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The Pulitzer Prize-winning musical Hamilton, which was an unlikely marriage of early American history and hip-hop, is slated to enter a much more logical union with porn. For a story about a man who has a fraught affair, a crush on his sister-in-law, and documented amorous feelings for his best friend / war bunk buddy, it's surprising how PG the musical managed to be in the first place.
The porn adaptation of Hamilton, coming in August from WoodRocket films, is called Hamiltoe. It's a brilliant title, and it makes me wonder if the directors of the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, who recently named a camel "Alexander Camelton," conspired with the good people of WoodRocket for some free promotion.
"I think your pants look hot, Laurens"
I assume the film will be a hit, as American audiences really do love speculating about the Founding Fathers' sexuality. (Remember that scene in the sixth season of Gilmore Girls in which all of Emily Gilmore's extremely old, very Anglican friends talk about whether they would rather bone George Washington or John Adams? What an odd conversation that was!)
The film's producer, Lee Roy Meyers, vowed in a press release that Hamiltoe would be "revolutionary." He backed up this claim, pointing out: "It will be the first hip-hop porn musical spoofing a Broadway show, celebrating a historical figure. And it will have anal sex." Neither of these things sound revolutionary, but we will see.
Unfortunately, to answer my own question, Hamiltoe will not be given a chance to win a Pulitzer Prize because it's going to be a movie, not a live theatrical production. |
By Jason Pan / Staff reporter
With the English Premier League (EPL) set to kick off this weekend, soccer fans in Taiwan are set to be disappointed with no live broadcasts of games to be shown on local sports channels.
For the first time in many years, Premier League games will not be shown on Fox Sports channels [formerly ESPN and StarSports] in Taiwan.
The move represents a new era for soccer fans, with beIN Sport the new player in town.
According to a company news release, beIN Sport, with its partner MP & Silva, has secured the media distribution rights for Premier League games for the next three seasons in the Philippines and Taiwan.
An affiliate of al-Jazeera Media Networks, beIN Sport will also broadcast games from Italy’s Serie A, France’s Ligue 1, the FA Cup, US Major League Soccer and other major soccer tournaments.
In Taiwan, the company aims to launch three high-definition TV channels this month, including a 24-hour channel dedicated to Premier League games and news.
The move cannot come soon enough for soccer fans because with the Premier League kicking off on Saturday, there are currently no live matches being offered by local TV stations.
Telephone calls from the Taipei Times to MOD (Chunghua Telecom’s TV service) and various major cable TV distributors for Greater Taipei, Greater Taichung and Greater Kaohsiung confirmed this “state of limbo.”
None of the companies contacted are offering beIN Sport or other new soccer channels in the coming months, and company officials indicated they will be sticking to the regular offering of Fox Sports, StarSports, ASN and Videoland for sports programming.
According to a local media industry source, the National Communications Commission, the nation’s media regulator, could be an obstacle to the new soccer offerings, along with the need for collaborating with a local partner to negotiate financial and rights agreements.
The source also cited issues with acquiring operating licenses for new TV networks, saying the process is drawn out, with regulatory reviews and other official requirements to be navigated. |
The New Orleans Saints (1-3) and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-3) meet Sunday in a divisional game that quietly holds huge implications for both teams. At 1-3, the Saints and the Bucs are only one game from the NFC South lead, with the Atlanta Falcons (2-2) and the Carolina Panthers (2-2) both losing last week. With the division being so mediocre, it is conceivable that nine or ten victories may be enough to win it.
Despite the lack of fanfare, the winner of this game between New Orleans and Tampa Bay on Sunday could find itself tied for the division lead, while taking another step towards a chance (albeit slim) to play in January.
Sander Philipse, editor of Bucs Nation is joining me to preview the game and the matchups within the game between the Bucs and the Saints. As always, when using the ReplyAll app, new answers and questions will be updated whenever you get back to the piece. |
Newcastle United are still thinking like a top flight side it seems, after the Mirror reported that the Magpies are targeting a number of high profile signings this month as they attempt to get back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.
Rafa Benitez has set his sights on Everton midfield pair James McCarthy and Tom Cleverley, as potential signings to join the ranks at St James' Park and help maintain the club's promotion push.
Newcastle chasing Everton pair James McCarthy and Tom Cleverley #EFC https://t.co/JCpTGkvDU5 pic.twitter.com/usQDt1GuuE — Everton Report (@Everton_Fanly) January 8, 2017
Four defeats in eight games for the Toon army has slowed their progression somewhat and Benitez has used the recent run of results to urge club owner Mike Ashley to pull out his cheque book.
Both McCarthy and Cleverley have struggled to hold down regular first team football under Ronald Koeman this season, but it is unlikely that the Toffees will allow both players to leave the club this window.
Nonetheless, a move for either one at the right price, could be a possibility, with the Spanish boss able to offer regular first team football and a likely return to the top flight, if they stay where they are in the Championship table.
The report also suggests that Manchester City's Fabian Delph, Brentford's Alan Judge and Bournemouth's Callum WIlson are also on Benitez's shopping list.
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Matthew Pavlich will captain Fremantle for a ninth consecutive season after the club announced its 2015 leadership group on Wednesday.
Pavlich, who has skippered Freo on a record 167 occasions since taking over from Peter Bell in 2007, said he was as proud as ever to lead the club.
“I’m really excited about another year and the honour and privilege that comes with the position,” he said.
“I don’t take it for granted and never have, it’s a serious position and I take it on with a great deal of responsibility.
“I’m really excited and very privileged to be in the role again.”
Long-term members Aaron Sandilands, Luke McPharlin and David Mundy were again selected, as was Lee Spurr, who was added last year.
There was only one change from the 2014 leadership group, with superstar midfielder Nat Fyfe included for the first time, replacing Matt de Boer.
Pavlich said there would be some great challenges ahead for the 2015 leaders, given the demographic of the group.
“There’s a few senior players that have been there for quite some time, and that presents its own challenge, making sure that we keep driving the high standards and setting the tone for the group,” he said.
“But having a couple of younger players in there is fantastic and it will certainly stimulate the senior players to keep driving and make sure that we’re hitting high marks and high standards.
“In a season itself, there’s plenty of ups and downs along the way, so I can guarantee there will be some great times, but also some challenging times that we’ll have to deal with.”
The club uses an established player vote system to elect its captain and leadership group every season.
Pavlich said the large number of players who gained votes from their peers was a healthy sign for Freo.
“That shows a great development and strength in our leadership throughout the whole team,” he said. |
The Jeffrey Mine in Quebec's Eastern Townships has received a $58-million boost from the province to help revive the asbestos industry, a move the Canadian Cancer Society is urging the government to reconsider.
The asbestos mine in Quebec's Eastern Townships received the loan from the provincial government after years of negotiation and despite heavy opposition.
In a press release, Paul Lapierre, vice-president of public affairs and cancer control for the Canadian Cancer Society, writes:
"This decision means the Quebec government is in direct conflict with global cancer control as all forms of asbestos cause cancer.
"We believe these funds should instead be directed to projects to help the affected communities diversify their economic base."
According to the society, about 107,000 people die annually from disease related to occupational exposure to asbestos around the world.
Bernard Coulombe, the president of the Jeffrey Asbestos Mine, and Richmond member of the national assembly Yvon Vallières held a press conference on Friday to announce the funding.
François Vaudreuil, the union president, says "workers of the mine can rejoice. It's the end of a decade-long fight."
The mine's management expects this funding will create between 400 and 500 direct full-time jobs for a period of 20 years in the town of Asbestos, while 1,000 positions indirectly related to the mine will also be created.
Vallières said the mine will have to repay $1.5 million along with interest fees for a period of 15 years between 2015 to 2031. The first $7.5 million will go directly to a fund targeting economic diversification for Quebec's Eastern Townships region.
The loan process August 2011: Balcorp mentions its desire to reopen the Jeffrey Mine. February 2011 : The government imposes inspections of factories in India to assure buyers were using asbestos safely before guaranteeing the loan. April 13, 2011 : The Quebec government announces it is willing to loan $58 million to Balcorp as long as the company can raise $25 million before July 1, 2011. July 1, 2011: Balcorp could not raise all the funds. The government pushes the deadline to Aug. 15. Aug. 15, 2011 : Balcorp fails to raise all of the required money. The government pushes the deadline to Oct. 1, 2011. Oct. 1, 2011 : The company claims it has raised all of its necessary funds with the help of three partners in three different countries. Verifications are to be made by government authorities.
"We all know that this is an important step for our community. It guarantees a future, stimulates the local and regional economy. It also helps keep our youth with us," said Vallières.
At the press conference, Vaudreuil praised the Quebec government for its "responsible decision and courageous decision."
"The government took a courageous decision by supporting the reopening of the Jeffrey Mine. This government stood up against people who used propaganda and who used public health to make others believe that we should close the mine."
According to reports, paperwork for the loan was finalized in early June and Coulombe was only waiting for the final authorization to guarantee it.
Balcorp Ltd., the company looking to revive the asbestos industry in Quebec, hopes to export its products to developing countries. The company will be auditing buyers' factories in order to ensure proper and safe usage of asbestos. A deal has already been signed with buyers in India.
The Quebec government supports the cause and promised a loan of $58 million if Balcorp invests $25 million in the project.
The project is heavily opposed by a multitude of groups and organizations, but Vaudreuil says safety is not an issue.
"We have found safe ways for workers to handle asbestos." he told reporters. "A lot of research has been done over the last 10 years."
Controversial project
Since Quebec's support was announced in April 2011, many groups have tried to convince the government to retract its offer to Balcorp.
In November 2011, families of workers who died from illnesses linked to asbestos opposed the project, saying people in developing countries would be exposed to a carcinogen exported from Canada.
The Canadian Cancer Society claimed the funding from the Quebec government would tarnish Canada's international reputation in the public health sector.
Hundred of scientists from 28 countries urged Premier Jean Charest to recognize the risks of exposure to asbestos and end the product's export.
Étienne-Alexis Boucher, member of the national assembly for Johnson, said Quebec should have heard the results of a parliamentary commission on the issue before guaranteeing the loan.
Québec Solidaire MNA Amir Khadir proposed a bill to ban the export of asbestos from Quebec. The New Democratic Party had brought forward a similar bill in Ottawa.
One of Vallières's last projects
Last week, Vallières announced he would not be seeking re-election after nearly 40 years in politics. The man, who was plagued with various health issues in the past, said he would be stepping away from politics to enjoy more time with his family.
At the press conference on June 18, Vallières said he hoped to tie up a few projects before leaving his multiple political roles. The Jeffrey mine was among the projects discussed.
Vallières has been representing the provincial Liberal Party in Richmond since 1981. He also presided over the national assembly between 2009 and 2011.
He currently holds the position of minister responsible for Canadian intergovernmental affairs and the Canadian francophonie along with the role of minister responsible for the reform of democratic institutions and access to information. |
Show Notes
If you want to find out more about The Scottsboro Boys’ story there is so much out there for you to have a look at, but why not watch this documentary to start you off?
It’s so important to look at all sides of the dice when it comes to any issue, particularly if it’s a side you might not agree with. Have a look at the article that inspired our quiz question this week.
In the same vein, have a look at this video from one of the Freedom Party protests surrounding The Scottsboro Boys’ Broadway run.
There’s an amazing interview with John Thompson, the book writer of this show that gives great insights into the controversy surrounding this piece.
Jane Elliott has done wonderful things for race relations and understanding all through her career. Check out this documentary from when she created her famous ‘Blue Eyes, Brown Eyes Experiment’ after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
Once you’ve got the hang of what it’s about, go see what happened when Jane brought the experiment to the UK. |
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) — A taxi crashed onto a busy sidewalk, injuring two pedestrians and the cab driver in downtown San Francisco Tuesday.
A witness told KPIX 5 the driver may have been talking on his cell phone at the time of the crash.
The horrific crash happened at the intersection of Market and Sutter streets near Sansome Street at about 3:15 p.m. when the cab jumped the curb and smashed into a newspaper kiosk and a shoe-shine stand on the corner.
The two pedestrians and the driver were being treated for life-threatening injuries, according to fire department spokesman Jonathan Baxter.
KPIX 5 quoted a spokesman for Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital as saying among the three male victims – ages 40, 59 and 66 – the 40-year-old male is in critical condition and the two men were in fair condition.
Pictures from the scene showed the Yellow cab crashed through the kiosk and a shoe-shine stand before coming to a stop feet away from the BART/Muni elevator.
The two victims hit by the cab were later identified as men who worked at the shoe-shine stand.
Another view of crash at Sutter and Market. Three injured: two pedestrians and the cab driver @CBSSF pic.twitter.com/lNpVghcIy3 — Andria Borba (@andria_borba) August 23, 2016
SUTTER SANSOME UPDATE 3 critical adults VEH into pedestrians AVOID AREA pic.twitter.com/YmpCx6sYVg — San Francisco Fire (@sffdpio) August 23, 2016
“The old man went flying up into the air,” a woman who runs a nearby stand said.
The old man the witness described was Mohammed Salim, a longtime staple of San Francisco’s downtown. His shoe shine partner “Jazz” was also injured.
“Jazz was bleeding from his face and stuff, from his head,” another witness said.
With every airbag deployed in the Ford taxicab, the driver crawled from the wreck.
“He walked a few steps, then he went to his hands and knees, and then laid on his back, and then someone else came over and appeared to be performing CPR,” KPIX 5 Political Analyst Melissa Caen, who witnessed the aftermath, said.
The driver allegedly told witness Rita Tripp he was on the phone when the crash occurred.
“He told me he was on the phone, with his friend,” Rita said.
Sansome and Sutter streets were both closed as authorities investigated the crash. Westbound Market Street was also closed between Battery and Montgomery streets.
The entire crash was captured by surveillance cameras on a nearby Muni bus. That footage is in the hands of investigators.
Several Muni bus lines were rerouted around the crash scene via Mission St. between Spear and Third.
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The development cycle of the upcoming Tails 2.0 amnesic incognito live system continues today, January 13, 2016, with the RC1 (Release Candidate 1) build, which is now available for download and testing.
Tails 2.0 RC1 brings a great number of changes since the Beta build, among which we can mention support for the passphrase strength indicator in the GNOME Disk Utility (Disks) software, the TOR Browser 5.5 Alpha 6 anonymous web browser based on the Tor project, and the replacement of the Claws Mail app with the Icedove email client.
Additionally, the first Release Candidate version of Tails 2.0, which should see the light of day at the end of the month, on January 26, and will be based on the Debian GNU/Linux 8 (Jessie) operating system, adds support for recent chips, such as Intel Broadwell HD Graphics, and updates xserver-xorg-video-intel to version 2.99.917-2~bpo8+1.
"The most noticeable change is probably the move to GNOME Shell, configured in Classic mode. This desktop environment provides a modern and actively developed replacement for the aging GNOME 'Flashback.' GNOME Shell also paves the way for better supporting touchscreens in the future," reads today's announcement.
Multiple issues have been resolved
Of course, with Tails 2.0 knocking on the door, the development team has had to fix multiple issues reported by users since the previous release. For example, they’ve managed to make the Electrum software work by installing the version available in the Debian 9.0 "Stretch" (Testing) repositories, update the list of enabled extensions for the GNOME Shell interface, as well as to restore default file associations.
The Tails Upgrader utility has been updated as well to apply automatic upgrades a lot faster, and the Dotfiles persistence feature has been repaired. Moreover, the ability to reconfigure existing persistent storage should work as expected, an issue with OpenPGP public keys in the Seahorse app has been fixed, and Tails will no longer offer users the option to open downloaded files with external apps in Tor.
Last but not least, an issue with AppArmor has been addressed in Tails 2.0 Release Candidate 1, which you can download right now from our website if you want to help the Tails development team discover and fix the remaining bugs before the January 26 launch. |
The Atascosa Ranch is walking distance from the US/Mexico border, just outside of Nogales, Arizona. It’s owned by Dave Lowell, an affable 84-year-old man who’s spent the past 75+ years hunting for buried treasure. Today, he’s known as the most successful mining explorationist of the past century, having discovered an unprecedented seventeen ore bodies, including the world’s largest copper mine. Last week, Lowell and his wife, Edith, invited us to Atascosa for lunch. We brought our cameras and sound equipment, and recorded a conversation with one of mining’s greatest outliers of all time.
J. David Lowell was born February 28, 1928, to a modest family, not too far from Atascosa (the ranch belonged to his uncle at the time). Lowell was first exposed to mining at age 7, when his father, a mining engineer, put him to work. When Lowell pursued his college education at Arizona and then Stanford, he concurrently worked at mines and on exploration programs. Not too long after he had completed his degrees, Lowell had become one of the foremost experts on copper deposits.
Lowell is probably best known today for co-authoring the Lowell-Guilbert Model, a guide to large, low-grade porphyry copper deposits published in 1970. Throughout most of his career, Lowell used the model to locate some of the most profitable mineral finds in the history of mining, such as the 1981 discovery of the Escondida deposit in Chile. Containing hundreds of billions of dollars worth of ore, Lowell and his colleagues found it at the cost of a mere $2.5 million.
Over lunch of elk tacos and Meixcan fried beans, Lowell was modest about his success. But he offered a theory as to why major mining companies don’t make discoveries as efficiently as prospectors like Lowell. Major mining companies have a “don’t make mistakes” approach, which “doesn’t fit at all with the profile of the mad scientist who discovers mines,” he said. “When something like one in five hundred good-looking targets will become a mine, a successful explorationist needs permission to be wrong four hundred and ninety-nine times.” Here he paused. “If there’s anything my career says about me, it’s that I’m very good at being wrong.”
Despite being a pro about being wrong, Lowell does admit to limitations. Having “no taste for shareholder relations,” he recalled giving a presentation to investors in 1995 that resulted in the share price of one of his companies falling from $35 to $15 during the time it took him to finish his talk. The shares recovered shortly thereafter.
On the changing impact of technology on mineral exploration over the span of his lifetime, Lowell holds that it’s been “very little.” He believes that “geophysics has been very oversold,” instead favoring “drill holes and geochemistry… The best guide to ore is ore.” Lowell also voiced doubts that technology would be able to revolutionize mineral exploration the way 2D and 3D Seismic has for the oil and gas business, at least in the near future.
The commodities super-cycle is in tact, Lowell believes. There’s elasticity in mining companies’ profit margins, he told us, but not in the demand for the underlying commodities they produce. For that reason, large, undeveloped, low grade copper deposits will need to be put into production, sooner than later.
When asked about his favourite jurisdictions for exploration currently, he told us he favors Chile, Peru, New Guinea, Mongolia, Nevada, and some parts of Africa. But he qualified his dispositions by recalling that attractive jurisdictions are constantly changing. “Places like Arizona were very attractive as a place to explore for copper deposits, and now Arizona is about as bad as Venezuela,” he chuckled.
When we moved on to the role luck has played in his career, Lowell avoided answering directly. Instead he responded that “minefinders who make one discovery are much more likely to find another.” His basic philosophy is that of persistence, and it shows — his career is equally productive after retirement age as it was before.
At age eighty-four, Lowell is not slowing down. With financiers Dave De Witt and Marcel De Groot of Pathway Capital (“as efficient, honest and reliable as partners get”), Lowell is developing several projects, including a titanium-iron deposit in Paraguay, which he believes is the largest of its kind in the world. Other active projects are under wraps for now, as to avoid competition. Investors who rode his Arequipa Resources shares from .20 to $30.00 in 1995 will surely be watching Lowell’s upcoming public ventures. An autobiography is also in the works.
It was an honor to spend time with Dave at his ranch, and we’re pleased to share some video, pictures, and sounds of the day. We hope you enjoy the following short film about the greatest outlier and maverick the mining industry has known in recent memory, J. David Lowell. |
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s nuclear watchdog on Wednesday postponed the completion of its review on stress tests on the first pair of dozens of idled reactors, an initial step in rebuilding public trust in atomic energy after the worst nuclear accident in 25 years.
Only three of Japan’s 54 reactors are online 11 months after a major earthquake and tsunami crippled the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Many have been stopped for regular maintenance, during which utilities are conducting stress tests.
The accident, the most serious since the explosion and fire at Chernobyl in Ukraine in 1986, led to widespread contamination, prompted mass evacuations, caused upheaval throughout the nuclear industry and forced the government to review its overall energy policy.
Clearing the stress tests against extreme events — like the March 11 disaster — is a necessary hurdle to clear for the restart of the two reactors run by the Kansai Electric Power Co. at the Ohi plant in western Japan.
The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) set no date for the review to be completed.
“We will do our homework after today’s hearing, discuss by ourselves and decide on it when appropriate,” Tomoya Ichimura, director of NISA’s nuclear safety regulatory standard division, told reporters after a meeting of a panel of experts.
Some improvements had already been introduced at the two 1,180 megawatt reactors after computer-simulated test results suggested some equipment and other factors needed improvement.
The timing of the watchdog’s first such stress test approval is being carefully watched. Industry and government officials are keen to see some reactors brought back on stream soon to avoid a potentially serious power crunch in the summer.
Once the tests are completed, they must be validated by the Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan and approved by four cabinet ministers, including Trade Minister Yukio Edano and Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda.
Approval must then be forthcoming from local authorities hosting nuclear power plants. Although agreement is not required by law, ministers are mindful of public concerns about safety.
Trade minister Edano, who holds the energy portfolio, said this week he had not set deadlines to resume operations at nuclear reactors after a media report said the government aimed to restart the two Ohi reactors around April.
Ichimura on Wednesday declined to say when NISA will compile its final report or if the panel of experts will talk about the Ohi reactors again when they next meet on February 20.
A new atomic safety regulator under the auspices of the environment ministry is set to replace NISA in April in a move to separate the regulatory role from the trade ministry, which also promotes nuclear.
The government has submitted to parliament a revision of laws regulating nuclear plant operators. |
Ketan Dixit used borrowed equipment and bedsheets to screen India’s Daughter, which has been banned by the authorities, to 60 people
A young activist who defied the Indian government’s ban on the documentary India’s Daughter and screened the film for a village audience near the northern city of Agra has been apprehended by police.
Ketan Dixit was quoted on Monday as saying he was ready to “face any action that was initiated” after showing the documentary on Sunday on a makeshift screen made of white bedsheets in the compound of a journalist’s family home in Roopdhanu, around 30km from the Taj Mahal.
Around 60 men, women and children watched the film, which has been the subject of furious controversy since the Indian authorities’ decision to pull it from the air last week. The film, by British documentary-maker Leslee Udwin, is about the fatal gang rape of a young woman in Delhi in December 2012.
India's Daughter review – this film does what the politicians should be doing Read more
“This is the beginning of a series of protests,” Dixit told a reporter. “We will also lodge a protest petition online against this ban.” Police also confiscated all the audiovisual equipment used for the unofficial screening on International Women’s Day.
Dixit, who previously worked for a Hindi newspaper and shot documentaries while at journalism college, had borrowed the equipment from a cafe in Agra set up by the Stop Acid Attacks (SAA) campaign.
Dixit is a volunteer with the campaign but SAA clarified that, although it supported his protest, the film screening was his “individual initiative”. He had previously raised the issue with both the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, and home minister, Rajnath Singh, on Twitter, thanking the BBC for showing the documentary and announcing: “Now I am taking film to villages.”
On Sunday night a news channel in India banned by the government from showing India’s Daughter responded with a powerful hour-long on-air protest in the slot in which it had intended to broadcast it.
After Dixit’s screening in Roopdhanu, meanwhile, 18-year-old Deeksha said she felt the film had managed to portray the mindset of many in society. “Every woman should see it,” she told a Times of India reporter. “The government should revoke the ban immediately.”
“I think the rapists should simply be hanged,” another woman, Meera Parmar, was quoted as saying.
SAA, a group campaigning on behalf of young women disfigured by acid-throwing men, expressed concern that, following the screening, the police might implement a general crackdown against social activists.
“Since Ketan screened this documentary, police are pressuring everyone who is associated with him,” it said. It appealed for support from civil society. |
Activision is defending itself from backlash against its subscription-based Call of Duty Elite platform , promising consumers that "nothing will be taken away."In a blog post and subsequent FAQ published Friday, Activision clarified to its Call of Duty fanbase that the platform -- which will offer subscription-based perks and services starting with this year's Modern Warfare 3 -- will be an "additive experience" that will not take away from the kind of content that players can currently access."The Call of Duty 'out of the box' experience that our players expect... remains the same as ever," the FAQ reads. "Our promise to you is this: Elite only adds to the Call of Duty experience. Nothing will be taken away from the experience you know and love.""With Call of Duty Elite, we�re adding a new choice for those who want to get even more out of the game. Even haters can play for free," it continued.The FAQ goes on to outline features that Elite will provide for free, including custom iOS and Android applications, custom leaderboards, detailed performance tracking, video uploads, and Facebook integration.The company again stressed that it was unable to detail most of the paid features of Elite, as the premium-tier service "was designed to be deeply integrated with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, and will not be demonstrable until we are closer to the launch of the game.""We know seeing is believing, and over the next few months we will be revealing and demonstrating more of the premium features and by the end of the summer, we will reveal the entire service in full."The full FAQ released Friday is available here [pdf link]. More details on the service are available in our original report , and Gamasutra's Chris Morris wrote a detailed editorial piece on Elite's potential impact here |
A home in Toronto's luxury real estate market. (Sotheby's International Realty Canada ) A staggering 14 per cent of the population is now considered low-income, according to Statistics Canada. A closer look reveals that this includes one out of every six children (16.3 per cent). Many are single-parent families, usually headed by women. And among seniors living alone, close to 30 per cent of them are low-income.
Clearly, this poverty is widespread.
By any definition, these are incredible numbers that tarnish the reputation of this country. We have failed colossally at providing for our fellow Canadians. With numbers like that, we can no longer call ourselves a prosperous country.
This news is simply a cold reminder of how the Canadian economy has stalled. With the collapse in oil, with Japan in deep recession, with Europe in recession and teetering on the verge of deflation, things will only get worse.
We are clearly still in a deep crisis, to which provincial and federal governments seem oblivious. When the country is this poor, you need better policies than income splitting, or more tax deductions for transit or soccer. We need bold policies, and an incredible level of political will, both of which are absent.
Add to that recent unemployment numbers from Statistics Canada released last week showing the Canadian economy shedding 10,700 jobs last month. We are heading in the wrong direction.
Not the time to balance the budget
It is not too late, however. We can turn things around but it will require strong policies that will inevitably create deficits. Governments must abandon their quest to balance budgets. There may be a time and place to balance budgets, but now is neither. At this point, deficits are necessary.
To get the economy back on the path to sustained growth, here are six policy proposals:
1) The government must adopt a policy of full employment. Job creation must become all governments' first priority. But it is more than just creating jobs, they must be well-paid, full-time, permanent jobs. We must also raise the minimum wage by at least 30 per cent. This may add costs to firms, but the macroeconomic effect will be positive, meaning the net effect will be positive because of the spending incentives.
2) The government must adopt more infrastructure spending. The government has recently announced a $5.8 billion in infrastructure spending last week (some of that money was already committed, so it's not clear how much is new money). Though welcome, it is not enough. The government needs to spend at least $60 billion over the next decade. This may create a deficit, but the recovery is more important than possible deficits, which we can deal with down the road. Infrastructure spending must be seen as an investment, not trivial spending, in our future, and in Canadian society at large.
3) The Bank of Canada must hold off on talks of raising interest rates well into 2016 or maybe 2017. The economy is still too weak to even begin to think of a rate increase. Moreover, any increases in the rate of interest may create more harm, as it will hurt over-indebted Canadians and sink any hopes of a recovery. The Bank of Canada must also relax its inflation target: letting inflation go up to 4 or even 5 per cent won't hurt anyone.
4) The Canadian dollar is overvalued, and we must allow the Canadian dollar to sink lower, and settle closer to $0.80. This may not be fun for those Canadians willing to travel abroad, but it will contribute to increasing exports. This has already started and the Bank of Canada should not interfere in markets and let the dollar slide further.
5) We must adopt stricter bank lending regulations. While this has not been as much of an issue in Canada, we must put these regulations in place now. In the U.S., loose lending (subprime or predatory lending) was a major component of the 2007 crisis. Loose lending creates bubbles that eventually burst with dire consequences. Banks cannot lend indiscriminately.
6) Finally, we must also address the elephant in the room: income inequality. Until this problem is resolved, the economic foundation upon which growth and prosperity are built, our economy still faces possibilities of another crisis. This is at the root of the low-income survey. The gap between the super rich and the poor is too large, and will lead to more instability. We must narrow this gap.
These policies may appear drastic to many Canadians, but putting our collective heads in the sand won't solve any problems, and this is what is going on right now. Governments must face reality and move forward in unison and adopt these bold policies now. Enough with policies that serve narrow interests. We must create wealth that is shared by all Canadians.
If we fail to do this, it can only lead to a lot worse. So take a good look at your situation and enjoy it for now, because as the trend goes, you will find yourself soon in a low-income situation.
Louis-Philippe Rochon is an associate professor at Laurentian University and co-editor for the Review of Keynesian Economics |
In modern times, preservation efforts are running on an ever dwindling timer. Every year, it seems as though more and more games lose their online components. And with games increasingly relying on interactivity and other online features, even a single player game can lose a sizable portion of its content when servers go down. While the Wii mostly dodged that bullet by having a relatively lackluster online infrastructure, we too have seen experiences disappear before our eyes.
Four years ago, Wii Network was merged into Dolphin after over two years of work. It was one of the most anticipated features and was thought to be unthinkable. Wii Network's success represented a massive achievement in an era where parts of Dolphin were still only capable of basic Wii emulation. Despite multiple developers and a concerted effort, one of the games used for testing Wii Network had shut down by the time of its merge: Monster Hunter Tri.
Monster Hunter Tri's Online worked in Dolphin's Wii Network branch. But, the Wii servers went down before it was completed.
In the case of Monster Hunter Tri, its Wii servers went down even before the official Nintendo servers. A lot of the game's content and value was suddenly gone with the publisher's only response to buy the shiny new Wii U version. It seems as though the same may be happening yet again. Late into the Wii's lifecycle, Dragon Quest X was released on the Wii as a full-fledged MMO that pushed the console beyond its natural limitations. And with the deadline of server shutdown looming, we decided that we were going to make it on before it was too late, come hell or high water.
The Most Peculiar of Wii Titles¶
Dragon Quest X defies much of what it means to be a Wii game. When you open the box, you will immediately notice two things. First of all, it is the only Wii game to use two discs for a single game. But these two discs are merely for installation: along with the game discs comes a 16GB USB drive that plugs into the back of the Wii and is required to play the game. That's right: Dragon Quest X installs itself to USB on the Wii! Even though this is common practice on recent consoles like the PS4, this is the only title with this behavior on the Nintendo Wii.
Released by Square Enix in 2012, Dragon Quest X was already a fairly big game. But like most MMORPGs, the game has received frequent updates and several content patches over the years. To stay up to date with all the new features in the game, Dragon Quest X is also the only commercial Wii game that supports downloadable patches. In fact, going from version 1.0 on the original game DVDs to the latest version 3.5.7 requires downloading nearly 10 gigabytes from the internet! That latest patch was released August 16th, 2017, making Dragon Quest X one of the last Wii games still under active development. But that's not all: if you want to enjoy the full game, you'll also want to acquire the two game expansions, each released as an independent physical Wii release with unique case artwork!
Dragon Quest X is an absolutely gigantic game with a ridiculous amount of online content.
Why haven't you heard of this crazy Wii game? Despite the massive amount of content and huge aspirations, it never saw a western release. Despite being limited to Japan, the Wii version alone sold over 700,000 copies and is currently active with a subscription service. Including copies released on other platforms, Dragon Quest X should be considered a commercial success with over one million units sold and a very active player base. While the game may look better on the Wii U or Switch, there's no denying that Dragon Quest X on the Wii is a masterpiece of working within limited hardware. So let's dive into how they made this thing work, and how close we came to never getting a chance to emulate it.
Using Every Last Resource Available¶
Square Enix heavily collaborated with Nintendo on this title in order to make the impossible a reality. As such, not only does Dragon Quest X rely on many obscure internal features of the Wii, but some features had to be added to the Wii Internal Operating System (IOS) exclusively for this game. This list of features shares a lot in common with what a Dolphin developer in 2008 might write when coming up with a list of "Features that will be a total pain in the ass."
Wii networking¶
As Dragon Quest X connects to both Nintendo's infrastructure over HTTPS and to Square Enix's servers, a complete implementation of IOS's network functionality is required to get online.
Fortunately, Dolphin master has had support for connecting to the Wi-Fi Connection since the exact day Nintendo announced when the WFC servers would be going down! While emulation back then wasn't nearly good enough to accomplish what is needed for Dragon Quest X, the foundation was solid enough to handle most network functionality and much of the code remains intact to this day. Without all of that done while the servers were still up, there's a good chance Dolphin never gets any online support. These days it may seem par for the course to try to emulate everything, back then Wii Networking seemed like a pipe dream, and it's still incredible to have footage of Dolphin playing alongside real Wiis in games like Mario Kart Wii and Super Smash Bros. Brawl from before the shutdown.
It may not have lasted long, but Dolphin on the official Wi-Fi Connection was glorious.
Compared to some of the stuff that would follow, these achievements would seem like par for the course, but back then, luxury features like this weren't the name of the game. Wii Networking's initial implementation hasn't actually changed much; improvements since then have mostly come from better emulation elsewhere and a better understanding of how the Wii works in general.
Proper Wii Menu functionality¶
Unlike most other titles, Dragon Quest X requires proper Wii System Menu functionality to even have a chance of getting into the game.
Dragon Quest X is a very special title. While most games don't care about the IOS version, both the installer and the online updater will check for it and refuse to work if the system software is too old. In fact, not only do they check whether the IOS is installed, they will even make sure the revision is new enough! This behaviour is so unique that this even caught developers off guard, as they tried to figure out why the installer would mysteriously fail.
It is possible to manually install required system titles and updates, but this was a hassle; one that did not exist on an actual console because the Wii Menu would force users to update before launching the game.
Thankfully, months before work on Dragon Quest X resumed, updating from discs and from the Internet was implemented in Dolphin. It is now possible to simply insert the game disc and rely on the Wii Menu to update everything, just like on a console. With all of the updates that Dragon Quest X demands, this was an important usability fix.
Here we were trying to emulate something boring and it ended up useful :(
Mario Kart Wii, Wii Fit, and other games install channels to the Wii Menu to provide optional extra features. But as with everything else, Dragon Quest X does things differently: the small channel it installs to the NAND is not optional, but required in order to play the game.
Basic channel installation was implemented with Dragon Quest X in mind several months ago. While the initial implementation in January 2017 was enough to install the Dragon Quest X launcher channel, more related features had to be implemented to support the game's update system.
Advanced E-Ticket Services (ES) functionality¶
Born as a GameCube emulator, Dolphin made a very reasonable assumption for a GameCube emulator to make: that the active title wouldn't change in the middle of emulation. With the Wii, not only is it possible to launch a game/channel from the Wii System Menu, users can go back to the menu, and any arbitrary title can be launched at any moment.
The Wii accomplishes this with E-Ticket Services, a part of IOS that has been mostly broken in Dolphin for a decade and only started receiving plenty of fixes lately. ES is a large module that plays an essential role on console: it is responsible for booting up the Wii System Menu, for importing titles, system updates, etc.
While most of the fixes to ES emulation were made before anyone imagined even running Dragon Quest X, it turns out they were all necessary for getting into the game, and particularly its online mode.
ES_Launch and IOS resets¶
As its name indicates, ES_Launch is a command that enables emulated software to launch another title. This feature has been broken in so many ways and fixed so many times that we've literally lost count.
Dolphin has historically had a lot of trouble with it, both because of regressions and because the Wii's behaviour wasn't always understood well enough. For a very long time, we didn't know that the same command is used for launching both ARM titles and PowerPC titles such as channels, nor the differences between these two types of launches. To make things even more complicated, launching an IOS resets its whole state, and launching a PowerPC title automatically triggers an IOS reload — both behaviours that Dolphin did not emulate either.
In fact, at one point, ES_Launch itself wasn't emulated; instead, functions that would trigger a launch were hooked and replaced with high-level reimplementations. While this did make many games playable for the first time, this resulted in various issues, from the launch straight up failing (if the functions weren't detected) to the disc channel being broken. As another example of how touchy ES_Launch was, fixing it once broke connecting four Wii remotes!
Even though Dolphin stalwart magumagu fixed lots of problems that were inherent with Dolphin's old implementation and IPC code back in June 2014, Dolphin's ES_Launch implementation was still incorrect even for common cases.
Note that this video is from 2014, and we were touting that ES_Launch was finally fixed. Then it broke again in 2015 and was fixed. Again in 2016. We're now in 2017, and again very confident that the implementation is now correct. This time, developers finally got around to replacing the hardcoded numbers with actual values that depended on the active IOS thanks to booto's work. And thanks to leoetlino implementing the different reload behaviours in Dolphin, we're fairly certain that ES_Launch's implementation is actually correct now... for real, this time. Oops, not that time, this time.
ES_Launch and IOS resets being handled correctly are absolutely required for Dragon Quest X, as it uses ES_Launch more than any other title. Even when just going online the game does at least three consecutive launches:
Wii Menu → Channel on NAND (ES_Launch) Channel on NAND → Main menu application on USB drive (WFSILaunchDol, default.dol) Main menu application on USB drive → Channel on NAND (ES_Launch) Channel on NAND → Updater application on Wii File System (WFSILaunchDol, extension1.dol) Updater application on USB drive → Channel on NAND (ES_Launch) Steps 4 and 5 are repeated until the game is up-to-date. Channel on NAND → Login screen & game (WFSILaunchDol, extension2.dol)
Title tracking¶
Even though ES functionality was implemented in Dolphin years ago, it did not keep track of the titles during the switch. This created a few problems, such as GameINI settings not changing after a switch, but it wasn't a high priority since why would people using Dolphin go through the System Menu anyway? A lot of the assumptions and hardcoded values back in the day made it hard to do things properly even if it was necessary.
In 2017, some developers realised that it didn't really make sense to be lacking this ability. After all, IOS was designed to enforce separation between titles, so it had to track title changes. And if it could track them, Dolphin would need to as well. Thanks to years of improving code, by the time we actually needed title tracking most of the work had already been done. As an unexpected bonus, this allowed on-disc updates to install correctly from various games. In the case of Dragon Quest X, this is the easiest way to get IOS59!
More important than that, title tracking was paramount for getting the file system that Dragon Quest X relies on to function properly. We'll be saving that for later: there are a few other key pieces to get through first!
Title information requests¶
Dolphin already had basic support for telling the emulated software what is installed on the NAND, giving TMD and ticket views, but the implementation was woefully incomplete and even plain wrong in some instances. Thanks to proper title tracking and cleanups that made it much less painful to work on IOS, fixing these issues didn't take too much effort.
Soon after DQX's online updater booted for the first time, it quickly became very obvious that the accuracy boost was in fact required.
Wii shopping (EC)¶
One of the biggest reactions to Wii Shop Support when we announced it back in March was Why?? It seemed like a very pointless luxury without much use. After all, who would be insane enough to buy a game directly from Nintendo's servers from within an emulator? Other than JMC4789, at least.
But, Wii Shop support wasn't due to some magical, localized fix. Rather, it was a bunch of fixes to how Dolphin emulates ES, so, those fixes actually affected anything that uses its more advanced features and ended up being useful for much more than just the Wii Menu: homebrew compatibility was improved, and a huge part of getting shop functionality to work was done.
After nearly a hundred commits dedicated to better IOS and Wii Menu emulation, all that remained to be implemented was support for personalised tickets.
Personalised tickets¶
As a quick primer, Wii software (system software, channels, games) are organised by titles and encrypted using AES-128 CBC using a per-title key, known as the title key, that is itself encrypted with a shared secret (the "common key"). The encrypted key is found in a signed file called a ticket.
There are two kinds of tickets: common tickets (or cetk), which are the same for everyone, and personalised tickets. Unlike the former, personalised tickets are issued for a specific console: the encrypted title key is itself encrypted using asymmetrical cryptography and can only be decrypted by the console to which the ticket was issued.
All system titles and games use common tickets, whereas all titles that can be downloaded from the Wii Shop — even items that are free to download — use the latter. This was likely done to make piracy harder. Handling personalized tickets correctly in Dolphin involved a lot of reverse engineering on how the Wii decrypted titles and other quirks that were never thought to be important. With help from ace reverse engineer booto and a mythical Starlet emulator that may or may not exist, leoetlino was able to figure out how personalised tickets worked and taught a Dolphin how to shop.
Bringing patches to a system that didn't support them¶
The Wii is well known for not having any kind of patching system for disc games. When a bad bug was discovered in a game, all Nintendo could do was print new versions of the game disc, and perhaps also release a channel to fix affected save data. Fundamentally, the Wii was not designed with patching games in mind, so they were unable to fix any bugs once a game was released.
So, how does Dragon Quest X, an online MMORPG that requires regular online updates, solve this problem?
As it turns out, the game gets its updates from the Wii Shop infrastructure and uses the exact same EC (E-Commerce) library as the Wii Shop Channel! Suddenly, all of those fixes turned from luxury to necessity.
That's right, one of the prerequisites to getting Dragon Quest X to work is getting the Wii Shop to work. Without leoetlino's work on the IOS emulation throughout the year, it'd been much harder to get online before the game's servers went down.
Dragon Quest X downloading updates from the Wii Shop!
New USB modules¶
One IOS subsystem that has received major changes over the Wii's lifetime is USB. No less than five different interfaces exist, and a lot of them can be used by software running on the PowerPC:
OH0: This is the earliest interface. It is used in a lot of homebrew and in commercial titles for Wii Speak and Microphone support.
OH1: A trimmed down version of the OH0 interface used for the internal Bluetooth adapter.
HIDv4: Used to interact with Human Interface Devices, such as keyboards and other input devices.
VEN: In late IOS versions, this is a replacement for the old OH0 interface. It's a more complex interface that supports USB 2.0 (in IOS58 and IOS59) and handles devices that have the same ID better.
HIDv5: Just like VEN, this replaces the HIDv4 interface in some IOS versions.
While Dolphin already supported the first four of them since February, HIDv5 wasn't implemented, as it didn't seem to be used by anything. ...Of course Dragon Quest X used it.
Dragon Quest X makes use of this rare USB interface for USB keyboard support, and is the only official title to do so. However supporting this has turned out to be mostly optional, as stubbing it out works well enough for the game, and the keyboard is only optional for players. Until a complete implementation is finished, players on Dolphin will just have to use the Wii Remote IME that the developers provided, as clunky as it is.
The real challenge came from another unique feature of the game.
Wii File System¶
Wii File System, or WFS, is the custom, encrypted file system that was designed for the Wii U. So what's it doing here on the Wii? At some point during Dragon Quest X's development, they decided that they wanted to tap into the Wii's massive userbase to try and get a boost for their new game. As such, developers feverishly worked on Dragon Quest X to backport the IOSU (Internal Operating System for the Wii U) features it needed to Wii. Because the Wii only had 512MB of NAND, there was no way Dragon Quest X could install there, so developers had to make use of the USB ports on the back of the Wii for expandable storage much like they could on Wii U. This is where WFS comes into play.
One of the main challenges with WFS is the amount of reverse engineering that was required to understand how it operates. Its IOS module is several megabytes large, containing both high-level features (title management, package installation, ...) and low-level features (block cache, USB device management, ...). Since it was only released in 2012, long after the glory days of the Wii, nobody really looked at it in detail until Dolphin needed it for Dragon Quest X. We had to do everything from scratch, and we couldn't rely on prior research, since there was none!
Late last year, delroth took on the goal of making Dragon Quest X run in Dolphin. However, this kind of reverse engineering project is tricky to combine with a demanding full time job. Being efficient at reverse engineering new systems requires keeping a lot of context in your mind, something that is hard to do when interrupted for nine hours every day by pesky IRL requirements! Work started at the end of 2016 during the 33c3 conference in Hamburg, Germany and continued during the beginning in January during a one week visit in a hackerspace in Lübeck with several console hackers and emulation developers. Even though Dolphin wasn't close to launching Dragon Quest X Online at this point, its installer was working. More importantly, research was done on WFS that was essential for future endeavors to complete WFS emulation.
The Dragon Quest X Channel was a sight for sore eyes, but it wasn't ready to boot.
The nice thing with emulating WFS in Dolphin is that we can afford taking shortcuts. For example, Dolphin does not care in the slightest about how the filesystem on USB looks like as implemented by Nintendo. The only important part is that game can communicate with the WFS modules as if they were real. Instead of emulating at a low level a USB drive with sectors and storage blocks, we instead operate at a higher level -- emulating file descriptors, open/read/write/close operations, etc.
Work started again during the SHA2017 hackercamp in Zeewolde, Netherlands two weeks ago. During this event, several European emulation developers and Dolphin contributors assembled to work together on their passion. After a few more days of work on WFS, a patched version of Dolphin managed to boot the game to its main menu. Just one day later and it was the first time anyone was ever able to play the offline mode of Dragon Quest X in an emulator!
Unfortunately, by the end of the event, delroth was still stuck on the last wall between Dolphin and the online mode: getting the game to upgrade to its latest version. Working with leoetlino, IOS and Wii Shop expert, and with marcan, console hacker extraordinaire who owns an NTSC-J Wii with the game installed, the team continued to make progress until they got to the login screen. Strangely enough, some of the last hurdles for getting Dolphin in had less to do with emulation issues and more to do with language barriers and restrictions that would even hit console. Despite Wikipedia claiming that the geoblocking was removed in 2014, we can confidently say the Wii version still requires you to be a on a Japanese IP address.
With that taken care of, on August 18th, 2017, delroth logged onto Dragon Quest X within Dolphin.
Dragon Quest X is a massive achievement on the Wii, and was a huge challenge to emulate in Dolphin. We're happy to announce that Dragon Quest X is fully playable in version 5.0-5291 thanks to an incredible effort by delroth, leoetlino, along with many others over the course of this project. Features that were thought to be pointless for games came into play in spectacular ways and validated work that was originally just done for "accuracy's sake." With the Wii version of the game scheduling to shut down in November of 2017 (just a couple months away), users looking to get into this game should stick to one of the other releases. With Playstation 4 and Nintendo Switch releases coming out soon, the game should be around for many more years and be allowed to change without having to cater to the Wii's limitations.
We're thankful to have gotten the chance to play this game from within Dolphin; it is bittersweet that our time together will be so short. We're hopeful that Dolphin's ability to emulate it will help preservationists get a better look at how the game works and maybe some of the functionality necessary to play the game could be restored in the future. Beyond that, Dragon Quest X was extremely important to Dolphin as well, as it let us test and verify features that were used nowhere else. While the online portion of this game may be disappearing, Dragon Quest X does have an offline mode and unique story that will at least show some of what this strange, strange game could do.
For a few days this November, past and future will collide, as players on the newly released Nintendo Switch version will be able to play alongside Wii (and Emulated Wii) players before service ends for the original version of the game. With the last month of the game being free for Wii users, we expect the console's userbase to show its strength for one last hurrah. |
Where Rates Climbed Significantly in 2015
Arrow length shows the increase in homicide rate in 2015, compared with the average rate of the previous three years for each city.The increase in homicide rate in 2015, compared with the average rate of the previous three years for each city. +20 +18 Portland +10 +9 +14 Minneapolis Milwaukee Jersey City Chicago Cleveland Columbus Baltimore Indianapolis Denver Sacramento Washington St. Louis Louisville Las Vegas Durham Nashville Scottsdale Albuquerque Birmingham Irving Lubbock Houston Orlando Anchorage 23 17 6 16 4 25 22 1 12 19 20 5 2 11 3 8 9 24 21 7 14 18 15 10 13 +20 +18 Portland +10 +9 +14 Minneapolis Milwaukee Jersey City Cleveland Chicago Columbus Baltimore Indianapolis Sacramento Denver Washington St. Louis Louisville Las Vegas Durham Nashville Albuquerque Scottsdale Birmingham Lubbock Irving Houston Orlando Anchorage +20 +18 Portland +10 +9 Minneapolis +14 Milwaukee Jersey City Cleveland Chicago Sacramento Baltimore Columbus Indianapolis Denver Washington St. Louis Louisville Las Vegas Durham Nashville Albuquerque Scottsdale Birmingham Lubbock Irving Houston Orlando Anchorage
1 Baltimore +20 2 St. Louis +18 3 Las Vegas +14 5 Washington +9 6 Milwaukee +9 15 Houston +3 4 Cleveland +10 9 Nashville +5 12 Columbus +4 11 Louisville +5 8 Durham +6 18 Irving +3 13 Anchorage +4 10 Orlando +5 21 Scottsdale +2 14 Lubbock +4 20 Denver +2 23 Portland +2 7 Birmingham +8 25 Chicago +2 17 Minneapolis +3 19 Indianapolis +3 16 Jersey City +3 22 Sacramento +2 24 Albuquerque +2
Murder rates rose significantly in 25 of the nation’s 100 largest cities last year, according to an analysis by The New York Times of new data compiled from individual police departments.
The findings confirm a trend that was tracked recently in a study published by the National Institute of Justice. “The homicide increase in the nation’s large cities was real and nearly unprecedented,” wrote the study’s author, Richard Rosenfeld, a criminology professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis who explored homicide data in 56 large American cities.
The F.B.I. released its 2015 crime data for the entire country on Sept. 26. It showed that the murder rate rose 11 percent across the United States in 2015, jumping more last year than it had in nearly half a century.
In the Times analysis, half of the increase in homicides came from just seven cities — Baltimore, Chicago, Cleveland, Houston, Milwaukee, Nashville and Washington.
Chicago had the most homicides — 488 in 2015 — far more than the 352 in New York City, which has three times as many people. Baltimore had the largest increase — 133 more than 2014 — and the second-highest rate in 2015, after St. Louis, which had 59 homicides per 100,000 residents.
The number of cities where rates rose significantly was the largest since the height of violent crime in the early 1990s.
Number of cities where
murder rates rose significantly
36 cities in 1991 25 cities last year 2000 2010 1990 1995 2005 2015 36 cities in 1991 25 cities last year 2000 2010 1990 1995 2005 2015 36 cities in 1991 25 cities last year 2000 2010 1990 1995 2005 2015
Donald J. Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, has said that crime is “out of control” and that decades of progress are now being reversed. But the Times analysis shows that the rise in homicides is much more nuanced; while violence is up in a number of cities, it’s not soaring across the nation.
Nationally, homicide rates are still much lower than they were in the 1990s, even among the seven cities that drove last year’s increase.
Homicide rate in the ...
7 cities: 21 per 100,000 100 largest cities: 11 per 100,000 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 7 cities: 21 per 100,000 100 largest cities: 11 per 100,000 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 7 cities: 21 per 100,000 100 largest cities: 11 per 100,000 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015
For the Times analysis, we collected 30 years of homicide data from the F.B.I. through 2014, then gathered 2015 data from local police departments in the 100 cities.
Since crime rates fluctuate from year to year, we used a statistical technique to determine places where we can definitely say rates were rising.
The Cities That Drove the Increase
Nationwide, nearly 6,700 homicides were reported in the 100 largest cities in 2015, about 950 more than the year before. About half of the rise — 480 of the 950 — occurred in seven cities. The poverty rate in these cities is higher than the national average.
Percent in poverty
Cleveland Milwaukee Baltimore Chicago Houston Nashville Washington 36% 29 24 23 23 19 18 U.S. AVERAGE 16% Cleveland Milwaukee Baltimore Chicago Houston Nashville Washington 36% 29 24 23 23 19 18 U.S. AVERAGE 16%
At least three of these cities have also been embroiled in protests after police-involved deaths of black males, like Freddie Gray in Baltimore, Laquan McDonald in Chicago and Tamir Rice in Cleveland.
In his study, Dr. Rosenfeld said that rising crime might be linked to less aggressive policing that resulted from protests of high-profile police killings of African-Americans. But he said this hypothesis, a version of the so-called Ferguson effect, which has spurred heated debate among lawmakers and criminologists, must be further evaluated.
There is no consensus on what caused the recent spike, and each city appears to have unique circumstances contributing to the uptick.
“Cities are obviously heterogeneous,” said Robert Sampson, a Harvard professor who is an expert on crime trends. “There is tremendous variation across the largest cities in basic features such as demographic composition, the concentration of poverty, and segregation that relate to city-level differences in rates of violence.”
Many crime experts warn against reading too much into recent statistics. In fact, murder rates remained largely unchanged in 70 cities, and decreased significantly in five.
Where murder rates ...
Rose slightly Fell slightly Fell significantly
“Even if the uptick continues in some cities, I doubt the pattern will become universal,” Dr. Sampson said.
No End in Sight for Chicago’s Violence
In Chicago, homicides were concentrated in highly segregated pockets that are predominantly black. A fifth of Chicago’s killings took place in just two police districts on the city’s West and South Sides, which are also among the city’s poorest.
Chicago homicides in 2015 District 11 48 homicides CHICAGO District 7 38 homicides Areas that are 90 percent black 3 MILES District 11 48 homicides CHICAGO District 7 38 homicides Areas that are 90 percent black 3 MILES
“Flare-ups and spikes in violence are occurring in predictable places,” Dr. Sampson said. “The cynicism and mistrust of legal institutions in poor black communities is longstanding, although recent conflicts with the police have exacerbated underlying tensions.”
