Split (1)

train · 100k rows

text stringlengths 465 100k
By continuing to add more computing capabilities for AI on edge devices with NVIDIA Jetson, and more tools and platforms to accelerate robotics development, like Isaac and the Jetson robotics reference platforms, we can help researchers and companies build robots that are more capable, less expensive, and safer to deploy. Nvidia's Robotic Platform Jesse Clayton \| Nvidia What is NVIDIA Isaac? AI is disrupting many industries. Using powerful AI platforms such as NVIDIA Jetson, it’s now possible to deploy advanced AI to edge devices like robots. But one challenge that still remains is how to train them. It turns out that AI-powered robots can learn in a similar way to humans. You give them a task and the provide them a sort of digital reinforcement (positive or negative) when they do the right or wrong things. While that’s effective, it’s extremely inefficient and even dangerous to let a real robot spend weeks attempting to lift a glass or move an engine block. NVIDIA Isaac is a robot simulator for training AI-powered robots in a virtual environment. It includes high fidelity graphics and physics engines that can accurately replicate real scenarios, and simulated sensors and affecters that model the capabilities of the robot being trained. Because it’s virtual, the training can be accelerated and parallelized, and it mitigates the safety concerns of training on physical robots. Once the training is complete the learned behavior can then be deployed to the real-world robots. What are the benefits of NVIDIA Isaac? Isaac enables researchers to create visually detailed and physically accurate simulations to train robots, significantly reducing training and test time. For developing and deploying AI-powered robots, Isaac will reduce cost, accelerate training, and mitigate safety concerns compared to hardware-based development processes. What are some of the challenges that NVIDIA Isaac overcomes? Hardware prototypes are expensive to build. Physical test environments are expensive to build. And training robots in the real world is time consuming and in some cases dangerous. Isaac is an end-to-end system that uses physics simulation and advanced rendering to model robots, their sensors and rich, interactive environments. This enables researchers to reduce costs, accelerate training, and mitigate safety concerns. It will improve the process of designing and deploying AI-powered robots, compared to AI development using hardware alone. Who are the potential customers for NVIDIA Isaac? Isaac will initially be targeted at robotics researchers, but eventually we hope to make it available for anyone who is interested in robotics. Can you run us through some scenarios where Isaac could be used for real world applications? Today there are millions of industrial robots deployed around the world for tasks such as manufacturing, improving production efficiencies. However, most of these robots can only do simple tasks such as moving a widget from point A to point B. They don’t deal well with dynamic situations like changes in lighting and it can be very costly to reconfigure a robot to handle a new part in the manufacturing process. Adding AI capabilities to these robots and training them quickly in complex simulated environments enables manufacturers to adopt automation in more diverse applications. Similar benefits can be applied to human service robots, cobots (collaborative robots), delivery robots and other use cases. Tell me about Jetson reference platforms. Many AI researchers would prefer to focus on the software, but they are limited by the lack of availability of hardware platforms. To address this, NVIDIA partners are releasing open source Jetson reference platforms for specific form factors — including a service robot, UAV, USV, UGV, and other devices. These platforms provide building blocks for developers to quickly and easily create prototypes, helping reduce the time and money it takes to build robots from the ground up. Which companies are releasing Jetson reference platforms? The companies releasing Jetson reference platforms are: Toyota for human support robots (HSRs) Teal for consumer drones Enroute for industrial drones and unmanned surface and ground vehicles Universities and academia for scale model autonomous cars Where do you see these technologies evolving over the next 5 to 10 years? In the next 5 to 10 years we’re going to see a leap forward in the adoption of AI for robotics research and deployment. AI is a very promising technology that can address many robotics challenges that were previously unsolvable. By continuing to add more computing capabilities for AI on edge devices with NVIDIA Jetson, and more tools and platforms to accelerate robotics development, like Isaac and the Jetson robotics reference platforms, we can help researchers and companies build robots that are more capable, less expensive, and safer to deploy. About Jesse Clayton Jesse Clayton is the senior manager of product management for intelligent machines at NVIDIA. He has more than 20 years of experience in technology, spanning software, GPU computing, embedded systems, and aeronautics. His current focus is bringing advanced computer vision and deep learning solutions to autonomous machines and intelligent devices. Prior to joining NVIDIA in 2005, he conducted NASA-funded research on aviation systems and algorithms. Clayton holds a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Colorado, Boulder. The content & opinions in this article are the author’s and do not necessarily represent the views of RoboticsTomorrow Comments (0) This post does not have any comments. Be the first to leave a comment below. Post A Comment You must be logged in before you can post a comment. Login now.
Passengers of cancelled flights wait in Hamad International Airport (HIA) in Doha, Qatar, Tuesday, June 6, 2017. Qatar's foreign minister says Kuwait is trying to mediate a diplomatic crisis in which Arab countries have cut diplomatic ties and moved to isolate his energy-rich, travel-hub nation from the outside world. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban) DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The latest on the Gulf crisis after Saudi Arabia and other nations cut ties to Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism (all times local): 1:45 a.m. The international agency Standard and Poors has downgraded Qatar’s credit rating because of the Gulf country’s fight with Saudi Arabia and other regional nations. S&P said in a statement Wednesday that those countries’ severing of diplomatic and business links with Qatar “will exacerbate Qatar’s external vulnerabilities and could put pressure on economic growth and fiscal” stability. The agency says it has lowered the rating on Qatar’s long-term debt to AA-minus from AA and has put the country on credit watch with “negative implications.” ___ 9:40 p.m. Despite the objection of opposition parties, the Turkish Parliament has approved two military cooperation deals with Qatar in an apparent show of support for the Gulf country in its feud with Saudi Arabia and other regional nations. Legislators in the ruling party-dominated parliament on Wednesday approved allowing the deployment of Turkish troops to a Turkish base in Qatar as well as a deal for the training of gendarmerie force personnel. The legislation was moved up parliament’s agenda and rushed through the assembly a day after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan voiced support for Qatar in the feud and criticized other Gulf countries’ moves to isolate Doha. Turkey and Qatar have developed close ties over the years and reached agreement in 2014 to set up a Turkish military base in the tiny Gulf nation. Government officials said Wednesday the military would decide on the number of Turkish troops that would be deployed in Qatar and the length of their stay. Previously, officials had said as many as 3,000 soldiers could be sent. ___ 9:30 p.m. President Donald Trump has spoken by phone with the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamin bin Hamad Al Thani. That’s according to a U.S. official who wasn’t authorized to discuss the call publicly and requested anonymity. Details about what was discussed on the call weren’t immediately available. But the call is the first known contact between Trump and Qatar’s ruler since a diplomatic crisis broke out in the Persian Gulf earlier this week. Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and other Arab nations cut off relations with Qatar after accusing it of supporting terrorism. The call suggests Trump may be playing a significant mediating role in the crisis. On Tuesday, Trump spoke with Saudi Arabia’s King Salman. The White House says Trump emphasized the need for unity among Persian Gulf countries. — Josh Lederman ___ 8:40 p.m. Kuwait’s emir has met two top officials in the United Arab Emirates to try and mediate a growing diplomatic crisis over Qatar. Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah arrived in Dubai on Wednesday. His visit comes after he traveled to Saudi Arabia earlier to meet with King Salman. The state-run WAM news agency said Sheikh Sabah met with Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who also serves as prime minister and vice president of the UAE. The WAM report gave no details about their discussions. ___ 8:30 p.m. The West African nation of Senegal is recalling its ambassador from Qatar, joining several Middle Eastern countries that have cut diplomatic ties in recent days. The announcement was made public Wednesday, a day after a similar decision was announced by the neighboring country of Mauritania to the north. A statement from the Senegalese Foreign Affairs Ministry said it was acting in solidarity with other countries in the Gulf who have cut diplomatic relations with Qatar because of the country’s alleged funding of terrorist groups and friendly ties with Iran. Karim Wade, the son of Senegal’s former president, has been living in Qatar for nearly a year since his release from prison where he served time for corruption charges. ___ 8:15 p.m. The top lawmaker in the U.S. House of Representatives is backing President Donald Trump’s stance on Qatar — after Trump sided with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations against the small, gas-rich emirate. U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan tells reporters in Washington Wednesday that the U.S. has an important military base in Qatar. But, Ryan says: “I do think that we should put some pressure on Qatar” because “I think they can improve their foreign policy — let’s just put it that way.” Trump has posted tweets that appear to endorse the Saudi claim that Qatar funds terrorist groups. That’s a serious allegation against a strategic U.S. partner that hosts thousands of American troops. And, the president’s critique pulled the U.S. into a conflict that American diplomats had wanted to avoid. ___ 8 p.m. Turkey’s parliament has begun debating legislation for increased military cooperation with Qatar in an apparent move to support the country amid its dispute with Saudi Arabia and other regional nations. Separate bills for the training of military personnel and the deployment of troops to a Turkish military base in Qatar were moved up parliament’s agenda on Wednesday, a day after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan voiced support for Qatar and criticized other countries’ moves to isolate it. Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt and Yemen have accused Qatar of harboring extremists and backing Riyadh’s regional rival, Iran. Qatar has denied the allegations. Turkey and Qatar have developed close ties over the years and reached an agreement in 2014 for the construction of a Turkish base there. Turkish officials have said as many as 3,000 Turkish troops could be deployed in Qatar ___ 7:15 p.m. Germany’s Foreign Ministry says it is trying to understand the U.S. position on the Gulf crisis, after Saudi Arabia and other nations cut ties to Qatar. U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Middle Eastern leaders complained about Qatar when he demanded an end to support for radical ideology that encourages terrorism. Trump also appeared to suggest the decision to sever diplomatic relations with Qatar, home to a large U.S. military base, was understandable. In Berlin, Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Schaefer said Wednesday that while statements from the U.S. State Department were in line with Germany’s position, “I can indeed see differences in some 140 character comments by the American president.” Schaefer told reporters German diplomats were in touch with State Department and National Security Council officials to clarify the U.S. stance. ___ 5:45 p.m. A top Emirati diplomat has told The Associated Press that the United Arab Emirates was not behind the alleged hack that targeted the state-run Qatar News Agency. Emirati Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash also acknowledged Wednesday that leaked emails published by news outlets from its ambassador to the United States were true. The news agency hack in late May sparked the recent tensions in the Gulf that spilled into the open Monday when Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates cut off diplomatic ties to Qatar and moved to isolate it from the larger world. Gargash told the AP that leaked emails from Emirati Ambassador Yousef al-Otaiba in Washington showed “the UAE’s real concerns and what we really say in our private emails is what we say publicly.” ___ 5:25 p.m. A top Emirati diplomat has called U.S. President Donald Trump’s tweets on Qatar “very courageous and extraordinary.” Emirati Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash told The Associated Press on Wednesday in a rare interview that Trump was “very frank.” Gargash said: “What he said in public, in tweets, is what is being said privately by American politicians, by European politicians, by Arab politicians.” He added: “I hope that this is a signal also to Qatar that the period of duplicity, of doing something publicly and doing something else privately, are over.” Trump made a series of tweets Tuesday calling into question his commitment to the peninsular nation after earlier telling Qatar’s ruling emir that “we’ve been friends now for a long time.” ___ 3:10 p.m. France is calling on Qatar to answer its Gulf neighbors’ questions in order to find a solution to the current diplomatic crisis. French government spokesman Christophe Castaner says Wednesday in a news conference following the weekly Cabinet meeting that “Qatar must ensure transparency.” Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates cut diplomatic ties with Qatar on Monday. They accuse Qatar of funding terror groups and having a worryingly close relationship with Iran, a nation with which it shares its vast offshore natural gas field. Castaner said France doesn’t intent to take sides. He said “it’s important for France to remain in partnership with all these countries”, especially with diplomatic, financial and economic interests at stake. ___ 2:55 p.m. Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister is calling for Qatar to end “its support for extremist groups” and its “interference” in other countries in the region. Adel al-Jubeir spoke Wednesday after meeting his German counterpart in Berlin. He said he hopes that “Qatar responds to our call to end its support for extremist groups and its interference in the affairs of the countries in the region.” He called for Qatar “to become a neighbor and partner as we were accustomed to it.” Saudi Arabia and others cut ties with Qatar this week, accusing it of supporting extremists. Qatar denies the allegations. ___ 2:50 p.m. Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister says it’s with “great pain” his country and others took measures against Qatar and insists the “crisis” with the small Gulf nation goes back years. Adel al-Jubeir says he hopes Qatar can respond to demands put forward by his country, Bahrain, The United Arab Emirates and Egypt to “restore relations to how they were in the past.” He said in Berlin he is seeking a response “soon.” Al-Jubeir said that “the issue goes back many years.” He added that there was an “understanding” that Qatar would “take measures in relation to supporting some organizations and ... some individuals,” but that Qatar didn’t live up to its commitments. Saudi Arabia and others cut ties with Qatar this week, accusing it of supporting extremists. Qatar denies the allegations. ___ 1:20 p.m. A Hamas official says Saudi Arabia’s call to Qatar to cut ties with the Palestinian group is “regrettable” and contradicts traditional Arab support for the Palestinian cause. Hamas official Mushir al-Masri also accused Saudi Arabia on Wednesday of siding with “American and Zionist calls to put Hamas on the terrorism list.” Al-Masri’s strongly worded criticism of regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia was unusual for Hamas. Qatar has been one of the few foreign backers of internationally shunned Hamas, an Islamic militant group that has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2007. Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries cut ties with Qatar this week, accusing it of supporting extremists. Qatar has denied the allegations. Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said Tuesday that Qatar must sever ties with Hamas. ___ 12:40 p.m. The United Arab Emirates’ Justice Ministry is warning social media users that they can face prison time and fines for offering sympathy for Qatar amid a growing diplomatic crisis in the Middle East. The ministry put out a statement on social media Wednesday saying those found guilty could face three to 15 years in prison and fines starting from 500,000 dirhams ($136,000). The ministry quoted UAE Attorney General Hamad Saif al-Shamsi making the warning, saying it came over Qatar’s “hostile and reckless policy.” While liberal compared to much of the Middle East, the UAE has tough cybercrime and slander laws under which people can be arrested, imprisoned and deported for taking photographs without the consent of those shown or being insulting. The United Arab Emirates, along with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and other Arab nations severed ties with Qatar and have cut off land, sea and air access. They accuse the energy-rich Gulf nation of supporting terror groups, charges denied by Qatar. ___ 12:30 p.m. Mauritania has become the latest country to cut diplomatic relations with Qatar as part of a growing rift between the energy-rich Gulf nation and other Arab countries. In a statement by the Foreign Ministry, the African country accused Qatar of having connections to terrorist organizations. It said Qatar is “promoting extremist thoughts and spreading chaos and disturbances across many of the Arab countries, resulting in big humanitarian miseries.” Qatar long has denied supporting terror groups. Mauritania has strong military and economic ties to oil-rich Saudi Arabia, which led the diplomatic spat with Qatar. Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and others have severed diplomatic relations and cut off air, land and sea access to Qatar, in the most serious Gulf diplomatic crisis since the 1991 war against Iraq. ___ 12:15 p.m. An outspoken Emirati ruling family member has raised the prospect of a change in leadership in Qatar, which is embroiled in a major diplomatic crisis with its Gulf neighbors. Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi says Qatar’s citizens are “questioning if this is going to end up in seeing a change in leadership itself.” Al Qassemi, of the ruling family of the sheikhdom of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he hopes Qatar ends its “rogue, maverick” ways. He says Qatar will need to close or limit its Al-Jazeera news network and stop funding extremists groups to end the crisis. Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates cut diplomatic ties with Qatar on Monday.
A sheriff’s deputy in Lousiana was killed in a double murder-suicide in Tuesday, according to WAFB. Pointe Coupee Parish Sheriff Bud Torres said Deputy Donna Leblanc of West Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office and her 21-year-old daughter, Carli Jo, were killed in the shooting. Officials identified the suspected shooter as Gregory Phillips, an estranged neighbor who lived across the street. Donna Leblac had been with the sheriff’s office for 22 years. “She was a veteran officer,” Torres told WAFB. “She was one of the first female deputies to work in West Baton Rouge Parish on the road. She was, in my opinion, an outstanding officer and a great human being.” Authorities said Phillips approached Leblanc at her carport and “shortly thereafter a gunfight erupted,” according to Torres. “Ms. Leblanc was able to get three rounds off of her pistol and there were multiple rounds shot by Mr. Phillips,” Torres stated. The sheriff added Phillips eventually shot and killed Leblanc before turning to shoot her daughter, who was standing on the porch. According to Torres, Phillips then shot and killed himself. Investigators said Leblanc’s 9-year-old daughter was inside the home at the time and was able to call for help. Torres said there had been “some difficulty between the neighbors,” but deputies do not have a motive for the shooting at this time.
WASHINGTON -- Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), a frequent critic of President Barack Obama's foreign policies, expressed his disapproval Tuesday of a letter that GOP senators sent to Iran trying to undermine the president's nuclear negotiations. Forty-seven out of the Senate's 54 GOP members, led by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), sent an open letter to the "leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran" Monday that warned them not to make any deal with Obama -- because it could be overturned once he leaves office. Speaking to reporters at the International Association of Fire Fighters presidential forum Tuesday morning, King said that while he agreed with "the entire tone of the letter," he likely would not have signed it had he been in the Senate. "I believe in a strong presidency. I don't know if I would have signed the letter. I don't trust the president on this, quite frankly, though I don't know if I'd go public with it to a foreign government," he said, adding that it sets the wrong "precedent" to publicly go to a foreign government to undermine the president of the United States while he or she is dealing with that country. The Wall Street Journal's editorial page, which leans conservative, also called the senators' letter a "distraction" Monday. "Democratic votes will be needed if the pact is going to be stopped, and even to get the 67 votes to override a veto of the Corker-Menendez bill to require such a vote," wrote the editors, referring to a bill that would require Obama to submit to Congress the text of any potential deal with Iran for a hearing and a vote. "Monday’s letter lets Mr. Obama change the subject to charge that Republicans are playing politics as he tries to make it harder for Democrats to vote for Corker-Menendez." The U.S. and five other countries are negotiating with Iran to curb its nuclear program in exchange for loosened economic sanctions. In their letter to Iran, the Republican senators warned that any such deal would have to pass both houses of Congress. Obama sharply denounced the letter Monday. "It's somewhat ironic to see some members of Congress wanting to make common cause with the hardliners in Iran," Obama said, referring to figures in Iran who also oppose a nuclear deal. "It's an unusual coalition." In a statement Monday evening, Vice President Joe Biden, who previously served in the Senate, called the senators' letter "beneath the dignity of an institution I revere." "In thirty-six years in the United States Senate, I cannot recall another instance in which Senators wrote directly to advise another country -- much less a longtime foreign adversary -- that the President does not have the constitutional authority to reach a meaningful understanding with them," Biden wrote. "This letter sends a highly misleading signal to friend and foe alike that that our Commander-in-Chief cannot deliver on America’s commitments -- a message that is as false as it is dangerous." Want more updates from Amanda? Sign up for her newsletter, Piping Hot Truth.
Medical marijuana becomes legal in October Peter D'Aprile, RPh, MBA, is the owner and pharmacist of English Apothecary in Bethel. Peter D'Aprile, RPh, MBA, is the owner and pharmacist of English Apothecary in Bethel. Photo: Carol Kaliff Photo: Carol Kaliff Image 1 of / 9 Caption Close Medical marijuana becomes legal in October 1 / 9 Back to Gallery In October, a certain set of people -- those with chronic illnesses, such as multiple sclerosis or Crohn's disease, or cancer patients suffering from the debilitating effects of chemotherapy -- can become certified, and legal, smokers of marijuana. "That part of the law will be in place," William Rubenstein, state commissioner of the Department of Consumer Protection, said in a recent interview. Where they get that marijuana will be, for the near future, up to them. The state's system of growing, distributing and selling medical marijuana -- approved by the General Assembly last month and signed into law by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy on June 1 -- will be a complicated business. The regulations that will govern how growers in the state raise marijuana and how licensed pharmacists dispense it have yet to be written. When they are, they'll have to pass muster at a public hearing and win the approval of the General Assembly's Legislative Review Committee. "That can take a while," observed state Rep. Robert Godfrey of Danbury, who voted for the medical marijuana bill. "We hope to have the entire law up and running sometime in 2013," Rubenstein said. When that happens, the state will join 16 others in what is, in effect, both a medical and a social experiment -- whether Connecticut can successfully manage a system for the legal sale of marijuana, which the federal government still lists as an illegal drug. Allen St. Pierre, executive director of NORML -- the National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws -- said there have only been federal raids in states where there has been blatant abuse and disregard of state regulations, notably California. "Generally speaking," St. Pierre said, "where people have been compliant, there hasn't been a problem." Many doctors now see marijuana as an acceptable product to prescribe in the right situations. "There are always new treatments, new modalities coming along," said Dr. Patrick Broderick, chairman of emergency medicine at Danbury Hospital and president of the Western Connecticut Medical Group. "You don't want to be way out ahead of everybody, but you want to be able to help your patients. If we have another tool to help patients, that's a good thing," Broderick said. Dr. Robert Kloss, an oncologist at the Praxair Cancer Center at Danbury Hospital and a doctor who works in hospice and palliative care, said patients are well-informed of what's happening in the other states where medical marijuana is legal, thanks to the Internet and a variety of social networks. "People are very informed," Kloss said. And, he said, there's strong anecdotal evidence -- if not rock-solid, double-blind medical studies -- that people get relief from smoking marijuana. Kloss said people on chemotherapy use it to reduce nausea and as an appetite enhancer; people with colitis, inflammatory bowel disease and Crohn's disease have reported a improvement in bowel function through smoking marijuana; people with multiple sclerosis say marijuana can control their tremors. "There are receptors in the brain that are affected by cannabinoids," he said of the chemical compounds in cannabis (marijuana). "And these chemical agents do have beneficial effects." They may include anti-inflammatory effects and effects on the immune system, Kloss said. "There are studies in mice that show it may have an effect in cancer cell suppression," he explained. Dr. Peter Rostenberg, an internist and family doctor in New Fairfield, said he has treated people with a serious addiction to marijuana and knows its effects. But Rostenberg said he could see himself prescribing medical marijuana for some of his patients. "If it's strictly regulated, it will be a benefit," he said. The first laws allowing medical use of marijuana were passed in 1996 in California, St. Pierre of NORML said. Canada approved medical marijuana use in 2001. Four states in New England now allow its use -- Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maine and Vermont. St. Pierre said there has never been a study that shows the medical use of marijuana increases the number of auto accidents, workplace accidents or absenteeism at work. "We've had a 15-year-long social experiment and nothing has happened," St. Pierre said. "The sun still rises in the east and sets in the west. The tides turn twice a day. Nothing has changed." Some people see the legalization of marijuana as a business opportunity. Bob Heffernan, executive director of the Connecticut Nursery and Landscape Association, said he knows several growers in the state who have expressed an interest in growing marijuana under the state law. That law stipulates that there can be no fewer than three, but no more than 10, growers in the state. "I've had a lot of calls about it," Heffernan said. That is because when marijuana is grown for the medical market, it will have to be grown in a greenhouse under controlled conditions. The state's nursery industry -- which now accounts for half of the state's agriculture -- grows a lot of plants in greenhouses. "We'd be the logical choice," he said. Heffernan said no one has experience in growing marijuana legally in the state up to this point. "All we can go on is the experience of other states," he said. That experience, Heffernan noted, has shown it to be a lucrative business. Godfrey said he once spoke to Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer about medical marijuana. "They're a farming state," he said. "Marijuana is a big part of their industry." Likewise, Peter D'Aprile, owner of the English Apothecary in Bethel, said he is definitely interested in the program. "I just got a call from someone working in a hospice about this," D'Aprile said about the availability of medical marijuana. "It will help people that need help, and it will give me a new revenue stream," he said. "For me, it's a win-win situation." On the other hand, pharmacist Jim Cangelosi, owner of the Brookfield Pharmacy, said as long as it's illegal under federal law, he'll steer clear of becoming a dispenser. "I wouldn't want to make a big investment, then have the feds shut me down," Cangelosi said. "I don't run my business dealing with gray areas. "This is a gray area." bmiller@newstimes.com; 203-731-3345
In the middle of a 1969 interview, writer E.B. White paused, smiled, and declared what he loved most about the publication he wrote for: “Commas in The New Yorker fall with the precision of knives in a circus act, outlining the victim.” An avid grammarian, the Charlotte’s Web author thoroughly enjoyed this routine. Unfortunately, the United States government doesn’t share the magazine’s zeal for punctuation -- and sometimes, it costs taxpayers money. Curious about the most expensive legislative typo in American history, we dug into the matter. If you’re anything like E.B. White, what we found will rile you up: In 1872, one misplaced comma in a tariff law cost American taxpayers more than $2 million, or $38,350,000 in today’s dollars. * First, we should clarify that back in the old days, our government raised revenue a bit differently. After the United States gained independence from the British in 1776, it sought to economically reorganize itself through the establishment of a national budget. Thirteen years later, on July 4, George Washington signed the Tariff Act of 1789 into effect, stipulating that “duties be laid on goods, wares and merchandise” in order to “support the government.” For over a century, these foreign import tariffs served as the primary source of the US government’s revenue -- sometimes providing for as much as 95% of the federal budget overall: Though income tax wasn’t permanently instituted until 1913-14, the first tax paid on individual incomes was actually levied in 1862, as part of a “patriotic war effort” to fund the Union cause during the Civil War. It was a “progressive” tax: Those who earned between $600-$10,000 per year paid 3% of their income, and those who made over $10,000 paid 5%; eventually, these rates increased to 5% and 10% (still as far cry from what most of us pay today). Over the ensuing eight years, the US government collected just shy of $100 million via this income tax. Shortly thereafter, income taxes were abandoned, and tariffs once again accounted for the majority of federal revenue. On June 6, 1872, the United States government, under the administration of Ulysses S. Grant, issued its thirteenth tariff act -- the first to come post-Civil War -- which sought to reduce rates on many manufactured goods in order to get the economy back. Instead, one miniscule typo ended up costing the government -- and Civil War taxpayers -- nearly $2 million. This tariff act, like all previous acts, included a “free” list -- items that were exempt from being taxed upon entry to the United States. All other foreign imports generally averaged a tax of around 20% of the good’s purchase price. Importers, always looking for ways to weasle lower fees on their goods, would voraciously scan new tariff acts when they were released in hope of discovering loopholes. Duty rates on fruit from the Tariff Act of 1870 Subsequent tariff acts had specified that "Fruit plants, tropical and semi-tropical for the purpose of propagation or cultivation" were exempt from paying the import tariff. While plants and seeds used to “cultivate” fruit were exempt, fruit itself was not: Two years prior, the Tariff Act of 1870 had established a duty of 20% on oranges, lemons, pineapples, and grapes, and a duty of 10% on limes, bananas, mangoes, coconuts, and essentially every other fruit that was being imported to the US at the time. Fruit was a major import item, and as such, its tariffs constituted a considerable portion of the federal budget. In the 1872 revision, a comma was, for some inexplicable reason, inserted between the words “fruit” and “plants,” giving fruit importers the means of evasion they’d been looking for: The comma, intended to read “fruit-plants” (with a hyphen, not a comma), had devastating consequences, recounts an article from the 1930s: “The preamble of the ‘free’ list provided that all articles therein enumerated should be exempt from duty on and after Aug. 1, 1872. Certain importers asserted that the word ‘fruit’ in the free list of the Act of 1872 permitted the free entry of all tropical or semi-tropical fruits, and the claims [refunds on duties paid abroad] were filed on the shipments as they came in.” Initially, the Secretary of the Treasury rejected these claims on the grounds that the grammatical error was “clearly intended to read otherwise.” Importers, unwilling to accept this, ignited a series of trials on the matter (original documents here), and it soon became clear that the Secretary’s excuse wouldn’t hold up in the courtroom. In December 1874, two years after the typo, the US government declared that, under the phrasing of the act, fruits were free. Duties were subsequently refunded -- to the tune of $2 million. At the time, this was no small sum; a loss of $2 million was nearly 1.3% of the government's total tariff income in 1875 ($157.2 million) -- and 0.65% of that year's entire federal budget ($308 million)! A small sampling of fruit importers who filed for reimbursement Under the headline “An Expensive Comma,” notes from the Forty-Third Congress were published in an 1874 New York Times article. During the hearing, legislators fiercely bickered over proper grammar usage -- “The word fruit was used as a limitation, and not as a noun substantive!” declared one Congressman. One Senator, John Sherman, a republican from Ohio, was especially “anxious” to uncover the root cause of the improper comma, and had “hunted up all the papers relating to the subject.” “The error occured by somebody adding ‘s’ to the word ‘fruit,’ and then a comma,” he stated. “We do not know who did it, but the subject should be inquired into.” Sherman, among other things, recalled a story in which “a learned judge of the United States Supreme Court” admitted to “never regarding” punctuation. Eventually, after much debate, Congress concluded that there was “no doubt [the comma] was placed there honestly,” and the matter was dropped. In subsequent revisions of the act, duties of 20% were restored on all fruit, and life went on. * Years later, in 2006, a Canadian cable television provider faced an identical dilemma, when a lone comma error in a 14-page contract cost the company big bucks. The misplaced punctuation, prominently featured in the company’s legal terms, allowed for one of its major clients to prematurely escape a large contract. Despite a desperate attempt to draft a 69-page affidavit “mostly about commas,” the cable company eventually lost out on nearly $1 million. “Why they feel that a comma should somehow overrule the plain meaning of the words is beyond me,” the company’s vice president later stated in a filing with the Telecommunications Commission. “[It’s just] a classic case of where the placement of a comma has great importance.” Like hunting for typos? You'll love our book → Everything Is Bullshit. This post was written by Zachary Crockett; you can follow him on Twitter here. To get occasional notifications when we write blog posts, please sign up for our email list.
Maryland men's basketball guard Melo Trimble passed on the NBA draft after his fabulous freshman season because he would become a sophomore, and who didn't see his second season in College Park improving on his first? A year later, here we are, with Trimble having been deemed probably not good enough for the first or second round of the 2016 NBA draft ... but probably good enough for the 2017 draft. Because, well, sophomores become juniors. The Big Lead leads the pack of Trimble believers, pegging him at No. 15 overall in its way-too-early mock-up. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I was way wrong about him making the leap as a player during his sophomore year," writes Jason McIntyre, who, it should be noted, had Trimble at No. 4 overall in the 2016 draft this time last year. "I’m told there was some off-the-court drama that impacted his play, but I’m not looking for an excuse. He regressed. But he’ll undeniably be The Man in College Park, which may be what he needs to show he’s a future pro." Bleacher Report has Trimble at No. 25, headed to the Brooklyn Nets. NBADraft.net rates him lower, a second-round pick of the Milwaukee Bucks at No. 40. But after averaging 14.8 points, 4.9 assists and 2.6 turnovers per game on 41 percent shooting (31.5 percent on 3-pointers), Trimble has his doubters. He's not in DraftExpress' top 60. Or CBS Sports' top 30. Or CBS Sports' other top 30. Or NBC Sports' top 26 college players to watch. Some of the concerns about Trimble's draft prospects last season focused on the internal — how his team might affect his stats and thus his stock, or how his hamstring injury and broken jump shot would be evaluated. Next season, the factors are more external: There are three incoming freshman point guards in NBADraft.net's top 10, and a fourth at No. 17. A French point guard is No. 7 overall. Trimble is No. 10 overall — at his position, just ahead of former Towson recruit and Kansas star Frank Mason Jr. All of which is to say, don't start looking at how Trimble might fit into the Bucks' rotation. It's a little too soon.
