda's site didn't get slashdotted, it got Boinged. Now they have a dry disclaimer: If you feel we did this for attention or because we are immature, you are completely wrong. Assumptions make an ass out of you and me.Did I mention that they're incredibly clever?] "The memory of my own suffering has prevented me from ever shadowing one young soul with the superstitions of the Christian religion" --Elizabeth Cady Stanton "The bible and the church have been the greatest stumbling blocks in the way of women's emancipation"-- Elizabeth Cady Stanton "The bible teaches that woman brought sin and death into the world. She was to play the role of a dependent on man's bounty for all her material wants, and for all the information she might desire... Here is the Bible position of woman briefly summed up."-- Elizabeth Cady Stanton I feel has if I must explian our actions in doing this Smut for Smut event to women who fight so hard for their rights. I understand that Elizabeth Cady Stanton prolly won't of like the porno part of our event. But we won't saying porno is ok and the bible isn't, in tradeing one for the other we were saying that they were of equal value. I hope you understand our motives, I know I understand yours. thanks No thin skin here. The event was a huge success and opened up dialogue you might not expect. We had a blast and we are enjoying the attention, albeit surprising since we have already addressed that we lifted the idea. Being a woman, I'd love to have a lengthy conversation with a feminist about this topic... this just ins't the forum to do it in. If you had come by the table, we'd have had ourselves a nice chat! With anti-dominionist talk, you might find a warm welcome on a feminist site. With pro-porn talk, though, maybe a narrower range. I'm glad the event went well. I think the idea is funny. It's only when I stop to think that it bothers me ... and then only a little. I'm sure the holier-than-thous were furious. Oh, there were plenty of people who were furious. Absolutely... but there were plenty of people who were more curious about the actual intentions of the group and the event, and those conversations were productive and healthy. In addition, I would like to say that of course, I see it as an upgrade. If we want to really talk about how women become objectified throughout history in society, there is a famous little myth about a little lady, a snake and an apple... Pornography is vilified as ultimate evil in society, but to put it as eloquently as one of the members of our group already has, religious texts are not the "virtuous bastions of morality" that people like to claim they are. They are full of violence and sex. Not only that, but just the mere fact that people can be so enamored with archaic fiction is beyond me, especially when it can convince them to take a position they might not otherwise. Take, for instance, the African American gentleman my husband works with who willingly praises slavery as "god's will" and claims that it was, of course, a sin for a slave to rise up against his master.

Ki Hong Lee, Ellie Kemper (Photo: Netflix) Asian visibility has come a long way on American TV screens. As an Asian-American viewer who pays keen attention to such moments, for me these past few months of television have felt progressive—revolutionary, even. Mindy Kaling and Aziz Ansari have both established themselves in significant, non-stereotyped roles in the TV world. The post-Sandra-Oh era of strong Asian women has seen Lucy Liu as Joan Watson on Elementary and Maggie Q as Beth Davis on Stalker. ABC’s Fresh Off The Boat—a show that stars an entire Asian family—made waves when it debuted in February. But perhaps the most surprising development of all is the casting of Asian men as romantic roles, notably on the short-lived and underrated Selfie and Netflix’s latest comedy hit, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Hollywood’s Asian men—the few there are—have a history of being typecast from a very small pool of characters: the nerdy comic relief, the villain, or some sort of kung-fu master. Rarely do they get the part of the romantic lead. If American media tend to hypersexualize Asian women, then they’ve turned the race’s opposite sex into essentially sexless creatures. Enter Selfie’s Henry (John Cho) and Kimmy Schmidt’s Dong (Ki Hong Lee), who not only get a girl, but get the girl: two Asian men on mainstream American television paired with the lead actresses of their respective shows. (Important to note: lead Caucasian actresses—Asian men are rarely shown dating outside their own race on TV.) It’s certainly a victory for a race of people who have been underrepresented—and mostly unloved—on-screen for years. Still, that doesn’t mean we’re suddenly cured of TV’s misrepresentations of Asians. The learning process is slow: The #HowIMetYourRacism episode of How I Met Your Mother only aired a year ago. And while the Dong and Henry roles are monumental, there’s still a ways to go in their character and story development. Dong and Henry sit on opposite sides of the Asian representation scale. On one hand, Dong, with his heavy Vietnamese accent, is not just any immigrant, but an about-to-get-his-ass-deported kind of immigrant. His name becomes the butt of many obvious dick jokes. Ironic that Asian dudes get so many dick jokes made about their names (“Wang” being the other big one, no pun intended) but rarely do we see them getting any action. On the other side of that scale is Selfie’s