Alarming levels of violence have become the norm in some of these neighborhoods. While murder rates have continued to decline in the nation’s two largest cities — New York and Los Angeles — Chicago’s has stalled in the last decade. At its peak in the 1990s, New York’s homicide rate was more than seven times as high as it is now.
How Chicago’s homicide rate compares
Chicago 18 per 100,000 Los Angeles 7 New York City 4 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 Homicide rate Chicago 18 per 100,000 Los Angeles 7 New York City 4 1995 1985 1990 2000 2005 2010 2015 Homicide rate Chicago 18 per 100,000 Los Angeles 7 New York City 4 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015
In Chicago, however, the landscape appears to be worsening, with killings up more than 45 percent so far this year. In August, Chicago had its deadliest month in about 20 years with at least 90 murders — and more homicides so far this year than New York and Los Angeles combined.
Areas with “long-standing conditions of alienation, hopelessness, poverty and lack of opportunities” also have the greatest distrust of the police and the greatest complaints of police abuse, said Craig Futterman, a University of Chicago law professor who directs a civil rights and police accountability project at the law school.
That means homicides go unsolved, perpetuating a dangerous cycle because people committing the crimes are still out there. In some neighborhoods, the city’s clearance rate, the percentage of homicides in which the police arrest or identify a suspect, is less than 20 percent, he said.
Dr. Futterman said the city’s problems were intensified in recent years by the closing of more than 50 public schools in 2013, the dismantling of public housing throughout the 2000s, and the federal government’s successful prosecution of big gang leaders, which destabilized gang hierarchies, territories and illegal drug markets.
While there was violence before, ironically, crime was more contained and easier to police than it is now, he said.
What’s Behind the Surge of Killings in Baltimore?
In 2015, Baltimore’s murder rate not only increased the most among the 100 top cities, it also reached a historic high of 55 homicides per 100,000 residents. Its previous record high was in 1993, when the rate was 48.
Baltimore’s homicide rate, per 100,000
55 homicides last year 48 homicides in 1993 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 55 homicides last year 48 homicides in 1993 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 55 homicides last year 48 homicides in 1993 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015
Some experts attribute the sudden spike in violence largely to a flood of black-market opiates looted from pharmacies during riots in April 2015. The death of Freddie Gray, a young black man who sustained a fatal spinal cord injury in police custody, had set off the city’s worst riots since the death of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
During the riots, nearly 315,000 doses of drugs were stolen from 27 pharmacies and two methadone clinics, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration, a number much higher than the 175,000 doses the agency initially estimated.
Most of the homicides in Baltimore were connected to the drug trade, and what happened in 2015 was a result of more people “getting into the game of selling drugs,” said Jeffrey Ian Ross, a criminologist at the University of Baltimore.
Number of homicides per month in Baltimore
After death of Freddie Gray 40 30 20 10 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 MAY 2016 AUG.* *Through Aug. 27 After death of Freddie Gray 40 30 20 10 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 MAY 2016 AUG.* *Through Aug. 27 After death of Freddie Gray 40 30 20 10 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 AUG.* *Through Aug. 27
Police commanders have said that an oversupply of inventory from looting resulted in a violent battle for customers among drug gangs.
“This would have caused a disruption in drug markets, with more people trying to maintain or increase their market share,” Dr. Ross said. “You have new entrants coming into the field, altering the supply and demand of illegal drugs in those neighborhoods,” often leading to increased violence.
If the drug theory holds true, the killings in Baltimore should subside this year. A midyear violent crime survey by the Major Cities Chiefs Police Association showed that while killings were up among 60 large cities, they were slightly down in Baltimore. |
Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images
New York Knicks center Kyle O'Quinn might be a force on the court, but he spends his spare time moonlighting in a surprisingly sweet side gig: entertaining at bar and bat mitzvahs around the city.
ESPN's Ian Begley reported last week that O'Quinn attended his first bat mitzvah when Andy Miller, his agent, invited him to celebrate at his daughter's ceremonial entrance to adulthood.
"That was one of the best parties I've been to in my life," O'Quinn told Begley.
Since then, O'Quinn has begun making the rounds at bar and bat mitzvahs, booking gigs through his agency and showing up to help parents relax and kids enjoy the party.
"I did one, did two, and the next thing you know, I was just Bar Mitzvah Man," he told ESPN.
O'Quinn doesn't attend the religious aspect of the celebration but joins up with the party afterward, with an emcee introducing him to the crowd.
"Then I come out, and they just go nuts," O'Quinn said, adding that he then feels like "part of the party."
It's no surprise that O'Quinn, a lovable big man who's known to be the comedian in the Knicks' locker room, would be successful in this role — and it has apparently turned into a side hustle for the center.
O'Quinn's is supposed to be the life of these parties — he'll spend time dancing and joking with the kids, signing autographs, and taking tons of selfies. And he seems to excel at it.
"They see how much I enjoy it, and they let me rock out," he told ESPN. "The parents are partying with the kids, and it's a big festival. They're letting loose, having a good time, and the kids are having a good time." |
Conservative MSNBC host Joe Scarborough said on Sunday that former House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s thumping of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in South Carolina Saturday showed that the Republican base was “revolting” against the party establishment.
During a round table discussion on NBC’s Meet the Press, Chuck Todd explained that Gingrich’s win was “about Mitt Romney.”
“He hasn’t made the sale to conservatives,” Todd observed. “And losing in South Carolina, he can’t dismiss it. This is the heart and soul of the conservative movement, the folks that show up at telephones, that knock on the doors — and he doesn’t have their support.”
“There’s no doubt about it,” Scarborough agreed. “The party base is revolting, but they are revolting against the Washington Republican establishment anointing Mitt Romney.”
“Just like Herman Cain was not about Herman Cain. It was a rejection of Mitt Romney. Rick Perry, a rejection of Mitt Romney. Michele Bachmann, a rejection of Mitt Romney. Newt Gingrich wave one, a rejection of Mitt Romney. Now we have Newt Gingrich wave two, a rejection of Mitt Romney.”
Scarborough continued: “Mitt Romney could attack Newt for not being a conservative because Newt is not a conservative. Google it! We [Republicans] ran him out of Congress in 1998 because he sold us out on taxes, he sold us out on spending, he went to the floor and he sided with Democrats on his last speech, calling us the perfectionists caucus. He called us jihadists. He’s not a conservative, he’s an opportunist. But here is the problem: So is Mitt Romney.”
Watch this video from NBC’s Meet the Press, broadcast Jan. 22, 2012. |
The distance from here to there is a college scholarship
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There are also Evans Scholars at five additional universities, where they live together in a designated residence hall. |
TOKYO (Reuters) - A Japanese kindergarten that has ties to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s wife, Akie, has apologized over online comments that domestic media described as possible hate speech against Koreans and Chinese people.
FILE PHOTO - Students recite the Imperial Rescript on Education and Confucian Analects in front of JapanÕs national flag, a picture of Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, and a hanging scroll of Confucius at Tsukamoto kindergarten in Osaka, Japan, November 30, 2016. REUTERS/Ha Kwiyeon/File Photo
The private Tsukamoto kindergarten in Osaka, western Japan, has been visited by Akie Abe and is operated by Moritomo Gakuen, an educational institution that plans to open an elementary school in April with the prime minister’s wife as honorary principal.
Kyodo news agency reported on Friday that the kindergarten had apologized after referring to “irresponsible” South Korean and Chinese parents on its home page.
“We apologize for expressions about foreigners that caused misunderstanding,” the kindergarten said on its web site.
The school, however, denounced “unjust, slanderous and defamatory Internet-based articles about this kindergarten” and it said it would keep fighting against “malicious criticism”.
Criticism of Korean residents and Chinese people is a common feature of right-wing rhetoric in Japan, where ethnic homogeneity has been a source of pride for many conservatives.
Separately, the Osaka prefectural government is considering whether to take action over derogatory expressions about Koreans living in Japan and Chinese used by the kindergarten in a document sent to students’ parents last year, an Osaka official said.
The Tsukamoto kindergarten aims to instill in its 3- to 5-year-old students a sense of patriotism with a curriculum focused on Japanese traditions and culture.
Abe was grilled in parliament last week about possible ties to Moritomo Gakuen, including whether he knew his name had been used to solicit donations for the elementary school.
Abe said then he had rejected a request to have the school bear his name because it was not appropriate for an incumbent lawmaker and was unaware his name had been used in seeking donations.
An official at the prime minister’s office declined comment on any specific remarks by the school because they had not seen them.
But the official, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the subject, added: “When it comes to the issue of discrimination based on nationality, ethnicity or race, it cannot be tolerated and it is extremely important to have consideration for others and to have mutual understanding.”
Yasunori Kagoike, the principal of the kindergarten and president of Moritomo Gakuen, heads the Osaka branch of Nippon Kaigi, or Japan Conference, a nationalist lobby group with close ties to the prime minister and his cabinet.
Kindergarten officials were not available for comment. |
This was posted on Tuesday, September 26, 2017 by RODNEY HO/[email protected] on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
Eric Von Haessler is trading places on News 95.5 and AM 750 WSB with Herman Cain starting Monday, October 2.
The former Regular Guy will begin airing a two-hour show from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. while Cain will take the one-hour slot at 11 a.m.
Von Haessler, whose show is called the "Von Haessler Doctrine," plans to continue his bonus podcast each day as well.
Haessler's team - which includes Autumn Fischer, Tim Andrews, Jared Yamamoto, Greg Russ and English Nick - will remain the same. He began his weekday show on WSB in January after hosting a weekend show for a couple of years.
"I never stop moving, that's my strategy," Von Haessler joked. "Nobody can pin me down. Before I fail at any one thing, I move on and do it another time."
More seriously, he said he said he respects "Herman Cain as a person and as radio personality. I think he's going to be great at 11. He's a great lead in to Rush."
Pete Spriggs, WSB program director, said this will enable Cain to have more flexibility as he continues work in other venues. Cain had been syndicated on several dozen stations until earlier this year. He's now heard on handful of Cox-owned radio stations.
Cain, a long-time businessman and a presidential candidate for the 2012 race, took over for Neal Boortz in early 2013. He's 71.
Von Haessler, 53, was known as one half of the Regular Guys team for 96rock and Rock 100.5 from 1998 through 2013.
He feels nothing but gratitude for this opportunity: "My philosophy is I will sit on the bench and do whatever the coach wants me to do in the game. It's an honor they feel this show is good enough to be put on at that time. I'm looking forward to it. I'm excited. How many people leave music radio and get a chance like this?"
Von Haessler said he was a little nervous when he began the weekday show, wondering if the audience would accept him. After a few months, once he realized they would, he relaxed.
Eric Von Haessler holding fort at the mic at WSB studios Monday, January 9, 2017, his first day with his new weekday show. CREDIT: Rodney Ho/ [email protected]
"I think at some point you lose the fear and take ownership of the time slot you're doing," he said. "You recognize the sky's the limit. We can do whatever we want. The audience trusts us. They know they'll get compelling radio. It's a very funny show. Our motto is we'll have as much fun every day as the news cycle allows us."
He thinks this is the best show he's ever been part of, even better than the Regular Guys. "We have no artificial limits on the ability of each person to perform their best," he said. "At the last show, there were artificial limits. 'Don't do too much.' We don't have that around here. Whatever they can contribute to make it a great show is accepted and appreciated. I want more of it."
Shannon Burke over at rival NewsRadio 106.7 since taking over the 9 a.m. to noon slot 15 months ago has more than quadrupled the audience from his predecessor Michael Graham.
WSB Radio and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution are both part of Cox Media Group. |
In my whole life, I have known no wise people (over a broad subject area) who didn’t read all the time – none, zero. You’d be amazed at how much Warren [Buffett] reads – and how much I read. My children laugh at me. They think I’m a book with a couple of legs sticking out – Charles T. Munger.
When asked his secret to success, Warren Buffett – the most successful investor of all time – held up a stack of papers and replied: “[You] read 500 pages like this every day. That’s how knowledge builds up, like compound interest”. [1]
500 pages a day? That’s a lot to ask for, right? As valuable as that knowledge would be, most of us don’t have the time nor the patience to perform a daily feat like that.
However, if you’re an artist, an entrepreneur, or any kind of a creative for that matter, you’ll understand how important reading is as a daily habit.
Reading is learning and if you’re not learning, you’re not improving in your craft.
Stephen King once commented:
“If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that”. [2]
Fortunately, it is possible to read more books, deepen your knowledge and improve your craft — without it feeling like an effort or drain on your precious resources and time.
With Amazon Kindles, Nooks, smart phone apps and tablets available to us, books have never been more accessible – nor easier to read. No longer do you have to lug a heavy hard/paperback book around with you or wait for a book order to arrive at your local book store. You can have them with you at all times without it being burdensome.
But despite these advantages, we still rely on excuses not to read:
“I’m busy”.
“I don’t have time”.
“I don’t like reading”.
“I don’t have a Kindle”.
“I always forget”.
It’s time to ditch the old excuses. Here’s how you can read more:
Introducing The 10% Rule
Like most people, I used to avoid reading: “I don’t have time” was my go to excuse. Truth be told, I did have time to read, but like everyone else who uses that excuse, I simply mismanaged my time.
I would check my Facebook and Twitter accounts on my commute; I would stream movies in bed, and I’d mindlessly browse online when I could’ve been reading… When I should’ve been reading.
Eventually, I invested in an Amazon Kindle in the hope it would encourage me to read more.
And it did.
Soon, I found myself reading more than I had ever done before. Not just because I’d bought a Kindle, but because I stumbled upon a new system for reading. That approach is a simple formula I decided to commit to:
Read 10% of a book every day.
That’s it.
A System for Reading More Books
Since obeying this self-imposed rule, I’ve also developed a three-step system for reading more and recording what I learn as well.
The system is as follows:
Create an inventory of books you’d like to read (Here’s a great list) Choose a book to read (and Highlight what you find interesting) Archive your notes for easy reference
Let’s look at each step in more detail.
Step 01. Create an Inventory of Books You’d Like to Read
This easiest way to do this is to create an Amazon Wish List.
Amazon Wish Lists allows you to add books you’re interested in to a list which can be returned to periodically to edit.
If you’re browsing on Amazon and you see a book that interests you, add it to your wish list. Similarly, if a friend recommends a book they think would interest you, remember it and add it to your Amazon Wish List the next time you’re online.
To follow David Allen’s system for Getting Things Done, have one (and only one) place to “capture” the books you’re interested in. In other words, don’t have multiple lists because you’ll lose track. Have one place where you do your updating.
Step 02. Choose a Book to Read (and Highlight What You Find Interesting)
The next step is an obvious one: Choose a book and start reading. Commit to reading your new book in its entirety by using the 10% rule and read 10% every day.
Now, there is one caveat to this: You’ll learn that reading 10% of a 200 page book is different to reading 10% of a 300 page book, so take into consideration when you’re going to read. In other words, if a book is longer than average, read when your energy is at its highest. The later in the day it is, the more likely you’re likely to succumb to decision fatigue.
If 10% is a lot because of the size of the book, split it in half and read 5% in the morning and 5% in the evening. This is easy if you commute to work via public transport.
You’ll learn a lot of Kindle books aren’t even 100% long. Once you’ve excluded the acknowledgements, appendix, prefaces, recommendations and sources – in other words, the parts that aren’t as interesting – a book only ends up being between 70-80% in length.
That means that if you’re reading a book that’s 200-300 pages in length, you can read an average of one book a week. That’s 52+ books a year!
As Buffett argued, knowledge compounds, especially when you apply The Daffodil Principle to your daily reading habit.
(You can get access to over 500,000 kindle books with this Amazon prime 30 day-free trial)
Taking Notes
This is an essential part of the reading process – that is, if you really want to remember what you’re reading – and yet, it’s one that’s often completely overlooked.
If you want to retain the information you’re reading, note taking is essential. And while highlighting what interests you can be effective in print books, it’s not effective in the long-term, unless you’re extremely organised (more on that in Step 03.).
Thankfully, making notes has never been easier with an Amazon Kindle. Once your device is connected to Wi-Fi, it will synch your notes to your Amazon Kindle Highlights and you’ll be able to complete Step 03.
Step 03. Archive Your Notes for Easy Reference
This is best done via Evernote. Evernote is free archiving and note taking software and is wonderful for archiving everything you’ve highlighted.
You can log into your Amazon Kindle Highlights account and view your highlights and either clip your highlights from the page using the Evernote Web Clipper plugin for Chrome, or copy and paste them onto an Evernote note and manually edit them yourself. This is my preferred method.
Now, all your Kindle highlights are archived and available at the click of a button. You can even download the Evernote Mobile App for your iPhone or Android phone, so you’ll be able to pull them up anyplace, anytime.
A Final Word
It’s important not to think of reading as a chore, but rather a privilege; it’s not an activity you should do, but one you get to do.
Or, as Ryan Holiday puts it:
The key to reading lots of book begins with stop thinking of it as some activity that you do. Reading must become as natural as eating and breathing to you. It’s not something you do because you feel like it, but because it’s a reflex, a default. [3]
10% a day. That’s all you need. And trust me: The results will speak for themselves. [4]
P.S. An extra thing you can do to get through more books each year is to listen to them. Audio books are an amazing way to consume books when it’s impractical to have a book in your hand. With Amazon’s 30-Day Audible Free Trial, you’ll get to chose and download two books today for free to listen to them all of your devices. Just click here to get started. |
Jeffrey Scott Buckley (November 17, 1966 – May 29, 1997), raised as Scott Moorhead,[1] was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. After a decade as a session guitarist in Los Angeles, Buckley amassed a following in the early 1990s by playing cover songs at venues in Manhattan's East Village, such as Sin-é, gradually focusing more on his own material. After rebuffing much interest from record labels[2] and his father Tim Buckley's manager Herb Cohen,[3] he signed with Columbia, recruited a band, and recorded what would be his only studio album, Grace, in 1994.
Over the following three years, the band toured extensively to promote the album, including concerts in the U.S., Europe, Japan, and Australia. In 1996, they stopped touring[4] and made sporadic attempts to record Buckley's second album in New York City with Tom Verlaine as producer.
In 1997, Buckley moved to Memphis, Tennessee, to resume work on the album, to be titled My Sweetheart the Drunk, recording many four-track demos while also playing weekly solo shows at a local venue. On May 29, 1997, while awaiting the arrival of his band from New York, he drowned during a spontaneous evening swim, fully clothed, in the Mississippi River when he was caught in the wake of a passing boat; his body was found on June 4.[5]
Since his death, there have been many posthumous releases of his material, including a collection of four-track demos and studio recordings for his unfinished second album My Sweetheart the Drunk, expansions of Grace, and the Live at Sin-é EP. Chart success also came posthumously: with his cover of Leonard Cohen's song "Hallelujah" he attained his first number one on Billboard's Hot Digital Songs in March 2008 and reached number 2 in the UK Singles Chart that December. Buckley and his work remain popular[6] and are regularly featured in "greatest" lists in the music press.[7][8]
In 2004, Rolling Stone listed him at number 39 on their list of greatest singers of all time.[9]
Early life [ edit ]
Born in Orange, California,[1] Buckley was the only son of Mary Guibert and Tim Buckley. His mother was a Zonian of mixed Greek, French, and Panamanian descent,[10] while his father was the son of an Irish American father and an Italian American mother.[11] Buckley was raised by his mother and stepfather, Ron Moorhead, in Southern California, and had a half-brother, Corey Moorhead.[12][13] Buckley moved many times in and around Orange County while growing up, an upbringing Buckley called "rootless trailer trash."[14] As a child, Buckley was known as Scott "Scottie" Moorhead based on his middle name and his stepfather's surname.[1]
His biological father, Tim Buckley, was a singer-songwriter who released a series of highly acclaimed folk and jazz albums in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and whom, he said, he only met once, at the age of eight.[15] After his biological father died of a drug overdose in 1975,[16] he chose to go by Buckley and his real first name, which he found on his birth certificate.[17] To members of his family he remained "Scottie."[18]
Buckley was brought up around music. His mother was a classically trained pianist and cellist.[19] His stepfather introduced him to Led Zeppelin, Queen, Jimi Hendrix, the Who, and Pink Floyd at an early age.[20]
Buckley grew up singing around the house and in harmony with his mother,[21] later noting that all his family sang.[22] He began playing guitar at the age of five after discovering an acoustic guitar in his grandmother's closet.[23]
Led Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti was the first album he ever owned;[24] the hard rock band Kiss was also an early favourite.[25] At the age of 12, he decided to become a musician,[24] and received his first electric guitar — a black Les Paul — at the age of 13.[26] He attended Loara High School,[27] and played in the school's jazz band.[28] During this time, he developed an affinity for progressive rock bands such as Rush, Genesis, and Yes, as well as jazz fusion guitarist Al Di Meola.[29]
After graduating from high school, he moved north to Hollywood to attend the Musicians Institute,[30] completing the one-year course at the age of 19.[31] Buckley later told Rolling Stone the school was "the biggest waste of time",[24] but noted in an interview with Double Take Magazine that he appreciated studying music theory there, saying, "I was attracted to really interesting harmonies, stuff that I would hear in Ravel, Ellington, Bartók."[32]
Career [ edit ]
Buckley spent the next six years working in a hotel and playing guitar in various struggling bands playing in styles from jazz, reggae, and roots rock to heavy metal.[33] He toured with the dancehall reggae artist Shinehead[34] and also played the occasional funk and R&B studio session, collaborating with fledgling producer Michael J. Clouse to form X-Factor Productions.[35] Throughout this period, Buckley limited his singing to backing vocals.[citation needed]
He moved to New York City in February 1990,[36] but found few opportunities to work as a musician. He was introduced to Qawwali, the Sufi devotional music of India and Pakistan, and to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, one of its best-known singers.[37] Buckley was an impassioned fan of Khan,[38] and during what he called his "cafe days," he often covered Khan's songs. In January 1996, he interviewed Khan for Interview and wrote liner notes for Khan's Supreme Collection, Vol. 1 compilation. He became interested in blues musician Robert Johnson and hardcore punk band Bad Brains during this time.[20] Buckley moved back to Los Angeles in September when his father's former manager, Herb Cohen, offered to help him record his first demo of original songs. Buckley completed Babylon Dungeon Sessions, a four-song cassette that included the songs "Eternal Life", "Unforgiven" (later titled "Last Goodbye"), "Strawberry Street" (a different version of which appears on the Grace Legacy Edition), and punk screamer "Radio".[39] Cohen and Buckley hoped to attract attention from the music industry with the demo tape.[40]
Buckley flew back to New York early the following year to make his public singing debut at a tribute concert for his father called "Greetings from Tim Buckley".[41] The event, produced by show business veteran Hal Willner, was held at St. Ann's Church in Brooklyn on April 26, 1991.[41] Buckley rejected the idea of the concert as a springboard to his career, instead citing personal reasons regarding his decision to sing at the tribute.[42]
With accompaniment by experimental rock guitarist Gary Lucas, Buckley performed "I Never Asked To Be Your Mountain", a song Tim Buckley wrote about an infant Jeff Buckley and his mother.[43] Buckley returned to the stage to play "Sefronia – The King's Chain", "Phantasmagoria in Two", and concluded the concert with "Once I Was" performed acoustically with an impromptu a cappella ending, due to a snapped guitar string.[43] Willner, the show's organizer, later recalled that Buckley's set closer made a strong impression.[44] Buckley's performance at the concert was counter-intuitive to his desire to distance himself musically from his father. Buckley later explained his reasoning to Rolling Stone: "It wasn't my work, it wasn't my life. But it bothered me that I hadn't been to his funeral, that I'd never been able to tell him anything. I used that show to pay my last respects."[24] The concert proved to be his first step into the music industry that had eluded him for years.[45]
On subsequent trips to New York in mid-1991, Buckley began co-writing with Gary Lucas resulting in the songs "Grace" and "Mojo Pin",[46] and by late 1991 he began performing with Lucas' band Gods and Monsters around New York City.[47] After being offered a development deal as a member of Gods and Monsters at Imago Records, Buckley moved back to New York to the Lower East Side at the end of 1991.[48] The day after Gods and Monsters officially debuted in March 1992, he decided to leave the band.[49]
Buckley began performing at several clubs and cafés around Lower Manhattan,[50] but Sin-é in the East Village became his main venue.[20] He first appeared at Sin-é in April 1992,[51] and quickly earned a regular Monday night slot there.[52] His repertoire consisted of a diverse range of folk, rock, R&B, blues and jazz cover songs, much of it music he had newly learned. During this period, he discovered singers such as Nina Simone, Billie Holiday, Van Morrison, and Judy Garland.[53] Buckley performed an eclectic selection of covers from a range of artists from Led Zeppelin, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Bob Dylan, Édith Piaf, Elton John, the Smiths, Bad Brains, Leonard Cohen, Robert Johnson[39][52][53] and Siouxsie Sioux.[54][55] Original songs from the Babylon Dungeon Sessions, and the songs he'd written with Gary Lucas were also included in his set lists.[53] He performed solo, accompanying himself on a borrowed Fender Telecaster.[51] Buckley stated that he learned how to perform onstage from playing to small audiences.[15]
Over the next few months, Buckley attracted admiring crowds and attention from record label executives.[56] Industry maven Clive Davis even dropped by to see him.[15] By the summer of 1992, limos from executives eager to sign the singer lined the street outside Sin-é.[56] Buckley signed with Columbia Records, home of Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen,[57] for a three-album, essentially million-dollar deal in October 1992.[58] Buckley spent three days in February 1993 in the studio with engineer Steve Addabbo and Columbia A&R man, Steve Berkowitz, recording much of Buckley's solo repertoire. Buckley sang a cappella and also accompanied himself on acoustic and electric guitars, Wurlitzer electric piano, and harmonium. These tapes remain unreleased in the Columbia vaults, but much of this material later surfaced on the Grace album.[59] Recording dates were set for July and August 1993 for what would become Buckley's recording debut, an EP of four songs which included a cover of Van Morrison's "The Way Young Lovers Do".[60] Live at Sin-é was released on November 23, 1993, documenting this period of Buckley's life.[61]
Grace [ edit ]
In mid-1993, Buckley began working on his first album with record producer Andy Wallace. Buckley assembled a band, composed of bassist Mick Grøndahl and drummer Matt Johnson, and spent several weeks rehearsing.[62][63]
In September, the trio headed to Bearsville Studios in Woodstock, New York to spend six weeks recording basic tracks for what would become Grace. Buckley invited ex-bandmate Lucas to play guitar on the songs "Grace" and "Mojo Pin", and Woodstock-based jazz musician Karl Berger wrote and conducted string arrangements with Buckley assisting at times.[64] Buckley returned home for overdubbing at studios in Manhattan and New Jersey where he performed take after take to capture the perfect vocals and experimented with ideas for additional instruments, and added textures to the songs.[65]
In January 1994, Buckley left to go on his first solo North American tour to support Live at Sin-é.[65] It was followed by a 10-day European tour in March.[66] Buckley played clubs and coffeehouses and made in-store appearances.[65] After returning, Buckley invited guitarist Michael Tighe to join the band and a collaboration between the two resulted in "So Real", a song which was recorded with producer/engineer Clif Norrell as a late addition to the album.[67][68] In June, Buckley began his first full band tour called the "Peyote Radio Theatre Tour" that lasted into August.[69] Pretender Chrissie Hynde,[70] Soundgarden's Chris Cornell, and The Edge from U2[71] were among the attendees of these early shows.
Hallelujah Grace from Problems playing this file? See media help.
Grace was released on August 23, 1994. In addition to seven original songs, the album included three covers: "Lilac Wine", based on the version by Nina Simone;[53] made famous by Elkie Brooks, "Corpus Christi Carol", from Benjamin Britten's A Boy was Born, Op.3, a composition that Buckley was introduced to in high school, based on a 15th-century hymn;[72] and "Hallelujah"[73] by Leonard Cohen, based on John Cale's recording from the Cohen tribute album, I'm Your Fan.[53] His rendition of "Hallelujah" has been called "Buckley's best" and "one of the great songs"[74] by Time, and is included on Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".[75]
Sales of Grace were slow, and it garnered little radio airplay despite critical acclaim.[76] The Sydney Morning Herald proclaimed it "a romantic masterpiece" and a "pivotal, defining work".[77] Despite slow initial sales the album went gold in France and Australia over the next two years,[69] achieving gold status in the U.S. in 2002,[78] and selling over six times platinum in Australia in 2006.[79]
Grace won appreciation from a host of revered musicians and artists, including members of Buckley's biggest influence, Led Zeppelin.[80] Jimmy Page considered Grace close to being his "favorite album of the decade".[81] Robert Plant was also complimentary,[82] as was Brad Pitt, saying of Buckley's work, "There's an undercurrent to his music, there's something you can't pinpoint. Like the best of films, or the best of art, there's something going on underneath, and there's a truth there. And I find his stuff absolutely haunting. It just ... it's under my skin."[83] Others who had influenced Buckley's music lauded him:[84] Bob Dylan named Buckley "one of the great songwriters of this decade",[82] and, in an interview with The Village Voice, David Bowie named Grace as one of 10 albums he'd bring with him to a desert island.[85] The album eventually went on to feature in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2003, appearing at No. 303.[86]
Concert tours [ edit ]
Buckley spent much of the next year and a half touring internationally to promote Grace. From the album's release, he played in numerous countries, from Australia, to the UK (Glastonbury Festival and the 1995 Meltdown Festival — at which he sang Henry Purcell's 'Dido's Lament'[87] — at the invitation of Elvis Costello).[88] Following Buckley's Peyote Radio Theater tour, the band began a European tour on August 23, 1994, starting with performances in the UK and Ireland. The tour continued in Scandinavia and, throughout September, numerous concerts in Germany were played. The tour ended on September 22 with a concert in Paris. A gig on September 24 in New York dovetailed on to the end of the European tour and Buckley and band spent the next month relaxing and rehearsing.[89]
A tour of Canada and the U.S. began on October 19, 1994 at CBGB's. The tour was far reaching with concerts held on both East and West Coasts of the U.S. and a number of performances in central and southern states. The tour ended two months later on December 18 at Maxwell's in Hoboken, New Jersey.[89] After another month of rest and rehearsal, the band commenced a second European tour, this time mainly for promotion purposes. The band began the tour in Dublin; Buckley has remained particularly popular in Ireland.[90] The short tour largely consisted of promotional work in London and Paris.[89]
In late January, the band did their first tour of Japan, playing concerts and appearing for promotion of the album and newly released Japanese single "Last Goodbye". The band returned to Europe on February 6 and toured various Western European countries before returning to the U.S. on March 6. Among the gigs performed during this period, Buckley and his band performed at a 19th-century-built French venue, the Bataclan, and material from the concert was recorded and later released in October of that year as a four track EP, Live from the Bataclan. Songs from a performance on February 25, at the venue Nighttown in Rotterdam, were subsequently released as a promotional-only CD, So Real.[89]
Touring recommenced in April with dates across the U.S. and Canada. During this period Buckley and the band notably played Metro in Chicago, which was recorded on video and later released as Live in Chicago on VHS and later on DVD. In addition, on June 4 they played at Sony Music Studios for the Sony Music radio hour. Following this was a month-long European tour between June 20 and July 18 in which they played many summer music festivals. During the tour, Buckley played two concerts at the Paris Olympia, a venue made famous by the French vocalist Édith Piaf. Although he had failed to fill out smaller American venues at that point of his career, both nights at the large Paris Olympia venue were sold out.[91] Shortly after this Buckley attended the Festival de la Musique Sacrée (Festival of Sacred Music), also held in France, and performed "What Will You Say" as a duet with Alim Qasimov, an Azerbaijani mugham singer. Sony BMG has since released a live album, 2001's Live à L'Olympia, which has a selection of songs from both Olympia performances and the collaboration with Qasimov.[92]
Buckley's Mystery White Boy tour, playing concerts in both Sydney and Melbourne, Australia, lasted between August 28 and September 6 and recordings of these performances were compiled and released on the live album Mystery White Boy. Buckley was so well received during these concerts that his album Grace went gold in Australia, selling over 35,000 copies, and taking this into account he decided a longer tour was needed and returned for a tour of New Zealand and Australia in February the following year.[69]
Between the two Oceanian tours, Buckley and the band took a break from touring. Buckley played solo in the meantime with concerts at Sin-é and a New Year's Eve concert at Mercury Lounge in New York.[89] After the break, the band spent the majority of February on the Hard Luck Tour in Australia and New Zealand, but tensions had risen between the group and drummer Matt Johnson. The concert on March 1, 1996 was the last gig he played with Buckley and his band.[69]
Much of the material from the tours of 1995 and 1996 was recorded and released on either promotional EPs, such as the Grace EP, or posthumously on albums, such as Mystery White Boy (a reference to Buckley not using his real name) and Live a L'Olympia. Many of the other concerts Buckley played during this period have surfaced on bootleg recordings.[93]
Following Johnson's departure, the band, now without a drummer, was put on hold and did not perform live again until February 12, 1997.[94] Due to the pressure from extensive touring, Buckley spent the majority of the year away from the stage. However, from May 2 to May 5, he played a short stint as bass guitarist with Mind Science of the Mind, with friend Nathan Larson, then guitarist of Shudder to Think.[69] Buckley returned to playing live concerts when he went on his "phantom solo tour" of cafés in the Northeast in December 1996, appearing under a series of aliases: the Crackrobats, Possessed by Elves, Father Demo, Smackrobiotic, the Halfspeeds, Crit-Club, Topless America, Martha & the Nicotines, and A Puppet Show Named Julio.[89] By way of justification, Buckley posted a note on his Internet site stating that he missed the anonymity of playing in cafes and local bars:
There was a time in my life not too long ago when I could show up in a cafe and simply do what I do, make music, learn from performing my music, explore what it means to me, i.e., have fun while I irritate and/or entertain an audience who don't know me or what I am about. In this situation I have that precious and irreplaceable luxury of failure, of risk, of surrender. I worked very hard to get this kind of thing together, this work forum. I loved it and then I missed it when it disappeared. All I am doing is reclaiming it.[95]
Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk [ edit ]
After completing touring in 1996, Buckley started to write for a new album to be called My Sweetheart the Drunk. Buckley worked with Patti Smith on her 1996 album Gone Again and met collaborator Tom Verlaine, the lead singer for the punk band Television. Buckley asked Verlaine to be producer on the new album and he agreed.[96] In the middle of 1996, Buckley and his band began recording sessions in Manhattan with Verlaine. Eric Eidel played the drums through these sessions as a stop-gap between the dates drummer Matt Johnson left and before Parker Kindred joined as full-time drummer.[97] Around this time Buckley met Inger Lorre of The Nymphs in an East Village bar,[98] and struck up a fast and close friendship. Together, they contributed a track to Kerouac: Kicks Joy Darkness, a Jack Kerouac tribute album.[96] After Lorre's backup guitarist for an upcoming album quit the project, Buckley offered to fill in.[99] He became very attached to one of the songs from the album, "Yard of Blonde Girls", and covered it on Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk.[100] Another recording session in Manhattan followed in early 1997, but Buckley and the band were unsatisfied, and the album was not considered finished.
On February 4, 1997, Buckley played a short set at The Knitting Factory's tenth anniversary concert featuring a selection of his new songs: "Jewel Box", "Morning Theft", "Everybody Here Wants You", "The Sky is a Landfill" and "Yard of Blonde Girls".[101] Lou Reed was there to watch[101] and expressed an interest in working with Buckley.[85] The band played their first gig with Parker Kindred, their new drummer, at Arlene's Grocery in New York on February 9. The set featured much of Buckley's new material that would appear on Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk and a recording has become one of Buckley's most widely distributed bootlegs.[102] Later that month, Buckley recorded a spoken word reading of the Edgar Allan Poe poem, "Ulalume", for the album Closed on Account of Rabies.[103] This would be his last recording in New York; shortly after, he moved to Memphis, Tennessee.
Buckley became interested in recording at Easley McCain Recording in Memphis, at the suggestion of friend Dave Shouse from the Grifters.[104] He rented a shotgun house there, of which he was so fond he contacted the owner about the possibility of buying it.[105] Throughout this period, February 12 to May 26, 1997, Buckley played at Barristers', a bar located in downtown Memphis underneath a parking garage in an alley off Jefferson Avenue. He played numerous times in order to work through the new material in a live atmosphere, at first with the band then solo as part of a Monday night residency.[106] In early February, Buckley and the band did a third recording session with Verlaine, in Memphis, but Buckley expressed his dissatisfaction with the sessions and later called Grace producer, Andy Wallace, to step in as Verlaine's replacement.[96] Buckley started recording demos on his own 4-track recorder in preparation for a forthcoming session with Wallace.[96] Some of these demos were sent to his band in New York, who listened to them enthusiastically, and were excited to resume working on the album. These recordings would go on to compose the second disc of Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk. However Buckley was not entirely happy with the results and he sent his band back to New York while he stayed behind to work on the songs. The band was scheduled to return to Memphis for rehearsals and recording sessions on May 29.
Death [ edit ]
On the evening of May 29, 1997, Buckley's band flew to Memphis intending to join him in his studio there to work on the newly written material. The same evening, Buckley went swimming in Wolf River Harbor,[107] a slack water channel of the Mississippi River, while wearing boots and all of his clothing and singing the chorus of the song "Whole Lotta Love" by Led Zeppelin.[108] Buckley had gone swimming in the river several times before.[109] A roadie in Buckley's band, Keith Foti, remained onshore. After moving a radio and guitar out of reach of the wake from a passing tugboat, Foti looked up to see that Buckley had vanished. Despite a determined rescue effort that night as well as the morning after by scuba teams and the police, Buckley remained missing. On June 4, two locals spotted his body in the Wolf River near a riverboat, and he was brought to land.
Buckley's autopsy showed no signs of drugs or alcohol in his system, and the death was ruled as an accidental drowning. His estate declared:
Jeff Buckley's death was not mysterious, related to drugs, alcohol, or suicide. We have a police report, a medical examiner's report, and an eye witness to prove that it was an accidental drowning, and that Mr. Buckley was in a good frame of mind prior to the accident.[110]
Tributes [ edit ]
Graffiti memorium by fans in Russia, 2015
Musical style [ edit ]
Buckley's voice was a particularly distinguished aspect of his music. He possessed a tenor vocal range that ranges between three and a half to four octaves.[124] Buckley made full use of this range in his performance, particularly in the songs from Grace, and reached peaks of high G in the tenor range at the culmination of "Grace". "Corpus Christi Carol" was sung entirely in a high falsetto. The pitch and volume of his singing was also highly variable, as songs such as "Mojo Pin" and "Dream Brother" began with mid-range quieter vocals before reaching louder, higher peaks near the ending of the songs.[125][126]
Buckley played guitar in a variety of styles ranging from the distorted rock of "Sky is a Landfill", to the jazz of "Strange Fruit", the country styling of "Lost Highway", and the guitar fingerpicking style in "Hallelujah". He occasionally used slide guitar in live performances as a solo act and used a slide for the introduction of "Last Goodbye" when playing with a full band. His songs were written in various guitar tunings which, apart from the EADGBE standard tuning, included Drop D tuning and an Open G tuning. His guitar playing style varied from highly melodic songs, such as "The Twelfth of Never", to more percussive ones, such as "New Year's Prayer".[127][128]
Equipment [ edit ]
Buckley mainly played a 1983 Fender Telecaster and a Rickenbacker 360/12, but also used several other guitars, including a black Gibson Les Paul Custom and a 1967 Guild F-50 acoustic. When on tour with his band, he used Fender Amplifiers for a clean sound and Mesa Boogie amps for his overdriven tones. He was primarily a singer and guitarist; however, he also played other instruments on various studio recordings and sessions, including bass, dobro, mandolin, harmonium (heard on the intro to "Lover, You Should've Come Over"), organ, dulcimer ("Dream Brother" intro), tabla, esraj, and harmonica.[129]
Legacy [ edit ]
After Buckley's death, a collection of demo recordings and a full-length album he had been reworking for his second album were released as Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk — the compilation being overseen by his mother, Mary Guibert, band members and old friend Michael J. Clouse, as well as Chris Cornell. The album achieved gold sales in Australia in 1998.[130] Three other albums composed of live recordings have also been released, along with a live DVD of a performance in Chicago. A previously unreleased 1992 recording of "I Shall Be Released", sung by Buckley over the phone on live radio, was released on the album For New Orleans.
Since his death, Buckley has been the subject of numerous documentaries: Fall in Light, a 1999 production for French TV; Goodbye and Hello, a program about Buckley and his father produced for Netherlands TV in 2000; and Everybody Here Wants You, a documentary made in 2002 by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). An hour-long documentary about Buckley called Amazing Grace: Jeff Buckley has been shown at various film festivals to critical acclaim.[131] The film was released worldwide in 2009 by Sony BMG Legacy as part of the Grace Around The World Deluxe Edition.[132][133] In the spring of 2009 it was revealed that Ryan Jaffe, best known for scripting the movie The Rocker, had replaced Brian Jun as screenwriter for the upcoming film Mystery White Boy.[134] Orion Williams is also set to co-produce the film with Michelle Sy.[135] A separate project involving the book Dream Brother was allegedly cancelled.[136]
Buckley's premature death inspired many artists he knew or influenced to write songs in tribute to the late singer. PJ Harvey knew him personally and in the song "Memphis" she takes lines from a song on his unfinished album, "Morning Theft", and in her own words reflects on Buckley's death: "In Memphis ... die suddenly, at a wonderful age, we're ready to go".[137] Chris Cornell wrote "Wave Goodbye", which appeared on his first solo album, Euphoria Morning, for Buckley.[115] Rufus Wainwright, whose fledgling career had barely started when he met Buckley, wrote "Memphis Skyline" in tribute to him, singing "then came hallelujah sounding like Ophelia, for me in my room living, turn back and you will stay, under the Memphis Skyline".[138] Duncan Sheik's "A Body Goes Down", from his 1998 album Humming, was a response to Buckley's death.[139] Steve Adey wrote a song tribute entitled "Mississippi" on his 2006 album All Things Real. The song contains the lyrics "Until the morning thief steals the humming of the Lord", a reference to Buckley's song "Morning Theft".[140]
In May and June 2007, Buckley's life and music were celebrated globally with tributes in Australia,[141] Canada, UK, France, Iceland, Israel, Ireland,[142] Republic of Macedonia, Portugal and the U.S.[143][144][145] Many of Buckley's family members attended the various tribute concerts across the globe, some of which they helped organize. There are three annual Jeff Buckley tribute events: the Chicago-based Uncommon Ground, featuring a three-day concert schedule, An Evening With Jeff Buckley, an annual New York City tribute, and the Australia-based Fall In Light.[146] The latter event is run by the Fall In Light Foundation, which in addition to the concerts, runs a "Guitars for Schools" program.[147] The name of the foundation is taken from the lyrics of Buckley's "New Year's Prayer".
In 2015, tapes of a 1993 recording session for Columbia Records were discovered by Sony executives doing research for the 20th anniversary of Grace. The recordings have been released on an album, You and I, in March 2016 and it features mostly covers of songs recorded previously by other artists.[148]
In 2012, at Toronto International Film Festival, Greetings from Tim Buckley premiered; the film explores the relationship Jeff Buckley had with his father.[149]
Buckley is referenced in the 2001 film Vanilla Sky, when Sofia asks David if he would rather listen to Jeff Buckley or Vikki Carr, to which he responds, "Both. Simultaneously." As David is leaving Sofia's apartment, the music playing is the intro to Jeff Buckley's song "Last Goodbye", from his 1994 studio album Grace.
Resurgence [ edit ]
On March 7, 2008, Buckley's version of the Leonard Cohen song, "Hallelujah", went to No. 1 on the iTunes chart, selling 178,000 downloads for the week, after being performed by Jason Castro on the seventh season of the television series American Idol.[150] The song debuted at No. 1 that week on Billboard's Hot Digital Songs chart, giving Buckley his first No. 1 on any Billboard chart.
In a similar vein, the 2008 UK X Factor winner, Alexandra Burke, released a cover of "Hallelujah" with the intent to top the UK Singles Chart as the Christmas number one single. Buckley fans countered this, launching a campaign with the aim of propelling Buckley's version to the number one spot. The campaign picked up support through social networking websites and it soon spread to the mainstream media.[151] Burke's version eventually reached Christmas Number One on the UK charts in December 2008.[152] Buckley's version of the song entered the UK charts at No. 49 on November 30, and by December 21 it had reached No. 2 despite the fact that it had not been rereleased in a physical format.[153][154]
Discography [ edit ]
Studio album
Awards and nominations [ edit ]
Notes [ edit ]
References [ edit ]
Further reading [ edit ] |
There are two countries that are always going to be linked in the Southeast Asia region due to their similarities, and the key choices that turned one into an economic powerhouse. Brunei and Singapore are the two smallest and wealthiest Southeast Asian nations, and have a currency interchange agreement. Sixty years ago, both set out to diversify their economies and become leaders in the region. The result is a real-world model lesson for developing nations.
1950s
In the aftermath of WWII both nations were hit very hard. Brunei’s oilfields had suffered massive damages from bombs and occupation by the Japanese, and the danger of the region led platforms to fall into extreme disrepair. It led Brunei to realize that it needed to diversify its economy away from oil. There had only been one field found around Seria, and the country was fearful oil would run out. In 1953, they started their first National Development Plan. The plan was to build infrastructure between the districts, provide hospitals and education to create a forward thinking workforce. Singapore was in awful shape following WWII, as the British boasted their fortress on the island could “withstand any attack.” That caused the Japanese to blockade the entire island and bombard it on a daily basis, until they surrendered. The island was in physical ruins during the 1950s with a huge homeless population. It was noted by the British Housing Committee that they were a disgrace to the civilized community. By 1959, the British had done little to solve any of the issues facing the small island, and granted both Brunei and Singapore their independence (more or less, Brunei was not fully independent until 1984, with the British taking care of all foreign affairs and defense officially until then).
1960s
In 1963, Singapore joined the newly formed nation of Malaysia, along with Malaya, North Borneo, and Sarawak. However, very soon after the new state was formed, Singapore began having issues due to its mostly Chinese population, and federal government regulations providing significant benefits for ethnic Malays. In two short years there were race riots and awful violence all over Singapore due to the tensions. By 1965, they were kicked out of Malaysia, causing Singapore to be one of the only countries that exists to have gained its sovereignty unwillingly. Lee Kuan Yew leader of Singapore famously said after the 126-0 vote to expel Singapore “For me, it is a moment of anguish. All my life, my whole adult life, I have believed in the merger and unity of the two territories.”
Singapore in the 1960s
Brunei opted out of joining the Malaysian Federation, due to its rising success in the region. It had a GDP per capita nearly three times that of Singapore due to the discovery of a new oil field in the early 1960s. By simple statistics, Brunei was well ahead of the Lion City at this point in history (exports of 3,800 USD per person in Brunei vs 331 USD per person in Singapore), but oil was still well over 90% of the exports from Brunei. Many were predicting that the island of Singapore would fail with its new independence, huge unemployment, and lack of natural resources to fall back on. 70% of the Singaporean economy was based off the port, which could be taken away at any time by rival ports in Malaysia or Indonesia, should prices rise.
1970s
The 1970s was a good time for Brunei. Angered by Western support for Israel, Arab nations launched the oil boycott, leading to the 1970s energy crisis and oil price shock. This gave Brunei a windfall and awashed it with petrodollar, followed by a sharp rise in living standard. Just before the energy crisis in 1972, Brunei’s per capita GDP was $2,926, but in 1973 it blossomed to $6,971 – even more than Japan’s $4,157. By 1980, per capita in Brunei hit $25,538; the richest in Asia, compared to Japan’s $9,034 and Singapore’s $4,857. It was from here onwards the tiny Sultanate is to be forever associated with the word ‘rich’ and ‘wealthy’. It was also here that Brunei reached its greatest extent, never to have so wide a lead vis-a-vis Singapore and Japan since.
Today, the 1970s golden age and the fact that Brunei once had Asia’s richest GDP per capita is rarely mentioned in the country, perhaps due to embarrassment with its currently struggling economy. Sudden boom in oil revenues allowed Brunei to enter a period of rapid economic growth, with oil income greatly expended to modernize the state. In 1974, it completed the Brunei International Airport (7 years before Singapore Changi Airport in 1981). The country was able to connect itself with properly paved roads linking the port, oil town and the capital city, flourishing commerce and creating new wealth. Telecommunication service was greatly improved, the level of infrastructure was better than Singapore, and education rose sharply. The future of the Sultanate looked bright. Despite that, however, oil has given Brunei a sense of complacency. Other industries that once made up a considerable share of exports, like coal, rubber and cutch, were increasingly being neglected. Singapore was facing existential and survival threats that forced it to evolve, while Brunei was able to sit comfortably on its oil revenues.
Even though the 1970s were modern Brunei’s best times, it also solidified its reliance on oil and gas. After building factories en masse for 15 years, in 1970 Singapore finally got its high unemployment solved. There were some issues though. Unlike Brunei, which was wealthy enough to fund all developmental projects, the city-state was poor and could only afford to build flats and factories. Sorting housing crisis and high unemployment were the first priorities at that time, and infrastructure and education were left aside. In 1970, Singapore began to realize that no matter how many low-cost factories it had on the island, it is only a tiny nation with a small population, and neighboring Malaysia and Indonesia could always field a much larger labor force. The leaders began to realize the only way to succeed on a global basis was to have a highly-educated workforce and with investment from increasingly global corporations.
In the early 1970s, the island’s infrastructure and level of education remained poor due to the lack of economic growth since the end of WWII. Singapore then slowed the mass-construction of factories, and instead diverted most of their available funds to education, infrastructure development and upgrading existing facilities. The country though, wasn’t rich and the budget couldn’t support all the projects. Moreover, it would take at least one decade before a new batch of highly-skilled workers could be produced, something the city-state decided it could not wait on. Singapore decided that it wasn’t plausible to create a national workforce to stimulate its economy in any reasonable time frame, and appealed to foreigners, opening up the country to foreign investments and skilled foreign immigrants.
While Brunei was putting in place more protections for the ethnic-Malay population, the Singaporean leadership promised foreign companies what they loved to hear; that the government would be incorruptible, the government would respect capitalism and all foreign investments, no nationalization or seizure of assets would ever take place, and that Singapore would have regular and predictable law. The Lion City kept its promises and enforced them religiously. This differentiated the island with other third world nations, and successfully caught the attention of multinational businesses.
Foreign investments began to flush into Singapore. Knowing that they had gained initial foreign investments, and companies were looking to the region as a new market, Singapore moved on to offer tax concessions, simplified immigration procedures, tariff protection, exemption from import duties, and finally the lifting of foreign exchange controls. It resulted in the rapid industrialization of Singapore and greatly aided its next goal: attracting skilled foreigners. The foreign skill inflow was so massive that, by 2011, 40% of Singapore’s population were immigrants (27% non-citizens and another 13% foreign naturalized citizens). The Singaporean government adopted a business-friendly approach and actively adjusted to the corporate need. For example, in the 1970s, when high-tech industries abroad informed Singapore that they needed a local workforce with adequate technical skills, the city-state immediately launched free government training institutes which would train working adults twice a week for 3-hour sessions over a period of two years to meet the demand. Multiple companies started building facilities as a gateway into the growing Asian marketplace. Even without true offshore oil reserves, Shell and Esso constructed one of the world’s largest oil refineries in Singapore during the 1970s.
1980s
Stepping into 1980s, the energy crisis had calmed and oil prices subsided. The GDP within Brunei fell sharply, as the petrodollar fell. In 1984, the Sultanate became fully independent. There were 2 economic paths Brunei could take; the nation’s environment was ripe for rapid industrialization at the time and the capital was still available from the boom of the 1970s, but would require absorption of unskilled, foreign workers due to the tiny population of the wealthy sultanate. Allowing immigration on such a large scale in Brunei would have required a fundamental restructuring of the Country’s MIB (Melayu Islam Beraja: Malay Islamic Monarchy) philosophy that stressed the ethnic Malay must always remain the dominant race in the country. The conservative social and political nature of Brunei led to fears that an influx of foreign elements may disrupt the nation’s social customs, tradition and religion. Local Brunei Malay entrepreneurs were against international competition, and that kept the Sultan from opening the doors wide, as had been done across the pond. Plan for mass industrialization were dropped in favor of investing Brunei’s huge amounts of capital overseas. The Bruneian government invested in hotels across North America and Europe (which later merged to form the Dorchester Collection), the Willeroo Cattle Farm in Australia (which is larger than the country of Brunei), and various property assets across the world. Dependence on oil reserves continued.
Throughout the 1980s, Singapore’s industries had expanded to include electronic and computer manufacturing, shipbuilding and repairing, oil rig construction, chemicals, petroleum refining, and refining raw materials. As a result of intense, unchecked growth for years and skyrocketing wages, an economic recession hit the Lion City hard in 1985. In attempt to tackle the economic issues, the government quickly responded by freezing wages, lowering taxes, and reducing Central Provident Fund contributions. Singapore was able to work through its economic woes and have positive GDP growth by 1988. The lesson to Singapore’s economic bureaus provided the impetus to diverse into tertiary industries, concentrating on IT services, telecommunications, engineering, banking, finance, and medical.