The new Nexus 7 has had a couple of issues to deal with out of the gate that has most certainly frustrated early adopters. First it was a GPS issue, but more recently the focus has moved onto multi-touch issues with the device’s display. After pressing more than one finger on the display at a time, users were dealing with a screen-freakout that would leave the device useless for a short time. According to a Googler who has been responding in an ongoing thread over at Google’s product forums, an update is rolling out that should fix the issue. The update, as has been reported by a couple of forums, is build JSS15Q, which is still Android 4.3. Here is what paulw had to say last night: As a couple of you have mentioned, there’s a new system update that’s started rolling out for your Nexus 7s. This update does address the touchscreen issues discussed in this thread. If you’re one of the people experiencing touchscreen issues, please let us know how it’s going after you’ve received and installed the update. Once we have the update file, we’ll be sure to pass it along. Update: Googler paulw has confirmed that this update should fix the GPS issues as well: Thank you for your patience while we’ve been working on this. As Justin mentioned, there is a new over-the-air update for Nexus 7 rolling out now that addresses the GPS issue discussed here. We look forward to hearing feedback about your GPS experience after you’ve received the update. Via: Google Product Forums [2] \| XDA Cheers Rithvik and Justin!
Dubbed The Boneyard, but officially known as the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) facility, this sprawling US airbase is reputed to be the world's largest military aircraft cemetery. Spread across the huge 2,600 acre site, equivalent in size to 1,430 football pitches, is a collection of over 4,000 retired aircraft including nearly every plane the US armed forces have flown since World War II. Now, for the first time, a series of high resolution satellite images of the four square mile-site have been released by Google Earth. They show in incredible detail the full range of aircraft found at the site. To see the enhanced content on this page, you need to have JavaScript turned on. Click on the image to see the large version. Among the aircraft are B-52 Cold War-era bombers that were retired in the 1990s under the the terms of the SALT disarmament treaties signed between the US and the Soviet Union. Also, on show are dozens of F-14 fighter planes which were retired from the US Navy in 2006 and featured in the Hollywood movie, Top Gun. The Boneyard has also featured in a series of films, the most recent being Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Located in Tucson, Arizona, on the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, the facility was first set up shortly after World War II. It was chosen for its high altitude and arid conditions, that mean the aircraft can be left outdoors without deteriorating too quickly. A major industrial centre, AMARG manages an inventory of more than 4,200 aircraft and 40 aerospace vehicles. In addition to being a massive plane park, AMARG also refurbishes aircraft, returning them to flying status or preparing them to be transported overland. Officials at the base say that the parts reclaimed and aircraft withdrawn turns every tax dollar spent into 11 dollars in return. Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? E-mail this to a friend Printable version
The U.S. Army has finally added Asatru and Heathen to its religious preference list after a five year effort led by the Open Halls Project. The Army is now the second branch of the U.S Military to include these two religious options. The Air Force led the way in July 2014. With these changes made, Heathen soldiers serving, or having served, in either of these two branches can accurately communicate their religious preference and, by doing so, earn a host of benefits and protections. It is currently estimated that there are around 500 Heathens serving in the U.S. Army alone. That number is purely speculative based on Open Hall Project registrations. Heath said, “I’m hoping that getting the religious preference added will allow us to eventually ask the military to do an official census.” Heath’s quest began in 2009 after he and his wife Cat joined The Troth. At that time, Heath was on Active Duty with U.S. Army, and wanted to see both Heathen and Asatru added to the religious preference list. Since that application required the backing of a 501c3 organization, he asked the Troth for help, which they gave. Unfortunately, the Army made an error and put The Troth on the list, rather than Heathen or Asatru. As a result, Heath had to begin the process all over again. This time, however, he looked for support from a group whose name contained the word Asatru, as advised by Army officials. With the help of Vince Enland of the Asatru Alliance and Patricia Lafayllve of The Troth, he submitted a second application in 2010. This was also the year that he and Cat formally established the Open Halls Project. A year went by with little to no response. In 2011, the team decided to submit a third application. This one contained a petition with the signatures of over 30 soldiers. But, once again, they were simply told that the application was being reviewed. After two years of waiting, the Army had still made no decisions, and the team was faced with two new challenges. Heath said, “In 2012, we were told by the Chaplains Corp that a new system to request Rel Prefs was being developed and would take some time to get anything new approved.” Additionally, Heath himself was no longer on Active Duty. Therefore, they “would need to get someone [else] who [could] reprocess the whole request.” Over the next two years, they put the project on “the back burner.” They periodically checked in with Chaplain Bryan Walker, personnel director of the U.S. Army Chief of Chaplains. They also worked to garner more support and allies for the mission. By 2013, momentum began to build in the form of both interest and corresponding actions. In terms of earning increased support, Josh Heath credits a 2013 interview with Dr. Karl Seigfried, published on the Norse Mythology blog. While the article is predominantly about the couple’s personal history and religion, it does mention the Open Halls Project and its deep involvement “in American Heathenry and … the struggle for its recognition as a religion in the U.S. military.” In fact, that very interview is what inspired Msgt. Matt Walters, the Air Force NCO, to seek out the Open Halls Project for help in getting Asatru and Heathen added to the Air Force religious preference list. While support increased, other serendipitous events began to happen. In spring 2013, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs added the Mjöllnir, (the Hammer) to its list of symbols available for gravestones and markers. Then, in early 2014, the Army added Humanism to its religious preference list, and the Air Force added Heathen and Asatru. In a recent interview with Dr. Karl Seigfried, Heath admitted that the adding of Humanism, “riled him up!” He said, “I’d been working on this issue for Heathens for five years, and they still hadn’t approved us! I threatened a lawsuit, politely, and even contacted the ACLU and the humanists that won their campaign to ask for some guidance on how to proceed.” Due the increase in support from the Heathen community, Heath was able to find four new Active Duty soldiers willing to work on the project. The team consisted of Christopher Gibat, Omar Bailey, Andrew Turner and Daniel Head, who would became the new principle point of contact. In a recent interview, Head told Dr. Seigfried that after some “back and forth” and questioning the chaplains signed off. Asatru and Heathen were added to the list. While this designation is purely administrative, the benefits can be far reaching in the experiences of a Heathen soldier, and in the education of military officials. Heath said: Some Heathens will still have a hard time getting the right to worship, but having their religious preference added will mean the Chaplains Corp, MUST, assist them within the regulation requirements. That is a huge advocacy pool, even a chaplain that doesn’t really want to help will have to or face disciplinary action for failing to uphold their oath. I think this will help, when good soldiers, are seen as good soldiers, and then someone finds out they are a Heathen, this will hopefully show that we are good for our units, good for the Army and good for our country. He also noted that Heathen Veterans can apply to make a change to their religious preference. Doing so will help with any official census taken, as well as supporting Heathen specific needs for funerals and other religious-based services. I have [had] to choose ‘other’ as my religious preference, that makes me and many others feel excluded. I will no longer have to worry, “Will there be someone who understands what I believe, and to speak for me, if the worse were to happen.” – Daron Regan It is a great feeling not to be marginalized as “that weird guy that believes in comic book characters.” – Andrew Turner I am thankful for those that have stayed the course, it seems to have paid off and brought honor to us all.- Omar Bailey This is the seed from which something great may grow. Whether it be something as simple as full recognition or a full chaplain representation. Our deed will feed the well that feeds the seed.- Joshua Spencer A few members were skeptical on how much this will really affect their day-to-day experience, but most reactions were celebratory and focused on the next chapter of the project. Heath said, “We are planning on pursuing the Navy and Marines next, as they use the same system for Chaplains, a win there will affect both branches at the same time. I seriously doubt they would add the preferences themselves without prodding, but I do not think it would be hard for personnel to make those requests now.” For more extensive detail on the entire process and experience, turn to the recent interview with Daniel Head and Josh and Cat Heath at the Norse Mythology Blog.
WASHINGTON — A far larger number of people were affected by President Trump’s executive order on refugees than he initially said, Department of Homeland Security officials acknowledged on Tuesday. Mr. Trump posted on Twitter that only 109 people were detained or denied entry into the United States after his order, but during a news briefing at the Customs and Border Protection agency’s headquarters on Tuesday, officials said that 721 people had been denied boarding for the United States after it began enforcing the travel ban. The agency said it processed waivers for 1,060 green card holders, and an additional 75 waivers granted to immigrant visa and nonimmigrant visa holders. Homeland security officials said the White House was referring to the number of people who were either detained or denied boarding during the initial hours after the travel ban was signed, a total based on preliminary calculations. The officials also disclosed that 872 refugees were granted waivers to enter the country, despite Mr. Trump’s executive order freezing resettlement. Customs officials said the waivers were granted because the refugees were “ready to travel.” They had already been vetted by the government, they said.
Topps Bubble Gum Juice Cartons! Oh yes. These things. Staples of my childhood diet! No kid could resist bubble gum rocks that poured from tiny juice cartons! Made by Topps in the early ‘80s, “juice gum” survived until long after I’d stopped paying attention. For all I know, they’re still out there somewhere. Let us pray. The gum was delicious, delivering sharp first chews. Sure, the flavor almost immediately dulled into nothingness, but that was just an excuse to chew more gum. Course, nobody sought these for the taste. It was the gimmick. You might say that children have low standards or are too easily amused, but we should all be jealous of them. Only kids could find such peace with the world by pretending that gum was juice. I miss that sort of innocence more than I miss Cyrano Magnus Maximillion. (Dead hamster.) Then there was the gum itself. Not the flavor, but the actual, physical, unchewed things. “Rocks” is the only way to describe them. They poured out in many shapes and sizes, looking like hilariously tacky fish tank gravel. Whatever your fetish, the gum delivered. For me, they were especially useful as mock jewels for my toys to fight over. Modulok had many arms, and they all grabbed for this gum. For a long while, the orange juice flavor was my mainstay. I despise apple candies, and though grape was usually on an even level with orange, grape juice certainly wasn’t. Later, I found a new flavor, or at least a flavor that was new to me. PINK LEMONADE. From that point on, it was all about PINK LEMONADE. There was just no freakin’ comparison. The flavor… the sleek black box… the fact that the usual fruit mascots had been replaced by a goddamned anthropomorphic glass. It was slick and awesome, and chewing it made me feel the same. To rub salt in the others’ wounds, PINK LEMONADE also came with two distinct gum colors and flavors. There were spicy lemon rocks, and sweeter pink ones. This turned us into mad scientists, developing our own preferred ratios of sour-to-sweet. The wicked may have even opted to eat all of the pink rocks first, masochistically cursing themselves to an “ending wad” of nothing but lemon. There weren’t many candies that let you play God this hard. Our versions of historical events are so easily influenced by personal experiences, and so, for the sake of journalistic integrity, I will admit that the flavors featured here do not summarize the “juice gum” collection in total. There was also a Tropical Punch flavor, along with several Bazooka-branded additions — including the minor miracle known as “Strawberry Shake.” I’ve learned that these others existed, but they were never a part of my childhood. In my experience, the cool factor never rose above PINK LEMONADE’s screwy tongue. So, when I tell you that PINK LEMONADE was the end-all/be-all, try not to argue. For me, it was. For any sane human being with a soul and a brain, it was. I wrote this during the final minutes of Valentine’s Day. I am a hopeless romantic.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Warren Buffett said on Monday the U.S. economy had “fallen off a cliff” but would eventually recover, although a rebound could kindle inflation worse than that experienced in the late 1970s. Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, addresses The Women's Conference 2008 in Long Beach, California October 22, 2008.REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni Speaking on CNBC television, the 78-year-old billionaire said the country is experiencing a “close to the worst-case” scenario of falling business activity and rising unemployment, causing consumer confidence and spending to tumble. Buffett called on Democratic and Republican policymakers to set aside partisan differences and unite under the leadership of President Barack Obama to wage an “economic war” that will fix the economy and restore confidence in banking. He urged policymakers and regulators to communicate their efforts better to the public, though he stopped short of major, specific policy recommendations. “People are confused and scared,” he said. “People can’t be worried about banks, and a lot of them are.” Buffett spoke nine days after his insurance and investment company Berkshire Hathaway Inc said quarterly profit fell 96 percent, largely from losses on derivatives contracts. Berkshire’s book value per share fell 9.6 percent in 2008, the worst year since Buffett took over in 1965. RECOVERY COULD TRIGGER MORE INFLATION Buffett said Americans, including himself, did not predict the severity of home price declines, which led to problems with securitizations and other debt whose value depended on home prices continuing to rise, or at least not plummet. “It was like some kids saying the emperor has no clothes, and then after he says that, he says now that the emperor doesn’t have any underwear either,” Buffett said. “We want to err on the side next time of not allowing big institutions to get as unchecked on leverage as we have allowed them to do.” Consumers too should reduce their reliance on debt such as credit cards, he said. “I can’t make money borrowing money at 18 or 20 percent,” said Buffett, ranked as the second-richest American by Forbes magazine in October. “I’d go broke.” Buffett said the economy was mere hours away from collapse last September when credit markets seized up, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc went bankrupt and insurer American International Group Inc got its first bailout. While praising efforts by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and others to stimulate the economy, he said the economy “can’t turn around on a dime” and that their efforts could trigger higher inflation once demand rebounds. “We are certainly doing things that could lead to a lot of inflation,” he said. “In economics there is no free lunch.” The stock of Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire has fallen by half since September. Growth in some units such as auto insurer Geico Corp has been offset by weakness elsewhere, including jewelry retailers that Buffett said have “gotten killed.” Buffett said Berkshire will write less catastrophe insurance this year after investing roughly one-third of its cash in high-yielding securities issued by General Electric Co, Goldman Sachs Group Inc and other companies. In morning trading, Berkshire Class A shares were down $795, or 1.1 percent, at $72,400. Their 52-week high is $147,000, set last September 19, Reuters data show. BANKS SHOULD “GET BACK TO BANKING” Buffett called on banks to “get back to banking” and said an overwhelmingly number would “earn their way out” of the recession, even if stockholders don’t go along for the ride. Saying that “a bank that’s going to go broke should be allowed to go broke,” Buffett nevertheless added that the “paralysis of confidence” in the sector is “silly” because of safeguards such as deposit insurance. He said Wells Fargo & Co and U.S. Bancorp, two large Berkshire holdings, should appear “better than ever” three years from now, while the ailing Citigroup Inc, which Berkshire does not own, would probably keep shrinking. Bank of America Corp Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis, in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece on Monday, agreed that the vast majority of banks will survive. Berkshire has reported a small stake in Bank of America stock. Buffett said he still expects Berkshire’s derivatives contracts, whose value depends on where four stock indexes trade a decade and more from now, to be profitable. Related Coverage Wells Fargo shares boosted by Buffett Over 10 years, he said, “you will do considerably better owning a group of equities” than U.S. Treasuries. Buffett also defended his imperfectly timed October opinion piece for The New York Times, where he said he was moving non-Berkshire holdings in his personal account to stocks. “I stand by the article,” he said. “I just wish I had written it a few months later.”
This film is protected by copyright and is provided for personal, private viewing only. Please use the Hire, buy or ask a question button to ask about obtaining a copy of this film or a licence to use it, or to ask about its copyright status. Please read Understanding catalogue records for help interpreting this information and Using footage for more information about accessing this film. Overall rating: Title: CHRISTMAS Reference number: 1668 Date: 1937 Director: filmed by Frank M. Marshall Sound: silent Original format: 16mm Colour: bw Fiction: non-fiction Running time: 10.20 mins Description: A children's Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. [An amateur prize-winning film of 1937]. Credits: cast Nairn Marshall & Muriel Marshall Amateur Cineworld Prizewinning Film 1937. Shotlist: Credits (0.15) ext. house and c/u Christmas cards (0.50) int. children playing by the fire (1.11) "Oh Santa, please bring me ..." (1.16) shot of models of London Transport bus, car racing, a writing desk [which has "Nairn" scratched onto it] (1.16) shots of girl looking up the chimney (1.26) shot of baby doll, doll's clothes "flying" from a trunk (1.10) boy takes his hand away from the chimney covered in soot (1.41) "What a mess Santa will make!" (1.47) children put newspapers down in front of the fire (2.11) children get ready for bed and put their stockings up (2.34) "Santa will think that's Daddy's Nairn" (2.41) children go to bed and the boy dreams of toys, then wakes up and finds a pipe, tie etc. in his stocking (3.49) "Let's see if Santa's been downstairs!" (3.53) children go downstairs and are frightened away by Santa Claus (4.57) children wake up in the morning, look at the toys in their stockings, eat their sweeties (6.03) "Hurry! There'll be more things downstairs" (6.08) children play with their hoped-for toys; Muriel writes a thank you note to Santa on Nairn's new writing desk (8.38)Party programme; Dancing. Broken Bridges, Spin the Plate, Bunny Races, I Dree I Dree I Dropped It, Tea (6.34) children playing games from party programme; children sit at table and eat their tea; pulling crackers, c/u boy in a party hat, eating and drinking (11.40) ext. house and of the children sleeping; boy has nightmares; his sister dries his eyes (13.06) "Cuddle down again and perhaps a fairy will come!" Children asleep with the boy dreaming of a fairy (13.45) Finis (13.54)
The Animal-Free Food Movement Should Move Towards An Institutional Message Jacy Reese Blocked Unblock Follow Following Oct 20, 2016 Note: This post is written from the perspective of effective altruism: working to make the greatest positive impact in the world by using evidence and reason. For an introduction to the subject, visit effectivealtruism.org. In the 1800s, the American public saw vegetarianism as a strange, puritanical lifestyle. Sylvester Graham and John Harvey Kellogg — a minister and medical doctor now known for their crackers and breakfast cereal, respectively — advocated a bland vegetarian diet to improve health, reduce sexual desire, and ward off immoral tendencies. They also recommended abstinence from alcohol and tobacco, vibration therapy, and frequent enemas. While this made vegetarianism popular with the most ascetic, purity-driven, and health-dedicated part of the population, it locked vegetarianism into the public consciousness as an unusual diet for people who wanted to be ‘holier than thou.’ Fortunately, the times are changing! Modern advocates for animal rights, veganism, and animal-free food like the Vegan Bros show consumers that veg eating is compatible with being cool and a “bro.” Public intellectuals are hopping on board, such as Sam Harris, a neuroscientist and author who recently identified as a “vegetarian … and aspiring vegan.” We’ve seen a remarkable transition, and the increased number of vegans, vegetarians, and even reducetarians is making a substantial impact for animals, their health, and the planet. However, I want to argue that we should shift our message even further away from the 1800s lifestyle movement. To do the most good given the many benefits of an animal-free food system, I think we need to favor institutional messaging in our movement, making it clear that we want society as a whole to change, not just individual consumers. The Good Food Institute, a new nonprofit promoting clean (i.e. cultured) and plant-based meat, milk, and eggs, is already using institutional messaging. Their website and public messaging doesn’t focus on why you, as an individual consumer, should eat these new products. Instead, it asks you to help “create a better food system” and “disrupt animal agriculture.” While I’m sure GFI — and indeed all good food advocates — want each member of our audience to eat more animal-free foods, we must consider whether to emphasize that goal in our rhetoric, or our broader goal to have society as a whole shift away from animal farming. Examples of individual messaging: “You need to go vegan.” “You should eat less meat.” Examples of institutional messaging: “We need to end animal farming.” “America should eat less meat.” Note that whether we favor individual or institutional messaging, there’s also the question of what scope to use, where encouraging meat reduction is relatively “small” and wanting to end animal farming is relatively “large.” I won’t go into this question here, but I personally lean in most cases towards messages with the scope of “end animal farming,” and I know reasonable people who favor both larger and smaller goals than that. Historical precedent for institutional messaging A natural place to look for evidence when strategizing for social impact is historical social movements, focusing on those that are most similar to the one we’re working on. While there’s no shortage of differences you can cite between the animal-free food movement and other movements, the question is not, “Are these movements very similar to ours?” but “What’s the best evidence we can find?” The animals need us to use all the evidence we can find to make the best decisions on their behalf, even if that evidence is weak. One obvious conclusion is that the animal-free food movement has a virtually unprecedented focus on individual and consumer change. One of the few historical examples of a heavy consumer focus in the history of social movements is the “Free Produce Movement,” a contingent of anti-slavery activists who advocated for complete abstinence from slave-made goods. Similar to veganism, this was seen as reducing the economic power of slavery, signalling protest against slavery, and helping consumers maintain purity from the immoral institution. This approach was most popular in the early 1800s in the United States. William Lloyd Garrison, a prominent abolitionist, “proudly proclaimed” at a convention in 1840 that his suit was made with non-slave labor. However, by 1850, the movement lost much of its momentum as activists — including Garrison himself — decided there were more effective ways to fight slavery. Some activists in the environmental movement feel similarly about “green consumerism,” the environmental movement’s take on a consumer-focused strategy. One popular argument against green consumerism has been that it makes potential activists complacent and therefore less likely to work on bigger changes like environmental policy efforts. This effect — known as “moral licensing” or “moral fatigue” — has some empirical evidence, although research is limited. My weak impression from people more involved is that the movement has been shifting over the years towards institutional, campaign-oriented messaging (e.g. “move beyond coal”) and away from both individual messaging (e.g. “please recycle”) and vague, broad institutional messaging (e.g. “save the earth”). One potential counterexample to the historical precedent for institutional messaging is the success of public health movements such as anti-smoking, which seem to have mostly used individual messaging in their public outreach. The strength of this counterargument depends on how relevant you think the different movements are for understanding animal-free food advocacy. One key difference between anti-smoking and animal-free food advocacy is that the main impetus to shift towards an animal-free food system is usually either the environmental or animal rights arguments, while health is the most common anti-smoking argument. Note that Compassion in World Farming, a leading farmed animal protection organization, published an interesting article on “What We Can Learn From The Anti-Smoking Movement.” Avoiding the “collapse of compassion” Both the audience and activists themselves in the animal-free food movement often suffer from the “collapse of compassion.” In social psychology, this refers to the low levels of compassion people tend to feel for big problems that affect many individuals. The leading explanation for this collapse is, “People expect the needs of large groups to be potentially overwhelming, and, as a result, they engage in emotion regulation to prevent themselves from experiencing overwhelming levels of emotion.” This suggests that we might be able to increase the compassion people feel towards large groups by making it clear that their problems are solvable, i.e. showing people a straightforward path to success, planting a flag, and illustrating a clear, achievable vision. Institutional messaging helps avoid the “collapse of compassion” by suggesting that we can make headway on the issue beyond what we achieve with our own diet. Changing only our own diet can be demotivating and seen as a mere drop in the bucket, while taking collective action feels more tractable and impactful. If many people are eating animal-free food, then the marginal consumer faces a much lower cost to jumping on the bandwagon. It’s possible for someone to accept that institutional messaging succeeds in showing a path forward, but think that at least in the case of “we should end animal farming,” the proposed path is unrealistic. Some people might think an animal-free food system is seen as so implausible that individual messaging, which at least suggests that the outreach recipient can solve their own contribution to the problem, offers a more inspiring solution. They could also see institutional messaging as totalitarian or too aggressive for our audience to accept. I think this is a valid counterargument, but my personal weighing of the evidence is that ultimately the “collapse of compassion” consideration weighs in favor of institutional messaging. Many people see the end of animal farming as somewhat realistic, especially given recent advances in food technology such as the “world’s first cultured meatball” and arguments like “how else will we feed the world by 2050.” Even animal agriculture industry publications have considered the possibility. Anecdotally, when I have seen institutional messaging used in practice, people have seen it as entirely realistic. However, this could be because it’s usually deep in the context of these promising technologies and compelling arguments, such as when discussing a new food technology with a reporter. Evoking “moral outrage” and expressing the seriousness of the issue Institutional messaging probably evokes more “moral outrage” than individual messaging. Moral outrage is roughly defined as “a special type of anger, one that ignites when people recognize that a person or institution has violated a moral principle (for example, do not hurt others, do not fail to help people in need, do not lie) and must be prevented from continuing to do so.” Moral outrage is also described as “a response to the behavior of others, never one’s own.” It seems natural that institutional messaging would be more likely to spark the emotion because it puts the blame for the issue on an outside institution or one that the audience member is only a small part of, usually the animal agriculture industry or society as a whole. Because of this, institutional messaging could reduce the defensiveness we frequently encounter when talking about veganism and animal-free food. Moral outrage seems to mediate people’s willingness to break from “system justification” — the tendency of people to justify, often irrationally, the status quo. This makes sense in theory and has some empirical evidence. Given how common system justification is when people hear “go veg” messages, this could be a very important effect. Think of all the irrational arguments we vegans and vegetarians hear claims like “I can eat meat because lions do.” It seems like anger, an emotion similar to but broader than moral outrage, is probably key for activist motivation. Again, most activists seem to agree with this in their own experiences, and there’s some limited evidence in the academic literature. Finally, in addition to evoking more moral outrage, it’s likely that institutional messaging makes the audience view the issue as more serious, given that it’s so large in scope and urgent enough for us to be taking society-wide action. This could be very important. Consider that when people in the animal agriculture industry want to dismiss or minimize the messages of animal-free food advocates, they often emphasize that vegetarianism and veganism are personal choices on the individual level, and that people should be free to decide for themselves whether to abstain from animal products or to include them in their diet. Consumers do this sometimes too, saying, “I think it’s great that you’re vegan, but it’s my personal choice to eat meat.” Because individual messaging emphasizes the personal decision, using it actually creates our own counterargument! Moreover, it could lead to people thinking of veg eating as a trend or fad, which weakens the moral impetus behind it. A recent case study that shows the prevalence and power of the personal choice rebuttal is the social media backlash the Good Food Institute received for their recent campaign to get In-N-Out to carry a veggie burger. For example, this Tweet suggests a negative reaction or rationalization based on the personal choice framing: Because vegan food has been so strongly identified as an option, rather than as the goal, it’s easy to come up with counterarguments like this one. Of course, it’s also possible that these reactions would have been worse if the movement were favoring institutional messaging, and we should consider that while the animal-free food movement today mostly uses individual messaging, GFI itself seems to favor an institutional approach. Peer pressure There is abundant psychological evidence for the power of peer pressure, also known as social messaging, which is often used to persuade someone to take a certain action or have a certain belief by showing them that many of their peers, or authority figures, also take that action or have that belief. While both individual and institutional messaging can incorporate peer pressure, I think institutional messaging has more of this built-in because it necessarily communicates that other people are making changes and that helping farmed animals is a group effort. This strategy is already used in other contexts the animal-free food movement. For example, Israel vegan activists organized a large march in 2015, which they advertised from the get-go as a 10,000 person demonstration. People were eager to join, and the claim that there would be a large number of attendees seemed to play an important role in that. Moreover, personal labels like “vegetarian” are usually reserved in society for minority positions, so the emphasis on these labels with individual messaging could further reduce peer pressure. One counterargument to this is that a labeled minority leads to more peer pressure than an unlabeled minority, since the label might emphasize that other people also occupy that minority position. An argument that cuts both ways: We could be biased in favor of one of these strategies I think there’s good reason to think we’re biased in favor of individual messaging because of the general psychological desire for instant gratification, and we should account for this bias by updating slightly in favor of institutional messaging. Additionally, most animal advocates are currently using individual messaging, so there could be more status quo bias. However, there’s also a potential bias in favor of institutional change, where ambitious people like me might be too excited by the exciting prospect of very large-scale impact. I’m hesitant to give the arguments in either direction much weight. First, I think bias arguments are very easily misused and misapplied, including in the effective altruism community, since they are often so difficult to soundly refute and give arguers an opportunity to tie personal attacks into their “rational” argumentation. Second, I think bias arguments are relatively weak once we’ve done in-depth research into the object-level arguments, even to the depth of this blog post. If I had to pick a direction for this argument, all things considered, I suspect the instant gratification concern — which points in favor of individual messaging — is slightly more powerful. Counterargument: Individual messaging has a clearer call to action and promising spillover benefits While institutional messaging can include specific calls to action, including individual diet change, individual messaging has more of a built-in call to action. Individual change is something you can do immediately in an obvious way, while institutional change is more vague and long-term. The clarity of the individual focus could make the outreach recipient more likely to act on that call to action, perhaps because people who hear an institutional message might agree with the message but not fully realize they can help by changing their diet. For example, they could think they should just wait until better animal-free foods are developed. Having more people make the initial step of diet change could lead to substantial spillover benefits. For example, there is some empirical evidence that eating animal products leads people to think animals have less sophisticated mental capacities, likely due to the cognitive dissonance of thinking that animals have rich mental lives but also eating them. The attitude shift from reducing that dissonance could lead to more activist involvement and long-term diet change. Another spillover benefit is that short-term change, or at least chains of impact that involve measurable short-term outcomes (e.g. caring more about animals this month, if that predictably leads to increased activism a year later), has short feedback loops. This means that if you are spreading messages over and over, such as handing out many leaflets, you can repeatedly measure the impact and modify your strategy based on the outcomes. For example, you could vary whether you ask people to “go vegan” or “go vegetarian” and then measure which one actually leads to more diet change. It is harder to do this when your outcome is long-term without a clear short-term proxy for that outcome. Proponents of long-term impact might respond to this by saying that there are usually good proxies, such as attitude change to predict whether someone becomes an activist one year down the road. Finally, given how small the animal-free food movement currently is, institutional change might be so intractable that perhaps the best thing we can do right now is to promote individual change, increasing the number of vegans and vegetarians so that we can create institutional change later when we have more public support. Mixed messaging It is also possible, especially when given a lot of time to explain things like in a personal conversation, to mix and match the two types of messaging, telling people something like to “Help end animal farming: go vegan!” Some specific mix of the two types might capture the benefits without the downside, such as campaigning for an end to battery cages and emphasizing that individuals can take action through protests, contacting government officials, or other forms of activism. Implications of favoring institutional messaging All things considered, I think this tentative preponderance of evidence is quite significant for guiding our messaging decisions as effective altruists. There’s also an associated conclusion I hope to write more about later, that we should spend marginal effectiveness-focused resources on institutional interventions, e.g. campaigns that generate national media attention, getting companies and institutions to change their food policies, over individual interventions, e.g. leafleting, online ads. The arguments for and against institutional interventions are very similar to the arguments regarding our messaging. I think focusing on institutional messaging and interventions is the most important underappreciated conclusion in the effective altruism for animals space. Also, I’ve spoken with a few other impact-focused animal advocates about this conclusion, and there seems to be agreement that the evidence points towards institutional messaging in most cases. Finally, I want to qualify this conclusion by saying I don’t think we should stop using individual messaging, or that no animal advocates should focus on that message, just that I favor institutional messaging with marginal resources. What do you think? Does the totality of this evidence point in favor of individual or institutional messaging on the margin? Should shifting further in the favored direction be a high priority for animal-free food advocates?