Henry, whose Asian heritage is essentially invisible, starting with the fact that his name is Henry Higgs (Selfie is based on My Fair Lady, but still). He doesn’t hold a particularly “Asian job” or have particularly “Asian hobbies”; one might even call him whitewashed. John Cho stepped into a role that could have otherwise been filled by a white man. The Henry-Dong polarity exists for Asian characters on other shows, too; it’s rare to see the respectable middle ground. Regardless of their differences, Henry and Dong share a similar problem: While Asian guys are starting to feel the love, they’re not getting all of it. The issue of their sexlessness still lingers. I’m not necessarily talking about literal sex—though that certainly lacks, too—but about the fact that both men experience stunted romance in their storylines. John Cho, Karen Gillan (Photo: ABC) Henry is an endearing stick-up-his-ass type who plays mentor to the social media-obsessed Eliza Dooley (Karen Gillan), who in turn often points out his lack of a social life (including, obviously, a love life). Henry spends most of Selfie romance-less; even his short-term girlfriend Julia feels more like a business partner than a lover, with no chemistry or warmth between the two. In one scene Henry is on the phone with Eliza, and though he’s spending the night alone, he pretends to be having sex with Julia. Henry feigns moans so uncomfortably, it makes us think that he has perhaps never been with a woman before. His awkwardness with Julia is, of course, a lead-up to his realization that he’s meant to be with Eliza, but even that epiphany is left unsatisfied. There’s a brief “Yes! Finally!” moment when Eliza throws herself onto Henry, but he rigidly wards her off and the two quickly resume their mentor-mentee relationship. The show’s swift cancellation is regretful, not only because the series started to actually get really good, but because we never get the love story out of Eliza and Henry. Selfie’s non-conclusion of a finale shows Eliza back with her hookup buddy, Freddy—a man who often made her feel hollow—and Henry, finally realizing his feelings for Eliza, left yearning. So while the Asian man here does become the desired man, he still gets the short end of the usual love story arc—in Henry’s case, a seduction scene, but not even a kiss. Also, Henry decides to report said seduction to his company’s HR rep, and his account is so stiff that you might think he was either a doctor or an asexual: “Mammaries. I saw them. Separately, and then together. It was basically a full-frontal co-worker type situation.” Even John Cho couldn’t shake off the sexless Asian man stereotype. It’s worth noting that this story arc was influenced by powers beyond the control of the writers—who, in the case of a renewal or back-nine order, would want to leave room for more stories to tell. It’s why Selfie leaves us feeling so unsatisfied—it never got the comeback it desired, or deserved. Kimmy Schmidt wasn’t guaranteed a season two on Netflix before all 13 episodes were finished, and its final will-they/won’t-they moment is only made more satisfying in our knowledge of its renewal. Ki Hong Lee, Ellie Kemper (Photo: Netflix) On Kimmy Schmidt, Dong also gets involved in a love triangle trying to win over Kimmy. Her choice appears to be made by default: With two men fighting for her attention, she ends up going for the genuinely nice one who cares for her rather than Logan, the self-absorbed daddy’s boy whose quirks, revealed over time, become less and less charming. Still, it’s only when Kimmy realizes Logan tried to get her friend Dong deported that she calls it off with him. Choosing Dong just seems logical, but their should’ve-been-climactic “I choose you” scene is otherwise met with a short kiss and goodbye as Dong (temporarily) leaves New York. Kimmy and Dong barely have a romance during the course of season one. Their first kiss happens to be a fake one, when they act out a part to help out Xanthippe (the stepdaughter of the rich woman Kimmy works for). The actual kiss they share later is brief and rather cold. They never even get to go out on a date. The season finale ends with Dong getting married to someone else (an old woman named Sonja from their GED class) for the sake of his citizenship—a forced “romance” to appease the law. Kimmy seems rattled by the news, but the show ends before we see her reaction develop: Is she just surprised or actually heartbroken? It’s another unsatisfying ending—though thankfully, Kimmy Schmidt is returning next year, so it still has a chance to redeem itself in the Dong-Kimmy romance department. Lauren Cohan, Steven Yeun (AMC) Outside of single-camera sitcoms, the one Asian male love interest that nails both representation and romance is Glenn Rhee (Steven Yeun) in The Walking Dead. He’s an Asian man who is neither tied down by stereotypes nor restricted from his romantic passions, as his relationship with Maggie Greene (Lauren Cohan) develops. (Here, too, Maggie is a Caucasian woman.) Glenn’s background is acknowledged, but not mocked, and his character is three-dimensional. The Glenn and Maggie love story isn’t the principal premise of The Walking Dead, but it’s one of the most interesting aspects of it, and it’s one that’s worthy of being modeled after. Wouldn’t it be great if someone like Glenn was cast as a romantic lead? Nevertheless, both Dong and Henry are steps in the right direction, perhaps even one giant leap for (Asian) man-kind.