1990s
With little industrial development, the Bruneian economy continued to slow throughout the 1990s. Increasing emphasis on MIB as a state ideology resulted in the banning of alcohol, nightclubs, and commercial pig farming in 1991. Singapore’s nominal per capita GDP surpassed the Sultanate in 1991. Though Brunei was still the richest in Southeast Asia in terms of PPP per capita, other ASEAN states like Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand were beginning to take note of Singapore’s success and model their governmental policies after the small island.
Brunei’s government sponsored another series of industrial projects in the early 90s in an attempt to move forwards after a decade of stagnation. A number of industrial estates were identified, including those in capital Bandar Seri Begawan and the Beribi industrial estates, followed by the construction of factories focusing on furniture, pottery, tiles, cement, chemicals, plywood, glass, textiles, food and electrical. Brunei’s push for industrialization however, came 40 years late – it was something Singapore had done in the 1950s. By that time the wages in Brunei were already considered too high, the industrial base too limited, and technological edge too low to compete with larger neighboring states in terms of scale and cost. Moreover, bureaucratic difficulties, poor coordination between government departments, and lengthy approval process deterred foreign investments, which mean the country couldn’t count on foreign multinationals to help develop outside of the oil industry.
Brunei began a period of state-led construction and initiated a huge amount of ambitious projects, leading to a construction boom to diversify from an oil-reliant economy to one that is service and tourism oriented. The restrictions on foreign workers were temporarily relaxed to allow large-scale projects and landmarks to be constructed, among them were a theme park, a magnificent hotel, and a huge power plant. Then in 1998, there was a financial collapse in Asia that wiped out almost half of Brunei’s foreign reserves. This collapse destroyed the construction industry within Brunei. The theme park was shut down, and is now dismantled. Unskilled foreign laborers were sent back home, leaving the economy with over 90% of its production related to oil revenues.
During the 1990s Singapore became classified as a Newly Industrialized Country, and was widely recognized as the third most important financial hub in Asia (Behind Hong Kong and Tokyo). The government actively sought after land reclamation initiatives and literally pushed the ocean back. Throughout the 1990s Singaporean businesses also surged from holding a 23% share of output in 1983 to 55% of the economy in 1998.
The financial crisis hit Singapore hard as well, but the government acted swiftly to minimize the damages felt by the populace. Rather than go back on their word and interfere with the private markets, they sponsored multiple construction projects and finished their metro system. Less than a year after the collapse, Singapore was back on track and ready to invest in the rest of the world. The government signed 13 free trade agreements with countries around the world, Singaporean interests would end up being the major investors in countries like Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Indonesia.
2000s
Within the 2000s Brunei refocused itself on social consolidation and Islamization. The country’s economic prospects were dim, and the government has focused on becoming the Muslim version of “A City upon a Hill.” Immigration visas are routinely denied, and work permits are extremely difficult to procure without advanced degrees and sponsorship from the country’s largest employer Brunei Shell Petroleum. Alcohol and tobacco are illegal, businesses are not allowed to be open from 12-130 on Fridays (Muslim prayer day), Sharia law has been passed and is enforced on the whole population. Brunei seems to have realized its economic woes, and rather than attempt to fix it, have shifted the focus for the country’s future. The goal is to become the Islamic center of Asia, and to be well respected by other Islamic nations. By mid-2000s, Brunei had a new national vision, the ‘Wawasan 2035 Negara Zikir’, which called for a pure Islamic economy by 2035. Rapid Islamization ensured, which includes compulsory Islamic studies for non-Muslim students. The central focus of its economic diversification is the ‘Brunei Global Halal Brand.’ It is not known how this would generate further revenues for the country as Malaysia and Indoneisa’s Halal brands are the largest suppliers of Halal food in the world. Participation of local Malay representative is a requirement for signing a contract with the government or Brunei Shell Petroleum. Brunei does not recognize natural born non-Malays (read: Chinese) as full citizens. There is a second class of citizenship for those born to non-Malays within Brunei that is causing many to migrate to Malaysia or Indonesia.
The 2000s was a period of great economic leap for Singapore. Its diversification into service industries materialized. Singapore not only had became the medical hub for Southeast Asia, it is now also the technological and communication hub in ASEAN, holding 50% market share of the region’s datacenter capacity. The country’s engineering capabilities is world renowned, with Singapore responsible for 70% of global offshore rig construction and 20% of the world’s ship repair market. The Port of Singapore was the busiest port in the world throughout almost the whole decade. One of the challenges faced by Singapore is the increasing sophistication of industries in neighboring states such as Malaysia and Thailand. Computer peripheral manufacturing moved into countries who are able to produce more, cheaper, and faster. Recognizing that the key to success for a small nation is not within the manufacturing sector, Singapore has shifted the long term focus to tourism and a knowledge based economy. After a forty year ban, casinos were invited to set up shop and it quickly became the world’s third largest gambling hub (behind Las Vegas and Macau). There is a huge focus on research and development within biotechnology and engineering for multiple industries. In 2010, Singapore was able to overtake the GDP of Hong Kong.
In 2011, Singaporean exports per capita were about 79,000 USD/yr, whereas Bruneian exports per capita were sitting at 25,500 USD/yr. After fifty years, Brunei and Singapore have completely switched places in the ASEAN region, and it really just comes down to exclusionary policies.
Sources –
Images by the author except as noted below: |
I don’t have a position on Scotland becoming independent; as an American, I like my democracies big and diverse, but I also understand the frustration of Scots tied to David Cameron’s England.
Whether it’s overall a good idea or not, however, independence would have to rest on a sound monetary foundation. And the independence movement has me worried, because what it has said on that that crucial subject seems deeply muddle-headed.
What the independence movement says is that there’s no problem — Scotland will simply stay on the pound. That is, however, much more problematic than they seem to realize.
It’s true, as pointed out here, that England, I mean the rump UK, I mean continuing Britain, whatever, can’t prevent the Scots from using the pound, just as the United States can’t stop Ecuador from using dollars. But the lesson of the euro crisis, surely, is that sharing a common currency without having a shared federal government is very dangerous.
In fact, Scotland-on-the-pound would be in even worse shape than the euro countries, because the Bank of England would be under no obligation to act as lender of last resort to Scottish banks — that is, it would arguably take even less responsibility for local financial stability than the pre-Draghi ECB. And it would fall very far short of the post-Draghi ECB, which has in effect taken on the role of lender of last resort to eurozone governments, too.
Add to this the lack of fiscal integration. The question isn’t whether Scotland would on average pay more or less in taxes if independent; probably a bit less, depending on how you handle the oil revenues. Instead, the question is what would happen if something goes wrong, if there’s a slump in Scotland’s economy. As part of the United Kingdom, Scotland would receive large de facto aid, just like a U.S. state (or Wales); if it were on its own, it would be on its own, like Portugal.
Now, Scotland would presumably have high labor mobility — assuming it manages somehow to join the EU (although that too would be surprisingly tricky) it would be under the Single European Act, and it sort of shares a common language with England (even if you sometimes wish there were subtitles). But that’s not necessarily a good thing: what we’re seeing in places like Portugal is large-scale emigration of young workers, leaving a diminished population to bear the fiscal burden of caring for the elderly.
Again, I can understand Scots grievances. But if they really want to do this, they had better get real about money. |
Mumbai: In 1966, the R.K. Hazari committee on industrial licensing pointed out that Indian business houses displayed strong regional biases. The report, which classified business houses by ethnicity, noted that Punjabi investment was mainly in the Punjab-Delhi region, southern houses stuck to the southern states, and Parsi investment flowed to a few states like Maharashtra and Bihar.
While the demographic composition of Indian business houses has changed since then, the regional concentration of large Indian businesses still remains high, a Mint analysis shows. Like the Indian cricket team, Indian businesses tend to prefer familiar territory.
The analysis is based on the investment patterns of 10 large conglomerates (based on group revenue) since the turn of the 21st century. Outward (foreign) investments were not considered in this analysis. The data is based on figures for completed projects from the capex-tracking database of the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), and focuses only on plants and investments that these conglomerates have built organically. Services were excluded from the analysis. The categorization of business groups by CMIE is largely based on the Hazari committee report.
As the interactive chart below illustrates, even the largest of business houses in India are deeply concentrated in a few states. The share of the top five states in completed projects within India is 83% for the Tata group, 92.16% for the Aditya Birla Group and 74% for the Ambanis. Data for business houses that have split in the period under consideration (including the Ambanis, the Jindals, and the Bajajs) have been merged to ensure comparability across the time period. The data for Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, which was bifurcated in 2014 to carve out the former as a separate state, have also been combined for the same reason.
Even when large shifts take place, they seem to have little to do with active geographical diversification. For instance, the Ambani group’s first major single-state project outside Gujarat was in Andhra Pradesh. It completed investments related to the Krishna Godavari basin in 2009-10. There was very little choice in this investment given that large gas reserves were discovered in this region in the early 2000s.
The concentration numbers are almost as high for the newer cohort of conglomerates as they are for older business houses. The median share of top five states of three such groups included in the analysis—the O P Jindal group, Vedanta, and Adani—was as high as 90% at the end of 2016-17. The median value for the other seven groups was 92%.
Most of these investments across groups are concentrated in a few powerhouses of the Indian economy—Gujarat and Maharashtra figure prominently in this list. This is a key driver of inter-regional inequality in India. As a 2014 Plain Facts column pointed out, despite three decades of rapid growth, the share of each state in the national pie remains nearly the same as it was three decades ago. The top five states, which accounted for nearly half of the national output in the 1980s, continue to account for nearly half of national output today. The 2016-17 economic survey noted that inter-state inequality grew in the period 2004-14.
The concentration of investments by large business houses will only accentuate such gaps. Overall private sector investment too is concentrated in a few states of the country. CMIE data shows that the top five states account for 52% of all completed projects in the private sector. The figure is relatively lower for the public sector at 35%.
With the introduction of the goods and services tax (GST), states’ ability to offer tax incentives to attract new private investments is also limited, further limiting the chances of diversification of Indian industry. Even the incentive to move production closer to markets has weakened with the advent of the GST regime. While this may improve efficiency, it will only make it even more difficult for laggard states to attract investments.
The government seems to have taken notice of this; it said on 16 August that it would extend tax exemptions in the north-eastern and Himalayan states through a refund mechanism. However, this has been extended for only 10 years.
Unless such states are able to streamline regulations and ramp up infrastructure significantly in this period, they are unlikely to attract big-ticket investments once the exemption window closes. For states which do not have such exemptions but lag behind in investments, the task is even more urgent.
The visualization for this story has been designed by Mint’s partner, HowIndiaLives. |
eso1338 — Science Release
Bizarre Alignment of Planetary Nebulae
Astronomers have used ESO's New Technology Telescope and the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope to explore more than 100 planetary nebulae in the central bulge of our galaxy. They have found that butterfly-shaped members of this cosmic family tend to be mysteriously aligned — a surprising result given their different histories and varied properties.
The final stages of life for a star like our Sun result in the star blowing its outer layers out into the surrounding space, forming objects known as planetary nebulae in a wide range of beautiful and striking shapes. One type of such nebulae, known as bipolar planetary nebulae, create ghostly hourglass or butterfly shapes around their parent stars.
All these nebulae formed in different places and have different characteristics. And neither the individual nebulae, nor the stars that formed them, would have interacted with other planetary nebulae. However, a new study by astronomers from the University of Manchester, UK, now shows surprising similarities between some of these nebulae: many of them line up in the sky in the same way [1].
"This really is a surprising find and, if it holds true, a very important one," explains Bryan Rees of the University of Manchester, one of the paper's two authors. "Many of these ghostly butterflies appear to have their long axes aligned along the plane of our galaxy. By using images from both Hubble and the NTT we could get a really good view of these objects, so we could study them in great detail."
The astronomers looked at 130 planetary nebulae in the Milky Way's central bulge. They identified three different types [2], and peered closely at their characteristics and appearance.
"While two of these populations were completely randomly aligned in the sky, as expected, we found that the third — the bipolar nebulae — showed a surprising preference for a particular alignment," says the paper's second author Albert Zijlstra, also of the University of Manchester. "While any alignment at all is a surprise, to have it in the crowded central region of the galaxy is even more unexpected."
Planetary nebulae are thought to be sculpted by the rotation of the star system from which they form. This is dependent on the properties of this system — for example, whether it is a binary [3], or has a number of planets orbiting it, both of which may greatly influence the form of the blown bubble. The shapes of bipolar nebulae are some of the most extreme, and are probably caused by jets blowing mass from the binary system perpendicular to the orbit.
"The alignment we're seeing for these bipolar nebulae indicates something bizarre about star systems within the central bulge," explains Rees. "For them to line up in the way we see, the star systems that formed these nebulae would have to be rotating perpendicular to the interstellar clouds from which they formed, which is very strange."
While the properties of their progenitor stars do shape these nebulae, this new finding hints at another more mysterious factor. Along with these complex stellar characteristics are those of our Milky Way; the whole central bulge rotates around the galactic centre. This bulge may have a greater influence than previously thought over our entire galaxy — via its magnetic fields. The astronomers suggest that the orderly behaviour of the planetary nebulae could have been caused by the presence of strong magnetic fields as the bulge formed.
As such nebulae closer to home do not line up in the same orderly way, these fields would have to have been many times stronger than they are in our present-day neighbourhood [4].
"We can learn a lot from studying these objects," concludes Zijlstra. "If they really behave in this unexpected way, it has consequences for not just the past of individual stars, but for the past of our whole galaxy."
Notes
[1] The "long axis" of a bipolar planetary nebula slices through the wings of the butterfly, whilst the "short axis" slices through the body.
[2] The shapes of the planetary nebula images were classified into three types, following conventions: elliptical with an aligned internal structure, elliptical without an aligned internal structure, and bipolar.
[3] A binary system consists of two stars rotating around their common centre of gravity.
[4] Very little is known about the origin and characteristics of the magnetic fields that were present in our galaxy when it was young, so it is unclear whether they have grown stronger over time, or decayed.
More information
The research is presented in a paper entitled "Alignment of the Angular Momentum Vectors of Planetary Nebulae in the Galactic Bulge", to appear in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
The team is composed of B. Rees (University of Manchester, UK), and A. A. Zijlstra (University of Manchester, UK). Bryan Rees came late to research astronomy — he decided to do a PhD after his early retirement and this work formed part of his thesis work.
ESO is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe and the world's most productive ground-based astronomical observatory by far. It is supported by 15 countries: Austria, Belgium, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. ESO carries out an ambitious programme focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful ground-based observing facilities enabling astronomers to make important scientific discoveries. ESO also plays a leading role in promoting and organising cooperation in astronomical research. ESO operates three unique world-class observing sites in Chile: La Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor. At Paranal, ESO operates the Very Large Telescope, the world's most advanced visible-light astronomical observatory and two survey telescopes. VISTA works in the infrared and is the world's largest survey telescope and the VLT Survey Telescope is the largest telescope designed to exclusively survey the skies in visible light. ESO is the European partner of a revolutionary astronomical telescope ALMA, the largest astronomical project in existence. ESO is currently planning the 39-metre European Extremely Large optical/near-infrared Telescope, the E-ELT, which will become "the world's biggest eye on the sky".
Links
Contacts
Albert Zijlstra
University of Manchester
Manchester, UK
Tel: +44 1613 063925
Email: [email protected]
Bryan Rees
University of Manchester
Manchester, UK
Tel: +44 1612 754145
Email: [email protected]
Richard Hook
ESO, Public Information Officer
Garching bei München, Germany
Tel: +49 89 3200 6655
Cell: +49 151 1537 3591
Email: [email protected]
Connect with ESO on social media |
Edit: If the video above does not play, please click “Watch on YouTube” or follow this link.
Michael Bennett is a leader for the Seahawks’ defense. His ability to pass rush and stop the run make him a valuable asset to the team. In this video breakdown, I looked at him as a pass rusher and his role in the defense. For the following video next week, I decided to look at his elite run stopping ability, which I felt warranted its own video.
As a pass rusher, Bennett has a variety of moves and he plays with outstanding effort. Generally, when his pass rush fails, it’s usually due to the fact that he takes too many steps and does not setup his pass rush correctly. Additionally, he was used on stunts for a good portion of his snaps which negated his pass rush. This happened especially on third downs.
Overall, Bennett is not an elite edge rusher, but his variety of moves and consistent effort always puts him in a position to make plays. |
(CNN) Michelle Carter was found guilty Friday of involuntary manslaughter in a case largely built on text messages she sent urging her 18-year-old boyfriend, Conrad Roy III, to commit suicide in July 2014 by inhaling carbon monoxide in his pickup truck.
"This court has found that Carter's actions and failure to act where it was her self-created duty to Roy since she put him in that toxic environment constituted reckless conduct," Bristol County Juvenile Court Judge Lawrence Moniz said. "The court finds that the conduct caused the death of Mr. Roy."
Roy aspired to be a tugboat captain and would be alive if not for Carter's actions, Bristol Assistant District Attorney Katie Rayburn said. He had been trying to better himself, and "we all wish he had the opportunity," to grow up, she said.
Carter was tried as a juvenile because she was 17 at the time of the crime.
Here are some of the messages, as outlined in court documents.
June 19, 2014
Here, Carter urges Roy to seek medical help for his suicidal thoughts.
Carter: "But the mental hospital would help you. I know you don't think it would but I'm telling you, if you give them a chance, they can save your life"
Carter: "Part of me wants you to try something and fail just so you can go get help"
Roy: "It doesn't help. Trust me"
Carter: "So what are you gonna do then? Keep being all talk and no action and everyday go thru saying how badly you wanna kill yourself? Or are you gonna try to get better?"
Roy: "I can't get better I already made my decision."
June 23, 2014
In this exchange, Carter discourages Roy from harming himself.
Carter: "How do you want to harm yourself"
Roy: "Something idkk yet"
Carter: "Please don't"
Roy: "I hate myself I'll always hate myself, I'm never gonna view myself as good I'm so far behind"
Carter: "What is harming yourself gonna do!? Nothing! It will make it worse!"
Roy: "Make the pain go away like you said"
Carter: "It will make the pain go away temporarily, but when you're done, you'll just regret it and feel even worse!"
July 7, 2014
Here, Carter tells Roy how she would handle his situation.
Roy: " If you were in my position. honestly what would you do"
Carter: "I would get help. That's just me tho. When I have a serious problem like that my first instinct is to get help because I know I can't do it on my own"
Later that day, however, Carter and Roy discuss the best way for him to produce carbon monoxide (CO).
Carter: "Well there's more ways to make CO. Google ways to make it. . . "
Roy: "Omg"
Carter: "What"
Roy: "portable generator that's it"
July 8, 2014
The next day Roy seems less resolute.
Carter: "So are you sure you don't wanna [kill yourself] tonight?"
Roy: "What do you mean am I sure?"
Carter: "Like, are you definitely not doing it tonight?"
Roy: "Idk yet I'll let you know"
Carter: "Because I'll stay up with you if you wanna do
it tonight"
Roy: " Another day wouldn't hurt"
Carter: "You can't keep pushing it off, tho, that's all you keep doing"
July 11, 2014
On this day Carter sends Roy her opinion about using a generator in the truck, as opposed to a water pump.
Carter: "...Well in my opinion, I think u should do the generator because I don't know much
about the pump and with a generator u can't fail"
July 4-12, 2014
This series of messages was sent over a span of nine days. The ---- indicates a pause between conversations.
Carter: "You're gonna have to prove me wrong because I just don't think you really want this. You just keeps pushing it off to another night and say you'll do it but you never do"
---
Carter: "SEE THAT'S WHAT I MEAN. YOU KEEP PUSHING IT OFF! You just said you were gonna do it tonight and now you're saying eventually. . . ."
---
Carter: "But I bet you're gonna be like 'oh, it didn't work because I didn't tape the tube right or something like that' . . . I bet you're gonna say an excuse like that"
---
Carter: "Do you have the generator?"
Roy: "not yet lol"
Carter: "WELL WHEN ARE YOU GETTING IT"
---
Carter: "You better not be bull sh*ting me and saying you're gonna do this and then purposely get caught"
July 11-12, 2014
Overnight and into the next morning, Roy shares concerns over how his parents would handle his suicide.
Roy: "I'm just to sensitive. I want my family to know there was nothing they could do. I am entrapped in my own thoughts"
Roy: "like no I would be happy if they had no guilt about it. because I have a bad feeling tht this is going to create a lot of depression between my parents/sisters"
Roy: "i'm overthinking everything. . f**k. I gotta stop and just do it"
Carter: "I think your parents know you're in a really bad place. Im not saying they want you to do it, but I honestly feel like they can accept it. They know there's nothing they can do, they've tried helping, everyone's tried. But there's a point that comes where there isn't anything anyone can do to save you, not even yourself, and you've hit that point and I think your parents know you've hit that point. You said you're mom saw a suicide thing on your computer and she didn't say anything. I think she knows it's on your mind and she's prepared for it"
Carter: Everyone will be sad for a while, but they will get over it and move on. They won't be in depression I won't let that happen. They know how sad you are and they know that you're doing this to be happy, and I think they will understand and accept it. They'll always carry u in their hearts"
----
Roy: "i don't want anyone hurt in the process though"
Roy: "I meant when they open the door, all the carbon monoxide is gonna come out they can't see it or smell it. whoever opens the door"
Carter: "They will see the generator and know that you died of CO. . . ."
----
Roy: "hey can you do me a favor"
Carter: "Yes of course"
Roy: "just be there for my family :)"
Carter: "Conrad, of course I will be there for your family. I will help them as much as I can to get thru this, ill tell them about how amazing their son/brother truly was"
----
Roy: "Idk I'm freaking out again"
Roy: I'm overthinking"
Carter: "I thought you wanted to do this. The time is right and you're ready, you just need to do it! You can't keep living this way. You just need to do it like you did last time and not think about it and just do it babe. You can't keep doing this every day"
Roy: "I do want to. but like I'm freaking for my family. I guess"
Roy: "idkkk"
Carter: "Conrad. I told you I'll take care of them. Everyone will take care of them to make sure they won't be alone and people will help them get thru it. We talked about this, they will be okay and accept it. People who commit suicide don't think this much and they just do it"
July 12, 2014
In these exchanges on the day before his body was found, Roy expresses more hesitation about his plan.
Carter: "So I guess you aren't gonna do it then, all that for nothing"
Carter: "I'm just confused like you were so ready and determined"
Roy: "I am gonna eventually"
Roy: "I really don't know what I'm waiting for. . but I have everything lined up"
Carter: "No, you're not, Conrad. Last night was it. You keep pushing it off and you say you'll do it but u never do. Its always gonna be that way if u don't take action"
Carter: "You're just making it harder on yourself by pushing it off, you just have to do it"
Carter: "Do u wanna do it now?"
Roy: "Is it too late?"
Roy: "Idkk it's already light outside"
Roy: I'm gonna go back to sleep, love you I'll text you tomorrow"
Carter: "No? Its probably the best time now because everyone's sleeping. Just go somewhere in your truck. And no one's really out right now because it's an awkward time"
Carter: "If u don't do it now you're never gonna do it"
Carter: "And u can say you'll do it tomorrow but you probably won't"
---
Carter: "You just need to do it Conrad or I'm gonna get you help"
Carter: "You can't keep doing this everyday"
Roy: "Okay I'm gonna do it today"
Carter: "Do you promise"
Roy: "I promise babe"
Roy: "I have to now"
Carter: "Like right now?"
Roy: "where do I go? :("
Carter: "And u can't break a promise. And just go in a quiet parking lot or something." |
A unique pie made for the Mediterranean diet. This healthy vegetarian olive pie is a Mezzetta recipe with Kalamata & Spanish Olives, onions, sweet peppers.
This post has been compensated by Mezzetta. All the opinions expressed are mine
Olive Pie is the perfect holiday recipe for this holiday season. Every year, we have a unique pie for the Thanksgiving and it is always an adventure. From sweet potato pies to tomato pies, I have had it all.
Most of the time, the adventure lies in the tasting and not the cooking part.
In 2002, we had chocolate and cranberry pie. That was the year that one of my friends was getting married at the age of 20. We had a pajama bridal shower on Christmas Eve and she got to choose the ingredients of the pie.
The pie was great, the conversations were lively and the memories of stuffed bellies still lingers in my mind.
In 2004, I made peaches, banana and coconut pie. The pie my contribution to a Thai Potluck Thanksgiving I was invited to attend. This was my first attempt at making pies using fresh fruits, so, the challenge was on.
Admittedly, the 2004 pie did not come out great. However, it was a huge success in the post Thanksgiving food fight. I think you can guess who got the pie in their face? Yes, I was the one who got the pie in my face and that was awesome! In the end, I felt sorry for the person who made the turkey.
The best holiday pie memory was in 2011. It was my last Thanksgiving in New Jersey, even though I didn’t know it at that time. The pie was the traditional Apple Pie with Ice Cream. The pie ingredients weren’t unique. However, they were mini apple pies in the shape of pine cones with the names of our favorite people on the top.
What to do with olives? That is the question I always ask myself. I find myself using them in salads mostly, so, I thought to try it as the king in a recipe. Olive recipes are now my favorite. I am going to be trying a whole bunch of new recipes in the new year.
What is your favorite olives recipes?
How to make an Olive Pie
Mezzetta Recipe for Olive Pie An olives recipe like no other. This savory pie recipe is perfect the holiday season and year round. Made with 2 types of olives, caramelized onions and sweet peppers, it is the perfect comfort food pie. 4.88 from 8 votes Print Pin Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 25 minutes Total Time: 35 minutes Servings: 4 servings Calories: 356 kcal Author: Healing Tomato Ingredients 1 pie crust
1 Cup Kalamata Olives Mezzetta Sliced
1 Cup Spanish Queen Olives Mezzetta
1/2 cup Roasted Bell Pepper Strips Mezzetta Deli Sliced Roasted Bell Pepper Strips
1/2 yellow onion Julienned
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp honey
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp sesame seeds
1/4 cup feta cheese
1/4 tsp pomegranate balsamic vinegar (optional) Instructions Preheat oven to 400° and partially bake the pie crust for about 10 minutes
Wash the two olive types by running them under cold water for about 30 seconds
In a medium pan, add the olive oil and allow to heat for 30 seconds
Add the onions and saute them until caramelized
Add the Bell Pepper Strips and honey
Saute for about 3 minutes on medium-low heat
Add the Mezzetta olives and stir well
Add the dried spices and leave it on medium heat until all the liquid has burned off
Stir constantly
In a different pan, lightly dry roast the sesame seeds for about 45 seconds
Bringing the Olive Pie together Add the olive and bell pepper mixture to the partially baked pie crust
Top with the sesame seeds and put the pie pan back into the oven
Allow the pie to bake for about 15 minutes
Remove from the oven and top with feta cheese
Top with balsamic vinaigrette
Serve immediately. For best results, add a splash of Pomegranate Balsamic Vinegar before serving Nutrition Serving: 3 g | Calories: 356 kcal | Carbohydrates: 27 g | Protein: 5 g | Fat: 26 g | Saturated Fat: 6 g | Cholesterol: 8 mg | Sodium: 1569 mg | Potassium: 115 mg | Fiber: 4 g | Sugar: 2 g | Vitamin A: 7.9 % | Vitamin C: 11.1 % | Calcium: 11.7 % | Iron: 11.6 % Tried this recipe? Follow me @healingtomato1 and mention #healingtomato1
MORE FROM HEALINGTOMATO |
Enter the Roadmap
Posted by remi 3 years ago
Many of you have wondered what goes on behind the scenes, and what our long term plans are. In the earlier phases of this project we only had a 3 month contract and so we didn’t have as much freedom to “think big”. Now we are unchained. We have been given the green light to continue developing NS2 and it looks like we will be able to do so for at least another 6-9 months.
In the past the goals we communicated were more focused on discrete metrics: player retention, number of concurrents, and the number of copies sold. But those are just tools to measure our progress. Our aim for NS2 has always been larger than what those metrics encompass.
Our goal is to reinvigorate the game and bring about a new “golden era” for NS2 gaming, and in doing so to contribute to UWE’s overarching goal — to unite the world through play.
But how can we achieve that? Our current Trello boards give a good view of what we are working on, but is focused only on the short-term. Enter the Roadmap:
Roadmaps are used for communicating a high-level plan and the general prioritization of large features. The first thing you may notice about our roadmap is that there are no dates on it. This is because it’s not meant to be a promise as to when a feature will be completed, but it is a useful tool to communicate what we want to achieve, and in the order we think we will be able to achieve it.
Our Roadmap is also not an inclusive list of everything we plan to work on. It’s focusing on only the large features and doesn’t include work we will continue to do on balance, gameplay, bug fixing, performance improvements, stability, data collection, and much more. Between every patch, we are also looking for “quick wins” — tasks which will give large payoffs relative to the amount of time that would need to be invested. Tasks where the amount of work required is very small compared to the amount of value they produce to the community.
There are many things we could highlight from our Roadmap, but I’ll just highlight one: converting the engine to 64 bit. This is something we’ve said in the past is likely never happening… until the fates conspired and it’s now actually become a possibility.
We’re very excited about the potential that all these features will bring to the game. I’m sure this roadmap will inspire even more questions than the number of answers it may provide. This is why we’ve decided to write this post and unveil our roadmap before recording a Q&A video. Please visit our reddit page to submit your questions and upvote others’.
Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Vanilla. |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is voicing concern over reports from human rights groups that Pakistan’s security forces are holding thousands of political separatists without charge, The New York Times reported on Thursday.
Citing a State Department report to Congress last month, the Times said the Obama administration was alarmed by reports that separatists, mostly from Pakistan’s Baluchistan province, had been detained over the past decade and were being held incommunicado.
Some of the missing were guerrillas and others civilians, the newspaper said. The State Department report, obtained by the newspaper, also cited concerns that Pakistan’s military had killed unarmed Taliban insurgents instead of putting them on trial.
The report urged Pakistan, an important U.S. ally in the fight against Islamist insurgents, to address the issue and other rights abuses, the paper said. “There continue to be gross violations of human rights by Pakistani security forces,” the report said.
“The Pakistani government has made limited progress in advancing human rights and continues to face human rights challenges.” Pakistani intelligence officials accuse human rights groups of exaggerating the numbers of people held incommunicado, according to the Times.
The United States in late September asked Pakistan for information about a video posted on the Internet purporting to show men in Pakistani military fatigues lined up in a firing squad shooting bound and blindfolded men in traditional clothing.
The Pakistani government has launched a probe into the video.
The United States in October announced $2 billion in military aid for Pakistan, but the relationship has been strained by Washington’s pressure on Islamabad to step up its efforts against Taliban and al Qaeda militants launching attacks on Western forces in Afghanistan from Pakistani sanctuaries. |
When the writer David Foster Wallace ended his own life in 2008, the engines of culture immediately began producing analyses of his work with suicide as the subtext. How had depression informed his 1,000-page-plus masterpiece Infinite Jest, or his collections of short stories? Besides pronouncing Wallace’s martyrdom, the other tendency was to fix a specific place for him in the literary pantheon, so that his genre-bending oeuvre could be classified for posterity.
Now an excellent new BBC Radio piece aims to rescue him from these dual dangers of early hagiography. First aired on February 6th, the audio documentary is called Endnotes — both a melancholic acknowledgment of his early death, and an allusion to the author’s fondness for footnotes. (As the BBC reminds us, Infinite Jest contained 388 of them.) We were thrilled to hear the author reading portions of his own work and commenting on the challenges of writing fiction in late-millennial America.
Featuring interviews from Wallace’s sister Amy, his literary hero Don DeLillo, and novelist friend and contemporary Rick Moody, the BBC feature contextualizes his writing in terms of Wallace’s Midwestern upbringing, early love of math, and yes, his depression. But it does so without sentimentality and is explicit about rejecting any reductive interpretations of his legacy.
In the words of his editor, Michael Pietsch:
David loved to set himself enormous challenges… [He] was thinking about the fact that most of our lives are made up of boringness. Most of our lives are what he calls ‘irrelevant complexity,’ things that you just do again and again and your brain learns to go elsewhere while you’re doing them. And most novelists just avoid them; they just compress around the exciting bits.” ~ Michael Pietsch
Wallace, by contrast, managed to make the mundane profound. Listening to the piece we felt that heart-pounding feeling we had upon first reading his writing, of ideas pumping through the brain and blood at a rate faster than they could be absorbed. It was exhilirating, and reminded us how much we’re anticipating his final unfinished work, The Pale King, forthcoming in April.
In the meantime, load up the BBC’s endnotes and enjoy a 45-minute tour through the ideas of an unfailingly ambitious, quintessentially American author.
Kirstin Butler is writing an adaptation of Gogol for the Google era called Dead SULs, but when not working spends far, far too much time on Twitter. She currently lives in Cambridge, MA but still stubbornly identifies as a Brooklynite. |
"Tunak Tunak Tun" or simply "Tunak", is a Bhangra/Indi-pop song by Indian Punjabi artist Daler Mehndi, released in 1998. It was the first Indian music video made using greenscreen technology.[1]
The song and the video were a success in India, cementing Mehndi's status as India's biggest popstar at the time.[2] It later gained international success,[2] especially after it became an internet meme in the 2000s.[3][4]
Background [ edit ]
The "Tunak Tunak Tun" lyrics are a reference to the sounds made by a tumbi (also called tumba), a traditional musical instrument from the Punjab region in the northern Indian subcontinent.[5]
Mehndi's music was often criticized for only being popular due to his videos which featured beautiful, dancing women.[1][non-primary source needed] The singer responded by creating a video that featured only himself. The music video was the first made in India using greenscreen technology,[1] which allowed the singer to superimpose his image over various computer-generated backgrounds including desert and mountain landscapes as well as the St. Basil's Cathedral.
The music video was produced on an unprecedented budget of ₹25 million[6] ($610,000),[7] equivalent to ₹80 million ($1.23 million) adjusted for inflation.
Music video [ edit ]
The music video follows a simple plot about four men, all played by Mehndi, who represent the four classical elements and dress in lavish Indian clothing. The earth Mehndi wears red/maroon, the fire Mehndi wears orange, the wind Mehndi wears brown, and the water Mehndi wears green. The men start off as comets made of water, dirt, air, and fire before transforming into clothed humans. Each of them take turns singing, dancing and pointing at each other as though they are discussing something. The men later fuse by first reverting to their comet states and then merging to form Daler Mehndi, who is predominantly wearing yellow and green and presumably more powerful.
As of October 2018, the music video has received over 100 million views on the Sony Music India channel at YouTube.[8]
Reception [ edit ]
The song and the music video received a negative review from Rashtriya Sahara magazine in 1998.[9] Despite this, the song became a commercial success in 1998, becoming the biggest Indi-pop hit at the time.[2]
International popular culture [ edit ]
By 1999, the song found an international cult following, particularly among the South Asian diaspora in countries such as the United Kingdom and United States, as well as in Far-Eastern markets such as Japan.[2] In China, it attained popularity for its lyrics, which sound like nonsensical words, gaining the song the Chinese name, "我在东北玩泥巴" ("I'm playing clay in Northeastern China").[10]
In the 2000s, "Tunak Tunak Tun" found greater international popularity on the internet as a viral video. In response, the video game company Blizzard Entertainment incorporated the "Tunak Tunak Tun" dance as a character animation in their multiplayer role-playing game World of Warcraft in 2008.[11] This dance is also included as an easter egg in the video game Medal of Honor: Allied Assault Spearhead.[12]
Chart performance [ edit ]
Chart (2016) Peak
position Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[13] 28
References [ edit ] |
Jane Seo is a writer for the Huffington post who blogs about food, staying healthy, and her new-found love for running. A week ago, she came in second at the Fort Lauderdale Half Marathon with a stellar time of 1 hour 21 minutes. Jane, who has written several articles for The Huffington post ever since her debut in 2013, won second place with a 6:15-per-mile pace that surprised many people, who thought her achievement sounded too good to be true.
Turns out, the reason it sounded too good to be true, is because it was. Jane had cheated in the marathon by cutting the course, as a blog post on marathoninvestigation.com would later prove. Jane confessed to her crime and has been disqualified. She has also been removed from the Dashing Whippets, a New York based running team that she is a member of.
She later uploaded a now-deleted apology to her Instagram page:
“I made a horrible choice…. I wasn’t feeling well so i cut the course and headed to the finish line. I got swept away in the moment and pretended I ran the entire course “:
Jane would have got away with cheating if it wasn’t for the valiant efforts of a private “Marathon investigator” who specializes in exposing cheaters who try to win marathon races through illicit methods.
What tipped people off that she may have cheated is the fact that her timing chip logged unusually fast miles halfway through the race. A marathon investigator by name Derek was quickly alerted to investigate.
Suspicions arose almost immediately after Seo, who is 24 and writes regularly for the Huffington Post, crossed the finish line in the 13.1 half-marathon division Sunday. Race timer Josh Stern quickly noted that her timing chip logged unusually fast miles in the second half of the race, when runners often slow down rather than dramatically speed up. He confronted Seo, who persuaded race director Matt Lorraine to keep her listed as the number two finisher, with her time just under 1 hour 22 minutes. But after the race, someone tipped off Derek Murphy, a business analyst by day who has become the world’s best internet sleuth at busting cheating runners.
The marathon investigator began digging into Seo’s time and soon came across a prime piece of evidence: a photo of her at the finish line that clearly showed her race-tracking Garmin watch. He enlarged the photo, which showed the watch matched her time of 1 hour 22 minutes but also showed she had covered only 11.65 miles — nearly two miles short of the full race.
The private investigator also did the maths and it didn’t add up.
10K – 44:22
13.1 – 1:21:46
These results would equate to a 7:09 minute/mile pace for the 1st 10k and a 5:25 minute/mile pace for remaining 11.08 kilometers. Very few, if any, runners could shave a minute and a half off their splits in the second half of a race. But there was more evidence. Seo, who like many runners posts her activities on Strava.com, later in the day posted mile-by-mile records of her traversing the entire 13.1 miles, most of which run along Fort Lauderdale Beach. But Murphy discerned that the cadence numbers were more in line with a person on a bicycle rather than a runner. Through the Flyby screen, I was able to confirm that she actually covered this course in the afternoon — long after the race was complete. Seo later admitted she’d gone back and biked the whole course to cover her tracks by GPS.
Murphy had gained Internet fame by exposing cheaters in marathon races for several years on end. However, it looks like this may have been the most “high profile” individual he may have exposed. Exposing a Huffington Post writer brought lots of traffic to his website.
Murphy’s site has been blowing up since exposing Seo’s lies, and commenters on the web are excoriating Seo, a Harvard grad who regularly writes about food and culture. Her trip to South Florida was partially sponsored by Fort Lauderdale tourism site Sunny.org, Murphy said. “Had she just admitted what she did, I never would have heard of her, nor written about her,” Murphy said. “But going back and biking the course to cover up… that’s unheard of.”
Murphy, based in Ohio, began his site two years ago to investigate claims of malpractice by runners aiming for the Holy Grail: attaining a qualifying time fast enough to be eligible for the Boston Marathon. He has even used Google Earth in one case to prove a runner’s “innocence” to claims of course-cutting.
Murphy said he spoke to Seo Monday, who maintained her innocence, and traded emails with Stern and Lorraine. He broke his story of her cheating on Tuesday.
“While I am glad that she eventually admitted to cutting the course and trying to cover her tracks, she only posted this after information was relayed to her regarding the extent of the evidence against her,” Murphy wrote on his site.
This needs to be a movie. |
Hello Kickstarter Community,
Our first full grilling season was FUN-nominal. Last year we received countless emails from as far away as Fiji, requesting a way to enjoy the convenience of the SPINARRI 543 on traditional charcoal. In response, last fall we developed and tested multiple prototypes of Rail Kits.
The final Rail Kit versions have been perfected in 16 gauge 304 stainless steel, along with full stainless mounting hardware. This design features a positive lock on the edges of the grill, for a sturdy solution with safety in mind.
We are excited and ready to produce these Rail Kits for our hit product, the SPINARRI 543. Motorized AutoSkewers will be spinning your favorites on home gas BBQ grills, portable grills, kettle grills, egg grills and more. At home, camping or tailgating, the SPINARRI 543 will deliver truly hands free grilling.
Here is your chance to get REWARDED with a Super Discount on a Spinarri 543 WITH a new Rail Kit by helping us produce them for this Spring.
The SPINARRI 543 now travels with your portable grill. All eyes will be on your NEW motorized grilling setup at the beach or tailgating the BIG game.
Kickstarter funds will be allocated to launching our first production run of these new Rail Kits, fulfilling and shipping the associated rewards.
Rail Kits will be made to the highest quality standards and produced locally here in Metro Detroit.
The New Rail Kits : Type 1 and the Adjustable Span Type 2.
The following are the selected types of Rail Kits we have prototyped and tested.
Rail Type 1 fits on portable charcoal and gas grills including Weber®, Char-Broil® and others.
Above - SPINARRI 543 on a portable charcoal grill with Rail Kit Type 1.
Above - SPINARRI 543 on a portable gas grill with Rail Type 1.
Rail Type 2 have an adjustable 10" to 33" span for Weber® kettles , eggs, half drums and more.
Above - SPINARRI 543 on a kettle grill with Rail Kit Type 2.
Dual Back to Back Catering setup for use on 26" or larger kettles.
Social Media and Video Links.
We can't wait till the 2015 grilling season for more gas and now charcoal grilling. Be sure to check our social media as the grilling will ramp up as the snow melts.
Twitter : Click Here
Facebook : Click Here
YouTube : Click Here
Vimeo : Click Here
Google+ : Click Here
Pinterest : Click Here
Memories of one of the best grills of last fall.
Thank you Mario's Meats in Eastpointe, MI.
SPINARRI AutoSkewers model 543 and 975 also perform on your gas grill. Whether you refer to them as beef short ribs or Jacob ladders, I assure you these ribs tasted ridiculously good.
Spinarri 975 on a Weber® Genesis Propane grill.
Thanks for taking to time to check out our Kickstarter project.
If you have any questions or comments please connect with us. :)
Spinarri Reviews.
"Just received the autoskewer and it is well made. I used to work with sheet metal and the quality is pretty high for this price point - can't wait to try it. " via email, Blaine in California.
"If you love making souvlaki, kebabs/shish kebabs, then you will love this device!! ... Honestly, I don't know how I was able to make good souvlaki before I got this, it takes the hassle away and meat is cooked evenly." via 5 Star Amazon review, Mario in Pennsylvania
Here are some great photos from the past.
Weber® is a registered trademark of Weber-Stephen Products Co.
Char-Broil® is a registered trademark of W.C. Bradley Co.
Spinarri AutoSkewers Inc. is not affiliated with Weber-Stephen Products Co. or W.C. Bradley Co. |
PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING LEGAL DOCUMENTS CAREFULLY.
WHEN YOU USE EN MASSE ENTERTAINMENT, INC.'S WEBSITE AND RELATED SERVICES, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE READ, UNDERSTAND, AND AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THE END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT, THE TERMS OF SERVICE, THE RULES OF CONDUCT, THE PRIVACY POLICY AND ANY OTHER SUPPLEMENTATL AGREEMENTS AND POLICES OF EN MASSE ENTERTAINMENT, INC.THE END USER LICNESE AGREEMENT, TERMS OF SERVICE, PRIVACY POLICY AND ANY OTHER SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENTS OF EN MASSE ENTERTAINMENT, INC. MAY BE AMENDED FROM TIME TO TIME AT OUR SOLE DISCRETION.
If you have any questions regarding this EULA, or any supplemental terms, please [contact us].
i. End User License Agreement
1. Grant of a Limited Use License
By agreeing to this Agreement, you may install the game client software (hereafter referred to as the "Game Client") onto your machine for purposes of playing TERA, and may register for and access an account with the Service (the "Account"). Subject to your agreement to and continuing compliance with this Agreement, En Masse hereby grants, and you hereby accept, a limited, non-exclusive license to (a) install the Game Client on a machine owned by you or under your legitimate control, and (b) use the Game Client in conjunction with the Service for your non-commercial entertainment purposes only. You hereby agree that all use of the Game Client is subject to this Agreement and to the Terms of Service.
2. Additional Limitations
The license granted to you in Section 1 is subject to the terms and conditions of this EULA and any supplemental terms including the Terms of Service. You hereby agree that any use of TERA in violation of any of the limitations set forth in Sections 1 and 2 will be regarded as an infringement of En Masse's rights in and to TERA, including but not limited to copyrights. You agree that you will not, under any circumstances:
A. in whole or in part, copy, photocopy, reproduce, translate, reverse engineer, derive source code from, modify, disassemble, decompile, or create derivative works based on TERA; provided, however, that you may make one (1) copy of the Game Client and the manuals for backup or archival purposes only;
B. use cheats, automation software (bots), hacks, mods or any other unauthorized third-party software designed to modify any part of TERA;
C. exploit TERA or any of its parts, including without limitation the Game Client, for any commercial purpose, including without limitation (a) use at a cyber cafe, computer gaming center or any other location-based site without the express written consent of En Masse; (b) for gathering in-game currency, items or resources for sale outside the game of TERA; (c) performing in-game services in exchange for payment outside the game of TERA, e.g., power-leveling; or (d) performing advertising or solicitations for a third party;
D. use any unauthorized third-party software that intercepts, "mines", or otherwise collects information from or through TERA or the service, including without limitation any software that reads areas of RAM used by En Masse for TERA to store information about a character or the game environment; provided, however, that En Masse may, at its sole and absolute discretion, allow the use of certain third party user interfaces;
E. access TERA from any Internet protocol addresses, computers or proxies that En Masse may prohibit in its sole and absolute discretion;
F. modify or cause to be modified any files that are a part of the Game Clientof TERA in any way not expressly authorized by En Masse;
G. host, provide or develop matchmaking services for TERA, or intercept, emulate or redirect the communication protocols used by En Masse in any way, for any purpose, including without limitation unauthorized play over the Internet, network play, or as part of content aggregation networks;
H. facilitate, create or maintain any unauthorized connection to TERA or relatedservices, including without limitation (a) any connection to any unauthorized server that emulates, or attempts to emulate, the Service; and (b) any connection using programs or tools not expressly approved by En Masse;
I. sell, grant a security interest in or transfer reproductions of any part of TERA to other parties in any way not expressly authorized herein, or rent, lease or license any party of TERA to others;
J. sell, transfer or assign any Account, or any items incorporated into or part of TERA, including but not limited to any characters; or
K. infringe a third party’s intellectual property or other rights, or violate any law or regulation applicable to you.
3. Separately Licensed Software
TERA may contain third party software and/or content which are licensed to you pursuant to a separate agreement (the "Separately Licensed Software"). You agree that En Masse may install the Separately Licensed Software onto your machine during the Game Client installation process. You agree that you will not copy, reverse engineer, derive source code from, modify, disassemble, or decompile any Separately Licensed Software, create any derivative works based on any Separately Licensed Software, or infringe or misappropriate any intellectual property or other rights embodied in any Separately Licensed Software. You also agree that you will not access or use any Separately Licensed Software until and unless you agree with the end user license agreements provided by the licensors of such Separately Licensed Software. The terms of each such end user license agreement will replace and supersede this Agreement, but only with regard to the applicable Separately Licensed Software referenced in such agreement. For the avoidance of doubt, if any third party software and/or content contained in TERA is deemed not covered by a separate end user license agreement, then it is governed by the terms and conditions of this EULA.
4. Limited Warranty and Disclaimer
TERA AND ALL RELATED SOFTWARE, SERVICES AND CONTENT ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" BASIS, PROVIDED AT YOUR OWN RISK, AND TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, EN MASSE HEREBY EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, WRITTEN OR ORAL, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF TITLE, NONINFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY, QUIET ENJOYMENT, ACCURACY, OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. Without limiting the foregoing, En Masse does not ensure continuous, error-free, secure or virus-free operation of TERA or your Account. Some states or countries do not allow the disclaimer of implied warranties, and the foregoing disclaimer may not apply to you. This warranty gives you specific legal rights and you may also have other legal rights that vary from state to state or from country to country.
5. Limitation of Liability
NEITHER EN MASSE ENTERTAINMENT, INC. NOR ITS PARENT, SUBSIDIARIES, LICENSORS OR AFFILIATES SHALL BE LIABLE IN ANY WAY FOR DAMAGE OR LOSS OF ANY KIND RESULTING FROM (A) THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE TERA AND RELATED SOFTWARE AND SERVICES INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION LOSS OF GOODWILL, WORK STOPPAGE, COMPUTER FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION; (B) THE LOSS OR DAMAGE TO CHARACTERS, ACCOUNTS, STATISTICS, INVENTORIES OR USER PROFILE INFORMATION; OR (C) INTERRUPTIONS OF SERVICE INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ISP DISRUPTIONS, SOFTWARE OR HARDWARE FAILURES OR ANY OTHER EVENT WHICH MAY RESULT IN A LOSS OF DATA OR DISRUPTION OF SERVICE. YOU AGREE THAT EN MASSE WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS, ALL LIABILITY FOR NON-CONTRACT CLAIMS, WHETHER BASED ON NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORT, STRICT LIABILITY, INFRINGEMENT, STATUTORY VIOLATIONS, OR OTHERWISE. IN NO EVENT WILL EN MASSE BE LIABLE FOR SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONTINGENT, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, REGARDLESS OF THE FORM OF THE CLAIM OR CAUSE OF ACTION (WHETHER BASED IN NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORT, STRICT LIABILITY, INFRINGEMENT, STATUTORY VIOLATIONS, OR OTHERWISE), EVEN IF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES HAS BEEN DISCLOSED TO EN MASSE IN ADVANCE OR COULD REASONABLY HAVE BEEN FORESEEN BY EN MASSE.
6. Acknowledgement
i. WHEN YOU ACCESS OR USE TERA, EN MASSE MAY OBTAIN CERTAIN IDENTIFICATION INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR COMPUTER AND ITS OPERATING SYSTEM, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION YOUR HARD DRIVES, CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT, IP ADDRESS(ES) AND OPERATING SYSTEM(S). EN MASSE MAY USE SUCH INFORMATION FOR, AMONG OTHER THINGS, IMPROVING TERA SERVICES OFFERED TO YOU, AND TO POLICE AND ENFORCE THE PROVISIONS OF THIS EULA, THE TERMS OF SERVICE, THE PRIVACY POLICY OR ANY SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENTS;
ii. En Masse may, with or without notice to you, disclose your Internet Protocol (IP) address(es), personal information, chat logs, and other information about you and your activities: (a) in response to a request by law enforcement, a court order or other legal process; or (b) if En Masse believes that doing so may protect your safety or the safety of others;
iii. you are wholly responsible for the cost of all telephone and Internet access charges along with all necessary equipment, servicing, repair or correction incurred in maintaining connectivity to TERA;
iv. you are wholly responsible for the information you decide to disclose to others, including without limitation your real name; En Masse does not encourage users to disclose their personal information to others.
7. Equitable Remedy
In the event that you breach this EULA or any other supplemental terms, including the Terms of Service and the Privacy Policy (collectively the “Legal Agreement” for Section 7 and 8), you hereby agree that En Masse would be irreparably damaged if the Legal Agreement were not specifically enforced, and therefore you agree that En Masse shall be entitled, without bond, other security, or proof of damages, to appropriate equitable remedies with respect to breaches of the Legal Agreement, in addition to such other remedies as En Masse may otherwise have available to it under applicable laws.
8. Dispute Resolution and Governing Law
If a dispute arises between you and EN MASSE, our goal is to provide you with a neutral and cost-effective means of resolving the dispute quickly. Accordingly, you and EN MASSE agree to resolve any claim or controversy at law or in equity that arises from or relates to thisLegal Agreement or our service (a "Claim") in accordance with one of the subsections below.
(a) The Legal Agreement and the relationship between you and EN MASSE shall be governed in all respects by the laws of the State of Washington without regard to conflict of law principles or the United Nations Convention on the International Sale of Goods.
(b) You and EN MASSE agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the courts located in Seattle, Washington, except as provided in subsection 15(c) below regarding optional arbitration. Notwithstanding this, you agree that EN MASSE shall still be allowed to apply for injunctive or other equitable relief in any court of competent jurisdiction.
(c) For any Claim, excluding Claims for injunctive or other equitable relief, where the total amount of the award sought is less than ten thousand U.S. Dollars ($10,000.00 USD), the party requesting relief may elect to resolve the Claim in a cost-effective manner through binding non-appearance-based arbitration. A party electing arbitration shall initiate it through an established alternative dispute resolution ("ADR") provider mutually agreed upon by the parties. The ADR provider and the parties must comply with the following rules: (a) the arbitration shall be conducted, at the option of the party seeking relief, by telephone, online, or based solely on written submissions; (b) the arbitration shall not involve any personal appearance by the parties or witnesses unless otherwise mutually agreed by the parties; and (c) any judgment on the award rendered by the arbitrator may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction.
(d) All Claims you bring against EN MASSE must be resolved in accordance with this Dispute Resolution Section. All Claims filed or brought contrary to this Dispute Resolution Section shall be considered improperly filed. Should you file a Claim contrary to this Dispute Resolution Section, EN MASSE may recover attorneys' fees and costs up to one thousand U.S. Dollars ($1,000.00 USD), provided that EN MASSE has notified you in writing of the improperly filed Claim, and you have failed to promptly withdraw the Claim.
9. Force Majeure
En Masse is not liable for any failure to perform its obligations if such failure results from Acts of Gods (including, but not limited to, fire, flood, earthquake, storm, hurricane or other natural disaster), wars, acts of terror, riots, government sanctions, embargos, accidents, labor disputes, strikes, interruption of or failure to receive materials, energy, electricity or Internet service, or any other thing beyond En Masse’s reasonable control.