As a writer with openly progressive opinions living overseas, I would be surprised if my emails and telephone calls to Our Kid – a poli-sci professor who studied in Madrid and wrote her PhD on Spanish terrorism – have not been monitored by the US government. It’s been a long-standing joke between us to wave hello to the lonely NSA guy in the basement listening in on our conversations. But a new ABC report confirms what has long been suspected – it’s no joke. NSA officials have intentionally intercepted, listened to and passed around the phone calls of hundreds of innocent U.S. citizens working overseas, including journalists and international aid workers including the International Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders, even when it was definite the calls were not related to anything to do with national security, while the government misled the American public about the scope of its surveillance activities. But rather than listening for possible connections to suspected terrorists, it seems what really interests those NSA guys with headphones down in the basement is… sex. According to Adrienne Kinne and David Murfee Faulk, two former military intercept operators who worked at the giant National Security Agency (NSA) center in Fort Gordon, Georgia, for years intercept operators listened in on hundreds of phone calls from American soldiers in Baghdad’s Green Zone as they talked to their spouses, girlfriends, and family about ‘personal, private things with Americans who are not in any way, shape or form associated with anything to do with terrorism.’ Intercept operators assigned to a special military program at the NSA's Back Hall at Fort Gordon would routinely share salacious phone calls that had been recorded, and gossip about it during breaks. ‘ “Hey, check this out, there's good phone sex or there's some pillow talk, pull up this call, it's really funny, go check it out.” It would be some colonel making pillow talk and we would say, “Wow, this was crazy”.’ ‘The American public is led to believe that the NSA is eavesdropping on calls where one party is a member of al Qaeda, but in reality the NSA is monitoring and collecting the personal communications of innocent Americans,’ said James Bamford, who first interviewed the former intercept officers for his book, ‘The Shadow Factory,’ due out next week. ‘What's worse, once a telephone number or e-mail address gets picked up, it stays in the system. Every communication from the number or address is picked up, monitored and stored permanently.’ Then-NSA director Gen. Michael Hayden, now director of the CIA, testified before Congress, denied that private conversations of Americans are being intercepted. He was asked by Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), ‘Are you just doing this because you just want to pry into people's lives?’ He answered, ‘No, sir.’ However, a US intelligence official said ‘all employees of the US government’ should expect that their telephone conversations could be monitored as part of an effort to safeguard security and ‘information assurance.’ ‘They certainly didn't consent to having interceptions of their telephone sex conversations being passed around like some type of fraternity game,’ said Jonathon Turley, a constitutional law professor at George Washington University who has testified before Congress on the country's warrantless surveillance program. The two intercept operators have independently come forward to blow the whistle, feeling what they were doing was illegal, improper, immoral, and shouldn't be done. Both intercept operators said their military commanders rejected questions about listening in to these private conversations. ‘It was just always, that , you know, your job is not to question. Your job is to collect and pass on the information.’ Kinne also resented the waste of time spent listening to innocent Americans instead of looking for the terrorist needle in the haystack, underscoring the failure of the program. ‘By casting the net so wide and continuing to collect on Americans and aid organizations, it's almost like they're making the haystack bigger and it's harder to find that piece of information that might actually be useful to somebody,’ she said.‘You're actually hurting our ability to effectively protect our national security.’ The chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Jay Rockefeller (D-West Virginia), called the allegations ‘extremely disturbing’ and said the committee has begun its own examination. ‘Today's report is an indictment not only of the Bush administration, but of all of those political leaders, Democratic and Republican, who have been saying that the executive branch can be trusted with surveillance powers that are essentially unchecked,’ said Jameel Jaffer, Director of the ACLU National Security Project. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) pledged to revisit the FAA again in 2009 when provisions of the controversial USA Patriot Act are due to expire. It would seem unlikely, however, that apologies from Senators Pat Roberts (R-Kansas), Jeff Sessions (R- Alabama) or John Cornyn (R-Texas) would be forthcoming, resorting to the habitual ‘Give Me Death’ justification for the Bush domestic spying program. ‘Over 3,000 Americans have no civil rights because they are no longer with us,’ Sessions said. This was echoed by Roberts on his opposition to investigation into the misuses of pre-Iraqi war intelligence. ‘You really don't have any civil liberties if you're dead.’ Cornyn likewise defended the NSA’s domestic surveillance program with the statement, ‘None of your civil liberties matter much after you're dead.’ Russ Feingold (D-Wisconsin) responded with Patrick Henry's clarion call, ‘Give me liberty or give me death.’ But for some Republicans, it seems it’s more a case of Give me Liberty or give me… sex.
Near field shootout Cat was not harmed in any of the following measurements. Vanatoo Transparent One: This is what a good speaker looks like. I did not have these or the Monoprice on hand, so I pulled these measurements from my previous reviews and matched up the scale. NHT Super One Xu (circa 2002) These are old speakers, but still in good shape and cost me about $300 when new. Notice the dip/chopping from 3k to 6k.. this is noticeable and very shit. OSD AP490 This speaker has good drivers and a pretty good design, but tons of tone issues. Micca MB42 Everyone that heard these liked them, and to be fair the bass on these little speakers is really good. But I have been consistent in calling it like it is.. these are still bad speakers, now you can see why. If the 7k peak is smashed down they are at least interesting to listen to, but still wrong. Monoprice bookshelf speakers These are not fun to listen to, build quality issues abound. The bump for 3.5k-6k is what really makes them nasty. Dayton B652 Recalled version This is the recalled speaker, as they were a gift, and I have no boxes for them they will be barbecued on 6/5/2013 at 2:00PM for the world wide BBQ652 celebration. Dayton Revised version Oh, yeah.. they fixed all of the issues here. These are getting returned, as soon as possible. Match up: NHT vs Micca This is why it's best to get OK used speakers vs cheap bad speakers. Match up: Dayton B652 vs Dayton B652 Guess which one is fixed. Match up: OSD vs OSD During my review of these I was short on time and only used one channel to measure most of the time so I missed this little problem. There is a good bit of tonal differance between the two speakers, this is disconcerting, but not uncommon if you look at the rest of the results. Also, since the last measurement they have both developed a rattle resonance. I checked and it was the lead wires on the woofer hitting the back of the cone, moving them a little bit fixed the problem. These are still the best speakers under $100 I have tested and are really very good at what they do. I am still using these in my personal desktops setup without a subwoofer and just the DSP correction. Other content you may like:
THIS MORNING, SINN Féin said it intended to abolish Irish Water and water charges as its first act of government if in power after the next election. The party published a short, one-page bill that would repeal all existing legislation around Irish Water and water charges. Under Dáil rules, the Water Services Repeal Bill cannot be tabled by an opposition party as it involves the spending of exchequer money. But Sinn Féin spokespeople are in no doubt that if the party is in government after the election this would be its first act. So the question is what exactly replaces it? In an attempt to shed light on this here’s a quick guide to the Sinn Féin’s alternative for water, as put forward by the party in public commentary so far… So Sinn Féin wants to abolish Irish Water? Yes. If in government, it would be the party’s first act, finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty said today. Legislation deleting the two existing pieces of legislation on water was published today and is ready to go when Sinn Féin enters office. It’s worth noting that last October, the party sang a slightly different tune on scrapping Irish Water during the Dublin South-West by-election. Outlining her party’s plan ‘The Future of our Water Services’ deputy leader Mary McDonald explained that Sinn Féin wasn’t proposing that Irish Water as an entity be scrapped. It would, instead be funded from elsewhere in the tax system. But it’s for scrapping Irish Water now? Yes. So does that mean water charges would be no more? Yes. What happens to the money I’ve already paid for water or the money I owe? Sinn Féin said it would not go after any arrears for domestic water usage but would not be refunding anyone who pays their bill now. A spokesperson said: The position is that we would scrap domestic charges and we would not go after any arrears for domestic water usage. But those who pay their charges do so in the knowledge that that money will be lost to them. What about people on group water schemes? Sinn Féin has said that those paying for water on these schemes would continue to do so. Commercial water customers would also continue to pay. How much would this cost? In its pre-budget submission Sinn Féin said it would cost €300 million NOT to introduce domestic water charges. New taxation measures, including a third rate of tax (48%) for people who earn over €100,000 a year, and raising capital gains tax and capital acquisitions tax to 40% each, would fund this. In addition, Doherty said recently that some of the €539 million already spent on installing water meters would be recouped. We weren’t quite clear on this, so we asked party leader Gerry Adams to explain when he visited us recently. See the video below. Far from the €300 million Sinn Féin said it would cost last October, Adams claimed earlier this year that it would actually cost €141 million to scrap domestic water charges: So if Irish Water is gone, who takes over the provision of water services? Irish Water effectively replaced the system whereby water provision and infrastructure was the responsibility of local authorities. The government’s rationale for setting it up is that one, centralised utility streamlines the process and, in the long run, saves money as well as improving dilapidated water infrastructure. Sinn Féin says there would be some involvement for local authorities under its plans, but is clear in saying that it would set up a “new public body” that would be accountable to the government department. The new body would be underpinned by a number of principles including: There would be a constitutional “right to water”, which means that public ownership of water services would be enshrined in the Constitution. This would require a referendum – an idea first floated by the Green Party last year. There would be no domestic water charges (but you knew that one already) It would be accountable to “a government department” – presumably the Department of Environment – and “directly accountable to a minister” – presumably the Minister for the Environment. Source: Laura Hutton/Photocall Ireland This sounds like another Irish Water… No, insists Sinn Féin. The party argues that Irish Water has been set up to charge people for their domestic water. Doherty said: “That is an entity that is set up to meter domestic customers right across the state and is a quango that is unrepresentative and unaccountable.” Sinn Féin’s argument is that this new public body would be focussed not on billing customers but on fixing infrastructure whereby “50 per cent of our water is leaking from it.” What we’re saying is to make sure that water services are fit for purpose that we’re getting best value for the money but we’re not charging individuals domestic water charges. Is there any existing public body that would act as a template for this new Irish Water that’s not Irish Water? Source: Mark Stedman/Photocall Ireland We asked for an example in the south of Ireland, but Doherty could only talk about what exists in the North where they have Northern Ireland Water. In the North, for example, you have a publicly-owned, publicly-accountable utility company in terms of NI Water, which invests in water services, which does not doesn’t charge for domestic customers and is directly accountable to the department and makes the necessary investment. Sounds like a quango? It’s not, insist Sinn Féin. Instead, it’s: A public body with a greater role for local authorities [that] would invest in infrastructure and roll out improvements in water services. Hmmm, so what happens to all those Irish Water staff? Irish Water both directly and indirectly employs thousands of staff between those in management, meter intallers and call centre staff. (We asked IW for an exact number but didn’t get one at the time of publication). Just yesterday we heard about the 750 people it has employed to deal with customer queries as bills begin to land. Irish Water's Elizabeth Arnett keeps her job under Sinn Féin's plan for water Source: Sam Boal Sinn Féin environment spokesperson Brian Stanley suggests staff would be better utilised repairing leaking pipes: What we’re saying is if you’re going to employ 750 extra people – such as what’s happened this week, to take calls – surely it makes more sense if half the water is leaking out of the system that you employ 750 extra people to repair leaking pipes. Sinn Féin is clear that it would honour the contracts of existing Irish Water staff, including those seemingly surplus to requirements if domestic charging is scrapped. Here’s what a spokesperson told us: Sinn Féin in Government would honour contracts with all staff at Irish Water as agreed, including those providing customer service for all water consumers, and also billing which would focus on non-domestic collection only, in the absence of household charges. Following Brian Stanley and Sinn Féin’s logic, the hundreds of people Irish Water has employed to deal with queries about bills would be retained but would only be focussed on recouping non-domestic charges. This, on the face of it, appears to be a pretty bloated customer service department, under SF plans. What would this new public body be called? The name doesn’t matter, according to Doherty: Obviously the name doesn’t really make much of a difference. But that would be something that would be done in consultation with the Department and so on. Source: Leon Farrell/Photocall Ireland How much would all this cost? The cost of setting up this new public body is not clear. But Stanley reckons it would actually be more efficient than what currently exists. He argues that the €270 million that Irish Water hopes to get from billing customers will not actually come to fruition as there will be a “substantial non-payment element there”. Stanley says that when you subtract the €130 million to be paid in the form of the water conservation grant (which would also be scrapped under SF plans) and the €22 million being spent on collecting water charges (although not all of this would be recouped if all staff are being retained) you would be left with very little money. He said: Our proposals is (sic) a lot more secure, it’s a lot more real than the €270 million that the government have estimated in for the billed amount, because they will only wind up with a small fraction of that. Pearse Doherty and Brian Stanley explaining their plans to journalists earlier today Stanley says that Sinn Féin’s pre-budget submission makes for an allowance of €300 million “to make up for the shortfall of what’s collected in domestic water charges”. In fact, there is no such allowance in Sinn Féin’s pre-budget submission. It does say that it would cost €300 million to scrap the charges. But there’s no specific €300 million allowance contained in the document. Anything else? That’s as much as we know so far. I’m still not entirely clear on how life after Irish Water under Sinn Féin works… You’re not the only one. Here’s what Labour TD Derek Nolan had to say about it all in a statement earlier today:
Colin O'HaraHey. What do they Rays, Rowdies, and Lightning all have in common? They spent this week beating up on Canadian teams. So, nothing new here. Another game, another win. This time, the Rowdies faced their first real test of the season and passed with another perfect 1-0 win in front of more than 5,300 fans. “Even though it didn’t look like one of our best games, personally, I think I was our best game,” Georgi Hristov said after the match, who scored the evening’s only goal. Saturday night saw the Rowdies face fellow defectors of the North American Soccer league, the Ottawa Fury. Though affiliated with Major League Soccer’s Montreal Impact, they are the first team the Rowdies faced this season that are not considered a “reserve”, “B”, or “second” team. No matter. The result was the same and the Rowdies maintained their perfect start to 2017. I have been accused lately of downplaying the Rowdies dominant 4-0 win over Toronto FC II over a week ago in my last Rowdies gush-fest, but Saturday night’s match was a true testament of what the Rowdies can do (Editor's note: Um, no, Colin, you haven't been. You sound like a lovesick schoolgirl.) Three matches, three wins, and zero goals allowed. That’s how the Tampa Bay Rowdies kicked off their best start to a season in the modern era (since 2010). For the third match in a row, Georgi Hristov found himself on the scoresheet, scoring the only goal of the game in the 47th minute. Tampa Bay held 70 percent of ball possession and out-passed Ottawa 625 to 263 (¡Olé!). Ottawa took one more shot (11 to 10), but each team only managed to get three shots on target. But goals came at a premium. Ottawa took a page out of America’s playbook and built a “wall” of defense and relied on quick counter attacks for offense. It’s an easy way to frustrate your opponents. “It was a very, very tough game. They were a very tough team to play and it was a very good test for us,” Hristov said. “They are very hard to play against. I don’t think they were really looking for a win; just trying put 12, 13 players behind in their 18-yard box. It was hard to break through them because there was no space.” And what is Hristov’s secret to scoring anyway? “The most important thing is to stay positive, and that’s what we did,” Hristov said. Hristov topped the club in goals last season with 11 and is well on his way to shatter that record. He scored 12 in the 2013 season, which will pale in comparison if he keeps up this pace. “You can play Georgi anywhere,” Rowdies head coach Stuart Campbell said. “Left wing, right wing, center forward. He’s just a good, good footballer. It’s great to have him on the team.” Even more impressive than scoring goals is the Rowdies’ ability to stop them. It has been three matches and the Rowdies have yet to let up a single goal. That’s 270 minutes of perfect play. “It’s been incredible,” goalkeeper Akira Fitzgerald said. “All four [of the defenders] have been doing really well, limiting the chances. They have done so much for me so it was great to help the team.” Despite the previous two shutouts, Fitzgerald — who remains the starter of Matt Pickens — only recorded two saves in the first two matches combined. That was the same amount of goals scored by Hristov. But Saturday’s match asked a little more of him, calling him to make three big saves to keep the match scoreless in the first half. “Another great result and another clean sheet,” Fitzgerald said. The Rowdies will take this show on the road next week, traveling to Louisville, Kentucky for Saturday’s match, and then a quick turnaround to Cincinnati for a Wednesday night match before going back at in at Al Lang that following Saturday. “It’s going to be strange actually after playing here three weeks in a row,” Campbell said. “But I’m looking forward to seeing how the team adapts as we go away.”
With only 7 percent of the state’s population, Austin has more than 30 percent of its patents and over half its venture capital, according to Mayor Steve Adler. That’s partly because the city is known as inclusive, which attracts talented, creative people and the companies that employ them, Adler said. But Austin’s reputation could be threatened by anti-LGBT proposals in the 84th Texas Legislature, he warned, pointing to recent backlash from businesses over “religious freedom” laws in Indiana and Arkansas. “Apple is here, Google is here, because the people who work for Apple and Google, they want to live here,” Adler said. “It’s real important that we not go down that path, and it is scary to me that our state Legislature right now is considering doing that.” Adler was among the speakers Saturday evening at a rally on the south steps of the Capitol to protest a record number of anti-LGBT bills in the Legislature, including proposals similar to the Indiana and Arkansas laws. Nearly 100 people gathered below a banner reading, “We Are More Than Marriage. Full Equality Now.” With dusk falling, speakers addressed the crowd through a bullhorn while an activist waved a hybrid Texas-gay Pride flag in the light breeze. The rally, organized by GetEQUAL, was among three this weekend in as many states as part of the group’s #HateOutbreak campaign, inspired by anti-LGBT legislation across the country in response to the spread of same-sex marriage. Jan Soifer, chair of the Travis County Democratic Party, decried the use of religion to justify discrimination, pointing to proposals like Senate Joint Resolution 10, by Sen. Donna Campbell (R-New Braunfels). Although religious opposition to homosexuality is often rooted in a single verse from the Book of Leviticus, other Old Testament passages forbid things like sex with women who are menstruating, and working on the Sabbath, Soifer said. “If we adhere to biblical marriage, does that mean we should legalize men having concubines?” Soifer said. “In truth, there is no legitimate religious basis for discrimination against members of the LGBT community, and we must call people who advocate for it in the name of religion what they are. They are bigots, plain and simple, and we must fight bigotry everywhere we see it. … We cannot allow the Texas Legislature to enshrine hatred and discrimination into our laws.” Former Rep. Glen Maxey (D-Austin), who was the state’s first openly LGBT legislator, said when he moved to Austin in 1981, he feared if anyone found out he was gay, it would ruin his political career. Thirty-four years later, Maxey said, you can’t walk into an office in the Capitol where staffers and legislators don’t know an LGBT person. But the fight for equality is far from over. “We cannot ever sit back and take it easy,” he said. “It saddens me on this weekend that’s seen as the holiest weekend of the Christian religion, to be here talking about bills that denigrate our community in the name of religion. I want the people in this building who call themselves Christian to remember the one single law that was put down by the leader of the Christian movement, Jesus Christ, and that was, ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.'” Watch a clip from Maxey’s speech below.
(Washington Post illustration) When black activists and voters protest police shootings of African Americans, their conservative critics often respond that what African Americans should really be protesting is black-on-black crime. That criticism runs afoul of basic facts. The assumption that African Americans are somehow “soft” on crime is sharply at odds with new scholarship suggesting that, in fact, African Americans have long supported tougher penalties for crime. In his new book, Locking Up Our Own, Yale University Law School Professor James Forman Jr. points out that in national surveys conducted over the past 40 years, African Americans have consistently described the criminal justice system as too lenient. Even in the 2000s, after a large and sustained drop in the crime rate and hundreds of thousands of African Americans being imprisoned, almost two-thirds of African Americans maintained that courts were “not harsh enough” with criminals. Source: General Social Survey. Forman complements this observation about national trends with a detailed study of D.C., a majority-black city with a majority-black police department and political establishment. He notes that in the 1970s, marijuana decriminalization was popular with white voters and elected officials, but was ultimately defeated by a coalition of African American ministers and lawmakers. Even into the 1990s, black officials in D.C. (including future Attorney General Eric Holder) routinely endorsed aggressive policing tactics and ever-harsher penalties for crime. D.C. was not unique in these respects. Many other cities with large black populations and black elected leaders were equally committed to tough-on-crime policies. Why did so many black voters and leaders endorse crime crackdowns when they knew that many of the people who would be arrested and incarcerated would be black? Scholars such as Forman and Michael Javen Fortner, author of the 2015 book Black Silent Majority, offer multiple, nuanced explanations, but a key one will resonate with anyone who has ever experienced crime up close: African Americans were sick of being victimized. In 1975, 85 percent of people killed by guns in D.C. were African American (So too were 85 percent of the killers). Even in today’s lower crime environment, victims are disproportionately black. Crime is largely a local phenomenon, and residential segregation remains an enduring fact of life in the United States. As a result, when a black person is victimized, the offender is very often black as well. Through a compelling mixture of personal stories and wonky data analysis, Fortner and Forman document how African Americans have grappled with an anguished choice. On the one hand they want to protect themselves from crime, on the other hand they know that the more active and powerful the criminal justice system grows, the more African Americans will be caught up in it, some of whom will be subjected to grossly racist treatment. Fortner is extremely candid illuminating both sides of the coin, disclosing that one of his brothers has been incarcerated, whereas another was murdered. Rather than continuing to force African Americans to choose the lesser of the two evils, Forman advocates major investment in black communities that would prevent many crimes from happening in the first place, including expanded employment opportunities, improved housing options and better schools. Coupled with efforts to combat racial discrimination within the criminal justice system, such policies would allow more African Americans to enjoy public safety and a fair, responsive criminal justice system at the same time. Keith Humphreys is a professor of psychiatry at Stanford University.
Last Friday, Secretary of Defense James Mattis ordered reviews of both Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program and Boeing’s development contract for the Air Force One replacement program. But apparently the DOD and Lockheed were able to fix any problems with the program over the weekend, as President Donald Trump declared the F-35 program was now in “good shape” at a Monday meeting with small business leaders, which was broadcast by CNN. Speaking of Lockheed, Trump said, “We’re cutting the price of their planes by a lot.” Trump said that he had been working on the F-35 program since after the election, and “I was able to get $600 million off” the next block of F-35s being built. Trump also said, “I appreciate Boeing coming in and competing” for future fighter purchases (Mattis’ ordered review of the F-35 program includes looking at a “comparable” variant of the F/A-18 Super Hornet to help to fill the gap left by delays in the F-35 program). But Trump added, “The F-35 fighter jet — a great plane by the way, I have to tell you, and Lockheed is doing a very good job as of now. There were great delays, about seven years of delays, tremendous cost overruns. We’ve ended all of that and we’ve got that program really, really now in good shape, so I’m very proud of that.” Nothing has really changed with the F-35 program since Trump took office. Most of the program’s delays occurred during the Bush administration; the program was restructured in 2011, and new requirements were added to the aircraft since then. Lockheed had already promised to deliver the aircraft at a much lower “fly-away” cost. Back in November, the DOD made a unilateral demand for Block 9 of low-rate production, lowering the cost of the 42 F-35A aircraft ordered for the Air Force to $102 million (with the remaining Navy and Marine Corps aircraft in the total of 57 to be built carrying a somewhat higher, but still reduced, price tag). Trump’s claim of an additional $600 million applies to the next block of aircraft—a 90-plane order. Negotiations for Block 10 were already under way before the election, and the projected price per aircraft was under $100 million. The increased production rate would reduce Lockheed’s costs, in theory. With the price already set to drop by at least $2 million per aircraft, another 4 percent off the lot’s price doesn’t seem to be much of a stretch. Lockheed executives had promised a price reduction for the F-35 following a tweet by Trump in December. Aside from the tweet, and Mattis’ ordered review, it’s not clear what sort of work Trump has done on the program since.
I will face my laughter. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the laughter has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain. Yet another Dune reference. Ironically, I'm treating the series with more reverence than Herbert's own son has been. Good Lord are those "prequel" books some awful stuff. Whole bunch of shirt orders went out today. We're getting all the pandapus stuff (and all the other orders) out as quickly as we can. Now would be a good time to order a shirt if you've been considering it, as we have most sizes and designs in stock. I think that's it for tonight. See you tomorrows.
Dubai: World leaders will converge on Dubai this weekend to attend the three-day World Government Summit beginning on Sunday with 4,000 delegates and 150 speakers from 139 countries attending. The fifth edition of the summit (WGS 2017), say organisers, is the world’s largest platform for shaping future governments with 114 sessions “making it the largest participation of its kind since the event was first launched in 2013”. Global luminaries across political, scientific and futurist lines will address the summit, said organisers. Confirmed speakers include Shinzo Abe, Japanese Prime Minister; Miro Cerar, Slovenian Prime Minister; Tshering TobGay, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bhutan; Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations; and Irina Bokova, Director-General of Unesco. From fields of business and futurism, other luminaries attending include Jim Yong-kim, president of the World Bank; Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and founder of SpaceX; Christine LaGargde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund; as well as Sir Suma Chakrabarti, president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Mohammad Bin Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs and the Future and Chairman of the WGS Organisation, noted that the UAE, under the leadership of the President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and the directives of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, has successfully transformed WGS into a global platform. “The summit’s experience as an international platform that convenes heads of states, government leaders, ministers, officials, scientists, entrepreneurs and leaders of international organisations who help shape future governments has truly reached an advanced stage that focuses on finding balance between technological advancements and achieving the happiness and welfare of the people,” Gergawi said. “The event will also study how to utilise the technologies of the fourth industrial revolution and turn them into tools that help advance the lives of more than seven billion people.” New this year will be a pre-summit, invitation-only event on Saturday to explore “happiness” with the help of top speakers, said summit organisers. “The Global Dialogue for Happiness event will bring together top thinkers, decision makers and experts from around the world to start a global discussion on the importance of happiness and wellbeing, and the imperative role of governments in achieving elevated levels of happiness worldwide,” organisers said.
SF City Hall ruins from 1906 quake found S.F. history Archaeologists, historians look over remnants Above: San Francisco City Hall in the aftermath of the 1906 earthquake and fire. Above: San Francisco City Hall in the aftermath of the 1906 earthquake and fire. Photo: ? Photo: ? Image 1 of / 8 Caption Close SF City Hall ruins from 1906 quake found 1 / 8 Back to Gallery Crews working on a building project in San Francisco's Civic Center have unearthed the massive foundations of the old City Hall, a ghostly reminder of San Francisco's greatest disaster. The imposing old City Hall collapsed in a shower of bricks, stone and steel in the 1906 earthquake. It was the largest municipal building west of Chicago and was so elaborate it took 25 years to build. The City Hall was supposed to be earthquake proof, but it collapsed in seconds after the great quake struck. It had been open for less than 10 years. Its ruins were demolished in 1909, but workers digging under the sidewalk on Hyde Street near Fulton Street for a landscaping project struck something big Sept. 14 - bricks and concrete and steel reinforcing bars. They called archaeologists from the federal General Services Administration, which owns the adjacent former federal building at 50 United Nations Plaza. They looked at old maps and old reports: It was the 1906 City Hall, all right. "We were surprised to see it," said Rebecca Karberg, historic preservation specialist for the GSA. "You really never know what's under the surface." The wreckage of the old City Hall - a grandiose dome 300 feet high held up by the skeletal remains of a building - became a famous symbol of the '06 quake. The wrecked building was widely photographed, and the pictures were sold as postcards. The cornerstone of City Hall was laid on Washington's Birthday, 1872, though site excavation started the year before. It was built on the site of the old Yerba Buena Cemetery, where perhaps as many as 9,000 San Franciscans were buried between 1850 and 1860. "The original 49ers," Karberg called them. Shifting design The site, just off Market Street where the Main Library now stands, was sandy and wet in the winter. There was an underground spring. The original design called for a building in the shape of the letter W, with columns and ornamental towers in the French Second Empire style. Over the years, however, the design was changed more than once. There were big cost overruns and various scandals. It took so long to build, it became a municipal joke: "The new City Hall ruin," it was called. Only a year after its 1897 opening, it was damaged in a minor earthquake, an ominous sign. "It was the proverbial disaster waiting to happen," wrote Stephen Tobriner in "Bracing for Disaster," a book about engineering in earthquake country. Before dawn on April 18, 1906, the Big One struck. Officer E.J. Plume was in the police station in the City Hall basement. He heard the pillars that held up the cornices and the cupola "go cracking with reports like cannon, then falling like thunder." The building "seemed to be reeling like the cabin of a ship in a storm." The officers ran out, but City Hall was otherwise unoccupied. Had it been full of city workers, the death toll would have been huge. After the quake, rumors circulated that contractors who built City Hall had cut corners: The great exterior columns, it was said, were hollow, filled with street sweepings. But a report by architects after the disaster found the construction to have been solid; it was the design that failed. City Hall, they said, had been built "without any of the principles of the steel frame construction having been used." So it was torn down and nearly forgotten. Portions of the cemetery - including graves of early pioneers - were found when the Federal Building at what is now U.N. Plaza was built in 1933; and again the 1990s and 2001, when both a corner of the old City Hall foundation and part of the cemetery were unearthed during construction of the Asian Art Museum and the library. Big surprise But this month's discovery was still a surprise. The General Services Administration is rebuilding the 1933 Federal Building and had evidently not expected to find anything of the area's past. The new findings provide a window into the past and, perhaps, an opportunity to learn something more about construction in earthquake territory. "We enjoy history," said Joanne Grant, an archaeologist. "I'm not from San Francisco, so I have a lot to learn about the history here. But now, we are digging it up." When the architects and historians are finished documenting the ruins of the old City Hall, and the landscaping project is ready to go, the crews will go back to work. "We will bury it all again," Karberg said.