*b - 10*b - 52*b - 14*b to y + d*b and give d. -64 Express 11*w - 2*w + 0*w - 2*w**4 + (-w**3 - 4*w**2 + 4*w**2)*(-3 + 3 + 2*w) in the form i + x*w + g*w**3 + u*w**2 + s*w**4 and give x. 9 Rearrange 2*x**2 - 4*x**2 + 11*x + 3*x**2 + 31*x to the form l + d*x**2 + n*x and give d. 1 Rearrange -k**2 + 0*k**2 - 2*k**4 + 2 - 3*k**2 + 3*k**4 to u*k**4 + z + y*k + n*k**3 + w*k**2 and give w. -4 Rearrange (-2 + 3*r + r - 5*r)*(3*r + 10*r - 4*r) - 3*r**2 + 2*r**2 - 3*r**2 to the form p*r + f + a*r**2 and give p. -18 Rearrange (2*m**2 - 4*m**2 - 3*m**2)*(-2*m + 4*m - 4*m) - 9*m**2 - 12*m**3 + 9*m**2 to f*m**2 + v*m**3 + x + y*m and give x. 0 Express (-5*l + 3*l + 0*l + (3 - 5 + 3)*(-4*l + 4*l - l))*(-9 + 10 + 17) as t + u*l and give u. -54 Express (-3 - 1 - 2)*(13*t**2 - 12*t**2 - 14*t**2)*(-3 - 2*t + 3) in the form n*t + i*t**2 + j + g*t**3 and give g. -156 Rearrange -5*n + 0*n**3 - n + 4*n**3 + 3*n to k*n**3 + p*n**2 + o*n + b and give k. 4 Express (1 + 0 + 0)*(-1 - 4 + 4)*(-9*f - 13*f + 2*f) in the form w + n*f and give n. 20 Rearrange 2*z**2 + z**2 - 4*z**2 + z + 2*z**2 to the form g*z + p*z**2 + n and give p. 1 Express (0 + 0 + 4*s)*(21 - 45 + 81) in the form g*s + t and give g. 228 Rearrange (14 - 19 + 7)*((-3*g**2 + 0*g**2 + 5*g**2)*(4*g + g - 4*g) - 14*g**2 + 2*g**3 + 14*g**2) to the form a*g + p*g**2 + t + u*g**3 and give u. 8 Express 6*a**2 - 2*a**2 - 1 + 2*a**3 + 19*a + a**2 - 16*a + 2*a**4 in the form p*a + f*a**4 + m + q*a**2 + c*a**3 and give c. 2 Rearrange 166*c**2 - 578 + c**3 + 578 to the form r*c**2 + f + z*c**3 + h*c and give f. 0 Rearrange (-2*b + b + 0*b)*(5*b - 3*b - b) - 3*b**2 - 5 + 5 to the form z + a*b**2 + w*b and give a. -4 Express (-4*s**2 + 3*s - 7*s + 5*s**2)*(s - s + 2*s) as z + r*s**2 + n*s + a*s**3 and give z. 0 Express -21*c**2 - 4*c - 15*c**2 + 32*c**2 + (2 + 2 - 2)*(-4 + 4 - 2*c**2) as d*c**2 + z*c + s and give z. -4 Rearrange 3*q + 11*q - 5*q to l + h*q and give h. 9 Express (-y**2 + 2*y**2 - 4*y**2)*((5*y - 2*y - y)*(-3 + 7 - 1) - 2*y + y + 0*y) as g*y**3 + x*y + s*y**2 + m and give g. -15 Express -u + 6*u**3 - 5*u**3 - u + 2*u**2 in the form x*u**3 + y*u**2 + r + j*u and give x. 1 Rearrange 1 - 7 + 11*d**2 + 1 + 3 to p*d**2 + q*d + k and give q. 0 Rearrange -2*c**2 - 23*c + 7*c**3 + 23*c to the form w*c + g*c**3 + t*c**2 + b and give t. -2 Rearrange (-3 + 3 - 2)*(-11 + 8 - 15)*(2 - 2 - u)*(-6*u - 7*u + 7*u) to