10. Export Control
TERA and any part of TERA may not be re-exported, downloaded or otherwise exported into (or to a national or resident of) any country to which the U.S. has embargoed goods, or to anyone on the U.S. Treasury Department's list of Specially Designated Nationals or the U.S. Commerce Department's Table of Denial Orders. You represent and warrant that you are not located in, under the control of, or a national or resident of any such country or on any such list.
11.Miscellaneous
This Agreement constitutes and contains the entire agreement between the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof and supersedes any prior oral or written agreements, provided, however, that this Agreement shall coexist with, and shall not supersede, the Terms of Service. To the extent that the provisions of this Agreement conflict with the provisions of the Terms of Service, the conflicting provisions in the Terms of Service shall govern. The provisions of Sections 2, and4-11, shall survive the termination of this Agreement for any reason. If any provision of this Agreement is found to be invalid or unenforceable, that provision shall be severed and the remainder of this Agreement shall be given full force and effect.
ii. Terms of Service
This Terms of Service governs your use of our website located at tera.enmasse.com, and all software, products, features and services made available, displayed or offered by or through such website (collectively, "TERA"). TERA is operated by En Masse Entertainment, Inc., its parents, subsidiaries and affiliates (collectively, "En Masse", "we," or "our"). The TERA Privacy Policy (http://www.tera.enmasse.com/privacy-policy), end user license agreement, any supplemental terms provided to you by En Masse are an integral part of this Terms of Service and are incorporated herein by reference.
1. Ownership and Grant of Use
The entire contents of TERA, including without limitation all information, material, trademarks, software, video, photographs, graphics, text, music and sound, are owned or licensed by En Masse under applicable laws. En Masse owns rights in the selection, coordination, arrangement and enhancement of such content.
You may not transmit, participate in the transfer or sale, create derivative works from, modify, publish, or in any way exploit, any of the content contained on TERA (including, without limitation, any content that TERA enables you to download) without the express written permission of En Masse and any other applicable owner. In the event of any permitted copying, redistribution or publication of any content, no changes in or deletion of any author attribution, trademark, or copyright notice may be made. The downloading of content from TERA is allowed by you only for your personal use.
You acknowledge that En Masse and/or third-party content providers remain the owners of all content on TERA, and that you do not acquire any ownership rights by downloading any content.
As long as you comply with this Terms of Service and it has not been terminated, En Masse grants you a personal, non-commercial, non-exclusive, non-transferable, limited right to enter, use, perform and display TERA and its contents.
2. User Content
TERA incorporates certain communication features such as forums, message boards, chat, messenger-type features, and email that may be provided to registered and unregistered users (collectively, "TERA Communication Features"). You acknowledge that by using TERA Communication Features, you may be exposed to messages, information, data, text, software, graphic files, or other materials, whether in written, verbal, electronic, digital, machine-readable or other form ("User Content") that you might find objectionable.
EN MASSE DOES NOT TOTALLY CONTROL USER CONTENT AND DOES NOT GUARANTEE ITS ACCURACY, INTEGRITY OR QUALITY. You understand that any User Content sent through or appearing on TERA Communication Features is the sole responsibility of those persons transmitting such User Content. This means that you, and not En Masse, are entirely responsible for all User Content that you transmit. Under no circumstances will En Masse be liable for any errors or omissions in any User Content or for any loss or damages of any kind incurred as a result of the access to, downloading, viewing, listening, use of or inability to use any User Content sent through or appearing on any TERA Communication Features.
En Masse has no obligation to monitor or supervise TERA Communication Features and/or User Content, and expressly disclaims any representation that we will monitor or supervise such features and/or User Content. However, we expressly reserve the right, but not the obligation, in our sole discretion to monitor, screen, edit, block or remove any User Content, in whole or in part, sent through or appearing on any TERA Communication Feature and you have no expectation of privacy in any content in any of the TERA Communication Features. Without limiting the foregoing, En Masse and its designees shall have the right to block or remove, in whole or in part, any User Content that is in violation of this Terms of Service, is illegal, infringing or otherwise offensive or objectionable. Accordingly, you acknowledge that TERA Communication Features are forums for public and not private communications. YOU AGREE TO INDEMNIFY AND HOLD EN MASSE AND ITS DESIGNEES HARMLESS FROM ANY CLAIM OR DEMAND, INCLUDING REASONABLE ATTORNEYS' FEES, MADE BY ANY THIRD PARTY DUE TO OR ARISING OUT OF YOUR VIOLATION OF THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OR YOUR VIOLATION OF ANY RIGHTS OF ANOTHER.
Any and all User Content submitted to En Masse shall be deemed, and shall remain, the property of En Masse from the moment such User Content is created. En Masse shall exclusively own all now known or hereafter existing copyrights and all other intellectual property rights to all User Content of every kind and nature, in perpetuity throughout the world. To the extent that any of the above may be void or unenforceable, you agree that any and all User Content is hereby irrevocably assigned to En Masse, together with all intellectual property rights therein. To the extent any of the User Content is not assignable, by submitting User Content to En Masse, you agree that En Masse shall be irrevocably entitled, directly or indirectly throughout the world and in perpetuity, to modify, adapt, use, reproduce, license, publish, broadcast, perform, sell, translate, create derivative works from and distribute any User Content for any purpose whatsoever, commercial or otherwise, in any medium now known or hereafter devised, without compensation or credit to the provider or author of the User Content. You also give up any claim that any use by En Masse of any User Content violates any of your rights, including but not limited to moral rights, rights of privacy, rights to publicity, proprietary or other rights, and/or rights to credit for the material or ideas set forth therein.
3. Eligibility
If you are between the ages of thirteen (13) and eighteen (18), your parent or guardian must complete the registration process, in which case such parent or guardian will take full responsibility for all obligations under this Terms of Service. You represent that you are at least eighteen (18) years of age and are either accepting this Terms of Service on behalf of yourself or on behalf of your minor child. You may not transfer, sell, or share your Account with anyone, unless you are a parent or guardian, in which case you may permit your minor child to use the Account. You are liable for all activities conducted through the Account.
The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, administered by the Federal Trade Commission, imposes rules regarding the collection of personal information from children. TERA is not directed to children under the age of thirteen (13). If you are under the age of thirteen (13) you may not create an Account and must not provide any personal information to En Masse.
4. Establishing an Account and Access to TERA
A. TERA is an on-line game that must be played over the Internet through the Service as provided by En Masse, and you are wholly responsible for acquiring and paying for your own Internet access along with all necessary equipment, servicing, repair or correction incurred in maintaining the use of TERA and the related services.
B. A TERA account ("Account") may be required to access certain features of TERA, including TERA Communications Features. If you have questions about Account registration, please [contact us].
To create an Account, you must provide your name, date of birth, mailing address and valid email address. You must provide truthful and accurate information. Accounts are available only to adults, or, in their discretion, their minor child, as described in Section 5.
During the registration process, you may be required to provide your login ID (your verifiable email address) and a password (collectively referred to as "Login Information"). You may not share the Account or the Login Information with anyone other than as expressly set forth herein. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of the Login Information, and you will be responsible for all uses of the Login Information, whether or not authorized by you. In the event that you become aware of or reasonably suspect any breach of security, including without limitation any loss, theft, or unauthorized disclosure of the Login Information, you must immediately notify En Masse by emailing to us. You are solely responsible for all activity on your Account. You should not reveal your Account password to others. En Masse will not ask you to reveal your password.
C. Username. In addition to your Login Information, you may be required to select a unique username for use with TERA Communication Features. Your username can be seen by others.
Therefore, if En Masse finds a username to be offensive or improper, it may, in its sole and absolute discretion, change or ask you to change the username, block such user registration, remove the username from all aspects of TERA, and/or suspend or terminate your Account. In particular, you may not use the name of another person, or a name which infringes a third party's trademark, copyright, or other proprietary right. You may not use a name which may mislead others to believe you to be an employee of En Masse, or which En Masse deems at its sole discretion to be vulgar or otherwise offensive. En Masse reserves the right, but not the obligation, in its sole and absolute discretion, to delete or alter any username, terminate or suspend your Account, or terminate any license granted herein, for any reason whatsoever.
NOTWITHSTANDING ANYTHING TO THE CONTRARY HEREIN, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT YOU SHALL HAVE NO OWNERSHIP OR OTHER PROPERTY INTEREST IN THE ACCOUNT, AND YOU FURTHER ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT ALL RIGHTS IN AND TO THE ACCOUNT ARE AND SHALL FOREVER BE OWNED BY AND INURE TO THE BENEFIT OF EN MASSE. En Masse does not recognize the transfer of Accounts or any items incorporated into or part of TERA, including without limitation any characters. You may not purchase, sell, gift, trade, or offer to purchase, sell, gift or trade, any Account or any items incorporated into or part of TERA, and any such attempt shall be null and void.
5. Rules of Conduct
Please refer to www.tera.enmasse.com/rules-of-conduct.
6. Consent to Use of Data and Public Display
For purposes that En Masse deems necessary, including but not limited to facilitating technical protection measures or providing software updates, content, support and other services to you, you agree that En Masse or its agents may collect, use, store and transmit technical and related information that identifies your machine (including an Internet protocol address and machine ID), operating system, application software, and peripheral hardware. You agree En Masse and its agents may also use this information in the aggregate, in a form which does not personally identify you, to improve its products and services and may share anonymous aggregate data with third parties.
You agree that En Masse and its agents may collect, use, store, transmit, and publicly display statistical data regarding the game play (including scores, rankings and achievements) or identify content that is created and shared by you and other users. Data that personally identifies you may be collected, used, stored and transmitted in accordance with En Masse’s privacy policy published at www.tera.enmasse.com/privacy-policy.
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En Masse reserves the right to interrupt all or any aspect of TERA from time to time on a regularly scheduled basis or otherwise with or without prior notice in order to perform maintenance. You agree that En Masse will not be liable for any interruption of TERA, delay or failure to perform resulting from any causes whatsoever. You acknowledge that TERA may be interrupted for reasons beyond the control of En Masse, and En Masse cannot guarantee that you will be able to access TERA or your Account whenever you may wish to do so. En Masse has the right at any time for any reason or no reason to change and/or eliminate any aspect of TERA as it sees fit in its sole discretion.
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You or En Masse may terminate this Terms of Service and your Account at any time. You may terminate this Terms of Service at any time by terminating all your Accounts registered in TERA. En Masse can terminate this Terms of Service by asking you to stop using TERA, and, at En Masse's sole and absolute discretion, by preventing your access to TERA and/or your Account. Upon termination of this Terms of Service, you will have no further rights to use TERA or its services. Your only right and remedy with respect to any dissatisfaction with TERA is to terminate this Terms of Service and your Account and to cease using any services available through TERA, including TERA Communication Features. You acknowledge and agree that you are not entitled to any refund for any amounts that you paid before the termination. Without limiting the foregoing, En Masse shall have the right to terminate this Terms of Service with you, effective immediately, and/or terminate or temporarily suspend your access to your Account and/or all or any part of TERA, without notice, in the event of any conduct by you which En Masse, in its sole and absolute discretion, considers to be unacceptable, or for conduct that En Masse believes is a violation of the terms and conditions contained herein or any other policies of En Masse, or for other conduct which En Masse believes, in its sole and absolute discretion, is harmful to En Masse, other TERA users, or third parties. En Masse reserves the right to deny any account registration and to deny access to TERA to any individual.
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En Masse reserves the right, at its sole and absolute discretion, to change, modify, add to, supplement or delete any of the terms and conditions of this Terms of Service at any time, including without limitation access policies, the availability of any feature of TERA, hours of availability, content, data, software or equipment needed to access TERA, effective with or without prior notice; provided, however, that En Masse intends to disclose material changes (as determined in En Masse's sole and absolute discretion) to you through any of one or a combination of: a patch process, or by email, postal mail, website posting, or pop-up screen. If you cannot comply with changes to this Terms of Service, or such changes are unacceptable to you, you must not use or access TERA and your Account. Continuing to access or use TERA following any revision to this Terms of Service constitutes your complete and irrevocable acceptance of any and all such changes. En Masse may change, modify, suspend, or discontinue any aspect of TERA at any time. En Masse may also impose limits on certain features or restrict your access to parts or all of TERA without notice or liability. If you do not agree to any new terms, or to any of the terms in this Terms of Service, your only remedy is to not access or use TERA and to cancel your Account.
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If any provision of this Terms of Service shall be unlawful, void, or for any reason unenforceable, then that provision shall be deemed severable from this Terms of Service and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions. This Terms of Service is the complete and exclusive statement of the agreement between you and En Masse concerning TERA, and this Terms of Service supersedes any prior or contemporaneous agreement, either oral or written, and any other communications with regard thereto between you and En Masse; provided, however that this Terms of Service is in addition to, and does not replace or supplant the TERA Privacy Policy, any applicable end user license agreement, and any supplemental agreement. This Terms of Service may only be modified as set forth herein. The section headings used herein are for reference only and shall not be read to have any legal effect.
YOU HEREBY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE READ AND UNDERSTAND THE END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT AND TERMS OF SERVICE AND AGREE THAT YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE IS BOUND BY THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS ABOVE. |
AT&T’s proposed merger with T-Mobile USA, once seen as inevitable, hit some significant speed bumps this week.
Industry observers say the headwinds do not mean the merger won’t ultimately win regulatory approval, but the company is going to have to prove to Congress and to regulators that consumers won’t suffer under the deal.
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One expert predicted that AT&T will redouble its efforts to get the merger approved.
“AT&T has a $3 billion payback to T-Mobile if this deal doesn’t go [through], so they have every motivation to make this happen,” said Rob Frieden, a professor of telecommunications and law at Penn State University. “If anything this motivates AT&T to double and redouble its outreach and its lobbying.”
The $39 billion acquisition met resistance in Congress for the first time this week when Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.), the chairman of the Judiciary Committee’s Antitrust subcommittee, urged regulators to block it.
“Approval of this acquisition would also reverse the historic triumph of competition policy of three decades ago — the breaking up of the AT&T phone monopoly into numerous competitors, unleashing an explosion of innovation that led to such technologies as cell phones and the Internet,” Kohl wrote in a seven-page letter laying out his opposition.
The bad news for the company continued late Wednesday when the Federal Communications Commission stopped the clock on its review of the merger. The agency is waiting on AT&T to provide additional economic and engineering analysis of the potential benefits from combining the companies.
Conventional wisdom in the Beltway had held that the merger would sail through the regulatory process. AT&T’s deep pockets and army of lobbyists — paired with the support of organized labor — seemed to make government approval a mere formality.
But AT&T’s air of invincibility is fading as questions mount about a telecom merger that would leave more than 80 percent of the nation’s wireless market in the hands of two companies.
“I don’t know how you can view [Wednesday] as anything but a terrible day for AT&T,” said Gigi Sohn, president of Public Knowledge, which opposes the merger.
AT&T remains confident the government will eventually approve the transaction, but opponents have been buoyed by recent developments and point to statements from Democrats this week questioning the deal’s benefits.
Several lawmakers have invoked the breakup of the Ma Bell telephone monopoly in the 1980s in explaining their opposition to the deal, which would make AT&T and Verizon the dominant wireless players and leave Sprint a distant third.
“To replace the AT&T phone monopoly of the last century with a near-duopoly of AT&T and Verizon today would be harmful to consumers, contrary to antitrust law and not in the public interest under communications law,” Kohl wrote in his letter.
Rep. Edward Markey Edward (Ed) John MarkeyOvernight Energy: Climate protesters storm McConnell’s office | Center-right group says Green New Deal could cost trillion | Dire warnings from new climate studies Center-right group: Ocasio-Cortez's Green New Deal could cost trillion Dozens of climate protesters storm McConnell’s office over Green New Deal MORE (D-Mass.) said the merger would be “an historic mistake.”
“It would turn back the clock to the early 1990s, when American ingenuity and innovation were stymied by a sluggish, analog cellular duopoly,” said Markey, arguing that subsequent legislation helped create new wireless providers and unleash a wave of innovation.
Markey joined Reps. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) and John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) this week in a letter urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to closely scrutinize any promised benefits of the merger. The lawmakers warned the fusion of the firms would be a “troubling backward step” for public policy.
Conyers, who has been one of the most outspoken critics of the merger in Congress, said he appreciates the fact AT&T is the only unionized wireless carrier, but that he still believes the DOJ and the FCC must reject the proposal to protect consumers.
An AT&T spokesman said the firm is preparing new economic and engineering models to provide greater detail on the promised benefits of the deal, specifically on how combining the two networks will increase service and network capacity for customers while saving on costs.
“The facts also demonstrate that the consumer and public interest benefits are enormous,” said AT&T general counsel Wayne Watts. “These include better service in the form of fewer dropped calls, faster speeds and a better overall customer experience, more mobile broadband access for more Americans.”
The FCC said the new submissions are expected to be complex, so the agency has stopped the 180-day clock on the review until it has had time to look over the additional evidence. The delay is not expected to last more than a month or to slow down the review process significantly.
“Because this information, which we will submit next week, is detailed, we are not surprised that the FCC will take the time it needs to thoroughly understand our submission,” AT&T told The Hill in a statement. “We do not expect this will adversely impact the timeframe for approval of our transaction.”
The FCC and the DOJ are both reviewing the deal. Justice can sue to block it under the Clayton Antitrust Act, while the FCC can launch an administrative proceeding if it decides the merger is contrary to the public interest. The FCC can also approve the merger outright or with conditions, such as those attached to the NBC Universal-Comcast merger last year.
Opponents argue there aren’t any conditions that regulators could pin on the deal to prevent it from stifling competition in the wireless market.
Sprint spokesman John Taylor said AT&T caught most stakeholders by surprise when it announced the merger on March 20; thanks to its formidable presence in Washington, the move enabled the telecom giant to create a sense of inevitability around the transaction. But he noted the issue will be handled by law enforcement, not legislation, and said a flurry of lobbying on the merger has only served to raise more questions.
“I think what you’re seeing on Capitol Hill among staffers following telecom issues — as they have learned more about this transaction, they have more questions. As they get more answers, they like this deal less and less,” Taylor said.
Sprint has ramped up its lobbying significantly in opposition to the deal. CEO Dan Hesse admitted last month that if the merger is approved, Sprint would become ripe for a takeover.
AT&T’s aggressive push to rally support for the deal has shown results. A large number of community organizations, civil-rights groups and 26 state governors have written in support of the merger, and the firm has a team of lobbyists working to promote the deal on Capitol Hill.
But Public Knowledge Legal Director Harold Feld suggested some of AT&T’s tactics have backfired. He noted the recent controversy involving the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, which endorsed the merger and then withdrew it after a shakeup in management. |
David Cole, the “Jewish Holocaust Revisionist,” spent the past eighteen years as David Stein the “Republican Party Animal,” working with GOP higher-ups and blogging for major conservative sites. His “outing” provided many examples of cringe-inducing humor, detailed in his book “ Republican Party Animal .”
Cultural Caviar Never Speak Ill of a Hate-Crime Hoaxer In retrospect, I should have stolen S.E. Cupp’s drink. It was June 2010, and Friends of Abe, the Gary Sinise-led organization of Hollywood “conservatives,” was Cultural Caviar Genocidal Pilgrims Here’s a puzzler for you...a real brainteaser in the age of leftist “science” (a.k.a. the Golden Age of Unreason): Is actor Antonio Banderas, born and
Cultural Caviar Liam Neeson’s Unpardonable Sin As we inch closer to this year’s Academy Awards telecast, which promises to be a real barn burner, what with no hosts and no jokes Bitch, Please! The Social Justice Strangler Gets a Free Pass “Reality hits you hard, bro” is a phrase that was immortalized in a 2011 viral news interview with Arizona “eccentric” George Lindell following a violent
Cultural Caviar The Left’s War on Normal The Wire was the critically acclaimed HBO series that told the story of the Baltimore drug trade from a variety of perspectives (cops, dealers, importers, Cultural Caviar Racial Dystopia An essential element of all postapocalyptic movies is the “precious object.” This is the thing that either the good guys are trying to find, or
Cultural Caviar Nonwhite Privilege Did you hear the one about the white and the Asian who went to court over a black man’s ball? It was October 2001, and Cultural Caviar Louis C.K. Beats Off the Mob When I was growing up, my great passion was comedy. Monty Python, National Lampoon, George Carlin, etc. As a kid, I was obsessed with deconstructing
Politics The Genocidal Fountain of Beverly Hills I suppose it makes sense that a heavily Jewish neighborhood would want to get rid of a fountain that promotes genocide. Since the days of Cultural Caviar Ruth Bader Ginsburg…Shiksa? Christmas is supposed to be a holiday for Christians, but this year Santa’s bringing a very special present for America’s Jews: the gift of seeing
Elections The Saddest Election Ever Never in my life have I seen such a parade of gloomy faces following a midterm. In the aftermath of most elections, you’ll have the Cultural Caviar Krazy for Killing It was July 17, 1984, and James Huberty wasn’t feeling well. Something wasn’t right “upstairs.” The recently fired security guard in San Ysidro, Calif., (a
Creep In Praise of Proud Boys In terms of “optics,” last week was not a great one for the right. First, there was the arrest of “MAGAbomber” Cesar Sayoc. Now, I Issue of the Century When Refugees Were Conquerors Ah, the refugee caravan. Would it be a midterm election without a bunch of oppressed brown-skinned asylum seekers storming the border? In a way, these
Cultural Caviar Intersectional Deminism It’s been a long time since I’ve felt fear. Back in the 1990s, when the Jewish Defense League was actively trying to kill me, I Cultural Caviar A Dead-Babies Movie for ALL of Us It was 1 a.m. last Tuesday night, and I was drunk and conflicted. The drunk part is par for the course (I doubt I’ve seen
Cultural Caviar Yes, Women Can Lie If I were Brian Banks, I’d be obsessed with trying to figure out when and how I pissed off a gypsy. Because seriously, what else Education Why I Don’t Have a High School Diploma When Mike Wallace, the decaying corpse from that venerable CBS sleazefest 60 Minutes, profiled me in March 1994, the cadaverous charlatan described me as a
Politics Black BART and the Freedom Riders It’s been a good month for Mark Weber. Mark is the director of the California-based Institute for Historical Review (IHR), a publishing house that dares Cultural Caviar The Day the Asians Turned White In the Asian-Pacific community, the concept of “whitening” is hugely controversial. Double eyelid surgery, nose jobs, etc. But “whitening” can be both literal and figurative. |
Houston's heralded bus system redesign - garnering kudos from local riders and transit supporters around the country - is running into the reality that nothing can boost transit when fewer people are riding to work.
When the Metropolitan Transit Authority revamped its bus system in August 2015, officials said it would boost ridership by 20 percent in two years. However, transit use in Houston has been declining.
In November, fewer people boarded Metro buses, hopped on trains and commuted to work via the park-and-ride system. When all types of transit except service for the elderly and disabled are considered, Metro handled 13,625 fewer trips daily, a 4.6 percent decline last month, according to figures released last week. Commuter bus ridership has plunged by more than 10 percent each of the last two months.
Now likely unable to reach their predicted ridership growth, which would have been unprecedented in the history of Houston mass transit, Metro officials concede more refinement is needed to gain riders on buses and trains.
By the numbers By the numbers 20% Increase Metro hoped to achieve within two years of revamping its bus system in August 2015. 4.6% Decline in Metro ridership in November, excluding transit service for the elderly and disabled. 11.8% Decline in daily commuter bus ridership year-over-year in November of this year compared to November 2015.
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They blame the declining ridership on fewer oil and gas industry jobs in the area and the transition of many jobs away from downtown Houston. Though the job cuts have been evident in the region's economic outlook for months, the switch to the new bus system last year might have hidden the negative effect of fewer daily commuters.
"What I think we are seeing is the unemployment rate has had a real effect on ridership and it is just now exhibiting in our numbers," Arthur Smiley, Metro's chief financial officer, said.
After peaking at 5.8 percent in July and August, the Houston region's unemployment rate dropped slightly to 5.7 percent in September, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. For October, the bureau released a preliminary estimate that unemployment fell to 5.1 percent. In its midyear report, Transwestern estimated more than half of the region's 26,200 job losses were in the energy sector.
Based on preliminary reports by the Texas Workforce Commission, November employment in the Houston area increased by 16,100 jobs, taking unemployment down to 4.9 percent, only 0.1 percent higher than November 2015.
Metro CEO Tom Lambert said all the reasons fewer people are riding buses or trains need to be understood.
"I'm not too overly hesitant to say we need to know what the realities are," Lambert said, even if the feedback forces Metro to shift service. "The opportunity presents itself to be adaptable."
Park-and-ride slides
Transit trip declines are widespread across the Houston system, though the biggest drops have come in park-and-ride use to downtown - used mostly by professionals to commute to work.
Tony Bergman, 43, said two of his coworkers at an engineering firm that deals specifically with oil and gas companies were laid off in March, both of whom took the bus.
"I see a lot fewer people," Bergman said of his West Belfort park-and-ride lot. "Every time someone announced (layoffs) a few more faces would be missing."
Among park-and-ride routes no region of the Houston area is spared. The largest decreases in daily use - about 25 percent - occurred on the Monroe route that starts near Hobby Airport, the Kingsland route that connects western Houston to downtown and the Towsen park and ride just south of Kingwood.
Commuter bus use fluctuated with declines and increases in 2015 and early 2016, based on year-over-year comparisons. In April, however, park-and-ride trips fell by 7.1 percent and has kept falling. In October, daily commuter bus ridership was 12.7 percent below October 2015. Last month, use was down 11.8 percent compared to November 2015.
Kurt Luhrsen, Metro's vice president of planning, said fewer commuters has caused effects across the entire transit system. For example, workers who rode park-and-ride buses downtown also hopped on the light rail to go to lunch and to attend meetings outside the central business district.
As park-and-ride service use dipped, so did use of Metro's three light rail lines. The decline in train riders, however, was not as significant as the drop in park-and-ride use.
Smiley, during a discussion last week with Metro board members, focused on the bright side of what was a gloomy Metro ridership analysis.
"In November, things weren't quite as bad the prior month," he said. "It is quite possible we should see some improvement in future months."
It's a marked contrast in tone from August of last year, when Metro officials lauded increases in ridership as proof the new revised bus system was working.
"It's working exactly as it is was intended," Metro board member Christof Spieler said then. "It's simply easier and more convenient to ride a bus in Houston."
Weekend transit use remains a bright spot. It has increased as weekday bus and train trips declined. Riders have said the change to more frequent service on Saturdays and Sundays makes it easier for people working on weekends to get to their jobs, while giving others more freedom for personal trips such as routine errands and other regional travel.
Regionwide reduction
Metro officials said they are confident the transit ridership decline is not a repudiation of the new bus system. The bus network has been praised by some, but others have complained of longer walks to reach stops and other negative consequences.
What's clear based on bus ridership data, however, is the declines are spread around the region and not just concentrated on downtown routes. The Bellaire and Westheimer routes - two of the agency's largest in terms of use - had ridership declines in excess of the overall system during the last three months.
Metro refocused efforts as part of last year's redesign on frequent core bus routes served by less-timely lines serving residential areas. Bellaire, Beechnut and Westheimer routes often are cited in national reports about the success of the Houston bus system rebuild. More than a dozen other transit agencies have looked at Houston's changes in its bus system, in hopes of replicating some of the ideas.
Ridership on the Bellaire bus line, which runs from Eldridge to the Texas Medical Center, however, dropped 10.8 percent in October and 11 percent in November compared to 2015.
Some of that could account for people finding new commuting options or shifting to other bus routes as riders continue to adjust to the realigned network. Paulette Nguyen, who lives east of Alief, meanwhile, just stopped riding because it was no longer convenient.
"I loved Metro before everything changed," Nguyen said, noting her trips seemed to take longer because the bus was so crowded after the system changed although her trip to and from work - straight down Bellaire Boulevard - was exactly the same.
Shell jobs shift looms
Though optimistic, transit officials also recognize challenges remain - especially for downtown park-and-ride use. For instance, Shell Oil Co. is moving its 3,400 downtown workers to the Energy Corridor by March. When those people are relocated, 675 of those employees will stop using Metro to ride to work, said Kenneth Brown, manager of service planning for the transit agency.
Catering to those workers to keep them using transit - and potentially lure others - will take adjusting at least one Metro bus route, the Addicks park-and-ride service. Officials also are considering talking to Shell about expanded vanpool options, Brown said.
Lambert said the pending loss of downtown-bound riders is a chance to see how many people react to multiple choices. Facing the realization the 20 percent ridership gains Metro boldly predicted two years with the new bus system will not materialize, he said improving transit in Houston might mean rethinking it.
"Maybe the vanpool program might be more important in the future," Lambert said.
Attracting new riders also will be necessary to boost bus and train numbers. Metro board member Jim Robinson, appointed by Harris County, said Metro might play a role in relieving parking woes by county employees.
"There are simply not enough (parking) lots for the people who work downtown," Robinson said of the county workers. "In some cases, they have to pay a lot to park."
Unlike the commuter bus system that ferries riders from suburban lots often far outside the Sam Houston Tollway, Robinson said Metro could develop "an intercity park and ride" that could leverage parking at local transit centers or even county facilities so even closer commutes could be taken quickly by bus.
"Maybe that would make up some of the ridership loss," Robinson said. |
Nim Community Survey 2017 Results
We have recently closed the 2017 Nim Community Survey. I am happy to say that we have received exactly 603 responses, huge thanks go to the people that took the time to respond. We’re incredibly thankful for this very valuable feedback.
For the results of the previous year’s survey, take a look at the 2016 results analysis.
Our survey ran from the 23rd of June 2017 until the 14th of August 2017. The goal of this survey was to primarily determine how our community is using Nim, in order to better understand how we should be improving it. In particular, we wanted to know what people feel is missing from Nim in the lead up to version 1.0. We have also asked our respondents about how well the Nim tools worked, the challenges of adopting Nim, the resources that they used to learn Nim and more. We repeated the survey with the same questions this year to see how we did over the past year.
Unlike in the last year, this analysis will not go over all the results. Instead it will only go over the most interesting answers.
A word on the response count
In comparison to last year we unfortunately received 187 less responses. I suspect the reason for this decrease was the fact that we were not able to advertise the survey as well as the previous year, I got lucky last year by sharing a link to our survey in the Rust community survey results Hacker News thread. This year Rust’s results were late and so I didn’t get the same opportunity.
But with that in mind I think the number of responses is still good.
Do you use Nim?
Like last year we split up our respondents into three groups:
Current users of Nim
Ex-Nim users
Those that never used Nim
This allowed us to ask each group specific questions. For example, we asked ex-Nim users why they’ve stopped using Nim.
This year the proportion of responses from current Nim users has grown from 39% to 44%, and as a result of this there is less responses from those that never used Nim (decrease from 37% to 30%). This is likely due to a higher proportion of responses from the Nim community.
But this isn’t the whole story, the number of ex-Nim users went up from 24% to 26%.
Nim users
This section includes answers from current Nim users only (44% of respondents).
How long have you been using Nim?
Just like last year, a large proportion of our Nim users are new. This suggests that our community is growing and is a good sign. On the other end of the spectrum we can see that there is a significantly higher number of Nim users that have been using Nim for more than 24 months.
Nim at work and project size
The questions related to these topics got very similar results to last year:
57.1% of Nim users’ projects are less than 1,000 lines of code.
24.6% of Nim users’ work with Nim either full-time or part-time.
52.5% of Nim users plan to use Nim at work.
How is Nim being used at work?
This was a free-form question so I will just pick out some of the common and interesting answers. According to the respondents, Nim is used at work for:
Command-line applications
Server-side analytics
DevOps
Scientific computing
Speeding up Python
How could we help make Nim more accepted at your company?
Another free-form question, I will pick out some of the things that respondents have identified:
Release of version 1.0 (a common theme)
Mature libraries and stability (a common theme)
Up to date documentation of every feature, with examples (a common theme) More tutorials and videos
Enhance the stdlib, it needs to be more complete
Corporate sponsor
Visual Studio plugin
Lowering the barrier to entry for working with cross-compilers and interop with C
Free book
Compelling use cases
Porting to ARM cortex M (already done?)
“change cocky logo”
More informative errors
Lockfile support
Interfaces
More data processing tools
GUI creator for Windows
“idk lol”
In this section of the survey, we wanted to find out the tools that Nim users are utilising when developing Nim applications.
What editor(s) do you use when writing Nim?
Programmers swear by their editors. What does the Nim community prefer?
There is still a large number of Vim users, but now they are overwhelmed by the Visual Studio Code users. VS Code has gone from 16.5% to 35.5%!
Operating systems, Nim version and Nim code breakage
Again, the results for these questions are very similar to last year. I will simply provide a summary:
Linux is still the most popular development platform, with Windows second and macOS third.
The same is true for the target platform. But in addition to this, a large 19% of respondents are targetting Android, 16.7% are targetting JavaScript, 10.5% are targetting iOS and 10.1% are targetting embedded platforms.
The current release of Nim (0.17.0) is the most used at 68.8%, with Git HEAD second at 33.1%.
52.2% of respondent’s code was never broken by a Nim upgrade.
Of those whose code was broken, for 29.3% of the respondent’s it was little work to fix.
Install method
We wanted to find out how users are installing Nim. In particular I wanted to find out whether choosenim was getting adopted.
It seems that the majority are still in fact installing Nim by cloning the Nim repo manually. This makes sense as Nim is still evolving quickly, for most people it makes sense to stay on the bleeding edge.
What critical libraries are missing in the Nim ecosystem?
This is a good list of projects for the Nim community to take up. The respondent’s were asked to freely give libraries that they need, here are their (mostly raw) answers (duplicates left in to show popularity):
High-level HTTP library (like “requests” in Python)
First-class libraries rather than C wrappers.
Bass audio library
Distributed computing libraries
REPL
Stabilsing async libraries
Rails-like framework, ORM, webdriver, Electron-like thing
KD-Tree, Blas/Lapack
Qt GUI bindings
Excel XLSX Read/Write
Pandas-like, more statistical libraries
Linear algebra, plotting, science
UI
Simple gui, like tkinter or wxwidgets.
Db/queues high level connectors
Pandas like dataframes, a well documented web framework, ORM
Gui
html5 parser
excel reader, dataframe. numpy/scipy-like scientific calculation lib.
python2nim converter
OpenPGP
Easier way to add a language backend
parsing
multithreaded web framework
embedded I/O I think the libraries are there but the documentation is abit lacking.
oracle oci
Kerberos auth library (c wrapping), pandas like lib (there is one more features will be nice)
native support for big numbers
iterutils, date (native nim excluding time, usable at compile time in const), asyncdb
a wysiwyg for guis
cancelable async timers, gui, random, collections (unified), and would be nice to redesign the whole stdlib
Android support
OpenGL, Vulkan (all API for game development)
Maybe theese exists already but for network equipment SSH, Expect tooling I’d love, and also parsing of config files libraries.
Interfaces
Lib to make working with dates and times more easy, like pytz for Python.
I’m always amazed at how complete the standard lib for such a (still) small project; more libs for data processing would be great (Neo seems to be a very good start)
GUI, I would like Qt
orm
Machine Learning, Pandas-like
More object oriented paradigms, especially interfaces, that is a language construct informing you that you forgot to implement a function required to conform to an interface, it doesn’t really need to be a “classic” example, because i know Nim developers think out of the box (I love the vtable system, which is not tied to a particular class ;) )
Machine learning and scientific computing libraries
Qt bindings
Thrift, Cassandra drivers, Scientific computing
scientific plotting
GUI, Matrix works
I like the libs, but I wish there was a wrapper for the steamsdk from Valve.
The only thing that i’ve been missing so far as a good ORM for working with relational data in an Object Oriented manner. I always want to help improve the MongoDb driver.
Numerical/scientific computing (features like Numpy/Scipy)
CGAL, Boost, Qt
simple cross-platform UI
fltk (for me personally), pandas like lib
wrapper of Microsoft RPC (rpc4), easy to use Windows GUI
concurrent data structures
more trees: tries, quad/octrees, more macro utilities
Maybe something more related to scientific computing (linalg libraries, etc.)
Self aligned SIMD vector types.
A database driver for Cassandra
Better redis client
It would be good to have some sort of GUI support
Built in efficient vec2/3/4 types, everyone duplicates that
compile time reflection
websockets
I’d like to see a Nim implementation of multiformats and other IPFS technologies
Although there are libraries, better support for linear algebra/scientific computing/data plotting would be very nice. Similarly, a standardized game library would be wonderful.
Numerical computing/Data Science tools
Standard and production-ready async support
More GUI and networking suppport
multithreading
GUI
web framework
charting/plotting libraries, numerical libraries, graphics libraries…some of these exist or can easily be created by binding to C or C++, but that is hard for a noobie, so perhaps better doc in that area with frequent examples would help
A good cross platform graphics library and a UI library built on top of it, but I’m intending to start working on these in the future as open source projects (based on OpenGL).
Fast low level socket library (epool, kqueue)
modern GUI library
opengl
gui library
a scientific math and plotting library
numerics. Gui wrapper (ngtk is nice). for me personally, geospatial and image processing libraries
a matplotlib equivalent
Pure Nim database libraries; Libraries for common HTTP I/O (files, chunked transfers, etc.)
Summarising again:
Debugger (very common theme)
Documentation
Various IDE plugins (IntelliJ, Visual Studio)
Better cross-compiler support
Previous Nim users
How long did you use Nim before you stopped?
This question is new. It shows that ex-Nim users are fairly equally distributed based on the amount of time they used Nim before deciding to stop.
Reasons why respondents stopped using Nim
This was a free-form question. Some of the common answers were as follows:
Lack of time (this is actually a very common reason)
No good editor support
Lack of stability/maturity
No killer use case
Nim is a running target
Metaprogramming too unstable
Here are some other interesting reasons:
Compiler doesn’t conform to Unix traditions and outputs HUGE binaries.
Lack of GOTO .
. Nim generated broken C code.
“I found myself working on the compiler instead of using the language.”
“proc and echo are weird, I think that def and print are better”
“really dislike the fact that if you do import foo you get a lot of new names in your namespace and sometimes have to exclude; find Python’s explicit approach much more robust and clear.”
“Compiler doesn’t conform to Unix traditions and outputs HUGE binaries.”
“Changes to the core libraries to rely too much on exceptions. I don’t like exceptions.”
Non-users of Nim
Reasons for not using Nim
As with the previous year, the most popular answer to this question was once again to do with maturity of Nim as well as lack of libraries and good IDE support.
There were also a number of free-form answers to this question:
GC
Small user base
Dislikes significant whitespace
No corporate backing
Waiting for 1.0
Unpredictable performance (according to the respondent Go has predictable performance behaviours whereas Nim doesn’t)
Language appears overcomplicated
Uncertainty about future
Just waiting for free time
Nim’s future
What improvements are needed before v1.0 can be released?
This received a number of free-form answers which I will outline here:
Documentation
It’s ready now!
Getting rid of warts that HN/Reddit comments about
Get rid of forward declarations
Improve error messages
Concepts
Improve stdlib
Which direction should Nim’s GC/Memory management take?
There was a number of free-form answers as well. Most of them spoke about providing all approaches, i.e. the “have the cake and eat it too” approach. Many are conscious of the fact that a GC makes programming smoother so they don’t want the Rust model, but for use cases where it’s necessary they do want it.
Last words
Like last year, at the end of the survey we gave our respondents a chance to speak their mind about anything they wish, with a simple question: “Anything else you’d like to tell us?”
There was a lot of great feedback given in this question from people who obviously really care deeply about Nim. There is too much to outline here, but rest assurred that we will take it all into account and do our best to act on it.
In addition to feedback, we were also overwhelmed by the amount of positive comments in the answers to this question. There was a lot of support from the community thanking us for our work and determination.
I’ll let some quotes speak for themselves:
Keep up the good job. I love Nim!
Great work so far, keep it going!
Please just keep up the excelent work. Nim is awesome!
Awesome language, and great community!
Our community is truly brilliant. We thank each and every one of you for filling out this survey and hope that you will help us tackle some of the challenges that face Nim.
This survey was a good place to give us feedback, but please don’t wait for the next one. We are always looking to hear more from you and we hope that you will participate in discussions relating to this survey as well the future of Nim.
Thanks for reading, and have a good day! |
Bosnia-Herzegovina finally emerged from the sidelines, once again as a country in flames. On February 5, laid off workers of the recently privatized factories of the industrial city of Tuzla, the third largest in Bosnia-Herzegovina, took to the streets to claim their healthcare and pension payments, to get their 50 months’ back pay, and to demand the government to fight youth unemployment, whose rate in Bosnia-Herzegovina ramped up to 60%.
The protests, organized by the local trade unions and the association of unemployed of the canton, and announced by the Facebook page “50.000 people for a better tomorrow”, were joined by students and citizens, who stood in front of the cantonal court building before moving towards the cantonal government building with the intention to enter its premises. Pushed back violently by the police, protesters started to hurl eggs and stones against the building’s wall, while the riot police — intending to secure the entrances of the cantonal building — reacted with teargas and rubber bullets. The town of Tuzla was completely blocked, and at the end of the day 27 people were reported arrested, while another 23 were injured.
Since the workers did not give up, two more days of unrest followed. Within days, six rallies in solidarity with Tuzla’s workers were organized across Bosnia-Herzegovina, in both of the semi-autonomous entities that compose the country since the end of the war: Republika Srpska, the predominantly Serb entity, and the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Bosniak-Croat entity. However, while the gathering in Banja Luka, the capital of the Serbian entity, followed a pacific path, in Zenica, Mostar and Sarajevo the protests were transformed into an urban guerrilla.
After the governmental building of Tuzla was set on fire, and the head of canton Sead Čaušević resigned, on the third day of unrest even the cantonal government of another industrial town, Zenica, was torched, and its premier resigned as well. That very same day, in the ethnically-divided city of Mostar, both the town hall and the cantonal building were set ablaze, together with the headquarters of the two main nationalist parties, the Croat HDZ and the Bosniak SDA. In the capital, Sarajevo, the presidential building, hosting the national archives, and the cantonal and the town council became the target of the rage; symbols of a corrupted and incompetent political class that has been plundering the country since the end of the last war. In Sarajevo, at first, police reacted with stun grenades and rubber bullets, and clashes were reported in the Skenderija area.
Although at this time analysis and debates revolve around the violent turn the protests took, it is worth taking a step back to where and why the protests surfaced to begin with. Tuzla, the “salty ground”, had an industrial vocation since the Austro-Hungarian times. The multi-ethnic town, a crossroads of different peoples, is known for being a stronghold of the (allegedly multi-ethnic) Social Democratic Party. The largest factories in the area, nationalized under the socialist system, underwent a process of privatization after the war, which resulted in their bankruptcy and consequent job loss for most of the workers.
After the 2007 privatization of the detergent factory DITA, its major owner — heavily indebted with bank loans — did not pay any pension funds and health insurance to the workers, and, although he was sued, cannot be prosecuted owing to his alleged inability to appear in court*. Following the closure of their firm, in December 2012 the workers of DITA — a giant that before the war guaranteed 1.400 working places — chose not to go on strike but rather to start pickets outside the factory. Today, after more than one year of protests and hunger, eventually the world got to know about their grievances.
The workers of Tuzla are just a symptom of the economic collapse of the country, whose administrative and political system — imposed from without — has never worked. Their collective outrage put the question of political economy back on the Bosnian agenda, while politicians tried to hide the economic conditions of the country by playing the ethnic card. With an overall unemployment rate close to 28%, endemic corruption and an inefficient legal system, the workers of Tuzla demonstrated that precariousness as a result of the neoliberal privatization of their firms, affects all sectors of society.
Bosnia returned to the limelight, this time not as the forgotten periphery of Europe, but as a symbol of what the lethal mix of “efficient transition” (translated properly into failed privatizations) and EU/US-driven policies (translated into an inefficient and completely unaccountable administrative system) can lead to an irrepressible rage against the entire political class; which, as the people of Bosnia-Herzegovina already screamed last summer, does not represent anybody but the ethnic elites.
This time the ethnic card cannot be played any longer, because together with the workers of DITA, Konjuh, Resod-Gumig, Polihem and Poliolchem (all recently privatized factories which collapsed in Tuzla), there are the students, who were denied the right to participate in the European Erasmus+ program as a consequence of the politicians’ unwillingness to find an agreement between the different education ministries; the LGBTQ community, brutally attacked by religious extremists during the last International Queer Festival in Sarajevo; and all those subjects whose rights are denied on behalf of a successful “transition” into the same European Union that keeps feeding and legitimizing their political class.
Now Bosnia is really joining Europe — but from quite another perspective as the one originally imagined by the European bureaucrats: its squares are burning like those in Greece, Spain and Turkey. |
Frances Bedford announced she was resigning from the Labor Party in parliament this afternoon. Photo: Tony Lewis / InDaily
Bedford was ousted in a preselection challenge by Health Minister and right-wing powerbroker Jack Snelling, who shifted from neighbouring Playford after a boundary redistribution moved around 17,000 of his electors into Florey, which also went from a 2.6 per cent margin to a safe 9.2.
Facing overwhelming rejection in a succession of party ballots, Bedford withdrew from the contest earlier this month but, as InDaily revealed, has been considering her options as an independent candidate.
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Bedford this afternoon confirmed to parliament she would resign from the ALP “in all conscience and on matters of principle”, lamenting that Snelling’s “hostile takeover, under the guise and cover of the boundary redistribution, removes an acknowledged hard-working local sitting MP – primarily because the seat is no longer marginal”.
Bedford is a left-winger but is not a member of the influential Progressive Left Union and Sub-Branches faction that comprises the minority shareholder in Labor’s factional duopoly.
“As someone who has chosen to remain factionally unaligned, any influence on the centrally-controlled decision-making has been taken from me, and I say to the faceless men who have taken this course of action that it is the voters – not you – who will choose the next Member for Florey,” Bedford said in a statement sent to InDaily.
“I bear no ill-will to anyone in the [parliamentary Labor] caucus, however this is a warning to them all that things have irrevocably changed.
In all conscience and on matters of principle I will be resigning from the ALP
“Without true democratic processes, it will be impossible for candidates to act for constituents and not be beholden to factional deals, and the community will not engage in the contest of ideas [with] a robust party and parliamentary champions.”
Bedford’s likely candidacy will turn the battle for Florey on its head, with Snelling forced to fight for his political life on several fronts – particularly with influential Senator Nick Xenophon previously indicating he would do anything he could to publicly support Bedford if she ran.
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The electorate is also served by the Modbury Hospital (although the facility itself is now in Tom Kenyon’s ultra-marginal Newland) where changes under Snelling’s contentious Transforming Health measures have been felt most acutely, with the hospital’s emergency department downgraded and overnight admissions now transferred to the Lyell McEwin.
No longer hamstrung by party loyalty, Bedford is likely to make health a key part of her narrative, having already broken ranks in calling for universal ambulance cover to be incorporated into Transforming Health.
“I have had the honour to represent the Florey electorate, with many boundary changes, since 1997,” she said today.
“Until [the election] next March, I will continue to energetically represent the interests if the electors of Florey and promote their values and right to a ‘fair go’ and the policy issues of importance to them – fundamental things like jobs, affordable reliable energy, access to health and education services and bold new initiatives like universal ambulance cover.”
Her references to jobs, health and energy – three issues that have troubled Labor in recent years – as well as her rhetorical dig at the party’s ‘faceless men’, a phrase that has dogged the factionally-run party since the days of Arthur Calwell, suggests Bedford intends to inflict serious damage on her former party in the lead-up to the election.
Premier Jay Weatherill said he was “disappointed and saddened by Ms Bedford’s decision to resign from the ALP”.
“We’re as concerned as she is about the redistribution, which has been a challenging outcome for the Labor Party,” he said in a statement.
“We have asked her to reconsider her decision.”
Although she is unlikely to vote against Labor measures in parliament, Bedford’s move technically means the Weatherill Government loses the parliamentary majority it won at the 2014 Fisher by-election, and again has to rely on the votes of independents for political survival – a fact that wasn’t lost on the Opposition.
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There are two sides in the global war against cash. On one side are many of the world’s governments, central banks, fintech firms, banks, credit card companies, telecommunication behemoths, financial institutions, large retailers, etc. According to them, the days of physical currency are numbered, so why not pull the plug already, beginning with the largest denomination bills such as the $100-note and particularly the €500-note?
On the other side are people who like to use cash – most of whom, according to the dominant official narrative, are either criminals or terrorists. After all, they must have something to hide; otherwise, why would they use a private, untraceable (not to mention archaic, dirty, dangerous and unhygienic) form of payment like cash?
The powers that want to kill off cash already have vital technological and generational trends firmly on their side, along with widespread public ignorance, apathy, and disinterest. But in recent weeks the unlikeliest of defenders of physical money has emerged: the national central bank of Europe’s biggest economy, the German Bundesbank.
“I have my doubts that introducing a cash limit or getting rid of bigger denominations can really prevent terrorists or criminals from engaging in illegal activities,” Carl-Ludwig Thiele, Bundesbank board member in charge of cash issues, said in a speech last week. “We also should ask ourselves: what sort of an understanding of government forms the basis of these proposals? Citizens should not be put under general suspicion.”
Thiele is not the first Bundesbank official to publicly defend cash. Bundesbank president Jens Weidmann warned in the Bundesbank’s annual report that killing off higher denomination banknotes, a policy supported by ECB President Mario Draghi, could have a debilitating effect on trust in cash in general and would be “disastrous” if people started to believe cash would be abolished — an oblique reference to the risk of negative interest rates and the escalating war on cash triggering a run on cash.
The Wall Street Journal accused Weidmann of simply talking his book:
The European Central Bank no longer produces figures on where high denomination banknotes are issued, but from the onset of the Eurozone in 1999 to the end of 2009, Germany issued almost half of all €200 and €500 bills over the decade. When a central bank issues physical currency, it gains seigniorage income. It makes loans or buys securities that do bear interest while issuing euro banknotes that don’t, so it makes a profit over time… In the ECB, seigniorage is pooled, but as the largest in the bloc, the Bundesbank gets the biggest chunk of that income.
Whatever the Bundesbank’s motives, its opposition to euthanizing physical currency could end up proving to be a very sizable thorn in cash’s would-be assassins’ hide. Thiele, relentlessly in his speech:
“Quite prominent economists, such as the former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, Kenneth Rogoff, have called to abolish cash for monetary policy purposes, so that banks could enforce negative interest across the board.” “This would, in my view, be the wrong response to the monetary policy challenges at the zero lower bound. Instead of financial repression it would make much more sense to discuss how economies could achieve stronger growth again through higher interest rates.”
In its own study on the use of cash, prominently featured on its homepage today, the Bundesbank found that despite all the media hype over the demise of cash, physical currencies still remain king across many advanced economies.
In the study more than 18,500 consumers in Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United States kept a written record of what payment methods they used. Turns out, consumers still frequently opt for cash at the point of sale, in some countries more so than others. The report included this chart:
In terms of volume, cash accounted for more than 50% of payment transactions in all of these countries, with the exception of the US. In Germany (DE) and Austria (AT) over 80% of cash transactions were made using cash. In both countries, cash payments also dominated in value. A separate study by the Association of German Banks found that even among millennials, two-thirds prefer paying in cash to electronic means.
What’s crucial isn’t so much the numbers but the very fact that the Bundesbank publishes this type of report so prominently, and in English so that everyone can read it. It’s an obvious part of its campaign to keep cash-in-fist alive as a choice. And in Germany and Austria, the EU’s plans to suppress cash have already provoked a backlash.
“We don’t want someone to be able to track digitally what we buy, eat and drink, what books we read and what movies we watch,” said Austrian Deputy Economy Minister Harald Mahreron on Oe1 radio. “We will fight everywhere against rules” including caps on cash purchases, he said.
Germany’s big tabloid The Bild published a scathing open letter titled, “Hands Off Our Cash,” while a broad spectrum of political parties condemned the proposed measures as an attack on data protection and privacy.
The fact that Europe’s most powerful national central bank is now firmly aligned with the defenders of physical cash could be a vital game changer in the war against cash.
The Bundesbank seems to see the war on cash as a war on personal freedom and choice, in the name of saving a financial system and its absurd negative interest rates:
“We want citizens to be able to pay in whatever form they desire. Especially in Germany, cash is part of that,” said Thiele. And he warned that “freedom always dies bit by bit.” Few countries know that better than Germany. By Don Quijones, Raging Bull-Shit.
Bundesbank President Weidmann had put it this way a couple of weeks ago: “It would be fatal if citizens got the impression that cash is gradually taken away from them.” |
The murder Edit
Marat (24 May 1743 – 13 July 1793, 18th century France) was one of the leaders of the Montagnards, the radical faction ascendant in French politics during the Reign of Terror until the Thermidorian Reaction. Charlotte Corday was a Girondin from a minor aristocratic family and a political enemy of Marat who blamed him for the September Massacre. She gained entrance to Marat's rooms with a note promising details of a counter-revolutionary ring in Caen. Marat suffered from a skin condition that caused him to spend much of his time in his bathtub; he would often work there. Corday fatally stabbed Marat, but she did not attempt to flee. She was later tried and executed for the murder.