Americans across the nation today will honor the sacrifices our armed forces have made in protecting our country and our freedoms. Advances in technology have made showing your support and appreciation for our veterans easier than ever before. Whether it's turning your old phone into free minutes soldiers can use to call home or clicking a button to send a cup of joe to a Joe, here are a few ways technology can help you, help a soldier. 1. TroopTree TroopTree is a free private video messaging platform for military families to stay in touch with their loved ones overseas. KeepTree provides the free service which allows soldiers or their family members to leave messages for each other to be viewed at any time. The videos can be stored and saved forever so families can rewatch the videos or a soldier can record a birthday message ahead of time for his or her child to watch at a later date. "TroopTree’s video technology helps overcome many deployment communication challenges for troops because video messages can be viewed and responded to at any time, which eliminates the need to work around busy schedules and huge time zone differences to set up a live chat," KeepTree's general manager Brody Ehrlich told FoxNews.com. You can leave your own thank you video on TroopTree's "Thank You Vault" by visiting www.trooptree.com and clicking "Record a Thank You Video." 2. CompTIA's IT-Ready Apprentice Program A Minnesota-based company with a "teach a man to fish" philosophy is helping veterans land jobs in the Information Technology (IT) field. "One of the things that we learned is that veterans are coming back with a variety of skills that are poorly understood in the civilian world," Creating IT Futures Foundation executive director Charles Eaton told FoxNews.com. "They know how to solve problems and IT is essentially about solving problems." Eaton's CompTIA's IT-Ready program is completely free of charge and 80% of its participants receive employment in the IT field after completing the training. "It's not enough to give money away," Eaton said. "The feel good aspect is nice, but it doesn’t help improve people's lives." One veteran who went through the program has been happily employed in IT for a year since receiving his IT-Ready certificate. "My job in the military was infantry which most people wouldn’t suspect to be computer involved but we use computers every day in all aspects of our jobs," Michael Dauffenbach who served six years in the National Guard told FoxNews.com. Dauffenbach was even invited to the White House to an event hosted by First Lady Michelle Obama in an effort to encourage companies to hire veterans. Find out how you can support CompTIA's IT-Ready Program by visiting their website. 3. Cell Phones for Soldiers In 2004, Cell Phones for Soldiers was created by 12 and 13-year-old Robbie and Brittany Bergquist of Norwell, Mass. The teens wanted to help keep military families connected so they created a service that recycled old cell phones and turning them into calling cards for soldiers. "Cell Phones for Soldiers started as a small way to show our family's appreciation for the men and women who have sacrificed the day-to-day contact with their own families to serve in the U.S. armed forces," the teens' father, Bob Bergquist writes on their website. Since its inception, Cell Phones for Soldiers has provided 181 million minutes of free talk time for soldiers as well as help recycle 10.8 million cell phones. In 2012, the Bergquist family started a new effort called Helping Heroes Home, to provide emergency funds for returning veterans to help with physical and emotional hardships. Find out how you can recycle your old cell phone at CellPhonesForSoldiers.com. 4. Cup of Joe for a Joe The Internet makes supporting a veteran as easy as clicking a button. Literally. For just $2, you can send a cup of coffee to a soldier. California based coffee company Green Beans Coffee, has several cafes serving soldiers at military bases in Afghanistan, Kuwait, Qatar, Kyrgyzstan, Djibouti East Africa, Oman, and United Arab Emirates. "I often say it is easier for us to deliver coffee to our Troops in hot war zones than it is to drive day-to-day awareness for them here at home," Green Beans Coffee vice president of marketing Clay Lingo told FoxNews.com
Dallas Stars General Manager Jim Nill announced today that the club has signed defenseman Jordie Benn to a three-year contract. Per club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed. Benn, 28, finished the 2015-16 season with 12 points (3-9=12) in 64 regular-season games. His three goals on the season tied a career-high. The blueliner finished third on the team with 94 blocked shots. He played one game during the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs, registering four penalty minutes and two blocked shots. In 244 career regular-season games, all with Dallas, he has earned 56 points (9-47=56). In parts of five seasons, he has accumulated 327 hits and 369 blocks. The defenseman has made two Stanley Cup Playoffs appearances, recording three assists (0-3=3) in seven games. "Jordie has earned the trust of his teammates and the coaching staff, and he's taken advantage of every opportunity put in front of him during his career," said Nill. "His ability to play in a variety of roles make him valuable to our defensive depth and flexibility, and we're happy to have him locked up for the next three seasons." The 6-foot-2, 200-pound native of Victoria, British Columbia was originally signed by Dallas as an undrafted free agent in 2011.
They say an elephant never forgets, although new research suggests the same may be true of some Antarctic birds, which apparently have the ability to recognize the faces of humans they have encountered in the past, attacking those who they feel have wronged them. This capability is particularly remarkable given the fact that these birds live in a region that is virtually devoid of human activity, making the possibility of having evolved the ability to recognise people highly unlikely. Antarctic skuas living on King George Island, just off the Antarctic Peninsula, probably encountered humans for the first time at some point in the last 60 years, during which period scientific expeditions to the southernmost continent have become increasingly common. Among the latest people to have interacted with this particular population of birds are researchers from a collaboration of Korean institutions, who report in the journal Animal Cognition that the skuas quickly learned to identify which members of the team had intruded on their nests. The team had been stationed on the island in order to monitor the development of the skuas’ eggs and chicks during the annual hatching period. However, after noticing that the birds became increasingly aggressive towards researchers that made repeat visits to their nests, the scientists decided to set up an experiment to determine whether or not their feathered hosts could actually discriminate between individual humans. To do so, the researchers visited the skuas in pairs consisting of one “intruder” who had previously accessed the nest, and one “neutral” person who had not. To make things harder for the birds, both team members dressed identically. Amazingly, they found the birds always attacked the intruder and never showed any interest in the neutral person, suggesting that they recognized which humans had previously disturbed their nest and felt compelled to try to fend these individuals off. Since they could not have used clothing to tell the two apart, it is likely that they identified each person by their face. This conclusion is backed up by the fact that the windy Antarctic conditions make it difficult to pick up smells, so it is unlikely that the skuas used olfactory signals to identify intruders. Furthermore, previous studies have shown that crows also apparently recognize the faces of individual humans, suggesting that birds with high cognition levels can indeed tell people apart in this way. As such, the study authors conclude that the skuas’ ability to discriminate between people is indicative of similarly high cognitive abilities. While some less intelligent species have been shown to acquire the ability to recognize people as repeated exposure leads to familiarity, this typically requires many frequent encounters, yet the skuas apparently remembered each researcher after just a few intrusions on their nest. Further evidence of the astuteness of Antarctic skuas can be found in their highly adaptive feeding behaviors. For instance, they have been observed pilfering food from other birds and even stealing milk from nursing elephant seals, suggesting a level of innovation that borders on cunning. Summing up these findings in a statement, study coauthor Won Young Lee said “it is amazing that brown skuas, which evolved and lived in human-free habitats, recognized individual humans just after three or four visits. It seems that they have very high levels of cognitive abilities.”
"He isn't so bad once you get to know him. He's just misunderstood" Q Junior was the son of Q and Q. He was conceived during the Q Civil War as a way to help restore the status quo of the Q Continuum and end the conflict. Shortly after his birth, Captain Kathryn Janeway agreed to be his godmother, based on the fact that she had supported and encouraged Q during the civil war. (VOY: "The Q and the Grey") Contents show] History Edit Although his parents had great hopes for their child as the "savior" of the Continuum, the high expectations had a dramatic effect on the young child's attitude. Junior became obnoxious, spoiled and disruptive and lacked the kinds of qualities that could inspire the much needed peace and compassion in the Continuum. Frustrated with his son, Q sent him to USS Voyager, hoping that Janeway's "vaunted Starfleet ideals" would rub off on the boy. However, Junior became even more disruptive, such as propelling Voyager into the path of three Borg Cubes, fusing Neelix's mouth shut when he tried to help him out and removing Seven of Nine's clothing to stare at her naked body. Fed up with his son's misbehavior, and inspired by Janeway's suggestion that he make his son realize that his actions would have consequences, Q stripped him of his powers and left him on Voyager for a week under the guidance of Captain Janeway. If he did not behave himself, his father warned him that he would not hesitate to turn him into an Oprelian amoeba. Initially, Junior's lessons on Voyager were a dismal failure. He plagiarized an essay on the Q Continuum from Icheb and secretly reprogrammed a holodeck simulation so that the solution could be achieved more easily. However, when Janeway threatened to cut off his lessons and return him to his father, Junior resolved to behave more appropriately. He became fast friends with Icheb, whom he nicknamed "Itchy" – and who in turn nicknamed him "Q-Ball" – and finally began putting some effort in his assignments and his character. His father was not very satisfied with Junior, however, as he felt that he did not live up to what was expected of him. Angry that apparently nothing he did was good enough for his father, Junior stole the Delta Flyer II and took Icheb with him to a joyride to the Clevari system. During his stunt Icheb was seriously injured when a Chokuzan vessel opened fire on the flyer. The Doctor was unable to treat Icheb without knowing more about the weapon that had caused his injuries. Junior realized that the only option left for him was to return to the alien ship and surrender in exchange for information about the weapon they used. When the Chokuzan decided to blame and punish Janeway as guardian, Junior defended her and insisted that only he be punished for his misdeeds. After this selfless act the truth finally came out: the whole incident was a set-up by Q to test his son's character. The Continuum, however, was not impressed by Junior's progress, and initially re-sentenced him to become an amoeba. After some consideration on Junior's self-sacrifice for Janeway, the Continuum changed his sentence to remain in Human form, but stripped of his powers. They only acquiesced when Q vowed to stay with him and take responsibility for his son for all of eternity. Grateful for her assistance in teaching him, Junior filled Janeway's ready room with roses as a parting gift. (VOY: "Q2") Appendices Edit Appearances Edit Background information Edit Q Junior was portrayed by the two infant brothers Brett and Nolan Donahue. Their costume was sold off on the It's A Wrap! sale and auction on eBay. [1] They filmed their scene on Monday 16 September 1996 on Paramount Stage 8 and are listed as "2 Babies (Donahue Twins)" on the call sheet. In the episode "Q2", Junior was played by Keegan de Lancie, who is the real-life son of actor John de Lancie. The older de Lancie once remembered, "My agents called me and said, 'By the way, I don't know if you know this, but they are casting for the character of your son. Do you want me to submit Keegan?' 'I don't know. Let me ask him.' I said, 'Keegan, would you like to be in Star Trek? Obviously, you have to audition for it.' So he went in, auditioned and got past station number one. He had to audition two or three times and I believe they hired him because he did a really great job. I had nothing to do with it." (Star Trek Magazine issue 168, p. 50) His name came from dialog, where he was referred to as "junior" by his father. In the script, he is identified as "Q2", which was a name given to a character played by Corbin Bernsen in "Deja Q". (Star Trek Encyclopedia (4th ed., vol. 2, p. 190)) Apocrypha Edit In the Q Continuum novel trilogy, Junior, while still an infant, visits the USS Enterprise-E with his parents when Q attempts to halt a Federation experiment to penetrate the galactic barrier using an artificial wormhole. During their time on the ship, Junior's mother reflects on her own fears about motherhood, but is slightly consoled by Doctor Beverly Crusher. Junior is briefly captured by an insane Betazoid scientist who has been enhanced by the barrier's psychic power and subsequently "possessed" by Q's old enemy/mentor 0, the scientist intending to test Junior's capabilities in various ways, but he is released thanks to his mother. In the novel, he is referred to exclusively as q, in lowercase. In the Star Trek: New Frontier short-story "Q'uandary" in No Limits, Doctor Selar was recruited by the Female Q during the Continuum's civil war as a midwife to take care of Junior. In The Eternal Tide, Q works with Kes to resurrect Admiral Janeway after she was assimilated by the Borg and killed in the battle to save Earth when he becomes convinced that she is needed to stop a threat that was stopped by Voyager in the timeline before Janeway's other self changed history. He is subsequently forced to sacrifice himself to stop the Omega Continuum whose release could annihilate the entire universe, crediting Janeway with inspiring his decision. In Star Trek Online Junior took on the role of his father (even donning the robes worn in "Encounter at Farpoint"), interacting with the player in a mission where he sends them back in time to the Battle of Wolf 359 to prevent the death of Benjamin Sisko at the hands of an unknown enemy, which sent a number of the Borg back in time to the USS Saratoga. Junior also features prominently at Earth Spacedock and Qo'noS during the yearly anniversary celebrations of the game and the yearly winter holiday celebrations. He took credit for changing the Earth Spacedock into the design seen in the films and Star Trek: The Next Generation from the previous design that had been similar to the one seen in Star Trek. He also maintains the Captain's Table, a cross-faction neutral ground space station accessible to lifetime subscribers.
Story highlights Most African states could earn vastly more from marine resources Illegal fishing, piracy and poor governance holding back the 'Blue Economy' New agreements could improve co-ordination between states Professor Prof Francois Vreÿ is a research coordinator at the Security Institute for Governance and Leadership in Africa, Stellenbosch University. The views expressed in this commentary are solely those of the writers. CNN is showcasing the work of The Conversation, a collaboration between journalists and academics to provide news analysis and commentary. The content is produced solely by The Conversation. Over the past decade there's been a steady rise across Africa in the attention given to the responsible use of the oceans to contribute to economic growth -- or what's known as the Blue Economy. The opportunities around Africa's blue economies are enormous with significant potential to create jobs and improve livelihoods. But what's often missing in debates are issues of governance and security. Five themes are particularly important to ensure both: safety and security, rule of law and transparency, respect for human rights, sustainable economic opportunity and human development. Neglecting these issues will hamper the potential growth promised by Africa's oceans. Africa's vast coastline hosts a maritime industry estimated at $1 trillion per year . This is only scratching the surface. Africa has 38 coastal states and a number of island states like Cape Verde, Sao Tomé and Principe, Mauritius, Seychelles and the Comoros. Collectively African coastal and island states encompass vast ocean territories of an estimated 13 million km². Coastal states such as Senegal could earn far more from their marine resources. Read More
1.9k SHARES Share Tweet An SNP politician who criticised UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia has received more than £400 worth of hospitality from a trade association whose members include arms firms who sell to the Saudis. Philippa Whitford, MP for Central Ayrshire, attended three dinners at the expense of the ADS Group, a trade association which represents companies in the ‘aerospace, defence, security and space’ sectors. ADS Group members include BAE Systems and Raytheon. BAE Systems has helped train the Saudi Arabian air force and provided it with fighter jets. Smart bombs with laser guided systems made by Raytheon in Scotland were linked to an alleged war crime in Yemen. In February 2016, Whitford attended the ADS Group’s annual dinner in London’s Park Lane Hilton hotel while protesters outside condemned the role of the British government and arms companies for Saudi Arabia’s bombing of Yemen. The UK backs a Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthi rebels on behalf of the ousted Yemeni regime. The register of members’ interests shows that Whitford also received hospitality worth £92 from the ADS group at an ‘industry dinner with SNP MPs’ in June 2016. Whitford is on record opposing arms deals involving Saudi Arabia and Israel, and she has expressed scepticism over the value of nuclear weapons. During a House of Commons debate on 18 October, she said: “It is the issue of the extra petrol that we are pouring on the flames that is key. I have raised on a number of occasions the bombing of Médecins Sans Frontières hospitals, particularly in Sana’a last autumn. “We are always told that “Saudi Arabia will investigate”, but that is not good enough. We should not be selling arms in this situation.” The SNP’s defence spokesperson Brendan O’Hara confirmed he was also present at the June dinner. He said: “At [the ADS’s] suggestion, and I agreed it was a good idea, they hosted a dinner in order that some of their individual company representatives (BAE Systems, Rolls Royce and others) could speak to me and a number of other SNP MPs, who had a direct constituency interest in defence, directly.” MPs should not giving legitimacy to an organisation that lobbies for even more arms exports and even greater military spending. Andrew Smith Andrew Smith of Campaign Against Arms Trade expressed concern and said: “Philippa Whitford and her colleagues have rightly and consistently opposed UK arms exports to Saudi Arabia and other human rights abusing regimes. However, ADS represents the biggest arms companies in the world, including many that are profiting from the destruction of Yemen. “MPs should not be attending its annual banquet, going to events as its guest or giving legitimacy to an organisation that lobbies for even more arms exports and even greater military spending.” Parliamentary rules mean that MPs do not have to declare hospitality unless more than £300 comes from a single source during one year. Therefore, the register of members’ interests does not show which other SNP MPs attended the June dinner and which, if any, attended the dinner in February. When asked which other SNP MPs attended, neither Whitford’s spokesperson nor O’Hara responded. When asked why the June meeting with ADS took the form of a £92 a head dinner, rather than a daytime office meeting, Whitford’s spokesperson said: “As a trade association, ADS brings together a number of businesses who operate in Dr Whitford’s constituency and others looking to invest in the area, often in the arena of events and dinner. “It is part of her responsibility as an MP to engage with organisations who can support economic development and brings jobs to the constituency.” In reply to the same question, O’Hara said: “I have had several meetings with the leaders of ADS over the past eighteen months here in my office at parliament… it was a good use of my time to meet representatives of seven or eight defence companies all at once [at the dinner], rather than having to schedule seven or eight separate meetings.” Whitford’s spokesperson added that the MP “attended these events as the guest of civilian aerospace companies based in her constituency, such as Spirit Aerosystems”. Although Spirit Aerosystems does have a significant civilian aerospace business, it also sells equipment to major defence companies. One of these companies, Northropp Grumman, has a long-running partnership with the Saudi Arabian military, selling it fighter jets and training the country’s military personnel. When this was to put to her, Whitford’s spokesperson replied: “To clarify, Spirit Aerosytems in Dr Whitford’s constituency makes wings for Airbus.” Unless such firms are explicitly committed to ending their role in the arms trade, they must be shunned so as not to normalise what they do. John Finnie, MSP However, John Finnie MSP, justice spokesperson for the Scottish Greens, said: “Anyone open to this kind of corporate jolly in the belief that a firm’s military and non-military work can be kept separate is naive in the extreme. “Unless such firms are explicitly committed to ending their role in the arms trade, they must be shunned so as not to normalise what they do.” The SNP was criticised by the Scottish Greens recently after it emerged that Scotland’s enterprise agencies have given the defence industry £17m since 2007, despite the SNP’s public criticism of the arms trade. As well as attending the above two dinners, Whitford received a £36 ticket to the Farnborough International Airshow in July. She also received a £180 ticket to the Confederation of British Industry Scotland’s annual dinner in September, both at the ADS group’s expense. An ADS spokesperson said: “ADS represents the UK’s aerospace, defence, security and space industries, which together provide well-paid, high-skill jobs and sustainable growth right across the country. “As part of our work we routinely engage with a number of stakeholders including parliamentarians to ensure they are briefed on the issues, opportunities and challenges affecting these strategically important industries.” Pic: MilborneOne \| CC \| https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CSX55152-AermacchiM346-Italy-Farnborough2016-A1578.jpg
Get the biggest Liverpool FC stories by email Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email Emre Can is set to hand Jurgen Klopp a fitness boost ahead of Liverpool’s trip to Chelsea. The German international midfielder is expected to return to full team training at Melwood on Tuesday, and could come into contention for Friday’s game at Stamford Bridge. Can missed the games against Tottenham and Leicester City having suffered an ankle injury in the Reds’ EFL Cup win at Burton Albion last month. It was a setback for 22-year-old, who had returned to pre-season late following his summer exploits at Euro 2016. Can had started at Burton and looked impressive until his injury. He will be closely monitored by medical staff this week but assuming there is no adverse reaction in the ankle, he could play a part at Chelsea. Defender Dejan Lovren, too, will be monitored. The Croatian suffered a black eye in a training ground collision on Friday, and was forced to sit out the win over Leicester due to the swelling. Liverpool, though, confirmed that Lovren had not suffered concussion in the accident, and the 27-year-old posted a picture on Instagram on Monday afternoon showing the eye looking a lot less troubled than it had been on Saturday. Lucas Leiva stood in for Lovren against Leicester, and produced a strong performance soured by an error which led to the Foxes’ goal. Against the physicality of Diego Costa, however, Jurgen Klopp will be keen to have Lovren available for selection. Chelsea have centre back issues of their own, with captain John Terry facing a race to be fit for the Friday night clash. The veteran suffered an ankle injury in his side’s draw at Swansea on Sunday and has been undergoing treatment.
S.F. nude activists cited by police S.F. CRIME Nude protester Trey Allen helps Ernestine Patterson of San Francisco walk up the steps of City Hall. Allen was among four people cited for nudity. Nude protester Trey Allen helps Ernestine Patterson of San Francisco walk up the steps of City Hall. Allen was among four people cited for nudity. Photo: James Tensuan, The Chronicle Photo: James Tensuan, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close S.F. nude activists cited by police 1 / 1 Back to Gallery Public nudity in San Francisco did not go away quietly on Friday, as police began enforcing a controversial new ordinance that prohibits baring all outdoors. Nude activists Gypsy Taub, George Davis, Trey Allen and Dany DeVero were detained and cited by police after they stripped down in front of City Hall on a mild and sunny afternoon. A handful of other nudity proponents, some topless, carried signs and hurled insults at the dozen police officers who led the full-frontal offenders away. "Freedom of expression is dead in this country," Davis shouted as he was taken into a police van. The nudity ban went into effect Friday. On Tuesday, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by nudity activists who said outlawing public genital exposure violated their First Amendment rights. Police gave the protesters a 15-minute warning to get dressed or receive a citation that comes with a $100 fine for a first offense. San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr said officers were not given any special instructions related to the new law. "We have no choice but to enforce the law," he said. Allen, 30, had "War is obscene, not my body" written on his back. Before the police came, he drew cheers from the crowd when he escorted a blind woman up the steps. "This might be my first citation!" he said excitedly. "I don't do it to protest, just to enjoy the weather." Mitch Hightower, a plaintiff in the lawsuit against the ordinance, said involving the police was exactly what the nudists wanted. U.S. District Judge Edward Chen left open the possibility of a future lawsuit if the nudists could prove that the law was inhibiting their political expression.
Like many of you, I Watch the finale of the season 5 and it was amazing! n_n And at the end of it, I was thinking of something, a theory. Now that Starlight is redeem and become the student of Twilight OR/AND one of the mane 6 and even for Diamond Tiara with the CMC. I was thinkining, could it be that Diamond Tiara will get a ''sister'' (not related) like Scoot and Rainbow with Starlight, someone who talk to when she need it. Because each of the mane 6 have a ''sister'' or a ''brother'': Pinkie: Maud, Lemonstone, Marble and ''Pound Cake'' and ''Pumkin Cake'' Fluttershy: Her brother, maybe Pop Fly Rainbow Dash: ''Scootaloo'' Applejack: Big Mac and Apple Bloom Rarity: Sweetie Belle Twilight: Shining armor and ''Spike'' What do you think? _________________________________________ Diamond Tiara and Starlight Glimmer belong to Hasbro, created by Lauren Faust
Exclusive to STR July 11, 2008 Far from a new objection, to hear the demur of 'Anarcho-Capitalism's' oxymoron status from those 'social anarchists' lulled by the hot charisma of Noam Chomsky will not exactly ring a fresh tune to the ears of Market Anarchists. Noting that some of the socialist banter on the other side can be unnecessarily hostile, however, could there perhaps be truth in the contradiction of 'Anarcho-capitalism'? Could there perhaps be a point in calling attention to the vulgar nature of associating the two antonymic terms of Anarchism and capitalism? Could Market Anarchism really be a form of anti-capitalism? In most estimates, it would seem that the theoretical implications, derivatives, and variables of a free-market ' that is, one absent all state facilities and their corporate beneficiaries ' do not at all resemble the same nuances found in the historically correct definition of capitalism. This fact, this single truth, this blindingly revisionist statement cannot be denied after intelligently pondering the inquiries as to the origin of capitalism as a word, the nature of its foundation, and the meaning expressed by its creators with consideration for further theoretical implications. Yes, unapologetically contrary to partisan sentiments and startlingly true, the fact that Anarchists of all strains share the common enemies of capitalism and statism will surely create alliances with some, strike a chord with a few, and alienate even more. This unfortunate reality aside, however, the possibility should not stop one from trying to create logical alliances made in the interests of restoring Anarchist fraternity between Anarchists sharing the same basic tendencies. After all, there certainly does exist much for Anarchists to agree upon; for example, Anarchist-Communists, in the strain of Peter Kropotkin, will find much support from Rothbardians when they define their philosophy of Anarchism thusly: Anarchism [is] the name given to a principle or theory of life and conduct under which society is conceived without government - harmony in such a society being obtained, not by submission to law, or by obedience to any authority, but by free agreements concluded between the various groups, territorial and professional, freely constituted for the sake of production and consumption, as also for the satisfaction of the infinite variety of needs and aspirations of a civilized being. Likewise, Market Anarchists, in the strain of Murray N. Rothbard, will only see nodding heads when presenting to Anarchist-Communists the following statement: The State does not merely use coercion to acquire its own revenue, to hire propagandists to advance its power, and to arrogate to itself and to enforce a compulsory monopoly of such vital services as police protection, firefighting, transportation, and postal service. For the State does many other things as well, none of which can in any sense be said to serve the consuming public. It uses its monopoly of force to achieve, as Nock puts it, a 'monopoly of crime''to control, regulate, and coerce its hapless subjects. Often it pushes its way into controlling the morality and the very daily lives of its subjects. The state uses its coerced revenue, not merely to monopolize and provide genuine services inefficiently to the public, but also to build up its own power at the expense of its exploited and harassed subjects: to redistribute income and wealth from the public to itself and to its allies, and to control, command, and coerce the inhabitants of its territory. Still though, as the nature of the divide between broken comrades entails, the hidden agreements notwithstanding, there certainly does exist a great deal of animosity between the separate sections of libertarian sectarians. Far from it being a problem of 'social Anarchists' simply refusing to acknowledge freedom, as some articles would seem to suggest, however, the issue appears to tie much tighter with a rather pathetic yearning of some Market Anarchists to cling to the remnants of their past bouts with conservatism ' usually taking form with the embracing of the term capitalism. By draining both Anarchism and capitalism of all historical context and meaning, many Market Anarchists marry the two terms in an 'Anarcho-capitalist' wedding that only a Salvador Dal' could design. Strikingly, that many Market Anarchists embrace the term capitalism in order to polarize themselves from the more distasteful rhetoric of other Anarchists reminds one of a child pushing away a hearty meal and reaching for a bag of potato-chips and a pack of Oreos. 'But what's so wrong with the word capitalism? Don't you love the free-market?' an 'Anarcho-capitalist' might ask. To answer, that so many conflate free-market with capitalism remains one of the greatest disappointments of political terminology; completely divergent from the principle of free and voluntary association, as Kropotkin and Rothbard both aspire to create, the system of capitalism is one of economic exploitation by the definition of the word, or at least in its original phraseology. As created in the context of an economic system, the coinage of the word capitalism, far from referring to the actual substance of a free-market, mostly references the symptoms of the world seen by many socialists as exploitative. Proven indirectly from contemporary socialists describing capitalism as 'the social system which now exists in all countries of the world' and directly from the nature by which the first anti-capitalists observed the capitalist mentality, that capitalism always meant economic coercion by the strong lording over the weak seems fairly ironclad. Arguing that capitalism is what modern society suffers from, socialists make it clear that capitalism is not synonymous with free-market, since the free-market does not at all resemble the capitalist society of today, the 19th century, or any era; furthermore, being indirect inheritors of the first socialist position on capitalism, it becomes easy to see that socialists merely argue against what they observe as the defined system of capitalism, and not against the logic of liberty itself. Here, socialists like Mikhail Bakunin point to the conditions of their societies to describe the system of capitalism: The risks of the worker are infinitely greater [than the capitalists']. After all, if the establishment in which he is employed goes bankrupt, he must go several days and sometimes several weeks without work, and for him it is more than ruin, it is death; because he eats everyday what he earns' The accidents and illnesses that can overtake him constitute a risk that makes all the risks of the employer nothing in comparison: because for the worker debilitating illness can destroy his productive ability, his labor power. Over all, prolonged illness is the most terrible bankruptcy, a bankruptcy that means for him and his children, hunger and death. Damning this system as capitalist, coining the term capitalism itself, the socialists are absolutely right! The system of capitalism, from which the socialists observed, absolutely existed and exists to exploit not only the workers, but every honest entrepreneur without connections to the violent state. Yes, originally used as a pejorative to describe the economic system of the day, the socialists and state-socialists (or Marxists) apparently delved no deeper into the defining of the term than the evident consequences of the system around them. Pointing to their primary concerns with conditions at the time and not with the moral arguments for freedom, capitalism's establishment comes with the pillars of the 19th century as an eternal reference. Regarding capitalism as the apparent, socialists took it to be evil; associating capitalism with the realities of their society, it seems that they did so correctly. The term capitalism being determined by the scene of the 19th century then, the idea that a capitalist economy could find any common definition with the free-market seems absolutely ludicrous. Indeed, for from early antiquity, to the 19th century, and even to this day, the plague of statism infests the very same economies that all correctly hail as capitalist. To expound, of the many statist institutions exploiting the entrepreneurs and the workers in the 1800s there included the first Central Bank of England established in 1694, the colonies of major Western European and American powers run by monopolized charter-companies, the continued economic instability of France in and through la Terreur, the protectionism of Otto von Bismarck and the Prussians, and of course the forever deteriorating situation of Russia and its many faces of tyranny. So, understanding the historical unfree-market of Europe, if the motives behind the objections to the system of capitalism launched from the inequitable scenes seen, then as the word capitalism was only coined to describe that which caused the effects of inequity and not the theoretical free-market itself, it must be concluded that which is, was, and will ever be capitalism cannot be free-market! For what free market could include blatantly authoritarian institutions like Central Banks, land trusts inherited from the remnants of feudal lords, and 'monopolies granted by governments to associations of merchants and craftsmen who [aid] in the collection of taxes, in return for the assurance of profits by excluding native and foreign competitors' (Rothbard 18)? Certainly no free-market in the Mutualist, Rothbardian, or Austrian traditions! Yes, with capitalism defined in terms of a historic perspective, if those advocating a free-market oppose protectionism and economic exploitation as seen in that context, then the free-marketer, the libertarian, the Market Anarchist must understand his inherent position against capitalism as a free-market anti-capitalist! Sadly, however, many capitalist apologists and vehement anti-marketers will still disagree, holding grudges of rhetoric and terminology without any consideration for Anarchist progress. For the anti-marketers, they will point to the ignorant, capitalist apologists as proof of Market Anarchism's actual allegiance to capitalism; for the capitalist apologists, their vulgar libertarianism will always corrupt their souls and separate them from success in the pursuit of all of that which walks on an anti-authoritarian path. These stubborn boars aside, however, what can be done to reaffirm an alliance between Anarchists for the common goal of a libertarian society? Conceding the oxymoronic nature of 'Anarcho-capitalism' is a good start, but where else can Anarchists strike? Here, one may primarily suggest multi-tendency organizations like the Alliance of the Libertarian Left, an organization aimed at advancing the left-libertarian cause of liberation and voluntary cooperation. Introducing alliances like ALL , clandestine and potent in nature, the rise of a unified front for libertarianism seems increasingly inevitable, and with Market Anarchists at long last on their way back to their anti-capitalist roots, little seems likely to get in the way.