the form w + a*u**2 + m*u and give a. 216 Express 8*i + 21*i + 2*i + 3*i in the form d*i + t and give t. 0 Rearrange 0*d + d - 2*d**2 + 21*d**4 - 23*d**4 + d**3 to p*d**3 + l + h*d**2 + b*d**4 + t*d and give b. -2 Express 4 - 5 + 8*t**2 - 2 as q*t + p*t**2 + f and give f. -3 Express -29 + 6*i**4 + 15 + i**2 - 2*i**3 + 14 in the form u + f*i**3 + k*i + c*i**2 + w*i**4 and give f. -2 Rearrange -3*o**2 + 3*o**4 - 16 + 35 - 17 to the form l*o**3 + p*o**4 + u*o + k*o**2 + c and give c. 2 Express 3*i - 2 + 2*i**4 + 4 - 1 in the form j*i**3 + q*i**4 + f + y*i**2 + n*i and give f. 1 Express (-3 + 3 + 3*a)*(5 - 5 + 3*a - 1) in the form h*a**2 + r + c*a and give h. 9 Rearrange -22*y - y**3 + 2*y**2 - 22*y + 3*y**3 + 47*y to the form n + c*y**3 + i*y + h*y**2 and give i. 3 Express -455*j**2 + 231*j**2 - 5 + 227*j**2 as a*j + y + q*j**2 and give y. -5 Express -5*k**2 - 2 + 14*k**2 + 3*k**2 as o*k**2 + f*k + y and give f. 0 Express 2 - t - 3*t**4 + 0*t**3 - 5*t**3 + t**3 as c*t**2 + w + v*t + p*t**3 + m*t**4 and give w. 2 Rearrange z + 2 - 2*z + z**4 - 5*z to f*z**3 + m + x*z + u*z**4 + s*z**2 and give u. 1 Express -1 - 2*k**4 - 2*k + 0*k + 75*k**2 - 76*k**2 as h*k**2 + z + n*k**3 + g*k + s*k**4 and give s. -2 Rearrange -c**3 - 2*c**3 + 5*c**3 + (-4 + 3 + 7)*(-1 + 1 - 3*c**3) to the form a*c**3 + z*c + m*c**2 + g and give a. -16 Rearrange -3*p + 12*p + 13*p + 58*p to h + s*p and give s. 80 Express (-2 + 7 - 2)*(-2*m**2 - m**2 - 2 + 2*m**2) in the form u + f*m + j*m**2 and give f. 0 Express 0*m**2 - m**4 + m**2 + 164*m**3 - 164*m**3 + 7 in the form f*m**4 + b*m**3 + s*m**2 + n + q*m and give s. 1 Express 143*k**2 - k**3 - 144*k**2 - 10*k + 0*k**3 as a + g*k + o*k**3 + z*k**2 and give g. -10 Express -21 + 21 + 12*k**4 + (4 - 4 - 2)*(3*k**4 - k**4 - 5*k**4) as h*k**4 + o + r*k**3 + g*k**2 + p*k and give h. 18 Express 9*q**3 + 13*q**3 + 13*q**3 + q**4 + 4*q**2 - 36*q**3 as s*q**4 + x + n*q + o*q**3 + d*q**2 and give x. 0 Express (-u + 0 + 0)*(-9 - 5 + 4) as j*u + x and give j. 10 Rearrange -41*r + 139*r - 76*r to g + d*r and give d. 22 Express 2207*a**2 - 2 - 2204*a**2 - 10 as m*a**2 + v*a + b and give m. 3 Rearrange 2*r - 89 + 89 to o + d*r and give d. 2 Rearrange -101*y + 49*y - y**3 + 55*y - 5*y**2 - 2 to the form n*y**2 + u*y + g*y**3 + r and give g. -1 Rearrange 12*v + 7 - 7 to k + f*v and give f. 12 Rearrange (-1 - o + 1)*(2 - 2 + 2)*(-19 - 4 + 5) to the form f + z*o and give z. 36 Rearrange (-2*q**4 + 6*q**4 - 3*q**4)*(63 - 31 - 37) to h + y*q**2 + r*q**3 + i*q**4 + b*q and give i. -5 Express -12 + 2*j - 2 + j**2 + 0*j**2 in the form h*j + q*j**2 + y and give y. -14 Express -23*v + 0*v - 20*v as i*v + w and give i. -43 Express -6 - 15*n**3 + 7*n**3 + 6*n**3 as m + y*n**2 + j*n**3 + o*n and give j. -2 Express -n - n + 3*n**4 + n**3 + 6*n**4 in the form j + t*n**3 + k*n**2 + v*n**4 + x*n and give v. 9 Rearrange (-3*o + 3*o + 2*o**2 + 4*o)*(-120*o - 27*o**2 + 120*o) to a*o + c + u*o**4 + k*o**2 + x*o**3 and give u. -54 Rearrange -3*i**2 + 19*i**3 + i**2 + 18*i**3 + 9*i - 36*i**3 to the form h + b*i**3 + q*i**2 + u*i and give q. -2 Rearrange -3 + 2*c**3 - 4*c**4 + 0*c**3 - c + 2 + 0*c**2 + 4*c**2 to the form o*c**4 + l*c + g*c**3 + n + r*c**2 and give g. 2 Rearrange 7*s - 1 - 2*s**2 - s - 7*s to the form h + a*s**2 + b*s and give b. -1 Express 4*v**2 - 4*v**2 + 3*v**2 - 5*v**2 in the form m*v + t + g*v**2 and give g. -2 Express 29*k + 34*k - 2*k**2 - 13*k - 10*k as i + f*k**2 + h*k and give h. 40 Express 2 - 4 - 26*m + 2 in the form k*m + c and give k. -26 Express 7*g + 25 + 24 - 48 + 0*g in the form u*g + o and give o. 1 Rearrange (6*j**2 - 9*j**2 - 27*j**2)*(-2 + 2 + 2*j) to n*j**3 + q + d*j + g*j**2 and give d. 0 Express -3*n - 13*n - 18*n as m*n + s and give m. -34 Rearrange -18*b**4 - 27*b**4 + 3*b**4 + (-2*b + 1 - 1)*(2*b**3 + 4*b - 4*b) to l + q*b**3 + t*b**2 + p*b**4 + u*b and give p. -46 Express 5*n + 2*n + n + (5 - 1 - 2)*(-12 - 2*n + 12) - 3*n + 2*n + 3*n in the form a + s*n and give s. 6 Rearrange (-1 - 2 + 2)*(-c**2 + 4*c - 4*c) + 124 + 221*c**2 + 228*c**2 - 451*c**2 to the form o*c**2 + n*c + r and give o. -1 Rearrange -h**2 - 2*h**2 + 4*h**2 + 0*h**2 - 3*h**3 + 1 to the form x*h + l + n*h**3 + p*h**2 and give l. 1 Express (-2 - 1 + 0)*(m + 4 - 4)*(0*m + 6*m - 4*m)*(118 - 118 + 13*m) + 4*m**3 + 0*m**3 - 3*m**3 as i*m**3 + y*m**2 + u + r*m and give i. -77 Express (1 + 3*z - 1)*(2 + 3 - 15)*(-1 - 1 + 1) as u + h*z and give h. 30 Rearrange 29*h**2 + 12 - 7 - 5 to the form c*h + o*h**2 + a and give c. 0 Rearrange (2*l - 2*l + 2*l)*(-12 - 9*l**2 + 12)*(2 + 0 - 1) + (0 - 2*l**2 + 0)*(3*l - 3*l - l) to the form y*l**2 + x + k*l + v*l**3 and give v. -16 Rearrange 9*w**2 - 2*w**3 - 8*w**2 - 2*w**2 + 4 to the form m*w**3 + c*w**2 + n + y*w and give c. -1 Express 0*x**2 + 