David's politics Edit
As well as being the leading French painter of his generation, David was a prominent Montagnard, and a Jacobin, aligned with Marat and Maximilian Robespierre. A deputy of the Museum section at the Convention, he voted for the death of the King, and served on the Committee of General Security, where he actively participated in the sentencing and imprisonment of many and eventually presided over the "section des interrogatoires". He was also on the Committee of Public Instruction.[1]
Style Edit
The Death of Marat showing the paper held in Marat's left hand. The letter reads (in French) "Il suffit que je sois bien malheureuse pour avoir droit a votre bienveillance" or in English, "Given that I am unhappy, I have a right to your help" Detail ofshowing the paper held in Marat's left hand. The letter reads (in French) "Il suffit que je sois bien malheureuse pour avoir droit a votre bienveillance" or in English, "Given that I am unhappy, I have a right to your help" Marat's figure is idealized.[2] For example, the painting contains no sign of his skin problems, his skin appears clean and unblemished. David, however, drew other details from his visit to Marat's residence the day before the assassination: the green rug, the papers, and the pen. David promised his peers in the National Convention that he would later depict their murdered friend invocatively as "écrivant pour le bonheur du peuple" (writing for the good of the people). The Death of Marat is designed to commemorate a personable hero. Although the name Charlotte Corday can be seen on the paper held in Marat's left hand, she herself is not visible. Close inspection of this painting shows Marat at his last breath, when Corday and many others were still nearby (Corday did not try to escape). Therefore, David intended to record more than just the horror of martyrdom.[3] In this sense, for realistic as it is in its details, the painting, as a whole, from its start, is a methodical construction focusing on the victim, a striking set up regarded today by several critics as an "awful beautiful lie"— certainly not a photograph in the forensic scientific sense and barely the simple image it may seem (for instance, in the painting, the knife is not to be seen where Corday had left it impaled in Marat's chest, but on the ground, beside the bathtub). The Death of Marat has often been compared to Michelangelo's Pietà. Note the elongated arm hanging down in both works. David admired Caravaggio's works, especially Entombment of Christ, which mirrors The Death of Marat's drama and light. David sought to transfer the sacred qualities long associated with the monarchy and the Catholic Church to the new French Republic. He painted Marat, martyr of the Revolution, in a style reminiscent of a Christian martyr, with the face and body bathed in a soft, glowing light.[2] As Christian art had done from its beginning, David also played with multileveled references to classical art. Suggestions that Paris could compete with Rome as capital and mother city of the Arts and the idea of forming a kind of new Roman Republic appealed to French Revolutionaries, who often formed David's audience.
Later history Edit
In popular culture Edit
Bibliography Edit |
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Sao Paolo, Brazil – Brazil is one of the only countries on the planet with a more serious police brutality problem than the United States.
According to a recent study from the Brazilian Forum on Public Safety, police in Brazil have killed over 11,000 people between the years of 2009 and 2013. These numbers average out to roughly six killings per day, which is more than double the rate that is seen in the United States.
In one of the most recent and high-profile cases of police brutality, a police officer shot two teenage theft suspects in front of a television news crew. The shooting occurred just after a high-speed chase, where the officer was hunting down the teenagers under suspicion that they stole the motorcycle that they were traveling with. It has not yet been confirmed whether or not the teens were actually guilty of theft, but this is what was suspected by the officer.
In the video, one of the suspects can be seen throwing their helmet at the pursuing officer, as they attempted to evade him during their chase through the streets.
After a quick chase, the suspects ended up crashing the motorcycles and landing on the sidewalk. When the officer approached seconds later, it was obvious that they were not moving and were injured, but the officer fired several shots at close range anyway, even though they obviously posed no threat.
The two men ages of 16 and 17 were taken to nearby hospitals. And the police officer who shot them was arrested later that same night.
According to news reports, one of the men was wounded by three bullets, one in the buttock and two in the leg and is in stable condition in the hospital. The Secretary of Public Security, Alexandre de Moraes, said the police committed “serious irregularities.” Internal Affairs immediately began an investigation.
John Vibes is an author, researcher and investigative journalist who takes a special interest in the counter culture and the drug war. In addition to his writing and activist work he organizes a number of large events including the Free Your Mind Conference, which features top caliber speakers and whistle-blowers from all over the world. You can contact him and stay connected to his work at his Facebook page. You can find his 65 chapter Book entitled “Alchemy of the Timeless Renaissance” at bookpatch.com. |
A SHORTLIST is being drawn up for a simple and inclusive new oath for witnesses in South Australian courts, which could also remove references to God and Allah.
The proposed reforms would lead to a single statement for witnesses to pledge to tell the truth in South Australian courts.
There are several forms offered to witnesses preparing to give evidence in court, such as swearing on the Bible or Koran, or a non-religious "affirmation''.
Attorney-General John Rau has asked the SA Law Reform Institute - based at the University of Adelaide - to create a shortlist that would contain new wordings for a uniform court statement.
Former Thinker In Residence Judge Peggy Hora has argued some people would not be bound to tell the truth under the current oath because it did not hold any meaning.
TELL US: Should there be a single oath for everyone?
Law Reform Institute Deputy Director Helen Wighton said one example of people who would not necessarily feel bound by current wording would be residents of tribal Aboriginal lands.
Of the 3000 people who live in the APY Lands, in the State's Far North, a majority do not speak English and live a semi-traditional lifestyle.
The State Government changes will be released as a discussion paper for public comment later this month and aim to design one oath suitable for all aspects of the community to provide binding and truthful evidence in court.
Ms Wighton said she hoped there would be comments from a range of people, including those who could give an insight into the type of statement that would bind all people to tell the truth.
"We are hoping that we will get responses not just from lawyers and judges who have direct experience but religious groups and cultural groups and linguists,'' she said.
"I hope to hear from psychologists and people like that who understand how much saying something which you can identify encourages the telling of the truth, let alone comprehending what they are saying.''
Ms Wighton said Mr Rau had told the institute he wanted one oath which would bind all people.
Ms Wighton said the issues paper would be released after being presented to Mr Rau later this month.
"We have identified where the oath or affirmation comes from, where the principles are and what the current practice is, and what it is elsewhere,'' she said. Uniting Church SA moderator Rob Williams said the solution would be two oaths, one religious and one not.
"It would seem to make more sense to have one affirmation for people who are not religious and also one for people who would prefer to swear on the Bible or Koran,'' he said.
A spokesman for Mr Rau declined to comment. |
AMD’s server platform launch event this week in Austin, TX was indeed EPYC in more ways than one. All puns aside--and with appropriate amounts of “I’ll believe it when I see it” skepticism mixed in for good measure--the company’s Naples platform architecture, along with its EPYC 7000 series of multi-core server processors, has key advantages versus Intel’s current Xeon platform and likely the company’s Xeon Scalable next-gen offering as well. As I’ve highlighted previously, Naples, which is AMD’s internal code name for the EPYC server platform, stacks up really well in terms of core counts and processing resources but AMD’s PCIe expansion options, as well as raw memory bandwidth, are significantly more robust.
AMD has already demonstrated that its X86 core performance is now roughly on par with Intel with the launch of its high-end Ryzen desktop processor chips, but now we see more clearly that Zen was built from the ground up as a highly scalable, modular server platform first and foremost. For servers, AMD not only has a core-count advantage with 32-core EYPC 7000 series chips at the top of its stack, versus Intel’s 22-core Xeon family (which is rumored to scale to 28-core next), but the platform also offers a full 128 lanes of dedicated PCI Express connectivity direct to the root CPU complex, no PCIe switches or bridges required. What this means is you can hang more high bandwidth co-processing devices off the CPU, like AMD’s new Radeon Instinct GPUs and FGPAs for that matter, without having to compromise raw throughput or latency. And then when you compare aggregate memory bandwidth and capacity with EPYC’s 8-channel memory controller versus Intel’s quad-channel design, again you see more opportunity to “feed the beast” as AMD put it several times this week in sunny Austin.
All that said, it’s not so much the technical advantages of EPYC/Naples, on paper, that have me bullish on the platform’s promise, it was the firm, committed show of support that major OEMs brought to the table for AMD EPYC at the show, with big guns like Dell and HP leading the way. Specifically, on stage AMD CEO Dr. Lisa Su spent time with Antonio Neri, Executive VP and GM of Hewlett Packard Enterprise group, showcasing new HP servers based on EPYC and specific strengths versus Intel’s Xeon platform in Cloud services, Software Defined Storage and data analytics.
Further, Dell/EMC’s Server President and GM, Ashley Gorakhpurwalla took the stage with AMD’s Forrest Norrod, SVP and GM of AMD's Enterprise, Embedded and Semi-Custom group. Norrod and Gorakhpurwalla wheeled out a Dell/EMC PowerEdge server and demonstrated some of AMD’s new Secured Encrypted Virtualization technology to protect VMs against memory attacks and compromises, as well as EPYC’s one-socket server advantages with higher core counts and more flexible expansion options in Dell/EMC’s 14th generation of PowerEdge servers.
All told it was a proverbial dog and pony show for AMD EPYC, with not only a strong showing of big player system OEM support, but also independent hardware and software vendor support with names like SuperMicro, Xilinx, VMWare, Red Hat and Microsoft all stepping up to the plate as well.
AMD’s EPYC server launch event was exactly what the company needed to show not just that major customers are kicking the tires with their new platform architecture, but that they’re strapped-in and buckled-up with committed systems in play and serious skin in the game. OEM partners at the event noted that AMD EPYC-based systems will ship in market in the second half of this year. How much share AMD will take is the $64,000 question but Intel’s lucrative Data Center group is the company’s high profit cash cow. If AMD is able to chip off even 10% share it could mean billions in new, high-margin business for the company.
Here’s a quick video demo of some AMD EPYC server benchmarking at the event. Enjoy...
Disclosure: I currently hold small positions in both INTC and AMD but in no way does this influence in my reporting on either company or its products. |
An off-duty Los Angeles Police Department officer was arrested following a fatal crash on Tuesday night that resulted in three deaths.
The crashed happened on the 605 Freeway in Whittier at around 10:15 p.m. As reported at the L.A. Times, the victims were a teenage boy and his two parents from Riverside. They were driving southbound in the fast lane in a Nissan when a Chevy Camaro driven by 26-year-old Edgar Verduzco struck them from behind near Washington Boulevard.
The California Highway Patrol said that the Camaro was driven at a “high rate speed,” and that, after the collision, the occupants of the Nissan were trapped inside as the car erupted in flames. The victims were pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.
Verduzco was arrested on suspicion of felony DUI. “The officer that investigated the crash concluded that the driver was under the influence after field sobriety tests,” Lieutenant Aaron Knarr of the CHP’s Santa Fe Springs office told LAist.
After being struck by the Camaro, the Nissan crashed into a Toyota in another lane; the driver of the Toyota suffered minor injuries.
The LAPD says it has opened an administrative investigation and will work with the CHP as the agency investigates the crash, reports NBC 4. The LAPD released a statement on the incident, saying it “is particularly troubling when one of our own police officers violates drunk driving laws”:
#LAPD: Chief Beck Statement Regarding Fatal Freeway Crash pic.twitter.com/avvjoNxFsB — LAPD HQ (@LAPDHQ) September 27, 2017
The Los Angeles Police Protective League, a union that represents rank and file LAPD officers, said in a statement that, “if Officer Verduzco is found guilty of what he is accused of, then he should suffer the consequences for his reckless actions.”
The Times reports that lanes on the 605 were closed following the crash, and were reopened by 4 a.m. on Wednesday. Verduzco is being held on $100,000 bail. |
NEW YORK -- The floats were there, the music and dancing, too -- all the usual staples of one of the world's oldest and largest gay pride parades. But this year, something new joined the spectacle on the streets of New York City: proposals and wedding plans.
New York's parade turned into a carnival-like celebration of same-sex marriage Sunday as hundreds of thousands of revelers rejoiced at the state's new law giving gay couples the same marital rights as everyone else.
"We've been waiting to get married in Central Park for years, and now we got here just in time for history to be made," said Bryce Croft of Kettering, Ohio, who attended the festivities with her partner, Stephanie Croft.
The two women are not yet legally married although they share the same name, and they are in the process of moving to New York and getting married. They were in a Manhattan restaurant late Friday when they learned that the bill had passed.
"We cried over dinner, right into the mozzarella sticks," Stephanie Croft said, adding that they had already selected a spot in Central Park -- the boulder she had marked with Bryce's name two years ago. After the two get settled, Bryce planned to seek a sex-change operation to become a man.
The star of Sunday's show was undoubtedly New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who fought to get the bill over its final hurdle in the GOP-led state Senate. The law makes New York the sixth state to extend full marriage rights to gay couples and doubles the number of gay people nationwide who are eligible to marry.
"Thank you, Governor Cuomo" and "Promise kept" read signs lining both sides of Fifth Avenue. Throngs of cheering supporters all but mobbed Cuomo as he led off the parade just after noon.
"New York has sent a message to the nation," the governor said before the march. "It is time for marriage equality."
He called his state "a beacon," adding, "If New York can do it, it's all right for everyone else in the country to do it."
Same-sex marriage licenses also are granted by Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont, plus Washington, D.C., and the Coquille Indian Tribe in Oregon.
As he joined the procession, John Haracopos wore a T-shirt that declared, "Some dudes marry other dudes. Get over it." He and his partner regard the new law as a legal rubber-stamping of what they did years ago.
"We got married in the oldest church in Paris. And it was just us and God," said Haracopos, a 46-year-old hair stylist. Still, the pair plans to hold another ceremony in New York to ensure their relationship is fully recognized by the law.
His partner, Peter Marinos, a 59-year-old Broadway actor, wore a T-shirt of his own that said, "Marriage is so gay."
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly marched at the head of a group of gay NYPD officers, right behind the official police band. At the end of the parade, a female officer proposed publicly to her fiancDee, also an officer, who accepted. They quickly vanished into the crowd.
All along the parade route, freedom of expression seemed to know no bounds. In Greenwich Village, a uniformed officer stood quietly next to a woman who had unbuttoned her blouse and cheered the parade topless.
"This year's gay parade is different -- it's electric!" said Mayor Michael Bloomberg's longtime companion, Diana Taylor. "You can really feel it, it's so exciting."
Parade organizers said a half-million people participated.
Cuomo marched with his girlfriend, Food Network personality Sandra Lee, Bloomberg and openly gay elected officials, including New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and state Assemblyman Daniel O'Donnell -- Rosie O'Donnell's gay brother -- who introduced the bill last month.
"You couldn't hear yourself think, it was so loud," Quinn said. "People were crying, jumping up and down and screaming. Everyone was smiling. It was unbelievable."
The crowd, standing a dozen people deep behind police barricades, whooped and screamed for several hours.
"I'm really, really proud of New York," said Hannah Thielmann, a student at Fordham University in the Bronx who attended with her girlfriend, Christine Careaga.
The couple, both 20, were dressed as brides, with Careaga in a white veil and Thielmann wearing a black top hat and a sash that said, "Bride to Be."
Careaga said her mother called her crying tears of joy after the New York Senate voted on the measure Friday.
"Every mother wants her child to be happily married," Careaga said.
State Sen. Tom Duane, a Manhattan Democrat who is gay, said he and his partner had not decided when they would get married, "but now we get to decide, and it couldn't be better than that."
In Chicago, reports of vandalized floats did not dampen the spirits of crowds energized by Illinois' recent adoption of a law permitting civil unions for same-sex couples.
Parade organizers said vandals slashed the tires of as many as 50 of the approximately 75 floats parked at a South Side garage. The parade went ahead as planned.
Police said it was too early to determine if the damage was a hate crime, largely because there was no accompanying message or graffiti.
In New York, the parade ended near the site where gays rebelled against authorities and repressive laws outside the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village on June 28, 1969 -- an event that gave rise to the gay rights movement.
The following year, several hundred people marched through the neighborhood to commemorate the riots in what is commonly considered the world's first gay pride parade.
This year's grand marshals include author and sex columnist Dan Savage and his husband, Terry Miller, who married in Canada; the Rev. Pat Bumgardner, senior pastor of Metropolitan Community Church of New York and a proponent of gay rights; and the Imperial Court of New York, which raises money for gay health and social services and touted a multicolored float.
The law signed by Cuomo takes effect in 30 days. It was passed amid opposition from influential religious groups in the state.
The changes in New York added something extra to San Francisco's 41st annual pride parade, where "Love New York" signs could be seen scattered throughout the crowd.
"I think everybody here is rallying in a way of, `Hooray, New York! Now how about California?"' said 22-year-old Megan Moore of Castro Valley, who helped kick off the event with the lesbian motorcycle group Dykes on Bikes.
Bradley Manning supporters carry a banner in the San Francisco gay pride parade on June 26, 2011. Twitter via Aids Policy Project
There was also an unusual twist at the San Francisco parade, as a dedicated group of marchers expressed their support for accused WikiLeaker Bradley Manning, currently in jail under accusations that he was responsible for turning over hundreds of thousands of classified government documents.
On the Bradley Manning Support Network website, a post states that Manning was "Dedicated to equal human rights, he stood openly against Don't Ask Don't Tell, and now he is imprisoned as the alleged Wikileaker."
Lisa Schilling, 45, of Berkeley, who attended the parade with her partner and their 4-year-old son, expressed confidence that Proposition 8, California's gay marriage ban, would ultimately be declared unconstitutional. The legal battle has reached the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
In the meantime, New York's actions help the gay marriage cause throughout the country by "keeping the issue at a higher profile," Schilling said.
A short time later, a group of marchers passed with a stereo blasting what for many had become a fitting anthem: Beyonce's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)." |
Nocturnal Breed Premiere New Song ‘Cursed Beyond Recognition’ Exclusively With Terrorizer
Norwegian blackened thrash maniacs Nocturnal Breed have joined forces with Terrorizer to premiere a brand new song, taken from ‘Napalm Nights’, their first album in seven years!
The band was formed back in 1996 by past and present members of Dimmu Borgir, Satyricon, Aeternus, and Gehenna. The current lineup includes S.A. Destroyer on bass and vocals, Tex Terror behind the drums, as well as original guitarist I.Maztor, recently reunited with the band, and a brand-new member, guitaris, V.Fineideath.
‘Napalm Night’s is the band’s fifth album to date, and features 10 tracks of evil, snarling metal fury, including guest backing vocals from Nocturno Culto of the mighty Darkthrone on several songs. ‘Cursed Beyond Recognition’ is one of the album’s most ominous, slow burning numbers, and should give you a hint of the dark sounds that await you on this record.
Check it out below…
‘Napalm Nights’ is due to be released on March 11th via Agonia Records.
You can find Nocturnal Breed on Facebook. |
Donald Trump claimed Wednesday that Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders didn't enthusiastically push "behind the scenes" for a debate between himself and the New York billionaire, despite what the media reported.
"You know Bernie wanted to debate me. I don't know if he did or not — he wasn't trying too hard, I'll tell you," Trump told voters during an evening campaign rally in Sacramento, Calif. "Believe me, behind the scenes, he wasn't trying hard."
"To the media he was, but behind the scenes I'm not sure he wanted it," added the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
Trump also claimed Sanders was reluctant to "put up money for women's health issues," which he had requested in order to debate the Vermont senator.
"I said, 'Bernie put up money for women's health issue.' But they're very cheap. They want to make a lot of money, but they don't want to give it away," Trump claimed.
The billionaire's remarks Wednesday come after he repeatedly told voters he would "love" to debate Sanders ahead of California's June 7 primary, but later walked back such statements, suggesting it would be "inappropriate" for him to debate a Democratic candidate before the party has chosen its nominee.
"Well Mr. Trump, what are you afraid of?" Sanders asked the billionaire during a press conference last week.
Trump said Wednesday he "so look[s] forward" to debating Sanders' Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton. |
Image caption Mr Cameron said corruption was a drain on efforts to tackle global poverty and promote economic development
Foreigners must not be able to buy UK homes with "plundered or laundered cash" as part a global effort to defeat corruption, David Cameron has said.
Speaking in Singapore, the prime minister vowed to expose the use of "anonymous shell companies" to buy luxury UK properties - often in London.
The PM said his message was "London is not a place to stash your dodgy cash".
Corruption, he added, was "a cancer which is at the heart of so many of the world's problems" and must be tackled.
Mr Cameron is on a four-day tour of South East Asia. On Monday, he announced the UK and Indonesia had agreed measures to counter the "shared enemy" of Islamic State (IS) extremism.
Later in the trip he will travel to Malaysia and Vietnam.
'Global effort'
He has been accompanied by 31 British business leaders in an attempt to drum up trade with the UK and has also discussed the fight against terrorism with his counterparts.
Describing corruption as "the enemy of progress", he called for a "global effort" to tackle it, saying the world has "looked the other way for too long".
Citing the steps taken by the UK and Singapore to tackle corruption as part of enforcing a rules-based financial and legal system, Mr Cameron said a zero tolerance approach boosted trust and could improve business profitability and economic growth.
A 2014 report by anti-poverty organisation One said an estimated $1tn (£600bn) a year was being taken out of poor countries because of corruption, warning of the use of phantom firms and money laundering.
Image copyright EPA Image caption Mr Cameron said there should be no place for "dirty money"
And last week the National Crime Agency said foreign criminals were pushing up house prices in the UK by laundering billions of pounds through the purchase of expensive properties.
In his speech, Mr Cameron said properties in the UK, particularly in London, "are being bought by people overseas through anonymous shell companies, some with plundered or laundered cash".
Shell companies are non-trading companies that serve a particular purpose for their owners.
More than 100,000 UK property titles are registered to overseas companies, with more than 36,000 properties in London owned by offshore firms.
About £122bn of property in England and Wales is owned by offshore companies.
The government is to publish Land Registry data later this year, setting out which foreign companies own land and property in England and Wales. It will also consider forcing a foreign company bidding for a government contract to "publicly state who really owns it".
Image copyright PA Image caption Later on Tuesday, the PM visited Singapore's Botanical Gardens, where he has had an orchid named after him
Image copyright PA Image caption The Papilionanda David Cameron orchid - described as having petals in a shade of blue - was bred for five years
While the majority of foreign-owned business investing in Britain had "nothing to hide" and were welcome, the rules needed to be more transparent to counter those who were seeking to launder "their ill-gotten gains without being tracked down".
"There is no place for dirty money in Britain," he said.
"Indeed, there should no place for dirty money anywhere. London is not a place to stash your dodgy cash."
'Veil of secrecy'
Welcoming the pledge, Laura Taylor, head of advocacy at Christian Aid, said it was "another step forward in the battle for greater transparency worldwide".
"Countering corruption is of fundamental importance in the fight against global poverty because of its impact on developing countries," she added.
Diane Sheard, UK director of One, said: "Lifting this veil of secrecy will help developing countries to identify and recover these funds, which should be spent on essentials like health and education.
"We hope that making information public about foreign companies that own property in the UK will deter money-launderers from doing business here."
And Robert Palmer, head of the money-laundering campaign at the charity Global Witness, said: "London is a very attractive destination for very wealthy people, including corrupt officials who have looted their state coffers."
He added: "What the Prime Minister has announced today is a really good step forward."
In his speech, Mr Cameron also pledged to boost the UK's trade links with Asean nations, pointing out that Britain had larger two-way trade with Belgium than with Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia combined.
The UK had become "too reliant" on its European market and must "not lose out" on the vast market that South East Asia represented - heralding a "partnership that can drive our shared prosperity for decades to come". |
The Affordable Care Act’s open enrollment period for 2017 began yesterday. The timing couldn’t have been worse for Hillary Clinton. Across the country, exchanges opened with higher premiums, fewer carriers, less choice and smaller networks. Did I mention higher premiums? Forbes reports:
What they’ll discover is a witch’s brew of double-digit premium hikes, restrictive provider networks, and fewer coverage choices. Many exchange customers will have only a single insurance provider to pick from. And more than a million enrollees will find that their current plans have vanished from the exchanges.
***
For starters, rate hikes have reached levels unimaginable before Obamacare. Nationwide, the lowest-cost bronze exchange plan will cost over 28 percent more, on average, in 2017. And according to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), premium hikes in the 38 states covered under HealthCare.gov will rise by 25 percent. Many areas will have it a lot worse. In Phoenix, for instance, premiums for the cheapest bronze plan will surge more than 176 percent. In Oklahoma City, prices are up nearly 80 percent; in Chicago, almost 65 percent.
And that is when the exchanges work at all. Here in Minnesota, the MNSure web site–our local version of Obamacare–crashed yesterday. Insurance applicants wasted hours trying to get through, encountering nothing but frustration. To the extent they were able to get information, they found big premium increases, declining coverage, smaller networks and fewer choices. In some areas of Minnesota, there may not be a single insurer offering MNSure coverage by the time the enrollment period is over.
The situation was so bad that Minnesota’s left-wing governor, Mark Dayton, blamed “robocalls” for bringing down the MNSure site, darkly hinting that Republicans might be behind his program’s failure. Dayton’s claim was absurd, but he needed to do something to fend off scandal: after spending $400 million, the state still doesn’t have an insurance exchange that works. In fact, property taxes are going up all across Minnesota as counties struggle to hire enough employees to accomplish manually what was supposed to happen electronically.
Obamacare has always been unpopular, and it will become more unpopular every day as the enrollment period proceeds. In Minnesota, private polling shows that MNSure is the number one issue with voters, and Republican candidates are pounding on it, relentlessly. I assume something similar is going on in other states.
At the presidential level, I can’t remember a campaign as issue-free as the one we have had this year. The personalities of the candidates have been almost the only issues the press has wanted to talk about. But across America, where families are struggling to pay their bills, Obamacare is a deal-breaker for the Democratic Party.
I don’t know a lot of undecided voters, but polls tell us there are quite a few. The disaster of Obamacare could well be the issue that swings a critical mass of voters to say “no way” to a third Obama term. It would be ironic if, after all of the bizarre nonsense we have lived through, an actual bread and butter issue eventually decides the race. |
The Minister for Finance has said that the publicity aspect of the new personal insolvency service may dissuade some applicants, but is still confident of its success.
Michael Noonan was responding to questions about the Insolvency Service of Ireland which has begun taking applications today from people who want to restructure their debts.
The development means that in some cases people will be able to get some of their borrowings written off if creditors agree to deals. However, people who avail of the service will have their names published on a register.
When asked about the publicity aspect associated with the registration of names, Mr Noonan agreed it may put some people off. “It might, but obviously it is not for everybody. Some people will try to make direct arrangements with people they owe money to. Some people will go for full bankruptcy but this is a way of keeping oneself going.
“If somebody is indebted and has a lot of creditors around the city for example, it’s no big secret so there isn’t a huge breach of confidentiality but it is in the interest of protecting the interests of everybody else in business — I hope it works and I think it will,” he said.
Asked about the number of personal insolvency practitioners in Limerick today, Mr Noonan said: “This is the start and it will take time until it gears up to be fully operational and while it is 37 practitioners today, I understand they are training more and there will be several hundred to deal with what is involved in the legislation.
“It’s like an start-up, it starts with enough of people to do a start up and then as it proceeds more people are trained. I understand the numbers are going to climb very quickly on the practitioners’ side.
The new insolvency regime is designed to help address this and offers three debt solutions. Personal debt is a big problem in Ireland, with more than 100,000 people in some form of arrears with their loans.
Those with arrears up to €20,000 and with little or no disposable income can seek a debt relief notice, which will involve dealing with an intermediary such as the Money Advice and Budgeting Service.
Those with unsecured debts need to go to a personal insolvency practitioner (Pip) via a debt settlement arrangement.
Those with secured and unsecured debts up to €3 million can avail of a personal insolvency arrangement, again with the help of a Pip.
While creditors can veto agreements, Lorcan O’Connor director of the ISI writing in The Irish Times today said if a bank, for example, opts to vote down a reasonable proposal, the likely next step for the debtor is to declare bankruptcy
As of this morning there are 37 Pips covering 16 counties for the service. That number is expected to grow this month. To find one, visit the ISI web site on www.isi.gov.ie or call their information line on 076 1064200.
Speaking on RTÉ radio this morning, Mr O’Connor said it was an important day for families who are having difficulties paying their debts .
“As of today there are a number of additional new solutions available to those people that will ultimately return them to solvency... It is important for society that we deal with this problem. When you return someone to solvency they again can contribute to the economy and be productive,” he said.
Asked how much of a problem banks or lenders having a veto on the process would be, Mr O’Connor said all other common law jurisdictions around the world had this voting mechanism and it worked.
“ And the reason why it works is that these kind of arrangements while they are obviously to the benefit of the debtor they are also of benefit to the creditor. The reason why it works is that it is an efficient and effective way to deal with a problem loan. The average return to a creditor through one of these arrangements is far higher than it would be in bankruptcy,” he said.
Mr O’ Connor was adamant strategic defaulters would not get through the system.
“There are almost four safety nets to try and address that kind of issue. Applicants have to sign a statutory declaration that what they are saying is true, fair and reasonable; they have to convince a practitioner through the provision of back up documentation that what they are saying stands up; and the ISI then verifies the application. The court also looks at the application.”
Mr O’Connor said legal action would be taken if a creditor highlighted that an applicant had not been truthful.
Barrister Brian Walker who has trained personal insolvency practitioners said the process would work for some people but warned that there are “a lot of boxes to tick.”
“ It will work for certain people, for people who qualify, but there’s quite a lot you need to do, you need to be up to date with your taxes to Revenue for example”
He said his main worry was that the banks would not engage with the process.
“There’s no great hope that they will have open arms for the Pips… That’s my main worry. It will be challenging for Pips but that’s their job.”
Mr Walker said most people who have trained to become Pips are accountants. He said Pips will require €2,000 - €3,000 up front for the work involved. |
A chart of the ships lost in the battle at Wolf 359 against the Borg in the episode The Best Of Both Worlds.Some ships have been changed a little and a few ships added to fill gaps.Hope you all like them and please comment, i like feed backWith thanks to Capshade, wolfman-053.deviantart.com/ and Vance/Jaynz jaynz.trekships.org/ tool kit.USS Ahwahnee NCC-71620 Ahwahnee classUSS Bellerophon NCC-62048 Nebula classUSS Buran NCC-57580 Challenger classUSS Chekov NCC-53702 Springfield classUSS Firebrand NCC-68723 Freedom classUSS Kyushu NCC-65491 New Orleans classUSS Liberator NCC-67016 Nebula classUSS Melbourne NCC-62043 Nebula classUSS Melbourne NCC-62043 Excelsior classUSS Princeton NCC-59804 Niagara classUSS Roosevelt NCC-2573 Excelsior classUSS Saratoga NCC-31911 Miranda classUSS Tolstoy NCC-62095 Rigel classUSS Yamaguchi NCC-26510 Ambassador classUSS Gage NCC-11672 Apollo classUSS Bonestell NCC-31600 Oberth class-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------USS Argus NCC-70124 Dawnstar classUSS Electra NCC-9211-A Russell classUSS Hoagland NCC-31344 Miranda classUSS Kadosca NCC-1994-C Ambassador classUSS Polyneices NCC-62346 Excelsior classUSS Rebellious NCC-1807 Miranda classUSS Reliant NCC-44686 Ambassador classUSS Tigershark NCC-67599 Zesu Class |
CSRA Reacts to Religious Freedom Bill's Veto on Start of Come Out for Health Week Copyright by WJBF - All rights reserved Augusta University talks health disparities in the LGBT community this week. [ + - ] Video
Augusta, GA - Governor Nathan Deal's veto of HB 757, also called the Religious Freedom Bill, was felt in the CSRA as well as throughout the state of Georgia. Members of the LGBT community responded to the Gov. Deal's decision as Augusta University kicked off its Come Out for Health Week. This week, March 28-April 1, health students and providers will educate the public on issues impacting the LGBT community regarding health.
The mounting pressure the Governor had from businesses has certainly brought the issues of the LGBT community to surface. Things like being called "it" instead of what they prefer to be identified as is one of the many issues within the walls of the doctor's office.
Augusta Pride Director of Development James Mintz applauded the veto.
"I'm very happy that the veto took place today and I can feel more comfortable here in Georgia," he said.
The doors of Peach State businesses are open to all after mounting pressure on Gov. Deal to sign or not sign the Religious Freedom bill.
"It was our creator who had endowed upon us unalienable rights. That is God had given us rights that included liberty, which embraced religious liberty," Deal said during a press conference in Atlanta.
"His statement that the bill doesn't reflect the character of Georgia and its people best represents how I feel,"Mintz said.
The bill followed party lines. State Representative Barry Fleming, of Harlem, said "I am very disappointed in this veto. America was made great because we protected the freedom of religion. I'm afraid we have traded that long term building block of our nation for the short term threats of economic bullying tactics."
Now that the needs of the LGBT community have surfaced with the passing of gay marriage preceding businesses not having the bill to refuse customers, Augusta University kicked off 'Come Out for Health' week to spotlight disparities in the LGBT community.
Student Medical Assistant Hila Eichenbaum told News Channel 6, "This unique population has suffered a huge health disparity and not only that but they felt a tremendous amount of judgment very often coming from their healthcare providers and a lot of times that results in people just shutting down their healthcare."
"They would like to be able to note their partner preference or rather than having to label like a spouse," said Leah Kim, one of the coordinators of the week of events.
Panelists discussed several issues such as being called "it" and being turned away at the gynecologist's office if they were transgender due to a lack of understanding. Patients on the panel also noted that there is a difference between gender and sexuality.
Kim added, "When you see a patient file it may say Stacy Miller or something like that, but really their preferred name is Cole or Mark and so it's really easy to see the patient file and when you go to find the patient to bring them to the exam room you might say Mrs. so-and-so are you ready to come back with us and there's just that awkward situation right away."
There was also a Safe Zones Training Monday where they discussed proper terms to use in the LGBT community. Patient panelists discussed this too, noting that neutral pronouns such as they, them or there is preferred.
There's also going to be a transgender health and mental health session later this week. That workshop is Not Deviant: LGBT Experiences in Mental Health Care, Thursday, March 31, University Hall Room 170, Summerville Campus. |
TRENTON—Chris Christie had some thoughts on how I should write this article.
“You should break out of leading with ‘the most unpopular governor in galactic history’ and all this other shit that everybody hits F2, F3, F4 [on and] bang, bang, bang, the paragraphs flip in,” the outgoing New Jersey governor said on a recent afternoon, tapping his conference room table like a keyboard. “You should do something different.”
Story Continued Below
Christie had spent almost three hours reminiscing on his meteoric political rise, the bridge saga, his failed 2016 campaign and his controversial Donald Trump endorsement, his subsequent White House adventures and some of his more infamous misadventures, like sitting on a beach he had ordered closed and being caught by a photographer’s long-lens camera.
So, with 68 days left in his governorship and the interview winding down, he urged me to forget all that and focus on the good things he had done for his state—and perhaps memorialize him as the pragmatic Republican governor who had cleaned up New Jersey and won a second term in hostile territory. He essentially wanted the story to ignore much of what happened afterward.
And yet, any fair assessment of Christie’s legacy has to reckon with the highs and the lows. For four years, from 2009 until 2013, he was a political rock star. Iowa activists wooed him to run for president in 2012, even flying to New Jersey to make their case. Magazine covers hailed his brilliance. (“THE BOSS,” blared one TIME cover he loves.) He screamed at people on the boardwalk while carrying an ice cream cone. It didn’t matter. His approval rating soared above 75 percent in a reliably blue state. After two stinging defeats to Barack Obama, some in the GOP saw a potential winner in Christie’s combination of raw talent, fundraising prowess and ability to woo minorities and Democrats. Many on his team thought him a shoo-in GOP nominee. But he passed up a run in 2012, figuring he wasn’t ready.
Then, for the next four years, Christie became something of a national punching bag. Everything people loved about him seemed to become what they hated. The bridge lanes closed. Investigations mushroomed around his office. Allies and aides were convicted in the closings. His presidential ambitions cratered. Christie, who prides himself a prodigious fundraiser, couldn’t attract donors to his campaign. He was beaten by Trump, a political novice, and then mocked for fetching Trump McDonald’s—even though he didn’t do that—and for looking like a hostage during his endorsement of Trump, even though he says he wasn’t. His musical hero, New Jersey’s own Bruce Springsteen, even sang a duet mocking him with Jimmy Fallon, his favorite late-show host.
“They shut down the toll booths of glory because we didn’t endorse Christie,” the two men sang to the tune of “Born to Run.” “We’re stuck in Gov. Chris Christie’s Fort Lee, New Jersey traffic jam.”
In the longest interview Christie has given in years, as he dropped oyster crackers into a large vat of chili, he said the story of his rise and fall had not been told accurately. He was never as good as depicted—nor as bad.
“I never felt 78, and I don’t feel the 22,” he said of his approval ratings. “What I hope at the end of the day is that this really is about my eight years, and the bridge stuff is part of that, and the Trump stuff is part of that, but it’s only a part.”
***
The apex for Christie was Nov. 5, 2013.
Voters would head to the polls the following day and grant him a resounding re-election victory—61 percent of the vote, including 50 percent among Hispanics, rare for a Republican. His campaign was exultant: They had hoped for 60 percent to show Republicans he was the 2016 force to be reckoned with.
The moment seared into Christie’s mind is the night before Election Day. His campaign organized a raucous rally in the Democratic, Hispanic stronghold of Union City. Streets were closed for the occasion. He was greeted by thousands of Hispanic voters blowing vuvuzelas and carrying union signs and pictures of Christie on sticks when he rolled up to City Hall, on a bannered campaign bus with New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez. She spoke in Spanish; he spoke Christie, his uniquely pugnacious argot of New Jersey mannerisms and brash self-confidence.
Brian Stack, the Democrat mayor, gave a rousing endorsement that broke against the New Jersey Democratic political machine. Christie’s operation had wooed Democratic mayors for months. “I want to send a shock wave through the state,” Christie said onstage.
“No one can ever take that away from me, and whatever is happening now doesn’t make that any less real,” he told me in our interview, calling the rally a defining moment of his political life.
“What I really thought was, like, 'Let the good times roll.’ It wasn’t even that good things were coming. They were all happening, and I didn’t expect them to stop. But you never do,” Christie said.
‘NO ONE CAN EVER TAKE THAT AWAY FROM ME’ Clockwise, from upper left: In Nov. 2012, Christie comforts Alice Cimillo, whose home was damaged by superstorm Sandy; One year later, on Nov. 5, 2013, Christie celebrates his reelection at Asbury Park Convention Hall; New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is given a Green Bay Packers hat by state Senate President Stephen Sweeney after the annual State of the State address on January 13, 2015; Christie speaks during the 110th Town Hall Meeting with families affected by Superstorm Sandy at a VFW hall on February 19, 2014. | Getty Images
Christie had ruled Trenton with an iron fist and a gaze toward the national stage. Republicans had bent to his will, voting for whatever he wanted, whenever he demanded. There were no juicy stories of palace intrigue, even among his advisers, who sometimes privately disagreed. Most of his team came from the U.S. attorney’s office, and they were fiercely loyal to their longtime patron.
Christie has often been a volcanic boss, sometimes screaming and cursing at aides in humiliating episodes they vividly remember years later. But those didn’t make the public eye.
“That first term, he ran a hermetically sealed operation,” said Charles Stile, the state’s preeminent political columnist for the Bergen Record. “There were no leaks. I’ve never seen an administration operate with that much discipline.”
Christie’s political specialty was the town hall—where he delivered virtuoso, and sometimes emotional, appearances that fueled his reputation as a bold truth-teller. His office turned the format into a polished performance worthy of a touring Broadway show. He gave the same script every time. The same aide introduced him. He tossed the jacket the same way to the same aide. The crowd was often stacked. “If you’re going to give it, you’re going to get it back,” he warned would-be hecklers at every event. They were all filmed. But for all that, they never felt inauthentic: Christie would leave voters in tears with stories about his tough-knuckled mother on her deathbed, his friend who died of overdoses, his emotions after Sandy.
On policy, Christie was both hard-nosed and pragmatic. He capped property taxes in a notoriously high-tax state. He cleaned up a budget mess left by his disgraced predecessor, Gov. Jon Corzine. He persuaded Stephen Sweeney, a burly ironworker’s union official who leads the state Senate, to make a compromise on pensions that would require unions to pay more.
“He came to my union office and we sat down the second day,” Sweeney recalled. “And his comment to me, are we going to get anything done, or do what is always done and fight? He wanted to get things done, and so did I.”
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At the time, New Jersey’s pension system was among the most underfunded in the country, and Christie’s predecessors didn’t pay. (Christie also has a checkered record—while paying more than his predecessors, he also skipped some payments.) Stile, a sometimes fierce critic of the governor, said, “The time of practically skipping and significantly shorting the pension system has pretty much stopped. It went on for 15 years leading up to him. He deserves credit for that.”
Christie also made dramatic gestures signaling he was a different kind of Republican—as when he appointed a Muslim judge, Sohail Mohammed, to the bench and loudly defended him against sharp attacks on his religion. Liberals applauded.
He won praise for restructuring the state’s medical colleges. He showed particular interest in the impoverished city of Camden, forging an alliance with Democratic Mayor Dana Redd and pushing new charter schools far and wide.
Perhaps more than anything, there was Superstorm Sandy. When the storm walloped New Jersey and left billions in damage, it may have been Christie’s shining moment back home. He was everywhere, all the time, for months, surveying devastated towns, destroyed wastewater systems, broken bridges, flooded streets and funerals. He greeted President Obama as a hero in a famous embrace, even though for years, his aides ferociously denied it was an actual hug.
Aides say the storm’s aftermath was when Christie was the sharpest, the most unhealthy and the most stressed out. He would convene daily meetings and schedule calls after midnight. Trekking across the state, he became seen as a New Jersey everyman, profane and gruff, devastated and jubilant, in the muck and on the television.
It felt like however people must have felt about Bill Clinton in Arkansas in 1991. Everyone felt it. This is about to happen.”
“His immediate goal was to get the state to some semblance of normal as quickly as he could,” recalled Marc Ferzan, the New Jersey storm czar and a Christie friend. “He was as hardworking as anyone who worked on Sandy, and he had great instincts.”
It all coagulated in Union City. Two days after the election, Christie sent Matt Mowers, a longtime aide, to New Hampshire to lead the party—and begin plotting his 2016 run. Others, like bridge mastermind David Wildstein, said they were going to Iowa. His team was counting the days.
“You could not have told anybody who was a Christie supporter that he wouldn’t be the Republican nominee,” said Rich Constable, a longtime senior aide in the governor’s office. “This is a remarkable talent who is wicked smart. It felt like however people must have felt about Bill Clinton in Arkansas in 1991. Everyone felt it. This is about to happen.”
Christie sometimes calls his world “Rancho Christie,” and life was good on the ranch.
***
Fast forward two months, and Christie hit bottom.
Explosive emails brought a full-bore scandal to his doorstep—the closure of the world’s busiest commuter bridge, allegedly to punish a Democratic mayor who wouldn’t endorse him as governor, into full view. The Wall Street Journal and the Bergen Record had trickled out damaging stories for months, but the emails from David Wildstein changed it all when they were released in early January.
“Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee,” Bridget Kelly, a senior Christie official, wrote. “Got it,” Wildstein returned. The emails also implicated Bill Baroni, a top Port Authority official.
Christie had been scheduled to attend a Sandy event with Constable that morning. Constable said he remembers turning his car around on the highway when the event was canceled.
BRIDGEGATE Clockwise from upper left: Christie enters the Borough Hall in Fort Lee to apologize to Mayor Mark Sokolich on January 9, 2014; On ‘Late Night,’ host Jimmy Fallon performs “Gov. Christie Traffic Jam” with Christie idol Bruce Springsteen; Bill Baroni, former deputy executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, exits a federal courthouse in March 2017 after being sentenced to two years in prison stemming from his involvement in the Bridgegate scandal; Bridget Anne Kelly, former deputy chief of staff for New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, after being sentenced to 18 months in prison. | Getty Images
He talked to a round-robin of aides: longtime spokeswoman Maria Comella, who broke the news to the governor just after his morning workout, and political adviser Mike DuHaime, who paced the parking lot of the Tick Tock Diner in Clifton as the governor surveyed the damage and vented.
Christie convened senior staff at the governor’s mansion around an upstairs table, where they’d met dozens of times before. They read the stories breaking online and the emails and watched the wall-to-wall TV coverage. Christie went through long periods of silence.
Who knew what, Christie asked? Could he survive? What should he say to the public? Whom should he fire? Was it going to get even worse? “It was all about sheer survival,” one person present said.
There were arguments: Should they fire Bill Stepien, the governor’s top political aide, or David Samson, the Christie-appointed head of the Port Authority, who later pleaded guilty on a separate felony charge? Was Michael Drewniak, the governor’s press secretary mentioned in the emails, a liability?
Stepien, who is now the White House political director, was axed, and DuHaime was given the duty to tell him, even though he disagreed with the decision. Samson survived. Drewniak met with the governor's senior staff for two hours and managed to save his job.
No one ate much of anything, several aides remember. Christie made none of the firing calls himself. Nor did he yell or shout, people present say. He was ashen and looked ghostly and appeared on the verge of tears for much of the day. His brother Todd Christie, a Wall Street type and informal adviser, stopped by. Samson popped in. So did Bill Palatucci, a longtime confidant.
Eventually, he slept—badly—and decided to have a marathon news conference denying any involvement in the lane closures. Then he went underground for months. It didn’t get better.
Everything Christie had done in his first term—the hard-nosed tactics, the micromanaging at the Port Authority, calling mayors to cancel meetings when he was mad, his outbursts and the blurry line between his political and policy operations—was under fresh scrutiny. He had won a huge electoral victory, but Democrats still controlled the legislature and most major cities—and they saw blood in the water.
Soon others were launching fresh charges against his administration, like the mayor of Hoboken, who accused him of holding Sandy money hostage. The U.S. attorney’s office eventually said her claims were without merit. “Frankly, she should have been charged for providing false information,” Christie told me.
In following months, friends say, he was sullen and quiet on the phone, rare for the voluble Christie. He stayed largely out of public view. During one event at Times Square promoting the Meadowlands Super Bowl, he was booed loudly. Christie hopped into the car devastated and rode back to New Jersey silent.
For a while, allies and aides say, Christie feared he was going to be charged himself over what became known as Bridgegate, though he always denied involvement. He demurred when I asked him about it repeatedly. “I always tried to have confidence in the process and in the system,” he said.
Inside the governor’s orbit, people still debate his exact role—what he knew, and when. Several aides told me they believed he knew more about the closures than he ever let on, even if he didn’t plan them. Why did he delete the texts he had exchanged with a senior aide, Regina Egea, during a particularly bad day of testimony? For months, he’d known that something seemed kinky at the bridge and had talked to aides about it. There was a photo of Wildstein and Baroni at the Sept. 11 ceremony that year—which happened while the closings were underway—when the men said they told the governor. Wildstein said he laughed about it.
Christie told me the speculation was hogwash. He says he doesn’t even remember the texts with Egea. He said he only learned about the nature of the closing from the emails. And as for Wildstein, he says they didn’t tell him that day.
I don’t even think the true story has ever been told about why it was done,” said Christie.
Christie said that if he were going to exchange sensitive conversations with Egea, why would he text her when she worked two offices over? He referenced a famous—and now mocked—answer, where he told a reporter he was “moving the cones” one month before the emails came out, when asked about the lane closures.
“But would I have ever gotten up and said, 'Oh, yeah. I was in disguise that morning in overalls and a hat and I was the one moving the cones.' Now, if I had known that something was actually going on, do you think I would have actually done that?” he said.
The investigation lasted more than a year. Wildstein pleaded guilty and cooperated. The trial of Kelly and Baroni drove Christie crazy. He would sometimes call aides and friends several times a day to vent and swear. On several occasions, he thought about firing back and ordering up statements.
“I was on trial,” he explained to me. “I wasn’t allowed to be there, I wasn’t allowed to respond, but the case was tried against me, not against the people who actually were sitting with the courtroom—with absolutely no evidence I had any involvement.”
Christie said neither side had called him to the courtroom because “the government told David Wildstein’s version of the truth. The defense told Bridget Kelly and Bill Baroni’s versions of the truth.”
“I don’t even think the true story has ever been told about why it was done,” he said. “I don’t buy the fact and I’ve never bought the fact that this was done to penalize the mayor of Fort Lee.”
He declined to say why he thought it was done, saying he didn’t know.
Wildstein, who is now taking playwriting courses in Florida as the appeals process continues, declined to comment on the record about the bridge. He is expected to become more involved in politics in upcoming months.
But he did take a parting shot at Christie: “Among my regrets is I got snookered by this guy.”
***
Nothing makes Christie aides cringe more than one quote he gave on the governorship: that he wanted to “squeeze all the juice out of the orange” for himself and his family.
“Chris Christie was always prone to self-inflicted wounds. Some of the optics we had to deal with were so disappointing because they were avoidable,” said Michael Drewniak, his longtime spokesman.
There was, of course, this summer’s embarrassment of being photographed sitting on a closed beach, lounging in a beach chair as New Jersey residents stewed at home.
Before that, there was the time Christie flew to the desert and stayed at a posh resort with the king of Jordan, taking a $30,000 gift and explaining the Hashemite monarch was a “personal friend.” The time he took a state helicopter to his son’s baseball game so he could also meet with donors urging him to run for president. That time he went to Disney World during a snowstorm, even with his lieutenant governor out of state. The times he screamed at New Jersey residents and officials—calling for a grandmother legislator to be hit with a bat, chasing a man while carrying an ice cream cone, calling a Navy SEAL a jerk. The time, as U.S. attorney, that he stayed in such luxurious hotel rooms and took such expensive limos that the federal government came out with new guidelines for all U.S. attorneys.
Christie loved showing off pictures with celebrities and taking lavish vacations. He loved being on the sideline, in the owner’s box, wherever he could go that was closest to the nexus of it all. He was starstruck with his fame, several longtime aides said.
‘HE WAS STARSTRUCK WITH HIS FAME’ Clockwise, from upper left: Christie with New York Mets chairman & CEO Fred Wilpon in the owner’s box during the final game of the season in 2010; Backdropped by the Al Aqsa Mosque compound, Christie, visits Jerusalem's old city; During New Jersey’s state government shutdown, Christie and family/friends use the beach at the governor’s summer house; and Christie is joined at a post-Sandy press conference by Dept. of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer. | Getty Images
His penchant for getting what he wanted at all times was so ingrained that it once even led to a showdown between Buckingham Palace and Wildstein—which Wildstein won. When Queen Elizabeth II was coming to ground zero, her office blanched at a request to add the governor’s children to a list of people meeting the queen. Wildstein told the palace the visit could not happen. Eventually, a compromise was worked out, and the queen met the Christie kids.
For these more sympathetic former Christie aides, they find his behavior puzzling: How could such a talented politician, with such an innate understanding of politics and perception, make such boneheaded decisions? Even to some of his staunchest defenders, the episodes fueled an image of a out-of-control, out-for-myself executive who could not give a damn about the public.
Here’s what Christie has to say about that: “I understand that people obsess on optics. I’ve never been a guy who obsesses on optics.”
Christie has rarely apologized, and told me that most of his outbursts at New Jersey residents were strategic. He seemed to grow happy talking about a recent encounter in which he got into a heated argument with a voter at the polling station near his house. Nor does he regret chasing the man on the boardwalk while carrying an ice cream cone, saying the man had used the F-word in front of his children.
Asked whether such episodes are emotional, uncontrolled outbursts, Christie responded: “A lot of the dummies in your business think it is.” His own associates don’t see it that way; Drewniak said that many of the outbursts were “spontaneous” episodes that led to weeks of headaches rather than calculated strategy. Others said he couldn't control his temper.
The one outburst he regrets, Christie said, was calling a Navy SEAL who challenged him at a town hall a “jerk”—but even then, he insisted he was fundamentally in the right: “I think he merited the comment, but I shouldn’t have said it.”
At one point in our conversation, he ticked through each well-known incident and explained himself, growing animated and at times profane.
“I assume that the king of Jordan doesn’t put people up at the Motel 6. He’s the king of Jordan,” Christie said. In a mocking tone, he added: “Your Majesty, is there a Motel 6 in the area so I won’t offend anybody?”
I assume that the king of Jordan doesn’t put people up at the Motel 6. He’s the king of Jordan,” said Christie.
Most New Jerseyans are either Eagles or Giants fans, and Christie drew particular derision for flying on a private plane owned by Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to several games and taking luxury box seats. Some critics raised concerns that Jones had business in front of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which Christie partially controlled. After weeks of headaches, Christie begrudgingly agreed to fly commercial to a Cowboys playoff game. Aides said he still wanted to take the free plane.
“I became governor and got to know Jerry. He invited me to the games, and where am I supposed to sit when he invites me to the games? He’s going to sit me with them,” he said.
The beach incident annoys Christie maybe the most. He was sunning in a chair with his family, in the middle of a budget standoff this July 4 weekend. He had ordered the beaches closed because there was no state budget. The Star-Ledger sent a photographer down the shoreline in a private plane and snapped pictures that went viral on the internet. Children made Halloween costumes of Christie on the beach.
“Could you imagine that I could see the long lens?” Christie said, asked if he knew the plane was carrying a photographer to snap pictures of him. “Of course not.”
Even so, Christie insisted he didn’t regret the shoreline excursion. He had worked the rest of the day, and had promised his children and their friends a vacation for months on July 4 weekend.
Nothing made his longtime circle angrier than the beach.