Think about this eighteenth day of December, the day when the cornerstone of the Lord’s Temple was laid. Think carefully. I am giving you a promise now while the seed is still in the barn. You have not yet harvested your grain, and your grapevines, fig trees, pomegranates, and olive trees have not yet produced their crops. But from this day onward I will bless you. (Haggai 2:18-19) Read: Haggai 1:1-2:23, Revelation 11:1-19, Psalm 139:1-24, Proverbs 30:15-16 Relate: I think the people who decide the scheduling over at The One Year Bible need to make a few minor adjustments. I really like being able to read through scripture in the format and fashion they have set it up and each day’s reading seems to be pretty balanced for length. It is just that today’s Old Testament reading should have happened two days ago. They got their days wrong. Speaking of getting their days wrong, I often hear around this time of year that Christians shouldn’t celebrate Christmas because it is really the pagan holiday Saturnalia. Hogwash. Saturnalia was December 17. Even in the decadent late Roman Empire days, when they tended to stretch out their excuses for depravity, the holiday only lasted until December 23rd. The early church had absolutely nothing to do with Saturnalia. That doesn’t mean Christmas wasn’t overlayed on top of a pagan Roman holiday. It’s just that ignorant people (and even some “legitimate” history websites, have the wrong holiday. Christmas was celebrated on Deis Natali Solis Invicti. That translates to English as “The Day of the birth of the unconquered sun.” It was celebrated on December 25th and, yes, the symbolic connections abound. Another common mistake. Even the people who get the holiday right tend to talk about the decision to celebrate Christmas then as if it were a “top down” decision. Again, hogwash. All evidence points to the fact that the holiday began to be celebrated for Christ as almost a grassroots movement and that the leaders at the top collectively shrugged their shoulders with a “hey, why not?” type attitude. The early church was far, far less authoritarian than many amateur historians would like you to believe. (Yes, I’m looking at you Dan Brown and company) Even Augustine said that there was a commonly held opinion by those of his flock that Jesus was born on December 25th. In a Christmas sermon he exhorted his congregation, “Let’s celebrate this day as a holiday not for the sake of the sun, which is observed by [pagan] believers as well as by ourselves, but for the sake of the One who created the sun.” Another ancient writer wrote, “It was a custom of the Pagans to celebrate on December 25th the birthday of the sun. On this day they kindled lights in token of festivity. In these solemnities and revelries the Christians also took part. Accordingly when the elders of the Church saw that the Christians had a leaning to this festival, they took counsel and resolved that the true Nativity should be solemnised on that day.” React: Obviously, Jesus wasn’t really born on the 25th of December. So what? Although the evidence is shaky, I am among those who like to think He was born on the Day of Atonement 5BC. The thing is, no one really knows exactly. There’s all kinds of speculation and everybody seems to have solid evidence… too bad it doesn’t all point to the same day for everyone. We don’t know today and the early church didn’t know either. Although I can imagine some of the disciples asking Jesus when His birthday was, it never made it into scripture. I can also imagine Jesus turning to Peter, winking, and saying, “What do you think it is?” Having a specific day set aside to celebrate the birth of Christ is a very good thing. You could say that one day is as good as any other, but since most of the Church world has been celebrating it on December 25th for at least the past 17-18 hundred years I tend to think that Christmas Day is much better than any other day. (BTW, for those in parts of the world who celebrate on January 7th, you’re still celebrating on December 25th, you’re just using the Julian calendar rather than the Gregorian calendar). So even though today is the 20’th, not the 18’th… let’s follow Haggai’s advice. Let’s take a moment this Christmas season to remember that the Great Cornerstone has been laid. Laid in a manger to be exact. Let us celebrate the fact that Adam’s Seed is in that barn. God has come and lives among us. From this day, whenever it was, onward we have been blessed beyond measure. Respond: God, I am so thankful that You came. Even though I know that it wasn’t on December 25’th, it was on Christmas Day. Whatever day it was, I chose to remember You, to celebrate You today and on every day that I draw breath. I especially chose to join with the world in rejoicing Your arrival on Christmas. Rather than nitpicking on the details, help me to bring honor to You by living a life of joy and celebration. Advertisements
For the English actor, see Max Raphael (Actor). For the pseudonymous American actor with the same name see Lloyd Sherr. Max Raphael (August 27, 1889 – July 14, 1952) was a German-American art historian. He was of Jewish parentage. He was born on August 27, 1889, in Schönlanke, Prussia, Germany. Between 1924 and 1932 he taught art history to the working class at the Volkhochschule in Berlin. With the rise of the Nazis he moved to Paris, where he continued his writing. After the Germans occupied Paris in 1940 he was temporarily interned at Gurs internment camp and Camp des Milles. Once released he migrated, with help from the Quakers, to the United States through Barcelona and Lisbon. In New York Raphael lived in penury until he received one of the first fellowships awarded by the Bollingen Foundation. He died by suicide in New York City on July 14, 1952. Works [ edit ] Zur Erkenntnistheorie der konkreten Dialektik , 1934, French translation published by Galimard as Théorie marxiste de la connaissance . , 1934, French translation published by Galimard as . Prehistoric Cave Paintings , New York, Pantheon, 1945, Bollingen Series, no. 4. , New York, Pantheon, 1945, Bollingen Series, no. 4. Prehistoric Pottery and Civilization in Egypt , New York, Pantheon, 1947, Bollingen Series, no. 8. , New York, Pantheon, 1947, Bollingen Series, no. 8. The Demands of Art, Princeton University Press, 1968 (posthumous), Bollingen Series, no. 78. References [ edit ]
By contrast, tales of an altogether more heart-warming nature rarely get their foot in the door. As soon as violence tapers off and peace breaks out, the magnetism of a story evaporates. And so it is with Zimbabwe. Every time there is a major terrorist attack, or a natural disaster, or a kidnapping of a white, middle class schoolgirl, our appetite for news shoots through the roof. The news-consuming British public – concerned and enthralled, perhaps even entertained – hunkers down, grabs the popcorn, and nestles up to their television sets as the drama unfolds. In journalism, there is a sad, but inevitable adage that bad news is good news. Though many of us profess a penchant for positive, uplifting current events, audience statistics paint a very different picture. The last time President Robert Mugabe's impoverished nation was regularly making headlines, roughly a year ago, hyperinflation was running at 500 billion per cent and a cholera epidemic was poised to turn the "breadbasket of Africa" into the continent's top humanitarian disaster. So let's catch up on the situation. Among the developments you won't have seen flashed across the evening news lo these past 12 months was the abandonment of the Zimbabwean dollar (the last bill to be pressed was a 100 billion dollar note) and the intimation towards political stability. Following the swearing in of Morgan Tsvangirai, head of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, as prime minister in February, the country has been creeping cumbersomely towards normalcy. Unemployment still remains crippling high, but with inflation down to just one per cent month-on-month Zimbabweans can finally plan their expenditure, liberated from the fear that their cash will have irrevocably depreciated by the time they get it from the bank to the shops. The abandonment of Harare's official currency has driven consumers away from the black market, in turn bolstering the viability of legally operated (and fiscally lucrative) private sector trade. "Dollarisation has thrown me out of business," complained one illegal street vendor recently. "No one buys from me. People now buy from shops and authorised dealers." And this tentative economic progress appears to have stretched further afield. As I exclusively reported on my work blog this week, government officials now claim that British Airways will resume flights to Zimbabwe. Admittedly, the addition of a new airline route rarely makes national headlines. But when the country in question is one of the world's most notorious pariahs, and the airline concerned is an emblem for everything that its leadership despises, one can't help but feel the winds of change. BA was giving nothing away when I contacted their press office, telling me only that they review their route network "on an ongoing basis to ensure that we only fly to profitable destinations". What they didn't mention, though, and indeed what no-one in the media seems to be mentioning, is that tourism to Zimbabwe has increased threefold over the past year. The economy is stabilising, international relations are warming – bolstered further by a recent trade pact with South Africa and talk of the country re-entering the Commonwealth in 2011 – and once-implausible cooperation between Mr Mugabe and Mr Tsvangirai is taking root. Zimbabwe's new face has been perhaps best described by one of the country's harshest critics, Britain's very own Gordon Brown. "The inclusive government has improved living standards for hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans," he wrote this week in The Zimbabwe Independent – a conspicuously high-profile contribution which, yet again, the western media has almost unanimously failed to report on. "The economic destruction wrought by hyperinflation has been brought to an end; tax revenues have grown; and the credibility of the Finance ministry has been restored," Prime Minister Brown continued. "Humanitarian needs are being better managed; schools have reopened; and the vibrant and dynamic Zimbabwean private sector is stirring once again. "As a result it is today easier than for many years to dream of a Zimbabwe that is once again a powerhouse of its region." Of course none of this takes away anything from the harsh realities still facing this country. Troubling reports from rural provinces continue to speak of roaming gangs of Zanu PF activists intimidating white farmers – on several occasions being filmed in the act – and jobs remain a far-flung dream for the vast majority of Zimbabwe's able-bodied workforce. But with the prospect of restored international air links, with generous pledges of international aid, and with an economy that is no longer the embarrassment of southern Africa, Zimbabwe's outlook looks rosy. The only sad caveat is that you won't hear any of this in the western media. As has been the case with Afghanistan and Sudan, news outlets have shown little appetite for filing reports from former colonies when they fall short of Occidental expectations of third-world inferiority. To keep abreast of developments within Zimbabwe during this crucial time, I recommend you turn to the blogosphere. Denford Magora and This is Zimbabwe are two of the worthiest news sources.
SHOPIAN: Militants barged into the residences of seven policemen in three villages of south Kashmir’s Shopian district, asking them to resign from the service. The masked gunmen asked the policemen to at least announce resignations publicly through loudspeakers in local masjids Jammu & Kashmir police chief SP Vaid told ET that they have devised a strategy to tackle the issue. He refused to share the details. Three groups of militants entered the villages of Hajipora, Landoora and Chotigam in the nights of Thursday and Friday and broke the windowpanes of the houses of the policemen.“Two of the policemen who were at home were asked to announce their resignation in mosques, apologise for being part of police force or face consequences,” a senior police official told ET. Such resignations are not officially accepted, he added.Militants also released videos of a trade union leader of Pulwama, an activist of the ruling People’s Democratic Party, in which he was seen apologising for being part of a political party and announcing his resignation. Another video of a party worker from Chowan village in Shopian also showed him apologising for being part of political party.Militants have been barging into the houses of policemen since early March, asking them to resign and apologise for being part of police force. Vaid warned the militants saying that ‘they too have families’.However, the militants did not stop and such incidents are continuously reported since March 8, when they ransacked the house of an official in the rank of superintendent of police.As per police records, 214 militants including 80 foreigners are active in Kashmir. On Saturday, unidentified gunmen shot at two people in Pulwama, reportedly for their affiliation with a political party. Officials at Pulwama hospital said both were shot in their legs and one of them died due to heavy loss of blood.
In a medical first, doctors at London’s Great Ormond Street hospital believe they cured two babies of leukemia using genetically engineered immune cells. Unlike previous attempts at this treatment, the cells used on these children originally derived from a donor's blood, not their own. The T cells were then genetically manipulated to help them better attack and kill leukemia cells. Although it is difficult to confirm if it was the stem cell treatment that cured the babies — both infants also received chemotherapy in addition to the experimental treatment — the feat could usher in a new age of cancer therapy. The children were treated with engineered T-cells known as CAR-T, which are created by taking T-cells from the blood of a donor and engineering them to specifically attack cancer cells. In traditional T cell therapy, immune cells are removed from the patient and genetically modified before they are given back to the patient, Technology Review reported. According to Cancer Research UK, however, these treatments are still being tested in clinical trials and are not yet available to the general public at request. Unlike current treatment involving genetically engineered T-cells made from the patient's own blood, these cells can be harvested from donors and stored ahead of time. This means that patients could be treated immediately and not have wait for their own cells to be manufactured. What’s more, blood from a single donor could theoretically be turned into hundreds of doses of cancer treatments, significantly driving down the drug’s cost. Read: Previously Untested Cell Therapy Saves Baby With 'Incurable' Cancer “We estimate the cost to manufacture a dose would be about $4,000,” she says. That’s compared to a cost of around $50,000 to alter a patient’s cells and return them,” Julianne Smith, vice president of CAR-T development for Cellectis, which specializes in supplying universal cells told Technology Review. Photo Courtesy of Pixabay According to a recent study based on the babies’ cases, the two children, aged 11 and 16 months, both had leukemia and were unresponsive to previous treatment attempts. However, because the infants were treated with chemotherapy in addition to the cell therapy, some specialists argue it is difficult to prove which treatment was truly responsible for their recoveries. Source: Qasmin W, Zhan H, Samarasinghe S, et al. Molecular remission of infant B-ALL after infusion of universal TALEN gene-edited CAR T cells. Science Translational Medicine . 2017 See Also: Cancer Treatment Breakthrough: Researchers Engineer A Way To Make Leukemia Cells Kill Each Other Experimental Immunotherapy Treatment Has More Than 90% Remission Rate With Advanced Leukemia Patients
President Donald Trump gives his pen to a teacher from Virginia after signing the Education Federalism Executive Order during a federalism event in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, April 26, 2017. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) The Associated Press By JILL COLVIN and PAUL WISEMAN, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump will direct his administration Thursday to expedite a new investigation into whether aluminum imports are jeopardizing U.S. national security. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the president will sign a memo ordering him to determine the impact of rising aluminum imports. High-purity aluminum is used in a number of defense applications, including military planes and the armor-plating of military vehicles. Ross said that, thanks to steep competition from overseas, there is only one American smelter that produces high-purity, aerospace-quality aluminum still in operation. "It's very, very dangerous, obviously from a national defense point of view, to only have one supplier of an absolutely critical material," he told reporters at a White House briefing Wednesday evening. The move, which could lead to tariffs on aluminum imports, is the second such investigation the president has initiated. Last week, he asked Ross to look into steel imports to determine whether they, too, pose a national security risk. "This is not an area where we can afford to become dependent on other countries," Trump said then. U.S. aluminum producers have been hurt badly by China's astonishing rise in the industry. Since 2000, China has increased its share of the world aluminum market from less than 11 percent to nearly 53 percent, increasing production almost 12-fold. Meanwhile, in the United States, aluminum plants have shuttered and production has dropped 77 percent over the same period as aluminum prices plunged in the face of the onslaught from China. The U.S. share of the global market has dropped from a world-beating 16 percent in 2000 to less than 2 percent last year. Trump has declined to fulfill his campaign promise to label China a currency manipulator as he leans on the country for help in neutralizing the threat posed by North Korea's missile program. But Ross said the aluminum action should not be seen as an attack on China. "This is not a kind of China-phobic program. This has to do with a global problem," he said. Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 gives the president the power to restrict imports and impose unlimited tariffs if a Commerce Department investigation finds they threaten national security. "Section 232 gives Trump the discretion he wants to impose tariffs," says William Perry, a Seattle trade lawyer who writes the US-China Trade War blog. "Section 232 is the perfect weapon to create a trade war." Aluminum-exporting countries might retaliate by imposing tariffs of their own on U.S. products, warned the law firm White & Case, which put out a report in January on the president's legal powers to restrict foreign trade. About 60 percent of U.S. aluminum imports come from Canada, which has been forced out of other markets by competition from China. "Citing a threat to national security gives them a way they can impose tariffs, arguably, without violating WTO rules," said Amanda DeBusk, a partner and trade specialist at the law firm of Hughes Hubbard & Reed. The World Trade Organization "lets countries define what they believe is in their national security interest." On Wall Street, aluminum company stocks rose in anticipation of the news. Century Aluminum shares shot up 8.7 percent and Kaiser Aluminum shares rose 2.6 percent. Ross said the move was part of Trump fulfilling his campaign promise to crack down on trade abuses. "It's no doubt that you remember during the campaign, the president announced that he was going to be tougher on trade," he said. "He announced that he was going to renegotiate existing agreements. He announced that he was going to do his best to bring jobs back to America. So this follows quite logically with him following through on his campaign promises." __ Follow Colvin and Wiseman on Twitter at https://twitter.com/colvinj and https://twitter.com/PaulWisemanAP
Air guns used for marine oil and gas exploration are loud enough to affect humpback whales up to 3km away, potentially affecting their migration patterns, according to our new research. Whales’ communication depends on loud sounds, which can travel very efficiently over distances of tens of kilometres in the underwater environment. But our study, published today in the Journal of Experimental Biology, shows that they are affected by other loud ocean noises produced by humans. As part of the BRAHSS (Behavioural Response of Humpback whales to Seismic Surveys) project, we and our colleagues measured humpback whales’ behavioural responses to air guns like those used in seismic surveys carried out by the offshore mining industry. Read more: It's time to speak up about noise pollution in the oceans Air guns are devices towed behind seismic survey ships that rapidly release compressed air into the ocean, producing a loud bang. The sound travels through the water and into the sea bed, bouncing off various layers of rock, oil or gas. The faint echoes are picked up by sensors towed by the same vessel. During surveys, the air guns are fired every 10-15 seconds to develop a detailed geological picture of the ocean floor in the area. Although they are not intended to harm whales, there has been concern for many years about the potential impacts of these loud, frequent sounds. Sound research Although it sounds like a simple experiment to expose whales to air guns and see what they do, it is logistically difficult. For one thing, the whales may respond to the presence of the ship towing the air guns, rather than the air guns themselves. Another problem is that humpback whales tend to show a lot of natural behavioural variability, making it difficult to tease out the effect of the air gun and ship. There is also the question of whether any response by the whales is influenced more by the loudness of the air gun, or how close the air blast is to the whale (although obviously the two are linked). Previous studies have assumed that the response is driven primarily by loudness, but we also looked at the effect of proximity. We used a small air gun and a cluster of guns, towed behind a vessel through the migratory path of more than 120 groups of humpback whales off Queensland’s sunshine coast. By having two different sources, one louder than the other, we were able to fire air blasts of different perceived loudness from the same distance. We found that whales slowed their migratory speed and deviated around the vessel and the air guns. This response was influenced by a combination of received level and proximity; both were necessary. The whales were affected up to 3km away, at sound levels over 140 decibels, and deviated from their path by about 500 metres. Within this “zone”, whales were more likely to avoid the air guns. Each tested group moved as one, but our analysis did not include the effects on different group types, such as a female with calf versus a group of adults, for instance. Our results suggest that when regulating to reduce the impact of loud noise on whale behaviour, we need to take into account not just how loud the noise is, but how far away it is. More research is needed to find out how drastically the whales’ migration routes change as a result of ocean mining noise.
Download raw source Delivered-To: john.podesta@gmail.com Received: by 10.25.24.226 with SMTP id 95csp1136408lfy; Mon, 4 Jan 2016 09:23:40 -0800 (PST) X-Received: by 10.140.23.81 with SMTP id 75mr61212446qgo.35.1451928220046; Mon, 04 Jan 2016 09:23:40 -0800 (PST) Return-Path: <slatham@hillaryclinton.com> Received: from mail-qg0-x22b.google.com (mail-qg0-x22b.google.com. [2607:f8b0:400d:c04::22b]) by mx.google.com with ESMTPS id y206si23276445qka.77.2016.01.04.09.23.39 for <john.podesta@gmail.com> (version=TLS1_2 cipher=ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256 bits=128/128); Mon, 04 Jan 2016 09:23:40 -0800 (PST) Received-SPF: pass (google.com: domain of slatham@hillaryclinton.com designates 2607:f8b0:400d:c04::22b as permitted sender) client-ip=2607:f8b0:400d:c04::22b; Authentication-Results: mx.google.com; spf=pass (google.com: domain of slatham@hillaryclinton.com designates 2607:f8b0:400d:c04::22b as permitted sender) smtp.mailfrom=slatham@hillaryclinton.com; dkim=pass header.i=@hillaryclinton.com; dmarc=pass (p=NONE dis=NONE) header.from=hillaryclinton.com Received: by mail-qg0-x22b.google.com with SMTP id o11so256581126qge.2 for <john.podesta@gmail.com>; Mon, 04 Jan 2016 09:23:39 -0800 (PST) DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=hillaryclinton.com; s=google; h=mime-version:in-reply-to:references:date:message-id:subject:from:to :content-type; bh=I2iqbHmMmsfm8QbMjSQrGnlcHPN46q7wrgnsKLVGlE4=; b=PxKflVTw8E0aFwECOUTwLFZKViDnO55QyYtcK4ztzM8BybJiw3gOSlLDwPiudCK8tZ xusHxy3MbPZg8iS4fUfuAxDQERpH3nfxpX/1eJU2NbhN1ZXlgSWVTM+F57jYq8oPbJ7v O38um1pdpVvlgghV41z4GHQoO2op+3hXcJhTg= X-Google-DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=1e100.net; s=20130820; h=x-gm-message-state:mime-version:in-reply-to:references:date :message-id:subject:from:to:content-type; bh=I2iqbHmMmsfm8QbMjSQrGnlcHPN46q7wrgnsKLVGlE4=; b=L/zMRUmlnv4aRVtCS2WYDJALrcZhVMhpGeUQUQJDLTESysoGO4i0B5YgbnpvCTJeFe 5mdmcWGm/tC9JjPNdA6CG+IuXnlQ6MAFAj1pQDfFETTDtiDyAp3GxMVNglbx6gWQdxdP 9iSorIqOSiGVWu7A9xYdybApq5aIXRo+yotD1w2I6HkyqJj7DiphxDKunNRget4QVvhb SG9gAVo+XqLkgqD6VBeaONP7pW7LmopYKkRLE+rGtJJkQBQ6Pt33ar5RJbnnUvxR0Eu1 ajNsjn2pZwylokRNYgsRRnM7NfNvgzbHAU3CzfnktJU5+ZuCM31MdaUtlpVatRgV0jop 5I4Q== X-Gm-Message-State: ALoCoQnURxKfdnX+VXSX3r4/mQjmR6UkbRl7ZC5/upjhOiFpVq4HvdIqIK6KI5fYygFDiH3xKjE73JVT7UDqn8uxpq+cWHXU5m+P7FY7royFr4havpf50JM= MIME-Version: 1.0 X-Received: by 10.140.18.136 with SMTP id 8mr81321729qgf.64.1451928219732; Mon, 04 Jan 2016 09:23:39 -0800 (PST) Received: by 10.140.22.49 with HTTP; Mon, 4 Jan 2016 09:23:39 -0800 (PST) In-Reply-To: <6890009881797392186@unknownmsgid> References: <CAE_=YH-1XE2CEi5iZe=6K-EyjsTCSg+i+Cpowd4xP0Sc5zaHYw@mail.gmail.com> <6890009881797392186@unknownmsgid> Date: Mon, 4 Jan 2016 12:23:39 -0500 Message-ID: <CANvypvCPg6Lt45g-fXDXZooE=Tnd2outt2ktpyEtMn+2m2kQpA@mail.gmail.com> Subject: Fwd: Vanity Fair From: Sara Latham <slatham@hillaryclinton.com> To: John Podesta <john.podesta@gmail.com> Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary=001a11354642c6e6c5052885612a --001a11354642c6e6c5052885612a Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Kristina Schake <kschake@hillaryclinton.com> Date: Mon, Jan 4, 2016 at 12:15 PM Subject: Fwd: Vanity Fair To: Sara Latham <slatham@hillaryclinton.com> Sent from my iPhone Begin forwarded message: From: Nick Merrill <nmerrill@hillaryclinton.com> Date: January 4, 2016 at 12:12:26 PM EST To: Christina Reynolds <creynolds@hillaryclinton.com>, Brian Fallon < bfallon@hillaryclinton.com>, Jennifer Palmieri < jpalmieri@hillaryclinton.com>, Kristina Schake <kschake@hillaryclinton.com>, Tony Carrk <tcarrk@hillaryclinton.com>, Adrienne Elrod < aelrod@hillaryclinton.com> Subject: Vanity Fair They are now going to put the Huma piece on the website on Wednesday morning, and it will hit newsstands on the 12th. I think we should do a call about this and figure out how we're going to rally the troops to defend whatever nonsense is in there. We will need to engage CtR and Media Matters as well. If the primary focus of the piece is the Muslim Brotherhood nonsense, then we can more easily line up women MoC's to go after VF and defend Huma pretty aggressively I'd imagine. If the Teneo/SGE stuff has anything new or noteworthy in it, that will make life a little more difficult, and will require a little more hand to hand combat with press. Is some combination of this group available today or tonight for a call? It would be good to get digging in the meantime on anything we can find. Tony I can call you to elaborate. --001a11354642c6e6c5052885612a Content-Type: text/html; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable <div dir=3D"ltr"><br><div class=3D"gmail_quote">---------- Forwarded messag= e ----------<br>From: <b class=3D"gmail_sendername">Kristina Schake</b> <sp= an dir=3D"ltr"><<a href=3D"mailto:kschake@hillaryclinton.com">kschake@hi= llaryclinton.com</a>></span><br>Date: Mon, Jan 4, 2016 at 12:15 PM<br>Su= bject: Fwd: Vanity Fair<br>To: Sara Latham <<a href=3D"mailto:slatham@hi= llaryclinton.com">slatham@hillaryclinton.com</a>><br><br><div dir=3D"aut= o"><div>Sent from my iPhone</div><div><br>Begin forwarded message:<br><br><= /div><blockquote type=3D"cite"><div><b>From:</b> Nick Merrill <<a href= =3D"mailto:nmerrill@hillaryclinton.com" target=3D"_blank">nmerrill@hillaryc= linton.com</a>><br><b>Date:</b> January 4, 2016 at 12:12:26 PM EST<br><b= >To:</b> Christina Reynolds <<a href=3D"mailto:creynolds@hillaryclinton.= com" target=3D"_blank">creynolds@hillaryclinton.com</a>>, Brian Fallon &= lt;<a href=3D"mailto:bfallon@hillaryclinton.com" target=3D"_blank">bfallon@= hillaryclinton.com</a>>,=C2=A0 Jennifer Palmieri <<a href=3D"mailto:j= palmieri@hillaryclinton.com" target=3D"_blank">jpalmieri@hillaryclinton.com= </a>>, Kristina Schake <<a href=3D"mailto:kschake@hillaryclinton.com"= target=3D"_blank">kschake@hillaryclinton.com</a>>,=C2=A0 Tony Carrk <= ;<a href=3D"mailto:tcarrk@hillaryclinton.com" target=3D"_blank">tcarrk@hill= aryclinton.com</a>>, Adrienne Elrod <<a href=3D"mailto:aelrod@hillary= clinton.com" target=3D"_blank">aelrod@hillaryclinton.com</a>><br><b>Subj= ect:</b> <b>Vanity Fair</b><br><br></div></blockquote><blockquote type=3D"c= ite"><div><div dir=3D"ltr">They are now going to put the Huma piece on the = website on Wednesday morning, and it will hit newsstands on the 12th.<div><= br></div><div>I think we should do a call about this and figure out how we&= #39;re going to rally the troops to defend whatever nonsense is in there.= =C2=A0 We will need to engage CtR and Media Matters as well.=C2=A0 If the p= rimary focus of the piece is the Muslim Brotherhood nonsense, then we can m= ore easily line up women MoC's to go after VF and defend Huma pretty ag= gressively I'd imagine.=C2=A0 If the Teneo/SGE stuff has anything new o= r noteworthy in it, that will make life a little more difficult, and will r= equire a little more hand to hand combat with press.</div><div><br></div><d= iv>Is some combination of this group available today or tonight for a call?= =C2=A0</div><div><br></div><div>It would be good to get digging in the mea= ntime on anything we can find.=C2=A0 Tony I can call you to elaborate.</div= ><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div></div> </div></blockquote></div> </div><br></div> --001a11354642c6e6c5052885612a--
Caution: this article has a heavy bias and should be considered as a personal opinion rather than an objective assessment of the story portrayed throughout the show. We’re not content with how Greg Daniels “unmasked” Scranton Strangler in the final season because it was long assumed to be someone at Dunder-Mifflin . Why did Daniels leave behind traces that speak to certain characters’ guilt and shame in the first place? I would like to further explore Scranton Strangler’s true identity by referring to past episodes and by claiming it to be Toby. Scranton Strangler’s full name is reported to be George Howard Skub in the show. This differs from Toby’s full name, Toby Wyatt Flenderson, but it can be because Toby used an alias or because Toby framed or accused an innocent man to avoid arrest. Also, the fact that Scranton Strangler was better known as Scranton Strangler and was consistently called this instead of his real name throughout the show suggests a weaker association with George Howard Skub and greater latitude in affiliating with or connecting to another individual. My hypothesis is: Toby Flenderson is the actual Scranton Strangler and he had deliberately framed another man to avoid arrest. Below are my analyses of evidences that support the hypothesis. Season 8 Episode 1: "The List" This is not damning evidence, although it does seem slightly suspicious. When Robert California makes his list of the winners and losers, he ends up taking all the winners to lunch. Only near the beginning of the lunch, Toby decides to leave, saying he doesn't belong there. Perhaps he recognized a police officer from the chase, or saw someone who may recognize him as the Strangler? He leaves quickly and without explanation, and trying not too draw attention.This only adds more to the case. Season 7 Episode 8: “Viewing Party” Dunder-Mifflin employees watch the pursuit of “Scranton Strangler” live on television. Interestingly, Toby is absent in this entire episode. He doesn’t even show up at the Glee viewing party at Gabe’s house later that day. Another piece of evidence is that while the office watch the pursuit, someone calls Toby. Erin is watching, meaning that there is no one to forward this call, so the only way someone would call is if they knew Toby's extension. This means Toby could have been in the car calling the office to confess. According to my hypothesis, Toby missed both work and the party because he was engaged in the car chase himself, as Scranton Strangler. Season 7 Episode 11/12: “Classy Christmas” Toby serves on a jury duty on Scranton Strangler’s case. Toby speaks about this to his co-workers at Dunder-Mifflin and explains in the interview he shared it with his co-workers because he “liked the attention.” However, Toby may have deliberately brought up the topic himself to reinforce the idea that Scranton Strangler is someone else and subsequently, invalidate any accusations toward himself. Also, Toby is the only one at Dunder-Mifflin who’s actually seen the suspect, so far. This can only work to Toby’s advantage, so I doubt it was a mere coincidence that he served on a jury duty on Strangler’s case and that he was enthusiastic about it. Furthermore, Toby wouldn’t have made a visit to the man, who had already been convicted, in a later season (season 9) had he not have a unique relationship with the man. Season 7 Episode 21: “Michael’s Last Dundies” At the last Dundies, Toby announces that Scranton Strangler was finally found guilty and faces death penalty. However, Toby voices his doubts about the verdict as he is “not so sure [the suspect] is guilty anymore.” This may indicate that the alleged Scranton Strangler on trial, whom Toby witnessed in episode 11/12, is not the same man who was fleeing in the car chase. Toby may be publicly announcing this out of remorse, just to alleviate his anxiety. Regardless, this is evidence that speaks to the convict’s innocence and that reinforces Toby’s guilty conscience. Season 9 Episode 6: “The Boat” After Oscar confides in Toby about Kevin , Toby himself “confesses” to Oscar about how he has put an innocent man in jail. This clearly reflects Toby’s guilty conscience ad that he has been struggling with guilt for a considerable amount of time, as Scranton Strangler was tried two seasons ago. This would be unconventional if Toby was innocent and had no relation to the alleged serial killer. However, according to my hypothesis, Toby is in fact related to the convict, whom he wrongly and deliberately accused of. This explains the excessive amount of time Toby spends on contemplating about the convict and struggling with own guilty conscience. Season 9 Episode 9: “Dwight Christmas” Toby talks to Nellie about Scranton Strangler for several hours until she brushes him off. He’s not taken seriously and people seem to have no to very little interest in the topic, but he continues to bring up Scranton Strangler. His endless attempts contradict what he had said earlier in season 7, episode 11/12, that he shared about Scranton Strangler because he “liked the attention.” If Toby spoke about Strangler for the sole purpose of garnering attention, he wouldn’t have continued to occupy himself with Scranton Strangler when public interest has waned. His continued efforts signify his unique relationship with the convict and his actual role as Scranton Strangler. He again speaks of the convict’s innocence and supports his claim with his research on finger printing. Even when assuming his research is valid, the process and rationale of his research remain questionable. How did he mine such data on fingerprints in the first place? What authority did he have to even request such information? Is it even common for a juror to conduct an extensive research on fingerprints of the prime suspect? What explains Toby’s motivation? The puzzle pieces are put back together only when Toby is found guilty of being the Strangler. Only then would he have the motivation to go out of his way to either prove or disprove someone else’s guilt and the information about Scranton Strangler Season 9 Episode 16: “Moving On” After Nellie expresses her frustration with Toby’s “lack of action,” Toby visits the alleged Scranton Strangler in prison. In the show, Toby is illustrated to have made the visit to confront Strangler about the trial. When Toby does confront the man, he is violently strangled and injured. In the show, this was to confirm that the man was the Strangler, but I presume it was really because Toby had confessed to the man that he was the actual culprit and that he had framed the man to avoid arrest. Toby has long been struggling with guilt, so perhaps, this is what led to the confession and ultimately, the rage and violence of the innocent man. As a result, Toby wears a neck brace in this episode. This again reinforces the idea that Scranton Strangler is someone else and invalidates any accusations toward himself. Conclusion After a thorough examination of several episodes and Toby’s questionable behavior, I have come to prove my hypothesis as true. Toby Flenderson is the actual Scranton Strangler and has wrongly accused another man of the crime. He then struggles with his guilt throughout the show and finally confesses to the alleged Scranton Strangler, only to find himself badly injured at the rage of the innocent man.