3*x**2 + 16*x**2 - 7*x**2 as d + n*x**2 + s*x and give n. 12 Rearrange 2 - 7*t - 3 + 1 to u + m*t and give m. -7 Rearrange 2 - 4*f**3 + 7 - 6 to the form o*f**2 + w*f**3 + k + m*f and give w. -4 Express -36*u + 0*u - 2 - 5*u - 23*u in the form i + c*u and give i. -2 Express (-10 - 23 - 62 - 10)*(-4*p + 0*p + p) as s + w*p and give w. 315 Express 159*k**2 + 2 - 3*k**3 - 3 - 159*k**2 + 8*k**4 in the form p*k**3 + c*k + x + m*k**4 + w*k**2 and give p. -3 Rearrange -20 - 6*a**2 - 5*a**2 + 34 - 19 to the form k*a + w*a**2 + h and give w. -11 Rearrange (4*c**2 + 2 - 2)*(c - 4*c + 5*c) - 2 + 2 + 2*c**3 + 0*c**2 + c**3 + 0*c**2 to d*c + m*c**3 + t*c**2 + g and give m. 11 Express 2*z - 5 - 3*z**2 + 4*z**2 - 6*z**2 + 3*z**2 as c + t*z + j*z**2 and give c. -5 Rearrange (4*n - 4*n + n)*(10 + 9*n - 10) - 3*n**2 - n**2 + 3*n**2 to d*n + y + l*n**2 and give l. 8 Express -11 - 2*w + w**3 + 22 - 14 - 2*w**2 in the form r*w**2 + b*w**3 + z*w + p and give r. -2 Rearrange -1 + 3*n**3 - 174*n - 2*n**3 + 177*n to the form k*n**2 + q*n + x*n**3 + h and give k. 0 Express

Oklahoma State Senator Ralph Shortey has gone on record to say that baby eating is wrong. Last week he introduced a bill in his state that would ban “the manufacture or sale of food or products which use aborted human fetuses.” They have those? No. No they don’t. But it’s good to know that someone is standing vigilant in the case that food manufacturers do decide to start making taste treats from aborted human fetuses. Thanks, bro. Here are a few film characters who should never set foot in Oklahoma. Check out these baby eaters. In the meantime, I’ll have a salad. Vampire – Stake Land In Stake Land, the United States is decimated when a plague of vampirism sweeps through, turning the population into either bloodthirsty monsters or food. The film was well received by horror fans for it’s willingness to go there. “There” in this case being a scene where a vampire feeds on a still crying baby. Other films and television shows in the genre would have you believe that babies are a delicacy for the undead. I’m not sure he reasoning behind this, but I am a big fan of mini-bagels. I guess it’s the same logic. Fat Bastard – Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me You surely have friends that will still yell “I ate a baby!!!” in Fat Bastard’s Scottish brogue. Get better friends. Moving on.