“There have been so many times I wanted to pummel him,” one longtime aide said. “I would have pummeled him in the face that day.” Another called his decisions “completely and totally fucking inexplicable.”
“Those things became distractions,” said Mike DuHaime, his top political adviser. “They were bigger distractions than anyone anticipated.”
“He overreached often,” Drewniak said. “He would get his blinders on and just be incredibly stubborn.” He added: “I don’t regret working for him. He was the best boss I ever had. It was all part of the package.”
***
In the words of Christie’s favorite singer, Bruce Springsteen, his political fortunes were stuck somewhere in the swamps of Jersey by 2014.
He was diminished by Bridgegate but still thought he had a chance in 2016. Many of his aides were skeptical but went along with the plan: He would chart his course as chairman of the Republican Governors Association, travel the country, raise money, build alliances and try to put together a presidential campaign infrastructure. He raised record amounts of cash for the RGA and helped win more than 30 gubernatorial races. He could still make national headlines anytime he wanted.
Christie entered the presidential race in June 2015 at his New Jersey high school. “I saw a path, but we were under no illusions about how difficult it was going to be,” DuHaime said. “And none of us saw the Trump phenomenon coming.”
Christie and his team knew he had little chance in Iowa and South Carolina, so they cast their lot in New Hampshire, where, it was thought, his ideological pragmatism and skill at retail politics would be huge assets. Drawing on the playbook that had worked so well back home, Christie crisscrossed the state in a bus and held more than 100 town halls. He was able to secure more endorsements than any other candidate. There were a number of times it looked like he had momentum: He won the coveted Union-Leader endorsement. A clip of him talking about opioid addiction went viral. His prosecutor bona fides became useful amid terrorist attacks, and he slashed Marco Rubio at the final debate before the vote.
“I’ve always been good at it and I’ll always be good at it,” Christie said of his stage performances.
By Christmas, Christie’s hustle seemed to have paid off: He found himself in second place, where he thought he would ultimately finish. But that turned out to be the high-water mark of his campaign. He soon was inundated with money from super PACS linked to Rubio and Jeb Bush, and Trump dropped his friendly stance and ripped him over the bridge.
“The GW Bridge, he knew about it,” Trump said. “How do you have breakfast with people everyday of your lives. … They’re closing up the largest bridge in the world. They never said ‘Hey boss, we’re closing up the George Washington Bridge.’ So they’re talking about the weather? He knew about it. He totally knew about it.”
Instead of firing back at Trump, who he figured couldn’t be beaten in New Hampshire, Christie lashed out at Rubio, who was competing for the same pool of educated, moderate voters. Other candidates and their teams said Christie, who prided himself on taking on difficult challenges, shirked the ultimate political one.
“You saw so many other candidates try and fail at that tactic and strategy,” Matt Mowers, Christie’s New Hampshire director, said of attacking Trump. “You would see those candidates lose support in the polls. It never seemed strategically advantageous.”
Mowers said it was almost impossible to gain traction in the state with such a crowded field and Trump’s uncanny ability to earn media attention and blot out the sun. Voters would love Christie and say he was on “their list,” Mowers said, but they would eventually go with Trump, who was even more “tell-it-like-it-is.”
DuHaime said the calculation was to only swing at Trump hard if it was a one-on-one field, and that the governor knew Trump was going to win. His attack on Rubio didn’t work; the Florida senator’s voters defected, but to other candidates.
Christie’s strategy was falling apart. He couldn’t raise enough money, a particularly painful shortcoming for a once-prolific fundraiser. After the onslaught of ads attacking him, he continued to fall in the campaign’s daily tracking polls—and he didn’t have the resources to hit back.
The governors he’d raised money for as RGA chair didn’t support him in return, infuriating his team. DuHaime called it “cowardly.”
“I think it was an enormous leadership opportunity lost for the Republican governors,” Christie said. “They just sat on the sidelines for reasons that I’ll never completely understand because there were a lot of good candidates to pick from.”
And back in New Jersey, Christie was haunted by home-state problems: sagging poll ratings, a crumbling NJ Transit system, credit downgrades, a steady stream of headlines from the ongoing Bridgegate trial, a separate investigation into Samson, the wobbly financial fortunes of Atlantic City. Even his widely praised response to Superstorm Sandy had became a negative.
“That hug was never forgiven by so many people in the Republican establishment,” said DuHaime, who thinks Christie’s embrace of Obama hurt him with hyperpartisan GOP primary voters even more than Bridgegate.
Christie sat stoically as the returns came in, him finishing sixth. He stared at his father. His children cried. He knew he was going to drop out but decided to wait a day after talking to Larry Hogan of Maryland, a friend and one of the few fellow governors who had campaigned with him.
He returned to New Jersey and posted a statement on Facebook, dropping out on Feb. 10.
***
Before Christie flew to Dallas to endorse Donald Trump two weeks later, he didn’t tell some of his most senior aides. They learned about it from his secretary while he was in the air.
Christie had assured aides after New Hampshire that he didn’t plan to endorse in the race, and they looked forward to trying to salvage his legacy in New Jersey.
After he learned the news, Kevin Roberts, then communications director, called his team into an emergency meeting and told them. He was met with silence.
“We’re fucked,” Roberts said, according to attendees. The decision was widely loathed in his circle. DuHaime, his top political adviser, declined to follow his lead. Maria Comella, his top aide for years, later came out with a statement endorsing Hillary Clinton.
TRUMP Clockwise, from upper left: Christie and Senator Marco Rubio during a January 14, 2016, GOP presidential debate; Christie stands behind Trump during a rally at the Forth Worth Convention Center in Texas, announcing his endorsement of the businessman’s candidacy ahead of the March 2 “super Tuesday” elections; On Nov. 20, 2016, President-elect Trump and Gov. Christie shake hands before their meeting at Trump International Golf Club, in Bedminster Township, New Jersey; Trump and Christie prepare to speak to supporters at a March 14, 2016, rally at Youngstown Airport in Ohio. | Getty Images
By this time, Christie had already grown so unpopular that the governor found a novel way to punish one of his adversaries after one of their volcanic fights. He called into a radio show and praised Sweeney, the state Senate leader and a Democrat, describing him as a great governing partner. “He was praising me to hurt me, and I knew exactly what he was doing, and he did too,” Sweeney said.
Christie explains his endorsement of Trump as a pragmatic move. “I was the first,” he reminded me. “And I turned out to be right.”
The endorsement gave him a chance to be in the game—and Christie couldn’t stand the idea of being a lame-duck governor on the sidelines. Now he talks to Trump several times a week. He loved playing Hillary Clinton in debate prep. When Trump won, he was onstage. At the same time, several aides said, it was essentially a white surrender flag on his governorship.
“One, I wanted to make him a better candidate—and two, I wanted him to beat Hillary Clinton because I didn’t want Hillary Clinton to be president and I thought he was the guy who was going to give us the chance to do that,” Christie told me.
But, he hastened to add, “It doesn’t mean that I agree with everything Donald Trump does. I don’t. But I agree on a hell of a lot more with him than I do with Hillary Clinton, right?”
Former aides say Christie made the decision after Trump courted him extensively, asking him frequently to endorse. Christie was angry with the other candidates and frustrated with the whole ordeal of running. “Trump worked him harder than anyone else in trying to get it. He called him repeatedly,” DuHaime said.
DuHaime said Christie called him the night Trump won South Carolina. The two men agreed the billionaire developer would be the nominee—so Christie decided to endorse.
“The right thing for him to do was to endorse Trump at the time. That is not what I wanted to do for myself, so I didn't go work for him,” DuHaime said.
Some aides and allies say he endorsed early in hopes of getting a plum job if Trump won. Christie denied that.
“I know that whatever a candidate may say to you before they’re elected means little once they’re elected. Because everything changes. A whole bunch of different people get in their ear and everything else. So, no. I wouldn’t make that calculation because I know from my own experience that candidates will say anything, and you can’t count on that beforehand,” he said.
During a news conference soon after the endorsement, Christie stared blankly behind Trump, his eyes blinking. Twitter wags instantly pronounced that he looked like a hostage. The clips went viral on the internet and infuriated Christie.
“My job was to introduce him, and the original plan was to introduce him and go offstage,” Christie said. “I introduce him, he comes up the stage, he goes, ‘Stay here with me.’ ‘OK.’ So I stood back there. I was like, ‘All right.’”
“I’d love for somebody to actually do that and stand behind someone at a press conference and have any other look on your face,” he said. Had he laughed or smiled, Christie said, he would have been called a “goofball.”
Christie agreed to helm the transition, but he craved a certain spot in the administration: attorney general. And he didn’t get it. Instead, he suffered a series of fresh humiliations.
There was the time Trump told a large crowd in Christie’s home state that the governor would no longer eat Oreos. There was the time The New Yorker reported an aide saying that Trump had made Christie fetch him McDonald’s, a nugget that instantly went viral. (Sam Nunberg, a former Trump aide, told me he made up the story to embarrass Christie—and that it spread like wildfire. “The sad reality is that it was believable,” Nunberg said, chuckling.) UPDATE: New Yorker reporter Ryan Lizza says Nunberg was not the source for his story.
There was the time, at a rally in February 2016, that Trump told him to get on the plane and “go home” before Trump spoke, seeming to mock his own campaign surrogate.
Christie sees the Tennessee tarmac incident differently. “People were acting like it was a fucking punishment. The guy gave me his smaller plane and said, ‘Leave early so you don’t have to wait for me, because you’ve been so great to me the last two days doing this for two days.’ And then asshole reporters write that he was like, ‘Get Chris off the stage,’” the governor said. “That’s the stuff that drives you crazy.”
I would never underestimate Jared’s ability to be involved in whatever he wants to do be involved in,” Christie said.
Christie said even he was taken aback by Trump’s nice gesture to send a second plane after two days on the trail. “Just when you think you’ve got him figured out, like in a bad way, he does something really generous and over-the-top that makes you go like, ‘He is a good guy in his heart,’” he said.
Christie’s generous interpretation of Trump’s treatment of him even extends to his own ouster. Two days after Trump’s surprise win, Steve Bannon and Christie were seen arguing for several hours in a glass office in the transition headquarters in New York. Bannon was firing him as chair of the transition, and Christie wasn’t taking the news well. He wanted to know who was behind it, and he suspected Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, whose father he had prosecuted as U.S. attorney.
“Oh, I asked,” Christie said, referring to Bannon. “He didn’t answer. But [based on] subsequent conversations I’ve had with the president, I just don’t believe this was the president’s decision.”
Aides later threw his transition materials in wastebaskets.
Christie, who often attributes his habit of feuding to his “Sicilian mom and Irish dad,” insists he holds no grudges. He said the president had made a smart decision to get rid of some aides—he named Bannon and Reince Priebus—and said others would be soon to go. Chief of staff John Kelly, he said, was doing much better. He declined to take a shot at Kushner when asked about the Trump son-in-law’s diminished White House role. “I would never underestimate Jared’s ability to be involved in whatever he wants to do be involved in,” Christie said.
***
Christie, who is only 55, won’t say what is next. He says he wants to make money and doesn’t plan to run for president again. He says he has no immediate plans to join the White House under Trump.
“He’s offered me two different Cabinet positions and three other really senior positions in the administration, and I’ve turned them all down because they weren’t stuff I was interested in,” he said.
He said there could be opportunities in media, at law firms and on Wall Street. He has joked that Mary Pat Christie, his investment banker wife, has told him he needs to realize his “earning potential.” But power and fame motivate Christie more than money, those closest to him say, and they think he’ll be back in the public glare.
When I came to see him, he was sitting in a conference room with two Coke cans, that large bowl of chili, a basket of wavy potato chips, gifts lining the walls, newspapers praising his ascent and Springsteen and a Notre Dame football sign outside the door reading, “PLAY LIKE A CHAMPION TODAY.” His daughter goes there, and he has become a fan.
I hadn’t seen Christie in two years since I covered him for the Wall Street Journal, but he started the conversation almost mid-sentence. His photographer had told me downstairs that Christie, a mercurial man, was in a fantastic mood. He only asked to go off the record twice.
Before I saw him, Christie was meeting with Phil Murphy, the next governor and a former Goldman Sachs executive who cast much of his campaign on a referendum against Christie. The New Jersey press corps no longer had much interest in Christie, instead clamoring outside in the cold to meet his successor.
Christie no longer holds court from his sprawling governor’s office; he closed the State House for repairs earlier this year, and is serving out his final days from a makeshift fifth-floor office in a drab, gray government building. One of his spartan walls has a lonely “Born to Run” Springsteen poster. A large sign on the streets of desolate Trenton notes where you can find Christie, when he is there.
‘I KEPT MOVING’ Christie in the East Room of the White House, attending an October 2017 speech by President Donald Trump on the opioid crisis. | Getty Images
He wasn’t in a bomb-throwing mood about Murphy and seemed to be still sizing him up—and looking for weaknesses. “I have no way of knowing,” he said when asked if Murphy was prepared for the job. “But I’m sure he’ll be ready and he’ll be fine by Inauguration Day. He’s a little overwhelmed now.”
His tight circle of aides is no longer with him. Many have been gone for years. Christie often keeps his own schedule and trusts his own counsel above all. In fact, some of his aides had no idea I was even on his schedule until the night before.
In person, Christie is eminently likable and convincing. He can say something that is not true without blinking an eyelid—and can almost convince you it is, even if you know better.
He still possesses all the assets that made him a rising GOP star and all of the flaws that led to his astonishing fall: relentless ambition and pragmatic competence, shrewd political instincts tempered by inexplicable blind spots, a penchant for vengeance and a volcanic temper, a keen sense of humor and an ability to project empathy, an obsession with fame but humility enough to keep up with old high school friends on Facebook.
“He is a dynamic, complicated figure that is too easily caricatured,” said Comella, who was at his side for all of it.
What Christie wanted me to see was that he was content, and proud of his record as governor.
The economy has improved, with unemployment falling from about 10 percent to about 5 percent. He ended the estate tax. He brought bail reform to New Jersey, a move widely hailed and followed by other states. He shined a light on opioids and eventually led the national commission while boosting funding to address the crisis at home.
Years from now, Christie said, people won’t hate him so much.
“I think the situation at the bridge started it. Then I think committing to being the RGA chairman, which led to a lot of travel being outside the state, it led to people believing I wasn’t able to do my job, which is kind of ridiculous. Then running for president. Again, which leads you beyond the state more and then lastly, endorsing the president—and he’s not popular here. That probably doesn’t make me popular in the state where he lost by double digits,” Christie said.
He added: “I never stopped my forward momentum, right? I may have slowed but you saw me back then. I didn’t get in the fetal position and say, ‘Please leave me alone,’” Christie said. “I kept moving.”
***
Those who have known Christie the longest tend to have the most complicated feelings about him.
Like Tom Kean—the former governor who nurtured and mentored Christie, only to become a critic.
Their connections run deep. After he said he wanted to get into politics, Christie’s mother drove him to Kean’s house and had her teenage son shadow Kean. Both families lived in Livingston. Kean, then a local politician, eventually became governor for two terms and was Christie’s biggest supporter. He swore him in to county government. He wrote a heaping letter praising Christie to become U.S. attorney. He was a trusted adviser.
Things changed as Christie rose. In 2013, Kean celebrated the governor’s re-election backstage. Two days later, Christie started a campaign to unseat Tom Kean Jr., the governor’s son, who was Senate minority leader. The two men had fought over state Senate races, and Christie wanted a more loyal ally in the job.
“I was happily congratulating him on his election one night. Two days later, he didn’t tell me—all of a sudden, guess what he’s doing, he’s making calls against your son,” Kean said.
But Republicans bucked him and kept Kean’s son in power. “It was the first time he’d been beaten in New Jersey,” Kean said of Christie, with a bit of familial pride.
Eventually, the two men talked, and Christie “came close to an apology,” Kean said. “I’m not sure he apologized, but that might be as close as you get from Chris Christie.”
The two men haven’t talked in over a year, Kean said. He said the governorship went downhill because Christie spent too much time out of state, didn’t listen to his staff and stopped caring in the past year, “spitting in people’s eyes.” Still, he praised some of Christie’s accomplishments, particularly on taxes.
“He’s not someone who likes criticism,” Kean said. “His problem is he had too many yes men on his staff.” Kean added: “He’ll resurface because he has too much ability not to.”
“This why it’s sad in a sense. He’s the most able politician I know, with possibly the exception of Bill Clinton,” Kean said. “I thought if he made use of that properly, he was going to be one of the state’s really great governors. He could have been one of the great governors.”
Sweeney, the state Senate president, paused for a few seconds when I asked him whether Christie was a good governor. Christie had met with Sweeney for 15 minutes in the middle of our interview, and he later suggested Sweeney, despite being a Democrat, might offer a solid testament to his success.
Sweeney said Christie was a tough fighter who had usually been honest with him, and that he was “pragmatic” and that “he’s a governor that used every inch of the power that was given to him by the constitution.”
“I think he did a good job at times. At times, he made mistakes,” Sweeney said. “He took some tough shots at some people on the way up. When you’re on your way up, everyone is with you. When you’re punching people, when you’re on your way down, those punches are coming back at you.”
After seeing Christie in Trenton, I reunited with Drewniak and Roberts, his former communications director, for dinner at the Langosta Lounge on the Asbury Park boardwalk.
Drewniak, towering and bald, had a reputation in Trenton as pugilistic. Yet deep down, Drewniak is a bit of a softie—he has two yapping dogs named Peanut and Lilly and can grow emotional on a dime. He is a master fisherman who grills a mean steak—and is ready to spend more time grilling and fishing than fighting political battles. He is also planning a move to Florida.
"I was thinking about talking to you,” Drewniak told me. “And he still freaks me out.”
Smoking cigarettes outside, with the famed Stone Pony in sight and waves crashing in, we made small talk with two locals. Both of them began torching Christie and praising Phil Murphy, the new governor, who threw his celebration party on the boardwalk Tuesday night. Christie threw his there four years ago.
Almost out of habit, Drewniak jumped in to defend the outgoing governor, his record and charisma. He introduced himself as “Mike,” leaving out his last name and longtime affiliation. |
Greg Gutfeld Goes Off On Rapper ‘Bow Wow’ After He Threatened Melania Trump on Twitter (VIDEO)
Former child star and rapper Bow Wow sent a series of rude and derogatory tweets to Melania Trump. And Greg Gutfield was not happy.
The rapper-turned-actor, who goes by his given name Shad Moss, defended his uncle Snoop Dogg after President Donald Trump‘s response to Snoop’s music video, in which he mock shoots the president in the head.
In his tweet, Moss told the president to “shut your punk a** up talking sh-t about my uncle @SnoopDogg” before we pimp your wife and make her work for us”.
Well i think it’s fair to say that Greg Gutfeld was not too happy about these comments.
Gutfeld unloaded a barrage of insults on the liberal rapper. Calling him a “Little b*tch”.
He then followed this up by saying.
“Meanwhile, don’t hold your breath for any feminist or media outrage,” cautioned Gutfeld. “It’s not like he threatened Michelle Obama… different rules apply.”
Read more at The Daily Caller |
"I think everybody knows that I like having fun. The biggest thing is, people can be misled into thinking I’m not being serious," says Clint Bowyer. (Photo11: Mark J. Rebilas, USA TODAY Sports)
Our series of weekly NASCAR driver interviews continues with Clint Bowyer, who is spending this season at HScott Motorsports before taking over Tony Stewart's No. 14 car in 2017.
Q: What is an errand or chore in your daily life people might be surprised to learn you do yourself?
A: Man, usually mowing. When you have a big farm like that, you’re mowing at this time of year. There are two of us who do the mowing — my caretaker, Terry, and I — so I'm usually mowing a pasture or something. I refuse to weed-eat, though. That sucks.
Q: If you could do any race over again, which race would you choose?
A: D'aw man! The Daytona 500 has been a few of them. I’ve gotten close a few times. It’s just one of those tracks — if you’re in the top 10 on the last few laps, you have a shot at it. Been there a few times, just haven’t been able to capitalize with that right push and that magical moment some of them have.
Q: The longest race of the year is 600 miles. How long of a race could you physically handle without a driver change?
A: Well, my first reaction would be I would go mow NASCAR’s yard if they would make it a 400-mile race. It gets to the point where it’s like, “What the hell are we doing here?” Because it all comes down to the last 20 laps or the last fuel run at those long races.
You know, I’ve been there in the 600 where I felt like I couldn’t go another lap and I’ve been there where I felt like I could drive the rest of the night and most of the next day. It really does depend on the tempo of your race, the handling of your car and the way you’re running. If you’re running up front, you’re pretty much on cruise control and you’re not running 100% — you’re running 80% — and you’re pretty comfortable.
Q: Let’s say president of NASCAR was an elected position voted on by the drivers, and you decided to run. What would one of your campaign promises be?
A: I would work on the schedule. It wouldn’t be four hours or whatever it is of tech (inspection). That’s kind of a missed opportunity. They’ve got us here; we might as well be on that racetrack putting on a show for the fans.
Q: At the start of this year, exactly 2,900 drivers had ever raced in the Sprint Cup Series. Where do you rank among those 2,900?
A: Damn! I have no idea. The stats — you could quickly look that up and figure it out. It’s hard to judge that over the years, because if I could run three times a week like they did (in NASCAR’s early days), I think you could improve your results. Everybody always tries to judge racing as you see it today to racing as you saw it back then, and it’s just simply not matchable.
They had one car they raced; we have a fleet of cars that are built differently for different tracks. They had five employees; we have 500 employees. You know what I mean? It’s so different. It’s hard to judge where a guy like Dale Earnhardt ranks, let alone yourself.
Q: What do you think your reputation is, and is that reputation accurate?
A: (Laughs) Probably pretty accurate! I think everybody knows that I like having fun. The biggest thing is, people can be misled into thinking I’m not being serious. When I’m competing, I’m dead serious and I want to beat these guys. That’s something that’s misunderstood about me sometimes. But that’s what I love about this sport — the media and TV do such a good job of covering the sport itself that you understand the characters within the people, and that’s why fans have such strong thoughts on any specific driver.
"It would be a lot of fun to laugh with somebody in the car, because I’m usually either laughing at myself or by myself on somebody else’s behalf," Clint Bowyer says. (Photo11: Jasen Vinlove, USA TODAY Sports)
Q: A famous chef wants you to invest in the new restaurant he’s opening, but he wants you to pick the cuisine. What type of food would your restaurant serve?
A: Well, you can’t have a restaurant without having a solid cheeseburger. So you have to start there, first and foremost. And then from there, it all comes down to a good steak. If you don’t have a good steak, you’re not (crap) in the restaurant business.
And the third thing is to make sure you don’t have any kind of sushi at all.
No sushi? Aw, man.
I have no idea how you could have a sushi restaurant and make a dollar. It’s just weird. Whatever happened to grilling your food and making an event out of it? The event shouldn’t be cutting it up! The event is cooking it and enjoying it.
Q: What is the most daring thing you’ve done outside of racing?
A: Trying to raise that boy right there! (Points to son Cash, who is whirling around the driver motor home lot in a miniature car.) Look at him, he’s a maniac.
Nah, the most daring thing outside a race car is getting on (Interstate) 77. That’s pretty daring, I would say. There are some lunatics driving on that road.
Q: In a move to generate more excitement, NASCAR decides in an upcoming race it's going to require every driver to have a passenger in the car. You get to pick the passenger. Who do you choose?
A: Oh man. It would definitely be a comedian. Could you imagine somebody like Eddie Murphy riding with you? By the end of it, you’d be screwing up on purpose so he’d make fun of you and you could hear what he had to say. You would put him in situations where he had to comment on it. That’s what life is all about: A good laugh. And it would be a lot of fun to laugh with somebody in the car, because I’m usually either laughing at myself or by myself on somebody else’s behalf.
So you wouldn't mind getting insulted during the race?
Trust me. You screw up more than what people can see on TV. And those are the moments you’re laughing at the most — when you really do something dumb. It’s like, “Holy (crap), how in the world did I do that?”
Q: How often do you talk inside the car without hitting the radio button?
A: Never. It’s too easy to hit a button. And if you ever listen to my radio, you’d understand that. But it’s not fair! That’s our pop-off valve. Honestly, most of the time you’re talking to yourself. Sometimes the crew will say, “What did you just say?” I’ll say, “I’m just talking out loud, damn it! Get in my world here.” You use that as a tool to relay the information, but at the end of the day, that’s your only source of entertainment in the car. Luckily for me, I have a funny spotter (Brett Griffin) who is the same way I am. Together, we’re pretty dangerous on the radio.
Q: Who will win the Sprint Cup in 2021?
A: Five years from now? I don’t care who wins in 2021, but I do care that I win one before I quit. I’ve raced for championships my whole life, and that’s the way I was raised. You were always racing for a series title and we were always tied to a points system. That’s why I was always hesitant when they started coming up with the Chase and a little more "gimmicks," if you will, to deplete that a little bit. That’s something that was always instilled in me in an early age — not only competing for that night, but competing for that year-end championship.
Q: I’ve been asking each driver to give me a question for the next interview. The last one was with Blake Koch, and he wanted to know if you pulled back on the brakes for less drag when you did the Supercross holeshot in Atlanta.
A: No, the brakes were pulled in full when I was overshooting the corner and smoking it into the barrier. So, no, Blake, I definitely didn’t have the brakes pushed back. The levers were pulled back as hard as I could, as I was in an “Oh (crap)" moment. They were used in their entirety, to their fullest extent. It just wasn’t enough. I was out of real estate. And the biggest part was it was in front of 70,000 fans. That sucked.
Follow Gluck on Twitter @jeff_gluck |
EVERY male manager must have at least one woman on his team under a radical new plan devised by 21 leading male CEOs.
The heads of some of the country's leading employers - including the Commonwealth Bank, the Australian Army and Woolworths - are pushing to increase the share of women in leadership positions and dismantle the old "boys' club" mentality at the top of many organisations.
In a move that will affect more than 550,000 Australian workers, the 21 leaders have committed to ensuring every one of their managers will add at least one woman to their team as jobs become available.
Some leaders, including IBM Australia managing director Andrew Stevens, are going so far as offering bonuses to managers who meet or exceed targets for the number of women in the organisation.
"The plus-one pledge, where you add a woman to your team at every level of your organisation, is a tangible way of (increasing female representation)," Mr Stevens said.
"My hope is that we will inspire male and females to lock on to this issue and make change in their enterprise in both the public and private sector."
The plan is based on a 2011 trial at Citi's Australian offices, where a minimum of one senior woman was promoted into an approved open role.
This drove a 9 per cent year-on-year increase in women senior vice president roles and above in 2011, and a 24 per cent increase in 2012.
Program architect and Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick said from now on, the CEOs would refuse to be part of any speaking panel which didn't have a woman on it.
"This will lift thousands of women's voices. The companies are saying 'please don't come to us if you want our CEO to talk at an all-male event'," she said.
"The men that are in the Male Champions of Change represent hundreds of thousands - if not millions - of employees in this country and it will change the experience of work for mums and dads, their daughters and their sons."
Other pledges include increasing the contact mothers have with their mangers while they are on maternity leave to ensure they don't "fall out of the loop" and questioning when employees with caring responsibilities see their careers flounder.
Some organisations, including Citi, are pushing managers harder to ensure that they get their employees back to work after taking time off.
"At Citi, we were losing too many fantastic women who didn't return after having children," Citi Australia country officer Stephen Roberts said.
"We realised that there is no substitute to me setting and enforcing high expectations of the managers responsible for those taking leave."
Originally published as CEOs to make boys' club history |
The void of undefined in JavaScript
You can't trust undefined in JavaScript even after ES5 made it immutable
Table of contents
Undefined
Undefined is a JavaScript primitive that is used when a value has not been assigned a value. If you have done more than one day’s programming in any language you will realise that this is an important building block for programmers.
You can check if a value is undefined in JavaScript like this
if (typeof x === "undefined") { console.log('it is undefined'); }
You might choose to set a defined value to undefined.
var foo = 'bar'; console.log(foo); // "bar" foo = undefined; console.log(foo); // undefined
What you may know is that until ES5 undefined was mutable so if there are other scripts on your page there is chance it could cause unwanted results.
// a naughty global variable from another script var undefined = "oops"; var foo = 'bar'; console.log(foo); // "bar" foo = undefined; console.log(foo); // "oops"
ES5 improved this by making undefined immutable. If your JavaScript engine supports ES5 (and that feature) you are good. Or you might think you are. Because undefined isn’t a reserved word it may be used as a function argument name. This also leads to unwanted results.
var foo = function (undefined) { "use strict"; var x = "foo"; console.log(x); // "foo" var x = undefined; console.log(x); // "oops" }; foo('oops');
Let’s say someone is using your library within that function and you reference undefined. You get the string “oops”. Oops indeed.
Update: Axel Rauschmayer contacted me via Twitter over this section.
@shapeshed “someone is using your library within that function and you reference undefined.” Unproblematic (static vs. dynamic scoping).
– @rauchma
Hopefully my response clears this up. It is not an issue within a function but it would be if undefined has been decalred globally. Run the jsfiddle examples to illustrate this.
@rauschma yes within a function http://jsfiddle.net/pv244/1/ . still an issue globally. http://jsfiddle.net/zwhn2/1/ . will clarify post. thanks!
– @shapeshed
Void
Void in JavaScript is one of Crockford’s bad parts of Javascript
In many languages, void is a type that has no values. In JavaScript, void is an operator that takes an operand and returns undefined. This is not useful, and it is very confusing. Avoid void.
– Douglas Crockford
ES5 defines void as a unary operator returning undefined for whatever it is given. Noteably void is also a reserved work in JavaScript meaning you cannot reassign void. In the console we can see what void does
void 0 undefined
Several libraries and frameworks use void in place of undefined presumably because it is absolutely immutable and can be relied on to return undefined in whatever context it is used.
Underscore.js uses it to check if a value is undefined
_.isUndefined = function(obj) { return obj === void 0; };
The Closure compiler also favours void 0
var foo = undefined;
Compiles to
var foo=void 0;
Swerve the bear trap
Undefined is another potential bear trap in JavaScript that can lose hours in debugging that can be avoid if you understand how it works. Because JavaScript can always be run in the context of other scripts you might well reference undefined and then find that somewhere else it has been redefined, either by being reassigned in ES3 or being used as a function argument in ES5.
Of course this is terrible programming but if you throw your scripts out there on the web you’ve got to expect that somewhere, at some time someone is going to do it. You can use linters to some extent to avoid this. JSHint for example allows you to enforce ES5 mode which will complain if you try and reassign undefined, but using undefined as a function argument is legal.
Whether you chose to use void 0 or not is up to you, but you should at least be aware that undefined isn’t absolutely immutable.
Have an update or suggestion for this article? You can edit it here and send me a pull request.
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THE mother of the three-year-old WA boy who was inside a car which was allegedly stolen from East Victoria Park has thanked those involved in the search adding her little boy is safe at home and 'already pestering his sister'.
Glenda told reporters at a police press conference outside her home that she was extremely grateful to police and the wider public for their help in trying to locate her son Joe.
"First of all I would like to thank the Kensington Police as well as the multiple officers who searched for Joe this afternoon," she said. "I would also like to thank the media for making this breaking news and helping to spread the message.
"I would like to thank the general public, friends and family who have walked, biked and driven to search for Joe in the area.
"The outcome was exactly what we had hoped for and we are tremendously pleased.
Camera Icon Little Joe Picture: PerthNow
"Joe is safe and well, already pestering his sister and most importantly reunited with his Christmas train. As you can understand this has been an extremely difficult afternoon for our family and we respectfully ask for some space this afternoon."
Little Joe and the stolen Subaru Impreza were found by a member of the public who had received an Emergency Alert via text message just before before 4pm on Gloucester Street in East Victoria Park. The message, which is only used in life-threatening situations, was sent to more than 250,000 landlines and mobile phones in the area.
Superintendent Brad Sorrell from the South East Metropolitan District said police mounted the massive search for the vehicle after they received a report at around 1.50pm that a dark blue Suburu Impreza hatch had been stolen from the driveway of a house in East Victoria Park with little Joe inside on Friday afternoon.
He said Joe's parents had just returned home, parked the car in the driveway, opened the house and momentarily left him sleeping in the car with the air-conditioning on as they entered the house with their daughter.
He said the offender or offenders took the car and drove through the the white picket fences outside the home.
And while no one has been arrested in relation to the incident, Superintendent Sorrell gave this warning to those responsible: "The person who did this, we are coming for you." |
A shooting overnight in Toronto has left three people with injuries.
Police are investigating after three people were injured in a Liberty Village parking lot at around 3:30 a.m. ET Monday.
A woman living in the neighbourhood said she heard eight to 10 shots ring out.
One person was shot in the leg and the other in the foot in a parking lot near Lamport Stadium and Cinema Nightclub. It's uncertain how the third person was injured.
Two of those in the incident were taken to hospital from the scene. The third victim, a man, walked into Toronto Western Hospital.
Police are still looking for suspects.
Four arrested
Two men and two women were arresred on Chestnut Street after 4 a.m. in relation to the shots fired on Spadina Avenue. (Tony Smyth/CBC)
In another shooting incident, on Spadina Avenue, north of Dundas Street, in the city's downtown Chinatown area, two men and two women were arrested Monday morning.
No victims were found, but police responded after gunfire was reported just after 4 a.m. Police found shell casings near Nassau Street.
The four suspects were found in a Jeep near the scene at around 6 a.m.
It's not immediately known if the incidents are related. |
When Kroger shareholders arrive at their annual meeting next Wednesday, they'll be greeted by a gun safety protest.
Members of local affiliates of the Michael Bloomberg-backed gun control groups Everytown and Moms Demand Action will be waiting near the supermarket chain's Cincinnati headquarters on October 29th to confront investors and executives.
Kroger currently allows shoppers to openly carry guns in stores in states where the practice is legal. Everytown and Moms Demand Action activists aim to convince the retailer to change this policy, in line with other large chains like Starbucks and Target .
Joining the gun safety groups will be a survivor of the 2011 Tucson massacre outside a Safeway supermarket, when eighteen people, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, were shot. Six were killed. (Giffords has since retired from politics and devoted her career to gun control advocacy; she and husband Mark Kelly launched the nonprofit Americans for Responsible Solutions.)
Moms Demand Action founder Shannon Watts will be on the scene in Cincinnati and hopes to compel Kroger executives to meet with her in person. The group, in partnership with billionaire Bloomberg's $50 million Everytown project, has been petitioning the country's largest supermarket chain for more than two months.
They've amassed over 300,000 signatures and collectively made 12,000 phone calls to Kroger's corporate offices. The groups spent six figures on a recent ad blitz, including a billboard near the HQ.
In late September, they secured the support of Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Dianne Feinsten (D-Calif.), who jointly wrote to Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen:
“As you know, gun extremists in several states have exploited the current Kroger policy by flaunting assault rifles as they shopped. There is simply no reason why someone would need an AK-47 to purchase milk, bread, or other basic necessities at a grocery store. However, the current Kroger policy allows for these demonstrations,” the senators said. “We write today to urge you to adopt a policy that would prohibit the open carry of firearms in your stores. In doing so, Kroger would be sending an important message about your commitment to the safety of your employees and customers.”
Still, Everytown and Moms Demand Action have yet to secure a meeting with the retailer's leadership team.
Shannon Watts noted recent incidents of gun crime in stores, including an armed robbery at a bank inside an Ohio Kroger by a man in a skeleton mask.
"Why is Kroger asking customers -- the vast majority of whom are women, and moms -- to handle their risk management for them?" Watts said. "How are we to determine the difference between an armed robber and a person carrying a gun to make a political statement?"
Watts added that she believes most gun owners are responsible, and wouldn't dream of openly carrying their weapons inside a supermarket.
"It's a vocal minority who make so much noise," she said. "They shouldn't be setting the political agenda -- or business policy. Kroger has every right to stop open carry on their own property."
She won't be deterred if Kroger's executives decide not to accept Everytown's petition next Wednesday.
"It took three months for Starbucks to change their policy," she said. "This is the largest supermarket chain in the country. We didn't expect this to happen overnight. But we're in it for the long run. We have the resources to keep going."
Kroger did not return a request for comment. |
Renewable energy technology has been split into two camps since it became a reality around the turn of the century.
On the one hand there are the passionate environmental believers for whom the inflated subsidies were an irrelevance in the face of saving our planet, and on the other were naysayers for whom the arguments about global warming were a plot by the far left to raise taxes or run some kind of tree-hugging environmental agenda at the expense of business and consumers.
Neither polarized position was fair, of course, and the quiet majority in the middle have watched the technologies become progressively more efficient and costs fall dramatically while the extremes of global warming horror stories have been discredited, but the hard science of gradually rising carbon levels has been widely accepted.
Who Cares Why The Temperature is Rising?
In the process, a wider acceptance has gained ground that global temperatures really are rising and whether it is part of a natural cycle or man-made is not a risk we can afford to take. Ultimately, action to reduce carbon emissions will be cheaper than many possible downside scenarios if left unchecked and most people would accept we are making a mess of our environment and really should behave more responsibly.
Meanwhile, politicians have been plowing our taxpayer money into supporting wind, solar and a number of other “renewable” technologies, with some degree of success. Costs for the major energy sources — solar and wind — have fallen, partly as a result of technology improvements and partly due to economies of scale, to the point now where private firms are signing up to invest in major wind projects for a tariff of just $100 per MegWatt/Hour (€90 per mw/h). Indeed, in Europe all the extra power capacity added since the mid ’90s has been renewable.
(Click to enlarge)
Source: Telegraph Newspaper
The biggest hurdle renewables now have to overcome is not the cost of production, but the curse of intermittency. Where does the power come from when the wind doesn’t blow or the sun doesn’t shine?
The Cost of Decommissioning
Up to now, that has required the maintenance (and, indeed, here in the U.K., the planned investment in) baseload power capacity. Sometimes this has meant extending the life of aging nuclear power plants and sometimes new gas-fired plants which have greater flexibility to be turned on and off but which have a carbon cost of their own. Related: Oil Prices Rally Into The Weekend On Flurry Of Bullish News
In the U.K., a fierce debate has been going on for several years about the replacement of aging nuclear power plants such as Hinckley Point in Somerset, England and Bradwell at the mouth of the River Blackwater in Essex at a huge capital cost. A capital cost that has risen dramatically at every reevaluation and which can only be supported by a massive guaranteed strike price of $120 per mw/h (£92.50 per mw/h) for 35 years.
Worse, that figure gets adjusted for inflation and is already looking more like $125.44 (£97) per mw/h, and rising. Whether recognition of the progress energy storage is making and the transformational impact a major breakthrough could have is influencing the British government’s announcement this month that it is undertaking a review of whether to go ahead or not on the nuclear projects is unclear, but it certainly raises questions as to why would you commit to such a high strike price for 35 years if the technology is likely to be totally uneconomic by the time it even starts generating electricity?
Energy Storage
Efficient and cost-effective energy storage could allow intermittent power sources such as renewables to play a baseload role in energy delivery. It has been the holy grail of renewable energy ever since the technology began to take off, but lack of cost-effective, efficient technology has held the whole sector back. The U.S. government is not alone in recognizing this, but it is leading the way in research and development to find solutions.
According to the Telegraph, the U.S. Department of Energy is funding 75 projects developing electricity storage, funding research at Harvard, MIT, Stanford, and the elite Lawrence Livermore and Oak Ridge national labs in a bid for achieve a breakthrough. Many of these projects can be tracked at the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy website (ARPA-E). There are plans for hydrogen bromide, zinc-air batteries, storage in molten glass, next-generation flywheels, to name but a few with many claiming “drastic improvements” that can slash storage costs by 80–90 percent. In reality, most will not see the light of day, but that is the nature of cutting edge hard science. You have to kiss many frogs before you find your prince.
The potential for industry is huge, a Mckinsey estimate claims that the energy storage market will grow a hundredfold to $90 billion a year by 2025 with as yet unforeseen potential for the metals industry, depending on which technologies prove to be the most successful. If electric vehicles finally begin to gain some sales traction maybe a low-carbon future really is attainable at acceptable cost.
By Stuart Burns via AgMetalMiner
More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: |
North Korea’s launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile earlier this week has sparked an alignment between Russia and China that could complicate U.S. efforts to curtail Pyongyang, former diplomats and Asia policy experts say.
In a coordinated response to the launch, Beijing and Moscow issued a joint statement on Tuesday calling for a mutual freeze on Pyongyang’s nuclear program and U.S.-South Korean military maneuvers in the region.
Chinese President Xi Jinping told Russian media that relations between the two countries were currently in their “best time in history” and that China and Russia were one another’s “most trustworthy strategic partners.”
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The proposal, and the strategic alignment between the two one-time rivals, raised some eyebrows amongst regional watchers. Russia has often backed China in U.N. Security Council negotiations, but during the Obama administration it was far less engaged on North Korea than China was. Xi's government, meanwhile, had appeared prepared to begin taking a more assertive stance on the reclusive nation.
The recalibration serves a common goal that regional experts say is central to both Russian and Chinese foreign policy — loosening American alliances around the globe.
Former diplomats are split over the significance of the sudden chumminess. Robert Gallucci, the chief U.S. negotiator during the North Korean nuclear crisis of 1994, called it “unsettling” but “not catastrophic in any way.” He characterized the surprise sync as two nations seizing an opportunity to undercut the U.S.-Japan-South Korea alliance — not a herald of a new era of coordinated policy against the United States.
But some regional policy experts fear that a united Sino-Russian front on North Korea could make it more difficult for the U.S. to rein in Pyongyang’s burgeoning nuclear program.
“The fact that Moscow and Beijing are using virtually identical language and are very united at this time I think will provide great comfort to Kim Jong Un,” said David Pressman, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations for political affairs who now works at the Boies Schiller Flexner law firm.
Regional experts across the board argue that China is a critical partner in applying the kind of pressure needed to rein in the rogue and increasingly dangerous state. If China, backed by Russia, decides to ease restrictions on North Korea, it could complicate efforts by the Trump administration to impose costs on the country for its nuclear program.
Without unity among the five major countries involved in dealing with North Korea — the U.S., China, Russia, South Korea and Japan — “North Korea is simply going to keep going,” said Danny Russel, who served as senior Asia director at the National Security Council under former President Obama.
“We know from experience that North Korea has successfully operated in the gaps between the U.S. and China/Russia,” Russel said.
But while Russel said there might be a “tightening of coordination” between Moscow and Beijing, he sees little to suggest “a new threshold of collaboration between socialist brothers.”
Adam Mount, a senior fellow at the liberal Center for American Progress, is more concerned by Tuesday’s coordinated message.
“I think we need to be aware of the possibility that China and Russia could take a step back from containing the regime and move towards increased diplomatic recognition, which could someday lead to their recognition of North Korea as a nuclear state,” Mount said.
“That would be in keeping with Russia's modus operandi, which is to support rogue regimes that complicate American influence throughout the world.”
Moscow and Beijing have a complicated history — the USSR and communist China skirted nuclear conflict over an undeclared border war in 1969 — and suspicions between the two nations have lingered since.
But a boosted economic relationship, concentrated in the energy and infrastructure sectors, drew the two nations closer together. Now, they are often aligned on issues of American involvement abroad. Both resent the U.S.'s actions in Syria and share an intense suspicion that the U.S. is attempting to foment color revolutions overseas to eliminate unwanted political leaders.
Both are strongly opposed to a controversial U.S. missile defense system, known as the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, that was deployed in South Korea this year.
Beijing worries the system’s powerful radars could be trained on China, though the United States insists THAAD is purely defensive and solely to address the threat of North Korea.
Russia has expressed similar concerns over the system, and in their joint statement Tuesday, the two countries expressed “strong opposition against the unilateral installation of anti-missile systems in Europe and Asia-Pacific by some specific countries at the expense of others’ security interests.”
The system has faced recent pushback within South Korea under newly elected President Moon Jae-in, and Mount suggests that Russia is using friction over THAAD as a wedge to divide the U.S.-Seoul alliance.
“Their main concern will be to raise the cost of doing business in the eastern Pacific and diminish American influence there,” he said.
Geography and trade also play a role: Both China and Russia share a land border with North Korea, which acts as a buffer between their countries and western-aligned South Korea. And while the U.S. wants to cut off North Korea financially from the rest of the world, Russia and especially China maintain an economic relationship with the North.
Russel and others advise one other note of caution when interpreting the joint nature of the statement. At the time of the missile launch, Xi was in Moscow, meeting with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.
“It’s virtually a given that there would be a joint statement, in that the test was conducted at the very moment that those two leaders were meeting each other in Moscow,” Russel said.
“It’s more a function of the serendipity that they were there together than it is indicative of some new stage in Sino-Russian cooperation.” |
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But here’s the good bit – more content than ever is now available without spending a cent and there are two reasons for that.
Firstly, if you’re an MSDN subscriber there’s 15 courses you can go and watch right now that are free with your subscription:
My obvious bias has lead me to highlight one in particular and I’m really pleased to see my Azure course being made available to so many people. This is a real practical “from the trenches” style course with a heap of knowledge from building and running Have I been pwned? now available to everyone in that course.
Secondly, Microsoft has just announced Visual Studio Dev Essentials and here’s the really awesome bit: if you sign up to that – and it’s free so so there’s nothing stopping you – you get all of Pluralsight’s library for free for six months! That’s massive!
Just to make sure I hadn’t misinterpreted things and you had to sign away your kids or something else nutty first, I went through and signed up myself and sure enough, yes, it is what it says it is. Right after signing up to Dev Essentials I was able to activate the Pluralsight subscription:
All I gave them was a name and an email address, not credit card details or other personal data, that is all. Literally within 5 minutes I had access to the entire course library for the next six months:
This is awesome value because, well, it’s free. In case you’re wondering, for me as an author I still get all the usual royalties so that’s nice and for the sake of full disclosure, yeah, I still get all the usual royalties!
So that’s it, a totally legitimate and totally free way to get Pluralsight content right now. Enjoy! |
One might wonder whether the suspected Russian cyberattacks during the U.S. election were serious enough to warrant all the calls for investigation — an argument that could be made were it not for all the other cases worrying Western governments.
Start with remarkably similar warnings of Moscow's interference and cyber-sabotage voiced by Germany, France, Britain, Poland and Sweden, along with much of NATO and even the security committee of the European Union.
To view the cyberattacks on Hillary Clinton's campaign, then, as a unique offence — as many Americans seem to do — is to miss the full picture.
Western Europe has been a far more consistent target of what some intelligence chiefs now see as "hybrid warfare" emanating from the Kremlin.
European spymasters have repeatedly expressed alarm over the years about a sharp rise in Russian espionage under Vladimir Putin. But what is far more worrisome are the attempts to destabilize Western governments through the same cocktail of political interference.
These attacks involve the hacking of parties and state agencies, fake news stories, financial support of far-right parties and relentless propaganda by Russian state networks and social media to stir up populist anger against establishment parties.
The CIA concluded with 'high confidence' that Russia sought to influence the U.S. election on Donald Trump's behalf. Russian officials, including Vladimir Putin, have denied all accusations. (Sergei Karpukhin/AFP/Getty Images)
Blunt warnings from German officials
In a detailed report released in April, the European Council on Foreign Relations bluntly warned that Moscow's different intelligence services "conduct active measures aimed at subverting and destabilizing European governments … and attacks on political enemies."
The goal appears to be to weaken politicians Moscow does not like in a bid to end sanctions, sow discord throughout NATO and the EU, to increase distrust of liberal democracies generally and to challenge U.S. influence on the continent.
The head of Germany's domestic intelligence service (BfV), Hans-Georg Maassen, insists Russia has been actively cyber-targeting German infrastructure and institutions for at least eight years and has "shown a willingness to carry out sabotage."
He has said that the Russian group that hacked the files of the U.S. Democrats was also responsible for stealing classified material from Germany's parliament in 2015.
Now that Russian interests are active in German politics, Maassen warns, the most serious threats are appearing.
"We see aggressive and increased cyber-spying and cyber-operations that could potentially endanger German government officials, members of parliament and employees of democratic parties," he said in a statement last week.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel will run for a fourth term in 2017. She has warned that Russia will likely try to interfere in her country's elections. (Markus Schreiber/Associated Press)
Maassen's counterpart, Bruno Kahl, the head of Germany's foreign intelligence (BND), agrees that Moscow could well use cyberattacks and other forms of interference "to elicit political uncertainty" in the Germany's federal election next year.
Russia has denied being involved in any cyberattacks in either Europe or the U.S.
But German Chancellor Angela Merkel, running for a fourth term next year, has complained several times of Russian smear and misinformation campaigns. She expects more next year.
Beyond cyberattacks
It's not all hacking. Russian state media and their friends in social media have kept up a barrage of anti-Merkel propaganda, which has only risen since she supported sanctions against the Kremlin. The attacks include fake news stories often highlighting right-wing political accusations that she has opened up Germany to a flood of migrants and terror attacks.
Last January, Merkel's government accused Russian state TV of trying to raise media hysteria inside Germany after it broadcast an apparently false report saying a 13-year-old girl was raped by Arab immigrants.
It sparked street demonstrations by the far right.
German police denied the attack ever happened, but Russia refused to apologize.
Supporters of the anti-immigrant PEGIDA movement demonstrate in Dresden, Germany in this October 2016 file photo. Russia has been accused of using state media to stir up populist anger against Europe's establishment parties. (Oliver Killig/AFP/Getty Images)
Fake news is now so widespread that German security services are offering regular briefings to expose falsehoods as they arise. And this past fall, alarmed EU leaders started meeting in an attempt to find solutions to Russian political meddling in so many member states.
Moscow is also believed to have funded right-wing groups in Germany and other nations.
Whether or not Russia sought to help Donald Trump win the U.S. election, the country has certainly showered attention and favours on Europe's rising populist parties.
France's National Front Leader Marine Le Pen, who regularly voices praise for Putin, allowed her party to take a nine-million-euro loan in 2014 from a Moscow bank said to be close to the Russian leader. She reportedly wants another 27 million to fight next year's election.
'Moscow is embracing it'
Putin can likely bask in more than just the praise of Le Pen and now Trump; he is a surprisingly popular figure among the continent's right-wing movements, which champion causes that are anti-EU and anti-immigrant. His macho style, no-nonsense criticism of liberal society and hard line on terrorism all play well with those against the status quo.
"It's clear Moscow is embracing it … and sees these populist parties as useful allies in pursuing its objectives in Europe, such as ending economic sanctions or undermining European support for Ukraine," Fredrik Wesslau, senior fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, recently told the Financial Times.
France's far-right National Front Leader Marine Le Pen borrowed nine million euros from a Moscow bank said to be close to Vladimir Putin in 2014. (Alessandro Garofalo/Reuters)
Russians often make the point that the U.S. is hypocritical as the country and its allies have often meddled in overseas politics. A sharp debating point — but one that does nothing to ease concern over Russian tactics, now all the more dangerous as new technology makes them so difficult to track and expose.
"Data and the internet have turned our business on its head," Alex Younger, head of the British intelligence agency MI6, warned last week.
Though Younger didn't mention the country by name, it was clear he was talking of the increasing range of cyberattacks directed by — or at least influenced by — Russia.
"The connectivity that is at the heart of globalization can be exploited by states with hostile intent to further their aims deniably," he said. "[The risks] represent a fundamental threat to our sovereignty. They should be a concern to all those who share democratic values."
Cynicism about intelligence services is widespread, of course. Intelligence is hard to get right at any time and, as Trump likes to point out, spies have been known to blunder in the past.
Still, it's hard to square such widespread concern across so many intelligence communities, many highly respected, with Trump's utterly dismissive air.
It's a deeply murky story — and one that the next president seems oddly content to leave that way. |
rulenumberone2/Flickr, Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Larry Ellison just increased his personal credit line to nearly $10 billion, according to documents filed with the SEC, as spotted by Bloomberg's Caleb Melby and Laura Marcinek.
That's like having a $10 billion credit card. With a "b."
Ellison pledged 250 million shares of Oracle's stock as collateral for his personal line of credit. Shares are trading at about $39 a share as of Friday, making that credit line worth about $9.7 billion. That compares to 215 million shares he pledged last year and 139 million in 2012, reports Bloomberg. Oracle's share price has grown since 2012, so he's not just trying to maintain a credit limit, he's increasing it.
And why not? As the fifth-richest man in the world, his own net worth has risen since 2012, too, from about $37 billion to more than $48 billion.
Ellison is not shy about spending his money. He collects mansions, yachts, aircraft, race cars, art. He bought most of the Hawaiian island of Lanai for a reported $300 million, and not just one, but two airlines to serve it. He could spend up to $100 million this year on his America's Cup sailing team alone.
The credit line represents only a fraction of his Oracle stake, too. He owns 1.16 billion shares of Oracle, about 26% of the company, according to forms filed to the SEC. The shares pledged as collateral are less than 20% of that.
So between Oracle, his vast real estate holdings, and his other business interests (NetSuite, for example), the banks know he's good for the $10 billion, even if they want collateral.
A bigger question is why borrow money when you're swimming in it? There are a couple of possibilities. First, interest rates are low and Oracle's stock has been on the rise. It could be cheaper for him to borrow money than to sell stock and lose out on that growth.
If he wants to buy something that costs a lot, a loan could be a faster way to get his hands on the money. As a major officer at Oracle, he has to be careful about how quickly he sells a lot of stock. He can't flood the market with shares.