Young firms struggle to compete as deep-pocketed companies like Facebook and Amazon clone products and consolidate their power As tech companies get richer, is it 'game over' for startups? Facebook has been breathing down the neck of the group video-chat app Houseparty for over a year. The app, developed by the San Francisco startup Life On Air, has been a hit with teenagers – an audience Facebook is desperate to woo. After months of sniffing around its tiny competitor and even inviting the team to its headquarters last summer, Facebook launched its own group video chat tool within Messenger in December 2016. In February, it invited teens to its headquarters to quiz them, in return for $275 Amazon cards, on how and why they used video-chat apps. By July, Facebook was demonstrating a Houseparty clone, Bonfire, to employees and by early September the app launched in Denmark. Franklin Foer: 'Big tech has been rattled. The conversation has changed' Read more “They see we’re having traction,” Sima Sistani, co-founder of Houseparty, told the Wall Street Journal in August. “That’s why we’re pushing so hard.” Pushing hard might not be enough when you’re going up against some of the world’s most powerful companies keen to cling to their empires. Startups drive job creation and innovation, but the number of new business launches is at a 30-year low and some economists, investors and entrepreneurs are pointing their fingers at big tech. For one thing, the deep pockets and resources of companies like Facebook, Google, Amazon and Apple – with a combined value of almost $2.5tn – make it increasingly difficult for startups to compete or attract investment. “People are not getting funded because Amazon might one day compete with them,” said one founder, who wished to remain anonymous. “If it was startup versus startup, it would have been a fair fight, but startup versus Amazon and it’s game over.” Even multibillion-dollar startups like Snap, Snapchat’s parent company, struggle to compete against these tech titans. Like Houseparty, Snap was nipping at the heels of Facebook. At first, Facebook played nicely, making an offer to buy Snapchat – a strategy that worked with Instagram and WhatsApp. When that failed, Facebook cloned all of Snapchat’s features, awkwardly at first but relentlessly and with the resources of a $510bn company, until Snap’s potential slice of the advertising market shriveled to a sliver. While there’s a clear correlation, it’s hard to say for sure whether concentration of money is the cause or effect of the startup decline. On one hand, the existence of fewer new startups makes it easier for incumbent firms to accumulate more power. However, as industries become more concentrated, it also raises the barriers to new entrepreneurship, choking off innovation elsewhere in the marketplace. “They are financing the next generation research at a scale that no one else can afford,” said Tomasz Tunguz, a venture capitalist, citing Google’s experimental projects Loon (balloon-powered internet), Fiber (high-speed internet) and Waymo (self-driving cars). “They are playing in big markets, making big bets. Historically, that’s been the domain of startups.” As those companies get more powerful and staff salaries get higher, there’s even less of an incentive for workers to leave and set up on their own, which used to be a common pathway for entrepreneurs. If they do leave, the endgame is often to be acquired by their previous employer rather than grow large enough to compete with it. “If your strategy from the outset is to be acquired by Google, that’s just fueling consolidation,” said Ian Hathaway, an economist at the Brookings Institution. Jonathan Frankel was thrilled when Amazon’s investment arm funneled $5.6m into his startup Nucleus after a year of discussions. He was less thrilled when, a year later, Amazon launched its latest voice-controlled device, the Echo Show: an almost perfect clone of the Nucleus product. Nucleus was an Alexa-powered tablet computer that focused on video conferencing and communication, with a plan – that Amazon’s investment arm would have seen – to move into other areas. When the Echo Show launched, it too focused on communication, the core of Nucleus’s vision, instead of other key features like e-commerce or connected home elements. Frankel, who declined to comment for this piece, was furious, telling Recode earlier this year: “Their thesis is what our thesis was: communication is that Trojan horse to get those devices throughout the home and throughout the extended family’s home. “The difference is, they want to sell more detergent; we actually want to help families communicate easier.” These kinds of tactics have rattled investors, some founders said, making it harder for startups to raise money even if they’re in an adjacent market – particularly those skirting Amazon and Facebook. A venture capitalist confirms this, describing Amazon’s launch of an almost identical product as a “very, very strange coincidence”. “At the end of the day, Amazon could be theoretically in nearly any consumer business in the world,” he said, adding that he was frequently in meetings where investment decisions are informed by the question: “Can Amazon do that?” “Amazon can do anything,” he noted. 'From heroes to villains': tech industry faces bipartisan backlash in Washington Read more It’s not just a problem within the tech industry. Since 1980, the share of companies less than a year old has almost halved – from 15% of companies to just 8.1%, according to Census Bureau data. The total number of startups formed in 2015 (the last year surveyed) was 414,000 – a huge drop from the pre-recession figure of 558,000 in 2006. “It’s been a persistent and fairly precipitous decline,” said John Dearie, the founder of the Center for American Entrepreneurship, an organization set up to address the decline. “The reason why this is so troubling is that new businesses account for virtually all new job creation and account disproportionately for disruptive innovations.” “It’s not a coincidence that at a time when the startup rate is in a long-term decline, the economy has not grown at 3% or better,” said Dearie. “We are in a growth emergency.” Contact the author: olivia.solon@theguardian.com
Simon bar Giora (alternatively known as Simeon bar Giora or Simon ben Giora or Shimon bar Giora; died 70 CE) was the leader of one of the major Judean rebel factions during the First Jewish-Roman War in 1st-century Roman Judea, who vied for control of the Jewish polity while attempting to expel the Roman army, but inciting a bitter internecine war in the process. Life [ edit ] Simon bar Giora, a Gerasene by birth (thought to be from Gerasa [Jurish] in Samaria,[1][2][3] although there were several towns by that name), became notable during the First Jewish-Roman War, when Roman troops under Cestius Gallus marched towards Jerusalem in 66. Simon spearheaded the attack against these advancing Roman troops,[4] and helped in defeating the advance by attacking from the north, as they approached Beth Horon.[5] He put the hindmost of the army into disorder and carried off many of the beasts that carried the weapons of war, and led them into the city. This victory marked the beginning of the First Jewish-Roman War, in the 12th-year of Nero's reign.[6] However, he was rejected for a command position by the Jerusalem authorities, for they did not want a popular leader of a rebellious peasantry if they were to moderate the revolt and negotiate with the Romans.[7] As a result, Simon gathered a large number of revolutionaries and started robbing houses of wealthy people in the district of Acrabbene: “ But as for the Acrabbene toparchy, Simon, the son of Gioras, which means "The Strong", got a great number of those that were fond of innovations together, and betook himself to ravage the country; nor did he only harass the rich men's houses, but tormented their bodies, and appeared openly and beforehand to affect tyranny in his government. And when an army was sent against him by Artanus, and the other rulers, he and his band retired to the robbers that were at Masada.[7] ” Meanwhile, a large force of Idumeans had encamped outside the walls of Jerusalem, and were barred by the citizenry from entering inside the city, in hopes of preserving the peace. Members of the Zealot party secretly opened one of the gates to bring them inside, hoping thereby to augment their forces against the common enemy of Rome. Now outraged that they had been barred from the city by the citizenry, the Idumeans went about murdering the common people of the city, including two of Israel's High Priests, Ananus ben Ananus and Joshua ben Gamla.[8] Simon stayed safe in Masada from the Judean provisional Government authorities until Ananus ben Ananus was killed in the Zealot Temple Siege, after which he left the fortress for the hill country and proclaimed liberty for those in slavery, and a reward to those already free. He gathered power quickly as more people and influential men joined him. He soon dared to venture into the flatlands, constructed a fort in a village called Nain,[9] and stored food and booty within caves in Pharan valley.[10] It was obvious that he prepared to attack Jerusalem.[11] However, Simon ben Giora first attacked Idumea to the south of Jerusalem, sacking its many villages,[12] and his intimidating army met no real resistance. He marched into Hebron, robbed the grain stores of towns and villages, and plundered the countryside in order to feed his vast troops. By this time, he was followed by forty thousand people not including his soldiers.[11] Simon's success began worrying the Zealot factions in Jerusalem. Since they did not dare fight in open battle, they lay an ambush, capturing his wife and some of her entourage. They expected Simon to lay down his weapons in exchange for her freedom. However, Simon grew very angry, went to Jerusalem and took everybody leaving the city captive. Some he tortured, some he killed and he cut off the hands of others, sending them back into the city with the message that he would do likewise to all Jerusalem if his wife was not released. This frightened the Zealots so immensely that they eventually let her go.[11] In the spring 69 CE, the advancing Roman army forced Simon ben Giora to retreat to Jerusalem.[13] Within Jerusalem, John of Giscala had set himself up as a despotic ruler after overthrowing lawful authority of the Judean provisional government in the Zealot Temple Siege. In order to get rid of him, the remaining Jerusalem authorities decided to invite Simon to enter the city and to drive John away. Acclaimed by the people as their savior and guardian, Simon was admitted.[14] Simon, with fifteen thousand soldiers at hand, soon controlled the whole upper city and some of the lower city, setting up his place of residence in the tower of Phasael.[15] John held parts of the lower city and the Temple's outer court with six thousand men and a third splinter group of twenty-four hundred men controlled the temple's inner court.[16] Within the city, factions fought vigorously over the control of Jerusalem, always trying to destroy each other's grain stores to starve each other into submission.[13] This internal fighting later proved disastrous: not only was this a sabbatical year (with less grain available), but the city was under siege by the time the harvest began.[16] Nevertheless, of the leaders of the rebellion, Simon in particular was regarded with reverence and awe.[17] By his authority, coins were minted declaring the redemption of Zion.[18] Destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem by by Francesco Hayez depicts the destruction of the Second Temple by Roman soldiers. Oil on canvas, 1867. Just before Passover in 70, Titus began the siege of Jerusalem. He quickly took down the first and second wall, but then met fierce resistance[13] as the rebel Judean factions within Jerusalem realized the necessity of joining forces.[19] However, Simon and John both upheld their reigns of terror over the citizens, causing many to flee to the Romans. To counteract these desertions, Simon put every potential betrayer, including some of his previous friends, to death.[13] In August 70, five months after the siege began, Jerusalem fell to Titus. Simon escaped into the subterranean passages of the Temple Mount. By means of stone cutters he tried to dig a way to freedom, but ran out of food before he could finish. Clothed in the garments of a Judean king he rose out of the ground at the very spot where the Temple had stood,[20] was taken prisoner and brought to Rome.[21][22] Gravestone in Mamertine Prison , with the names of illustrious prisoners who were locked up, awaiting execution. Among them, Simon bar Giora Like kings of other countries Simon was displayed during the triumphal procession. Judged a rebel and a traitor by the Romans, he was executed by being thrown to his death from the Tarpeian Rock near the Temple of Jupiter.[23] References [ edit ] Bibliography [ edit ]
The fallout continues after a Toronto reporter confronted a group of men planning to yell obscenities into her microphone after a soccer game. Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment said it is still trying to identify four men who participated in an offensive 'FHRITP' stunt this past weekend, so the organization can ban those individuals from its venues. A ban would likely last for a year. MLSE said it will not be releasing information about the identity of the individuals. At least three men yelled obscenities at Shauna Hunt, a CityNews reporter covering a Toronto FC soccer game on Sunday. She then confronted a group of other men, who were defending the practice of yelling "F--k her right in the p---y" while a television reporter was filming a segment. CityNews put the incident online and on air, and the fallout has yet to end. Two days after the piece aired, Hydro One announced the termination of one of its employees in connection with the incident.
Film culture has long had an obsession with the architecture of John Lautner, a protégé of Frank Lloyd Wright. One should not move to Los Angeles ambivalent about living in a near-perpetual state of revision. I’ve lived in the city for eight years, enough time to love it deeply, and in adopting the Angeleno constitution I’ve come to embrace an abiding concern with appearances. I don’t mean this in a derogatory way, that the city is superficial. But Los Angeles—with its sylvan, scruffy hills of shrubs and chaparral, its flexibly employed subcultures, the mishmash of mini-cities and architectural styles resting comfortably above fault lines—is both a city to watch and a city that watches you back as you traverse it. The mountains and valleys draw you in, the topographic secrets and security gates keep you hunting—especially if you have a taste for architecture (and you will build one here if you don’t). Soon enough you find yourself methodically exploring the sprawl in search of what’s deemed architecturally significant, making a personal study of each home’s provenance along the way: So-and-so owns this one; Movie A was made there; a Manson-family murder happened around the corner; this space-age thing could house the Jetsons. When I first moved to Los Angeles, I found myself energized by the city’s aesthetic extremes and, upon watching Brian de Palma’s Body Double, quickly sought out John Lautner’s Chemosphere house, arguably the film’s most pivotal character: an octagonal pod-like home with a 360° view, thrust above the hills on a single pole plunged deep into a steep, sloping lot. The film cannot happen without the presence of this house: Once sensationally referred to as an “Earthbound UFO” in the defunct Los Angeles Times Valley News, the home is accessed via funicular, and serves as a unique vantage from which to witness a murder staged against the rustic canyon landscape of the Hollywood Hills—an ideal setting for a primitive act despite what seems like peaceful, bucolic surroundings. Lautner, the son of an academic and an artist, was born in 1911, and grew up inspired by the outdoors of his native Michigan. After fellowships at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin East and West—institutes devoted to apprenticing, to Wright’s learn-by-doing method—he worked on a couple of Wright projects before moving to Los Angeles in 1938. It was a city with enough money and devotion to innovation that he hoped to fund some of his own work, though he found much of the city loathsome, ugly. Still, it was here that he produced most of his—and L.A.’s—iconic architecture, breaking from the formal modernism of his teacher in highly creative ways that expressed a reverence for nature. Wright called Lautner “the world’s second-best architect,” the highest praise possible from a notoriousy self-involved personality. Perhaps today’s best-known architect, Frank Gehry, who has studied Lautner’s work closely, once called him “a god.” For a New Yorker who grew up in apartments embedded in flat land and, later, in a suburban split-level, the Chemosphere was the most dramatic move an architect could make. I stalked its exterior frequently, puzzled over how it was built, how it stayed there, having survived earthquakes and mudslides that had taken out houses nearby. When friends would visit, I’d drive them up the treacherous turns of Mullholland Drive that literally provide a border between the San Fernando Valley to the north and the city to the south. I’d turn onto a dead-end side street near a scenic outlook that shows off the Valley and the NBCUniversal Tower in front of the Burbank foothills. Then I’d turn around and drive past the house, coming at it from the north, to give them the best view. The image of living in the neon-mirroring Los Angeles night sky was intoxicating. What would I see from inside? I didn’t know the home’s resident or owner, had not yet seen all the movies and tv shows that made use of it, but I was hooked, and would seek them out the same way Angelenos sit through mediocre flicks just to catch a glimpse of an industry friend doing his or her thing. Meanwhile, I’d taken up residence on the east side of the city, which, as any architecture fetishist knows, is a hotbed of mid-century design innovation, in a neighborhood called Los Feliz, just below a Frank Lloyd Wright house (the Ennis, used most famously in Blade Runner) and just a few minutes’ jog from Richard Neutra’s Lovell Health House (the home of L.A. Confidential’s villain pornographer). I immediately sought out other Neutra homes, as well as Lautner’s Silvertop House in the bordering neighborhood, Silver Lake, which could only be viewed from across a reservoir. I found it astounding that all I needed was a car to see these structures. I bought a good camera, went on solo photography expeditions, pored over coffee-table books that displayed photos by mid-century architecture’s best visual chronicler, Julius Shulman, who took the first pictures of the Chemosphere house and had worked for Neutra. I felt a pervasive sense of pioneering, though I was just seeking design, as opposed to embarking on death-defying physical adventures set in the wild. Here the land itself staged art, influenced it—an outdoor, living museum. I’d become an architecture fan through Los Angeles’s great modern houses. Movies had sparked the divertissement. Lautner homes—fluid, organic playgrounds for space and light, set in the elements—have been used in over a dozen movies, often as the homes of solitary men, most of them ne’er-do-wells. The list of homes as film stars includes but is not limited to: the Elrod House in Palm Springs (fight scene, Diamonds Are Forever, Sean Connery vs. scantily clad Bond Girls in a roundtop room with a view of the Coachella Valley desert); the Garcia House, which literally looks like a glass eye built into the Hollywood Hills (and whose replica was dragged off a cliff by Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon 2); the Jacobsen House, a hexagonal, steel-framed backdrop for a shootout between Paul Newman and James Garner in the 1998 crime mystery Twilight. Other Lautner homes have framed less sinister characters, certainly less violent scenes, but still offer asylum to the eremitic: the elegant, glass-and-redwood Schaffer House, a clean refuge among live oaks for a despondent professor in Tom Ford’s A Single Man; andSilvertop, a curvilinear glass-and-conrete-forward space used as the home for a lost college graduate facing a dehumanizing adulthood in the adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’s Less Than Zero. Of them all, the Chemosphere has made the most appearances in films and television—including Charlie’s Angels and even The Simpsons. Perhaps fittingly, it is owned by Benedikt Taschen, the German publisher of oversized art, erotica, architecture, and photography monographs, a man who has popularized design for the mainstream, turned what was once the coffee-table book into a collectible artifact itself. Whether it’s the sculptural concrete, the walls of glass, or the surprising angles of steel and wood, the elements of Lautner’s homes appeal immediately to the human spirit. Lautner created spaces that invite us to be (or at least think) primal inside them, and therefore, in some sense, to act free, even play. His homes represent an independent, less systematic approach to modernism—honoring modernism more intrinsically than the homes of his forebears by following the contours of the earth as opposed to the linear blueprints of the more strict International Style. Lautner’s homes are not attempts at luxury. They are, at the core, art projects, and they were produced for remarkably humble sums (about $2,000 in 1960 to design and oversee the construction of the Chemosphere; about $4,000 in 1968 for the Elrod House). Despite their use in film, they evoke nothing nefarious; if anything, they project an exuberance for life, a dialogue with nature. Quite simply, they encourage imagination. (That Lautner was a jazz enthusiast makes sense: Many of his houses sculpt concrete as well as air, the way Miles Davis, say, used sound as well as silence.) Early in his career, Lautner had faced harsh criticism from the East Coast architectural establishment for his commercial work—restaurants and gas stations, for example, that used large, geometric (or “atomic”) shapes for signage. He resented, too, that the Chemosphere was often referred to as a “flying saucer.” For Lautner, its form was function, built with specific needs of the client in mind (in this case, an aerospace engineer and his family), and the architect was flexible about how his structures could be used, customized, or improved. Only later, through the press and film, did the Chemosphere become associated with mystery, the pernicious, sci-fi. In many ways, it is the most generous structure in Los Angeles, offering an unadulterated view of the world. It’s difficult to see a Lautner house, and more so, one from its interior. Some, like the Sheats–Goldstein, are hidden; most are occupied or managed by owners or their staff. In 2011, a few high-priced tours were given to celebrate Lautner’s hundredth birthday, and there are occasional chances to step inside one of these spaces, but they are rare. And yet Lautner’s popularity only seems to have intensified in recent years—through architecture-fan blogs and real-estate websites such as Curbed LA; museum exhibitions; the opening of the Hotel Lautner in Desert Hot Springs, California; a documentary that explores his greatest work, called Infinite Space; and, among other coffee-table books, a lush compendium published by Taschen himself. For its part, the Sheats–Goldstein House, concealed just beyond one of the winding roads of Benedict Canyon, appears from the street to be just a number on a curb between two actual houses. Its driveway descends crookedly, as if to throw off any visitors toward the neighbor’s house. But once you find your way down to the motel-sized carpark, it’s clear you’ve landed upon one of L.A.’s residential gems, built into the side of a cliff overlooking the city and its vaporous sky. I’d gotten lucky, with permission to tour the home through an architect’s connection to the owner. I arrived early to meet with Rick Heinrichs, the production designer of the belovedly entropic Coen Brothers film The Big Lebowski, which used Sheats–Goldstein to stage a comic bad-guy scene that was itself a send-up of bad-guy scenes. In Lebowski, The Dude, a perpetually relaxed do-nothing victim of mistaken identity, played by Jeff Bridges, is thrown into a crime-noir mix-up, captured by goons, and delivered to the home—this home—of a slick pornographer named Jackie Treehorn. (The scene ends when Treehorn drugs The Dude, such that he falls, face-first, onto a coffee table before drifting into a Busby Berkeley–style dream sequence). In the carpark, I ran into an ebullient blond woman of about fifty, who emerged from a sharp Mercedes coupe. She introduced herself as the owner’s assistant, then invited me into the home of her employer: Jim Goldstein, a flamboyant Los Angeles social fixture and generous multimillionaire known for his devotion to modern architecture, to Lautner specifically, and to being an NBA superfan. (Lautner homeowners are, in fact, a subculture of their own, including, among Goldstein, a DreamWorks executive and an esteemed screenwriter.) Walking into the foyer, I stepped across glass slabs that seemed to float like the koi in the pond below, then into a vaulted, concrete-ceilinged living room that oozes past frameless glass windows toward an uncovered pool-centered patio that juts a triangular corner, sans protective fencing, out toward the skyline of Century City. In real life, this house—built in the 1960s, replete with drinking glasses punched into the roof to shoot beams of Los Angeles–branded light into the space, what Lautner called the “perforated light in a primeval forest”—was commissioned of the architect for a family with children (the Sheatses). Goldstein bought the home in 1972, and enlisted Lautner to help him transform it into the strikingly groovy pad it is today, including a swimming pool renovation that moved the water level up to the edge of the terrace, a precursor to the contemporary infinity pool. Come dusk, the pool mirrors the tent-shaped roof and the stars above. Heinrichs arrived trailing a group of German tourists, young men dressed in tight, color-saturated, neo-preppy clothes and fedoras. They spoke quickly to each other, with utter delight on their faces, and sported heavy, expensive cameras with massive zoom lenses—perhaps the optimistic spawn of Lebowski’s gang of criminal nihilists? Walking through the living room, Heinrichs, a man with graying hair and observant blue eyes, seemed quite taken with the details and view. “It’s a playfully serious place,” he said, “and it was perfect for our scene. We hardly had to do anything to it.” He was deferential to the Coens, and to Ken Adam, the veteran production designer who’d used Lautner’s Elrod house for Diamonds Are Forever. This was the first time he’d been back to the site since the Lebowski shoot. He pointed out toward the sky at the edge of the terrace. “In the movie, this is supposed to be Malibu,” he said. “But ours was a night shoot.” We talked about how Los Angeles is for so many people anything they want it to be. I asked him if knowing that the space was real as opposed to a set on a soundstage influenced the performances, and he grinned. I was beginning to sound geeky. “Have you been to a Lebowski fest?” he asked. “They’re fun—funny, as you might expect. But that’s what this house says to me. It’s the quintessential Los Angeles house because it’s fun. Things—fun and funny, or odd, can happen here. Well, we like to think they can.” As we spoke, the Germans trounced about the place—popping up from behind staircases, laughing excitedly as they posed near the credenza that served as the bar in Lebowski. “How did they get in here?” he asked, then shrugged and walked around the low-slung, built-in couches. The pool began to gurgle, belch, and Heinrichs and I shared a laugh. Walking through the Sheats–Goldstein, I didn’t feel a discernible impulse to turn to porn, poisoning, or homicide, the métiers of so many of the loner-villains who dwell in these spaces in film. But I did feel relaxed, unusually safe for someone standing on a ledge hundreds of feet above a city. Perhaps more dramatically than most other Lautner spaces, save the Chemosphere, the Sheats–Goldstein house is precariously placed in nature, almost appearing to be carved into it. “Organic modernism is one good way to describe it,” said Heinrichs. “It doesn’t exactly communicate evil to me. But it does seem aligned with wealth now, and I guess evil isn’t too far away from lots of money.” At that moment the Germans appeared by the pool and asked me to take their picture. Heinrichs smiled and waited. “This place is a magical wonderland!” said one of the Germans, who soon thereafter began to shoot pictures of pictures of the house that hung on a wall, opposite what looked to be Michael Jackson’s jacket from the “Beat It” video. Another German ran around the side of the pool to find the Jacuzzi. “It’s like a dream here!” he said. The idea of manipulating people through imagery is what drives De Palma’s narrative for Body Double, in which the Chemosphere functions as an inhabitable lens, the most interesting way to use a Lautner home in film. The bad guy is the home’s “house sitter,” and to make good criminal use of the place he presents to a voyeuristic patsy, via telescope, the staged murder of his wife in another house located across a canyon. The film’s a pulpy cocktail of Rear Window and Vertigo references—the unwitting protagonist is a claustrophobic actor who has trouble playing a B-movie vampire confined to a coffin—but there’s a powerful visual vocabulary at work here; the use of the home is a comment on film, the most modern of popular art forms that requires frames through which to see narratives unfold. De Palma uses a set to stand in for the Chemosphere’s interior—a playboy’s lounge with rotating bed and garish excess, nothing like the actual home. But the movie stays true to Lautner’s vision for the design, exploiting how the house functions from within. “Lautner’s works were not designed as objects or buildings to be viewed from the outside,” Frank Escher, a well-known Los Angeles architect and Lautner expert who restored the Chemosphere house for Taschen, told me in his Silver Lake home, just a few days after I saw the Sheats–Goldstein. Escher, a Swiss-born man who wears sturdy black glasses, wrote a 1998 book about Lautner (John Lautner, Architect) and co-curated a recent UCLA Hammer Museum Lautner exhibition. “The homes were always designed as spaces or platforms from which you can look out at a landscape, which is fundamentally different from what many architects do even to this day.” In Tom Ford’s A Single Man, Lautner’s Schaffer house, a much more proletarian home than his later projects, serves as a sanctuary in nature for a suicidal academic, played by Colin Firth, who shuts himself off from others as he grieves the loss of his male partner, at a time when it felt terribly isolating to be gay. But in his unpretentious redwood house, with glass that lets him be one with the surrounding flora, he possesses a complete, private part of the world just for him. “He probably would have loved the way this house was used in that film,” said Escher. Lautner built the home on the very site where the commissioning family would take picnics, keeping nearly every shading tree in place. There is a human, touching parallel here, in the way Ford’s film provides a nook in nature for his protagonist. Lautner had a reputation for being a difficult personality. Escher says that he was simply misunderstood. “Like any artist he had ideas of what he appreciated. But he was very generous about people coming to ask him about his work, and certainly to people who came to him about commissioning a project. Almost naïvely. If he felt that people didn’t understand him or made things up, however, he would get annoyed.” When critics condescended to Lautner’s early commercial work, they called it “Googie” architecture, referring to Googie’s coffee shop (1949), a fairly simple space with a skyrocketing ceiling and long, glass wall that inspired an easily mocked style of futurism. But a diner that Lautner designed on Sunset Boulevard and Crescent Heights—razed and replaced long ago—included a roof that Escher described as “lifted off and folded over the building so that customers could sit far back in the space and look up at the Hollywood Hills—a beautiful idea.” Few people know how humble Lautner was, that he lived in a workaday Hollywood apartment, never made much money. He was first committed to building middle-class homes, and didn’t build the projects that would win him so much attention until later in his career, after he took on a business manager in his small Century City office to help him figure out how to pay his employees. “It’s unfortunate that he didn’t get the acclaim he deserved while he was alive,” Goldstein told me shortly after I’d visited his house. “It’s a little bit sad. But that’s also due in part to Lautner’s personality. He was not ego-driven. He was totally devoted to his work. That’s what he knew how to do. His strength was in architecture, not self-promotion.” Lautner disliked labels. “He actually thought that was the mark of laziness,” Escher said. “People who don’t think for themselves use labels. If any label used to describe his work might not have bothered him it was ‘organic.’ But he did come up with one term for his work: ‘Real Architecture.’ It was an attempt to distinguish himself from others who worked in distinct styles with a set of rules.” Architects constrained by style manifestos are no different than composers who only write in twelve-tone rows. But the world doesn’t work that way, and neither do Lautner homes, which sometimes even introduce nature into living space, whether it’s rocks, leaves, dirt, sand, air. Lautner’s work is humbling, the way the whole of nature makes you feel small. It contextualizes the sublime, and like powerful Pacific waves or Coachella Valley desert rocks reminds you how minuscule you are—like every other animal. That filmmakers used them to stage the homes of wrongdoers or sociopaths who exercise the animalistic part of themselves is just one expression of the honesty that these homes beg us to acknowledge, and as much as people might believe Lautner’s work is misunderstood by filmmakers, it is not. These characters are often set alone in these spaces—alone to consider their tiny places in the universe—and that they often crave control could be the filmmaker’s last laugh, a sign that they comprehend the big ideas posited by Lautner’s architecture. The movie character may think that he’s living large, but in fact he’s a microbe in the larger sphere (perhaps more comfortable among the stars and trees than other among humans), and that’s one of the things that a Lautner space is about: inviting man to consider scale. Lautner once told the writer of a 1986 UCLA oral history that of all the major cities’ populations, Angelenos are the least interested in architecture. “[The city’s] just built on advertising,” he said. “And it has been affected by the movie industry: the stage set. And they’re used to the facade, and it’s perfectly all right. And, the climate permits it and so on, so there’s nothing real, nothing solid, and nobody cares.” It would be eye-opening to see his reaction to many of Los Angeles’s new architecture fanatics as they queue up for modern home tours in southern California, talking about film sets and the directors who made these homes notable to them. In films, these homes’ characters may seem malignant, or to live on the edge of what we consider normal, but that’s why the homes are ideal sets for literal contrivance. They are micro worlds, open to space, with simultaneous access to the wild and shelter from it. And that many of his most famous homes used in film are located in or near Los Angeles speaks to our rightly equating the city with the perpetual stretching of the American imagination. Just as we want to venture into this city of possibility, frolic about its canyons, there’s an urge to climb into these movies, visit the houses used in them. Lautner’s nature-infused houses let these films do more than tell us stories. They allow us to play inside the narratives—to redesign them, write, if only in our minds.