Mortimer happy to hook in for Titans Share on social media A frank and open discussion with coach Neil Henry during the pre-season convinced Daniel Mortimer that his best position for the Titans is as a hooker. Now in his third year on the Gold Coast – and the final one of his current contract – Mortimer was originally recruited by former coach John Cartwright as a half but has played 15 of his past 19 games either at hooker or on the bench in a hooking role. With four try assists in the opening five weeks – including two against the Broncos last Friday night – Mortimer has proven to be an effective attacking weapon for the Titans while his defence has also been sound. While he still harbours a desire to play in the halves, the 26-year-old premiership winner with the Roosters said he embraced Henry's challenge to become one of the club's top two hookers in 2016. "I talked to Neil late last year and we had a good chat about where he sees me as most likely to play and I said that wherever he sees me I want to hook in and give that a crack," Mortimer said ahead of Sunday's clash with the Sharks. "He tends to see me more in the middle so I had that chat late last year and since then I've been training really hard and improving my game in that middle defence and attack at hooker. "Obviously had a taste of it at the Roosters and I'm really enjoying it this year. I think we have a really good pack and it makes it that much nicer as a hooker playing behind a pack like ours at the moment. "I love the club and I'd love to stay here and play hooker but that's to be seen. Off contract next year so I'll be looking at hooker or halves but at the moment I'm really enjoying hooker." Back-rower Zeb Taia was the main beneficiary of Mortimer's smart work out of dummy-half in the second half against Brisbane last week, scoring two tries from Mortimer passes close to the line. He said the energy Mortimer brings has been a big factor in sparking the Titans' attack to life in the second half comebacks they have staged in the majority of their games this season. "He brings on a lot of energy and creates a few options for us at the hooker spot there," Taia said. "He gets some good go-forward for us when we get quick play-the-balls and I just jump on the back of that. "He was good on the weekend for me in particular, set me up for two tries. "'Friendy' (Nathan Friend) does a really good job in the first half and then about 10 minutes in the second half and that's when they bring on 'Mortsy'. "Mortsy has got good impact off the bench and he's been solid in defence as well. He's been good for us this year." It's the defensive end where Mortimer has been investing much of his training time, asking the likes of Luke Douglas and Ryan James to charge at him in extra sessions so that he doesn't make any costly misses on game day. In making 125 tackles in the first five games he has missed just six and said he added some extra weight in the off-season to try and cope with the physical demands placed on hookers. "I put on a couple of kilos in the pre-season but it's pretty hard to maintain it during the season so that's the main focus at the moment," he said. "It's pretty demanding in the middle, especially with the reduced interchanges. There are a lot of big boys [running at you] so a lot of technique stuff around tackling. "I'm not the biggest fella but if you get those techniques right usually you can get some help from some of the other boys in the middle as well. "They want me to bring energy to the team and it's been nice to be involved in a few tries but really holding that defence tight in the middle is a big focus for me. "A lot of benches when they come on they lose a bit of momentum in that middle and I think myself and a few of the boys on the bench have done a good job of keeping that middle quite tight."

Please respond to I think you're absolutely right. I wonder what happens if the SEC lodges complaints and the FPPC determines there was a conflict of interest in terms of the long term contracts? Thank you for the head's up on the lawsuit. By the way, did Enron just hire McNally? If so, what are they doing? Scott -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, July 31, 2001 10:29 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: SBX 31 Thanks. Looks like one thing good has happened for them today. I don't think Maviglio will be able to stay. Your thoughts? I'm glad he made some money off of Enron stock. (What a jerk.) Also, we did file the amended complaint yesterday and the motion to quash will be filed today. Best, Jeff "Scott Govenar" To: "Jeff Dasovich" <[email protected]> <sgovenar@gov cc: adv.com> Subject: SBX 31 07/31/2001 12:28 PM Please respond to sgovenar Jeff, Following up on yesterday's conversation, SBX1 31 did contain some expedited review provisions for CPUC and DWR decisions and was chaptered into law on May 10. The first special session ended on or about May 15 which means the expedited provisions take effect on or about August 15. The intent of the budget language was to have that take effect even sooner. Scott ********************************************************************** This e-mail is the property of Enron Corp. and/or its relevant affiliate and may contain confidential and privileged material for the sole use of the intended recipient (s). Any review, use, distribution or disclosure by others is strictly prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient (or authorized to receive for the recipient), please contact the sender or reply to Enron Corp. at [email protected] and delete all copies of the message. This e-mail (and any attachments hereto) are not intended to be an offer (or an acceptance) and do not create or evidence a binding and enforceable contract between Enron Corp. (or any of its affiliates) and the intended recipient or any other party, and may not be relied on by anyone as the basis of a contract by estoppel or otherwise. Thank you. **********************************************************************

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