Plus, most execs need to avoid accusations of insider trading. He learned that the hard way. In 2005, Ellison paid $100 million to charity to settle an insider trading lawsuit, Infoworld reported at the time. Today most execs schedule their trades in advance to avoid any perception of insider trading.
Third, he actually prefers to hold onto his Oracle stock. Although he's granted millions of shares every year in stock options, he rarely sells them, according to insider trading forms filed with the SEC.
So there's a lot of reasons for Ellison to keep a humongous credit line available.
But sometimes we still have to stop and marvel at how much money the world's richest people could spend in an instant, on a whim. |
Marsha Miller/UT Austin
The world’s most famous fossil is now open source. 3D scans of Lucy — a 3.18-million-year-old hominin found in Ethiopia — were released on 29 August, allowing anyone to examine her arm, shoulder and knee bones and even make their own 3D-printed copies.
The scans accompany a Nature paper that argues that Lucy, a human relative belonging to the species Australopithecus afarensis, died after falling from a tree (J. Kappelman et al. Nature http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature19332; 2016). The team behind the paper also made the scans available to the public and is eager for other researchers to test the hypothesis by printing out the bones.
“It’s one thing for me to describe it in detail in paper, but it’s another thing to hold these things, to be able to print them out, look at them and put them together,” says team leader John Kappelman, a palaeoanthropologist at the University of Texas at Austin.
His team received approval from the National Museum of Ethiopia and the country’s government to make the models of Lucy public. “My sense from the Ethiopians is that Lucy is not only their national treasure, but they see her as a treasure for humankind,” says Kappelman, who hopes that the country will soon release digital scans of the rest of Lucy and that other countries may follow suit with other hominin fossils.
“Coming from Ethiopia, it really is a positive step, because other countries that are hesitant may be willing to do the same thing,” says Louise Leakey, a palaeontologist at Stony Brook University in New York.
But Kappelman and others say that such a move could threaten cash-strapped museums — many of them in Africa — that rely on income generated from casts of their fossil collections to help them survive.
Lucy’s digital debut was eight years in the making. Her 40%-complete remains spent 10 days in Kappelman’s lab in August 2008 during a US tour. His team worked day and night to scan every one of several hundred bone fragments using a computed-tomography (CT) imager.
Close examination revealed unusual fractures: the end of her right humerus that connected to her shoulder had a series of clean breaks and compressions similar to those that orthopaedic surgeons often see in people who attempt to break a fall with an outstretched arm. Damage to Lucy’s pelvis, left shoulder and knee and right ankle was also consistent with a fall from a great height. Kappelman’s team estimates that Lucy fell from a tree taller than 10 metres and died from her injuries, reaching a speed of up to 60 kilometres per hour at impact.
Arboreal origins
It’s unclear how suited Lucy was to arboreal life. She walked upright, but she may have held onto adaptations that helped her ancestors cope with trees — although that idea is hotly debated. Kappelman’s team proposes that Lucy would have slept in trees to avoid predators, yet was not as adroit there as her more-ape-like ancestors. “Here’s the most famous fossil on the planet, the centre of the debate over arborealism in human evolution, and we think it’s most likely she died from a fall out of tree,” he says.
But Marc Meyer, a palaeoanthropologist at Chaffey College in Rancho Cucamonga, California, who recently examined Lucy in Addis Ababa, is sceptical. Chimpanzees tend to break their spines when they fall from trees, says Meyer, and “Lucy’s spine does not come close to the amount of damage we would expect to see in a fatal fall”.
“The days of keeping this content squirrelled away are gone.”
Lucy’s discoverers noticed her broken bones when they found her, but proposed that this had occurred after she died. Donald Johanson, the palaeoanthropologist at Arizona State University in Tempe who found Lucy in 1974, still stands by that interpretation. Broken bones such as Lucy’s are common in other nearby remains, he notes.
Kappelman is keen for others to test their theory. Digital models of portions of Lucy’s left knee and right shoulder and arm are available at eLucy.org.
But although printed bones and virtual models can be helpful, Meyer says there is no substitute for seeing a fossil in person. He found stark differences between Ardipithecus ramidus, a 4.4-million-year-old hominin also found in Ethiopia, and a physical cast that he studied, including several deformities not captured in the cast.
Digital downloads
Digital models of hominin fossils are rare, but a few are available. About 100 of the 1,500 remains ascribed to Homo naledi, uncovered in 2013 in a South African cave system, can be downloaded at MorphoSource.org, as can models of the 2-million-year-old Australopithecus sediba found by the same team in 2008.
AfricanFossils.org, which distributes digital models of hominin fossils for education and is headed by Leakey, contains numerous important specimens from Kenya. But the website’s models, although sufficient for 3D printing in many cases, are purposefully low in resolution, so as not to cut into income generated from making physical replicas.
Kappelman would like to see such revenue streams maintained, for instance by making lower-quality models free while charging researchers for good digital reproductions. “What has to be done is to put together a good business model that allows these museums to be able to have some sort of revenue stream off of these data,” he says.
Leakey, however, thinks that charging researchers will further limit access. She also points out that digital models can easily be pirated. “The days of keeping this content squirrelled away are gone,” she says. “Once you make a 3D model available, to control it is impossible.” |
Description Technical Specs In Stock & Shipping!!!
Check out the all new GoG Envy paintball gun! This is one of the latest releases in the 2011 GoG paintball gun lineup. The all new GOG Envy is built off of a tried and true platform with great upgrade-ability. Get the Envy if you want something reliable, affordable and effective.
The GoG eNVy paintball gun has been designed for the entry level and field rental players. Built using the latest technology, the GoG Envy will hold its own with even the best guns in paintball.
Out of the box, the GoG Envy paintball gun can shoot up to 11 balls per second. You can easily upgrade your board and install a QEV which can have the GoG Envy shooting up to 25 balls per second.
The standard board included with the GoG Envy paintball gun has adjustable modes which include semi auto, fully auto, 3 shot burst, PSP and BillyBall!
A standard 9-Volt battery is the heart behind the GoG Envy paintball gun. With just one fresh battery you should expect to get at least 20,000 shots.
Compatible with either HPA or CO2, the Envy is guaranteed to perform for any level paintball player. The gun comes stock with a Max-Flow R vertical regulator which controls the pressure going into the gun and will give you consistent readings over the chronograph.
The Gog Envy paintball gun comes with a two point adjustable trigger which allows you to adjust the length and feel of your trigger pull. This is one of the features that make this gun great for anyone.
Maintenance has never been easier than the Bolt Out Back design that is built into the GoG Envy gun. Now you can have your gun taken apart in a matter of minutes instead of hours.
All Smart Parts threaded barrels (Ion, Impulse, NXT Shocker) are compatible with the GoG Envy Paintball gun. Marker Type Electronic
Caliber 68
Operation Spool Valve
Operating Pressure 200 psi
Co2 or HPA Either
Eyes? No
Hose-less? No
Tool-less Bolt? No
Barrel Thread Ion
Barrel Length 10 in.
Barrel Bore Size .693
Feed Neck Thread Ion
Weight 2 lbs 1 oz
Marker Length 16.5 in.
BPS 15+
Envy gun owners manual: View Here
Features
11 bps (upgradable to 25+ with QEV and board )
Hammer free Electro-pneumatic Design
(Semi auto, fully auto and 3 shot burst also PSP & BillyBall modes as standard !! )
Simple 9-Volt Operation
Mulit-Gas Operation
Light Microswitch Trigger
2 Point Adjustable Trigger
Simple Maintenance with bolt out back design
Low Bolt Pressure Anti-Chop technology
Field Legal
Seal Forward Technology
Max-Flo R Vertical Regulator
Vertical Feed Breech & Clamping Feedneck
Standard Smart Parts Barrel Thread
Product Accessories GOG eNVy/G1/eXTCy/Vibe/SP1 360 QEV GOG eNVy/G1 Screw Kit Our Price: $24.95
Add Our Price: $5.00
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Average Review: 4.5 of 5 Total Reviews: 6 Write a review. |
In a blog post for the Times of Israel entitled "Does this war make me look fat?" author Rachel Weinstein describes how "war is bad for the waistline".
See related Gaza conflict: the social media front line
The American-Israeli author says she has gained weight during the conflict, which has killed almost 1,800 Palestinians, because the "war is stressful".
Weinstein, who lives in Beit Shemesh, an area largely unaffected by the current fighting, says she has been eating more during the conflict in order to "satiate the worry, the fear, and the reality that we are in".
She admits that her argument "sounds ridiculous" but says it is one affecting many of her friends in Israel. She also claimed that she was "unabashedly jealous" of people who could not eat during times of stress and were able to lose weight.
"I look forward to the day when this war is over, when missiles are no longer aimed at us", she writes, when she can look back and say "They tried to kill us, we won, LET'S EAT!"
The blog has caused outrage across social media, with users calling the article "insensitive", "shameful" and "disgusting".
While 1,800 Palestinians have died, one Israeli frets that the war is making her fat because she's comfort eating.
http://t.co/cDBP8Sk0ji — Michael Theodoulou (@MichaelTheodoul) August 4, 2014
A US American colonist in Palestine wrote an essay about how hard it is not to binge eat while her country bombs Gaza http://t.co/GZcJYdYNe1 — folksy torture (@onekade) August 4, 2014
Disgustingly self-absorbed commentary from Israeli writer: Does this war make me look fat? http://t.co/wvTs6dJWTy via @timesofisrael — Órfhlaith Ní C (@OrfhlaithNiC) August 4, 2014
It is the second time in less than a week that the Times of Israel has faced criticism of one of its blogs. Last week, a post with the headline "When genocide is permissible" caused outrage on social media.
"What other way then is there to deal with an enemy of this nature other than obliterate them completely?" Israeli blogger Yochanan Gordon wrote on the paper's website.
A tip: If you ever write anything on any topic, and the headline is "When Genocide is Permissable," STOP WRITING https://t.co/ykOkcMezwb — Stephen Silver (@StephenSilver) August 1, 2014
The Times of Israel quickly removed the blog post, describing it as "unacceptable" and saying editors were "angry and appalled" at the author. |
Once upon a time there was a little girl who lived in a village far from the big city. The village was nestled in a beautiful, sunlit valley surrounded by a tall snow-capped mountain range.
As the little girl grew older, she began to hike in the foothills at the base of the mountains, and when she became a teenager, she asked her parents if she could hike over the mountains to the village on the other side to visit her grandparents.
At first, her parents were very upset and worried, and they told her that she could not go. But the little girl pleaded and begged and argued that someday she would be a young woman, and that she would have to grow up sometime. After several months of debate, her parents finally agreed to let her go.
Her father and mother taught her all that they knew about hiking and camping and surviving alone in the woods. They made her a backpack out of sturdy canvas, helped her pack, and then they all knelt down and prayed that she might have a safe journey. The next day she began her trek over the mountains.
Her first night alone was scary, but she managed to build a good fire, ate some of the sausage and cheese that her father had packed for her, and then fell asleep, covered by the soft quilts that her mother had made for her. The howling of the wolves frightened her a little, but she kept her fire burning brightly most of the night, which made her feel safer.
The next day she awoke with the sun, ate her biscuits and jam while sunning herself on a big granite rock, then began hiking up the mountains. Late in the afternoon as the sun slipped behind the tops of the mountains, she reached a fork in the path. She did not know which way to go. Perplexed, she sat down and prayed for wisdom.
A few moments later she heard terrible frightening noises coming from the direction of both paths. Her heart raced and her palms sweated. Suddenly, from both paths, two monsters appeared. They were growling, gurgling, grumbling and snorting. The little girl grabbed her backpack and began to run down the hill, back toward her village, and then something inside of her told her to stop.
“Other people have hiked over these mountains and returned to tell about it,” she thought to herself. “Maybe I’d better go back and see what this is all about.”
The little girl stopped and turned around. The monsters had stopped right at the fork in the road, and something told her that they were trying to communicate with her. Slowly and carefully she walked back toward the monsters.
As she got closer, the monster guarding the path on the left said, “Take this path, it is much safer, and much quicker. Take this path and you’ll see your grandparents tomorrow night”
At that very moment, the monster guarding the path on the right began to screech and howl a horrible blood-curdling howl. Fire belched from its mouth; smoke poured from its nose. The little girl was terribly frightened!
She bolted toward the monster on the left! As she got closer, she noticed that the monster on the left was not as ugly as the one on the right; and it was definitely not as scary. The closer she came to the one on the left, the louder the one on the right howled. She was so confused that she did not know what to do.
The monster on the left spoke in a soft voice, “Trust me. I am not as ugly as that other monster, and I do not make those disgusting noises.” With that, the monster on the right screamed and gurgled and snorted and puffed even more. She began to take the path to the left, fearful even more that if she did not hurry, the other monster would chase after her and tear her to shreds.
A few hundred yards down the left path she looked back to see if the other monster was chasing her. It was still standing at the fork in the path, and it was screaming and howling more and more. But it was not chasing her, and then she stopped. The monster on the left path was walking a few steps ahead of her, and it just smiled at her, somewhat condescendingly, as if to say, “Don’t be a fool.”
And then something inside of her told her to go back and take the right path. The closer she came to the fork in the road, the faster she ran, until only seconds later, she was running down the right path and up into the mountains. She didn’t know why she had made this choice, but she just kept going. As the last bit of twilight drifted into the blackness of night, she looked down the mountainside from whence she had come, she could see the fork in the path, and she could see the path she had taken as well as the one that she almost took.
Then she heard a thundering, rumbling, smashing, crashing, crushing sound that came from the left side of the mountain. Straining to see in the near darkness, she saw a huge section of the mountain break loose and hurtle toward the left path below. Tons of rock and earth obliterated the left path at precisely the time that she would have been there, had she gone that way. She fell to the ground and cried, releasing all the anxiety and tension of the past few hours.
Then, just a few feet in front of her appeared the ugly monster who had been guarding the right path. She looked up and gazed into its eyes. It was not howling and grumbling at all. Its eyes seemed peaceful and deep. Its face had softened into a compassionate gaze. Without knowing why, the little girl jumped up and kissed the monster on the nose! The monster blushed, and smiled.
“My name is Fear,” said the monster, “and that other one’s name is Destruction. If you run away from me without listening to what I have to say, you might end up avoiding something that is important for you. But if you listen to me just right, and learn to make friends with me, then you will have Wisdom. As for the monster guarding the left path, no matter how attractive it seems on the surface, nothing good ever comes from Destruction.”
The little girl completed her journey. After visiting her grandparents, safely home in her own village, her parents noticed something very different about her. She was a young woman now, who had learned to make friends with her Fear, instead of being paralyzed or destroyed by it.
I don’t know who the author is and a Google search wasn’t helpful. Hope you enjoyed it. |
Larry Fink, CEO of the investment management company BlackRock, hammered bitcoin on Friday.
“Bitcoin just shows you how much demand for money laundering there is in the world,” Fink said at the Institute of International Finance on Friday. “It’s an index of money laundering. That’s all it is.”
Fink joins JPMorgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon in his disdain for the cryptocurrency. Dimon, who had previously compared bitcoin’s rise to the tulip boom and subsequent crash in the 17th century, took shots at bitcoin again on Friday.
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"If you're stupid enough to buy it, you'll pay the price for it one day," Dimon said.
Dimon had previously said that any J.P. Morgan trader caught trading bitcoins would be “fired in a second.”
The digital currency hit its all-time high of $5,856 per coin Thursday and is currently valued at around $5,400 a coin. Its value has increased by over 450 percent in the past year.
Others in the finance community on Wall Street and Silicon Valley disagree with Dimon and Fink's assessments. Legendary investor Bill Miller and Josh Brown, CEO of Ritholtz Wealth Management, say they own bitcoin.
Silicon Valley venture capital gatekeeper Marc Andreessen is also bullish on the currency, saying that he believes it will one day be seen in the same way as the internet. |
The title of the article at the New York Post is fairly provacative to be sure. “Obama campaign accepted foreign web donation – and may be hiding more.” But this looks like one of those stories that may be less – and yet more – than it appears on the surface. First, to the details.
The Obama re-election campaign has accepted at least one foreign donation in violation of the law — and does nothing to check on the provenance of millions of dollars in other contributions, a watchdog group alleges. Chris Walker, a British citizen who lives outside London, told The Post he was able to make two $5 donations to President Obama’s campaign this month through its Web site while a similar attempt to give Mitt Romney cash was rejected. It is illegal to knowingly solicit or accept money from foreign citizens.
Well, that certainly sounds pretty bad, doesn’t it? Obama taking donations from England? But if you read on there’s a bit more to this specific donation.
Walker said he used his actual street address in England but entered Arkansas as his state with the Schenectady, NY, ZIP code of 12345. “When I did Romney’s, the payment got rejected on the grounds that the address on the card did not match the address that I entered,” he said. “Romney’s Web site wanted the code from the back of card. Barack Obama’s didn’t.”
So in this case, it turns out that Mr. Walker was intentionally entering distorted information with his donation, mixing an American looking address with an American (not matching) zip code, though the payment was coming from Europe. He was apparently doing it as a “test”of both campaigns – a test which Romney passed – but that’s hardly the same as accepting European donations with open arms. But what it does do is call to light an equally serious problem with the Obama campaign’s system of processing payments. It’s an important distinction which any professional campaign should have been able to sew up and avoid running afoul of the law. The Daily Caller explains.
The upcoming GAI report suggests the Obama campaign is allowing fraudulent donations to be accepted because the president isn’t employing proper safeguards against fraudulent donations. GAI leaves open the possibility that the Obama campaign “may have experienced data-collection problems,” but argued “given the Obama campaign’s technological sophistication, the fact that the campaign consistently reports higher amounts of erroneous data month-to-month casts doubt on that explanation.” “A robust anti-fraud address verification system (AVS) would require an accurate zip code to process a credit card transaction,” the report reads. “The presence of large sums of donations without such basic address information suggests that some campaigns are using looser security settings than others.” GAI said an AVS system “compares the numerical portion of the address a donor enters to the numerical information on file with the credit card company for the card.” “For example, most pay-at-the-pump gas stations require customers to enter their zip code,” GAI added. “Enter the wrong zip code or none at all, the transaction is denied.” GAI said that when a political campaign uses such an AVS system, it’s “invisible to outsiders.”
So it’s easy to lose sight of the story if you’re only looking to see if Team Obama is intentionally soliciting illegal donations from outside of the country. (And some of the President’s defenders are doing just that.) But given the fact that questions have already come up regarding the President’s team’s handling of such contributions, it’s completely valid to ask why this hasn’t been fixed by now. And perhaps more to the point, it’s not as if Obama has been hurting for small donors this year. Why wouldn’t you take the time to make sure you’re following the rules? An extra $200 bucks can not be worth the problems which will come from an illegal campaign contribution scandal. |
The Northwest Territories' information and privacy commissioner says First Nations governments need to be held more accountable.
Elaine Keenan Bengts presented her annual report at the Legislative Assembly on Friday.
The report recommends that First Nations governments be subject to the same privacy and access-to-information rules as the territorial and federal governments.
Keenan Bengts says access-to-information laws help keep governments honest and First Nations governments are no different.
"As governments, they have control of the public purse, of the public interest. They're elected officials, just like our government and they should be responsible to their electorate."
The recommendation, one of many included in the report, came out of a request for a copy of the Barren Ground Caribou Harvesting Interim Agreement between the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Yellowknives Dene First Nation.
YDFN objected strongly to disclosure of any part of the agreement, worried it would create controversy in the community.
ENR also refused to disclose the document. The department was worried that disclosing the agreement would damage the relationship between ENR and YDFN.
Keenan Bengts says as long as First Nations governments are a democratic government within Canada, they will most likely have to provide access to their records in the future.
However she acknowledges it’s not something the Northwest Territories government has control over. |
I wrote this in a facebook forum where people discuss the implications of science on their religious faith. Naturally, the topic of Genesis comes up frequently, because a literal reading of Genesis seems to contradict so much of what we know about the universe through science. Christianity does have a long tradition of not reading every line of scripture as factual, scientific, or historical. But some modern faith traditions insist that all scripture must be read literally as if it were scientific and historically without error.
The question that inspired my facebook comment was as follows:
“WHAT lead you to believe in this alternative beginning to Genesis and WHERE/WHEN does the Bible start to be the true and authoritative word of God (ie factual, where God says “this is what happened” He means EXACTLY that)? (e.g. chapter_?_Gen/Exodus etc. *I’m just looking for beliefs*”
In the different faith traditions I have been involved with throughout my life, where the Bible starts to be “factual” and one starts to ask if “this is what happened”, is precisely where the Bible becomes untrue and loses its authority.
Approaching the Bible, especially Genesis, as a history or science text is a very modern notion. In these modern times, we expect truth to come in a lab coat with a clipboard with graphs and statistics on it. Whereas, in ancient times, when the grey haired wise elder started to impart wisdom he signaled the importance of it with their equivalent to “once upon a time.”
Throughout history, profound wisdom was seen to be timeless and placeless. It transcended the actual events at any given moment, precisely because it was timeless and placeless. To reduce profound wisdom to any kind of factual story would have been seen to be only communicating part of that wisdom. So many different stories were used to convey it over time. Think of this kind of wisdom as being too profound, too ineffable, to be conveyed linearly like a shopping list, or set of instructions.
A good example would be you trying to truly understand deep into your soul all aspects of human love. There is everything from romantic love, love of children, love of parents, love of country, aching unrequited love, a love that drives one to sacrifice one’s life for others. There is love that can heal and love that can destroy you. And love that can heal the object of that love or destroy the object of that love.
Then consider where you might go to learn about this profound aspect of the human condition. Would you turn to history books or scientists? Or would you turn to the great works of literature, poetry, art, music, and so on. What would the historian or scientist have to offer about love? They both would tell you factual things about love that would be very accurate.
The scientist would talk about the physiological affects of different mental states of some kinds of love. The histoiran would tell you about things that happened in the past that were driven by different kinds of love. All of these factoids would be the kinds of truth that are highly verifiable, but would not really give you the Truth you are looking for.
You would get far more real profound truth about love by reading something like Anna Karenina or some other great work of literature that is meant to transmit wisdom about love. The reason why a work of fiction like Anna Karenina would tell you more about love is because love, like many other aspects of the human condition are timeless and placeless truths. They are inner truths that are woven into our souls in a way that transcends place, time, and events. With some cultural varations, to be sure, our experience of love is the same whether it is taking place in 1st century village in the middle east or in the most modern 21st century urban setting.
And whats more, our own understanding of our own response and feelings about all these aspects of love is obscure, partial, and fleeting. It takes us a lifetime to even understand ourselves when it comes to love. Trying to distill this into wisdom and convey it to others takes 10 lifetimes of accumulated wisdom that cannot be crystallized into a mere series of events or a bulleted list of facts. So when someone is imparting wisdom to us about love, they are attempting to speak the unspeakable (in the sense that it just doesn’t fit into words very well).
So rather than science facts, they have to paint pictures, or create parables, or hypothetical situations that bring out dramatic aspects of love in ways that leave us with strong impressions, vivid imagery and so forth. What they have to do is make us feel what it feels like to be tangled up in a certain kind of love, perhaps the kind where one is driven to sacrifice one’s live for love of another. They have to give us an entire experience in the place of one we have not yet or may never experience for ourselves in our own life. They have to leave us yearning, panting, soaring, in deep agony, or deep joy.
You read a book like Anna Karenina, for example, and those characters and those situations will be like parables such that they will live in your conciousness for your whole life, and as you mature and have different experiences, you will see those same scenes and reexperience those parabolic experiences form different angles with different lighting, and so on. They will grow, thrive, and live entire lives inside your life and continue to turn out more wisdom about love as you come to learn your own internal language about love.
Now imagine reading that book in Tolstoy’s time and running into him in Moscow some snowy evening. You tell him about reading his book and he starts searching your face and listening to your words to see if he managed to convey to you the profundity of his feelings about love to you. He wants to know if his novel truly was able to speak the unspeakable, voice the unvoiceable about love. He wants to know if he managed to transmit directly from his soul to yours that which is ineffable when put into mere words. He holds his breath waiting for your first words about how it moved you and you ask, “Hey, did that really happen?” At which Tolstoy invents the first facepalm.
I chose the subject of love for two reasons. It is a subject that does not lend itself to facts, events, and literal truths. But the most important reason is that the Bible is a love story. And until we see the Bible as a love story, with all the complexity, facets, and visceral soul crushing, healing, terrifying, life giving aspects of love, it is just a collection of silly stories about talking snakes.
The Bible is a story about a love triangle between God, Man, and God’s Creation. The core of it is not creation, but the Resurrection, which is an event that is so profound and dense with meaning that it is like neutron star material, where one baseball sized piece of it weighs as much as a star.
This is a story about a God who creates a universe with creatures in that he loves so much that by chapter 3 it breaks his heart. It is a story about how omnipotence, and godlike love seem to come together to produce a universe that would have no meaning unless it is somehow broken. Where each loving gift that God imparts on its creatures comes with a paradoxical aspect where misery and suffering is possible and inevitable, but somehow inescapable if that gift is realized.
It is presented to us as a conundrum where God cannot create a creation that is separate and “not God” but contains something meaningful without it having consequences in misery and suffering. But a God who loves so much that he does it anyway knowing full well that it will break his heart by chapter 3.
And out of that love, he temporarily abdicates his omnipotence, enters his own creation as a helpless infant creature born in a pig trough to an ignorant unwed mother in the middle of nowhere. He gives himself over to that which he created out of love, submitting himself to the same capacity for suffering that came along with it. In the process he experiences the pain, the love, the anguish, the drama, the mortality, and every visceral aspect of mortal life within his own creation.
He stands on a mountain knowing the Godlike power contained within him. But at the same time, he seems to be locked into some cosmic equation where he cannot use that power right away to make misery and suffering vanish. All he can do is impart to the creatures around him his unfailing and unconditional love. He does a few parlor tricks (compared to creating the universe) to get their attention. He obviously wants to heal everything but the situation forces him to heal locally and sporadically as if anything else would destroy that which he created out of love.
So he heals a blind man but not all blindness. He heals a leper but not all leprosy. And after enigmatically arriving too late to save his good friend Lazarus from death, he can only stand in front of Mary feeling the same pain that she feels, but amplified through his godlike love, and tortured by whatever conditions cause him to have to abstain from fixing it all right away. So God answers Mary’s tears with his own.
And then his love caused him to have to submit to the local authorities overseen by a proud Roman governor of a client state who wonders why he was assigned to this backwater. He allows himself to be brought to accounts by the petty politics and senseless jealousies of a local church council. And he lets them nail him to a tree to die a wholly mortal death in such a way that one organ at a time shuts down systematically in abject pain. And when he finally accomplishes what he means to accomplish, it is in a “kingdom that is not of this world”. (John 18:36)
The message of love to you is that “I am the God who created the entire universe. I understand your suffering, because I submitted to it as well. I promise you I will fix this broken world, but for reasons you wont’ understand, that won’t happen right away. In the meantime, though, sit under this now empty cross and realize that I would give my life over and over again in place of the suffering of each and every one of you. All you need to do is trust in that promise.” In dying, Christ binds our suffering, and our mortality to his suffering and his mortality. And through his resurrection, Christ binds this all to his divinity.
This is why in my faith tradition, we are taught that the proper vantage point for reading scripture is at the foot of the now empty cross, not on the newly minted shores of creation. We are taught that the Word of God is Jesus, the Living Word of God. And that the Bible is relevant only in that it proclaims the grace of the God known to us through Christ Risen. When we meet a new line of scripture that we don’t understand, our question is “what does this have to do with The Resurrection?”, not “did this really happen?”
And when you ask that question, you step outside of time, facts, events and any concern about the size and weight of talking snakes. You step into a domain where facts are useless and only get in the way of trying to understand the impossible contradiction of an all loving, all powerful God who when creating a world with creatures that he loves, it has to be accompanied with the potential for misery and suffering.
God wants you to find these truths and authority in the Bible. Like Tolstoy he is searching your face and your soul in anguish hoping that he has managed to impart something from his soul to yours to ease your suffering and show his unwavering love. Don’t look back into the face of God and ask, “Did that really happen?” You are liable to get a cosmic facepalm for an answer.
So in regard to what I wrote in the comments above, my short answer is, yes, every word of Genesis is inspired and authoritative on the subjects of faith, salvation, and God’s unconditional love. And that goes for the rest of the Bible. But the Bible is not without error, especially in regard to the natural world. But an attempt to read every line as literally true makes as much sense as reading all fiction and non-fiction as literally true.
In some cases it is the right thing to do, such as where the Gospels are assumed to be somewhat journalistic in their accounts of the life of Jesus. But even at that, the definition of journalism and “account” at the time of their authorship is much different than our view of it in modern times. So to force a modern standard of journalism on the Gospels is just what it sounds. It is forcing a worldly modern (and somewhat recent) version for journalism on an ancient text.
When you read the Gospels, it is obvious that each author had a different agenda, a different background and was speaking to a different audience. And probably the strongest of those subjective aspects was their separate agendas. To ignore those agendas is to ignore some more cosmic truth that comes from discerning why those particular four Gospels ended up canonized. We must assume that the canon was also God inspired regardless of the obviously messy political agendas of those who did the canonizing.
So we deny the truth when we ignore that messy process because there is truth in that as well. And we deny the truth contained in those different agendas of the Gospels when we pretend that there are no differences or contradictions in them. What we are doing is forcing them to fit into a modern, narrow, standard for journalism when in fact the Gospels are part reporting and part commentary.
Also, Genesis loses a lot of its meaning when we ignore or deny the fact that the creation story contained in it seems to be ripped off of more ancient creation stories from the civilizations around the authors of Genesis. And given that this part of the world was a bustling commercial and cultural crossroads of all those civilizations, one has to realize that everyone who sat around a desert campfire listening to the Genesis creation story was hearing it in that context. Since at that time almost everyone was illiterate, Genesis is mostly oral tradition as are all the other creation stories from the surrounding cultures.
And knowing what we do from the Bible about hospitality, we know that the groups around those desert campfires contained travelers from all the surrounding civilizations at one point or another. And since local gossip is uninteresting to travelers, what is being talked about is commonality and differences in cultures as conveyed by their national or tribal stories.
Without that context, for example, we miss the meaning of something like this:
“God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. ” – Genesis 1:16.
The lack of drama in this passage is important theologically when read in context to the other similar creation stories. Where the other polytheistic religions see natural objects like the sun and moon as part of their pantheon of demi-gods, or that these things in the universe are operated by demi-gods like some kind of roadie crew. And where these gods are fighting squabbling, and acting like they are in some cosmic soap opera populated by slightly bigger humans, Genesis places a stake in the ground and says, “NO!”
I can just imagine some of those stories being told around a campfilre in the postprandial haze of a good meal. When the foreigner is done with his very entertaining story of how this god fought with that god, the night gets quiet as everyone is contemplating that. And the Israelite simply and quietly says, “NO.” And the conversation stops as they here him quietly pray in his own language, “Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech Ha-Olam”(Blessed are You, Adonai, our God, Ruler of the universe.) And he proceeds to tell about the one true God in very non-anthropomorphic terms. This is not a God here to entertain us with drama. This is single all powerful God who simply speaks creation into existence. He tells them your sun-god is nothing more that a light that God sticks in the sky ini passing, placed there for its utility. And that moon over there? Created with just a word. “MOON” and the one true God simply sticks it in place on the dome of the firmament for its utility.
In this one simple line of scripture all the demi-gods in the surrounding theologies are reduced to “utility lights”. The implication here is that your moon god is not a god at all but just a nightlight so we can find our way to the latrine at night. Genesis is a both a polemic (a complaint against some other theologies) and a grand statement of a new theology.
So it goes on like this. The more we understand the context, the history, the messy human aspect of how the Bible was written and who wrote it and where, the more we can pull out the profound wisdom that is being transmitted to us. But the more we see it as an account that was dictated verbatim to Moses as a science and history text, the more we reduce it to a vacuous collection of things to memorize or something.
In my faith tradition, the Fall is hugely important theologically. It does help us understand why Jesus’ death and Resurrection was essential, but not in the way that you might think. The Fall and the Resurrection are still the cosmic bookends, but man’s culpability in bringing sin into the world is not considered an event so much as a statement of the unperfectable human condition and man’s relationship with God because of that.
Seeing The Fall as a description of the human condition (and this is a separate topic of its own, I think) it does not rely on the event itself actually occurring. A literal and historic Adam and Eve only get in the way of the profundity of what is being transmitted to us in the form of an allegorical Adam and Eve
One more thing that is important is that what I have been saying is not my peculiar version of Christianity. The things I have been saying would find themselves at home in the sermon of most of the mainstream denominations that represent about 90% of the Christian world. I say this not to intimidate but just to point out (to quote and mangle Shakespeare), that there are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your theology.
What I mean to say is that there are about 1.8 billion Christians worldwide, just like you and me, who range from casual church attenders to monks and nuns and people who have given their life to devout and faithful service to God who subscribe to rich, deep, and long standing theologies that do not insist on a literal interpretation of Genesis. And they are as sincere, faithful, and as truth seeking as you and I.
So I invite you to come and question those of us who are here, and also those who are accessible in other faith communities near where you can investigate how they view Genesis in a way that might be different than yours. Or what they consider as true vs what they consider as factual.
I will leave you with this Native American phrase that they sometimes use when they tell their wisdom stories. “I don’t know if this happened or not, but I do know it is true.”
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Category: Creations inspired by Creation, God's Word and the Natural World, Human Origins, Theistic Evolution |
Every other newspaper, news network or internet news source chooses to ignore it (which seems unlikely, especially in the internet area of 24-hour news and instant information) or
Other news sources view an informal chat with a presidential advisor as NOT being indicative of the Commander-in-Chief's decision.
I don't think I am revealing anything shocking when I say that Huffington Post has an agenda, to promote "progressivism" as they see it by making our President look BAD. They have done it before, and they'll do it again. Spreading rumors to anger his liberal base. The sad thing is, we here at Daily Kos fall for it. The giant headlines must scare us somehow!
I wish my fellow Kossacks would quit falling for this Huffington Post Crap!
Update: I want to make it clear I am NOT advocating that Huffington Post hide away and not report about its interview with David Axelrod. But when they take an informal, off the cuff interview with a presidential advisor and turn it into gigantic headlines claiming that Obama had reached some kind of decision and "folded" on tax cuts (when the actual interview says no such thing), Huffington Post is engaging in its own form of tabloid journalism, exaggerating what was actually said and turning it into the President's decision, when it is no such thing!
Thanks to all for the recommended diary. I accidentally typed this on my wife's account. So my wife gets a
recommended diary while she sleeps! |
An Argentine judge on Thursday threw out a case against President Cristina Fernandez, in which it was claimed she conspired to spare Iranian officials from prosecution over the 1994 bombing of a Jewish center in Buenos Aires.
Prosecutors had attempted to relaunch the case against Fernandez following the mysterious death of their colleague Alberto Nisman. Nisman had been pursuing the case himself before he was found shot dead in his apartment on January 18.
Nisman was due to testify the next day in a closed-door hearing with Congress over his claim.
Fernandez has described the accusations as "absurd." She said she is convinced Nisman's death was a killing carried out by disgruntled former intelligence agents, as part of a plot to discredit her and destabilize the government.
Following Nisman's death, Fernandez dissolved the country's intelligence service and announced plans to create a new agency. Argentina's Congress approved the law early on Wednesday evening, local time.
Nisman, 51, was appointed 10 years ago by late Argentinian President Nestor Kirchner to investigate the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in the capital that killed 85 people.
In the week before his death, Nisman accused President Fernandez, Kirchner's widow, of back-channel deals with Iran so as to avoid investigating the attack. The legal suit he filed accused Fernandez of working to absolve the Iranian officials accused of orchestrating the attack.
But on Thursday Judge Daniel Rafecas said the documents Nisman filed failed to meet standards needed to open a formal court investigation.
Iran has denied involvement in the 1994 attack.
The case has unsettled Fernandez's government. A week ago, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of Buenos Aires in a silent march to demand justice.
Nisman's former wife, Judge Sandra Arroyo Salgado, has called for the case to be referred to an international commission, saying it had become too politicized domestically.
jr/msh (AFP, AP, Reuters) |
A Xiaomi official has revealed the company’s plans as regards rolling out Android 7.0 Nougat upgrades to its smartphones. If indeed the company starts upgrading to Android 7.0, it won’t be coming late to the party as the latest Google OS are mostly available on recently launched flagships. Companies like Huawei and Lenovo had already started rolling out Android N to some of their smartphones anyway.
The Lenovo ZUK series seems to be the fastest in terms of pace to get the Android N upgrade. Huawei also launched the Android N on its latest Mate 9 and a good number of its models are already testing the Beta version. The Xiaomi Mi 5 was reported to have gotten an Android 7.0 Beta ROM based on MIUI 8.
Read More: Xiaomi Mi 5 Android 7 Developer ROM Enters Open Beta
According to Xiaomi’s MIUI Operations manager, the Xiaomi 4C, Xiaomi 4S and Xiaomi Note will see the upgrade soon. The oficial didn’t reveal the fate of the Redmi series phones concerning the upgrades but we hope the upgrade will hit other Xiaomi phones like the Mi 5S, Mi Note 2, Mi Mix and others soon as well. |
The developer of upcoming sci-fi adventure Remember Me has revealed that a number of publishers passed on the game due to its female protagonist.
The gender of Remember Me's main character, Nilin, was a serious stumbling block for several companies. Especially the fact that she, as the player's avatar, is shown to be in a relationship with a man.
"We had some [companies] that said, 'Well, we don't want to publish it because that's not going to succeed. You can't have a female character in games. It has to be a male character, simple as that,'" creative director Jean-Maxime Moris told Penny Arcade.
"We wanted to be able to tease on Nilin's private life, and that means for instance, at one point, we wanted a scene where she was kissing a guy. We had people tell us, 'You can't make a dude like the player kiss another dude in the game, that's going to feel awkward.'"
Capcom announced it had picked up Remember Me at Gamescom last year. The project had existed for some time, and was previously shown under the name Adrift.
By the time Remember Me was shown to publishers it was already in a state where changing the character's gender would require too much work. And it was at this point that several publishers decided they were no longer interested.
"I'm like, 'If you think like that, there's no way the medium's going to mature," Moris continued. "There's a level of immersion that you need to be at, but it's not like your sexual orientation is being questioned by playing a game. I don't know, that's extremely weird to me."
From the publisher's point of view, there is a strong case for female-fronted games selling worse. And for them, the bottom line is crucial.
Looking back at an earlier PA Report, data from video game research and consulting firm EEDAR showed that, from a sample of 669 current-gen games which had protagonists of a specific gender, only 24 of these were exclusively fronted by women.
Less than half had the option of a female lead, including games where you created your own character.
Games with female-only leads - where you couldn't choose any other option - did sell significantly less, EEDAR's COO Geoffrey Zatkin revealed.
:: The best graphics cards of 2018
"Games with a female-only protagonist got half the spending of female-optional, and only 40 percent of the marketing budget of male-led games. Less than that, actually." Geoffrey Zatkin, EEDAR
"If you look at the first three months, with the smaller quantity of female-led games, they did not sell as well. The ones that were male-only sold better."
Male-only hero games sold 25 per cent better than those with an optional female hero, and 75 per cent better than whose with a female-only hero.
But this doesn't tell the whole story. These figures reflect the fact that games with female-only heroes get less than helf the marketing budget of titles with male-only heroes.
"Games with a female-only protagonist got half the spending of female optional, and only 40 per cent of the marketing budget of male-led games. Less than that, actually," Zatkin concluded.
That's the truth, then - that the people choosing what game receives what marketing budget are helping continue a self-fulfilling prophecy. The majority of publishers continue down the safe route of funding male-only led games, comfortable in the knowledge that, because of this, male-only led games sell by the bucket load. |
Nokia Windows Phone 8: not trying to bring in other cultural ideas
For anyone who has used Microsoft Word, or remembers Clippy, it may come as something of a shock that Microsoft has been nominated in the U.K. Design Museum's 2013 Designs of the Year.
Its Windows Phone 8 mobile operating system is one of more than 90 nominations for the annual design award.
The nominations, which recognize great design from around the world in seven categories–architecture, digital, fashion, furniture, graphics, product and transport–were published Monday. Other nominees include the Olympic Cauldron by Heatherwick Studio, the Little Printer by Berg, the Raspberry Pi computer and the gov.uk website.
“The language that Windows Phone 8 presents is a very digital language, it says 'this is digital information presented on a smartphone,' and as such is not trying to bring in other cultural ideas,” said Pete Collard, the exhibition's curator. |
The RPG powerhouse of Obsidian is partnering with Paradox Interactive to help market and publish its Kickstarted Pillars of Eternity.
You might not put the two companies together in your head - one creates RPGs like Knights of the Old Republic 2, Fallout: New Vegas and the recent South Park: Stick of Truth, while the other is known for grand strategy games like Europa Universalis and Crusader Kings. Paradox Interactive is based in Stockholm, Sweden, while Obsidian Entertainment is in Irvine, California. The two companies don't exactly match up on paper, but Paradox CEO Fredrik Wester and Obsidian Studio Head Feargus Urquhart said in a special press conference at GDC 2014 that there's more in common than you might think. Perhaps that's why they've announced the two have entered a partnership for the game Pillars of Eternity. Obsidian will use all of the $4 million raised on Kickstarter to develop the game while Paradox will invest its own capital to market and distribute Pillars of Eternity.
"We are partnering up with some awesome world-class developers," Fredrik Wester said. "We are hoping this is a long-term relationship as we have a lot in common with the Obsidian guys."
"We are fans of Paradox games," Urquhart said. "We couldn't have done what we are doing without our backers. Publishers look at $500,000 games and $20 million games, and Pillars of Eternity fell in the middle."
The two CEOs were careful to point out that this is a business partnership only. Paradox will not have any hand in the development or design of the game, and Obsidian is not handing over any of the funds raised on Kickstarter to Paradox. Instead, this partnership frees Obsidian up from having to worry about marketing, meeting with press, heading to trade shows, or setting up distribution models. Urquhart and his team can focus on making Pillars of Eternity, and screw all the business stuff. Kickstarter fulfillment will also be handled by Paradox.
Paradox will obviously earn some percentage of sales once the role-playing game lands on marketplaces like Steam - Wester is a nice guy but he's by no means an altruist. The whole arrangement is unique in that a publisher has never assisted a large Kickstarter project like this, and we're interested to see whether this kind of deal is something we'll see games like Star Citizen or Wasteland 2. |
The Cincinnati Winter Beerfest is approaching fast! Luckily this event always falls on the week after my birthday every year so I happen to be a veteran of the event. Not to mention the countless summer beerfests, octoberfests, and other huge beer events throughout the year that I attend.
With all this beer drinking experience under my belt I decided to put together a little 10 step guide on how to survive a beerfest!
Plan ahead! – Look at the beer list and mark off what beers that you have to try. If they release a map beforehand study it or even print out a copy and mark your path out. Once your feet hit the festival ground it will be chaos in the crowd.
Print the beer list – Along with mapping out your path and the beers you want to try, bringing a copy of the beer list could be very helpful. If you are a huge beer fan like myself you probably use Untappd to keep track of the awesome beers that you’ve drank. The thing is pulling your phone out after every taste can get old and tiresome after a while. Plus who wants their face burred in their phone the whole evening! So with a list and a pen you can write your ratings and notes to check in later.
Eat before you get there – Now this is a tough one because you need to hit the right window. You don’t want to eat too early or too close to the event. About 3-4 hours beforehand eat something heavy, but don’t overeat. You want to save room for beer!
Hydrate hydrate hydrate! – Some venues may have water to drink, but you should plan ahead and at least bring a small water bottle. If it’s at a place with a water fountain you can refill it. If there are regular vendors there that sell water you’ll probably have to pay a premium for it. Drink often in order to keep your dehydration in check.
Eat more! – My number one tip would be to make a pretzel necklace….and don’t let
anyone else show you up. Make it awesome and people will be complimenting you and asking where you got it all night. Most people don’t even think about this! If you don’t make a pretzel necklace then most likely there will be food trucks or concessions at the festival. I would eat a couple small things throughout the night to keep the alcohol at bay. Or a couple pretzels per beer if you made a necklace!
Pace yourself – Take your time. You might be in a rush to make sure you try everything you want to try, but if you planned your night right from step one you should be good. If you drink faster than your body can absorb the alcohol you’re going to have a bad time. Also don’t be afraid to dump the beers that don’t live up to your expectation. Wasting some tolerance just to drink the beer might cause you to tap out early. Wasting alcohol is a sin, but if it’s to prolong your night of drinking more beer it can be forgiven!
Take breaks – If time allows it take a little extra time when eating or hydrating just to let everything settle. This isn’t a marathon, you are here to have fun. Of course if you have a group of friends (which almost always somehow become separated) this could be a couple set times throughout the evening to rendezvous back up together and talk about your finds.
Have fun! – Why are you here? To have fun of course! Bring a group of friends, dress up, do your beard, mustache, or hair in a crazy way! Make new friends!
Have a DD or place to crash near by – Nothing is worth driving home intoxicated so make sure you have a DD with you or at least a plan to stay nearby. Uber is also your friend. Most big events will even have a discount code for Uber. Check their event page for details. If they don’t then try to contact the organizer and they could try to get a discount set up!
Before you go to sleep – Drink some more water or a sports drink to help hydrate you once again. The more water in your body the better you will feel in the morning. Trust me! You could also have a light snack to take the edge off. I know you might be pretzled to death, but that or some bread can do you well. Also take some asprin as well. You’ll thank me later!
With these tips in mind you will be unstoppable at your next beerfest! Please share these with your friends!
Cheers! |
REST Service with Node.js, MongoDB and Express
REST Service with Node.js, MongoDB and Express
Introduction
This is a tutorial showing how to connect a REST service to MongoDB. The REST service is written using Node.js and Express, we will assume that you have already gone through the previous tutorial which covered creating that service. If you haven’t, you can visit the tutorial here. Since explanations were already covered for some of the parts in the previous tutorial, we won’t re-visit the explanations here. We will only cover the code that is being changed for this tutorial.
The code for this tutorial is available here on github.
Setup The Environment
We are going to assume that you have already installed MongoDB (which is available here) and already have it running. If you haven’t already installed the mongodb node.js module, you can install it with this command:
npm install mongodb -g
Before you can start using the mongodb module, you will need to add it as a dependency. To do so, edit your package.json file to look like this:
{ "name": "application-name", "version": "0.0.1", "private": true, "scripts": { "start": "node app.js" }, "dependencies": { "express": "3.3.4", "mongodb":"*", "jade": "*", "stylus": "*" } }
Notice we have added the “mongodb” module with the version “*”. You can specify specific versions of the modules, which is usually preferred, but for this tutorial we should be ok with “*”. Lastly, we must execute this command to actually install the dependencies:
npm install -d
Writing The Code
Now we are ready to make the code changes. First we will create a new file called userProvider-mongodb.js with these contents:
var usersTable = 'users'; var Db = require('mongodb').Db; var Connection = require('mongodb').Connection; var Server = require('mongodb').Server; UserProvider = function(host, port) { this.db = new Db('users', new Server(host, port)); this.db.open(function(){}); this.fetchAllUsers = function(cb) { this.db.collection(usersTable, function(error, users) { if (error) { cb(error, null); } else { users.find().toArray(function(error, results) { cb(error, results); }); } }); }; this.fetchUserById = function(id, cb) { this.db.collection(usersTable, function(error, users) { if (error) { cb(error, null); } else { users.findOne({ _id:users.db.bson_serializer.ObjectID.createFromHexString(id) }, function(error, result) { cb(error, result); }); } }); }; this.insertUser = function(user, cb) { this.db.collection(usersTable, function(error, users) { if (error) { cb(error, null); } else { users.insert([user], function() { cb(null, user); }); } }); }; this.updateUser = function(user, cb) { this.db.collection(usersTable, function(error, users) { if (error) { cb(error, null); } else { users.update({_id:users.db.bson_serializer.ObjectID.createFromHexString(user._id)}, {name:user.name, state:user.state, city:user.city}, function(error, result) { cb(error, result); }); } }); }; this.deleteUser = function(id, cb) { this.db.collection(usersTable, function(error, users) { if (error) { cb(error, null); } else { users.remove({_id:users.db.bson_serializer.ObjectID.createFromHexString(id)}, function(error, result) { cb(error, result); }); } }); }; }; exports.UserProvider = UserProvider;
The first couple lines are simply importing some classes from the mongodb module. Notice we have added a constructor to the UserProvider class, which takes the host and port of the MongoDB server. In the first couple lines in the class, we create the Db object and open a connection.
We have the same methods in the class as were in the previous tutorial but this time instead of using a javascript array, we are storing it as a collection in MongoDB. For the fetchAllUsers method, we access the collection named ‘users’ and if there are no errors, we call the collection.find method with no parameters to get all objects in the collection. Finally we return this to the user, plain and simple!
Now, in the fetchUserById method, we again access the collection from the db and this time call the collection.findOne method and give it a query parameter, we look for any object with the _id field set to the id variable which was passed in, but first we have to convert it to an ObjectID from the hex string which we receive.
Take some time to look through the insert/update/delete User methods, they are all very similar and easy to understand. Now in order to use this provider, we have some minor modifications to make to the original userManager.js file:
var mongoServer = 'localhost'; var mongoPort = 27017; UserManager = function(app) { var UserProvider = require('./userProvider-mongodb').UserProvider; var userProvider = new UserProvider(mongoServer, mongoPort); app.get('/users', function(req, res) { userProvider.fetchAllUsers(function(error, users) { res.send(users); }); }); app.post('/users', function(req, res) { userProvider.insertUser(req.body, function(error, user) { if (error) { res.send(error, 500); } else { res.send(user); } }); }); app.get('/users/:id', function(req, res) { userProvider.fetchUserById(req.params.id, function(error, user) { if (user == null) { res.send(error, 404); } else { res.send(user); } }); }); app.post('/users/:id', function(req, res) { var _user = req.body; _user._id = req.params.id; userProvider.updateUser(_user, function(error, user) { if (error) { res.send(error, 404); } else { res.send(''); } }); }); app.delete('/users/:id', function(req, res) { userProvider.deleteUser(req.params.id, function(error, user) { if (error) { res.send(error, 404); } else { res.send(''); } }); }); }; exports.UserManager = UserManager;
Most of the file is the same with the exception of a few lines, most importantly these two lines which use the new userProvider-mongodb file and add the server and port to the constructor:
var UserProvider = require('./userProvider-mongodb').UserProvider; var userProvider = new UserProvider(mongoServer, mongoPort);
Testing the Service
That’s really all you need to do to get the service using MongoDB! You can test the service in the same way it was tested in the previous tutorial. To start up the service, again run the command:
node app.js
In the next tutorial in this series, I will cover adding a web interface to this service. |
Image caption The airport uses about three million litres of aviation fuel each day
Aviation fuel has been sent to Manchester Airport after it ran out of supplies.
A spokesman for the Essar refinery in Cheshire, which pipes fuel to the airport, said production was "now back to normal".
Stocks are expected to return to average levels by Thursday morning, an airport spokesman said.
The airport said a "handful of flights, perhaps five", might be delayed by up to an hour in the morning.
A spokesman said: "The fuel supply from the refinery came back on at 5.30pm, it takes four hours for the fuel to get from the refinery to the airport, and it will then need time to settle.
"It will be released on to the airfield to the hydrants at 8.30am."
Analysis Jonathan Sumberg, BBC transport journalist The majority of airlines can cope with this delay in fuel. How? A flight leaving Majorca, for instance, would fill up double the amount it needed to get it to Manchester and back to Majorca. Obviously this uses more fuel overall, due to the increased weight of the plane. Equally, a plane leaving the United States would put in enough fuel to fly to Manchester and then on to another UK airport where it could refuel before returning to the US. Another thing to note is it takes four hours to get from the refinery to the airport, and then airlines have to let it "settle" for a further two hours before it can be used.
The airport uses about three million litres of aviation fuel a day, with the majority of supplies coming from the refinery at Stanlow near Ellesmere Port.
A spokesman for the refinery said the shortage was caused by "production issues".
Russell Craig, head of communications for Manchester Airport, said: "We don't want this to happen, but equally we aren't prepared to take any risks with fuel and with aircraft safety."
He added: "We came close to running out in April 2008, when we saw a similar issue with the supply but fortunately at the 11th hour the fuel was able to start moving again."
Passengers planning to fly from the airport have been told to check with their airline before they leave.
Shell sold the refinery to Indian company Essar Energy last year. |
Having a smart and contoured face can enhance your beauty. Be it men or women, everyone wants to look fantastic and if something that makes them unhappy, they put in all their efforts to improve their looks.
In an era of technological advancement, nothing seems impossible. People can get whatever features they like and improve their looks. One such surgery to make your face look smarter and attractive is the cheekbone surgery. People who have excess check fat or an uneven contouring of the face usually opt for this procedure.
What is cheekbone surgery
Some people are born with bulging cheeks while some their facial bones fractured in an accident leaving an unsymmetrical face. Cheekbone surgery is done to treat defects that make a person’s face look uneven. Such defects can be treated by either cheekbone augmentation or reduction procedure.
How cheekbone surgery is done
The person is sedated with general anesthesia so that he feels no pain and then the surgeon makes an incision to reveal the cheekbones to be treated. If a person has flat cheekbones, implants are used to uplift the cheeks and if the patients have uneven bones, the surgeon works on them accordingly. Once the surgeon is done with the process, he stitches up the patient and the surgery is completed. The surgery may take up to a few hours to be completed and the patient may need to stay under observation for some time.