This is the eighth in a series looking at potential dream and nightmare scenarios for all Pac-12 teams. Understand: These are not predictions. They are extreme scenarios and pieces of fiction. You can read last year's versions here. We're going in reverse order of my post-spring power rankings (which might not be identical to my preseason power rankings). Up next: Washington Best case Steve Sarkisian erupts from his slumber, waking his wife. "The voice again?" she asks. "Yes," Sarkisian says. "It says, 'If you build it, he will come.' I feel like I've heard that somewhere before. It's probably from some obscure movie." "But you've already built it," she says. "Renovated Husky Stadium is going to be the best venue in the Pac-12." Sarkisian leaps from his bed. "That's it!" he says. "I'm going over the Husky Stadium." When Sarkisian is gone, his wife shakes here head with a perturbed look, "Freaking Pac-12 blog," she rasps. Sarkisian walks into the shiny new stadium. He looks around with pride. It's 11:59 p.m. A small kitten crosses his path. He looks up. About 50 yards away, at midfield a backlit man stands, shirtless. "If you build it... he will come...," Sarkisian says as he recognizes the man approaching. "He has come back!" Bruce Lee steps into the light. "Man, please tell me you're going to make another movie," Sarkisian says. "That fight with Chuck Norris! And Kareem! Will you say, 'Boards don't hit back!' for me?" Lee says nothing. He just stares at Sarkisian. "Don't think, Sark. Feel," Lee says. "I am but a finger pointing to the moon. Don't concentrate on the finger or you will miss all that heavenly glory. Or should I say, Husky glory. Come, we have much to discuss." Tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins, whose pinkie miraculously healed before the end of preseason camp, doesn't play in Washington's 31-17 win over Boise State to open the season. Keith Price completes 21 of 30 for 235 yards and two touchdowns, and the Huskies defense holds the Broncos to 295 total yards. "Austin is going to sit for three games," Sarkisian says to reporters after the game. "We really labored over this because I absolutely believe his DUI was an anomaly. It doesn't speak to his character or how he conducts himself. But we have high standards at the University of Washington and with our football team. The message is don't drink and drive, period. If news about our suspending him prevents one person from getting behind the wheel while intoxicated, we've served our community." During the Huskies off week, Sarkisian appears on College GameDay. Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit gush about Sarkisian's discipline, Husky Stadium and how he's rebuilt the program. He's also asked about the Huskies new up-tempo offense, which nonetheless incorporates many of the pro-style concepts that are his longtime schematic staples. "Our offense favors formlessness so that it can assume all forms and since our offense has no style, it can fit in with all styles," Sarkisian says. ESPN, impressed with Sarkisian's profundity, uses the clip in a new commercial for the network. It goes viral. Washington blisters Illinois 41-10, buries Idaho State then outlasts Arizona 38-35. But No. 4 Stanford gets a critical fourth-quarter pick-6 from safety Ed Reynolds -- Price's first interception of the season -- that keys a 24-20 win over the Huskies. Sarkisian finds Lee in his office early Sunday morning. "Empty your mind," says Lee. "Become formless and shapeless like water. When water is poured into a cup, it becomes the cup. When water is poured into a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Be water, my friend. "Now what is missing from your team?" Says Sarkisian, "We don't play as well on the road. We sometimes lack a killer instinct. We are close but not there yet." Says Lee, "And Big Boss Man Oregon is next, coming to your house, intent on humiliating the Huskies again. What is it -- nine consecutive wins by at least 17 points? "Again, what is missing from your team?" Sarkisian gets a far-away look. "The... the... spirit of Don James?" Lee and Sarkisian reappear in downtown Fremont. "Norm's?" says Sarkisian. "I love this place. But why are we here?" Lee leads Sarkisian into the pub. He trades a fist bump and meaningful look with owner Steve Habecker. Lee then walks into the back of the building. He takes out a large, old-fashioned key and opens a door. He turns on the light. There is a chest, not unlike a pirate's treasure chest. Lee opens it. He reaches inside. He takes out a scroll. "Read this," Lee says. Sarkisian unspools the parchment. He reads, “I think we could play against anybody who has ever played in college football.” "Don James," Lee says. No. 2 Oregon leads Washington 28-24 with 1:47 remaining. The Huskies take over at their 20 and drive to the Ducks 5-yard line with 10 seconds left. Sarkisian calls a timeout. "Keith, this is your moment -- enjoy it," Sarkisian tells his quarterback. "You're about to become a Husky legend." Price walks back onto the field. Instead of joining the huddle, he approaches the Ducks defenders. "You have offended my Husky family and you have offended Husky Stadium," Price says before returning to the Washington huddle. Says Oregon cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu,"Oh no. He's made us into Mr. Han! We need Michael Clay. He'd know how to defeat this bad juju with his spirit animal." Price brings the Huskies to the line of scrimmage. He takes the shotgun snap and runs right up the middle for the winning touchdown. He goes in untouched due to a brutal surge from his offensive line. For the first time since 2002, the Huskies are ranked in the top-10. But then they go down 28-24 at Arizona State. Sarkisian finds Lee in his office early Sunday morning. "Leading a great football program, it’s not how much your players have learned, but how much they have absorbed from what they have learned," Lee says. "It is not how much fixed knowledge they can accumulate, but what they can apply livingly that counts." The Huskies pound California and Colorado, but they make a bigger statement by beating No. 12 UCLA and No. 15 Oregon State on the road. Meaningful road wins have been few-and-far-between for the Huskies under Sarkisian. It's also meaningful that Stanford loses to rival California. The Pac-12 North title is still in play. After the Huskies pound Washington State 35-10 in the Apple Cup, they gather around the giant screen TV in the players' lounge to watch Oregon-Oregon State. The Huskies need the Ducks to lose in order to win the division. The Ducks lead 24-20, and the Beavers are forced to call their final timeout with Oregon facing a second and 5 on the 50-yard line. Announcer: "It looks like the Ducks will be able to run the clock out if they can get one more first down. Mariota hands off to ... no the ball is loose. It's picked up by Oregon State defensive tackle Brandon Bennett-Jackson who takes off the other way... he's, he's lost a shoe... and the other... but he's still going to score! A shoeless Bennett-Jackson gives Oregon State the lead!" The Beavers hold on. The Huskies win the North Division, as their divisional record is better than both Stanford and Oregon. Washington beats Arizona State 28-24 to earn its first birth in the Rose Bowl since the 2000 season. The Huskies then slip No. 6 Ohio State 21-17 to finish 12-2 and ranked fourth. Meanwhile, Sarkisian's ESPN video gets one billion hits and spawns a cottage industry of imitators. Psy releases a "Sarkisiani Style!" and football teams across the country do the "Sarkisian Shake." A T-shirt with split image of Sarkisian and Bruce Lee becomes all the rage, most notably among elite high school football recruits. At the Under Armour All-Star game, just about every player wears one. Perhaps not coincidentally, the Huskies sign the nation's No. 1 recruiting class. A sinkhole swallows Autzen Stadium. Worst case With tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins in the starting lineup -- and with a heavily taped pinkie finger -- Washington opens remodeled Husky Stadium with thud, as Boise State scores 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to win 28-24. "This game won't define our season," coach Steve Sarkisian says. A reporter asks Sarkisian why he didn't suspend Seferian-Jenkins. "He was punished internally," Sarkisian replies. "And we took a team vote, and Austin's teammates voted not to suspended him. I was therefore powerless to punish him that way." For the rest of the season, every time the Huskies lose, news stories contain this phrase: "... Sarkisian, who didn't suspend tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins despite his spring DUI conviction..." Washington comes back to beat Illinois 10-7, despite three turnovers from quarterback Keith Price, and blasts Idaho State 30-10. But the schedule quickly gets tougher, and Washington is nipped in overtime by Arizona and drubbed by Stanford 24-6. "We've got a young team that is still learning to win," Sarkisian said. "But we can turn things around against Oregon." The Ducks pound the Huskies 40-10, Oregon's 10th consecutive win over their most bitter rival by at least 17 points. Price is more his 2012 self than the tantalizing talent he was in 2011. The offensive line, though experienced, continues to get pushed around. And the secondary really misses cornerback Desmond Trufant, though a bigger problem is that the extraordinary number of times certain Huskies fans blathered about the Pac-12 blog losing "all credibility!" because Trufant didn't make last season's top-25 players list has unleashed a karmic whirlwind that makes all bounces go against the defense. Kevin Gemmell: I feel like we properly warned them about the potential for a karmic whirlwind. Ted Miller: Hey, it's always been a part of the process. But it's out of our hands. I told Justin Wilcox that even we don't fully understand the supernatural powers of the Pac-12 blog and how it handles trolls who are unredeemed because they lack perspective and a sense of humor. Washington loses at Arizona State but beats California and Colorado, meaning it needs to win two of its final three games to become bowl eligible. "Our first goal every year is to become bowl eligible," Sarkisian says. The Huskies lose 27-17 at UCLA. "We're beat up and we're young," Sarkisian says. "But we can still become bowl eligible." The Huskies lose 24-10 at Oregon State. "We have to put this behind us," Sarkisian says. "We have plenty to play for in the Apple Cup. I know these guys remember what happened last year, how we folded in the fourth quarter and surrendered an 18-point lead in the fourth quarter." The Huskies and Cougars are tied 20-20 at halftime, but Washington State rolls to a 47-20 victory, as fans slip out of shiny new remodeled Husky Stadium midway through the fourth quarter. The last play of the game features Cougars safety Deone Bucannon returning Price's third interception 70 yards for a TD. Oregon beats Alabama for the national title. Washington State beats Texas in the Holiday Bowl. Sarkisian is hired by the Dallas Cowboys. "Huskies fans deserve a second chance at greatness," athletic director Scott Woodward says. "And this man deserves a second chance to get us there... Ladies and gentlemen, Tyrone Willingham has agreed to return to coach the Huskies. "Isn't that just so great!" Previous "Best case-worst case" posts California Washington State Colorado Utah Arizona USC Oregon State
"They will be well cared for as we deal with their parents," Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said Monday. \| AP Photo Kelly confirms he's considering program to separate migrant children and parents Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly confirmed Monday that the Trump administration is considering separating migrant parents from their children who cross the U.S.-Mexico border together illegally. Speaking to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer late Monday afternoon, Kelly confirmed the gist of a recent Reuters report , saying that he is “considering exactly that” as a way to deter people from Central America from traveling up through Mexico with the goal of entering the U.S. Story Continued Below “If you get some young kids who manage to sneak into the United States with their parents, are Department of Homeland Security personnel going to separate the children from their moms and dads?” Blitzer asked. “We have tremendous experience in dealing with unaccompanied minors,” Kelly responded. “We turn them over to HHS, and they do a very, very good job of either putting them in kind of foster care or linking them up with parents or family members in the United States.” He continued: “Yes, I am considering, in order to deter more movement along this terribly dangerous network, I am considering exactly that. They will be well cared for as we deal with their parents.” President Donald Trump campaigned on a promise to take a hard line on illegal immigration. But Kelly’s statement is likely to prompt a rebuke from Democrats and immigrant rights advocates. Responding to Reuters’ initial report on the plan, Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Democrat, released a strongly worded statement. “Bottom line: separating mothers and children is wrong,” Cuellar said, according to Reuters. “That type of thing is where we depart from border security and get into violating human rights.”
President Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, did not sign an ethics pledge required of all administration appointees, The Daily Beast reported Wednesday. The vow bars all federal appointees from lobbying their former colleagues for five years after leaving the administration and bans lobbying for a foreign government for life. “Gen. Flynn never had the opportunity to sign Trump’s ethics pledge, but he plans to abide by its terms,” spokesman Price Floyd said of the retired Army lieutenant general. ADVERTISEMENT The fact that Flynn didn't sign the pledge removes legal hurdles preventing him from foreign agent lobbying and advocacy work involving former administration colleagues. Reports emerged earlier this month Flynn was being paid to lobby for Turkey while attending top-level intelligence briefings during Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. Flynn did not immediately register as a foreign agent after his firm, Flynn Intel Group, was hired by a Turkish businessman last year. The Associated Press reported Flynn only submitted his foreign agent registration with the Department of Justice during the second week of March. Flynn resigned in February amid reports he misled Vice President Pence and other administration officials about talks he had with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the transition. Trump issued an executive order shortly after taking office including the pledge, which states appointees are only “contractually committed” to its terms “upon signing” the promise.
It seems China's state-supported hackers are being overshadowed by the black hat scene as the latter appears to have doubled in size – with some brazen crackers turning to carding the nation's wealthiest. A Trend Micro report dubbed The Chinese Underground in 2013 [PDF] issued this week reveals the black hat hacking scene has rapidly grown since 2011 with the number of bad guys doubling by 2013 and estimates it would more than triple by the end of this year. Chief security officer Tom Kellerman told Dark Reading the crackers were targeting the nations' "bourgeois, nouveau-riche Chinese elite who have profited from capitalism" as well as those in other countries. "[Beijing] has been focused externally ... on information dominance and espionage," Kellerman told the publication. "[The black hats] who are not beholden to the regime ... believe money is god and believe that crime has evolved with technology." Trend Micro's metrics are based on 1.4 million public messages supposedly sent by crims over the Chinese messaging service QQ. That volume of messages is said to represent a doubling in hacker chatter in the last 10 months of 2013 compared with the same period in 2012, threat researcher Lion Gu said. "The Chinese underground has continued to grow [and] is still highly profitable, the cost of connectivity and hardware continues to fall, and there are more and more users with poor security precautions in place," Gu said. "In short, it is a good time to be a cyber criminal in China. So long as there is money to be made, more people may be tempted to become online crooks themselves." The report also found malware was being increasingly targeted at mobile users in keeping with the global migration from desktops to smartmobes and fondelslabs. Trend maintains a keen interest in the Chinese and Russian criminal underground markets. Earlier this year, the company issued a report examining attempts by the Middle Kingdom's cyber punks to pwn the mobile market by stating it was full of dirt cheap attack tools used to defraud victims. In 2012, the firm reported on the size and structure of the nation's cyber underworld, stating it affected about a quarter of the country's internet users. The company's next target is Brazil, which it will probe for the first time later this year in the hope of examining its digital criminal underground. ®
North American anime distributor Sentai Filmworks announced at its Anime Expo panel on Friday that it will also release the NouCome (My mental choices are completely interfering with my school romantic comedy) and Yu-sibu (I couldn't become a hero, so I reluctantly decided to get a job.) television anime series. The company will release both series in November. The anime adaptation of Takeru Kasukabe's Ore no Nōnai Sentakushi ga, Gakuen Love Come o Zenryoku de Jama Shiteiru (NouCome for short) light novel series centers around Kanade Amakusa (played by Toshiyuki Toyonaga), a boy cursed with the mental power of "absolute multiple-choice" — a multiple-choice quiz will suddenly appear in his mind, and the choice he makes will become his reality. For example, he would have to choose between going nude from the waist up or the waist down in school. While in school, he is given another choice: 1) A beautiful girl will fall before him or 2) he will fall from the rooftop in female clothes. He chooses option 1, and a blonde girl named Chocolat (Kaori Sadohara) falls before him. Additional cast members include Yui Kondou as Furano Yukihira, Ayumi Tsuji as Ōka Yūōji, Misato as Konagi Yawakaze, Naomi Ōzora as Yuragi Hakoniwa, Hiromi Igarashi as Seira Kokubyakuin, Rei Matsuzaki as Ayame Reikadō, Akiko Yajima as Utage Douraku, and Jouji Nakata as Narrator. Takayuki Inagaki directed the anime at animation studio Diomedea off of scripts by Hiroko Kanasugi. Chief animation director Hiroyuki Saida also provided the character designs. The 12-episode series premiered in October 2013 and Crunchyroll streamed the series as it aired. The anime adaptation of Jun Sakyo's Yūsha ni Narenakatta Ore wa Shibushibu Shūshoku o Ketsui Shimashita (Yu-Sibu) light novels revolves around boy named Raul, who did not get a chance to become a Hero, since the demon lord was already defeated just before his Hero exams. His dreams dashed, Raul spends his days working at a Magic Shop in the capital. One day, a part-time job seeker appears at the shop with an amazing résumé: Name: Fino Previous Occupation: Demon Lord Heir Motive: Because my father was defeated The work comedy revolves around this former Hero-in-training and the daughter of the demon lord. Kinji Yoshimoto (Genshiken 2, Queen's Blade 2: The Evil Eye) directed the anime at studio asread (The Future Diary, Shuffle!). Tetsuya Takeuchi (Yomigaeru Sora - RESCUE WINGS -) adapted Masaki Inuzumi's novel illustrations for the animation character designs, and Masashi Suzuki (Kanokon: The Girl Who Cried Fox, Shuffle!, Oda Nobuna no Yabō) was in charge of the series scripts. Azusa Tadokoro and Keisuke Koumoto starred as Fino Bloodstone and Raul Chaser respectively. ZAQ performed the opening theme song "Extra Revolution." The 12-episode series premiered last October, and Crunchyroll streamed the series as it aired.
The aunt of a 15-year-old girl whose 2013 killing remains unsolved said she's unsure how she feels after police made an arrest in connection with her niece's death. "I'm a little bit angry, yes. But at the same time I'm glad," said Josie Anderson. "Shocked, in disbelief, but it is what it is, right? I mean justice will be justice, right?" Leah Anderson was 15 when she went missing in Gods Lake Narrows in January 2013. Her body was found two days later on a snowmobile trail in the remote northern Manitoba community of around 1,300 people. She had been beaten and disfigured so violently that people initially believed she had been mauled by dogs. RCMP arrested a 23-year-old man from Gods Lake Narrows on Wednesday. Police did not release the name of the suspect because charges have not yet been laid. Last week, police said Anderson's killer was known to her. "I don't want to be angry, I don't want to be upset," Josie Anderson said. "I'm really really hurt, yes, and shocked. Who wouldn't be?" 'Significant' arrest: RCMP A Wednesday news release said police assembled a list of suspects and then narrowed it down with the help of the community. "This arrest is significant," said Sgt. Todd Doyle of RCMP major crime services in a news release on Wednesday. "Investigators have been working since Jan. 6, 2013, to get justice for Leah. She was a young girl with a bright future, which was violently stolen from her," Doyle said. "This is far from over, but this is a good day." Josie Anderson remembers her niece as kind, funny and talented. "She always had a lisp when she spoke. She was so soft and was very very kind, she was loving. She was just beautiful," she said." Josie Anderson started to paint because of encouragement from the niece "That's one thing I like to say is a gift that she left me, to see that I had artistic ability just like her. She was amazing," she said. "I'll never forget. Cause every time I draw or paint a picture I think of her."
The Raiders’ long-discussed move from Oakland to Las Vegas now seems all but certain to happen. After the team’s original relocation plans, which included major contributions from Las Vegas Sands Corporation CEO Sheldon Adelson and Goldman Sachs, fell apart toward the end of January, Raiders owner Mark Davis pivoted. On Monday, he announced to his fellow NFL owners that the team has secured $650 million from Bank of America; by Tuesday, there were reports that enough team owners — who will vote on whether to permit the Raiders to move at their annual meetings at the end of March — had pledged their support to make the move a reality. So now it seems that Davis will get what he wants (a new stadium), as will the NFL (a more profitable franchise by dint of playing in a newer, nicer stadium). Vegas will get what lawmakers insist its citizens want: a football team and a stadium, courtesy of $750 million in bonds backed by a new hotel tax that was approved by Nevada’s legislature in October. And while Oakland appears destined to lose something it loves — the football team forged in the city in 1960 — it will gain something else: the knowledge that, in large part because of the vision of Mayor Libby Schaaf, the city held firm against the NFL. Even after the Alameda County board of supervisors approved a $1.3 billion deal for a Raiders stadium in December — which would have included $350 million of public money — Schaaf stood her ground and as recently as Monday declined to sweeten the city’s offer during a meeting with the NFL. Schaaf said that Oakland would not build the Raiders a stadium with taxpayer money, and, through years of threats by Davis and meddling by league commissioner Roger Goodell, she kept her promise. “We are competing,” she said last month, “but we are competing on our terms whether or not the NFL or the Raiders accept that.” By contrast, under the most recent proposal submitted to Nevada lawmakers, the Raiders went so far as to write in a stipulation that they will pay $1 per year in rent. Officials have said any proposed rent figure is irrelevant to the potential deal, but still: one dollar. Oakland’s refusal to bend to the will of the NFL is noble. It is good. It is also deeply, crushingly sad: for Raiders fans, who may have to bid their team farewell in three weeks; for taxpayers in other cities, who keep contributing their money toward lavish new homes for billionaires’ franchises; for future taxpayers, who will have to contemplate where sports fall in the hierarchy of their city’s needs, or who may not — probably will not, if history is any indication — even be given the chance to vote on it. It is devastating that Oakland’s options were essentially give hundreds of millions of dollars to a wealthy NFL owner or lose the Raiders. It’s rotten that to have a chance at winning the team, lawmakers in Clark County, Nevada, had to pledge hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer money to the project. It’s so rotten that a Clark County commissioner, Chris Giunchigliani, has spoken out against it — about the preposterousness of $750 million that could go toward infrastructure or public schools instead being directed to the NFL. “There are so many everyday needs that nobody wants to take the high road and say we need to increase taxes to pay for,” Giunchigliani told The Washington Post in January. “Where are our priorities?” Schaaf was willing to take the high road, and for that she deserves praise. It just likely won’t be enough to stop a man intent on cranking the gears of the NFL’s money machine from finding another city’s taxpayers to exploit.
The Welsh Marches (Welsh: Y Mers) is an imprecisely defined area along the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods. The English term Welsh March (in Medieval Latin Marchia Walliae)[1] was originally used in the Middle Ages to denote the marches between England and the Principality of Wales, in which Marcher lords had specific rights, exercised to some extent independently of the king of England. In modern usage, "the Marches" is often used to describe those English counties which lie along the border with Wales, particularly Shropshire and Herefordshire, and sometimes adjoining areas of Wales. However, at one time the Marches included all of the historic counties of Cheshire, Shropshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire. Origins: Mercia and the Welsh [ edit ] After the decline and fall of the Roman Empire which occupied Britain until about AD 410, the area which is now Wales comprised a number of separate Romano-British kingdoms, including Powys in the east. Over the next few centuries, the Angles, Saxons and others gradually conquered and settled in eastern and southern Britain. The kingdom of Mercia, under Penda, became established around Lichfield, and initially established strong alliances with the Welsh kings. However, his successors sought to expand Mercia further westwards into what is now Cheshire, Shropshire and Herefordshire. Campaigns and raids from Powys then led, possibly around about AD 820, to the building of Wat's Dyke, a boundary earthwork extending from the Severn valley near Oswestry to the Dee estuary.[2][3] As the power of Mercia grew, a string of garrisoned market towns such as Shrewsbury and Hereford defined the borderlands as much as Offa's Dyke, a stronger and longer boundary earthwork erected by order of Offa of Mercia between AD 757 and 796. The Dyke still exists, and can best be seen at Knighton, close to the modern border between England and Wales.[4] In the centuries which followed, Offa's Dyke largely remained the frontier between the Welsh and English. Athelstan, often seen as the first king of a united England, summoned the British kings to a meeting at Hereford in AD 926, and according to William of Malmesbury laid down the boundary between Wales and England, particularly the disputed southern stretch where he specified that the River Wye should form the boundary. By the mid-eleventh century, Wales was united under Gruffudd ap Llywelyn of Gwynedd, until his death in 1063. The March of Wales in the Middle Ages [ edit ] Immediately after the Norman Conquest, King William of England installed three of his most trusted confidants, Hugh d'Avranches, Roger de Montgomerie, and William FitzOsbern, as Earls of Chester, Shrewsbury and Hereford respectively, with responsibilities for containing and subduing the Welsh. The process took a century and was never permanently effective.[5] The term "March of Wales" was first used in the Domesday Book of 1086. Over the next four centuries, Norman lords established mostly small marcher lordships between the Dee and Severn, and further west. Military adventurers went to Wales from Normandy and elsewhere and after raiding an area of Wales, then fortified it and granted land to some of their supporters.[6] One example was Bernard de Neufmarché, responsible for conquering and pacifying the Welsh kingdom of Brycheiniog. The precise dates and means of formation of the lordships varied, as did their size. Wales in the 14th Century showing Marcher Lordships The March, or Marchia Wallie, was to a greater or lesser extent independent of both the English monarchy and the Principality of Wales or Pura Wallia, which remained based in Gwynedd in the north west of the country. By about AD 1100 the March covered the areas which would later become Monmouthshire and much of Flintshire, Montgomeryshire, Radnorshire, Brecknockshire, Glamorgan, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire. Ultimately, this amounted to about two-thirds of Wales.[2][7][8] During the period, the Marches were a frontier society in every sense, and a stamp was set on the region that lasted into the time of the Industrial Revolution. Hundreds of small castles were built in the border area in the 12th and 13th centuries, predominantly by Norman lords as assertions of power as well as defences against Welsh raiders and rebels. The area still contains Britain's densest concentration of motte-and-bailey castles. The Marcher lords encouraged immigration from all the Norman-Angevin realms, and encouraged trade from "fair haven" ports like Cardiff. Peasants went to Wales in large numbers: Henry I encouraged Bretons, Flemings, Normans, and English settlers to move into the south of Wales. Many new towns were established, some such as Chepstow, Monmouth, Ludlow and Newtown becoming successful trading centres, and these tended also to be a focus of English settlement. At the same time, the Welsh continued to attack English soil and supported rebellions against the Normans.[2] The Norman lords each had similar rights to the Welsh princes. Each owed personal allegiance, as subjects, to the English king whom they were bound to support in times of war, but their lands were exempt from royal taxation and they possessed rights which elsewhere were reserved to the crown, such as the rights to create forests, markets and boroughs.[8] The lordships were geographically compact and jurisdictionally separate one from another, and their privileges differentiated them from English lordships. Marcher lords ruled their lands by their own law—sicut regale ("like unto a king") as Gilbert de Clare, 7th Earl of Gloucester stated[9]— whereas in England fief-holders were directly accountable to the king. The crown's powers in the Marches were normally limited to those periods when the king held a lordship in its own hands, such as when it was forfeited for treason or on the death of the lord without a legitimate heir whereupon the title reverted to the Crown in escheat. At the top of a culturally diverse, intensely feudalised and local society, the Marcher barons combined the authority of feudal lord and vassal of the King among their Normans, and of supplanting the traditional tywysog among their conquered Welsh. However, Welsh law was sometimes used in the Marches in preference to English law, and there were disputes as to which code should be used to decide a particular case.[2][3][9] The Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284 followed the conquest of the Principality by Edward I of England. It assumed the lands held by the Princes of Gwynedd under the title "Prince of Wales" as legally part of the lands of the Crown, and established shire counties on the English model over those areas. The Marcher Lords were progressively tied to the English kings by the grants of lands and lordships in England, where control was stricter, and where many marcher lords spent most of their time, and through the English kings' dynastic alliances with the great magnates. The Council of Wales and the Marches, administered from Ludlow Castle, was initially established in 1472 by Edward IV of England to govern the lands held under the Principality of Wales which had become directly administered by the English crown following the Edwardian conquest of Wales in the 13th century.[10] The end of Marcher powers [ edit ] By the 16th century, many marcher lordships had passed into the hands of the crown, as the result of the accessions of Henry IV, who was previously Duke of Lancaster, and Edward IV, the heir of the Earls of March; of the attainder of other lords during the Wars of the Roses; and of other events. The crown was also directly responsible for the government of the Principality of Wales, which had its own institutions and was, like England, divided into counties. The jurisdiction of the remaining marcher lords was therefore seen as an anomaly, and their independence from the crown enabled criminals from England to evade justice by moving into the area and claiming "marcher liberties". Under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542 introduced under Henry VIII, the jurisdiction of the marcher lords was abolished in 1536. The Acts had the effect of annexing Wales to England and creating a single state and legal jurisdiction, commonly referred to as England and Wales. The powers of the marcher lordships were abolished, and their areas were organised into the new Welsh counties of Denbighshire, Montgomeryshire, Radnorshire, Brecknockshire, Monmouthshire, and Carmarthenshire. The counties of Pembrokeshire and Glamorgan were created by adding other districts to existing lordships. In place of assize courts of England, there were Courts of Great Sessions. These administered English law, in contrast with the marcher lordships, which had administered Welsh law for their Welsh subjects. Some lordships were added to adjoining English counties: Ludlow, Clun, Caus and part of Montgomery were incorporated into Shropshire; Wigmore, Huntington, Clifford and most of Ewyas were included in Herefordshire; and that part of Chepstow east of the River Wye was included in Gloucestershire.[2] The Council of Wales, based at Ludlow Castle, was reconstituted as the Council of Wales and the Marches, with statutory responsibilities for the whole of Wales together with, initially, Cheshire, Shropshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire. The City of Bristol was exempted in 1562, and Cheshire in 1569.[11][12] The Council was eventually abolished in 1689, following the "Glorious Revolution" which overthrew James II (VII of Scotland) and established William III (William of Orange) as king. List of Marcher lordships and successor shires [ edit ] List of Marcher lordships and successor shires:[6] The Marches today [ edit ] There is no modern legal or official definition of the extent of the Welsh Marches. However, the term the Welsh Marches (or sometimes just the Marches) is commonly used to describe those English counties which lie along the border with Wales, particularly Shropshire and Herefordshire.[14] The term is also sometimes applied to parts of Powys, Monmouthshire and Wrexham.[15] The Welsh Marches Line is a railway line from Newport in South Wales to Shrewsbury, via Abergavenny, Hereford, and Craven Arms. The Marches Way is a long distance footpath which connects Chester in the north, via Whitchurch, Shrewsbury, Leominster and Abergavenny to Cardiff in South Wales. The Marches School is a secondary school in Oswestry, Shropshire. The school has several meeting rooms named in Welsh, and has students and staff from both sides of the border. See also [ edit ] Notes [ edit ] References [ edit ] Attribution This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "March, Earls of" Encyclopædia Britannica. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 685–688. Further reading [ edit ]
2012 studio album by El-P Cancer 4 Cure is the third solo studio album by American hip hop artist El-P. It was released through Fat Possum Records on May 22, 2012. It peaked at number 71 on the Billboard 200 chart.[2] Background [ edit ] El-P has stated that "I think that I’m trying to create an idea or illustrate a thought pattern, just because there’s darkness that I see and think about, it doesn’t mean I’ve given into it. I think the record is ultimately about not giving into it. For the most part I’m struggling with that darkness throughout the record. When I say it’s about wanting to live, I just say that because that’s how I feel. When you get hit with death, sometimes as horrible as it is, one of the things that can come out of it is a reaffirmation of how much you don’t want to go, and I think that’s what happened with me."[3] The album is dedicated to Camu Tao.[4] In an interview with Rolling Stone, El-P said, "Camu was a huge inspiration on this record, mostly because he had a huge effect on my life and who I am."[1] Critical reception [ edit ] At Metacritic, which assigns a rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received a score of 84, based on 39 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[5] David Jeffries of AllMusic stated, "Cancer4Cure is about hip-hop like Glengarry Glen Ross was about sales, but these great works transcend their industries, offering solace and inspiration to anyone who would prefer a satisfied mind over a Cadillac Eldorado, or in current terms, an Escalade."[6] In contrast, Dan Weiss of The Boston Phoenix stated that the album "is definitely not El-P's Age of Apocalypse; in fact it's the only El-P production that sounds like it's been made on planet Earth, following hip-hop rules that someone else already defined."[15] Stereogum placed it at number 15 on the "Top 50 Albums of 2012" list.[16] Spin included it on the "40 Best Hip-Hop Albums of 2012" list.[17] Track listing [ edit ] Track listing was confirmed by Fat Possum Records.[18] Personnel [ edit ] Credits adapted from liner notes. Charts [ edit ]
For those who prefer to back vehicles into their driveways, a proposal pending before City Council would make it illegal to park their cars that way unless their license plate information is clearly visible from the street. The proposed bill is aimed at cracking down on the visual blight that occurs when vehicle owners store cars that don't work on their property. Proponents say it's needed because city code enforcement inspectors face problems cracking down on abandoned vehicles because they need to get the license plate information in order to write a citation. If they cannot see the tags from the street because the car is backed in, they cannot go onto private property to get a closer look at the front of the vehicle. The bill filed by City Councilman Warren Jones says that if a vehicle's tag isn't visible from the street, the owner must write down that information with 2-inch tall letters and post it in a location that inspectors can easily see from the street. The bill also says that if an owner puts a cover over the vehicle, the license tag must either be visible or the tag information must be posted. The bill also would crack down on the outdoor storage of disabled refrigerators and freezers along with "equipment, furnishings, furniture, appliances, construction materials or any other items which are not designed to be used outdoors." The bill number is 2015-377. David Bauerlein: (904) 359-4581 Here is the text of the bill: It appears you don't have a PDF plugin for this browser. You can click here to view the PDF file.