If you have broken you facial bones in an accident and deformed your face, cheekbone surgery can be very helpful in treating such defects. Flat and sagging cheeks, uneven contour and chubby cheeks can easily be treated through this surgery. The procedure is costly and should be conducted by only an expert as the results are permanent. One wrong step can ruin it all for you.
It is important to consult an experienced surgeon to avoid any side effects. Inexperienced surgeon may lift the cheeks up too much or make them too chubby. It may sometime for the swelling to go away and the patients at times can develop an adverse reaction to anesthesia.
Cheekbone surgery may take a few hours to be completed and the patient may take some time to recover. Until then the patient have to keep the incision site clean in order to avoid any infections. The end results can give the person an entirely new look.
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Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption George Osborne: "We're trusting people who have worked hard and saved hard all their lives"
Chancellor George Osborne has promised "no giveaways, no gimmicks" in this week's Budget - but said he would further relax pension rules.
He is set to allow up to five million existing pensioners to swap their fixed annual payments for cash.
Mr Osborne told the BBC his last Budget before the election would be one for a "truly national recovery".
Labour's Ed Balls said the Tories were committed to an "ideological plan" for the biggest cuts since World War Two.
The chancellor and shadow chancellor both appeared on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show days before the Budget, the last one before all the parties go to the polls on 7 May.
In what is seen as an attempt to woo older voters, the chancellor is expected to extend pension changes from April 2016, to allow existing pensioners to swap their annuity for a fixed lump sum.
It follows reforms announced last year that allow working people to cash in all or part of their defined contribution pension when they retire, rather than buy an annuity that guarantees an income for life.
Pensioners had been required to buy annuities under the old rules.
'National recovery'
Mr Osborne told the programme it was about "trusting those people who have worked hard and saved all their lives" and said it was "patronising " to suggest people might blow the money on an expensive sports car then come back for more when they ran out of cash.
There has been speculation that falling oil prices might give the chancellor a pre-election war chest by boosting spending and lowering inflation.
The chancellor said he would not comment on economic forecasts, but added: "This Budget is all about securing a truly national recovery from building a Northern powerhouse, connecting up other regions of our country, committing to long-term plans that support science and high-speed transport... so no giveaways, no gimmicks a Budget for the long term."
Asked if that meant no "giveaways" by raising national insurance and income tax thresholds he said: "Everything we do in this Budget has to be paid for."
Analysis
Image copyright Reuters
By BBC correspondent Alex Forsyth
The pension reforms that the chancellor announced last year were the rabbit in the 2014 Budget box.
George Osborne managed to keep his radical shake-up of the pensions system quiet until he chose to reveal his grand plan during his Budget speech.
This year, it is less of a surprise. Extending freedom over annuities was a widely expected move - although it's not without controversy.
There are those who argue this freedom will tempt some pensioners to make short-term spending choices, leaving themselves short of an income in later life. But Mr Osborne's view is that those who've worked hard and saved should be able to make their own decisions.
These measures have an obvious political point - to attract older voters. With the general election within spitting distance, Mr Osborne needs policies that don't detract from his "long term economic plan", but which prove popular with the electorate.
And crucially, he needs ideas that will be backed by his coalition colleagues. With this idea - which was previously floated by Lib Dem pensions minister Steve Webb - he thinks he's ticked every box.
'Particularly unfair'
BBC business correspondent Joe Lynam said the changes would only apply to retired people who had money purchase pension schemes.
The government is to ask the regulator the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to introduce guidance and consumer protection measures to ensure pensioners are fully informed of the changes and are protected from any mis-selling, he said.
The former government adviser and pensions expert Ros Altman welcomed the proposals but warned that a proper market for annuities was needed so that pensioners were not overcharged a second time, our correspondent added.
Mr Osborne is expected to announce on Wednesday:
Support for technology clusters around the UK
Investment in the chemical sector in north-east England in the form of funding the Centre for Process Innovation
Plans to introduce ultra-fast broadband around the UK
The creation of two new "enterprise zones" in Plymouth and Blackpool
45,000 new homes to be built on brownfield sites
'Ideological plan'
But shadow chancellor Ed Balls told the BBC Mr Osborne wanted to go beyond "balancing the books" in the next Parliament.
Mr Osborne was committed to an "ideological plan" and wanted to run a £23bn surplus in order to "cut the size of the state" to a level not seen since the 1930s, Mr Balls said.
Neither Mr Osborne nor Mr Balls would commit categorically to sticking to Nato's target that 2% of national income should be spent on defence in future.
The TUC's general secretary Frances O'Grady has said there is a danger the Budget will be "more about winning votes in six weeks than securing growth for six years".
In its pre-Budget statement, the TUC - which represents about six million workers - said the UK "urgently needs to change course" to avoid long-term economic stagnation and urged the government to borrow more and boost public investment.
Are you retired or soon to retire? What will these changes mean for you? You can share your experiences by emailing [email protected]. If you are available to talk further to a BBC journalist please include a telephone number. |
A solid majority of American voters think marijuana should be legal according to a new Public Policy Polling. The recent poll found that 58 percent of voters think marijuana should be legal, while 39 percent think it should remain illegal. The bulk of who oppose marijuana legalization feel strongly that it should remain illegal while support for legalization is fairly evenly split between those who feel strongly about it and those who don’t. The poll also found that 50 percent of voters think marijuana will be legal in the United States within the next 10 years, while only 37 percent think it will not be legalization.
Democrats and Independents overwhelming believe marijuana should be legalized but a majority of Republicans oppose the policy change. There is also a significant generational divide when comes to opinions about legalization. Voters under thirty are most likely to feel strongly that marijuana should be legal while senior citizens tend to feel strongly that it should remain illegal. Interestingly, Young voters are actually the most pessimistic about legalization future. The poll found 52 percent think it will not be fully legalized in the next ten years while 48 percent think it will. On the other hand 51 percent of voters over the age of 65 think legalization will happen in the next decade while just 32 percent think it won’t.
While this poll shows some of the highest levels of support for marijuana legalization of any recent national survey, it should be noted that PPP’s polling on marijuana legalization initiatives has proven to remarkably accurate in the past two election cycles. In 2010 PPP very accurately predicted the overall yes vote for Proposition 19 in California. Similarly, PPP’s final polling in Colorado and Washington State this cycle very closely matched the final results.
The full poll results can be found at the Marijuana Policy Project Blog. |
Image caption Gagarin's flight lasted 108 minutes
A movie has been made on the space station that tries to show what Yuri Gagarin might have seen on his historic flight around the Earth in 1961.
FirstOrbit will have a YouTube premiere next month to celebrate the Russian cosmonaut's achievement 50 years on.
No film exists showing what Gagarin saw through the viewports of his Vostok capsule; there is only an audio recording of his observations.
This has now been matched to high-definition video shot from the station.
"When you combine these pictures of what he was genuinely able to see with the excitement and tingle in his voice, it's quite amazing," film director and space historian Dr Chris Riley told BBC News.
Yuri Gagarin became the first human to venture above the Earth's atmosphere when he blasted away from the Tyuratam missile range (now the Baikonur Cosmodrome) in Kazakhstan at 0607 GMT on 12 April 1961.
His 108-minute journey around the globe took him across the Soviet republics, across the Pacific Ocean, over the Straits of Magellan in South America, above the Atlantic and Africa before re-entry and a bailout back to the ground near the city of Engels in south-west Russia.
The view down to Earth along this same path has now been filmed from the International Space Station (ISS).
The pictures recorded from the orbiting platform cannot be a perfect match for Gagarin's view.
For one thing, the cosmonaut flew a path that took him closer to the poles than is possible on the ISS. The precise cloud formations 50 years ago also can never be recreated.
But the team behind the movie project hopes the sequence will nevertheless give viewers something of the sensation Gagarin must have experienced.
Image caption Filming on the station was led by Paolo Nespoli
Organising the filming onboard the busy space lab was not straightforward, said Dr Riley.
"My stipulation was that we had to film it at the same time of day that Gagarin had seen it, to get the Sun angles right," he explained. "Those chances only happen every six weeks."
The director of photography on the project was Paolo Nespoli, the European Space Agency astronaut currently living aboard the station.
The Italian is a keen photographer and his still images of the Earth taken from orbit have a big following on Flickr.
Image caption Gagarin went into darkness behind the Earth over the Pacific. He saw the Sun rise as he was moving over the South Atlantic
For FirstOrbit, he set up a camera in the station's Cupola, a kind of turret on the underside of the platform.
The Cupola has seven windows, including one that is 80cm in diameter and faces directly down to Earth.
Nespoli and his astronaut colleagues on the platform ran the camera whenever the station passed over portions of the Earth's surface that Gagarin saw.
This video was then stitched together with Gagarin's capsule recording and a music soundtrack from the composer Philip Sheppard.
Interwoven also are news reports from Radio Moscow, Tass and the BBC.
The movie will be premiered on YouTube on this year's 50th anniversary and then will be available for free download.
"Right from the very beginning, our thought was to make it and then give it away," said Dr Riley.
"Once it became clear we were making this film for all mankind to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Gagarin's flight, everyone just threw their weight behind it without any payment."
Trailers are already available.
Image caption From the Cupola: US astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson takes in the spectacular view of Earth from orbit
[email protected] |
Aggregate is one of the most fun and powerful methods in LINQ. Sadly it’s also one of the most underused and “scary” ones. I hope that after reading this post you will understand Aggregate a bit more, know when to use it and won’t be afraid of doing so.
So let’s have a look at MSDN. You can find three aggregate method overloads and if you don’t have experience with this method not single one of them seems simple. Let’s see first one:
public static TSource Aggregate<TSource>( this IEnumerable<TSource> source, Func<TSource, TSource, TSource> func ) 1 2 3 4 public static TSource Aggregate < TSource > ( this IEnumerable < TSource > source , Func < TSource , TSource , TSource > func )
It looks everything but simple and it’s least complex one. As you can see it take an IEnumerable of TSource, and delegate accepting two parameters of TSource and returning TSource. Entire method will return TSource. So what exactly going on under the hood?
As method name suggests Aggregate will aggregate objects stored in some kind of collection and return a result of said aggregation which is single object. Actually we have methods that doing exactly the same but in more fixed and strict manner. Those method are in example Sum or Average and are commonly known and used. Role of Aggregate is exactly same, to produce single result based on input collection. Let’s “recreate” Sum method, and for now let’s use simple foreach loop to do that.
var collection = new int[] { 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 }; var sum = 0; foreach (var x in collection) sum += x; Console.WriteLine(sum); //62 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 var collection = new int [ ] { 2 , 4 , 8 , 16 , 32 } ; var sum = 0 ; foreach ( var x in collection ) sum += x ; Console . WriteLine ( sum ) ; //62
This is pretty simple example so let’s do the same with Aggregate.
var collection = new int[] { 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 }; var result = collection.Aggregate((sum, x) => sum + x); //((((2 + 4) + 8) + 16) + 32) Console.WriteLine(result); //62 1 2 3 4 5 var collection = new int [ ] { 2 , 4 , 8 , 16 , 32 } ; var result = collection . Aggregate ( ( sum , x ) = > sum + x ) ; //((((2 + 4) + 8) + 16) + 32) Console . WriteLine ( result ) ; //62
Example above does exactly the same as previous foreach loop. Take a closer look to variables names in those examples. There is a reason that they are exact same, it’s because their roles match. In both examples x is collection element and sum is variable that accumulates value through all iterations (and it’s offten called accumulator).
And during every iteration we have Func delegate that is being invoked. What role does it have and what does it’s parameters represent? It’s rather simple because first one is said accumulator, and second one is enumerator. What happens under the hood? Just take a look at math expression in comment just aside Aggregate method. The real question is, where does accumulator comes from on the first run, after all it weren’t initialized anywhere. So lets modify our aggregate a bit and print some values:
var result = collection.Aggregate((sum, x) => { Console.WriteLine($"Sum: {sum}"); Console.WriteLine($"X: {x}"); return sum + x; }); 1 2 3 4 5 var result = collection . Aggregate ( ( sum , x ) = > { Console . WriteLine ( $ "Sum: {sum}" ) ; Console . WriteLine ( $ "X: {x}" ) ; return sum + x ; } ) ;
And our console will give us something like that:
Sum: 2 X: 4 Sum: 6 X: 8 Sum: 14 X: 16 Sum: 30 X: 32 62 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Sum : 2 X : 4 Sum : 6 X : 8 Sum : 14 X : 16 Sum : 30 X : 32 62
Which shows us that accumulator value in first iteration is in fact first element in collection, which is being skipped during delegate execution. This behavior can be undesirable at many times and because of that we may want to use second overload which in my opinion show true power of Aggregate method and is proably my favourite and I use it most offten.
public static TAccumulate Aggregate<TSource, TAccumulate>( this IEnumerable<TSource> source, TAccumulate seed, Func<TAccumulate, TSource, TAccumulate> func ) 1 2 3 4 5 public static TAccumulate Aggregate < TSource , TAccumulate > ( this IEnumerable < TSource > source , TAccumulate seed , Func < TAccumulate , TSource , TAccumulate > func )
In this overload we have new parameter called seed and generics is slightly different (return type and func parameter and return type). New parameter is nothing more than introduced previously accumulator, so now we can do something like that.
var collection = new int[] { 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 }; var sum = 0; var result = collection.Aggregate(sum, (accumulator, x) => accumulator + x); Console.WriteLine(result); //62 1 2 3 4 5 6 var collection = new int [ ] { 2 , 4 , 8 , 16 , 32 } ; var sum = 0 ; var result = collection . Aggregate ( sum , ( accumulator , x ) = > accumulator + x ) ; Console . WriteLine ( result ) ; //62
Why would we wan to do that? In above example it gives us absolutely nothing. So let’s change our example just a bit. Remember when I’ve said about changed generics? Let’s use that and create accumulator of different type than collection element.
var collection = new string[] { "Aggregate", " ", "is", " ", "fun", "!" }; var result = collection.Aggregate(new StringBuilder(), (sbAccumulator, x) => sbAccumulator.Append(x)); Console.WriteLine(result); 1 2 3 4 5 var collection = new string [ ] { "Aggregate" , " " , "is" , " " , "fun" , "!" } ; var result = collection . Aggregate ( new StringBuilder ( ) , ( sbAccumulator , x ) = > sbAccumulator . Append ( x ) ) ; Console . WriteLine ( result ) ;
And before we move to third and final overload of this great method let’s think a bit. What exactly can we gain with using Aggregate over simple loops? We can assembly one single object from few other object basing on most desirable parameters, we can select “best” object from collection or do more complex aggregations. And the most fun reason? I’m saving it for end of this post as a tease of next one.
So let’s move to next example and last, most complex overload.
public static TResult Aggregate<TSource, TAccumulate, TResult>( this IEnumerable<TSource> source, TAccumulate seed, Func<TAccumulate, TSource, TAccumulate> func, Func<TAccumulate, TResult> resultSelector ) 1 2 3 4 5 6 public static TResult Aggregate < TSource , TAccumulate , TResult > ( this IEnumerable < TSource > source , TAccumulate seed , Func < TAccumulate , TSource , TAccumulate > func , Func < TAccumulate , TResult > resultSelector )
Just have a look at that. . my head hurts of just looking at that. We have new parameter and new generic type. Our generic types are now collection element type, accumulator type and return type, andnew parameter is nothing more that delegate that projects ou accumulator to result type. You can even call constructor that accepts accumulator type as parameter.
As for last example imagine situation where you have Checkout method in Cart class that accepts list of products and sums prices and stores them in Value variable of CheckoutHelper. Our CheckoutHelper also calculates discount that is some % of entire value except value of any bought alcohol products. Aggregate is perfect solution for problems like that.
public Order Checkout() { return Products.Aggregate ( seed: new CheckoutHelper(this, Customer), func: (accumulator, product) => { accumulator.Value += product.Price; if (product.Category == Category.Alcohol) accumulator.NonDiscountableValue += product.Price; return accumulator; }, resultSelector: accumulator => new Order(accumulator) ); } 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 public Order Checkout ( ) { return Products . Aggregate ( seed : new CheckoutHelper ( this , Customer ) , func : ( accumulator , product ) = > { accumulator . Value += product . Price ; if ( product . Category == Category . Alcohol ) accumulator . NonDiscountableValue += product . Price ; return accumulator ; } , resultSelector : accumulator = > new Order ( accumulator ) ) ; }
Of course this example is rather simple but the fact is Aggregate methods can grow and become rather big and unreadable with all those lambdas, especially if someone likes to name lambad parameters as x, y and z. Personally I like to wrap Aggregate in other methods (preferrably LINQ extensions) with names that means something like Checkout, MaxBy, CountIf or something like that. It is much easier to read that way and someone won’t be forced to wonder what all of those lines of code supposed to do. It’s also much more reusable and could be made generic which can be nice way to prepare extensions like mentioned simple MaxBy (TBH MoreLINQ library have excelent implementation of method like that and you can take a look at it here).
public static TSource MaxBy<TSource, TCompareBy> (this IEnumerable<TSource> source, Func<TSource, TCompareBy> compareBy, IComparer<TCompareBy> comparer = null) { comparer = comparer ?? Comparer<TCompareBy>.Default; return source.Aggregate((bestElement, x) => comparer.Compare(compareBy(bestElement), compareBy(x)) > 0 ? bestElement : x ); } 1 2 3 4 5 public static TSource MaxBy < TSource , TCompareBy > ( this IEnumerable < TSource > source , Func < TSource , TCompareBy > compareBy , IComparer < TCompareBy > comparer = null ) { comparer = comparer ? ? Comparer < TCompareBy > . Default ; return source . Aggregate ( ( bestElement , x ) = > comparer . Compare ( compareBy ( bestElement ) , compareBy ( x ) ) > 0 ? bestElement : x ) ; }
Remember when i wrote that I’ll tell you one more reason for using Aggregate? This reason is yet another method that can be used in perfect synergy with Aggregate, and I’ll write entire post dedicated for this synergy soon. I’m talking about AsParallel LINQ method which allow us parallel aggregations with just AsParallel and a bit of forethought while writing our Aggregate methods. If you don’t want to miss this post please follow me on Twitter or Facebook.. |
Owning a piece of motoring history, a machine that’s restored to its former glory, is something many can appreciate. This 1946 Harley-Davidson WR – by all means a rare machine – is still hitting the dirt, mud, and sand. This creature was born for racing, and 71 years later it’s doing just that.
The Harley-Davidson WR was created as an answer to the successful Indian Scout that dominated the tracks of 1930’s America. The racing brother to the WLA and WLC, respectively, the bike proved itself well on the flat track. This particular WR750 doesn’t spend its life tucked away under cover to only be taken out for special days. Ross brings his WR to all kinds of events. Most recently, Aftershock Sydney 2017 – a notoriously unsafe time if motorcycle preservation is concerned. Regardless, this old Harley belted around the muddy flat track in the rain, dodging dodgy builds, and giving these young whippersnappers a run for their money.
Ross is no stranger to this style of Harleys. Wind the clock back nearly 50 years to Ross buying his first motorcycle – a 1942 Harley-Davidson WLA. ‘I purchased the bike from a guy at school for $50 to satisfy my obsession with motorcycles. It wasn’t a runner, but over time I managed to learn enough to get it going to bash around the farm on with my mates. This machine soon became my only mode of transport when I got my licence. With many stories of breakdowns and walks home, I stuck by my first Harley. This was the early ‘70’s and Japanese bikes had hit the scene hard, but I was not moving on.’
Over the years, Ross would acquire himself a few more WLA’s to act as parts bikes to keep his first machine running. As adult life kicked in, the bikes were kept in the shed while Ross got busy moving around the country. His loyalty to old Harley’s would stay strong, and it would be some years later that Ross would find himself working on these bikes again, this time getting properly stuck into the rich racing history side to Harley-Davidson.
‘My intention was to build another bike from my bits into a board racer/flat tracker style, which I had always loved. This sort of happened, building a hill climber special to compete in a private hill climb that was Harley’s vs Indian. It was at this event that I was introduced to a Harley WL race bike, owned by a now friend who raced historical events around Australia. The bike had the hottest cams, looked fantastic and ran on methanol – I was hooked.’
It’s through these decades of passion and dedication to Harleys – paired with the racing history – that leaves little to wonder about how this remarkable WR Racer came into Ross’ possession. Originally put on the track by a private racer back in the States, this machine found its way to Australia and into Ross’ very capable hands. Not much was to be changed on the is machine, aside from a bit of work to the magneto and replacing the original racing carbi. ‘Most of the information on these bikes was limited, so my intention was to purchase this bike and get it on the road racing track. Realistically the bike was set up for flat tracking, which required different engine performance (i.e. wide open throttle, having a heavily modified carb, low gearing, no front brake) I decided to maintain the bike in its current guise and just ride it occasionally. It had seen the Broadford Speedway track for some demonstration laps of harley flat trackers but that is about it.’
‘This year I have decided to not just go road racing, but try a few different things. I entered the Sellicks Beach Racing in February and decided to take the WR as this is what it was intended for. For the first time since owning the bike I removed a barrel to check out the state of play before I used it in anger. It’s in great condition; only one size up from standard, and the bottom end seemed solid. It also revealed some of the factory secrets of getting these motors going and whilst the outside looks no different to the WL model, there is a bit of stuff going on there. I tipped over valves to improve breathing and compression, drilled connecting rods, ball race bottom end along with many other trick bits. I had a great time on the beach and the bike performed admirable, the rider not so outstandingly.’
Once the sand of Sellicks had settled, Ross got home and after a week of cleaning, preserving, cleaning, preserving and cleaning it was time to do it all again. This time, replacing the sand with mud. Despite the ridiculous variety of machines with equally ridiculous modifications that makes Aftershock what it is, the WR stole the show. Truly a remarkable feat considering what is going on that chaotic weekend. Seeing it actually belt around the track, getting covered in mud and grass, was a site to behold. A glimpse at a different time for racing and machines.
‘I went OK at Aftershock, as at least the bike stayed upright! (just…) I had a little trouble with the forward mounted magneto getting drowned, but a plastic bag slowed that down. I am so pleased the bike did the both events without any major issues and the rider lived to ride another day. I would assess I am not that flash a rider on loose surfaces, and look forward to returning to the race track next month.
The last month has been great in the fun stakes and using the WR as it was intended. Thank you to all the people who took the time to say hello and pass some flattering comments about the bike.’ |
The billionaire and liberal moneyman was not happy that we connected the dots even further between him and the Orange/Osceola State Attorney.
By Jacob Engels
Earlier this month we published an article “Soros Connected Groups Dominate Ayala’s Personal & Professional Life”, which received overwhelmingly positive reviews from our readers and community leaders.
In it, we demonstrated how Soros-linked groups and operatives have maintained a very close proximity to Ms. Ayala, even after her election last August. Ayala famously caught the eye of Mr. Soros, who pumped millions into a PAC that savaged her opponent, sex hound State Attorney Jeff Ashton.
While almost everyone on both sides of the political spectrum has appreciated our reporting and coverage of State Attorney Ayala, apparently one of our new readers was not amused… a Mr. George Soros.
Contacting us through his press flack Issac Goldberg of powerhouse PR firm BerlinRosen, Soros expressed his displeasure with our reporting and demanded that we adjust our story. Through Goldberg, Soros claims that he has no direct or indirect connection to the Open Philanthropy Project.
The Open Philanthropy Project has given several “no-process” grants to social justice reform organizations that subsequently hired Ms. Ayala’s husband away from his job at Sprint.
Another group that benefited from a “no-process” grant from OPP, provided the infamous “talking points” to Ayala, in order for her to better defend herself for deciding to not pursue the death penalty as a prosecutor.
OPP’s giving patterns are closely aligned with causes or operatives that have been connected to Soros supported candidates and projects in the past.
However, Mr. Soros does not agree with this assessment. When we asked him detailed questions about his connections to Ayala and her decision to not pursue the death penalty, Soros declined to answer 4/5 questions we submitted to him.
Read the questions below:
Does Mr. Soros have any connection to the Open Philanthropy Project through direct or indirect donations?
Given the post-election connections between OPP and candidates/organizations/ elected officials who have benefited from Mr. Soros’ political donations, does that signal Mr. Soros’ long-term involvement in Central Florida and across the country for candidates he backed in 2016?
What motivated his interest and sizeable donations to a committee that helped elect Orange/Osceola State Attorney Aramis Ayala, Orange County Commissioner Emily Bonilla?
Will he be active in 2018 races locally in Central Florida as he was during the 2016 election cycle?
Was his decision to support Aramis Ayala based on her agreeing to not pursue death penalty during her term or other factors?
Responding only to the question about the his connections to the Open Philanthropy Project, the Soros spokesman claimed “no connection whatsoever” and demurred on the remaining four inquiries. He has a right to deny this point, which is why we wrote this article.
I’m humbled by Mr. Soros’ readership, however… there is a glaringly obvious connection between Ayala and Soros.
On this topic, I’ll have to agree to disagree with the man who has funded the Black Lives Matter movement and has allegedly been behind the violent protests from the radical leftist group Antifa across the United States since President Trump’s election.
Our door is always open for oped submissions from any of our readers, Mr. Soros included, IF he would like to respond with something more substantive.
Until then…
Jacob Engels is an Orlando based journalist whose work has been featured and republished in news outlets around the globe including Politico, InfoWars, MSNBC, Orlando Sentinel, New York Times, Daily Mail UK, Associated Press, People Magazine, ABC, and Fox News to name a few. Mr. Engels focuses on stories that other news outlets neglect or willingly hide to curry favor among the political and business special interests in the state of Florida. |
As I continue to look at ballot questions in the 2016 South Dakota election I come to Initiated Measure 22 (IM 22). IM 22 has been labeled by its creators as the South Dakota Government Accountability and Anti-Corruption Act. Of all the ballot questions this year IM 22 is probably the biggest in scope and would impact many areas of election law in South Dakota.
This post will look at some of the basics of IM 22. There may be more posts about IM 22 coming in the future; but this post should be a good starting point for anyone trying to research IM 22.
Initiated Measure 22 comes from TakeItBack.Org
IM22 is technically a companion of Amendment V. Since IM 22 has the same origins of Amendment V I will copy/paste the following three paragraphs from the post about V:
Back in the 2014 the South Dakota Democrats had Rick Weiland as their candidate against Mike Rounds in the US Senate race. The theme of his race was to “Take it back”. On the campaign trail he wanted to take the political process back from big money and give it back to the people. After failing to get elected US Senator, Weiland partnered with Drey Samuelson to create TakeItBack.Org. Here is part of what the site says about the groups origins: Former U.S. Senate candidate, Rick Weiland, and former Chief of Staff to U.S. Senator Tim Johnson, Drey Samuelson, announced today that they were forming a nonpartisan organization called TakeItBack.Org, that will: 1) support like-minded candidates for public office and, 2) use the initiative and referendum process to advance needed political and policy reforms to take our government back from the stranglehold of wealthy special interests, and 3) recreate a government that is truly of, for and by the people again. The second item from above is probably most relevant to Amendment V: using the initiative and referendum process to advance their political goals. Amendment V happens to be one the petitions circulated by TakeItBack.Org last year to change the election system in South Dakota.
Just as with Amendment V, Weiland and Samuelson appear want to pass IM 22 to make changes to the election process in South Dakota that meets the goals of TakeItBack.Org.
Text of Initiated Measure 22
IM 22 is huge! It is 34 pages long. The text of IM 22 can be read in the Attorney General’s Explanation or in my post about IM 22 when it made the ballot. Since the Initiated Measure has to completely fit on the petition being signed it is also worth looking at a pdf of the petition as circulated. It is basically a huge map.
Actually, the size of the IM 22 petition reminds me of a Douglas Adams quote from the The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. If IM22 is substituted for space in the below quote I think it fits quite well:
Space is big. Really big. You just won’t believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it’s a long way down the road to the chemist, but that’s just peanuts to space.
Below is bullet list of some of the things IM 22 does at a high level:
IM 22 limits the amounts and types of contributions a candidate can accept. Political parties and PACs could no longer make unlimited contributions to campaigns.
IM 22 limits the amounts of contributions a political party or PAC can accept from individuals. The limit to PAC’s is a big change, from $10,000 to $2,000.
If a campaign contribution of $500 or more is received by any campaign, PAC, or political party, the donors occupation and current employer has to be reported.
In addition to the normal “Paid for by..” on campaign material there must be information added if the campaign is being done in coordination with another campaign.
Anyone making an in-kind donation for a campaign of $100 or more has a long list of information that has to be reported.
There are additional campaign finance reports due for both the primary and general elections.
If a contribution of more than $500 is made a disclosure report has to go out to the SOS office.
The SOS office has to ensure all financial disclosure reports can be received and signed electronically.
The SOS office has to ensure the financial disclosure reports are available to the public electronically.
Lobbyists and employees of lobbyists are not allowed to make gifts to “an elected state officer, legislative official or staffperson, or executive department official or staffperson” that exceeds $100 in a year. Gifts to family members are also included in this limit, with a few exceptions.
A South Dakota Ethics Commission is created by IM 22. This commission is “an independent commission to prevent corruption and its appearance, to protect the integrity of the democratic process, to ensure that state ethics laws are not violated, and to administer the democracy credit fund and Program.”
The Ethics Commission will have 5 members, with no more than 2 being of the same party.
The Commission can employ staff and contract employees.
The Ethics Commission will implement and administer the Democracy Credit Program, issue recommendations to public agencies to minimize corruption, review statements and records, investigate and enforce complaints, and issue upon request and publish advisory opinions
IM 22 creates the Democracy Credit Fund.
The Democracy Credit Fund can have no more than $12,000,000 at any given time. The Commission has authority spend this money for the Democracy Credits and for administrative purposes.
IM 22 creates the South Dakota Democracy Credit Program
In January of even-numbered years the Commission will mail each registered voter 2 Democracy Credits. Each credit is worth $50.
Democracy Credits can only be given to candidates that have been certified as a participating candidate by the Commission. Candidates have to file with the commission to say they will participate in Democracy credits.
Candidates wishing to participate in Democracy Credits have four requirements: only $2000 of own money can be given to a candidate campaign if statewide office or $1000 of candidates own money given to their campaign for legislative candidates; candidate cannot seek other funds that are not Democracy Credits; candidate cannot contribute Democracy Credit funds to another political committee or political party; and if it a candidate for Governor the unspent funds must be given back if the Lt Governor chosen does not also enroll in the Democracy Credit program.
The limits on democracy credits per office are as follows: State Senate or State House: $15,000 SD Commissioner of School and Public Lands: $15,000 SD Treasurer: $25,000 SD Auditor: $50,000 SD Public Utilities Commissioner: $75,000 SD Secretary of State: $75,000 SD Attorney General: $175,000 SD Governor: $700,000
There is a limit to how much can be paid out for each office type. If the money up to that amount is spent a candidate cannot get any more. For legislative offices the limit is $6,000,000 for all candidates. The combined constitutional offices (minus Governor) has a limited of $1,500,000. The Governors race has a limit of $4,000,000. Those three added up is $11,500,000. (the other $500,000 of the $12,000,000 must be for administrative purposes by the Commission).
There are number of provisions added for lobbyists.
State officials and certain state employees are prohibited from lobbying for two years after leaving office.
There will be an initial appropriation of $9 per registered voter to fill the democracy credit fund. That will be in July of 2017. Then each year that amount will go up by CPI and be appropriated each July to fill the fund.
I probably missed some important items. But I think the above bullet list gives an idea of how large IM 22 really is!
AG’s Explanation
The Attorney General’s office has provided this explanation for IM 22:
Title: An initiated measure to revise State campaign finance and lobbying laws, create a publicly funded campaign finance program, create an ethics commission, and appropriate funds Explanation: This measure extensively revises State campaign finance laws. It requires additional disclosures and increased reporting. It lowers contribution amounts to political action committees; political parties; and candidates for statewide, legislative, or county office. It also imposes limits on contributions from candidate campaign committees, political action committees, and political parties. The measure creates a publicly funded campaign finance program for statewide and legislative candidates who choose to participate and agree to limits on campaign contributions and expenditures. Under the program, two $50 “credits” are issued to each registered voter, who assigns them to participating candidates. The credits are redeemed from the program, which is funded by an annual State general-fund appropriation of $9 per registered voter. The program fund may not exceed $12 million at any time. The measure creates an appointed ethics commission to administer the credit program and to enforce campaign finance and lobbying laws. The measure prohibits certain State officials and high-level employees from lobbying until two years after leaving State government. It also places limitations on lobbyists’gifts to certain state officials and staff members. If approved, the measure may be challenged in court on constitutional grounds.
Pros of Initiated Measure 22
The group setup to actually get IM 22 on the ballot and promote is South Dakotans for Ethics Reform. On their website it has this reason for supporting IM 22:
Passing the South Dakota Government Accountability and Anti-Corruption Act would: Prevent political bribery. Voters deserve to know who’s spending money on politics and elections – and how it’s influencing our representatives. This law dramatically improves transparency and cracks down on special interest gifts to state officials. Close lobbying loopholes. Legislators are supposed to represent their constituents, not special interests and lobbyists. The Act prevents our politicians from trading on their government connections to land high-paying lobbying jobs. Enforce the law. Politicians and special interests shouldn’t be above the law. The Act rebuilds trust between voters and politicians by ramping up our state’s ethics laws – and imposing heavier penalties on the people who break them. South Dakota needs to prevent corruption. A recent State Integrity Investigation report gave us an F grade on corruption risk, ranking us 49th out of 50 states. Let’s demand more from our government.
Another group, the South Dakotans for Integrity, is also pushing for this IM 22. This groups website has a similar bullet list:
Under current law, South Dakota is the only state in America where lobbyists can give unlimited gifts to politicians.(source) » IM-22 stops unlimited gifts from lobbyists to politicians. » IM-22 requires more transparency, so we know who’s buying influence in South Dakota. » IM-22 toughens ethics law enforcement to investigate lobbyists and politicians for breaking the rules.
Probably the best advocate for IM 22 is Cory Heidelberger over at the Dakota Free Press. Here is a five minute video of Cory explaining the benefits of IM 22:
Cons of Initiated Measure 22
The group pushing against IM 22 is Defeat22.com. The Defeat22.com website includes the following bullet points to speak against IM 22:
Politically-connected special interest groups are up to no good. Measure 22 will allow big spending politicians to take millions of our taxpayer dollars and send it to political campaigns: Forcing us to fund political TV ads and intrusive automated calls
Funding even more wasteful government spending
Taking away tax dollars from funding our roads, bridges, and schools
Forces you to add your name to a government database
Opens you to harassment for making voluntary donations to charitable causes. Measure 22 is another government money grab to fund political campaigns using your tax dollars.
The Defeat 22 campaign has been very active the last few weeks. I think I have received more press releases from that group than any other ballot question committee. Most of their campaign hinges around the use of taxpayer dollars to fund political campaigns. As the election season goes on I expect this group will become even more vocal.
My initial thoughts of how to vote
Readers may have noticed I kept the Con section above pretty short. That is basically because I already know I am going to vote No on IM 22 and knew I would be writing enough about why I am voting no in this section to cover more Cons.
The first reason I oppose IM 22 is simply because I feel legislation should never incorporate too many topics; or more specifically no legislation should ever incorporate more than one topic. If this were a bill in the legislature it should be split into at least four bills, if not more. This isn’t the main reason I oppose IM 22, but since I feel one topic per bill is good for the legislature I feel the same standard should apply to initiated measures. It is too bad, there are parts of the bill I feel are good, but cannot be supported because of how IM 22 is packaged. In particular I think the Ethics Commission is a good idea. Yes, the state had tried this before and had problems with it being used as a political weapon. But I think we as a state can find a solution to previous problems with an Ethics Commission.
The second, and main reason, I oppose IM 22 is because it uses taxpayer dollars. $12,000,000 taken out of the general fund and giving it directly to politicians just does not sound like a conservative use of taxpayer dollars. People are already free to contribute money directly to candidates if they feel it is important to do so. With so many priorities in state spending I just don’t see why $12,000,000 would be set aside to be given to politicians. Plus I don’t really see how giving politicians direct access to spend taxpayer dollars on their campaigns is going to reduce corruption? The use of taxpayer dollars to fund political campaigns in IM 22 is probably what will rightfully kill this bill on the ballot.
Finally it is worth noting that the reporting requirements for campaign donations gets completely out of hand. Yes, it is good to know the sources for campaign donations. But the amount of detail IM 22 would require of donors gets quite intrusive. Actually the reporting and database requirements of IM 22 seem downright Orwellian. I really don’t think South Dakota needs to head down that path.
I plan to vote No on IM 22 and expect it will fail on the ballot this fall. But, I could be wrong about IM 22 failing. There are a lot of people who rightfully believe something needs to be done about corruption in South Dakota politics. I don’t think this will fix any corruption, but if enough people believe IM 22 is the answer to corruption I could see IM 22 being passed into law. If that does happen I would fully expect a lawsuit coming forth challenging the constitutional grounds of IM 22.
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After initially announcing plans for a disc golf shoe last July, Salient Discs is finally releasing their first offering in disc golf footwear. The Salient DGX is available for pre-order starting today for $80 at Salient-Discs.com. The cross training/trail style shoe will come in three colors: Black with blue accents, black with orange accents, and crimson red with black accents.
Salient Discs owner Chris Kilgus showed us a preview of the DGX last week and says a lot has gone into the planning and development of the DGX, “We began testing an athletic shoe back in August 2013 originally announced as the DG Spec 1. Since this time we have had the opportunity to test different materials and designs for durability/aesthetics. Initial testing was very promising and included a one piece flat sole that gave great durability. However what we added in durability with a flat one piece sole we lost in comfort and overall grip. Therefore over the past few months we decided to change to a two piece sole which gave the shoe added comfort as well as grip on and off the teebox.”
The DGX will be offered in a variety of sizes in a standard width. Wider widths will not be offered at this time. According to Kilgus, it has a lot to do with the price of the product, “The market does not allow a large variety of sizes/widths due to the fact that every size requires a different size sole to be used which would increase the cost of the shoes.”
Here is the full material list for the DGX provided by Salient Discs:
Full upper water repellant oxford
Interior waterproof urethane coating helping keep moisture away
Lower napa leather/suede for side to side blow out protection
Synthetic polyurethane toe box for front foot stability.
Durable torsion control sole for added stability on and off the fairway
Stiff rear mid sole for heel stability
Neutral arch support for easy foot conformity
For Kilgus, one of the most excited parts about this release is the DGX is the first shoe made by a 100% disc golf company, “Our main focus is providing quality products to disc golfers instead of dividing our time among other shoe products or rebranding an already existing product.”
The DGX will be manufactured overseas in order to keep pricing affordable. Initially, preorders will only be available at Salient-Discs.com. Shoes will run $80 plus shipping for one pair and $135 plus shipping for two . Once items have a firm delivery date, which Salient says they’ll know 30 days before they arrive, the DGX will be available from multiple online affiliates. Once the preorder is complete, the MSRP of the DGX will be $90-95 plus shipping.
Now, some might see it hard to preorder a product like a disc golf shoe before they’ve ever seen one in action. In our minds, this is basically a Kickstarter/crowd funded-like presale. Because of the capital needed to get these shoes out at the price that is affordable for many, putting the money up front is what is needed. Without a presale like this, prices would be higher, and quite frankly, products like this wouldn’t be produced. There is a market for it, but it is a niche market.
Kilgus knows that while you can invest in a disc or a bag and expect it to last for years, that just isn’t the case with a shoe.
“With the inception of the DGX we have learned that there is no way that a shoe will last a lifetime especially in the sport of disc golf,” Kilgus remarks. “We would like people to realize that even with the most durable materials a shoe will eventually wear down and need to be replaced based on how rough the user is on said product. Therefore the DGX was produced to be an acceptable alternative to other shoes on the market at an affordable price.”
We haven’t had a chance to see the DGX first hand, but we are anxious to see how the DGX stands up against some of the most popular shoe choices amongst disc golfers. After production, the DGX is scheduled to arrive mid-to-late summer 2014. Again, preorders are available at Salient-Discs.com.
Update 4/21/14: Salient Discs has decided to offer a lifetime warranty with the DGX shoes. You can still buy a pair at $80 without a warranty, but you can pay $135 for a pair with the warranty. The option to buy two pair at $135 has been discontinued. |
In skimming through old atlases, one might be surprised to find Finns racially classified as yellow-skinned Mongolians. Yet until fairly recently, that was the norm. Consider the 1962 map posted above, “Classification of Mankind By Color of Skin,” from the popular Bartholomew’s Advanced Atlas of Modern Geography. Here both Finns and Estonians are “xanthodermic Asiatics.” “(Xanthoderma,” medical dictionaries tell us, refers to “skin that has a yellow coloration, as in jaundice.”) Bizarre as it may be, the idea that Finns are racially linked to East Asians lives on; if in doubt, try an internet search of “Finns Mongols.”
The notion that Finns and other Finno-Ugric-speaking peoples of Europe are of Mongolian stock is hard to take seriously. While biological race is itself a questionable concept, a number of physical traits distinguish East Asians (the “Mongolians” of racial classification): epicanthic eyelid folds; dark, straight, thick hair; and a number of bone and teeth features. (Note that yellow skin is nowhere on this list.) These attributes are as rare in Finland as they are in other European countries. If anything, Finns may be the blondest, most blue-eyed people in the world, as the second set of maps shows. The Eastern Finnic peoples are not quite as light as the western ones, falling closer to the European norm. Red hair, however, is oddly common among the Urdmuts of the central Volga. Udmurtia is proud of this characteristic, running an annual “red festival” that celebrates rufous coloring not only in people but also in “cats, dogs, hamsters, [and] squirrels…”
Why then have the Finno-Ugric peoples, Hungarians as well as Finns and Estonians, so often been classified as “Mongolian”? The credit – or discredit – goes to a German scholar named Johann Friedrich Blumenbach (1752 -1840). Known as the “father of physical anthropology,” Blumenbach is famed for coining the term “Caucasian race.” Blumenbach thought that cranium shape was the key to human differentiation, but his collection of skulls was limited. He purportedly based his claims on the fact that “two Saami (Lapp) skulls and one Finnish skull resembled one Mongol skull.” Evidently, he never examined any livings Finns. Blumenbach’s scientific stature was so elevated that his ideas carried the day, nonsensical though they were.
Linguistic analysis seemed to bolster the idea that Finno-Ugric peoples belonged in the “Mongolian” category. Scholars once widely assumed that peoples who spoke related languages belonged to the same race, sharing descent from a common ancestral population. From the mid-1800s to the mid-1900s, most linguists grouped “Uralic” Finno-Ugric languages with Altaic languages, forming a Ural-Altaic macro-family that linked Finnish to Mongolian and Manchu. If their languages were related, the reasoning went, the Finns and Mongols had to be sibling peoples. This Ural-Altaic hypothesis has long since been abandoned, but the Uralic component is still widely accepted, and it still links Finns to peoples who look Asian. Uralic’s highest order split separates Finno-Ugric from Samoyedic, and the Samoyeds – Nenets, Selkups, and others – have dark eyes, straight black hair, and epicanthic eyelid folds. The eastern Ugric-speakers of western Siberia, the Khanty and the Mansi, appear Eurasian, with intermediate features and mixed genetic markers as well.
But we now know that linguistic groups and genetic groups need not have any connection. Languages can spread into new populations even when genes do not, just as migration can bring wholesale genetic changes without linguistic transformations. As a result, large language families often encompass peoples who look very different and have markedly distinct genetic heritages. The Afroasiatic macro-family, for example, encompasses blonde Berbers in North Africa and dark-skinned Hausa in northern Nigeria, and even the Berber family includes the generally dark-skinned Tuareg as well as the generally light-skinned Kabyle. The fact that some Uralic speakers look European while others look East Asian thus tells us nothing about the racial attributes of the Finns—nor of the original speakers of Uralic languages.
As it turns out, the Finns are genetically distinctive, forming an “outlier” European population, as the New York Times “Genetic Map” posted above indicates. Why this should be the case is a matter of some controversy. Some attribute it to a “founder effect,” arising from the fact that the “Finnish population was at one time very small and then expanded, bearing the atypical genetics of its few founders.” Others think that the Finns are simply “more European” than others, having absorbed fewer genes from outsiders. According to this line of reasoning, the Finns most closely resemble the Paleolithic European Cro-Magnons.
Several specific genetic markers also help differentiate the Finnish population. As Asya Pereltsvaig noted in the Geocurrents comments section on Monday, the Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup N is extremely common in Finland, found in 60 percent of the country’s male population, yet is rare in most of the rest of Europe. As Y-DNA passes only in the paternal lineage, a majority of Finnish men must be descended from a single man with a particular mutation on his Y-chromosome who probably lived some 12-14,000 years ago. As it happens, haplogroup N has a close association with peoples speaking Uralic languages. It is thought to have originated in Central Asia, and then spread in a counter-clockwise route through central Siberia and into northern Europe. Haplogroup N is also prevalent in a few areas outside of the Uralic-speaking zone, reaching especially high concentrations (75 percent) among the Turkic-speaking Sakha (Yakut) of central-northern Siberia. But even if most Finns and Sakhas can trace their male lineages back to a single great-great-great…grandfather, that does not mean that they are otherwise genetically similar; when one goes back 12,000 years, the number of one’s ancestors becomes staggeringly large.
Genetic studies also shed light on the history of interactions among Slavic and Finno-Ugric peoples in northern European Russia. According to a 2005 paper by Boris Malyarchuk and others, published in Human Biology 76(6), “… only the most western Russian populations appear to be descendants of the Slavs, whereas northern and eastern Russian populations appear to be the result of an admixture between Slavic tribes and pre-Slavonic populations” (p. 897). For further explorations of the linguistic, genetic, and gender history of this region, see the recent postings on Languages of the World. |
Banana and Chocolate Chip Muffins is a delicious dessert recipe that you can make at the comfort of your home. This is an easy-to-make dish for which you do not need special ingredients. All the ingredients that have been used are those that you can find in the comfort of your home. With the right balance of banana and chocolate chips, this is a simple recipe that your kids will also love. You can enjoy this muffin recipe in the breakfast along with your favourite toast and coffee, and we can bet it would be the best breakfast ever. Not just that, you can serve these muffins to your guests on a kitty party and game night as well. So, what are you waiting for? Try this easy recipe and enjoy with your loved ones! |
The Victorians had a very peculiar tradition of picnicking in cemeteries. After the death of Queen Victoria’s hubby in 1861, the entire country donned their mourning attire. For forty years. (To be fair, Victoria only asked her court for three years of goth gear. Moved by her dedication to Prince Albert, they persisted in continuing the tradition until the queen’s death, at which point the custom was put to rest, and so began the Edwardian period in Britain.)
I’d like to say the tendency to accessorize all in black, cover the household mirrors with black crepe, commemorate their loved ones with trinkets of their hair wrapped delicately in lockets, or photographing their remains in very lifelike poses with the remaining members of the family surrounding the body is the subject of this post — in due time, I hope to touch on at least some of this stuff — but today I want you and I to indulge in a time-honoured tradition that I’ve gladly resurrected in my own life:
Picnicking in cemeteries.
So grab a sandwich, and let’s have a little chat about what it was like to die in Victorian London.
A Little Bit of Backstory
While doing research for the book I’ve been working on, I came across a couple of interesting tidbits: London was a foggy, congested, dirty city in the 1800’s. Post-and-during the industrial revolution, thick fogs regularly rolled through due to the mixture of soot and sulfur dioxide from residential chimneys and factories mixing with mist rolling off the Thames. It created the perfect cover for the Jack the Ripper murders, and of course, the climate coupled with a lack of proper sanitation bred pestilence: scarlet fever, cholera, typhus, measles, influenza, diphtheria — you name it, you could die from it.
One in three infants didn’t make it to their first birthday. In a population of 2.3 billion where folks were often buried in churchyards, it’s not hard to imagine that burial grounds got overcrowded pretty quick. Add to that the increasing number of bodies being snatched from their resting places, people occasionally being buried alive (whoops!), and bodies exposed and rotting because they weren’t buried deep enough (two feet was the minimum — a big difference from today, where it ranges anywhere from six to twelve, and sometimes more.) Or worse — they were exhumed too quickly to make room for the fresh dead, and you had the circumstances that you had a case of serious social distress on your hands.
Frankly, cemeteries were thought to be a health hazard; nevermind places that bred nightmares.
The Magnificent Seven
In 1832, British Parliament set up seven private cemeteries that ringed the city that would be:
Beneficial to public morals, to the improvement of manners, but are likewise calculated to extend virtuous and generous feelings… A garden cemetery [modelled after Pere Lachaise in Paris] is the sworn foe to preternatural fear and superstition. – The Victorian Celebration of Death
This is only ironic to me, because three of the Magnificent Seven are reportedly haunted, and one of them is home to my most favourite vampire legend ever. (EVER. Stay tuned for next week’s post on that.)
Being buried in one of the Magnificent Seven’s cemeteries was a costly affair that demonstrated social status as much as a willingness to commemorate their loved ones in the most ostentatious way possible. As the garden cemeteries appealed to the middle class, attention was paid to the flora, fauna, and even the monuments were (and still are) unprecedented in their elaborateness and elegance. As an art history nerd, 19th century sculpture sends me all a-twitter with excitement; add some verdurous foliage — ivy, creeper, lush hornbeam and yew, cypress, ferns, bluebells, holly — and you have your allocated plot for eternity nestled in a garden where butterflies, bees, foxes, even deer wander through. Victorians thought this treatment “took away the gloom of the grave,” and given the precedent, the Magnificent Seven became veritable paradises on earth.
Dining with the Dead
With mourning tradition at its height as an involved and expensive demonstration of a beloved’s devotion to their departed, it seemed fitting that the pomp of funereally practices culminated in a willingness to spend time in these places, close to the dead, where they slumbered in a place of peace and beauty, separate from the hustle and filth of London town. Designed like public parks, with their Gothic revival mausoleums and Egyptian-inspired colonnades, the cemeteries became a place to spend a Sunday afternoon where families might spread a blanket in a patch of shade, and socialize with others who’d come to visit with their loved ones at rest.
Remember, mourning was de rigeur with such a high mortality rate. While this might seem odd by today’s standards, Victorians romanticized death, being so close to it. While we are removed from the process, given the majority of our exposure to death happens in hospitals, it was commonplace in Victorian England to surround a dying loved one on a deathbed watch in their home, in their bed, hoping to hear their profound final words in the hope to shed some light on the meaning of life before they passed. Mourning and its rituals provided a means of coping with the passage.
Now, I’m no historian by any means, and hell — I don’t even live in the UK. But believe me when I say that on a summer’s day, the best place in the city to read a book is under the shade of weeping willow at the cemetery on the hill with some goat cheese and crusty bread sitting in my icepack, and maybe a bottle of Pinot Gris if I’m feeling super indulgent.
There’s one thing I can assure you, if you’re observing the tradition of the cemetery picnic: the neighbours definitely don’t complain about the company.
For Your Reference:
The Victorian Celebration of Death
by James Stevens Curl |
View Caption Hide Caption Josh Richardson (Getty Images)
MIAMI — The Heat refuse to put a timetable on Josh Richardson’s return, but the 23-year-old guard hasn’t ruled out being ready for the start of the season yet.
Richardson suffered a partially torn MCL in his right knee in a voluntary workout on Sept. 9 and said he expected the injury to keep him out for six to eight weeks. He is now in the middle of his fifth week of recovery.
With the start of the regular season (at Orlando Magic on Oct. 26) still about two weeks away, there’s a chance Richardson will be ready for the opener. But with his timetable extending to eight weeks, there’s also a good chance Richardson will miss the first week or two of the season.
“I don’t know. Maybe. It’s a possibility,” Richardson said Monday when asked if he believes he will be ready to play in the season opener.
But Richardson still has a long way to go to get to that point. Richardson had his knee brace removed on Sept. 23, but said he is still not cutting or sprinting and added that he’s only been able to do “light stuff on the court.”
Richardson was expected to compete with Wayne Ellington, Tyler Johnson and Dion Waiters for the starting job at shooting guard in training camp and the preseason. With Richardson out, Johnson has started the first two preseason games at shooting guard.
As a rookie, Richardson averaged 6.6 points on 45.2 percent shooting to go along with 2.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists primarily in a bench role last season.
But Richardson outperformed those numbers after the All-Star game, averaging 10.2 points on 50 percent shooting to go along with 2.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists following the break. He also made a league-best 53.3 percent of his shots from behind the 3-point line over that time.
“I’m not going to rush it,” Richardson said of his injury. “It’s just one of those things that I don’t want to come back too early and hurt it again. I want to get back as soon as I can, though.”
Coach Erik Spoelstra doesn’t want Richardson to come back too soon, though. Spoelstra is being extra cautious with him.
“We don’t have a timetable,” Spoelstra said when asked about Richardson’s injury. “That’s what we’re trying to guard against. He wants to be back and he has no pain with all the work that he’s doing, so we just want to make sure we keep it that way.”
[Heat ‘possibly’ ready to make stand against social injustices before first home preseason game]
[With back feeling better, Heat point guard Beno Udrih to return for scrimmage]
[Udonis Halsem offended by Donald Trump brushing off lewd comments as ‘locker room talk’]
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