While the junior senator from Kentucky was bringing his message to Michigan, fellow libertarian Republican Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI) endorsed Senator Rand Paul for the GOP nomination and presidency. While speaking at the Kent County Republican Party in Grand Rapids, MI, Rep. Amash declared his support for Sen. Paul according to the Washington Post. “Rand Paul is a once-in-a generation sort of candidate,” Amash said at the Kent County Republican Party headquarters here, where he appeared with Paul. Amash praised Paul’s calls for a balanced budget and to stop government surveillance of phones and computers, and his attempts to broaden the Republican Party by courting young people and minorities. Both Paul and Amash are cut from the same libertarian-leaning cloth, which has made this welcomed endorsement a surprise to no one. To formalize his support for Senator Paul, Amash explained it (similar to how he posts about his congressional votes) on his Facebook page. “Today, I am honored to endorse Senator Rand Paul for president of the United States. Rand Paul is the strongest defender of liberty and the Constitution in the United States Senate. Every day, Senator Paul stands up to the Washington machine and puts regular Americans first. With his focus on individual rights, economic freedom, and limited government, Rand Paul is connecting with people of all ages and backgrounds, including people who normally do not vote Republican. Thanks to the broad appeal of his message and his willingness to engage new and diverse audiences, Rand Paul is uniquely positioned to win key primary states and defeat Hillary Clinton. Amash added, “I am proud to stand with Rand as he runs to be a president for all Americans.”
FINAL: Your University of Montana Grizzlies have defeated the North Dakota State Bison 38-35! GoGriz PrideOfMT #FCSKickOff Posted by Montana Grizzlies on Saturday, August 29, 2015 Nearly 1 million people tuned in to ESPN to watch the Montana Grizzlies defeat the North Dakota State Bison in a thrilling encounter at Washington-Grizzly Stadium.It was the fourth most watched sporting event in the entire nation on Aug. 29 according to sportstvratings.com . It also outperformed the New York Yankees/Atlanta Braves game, and other noteworthy broadcasts. Considering two of the three events that earned a better rating were broadcast in prime time, the Griz put on a show in front of seemingly the whole football-starved nation over four pulsating hours.From the torrent of social media surrounding the action on the field, you'd have sworn you were watching the Super Bowl.The preseason ESPN broadcast averaged a respectable 0.7 household rating and 981,000 viewers according to ESPN, outperforming last year's FCS kickoff game between Eastern Washington and Sam Houston State, which drew a 0.5 rating.ESPN rolled out its big guns for the broadcast, brining in legendary play-by-play caller Brent Musburger from down the road Hamilton, and the entire "SEC Game of the Week" crew that included Jesse Palmer and Maria Taylor.Numbers like this can be considered game changing for institutions like Montana, who remain tucked away in the northern Rocky Mountains, away from major media markets. But Saturday's game crossed those borders, and opened up UM to the world."It was a great result, it was a great atmosphere, it made for great TV, and great drama," said UM Director of Athletics"It also gave us the chance to showcase the entire university through the lens of a college football game, that no doubt will help our entire institution build our brand world wide."Saturday's game was more than just TV ratings. In the days of digital media coinciding, and often times usurping traditional broadcast traffic, The Montana Grizzly athletic department digital channels experienced never before seen growth."That's the exciting part about college athletics. It gives you a platform to tell your story, and we couldn't have asked for a better result on Saturday," added Haslam.In the seven days surrounding the Aug. 29 game, the official Montana Grizzlies Facebook page reached 1.1 million people, up 301.3 percent from the week previous.The most popular post on that page (a graphic showing the final score) had an organic reach of 544,400 people, received 25,300 post clicks, was shared 2,798 times and received 8,940 likes.1,911 new people "liked" the page over the last week as well, up 226.2% from the week previous.That's nearly 2,000 potential new recruits, students, boosters or even just fans that want to buy a Griz t-shirt. The economic impact from the game is real, and with social media, more measureable than ever compared to traditional ratings metrics.The Montana Grizzlies Facebook page was not the only digital channel to see a major increase in traffic. The Montana football team's twitter feed (@UMGRIZZLIES_FB) became home to a frenzy of activity during the broadcast, as fans, players, and even the Nebraska Cornhuskers coaching staff took to twitter to cheer on the Griz.In the month of August, @UMGRIZZLIES_FB received 989 new followers, 1.16 million impressions (up 485 percent from July), 1,185 mentions (up 1,147 percent from the month previous).TV markets around the country tuned in to watch the Griz, expanding traditional recruiting territories as well.The top five markets watching the Griz include viewers in Birmingham, Alabama who had more viewers than in any other major market in the country with a 2.4 rating, followed by Columbus, Ohio with a 1.8, Nashville, Tennessee with a 1.6, Atlanta, Georgia with a 1.5 and Oklahoma City with a 1.5 as well.Rounding off the top 10 markets watching the game were Tulsa (1.4), Minneapolis-St. Paul (1.4), Ft. Meyers (1.3), Jacksonville (1.2) and San Diego (1.1).This FCS Kickoff game did not produce Montana's largest TV audience though. The instant classic FCS semifinal in the snow between the Griz and Appalachian State in 2009 drew a strong 1.87 rating, with 1,857,000 households tuning in. However that was also a game that benefited from prime time placement during late-season football fervor.While it's clear the impact of this year's game on Montana's viewership was strong, what will take time to measure in the overall impact on the University, Missoula, and Montana.
If Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.) continues his campaign against Sen. Claire McCaskill (D) all the way to November, he'll face very long odds. Yet he continues to run, driven by an apparent belief that victory isn't completely beyond his reach. Is he right? For Akin, winning would be very difficult, but not impossible. The most reliable live-caller polling shows support for Akin has dropped sharply since his comments about "legitimate rape" drew widespread scrutiny and derision. Yet recent polls conducted by automated Democratic pollster PPP and automated Republican-leaning pollster Rasmussen Reports have shown single-digit margins separating McCaskill and Akin. (Democrats, meanwhile, are conscious that if Akin stays in the race, it would help their chances. So they haven't hit hit him over his comments all that much lately, which could explain his better-than-expected standing in some polling) An Akin win would be so surprising, that it's worth asking: What would it say about politics if he was elected? A few things: * This election is even more a referendum on President Obama, the economy and the Administration's policies than we thought. It isn't hard to link McCaskill to Obama. She voted for the stimulus and health care reform and has mostly been a loyal ally to the president. And she's running in a state where he is likely to lose. Akin won't have the benefit of American Crossroads and the National Republican Senatorial Committee making those same arguments on the air for hi -- they have pulled their money from the state -- but odds are, he'll do it himself (albeit with a narrower reach and less money). * Money isn't everything. Money is the subject of endless discussion in politics -- and with good reason. It usually plays a big role in who wins and who loses. But if Akin wins, there is a case to be made that its importance was over-hyped in his race. Without the help of outside groups who have vowed not to help him, Akin is severely underfunded and hard pressed to find enough new donors to help him make up his deficit against McCaskill. If he wins, it will be a victory that defies the normal financial logic of campaigning. * The national backlash was less impactful in Missouri than we all thought. Akin's controversial comments instantly became a national story, and within 24 hours the most powerful figures in his own party had turned against him at every corner of the country. But the criticism was not enough to force him from the race (yet) and if it is not enough to also send him to defeat, then the impact of widespread condemnation on how his comments were received back home will perhaps have been hyped up too much. To be clear, for now, there's no reason for that believe that's the case, as the most reliable live-caller polling has shown a sharp drop in support for Akin in Missouri that has mirrored the national backlash. Missouri voters would have to make a pretty dramatic turnabout in the final weeks of the campaign for Akin to win. (The Fix moved Missouri out of the top ten states most likely to flip in the latest Friday Line.) * Going it alone is not the end of the world. With the exception of a few allies, Akin is a lone wolf. Campaigning is a team sport -- candidates rely heavily on surrogates, local supporters and donors to prop up their candidacies. Akin is short on all of the above. If he wins, it would defy a longstanding dynamic, and could even make candidates facing intra-party pressure in the future think twice about dropping out in the face of controversy. Updated at 5:27 p.m.
CHURCHILL, Man. – There were strong signals Friday that Canada’s chief of the defence staff is on the verge of leaving his post. While speaking to Canadian Forces troops taking part in annual summer exercises up north, both Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Defence Minister Peter MacKay sounded like they were bidding farewell to Gen. Walt Natynczyk. Harper cut away from his prepared remarks at the close of Operation Nanook to thank Natynczyk for his years of service. “Let me use this opportunity in front of so many of your people here to thank you and congratulate you on over four years of fine service as chief of the defence staff of Canada,” Harper said. After Harper’s speech, MacKay took the podium to publicly salute Natynczyk’s dedication to the military. “He has a keen understanding of our vision for the North, a strong determination to tackle Arctic defence challenges and an unflagging motivation to work alongside others and bring the government strategy to fruition,” MacKay said. “By all estimations, by all measures, he is one of the best leaders in our country today.” For weeks, Ottawa’s corridors of power have been abuzz with rumours about a replacement for Natynczyk, who spent four years serving at the top of the Canadian military. Several names are being bandied around as possible replacements, including Lt.-Gen. Tom Lawson, Canada’s representative at NORAD, and Lt.-Gen. Stuart Beare, head of the country’s overseas command. Vice-Admiral Bruce Donaldson is also said to be a contender. He is in the same job now as Natynczyk was before he took over from Gen. Rick Hillier as Canada’s top soldier. In his own remarks, Natynczyk said he was humbled by the praise and paid tribute to the troops who had just taken part in the military exercise. “Everybody who puts on a uniform wants to serve, they want to make a contribution to Canada, whether it be coast to coast or Arctic coast or around the world,” he said. “Because, indeed, the sun never sets on the Canadian Forces.”
And on the third day, Easter Day, WonderCon cosplayers did not rest. They were not finished with their work as one final day of the con was left to explore and enjoy. There were a good handful of creative Easter Bunny/Jesus cosplay parodies roaming the Anaheim Convention Center. And like Saturday at WonderCon, from a legion of Deadpools to Warrior Disney Princesses, Sunday was also full of really inspiring fans who put in a lot of time into their costumes. Check out our photo gallery after the break. Observations that occurred: I find X-23 and Psylocke to be my favorite of the X-Men cosplays I see at conventions, for reasons. Kitty Pryde is also great. Cosplayers who dress up as Valka from How to Train Your Dragon 2 go all out. Deadpool cosplayers ran amok more on Sunday compared to Saturday. I’m sure it had something to do with Easter, obviously… We need more Fullmetal Alchemist cosplayers. C’mon people! It’s always nice to see widely popular characters that no one regularly cosplays out in the wild, like Lydia from Beetlejuice or Daria. Until this weekend, I never noticed how many people crossplay. I saw two Negans running around on Sunday. Fans of The Walking Dead series are in for a treat that only comic readers have been privy too, and I predict we’ll see an influx of that character at cons soon – just like the Governor. It was cool to meet Robert Franzese, the real Peter Griffin. I’m surprised I didn’t see more appearances from Peggy Carter. There were very few Doctor Who fans running around, which is quite abnormal. And finally, I hope that after Star Wars Episode VII that people will find someone new to cosplay as other than Boba Fett. And for those who are reading this for the first time and did not check out our cosplay photo gallery from Saturday at WonderCon 2015: you’ll notice a lot of cosplayers doing goofy poses or making funny, derp faces. I try to make it fun for cosplayers to breakaway from their action poses and bring in a humanizing factor to represent them as fans and people rather than just random people dressing up in costume. This series of abnormal poses has created some really fun character moments for both cosplayers and fans alike. I hope you enjoy! [Note: If you see yourself and would like a hi-res version of the photo without the watermark, please e-mail me at turntherightcorner@gmail.com] [Note 2: If you do take an image from this site, please provide photo credit via my Instagram or Twitter @TyRawrrnosaurus, or this website, TurnTheRightCorner.com. Thanks!] [Note 3: Check out all the cosplay images from Saturday >HERE<] [Note 4: Beware – there is a Game of Thrones Season 4 spoiler within] (Click on any image below to enlarge) Cosplay Credits (if I didn’t list you and you want credit for your cosplay let me know!): Check out previous cosplay galleries from: You can follow me on the Twitters or Instagram @TyRawrrnosaurus; Like TTRC on the Facebook too!
Every week Bob Westal whips up a new drink recipe , from the classics we all love to new recipes to try out when you're out or at home. Adam McKay interview, The Goods, Will Ferrell, Anchorman, Talladega Nights Movies Home / Entertainment Channel / Bullz-Eye Home Adam McKay and Will Ferrell first met on the day they were both hired for “Saturday Night Live,” and their friendship has been a decidedly fruitful one. The two collaborated on numerous “SNL” sketches, and when Ferrell left the show for the bright lights of Hollywood, their bond was strong enough that Will invited Adam to continue their collaboration in the world of film. Since then, McKay has directed Ferrell in such comedy classics as “Anchorman,” “Talladega Nights,” and “Step Brothers,” but the two have also formed a production company which has brought us HBO’s “Eastbound and Down,” “The Foot Fist Way,” and, most recently, “The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard.” Bullz-Eye spoke with McKay about how he and Ferrell found their way into “The Goods” and how the film evolved after their entry into the mix, but he also chatted about the status of “Anchorman 2,” the upcoming Jon Heder series that he’s producing, his favorite unheralded “SNL” sketches, and…what’s this about “Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters”? Adam McKay: Hey, Will! Bullz-Eye: Hey, Adam, how’s it going? AM: Good, man! How are you doing? BE: Not bad. You know, I was in the audience for your TCA presentation back in January (“You’re Welcome, America: A Final Night with George W. Bush”), where you appeared to us via satellite. So I’m sure you remember me. AM: (Laughs) Oh, yes, of course. It was a very intimate experience. BE: It was like you were right there with us. So you’re one of the producers of “The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard.” How did you get involved with the film in the first place? On producing "The Goods": "Will (Ferrell) and I had written a car-salesman script about five or six years before that, which Lorne Michaels tried to get made at Paramount, but it was a weird time over there, and we couldn’t get it made, and it was very frustrating. So we saw this script come through, and we thought, 'Well, this is perfect.'" AM: You know, Will (Ferrell)’s and my production company, Gary Sanchez Productions, we had the script brought to us – with Jeremy (Piven) attached – by producer Kevin Messick, who actually now works with us in Gary Sanchez. Will and I had written a car-salesman script about five or six years before that, which Lorne Michaels tried to get made at Paramount, but it was a weird time over there, and we couldn’t get it made, and it was very frustrating. So we saw this script come through, and we thought, “Well, this is perfect.” And Jeremy…oh, my God, if there’s ever a role that you’re going to have him play coming off the success he’s had as Ari Gold (in “Entourage”), it’s this role. And we thought, “Well, we can do a rewrite on this, kind of gussy this up, get people we like in it, and sort of approach it through improve.” And that’s exactly what we did. Chris and I did a big rewrite on it, we got Neal Brennan, a director we really liked, in there, we cast people from our circle, and kind of approached it the same way we approach any of our movies, like “Anchorman”: an ensemble, improv, absurdist comedy. And we ended up being really happy with it. BE: I’m sure the huge shadow of “Used Cars” was looming over the picture. AM: Yeah, although it’s funny: I’d say 8 out of 10 people walking down the street don’t know about “Used Cars.” It’s a film-fan movie. I love it, of course, and “Used Cars” was part of the reason that we were attracted to car-salesman movies, but it was so long ago. It’s kind of amazing that there really haven’t been many car-salesman movies since then. There was “Cadillac Man,” but that wasn’t really about car sales. My favorite salesman movies are “Tin Men” and “Glengarry Glen Ross,” and that’s really what got us excited about it. If anything, “Glengarry Glen Ross” was a huge influence on this movie. Even though this movie’s raunchy and absurd and silly, that vibe is still very funny to us. BE: Did Mamet come in and do a rewrite? AM: Yeah, Mamet did. He did a two-week punch-up. (Laughs) BE: Had any of you guys seen the film “Slasher” before? AM: Oh, yeah, I love that movie, too. I’d say that one and “Used Cars” are the two best car-salesman movies out there. BE: As soon as I saw the description of “The Goods,” I thought, “This sounds like a fictionalized version of ‘Slasher.’” AM: Yeah, I guess you could say that. I didn’t think of that, but, yeah. I mean, the whole way that character was portrayed and the kind of vibe of it was obviously much more real and gritty. We wanted more of a sort of supposed superhero salesman, who’s rock ‘n’ roll and, y’know, “Oh, my God, they’ve got the life!” But it turns out that they’re all a little bit sad, if you look a little bit closer, whereas with “Slasher,” within five minutes, you knew that guy had that dichotomy going on. BE: So with the films you and Will produce, how do you go about selecting the soundtrack? Because there have been a lot of cases where the music has been really influential to the feel of the film. AM: You know, I’m really into music and movies, and one of my favorite things to do is pair songs with scenes, so I was pretty involved with this one. I came in a lot, I brought a lot of songs in for Neal to listen to. Lately, the last couple of movies we’ve done, we’ve just gotten a little bored with…like, it seems like the catalog of songs you can reference has gotten a little light from the movies that have gotten made, so we’ve actually started writing our own songs and producing them like they’re actual singles. There are about four songs in “The Goods” that are original songs that we wrote. There’s the theme song, “The Goods,” which I wrote the lyrics for and Lyle Workman did the music for. We’ve got an R&B song, “Let’s Make A Baby,” which I wrote the lyrics for and Erica Weis did the music for. Then, there’s a couple of songs by a band called The English Teeth, from Austin, where I would just kind of send him a couple of lyrics, tell him the sound I wanted, and he would record the singles. So that’s something I’m really enjoying doing. We did it…there are about three original songs we wrote in “Step Brothers” that ended up being in there that I did with Jon Brion. That’s my favorite thing now. So, yeah, soundtracks to me are huge. Anytime you can get a song like “Fox on the Run” in a movie…I mean, I always just operate off the premise that, if I went and saw a movie and it had “Fox on the Run” in it, you can only hate it so much. (Laughs) BE: I would say the same of any film which has songs co-written by Jon Brion. AM: I would definitely, definitely say that as well. He’s the best, that guy. BE: I know you mentioned your circle of comedic friends who are in the film, but you had someone in there who hasn’t been in one of your films before: Jordana Spiro, from “My Boys.” AM: You know, Jordana Spiro auditioned for me for “Step Brothers,” and I really liked her a lot. It was for the role that Kathryn Hahn ended up playing – Alice – and she just stuck with me. You always have that happen. Sometimes you’ll have roles where you have, like, three really good people, so I just made a mental note. “That girl’s really good.” She just kind of went for it, and she’s obviously really beautiful and very cool. I just was a fan of hers. So when Neal was looking to cast that role, I sent over the audition tape from “Step Brothers,” and right away he was, like, “Wow, she is good.” So that’s kind of how that happened. BE: How did you go about casting the role of Stu Harding? AM: That was Neal Brennan, one hundred percent. He said, “I’m thinking of casting Alan Thicke.” And I sort of went, “Huh.” And he said, “Trust me. It’s gonna be good.” And the second we screened the movie, the crowd responded. I was, like, “Thank God you cast Alan Thicke.” He also turned out to be funny and a great guy, so that was a minor genius move on Neal Brennan’s part. BE: Did anyone ask James Brolin for Streisand stories, or were they too scared? AM: I don’t know. I certainly didn’t. But, boy, he was a champ as well. He just got the joke. He was great. BE: Do some actors find it difficult to get the joke when they come from outside your circle? AM: Well, if they did, then we wouldn’t cast them, basically. That’s what you’re always looking to see. You want to see the skill level, you want to see someone open to play and not necessarily be stuck on the words, who can play it a little loose and get the vibe. And part of all that is getting the joke. If someone doesn’t, you can generally tell right away. Occasionally you’ll get a character actor or a type who’s just so good that you go, “Screw it, I’m gonna put him in here and just feed him lines.” But even then, they’ve at least got to be open to being fed those lines. But, y’know, I don’t think we’ve ever really had that happen. Everyone we’ve cast tends to get the joke and is down with it. So we’ve been really lucky in that sense. “I’m a producer on ('Eastbound and Down'), and I’ve directed episodes, and I’m obviously involved with notes and whatever, but I honestly just watch that show as a fan. I just love it. I was bummed that there were only six last time. I was, like, 'Come on! Can’t we do twelve?” But we got eight, so I was happy. At least that’s more than six.” BE: I see that David Koechner is going to be in “Fully Loaded.” AM: Yeah, that’s right! (Surprised) How do you know about “Fully Loaded”? BE: IMDb, man. AM: Damn! That’s my wife’s movie. BE: Oh, yeah? I just saw that you were executive producing it. AM: Yeah, it’s an independent movie that they did, and it’s really good, actually. It’s very cool. BE: I saw Koechner at the TCA Tour a few days ago, actually, because he’s in the new Kelsey Grammer series, “Hank.” AM: That’s right, he was telling me about that. Have you seen an episode of it yet? BE: I did, actually. AM: How was it? Was it decent? BE: It’s not bad. I’m looking forward to seeing how it evolves. AM: Yeah, you’re right. You can’t really judge these shows off their pilots. BE: But it’s by one of the guys who was behind “Everybody Loves Raymond” (Tucker Cawley), so that alone makes me want to see how it’s going to go. AM: I’m with you on that. Yeah, you’ve got to wait until they’re about five episodes in before you can see what’s up with these shows. BE: Well, as long as we’re on TV, I understand a second season of “Eastbound and Down” is at least semi-imminent. AM: I would go full-on “imminent” on that one. We get going in…I believe it’s January that it kicks into full pre-production, although they’re writing away right now. But, yeah, we’ve got 8 episodes that we’re doing for HBO, and they’ve sort of given us the whole story arc for the next season, and it is fantastic. It’s funny: I’m a producer on that show, and I’ve directed episodes, and I’m obviously involved with notes and whatever, but I honestly just watch that show as a fan. I just love it. I was bummed that there were only six last time. I was, like, “Come on!” I was trying to get them to do as many possible this time. I’m, like, “Can’t we do twelve?” But we got eight, so I was happy. At least that’s more than six. BE: I live in Chesapeake, VA, about fifteen minutes from the Carolina border, so… AM: Oh, sure. So you know that world, then. BE: Yeah, it definitely spoke to me. AM: Oh, God, yeah. BE: Can you give a clue at all about what we can expect in the new season? AM: (Hesitates) Let’s see if I can give a clue without wrecking anything. I’d say the question for this season is, “Will Kenny return?” I don’t know, I don’t want to say anything. I don’t want to wreck it, because they have some cool ideas. BE: I can dig it. So what’s the status of “Anchorman 2”? I know it keeps bouncing around as being forthcoming, but… AM: We’re doing it. I mean, it’s just all about the scheduling. There are just so many actors to pull together. We have a very clear idea for it, we want to do it, and we’ve talked to everyone, and everyone has said that they’re in – I Tweeted back and forth with (Christina) Applegate, who seems like she’s into it – but everyone has schedules. Like, Carell, obviously, has a really tough schedule. Koechner now has a really tough schedule. And Paul Rudd. So it’s all about the lining-up. Sadly, the second part after I say, “We’ll do it,” is that it could be two or three years away. But the nice thing is that none of those characters are age-dependent. I mean, literally, I feel like these actors could be as old as 50 or 55, and it’d still be fine. But, yes, we’re dying to do it, we have a great idea, and it’s all gonna be about pulling a lot of schedules together. It’s nice that everyone from that movie has gone on to do really well, but now we just have to line everybody up. BE: So how did you and Will first come to work together? I know you worked together on “Saturday Night Live,” but did you know each prior before that? On the status of "Anchorman 2": "We have a very clear idea for it, we want to do it, and we’ve talked to everyone, and everyone has said that they’re in, but everyone has schedules. Sadly, the second part after I say, 'We’ll do it,' is that it could be two or three years away." AM: No, I’d never met him. We all met the same day we were hired. Koechner got hired, Ferrell, myself, another writer named Tom Gianis, and Cheri Oteri, and we all went out for beers. I always joke that Will, when you meet him, is pretty unassuming, and I figured, “Oh, he must be the straight guy that they hired.” But then at the first read-through, it was, like, “Oh, no, he’s not the straight guy at all!” (Laughs) Even though Ferrell is a great straight man. But, yeah, to say that it was just Ferrell and me that hit it off isn’t right, because everyone loved writing for Ferrell. And he’s a great writer himself, so in that sense, writers really get along with him, and he’s very easy to collaborate with. But we just started writing a particular type of scene together that was just kind of strange, and only Ferrell was kind of able to pull it off, performance-wise, in order to get it on the show. And we just kept loving these scenes we were writing that were so crazy, like Bill Brasky, “Insane OB/GYN,” “Neil Diamond: Storytellers,” and that kind of stuff. And, then, obviously, I wrote a lot of the Bush stuff, too. So when he started doing movies, y’know, he had an option, and he was, like, “Hey, you wanna write something with me?” And that’s when we wrote the car-salesman script, “August Blowout,” and from there we just kept writing, and we wrote “Anchorman” and this other stuff. So, yeah, it’s been a long time since we met in 1995. BE: Do you have a favorite sketch from the “SNL” era that didn’t take off as a huge hit but that you still have a fondness for? AM: Oh, plenty of those. (Laughs) We had one that he loved so much that he actually put it on his second DVD, “The Best of Will Ferrell,” and it had Ferrell as an airline pilot, Tobey Maguire as the co-pilot, and Chris Parnell as the navigator. Basically, the premise is just them being really awful to the passengers on the P.A. I always loved that one. And then we loved the crazy OB/GYN who would tell expectant mothers just these horrible things and take long phone calls in the middle of tense medical evaluations. We wrote a bunch of those. I think we only got two on the air, maybe, but we wrote, like, five. We just loved them. And, then, Bill Brasky was the other one. We just thought that was the funniest thing. It has a little bit of a cult following, but it never became a bit hit. But, oh, there are many, many more. BE: Were you happy with “You’re Welcome, America”? AM: Oh, very much. That was one of those great projects where you really walk in not at all caring about what the critics are going to say, caring only about the money in the sense that you want people to come see it, but not really being concerned about that, either. I mean, that show was eight years in the making, and it just was…the word “cathartic” is overused, but that was really a case where, God, we were able to let a lot of bad feelings go after that rough, dark eight years we went through. It just felt so good to get up there and laugh and put a frame around it. You know, the only shame of it is that…the director of our special, Marty Callner, did an amazing job, but nothing ever matches the live experience. The people who saw it live had a totally different reaction to it, because it was just…I mean, he was addressing the audience. It was such an intimate kind of feeling. But, yeah, that was one of my favorite things that we’ve done. BE: You’re part of the upcoming Jon Heder project, his TV series. Can you tell me a little bit about what to expect from that? AM: Well, we’re still sort of putting together the pieces. We have a couple of casting ideas for it, and we’re talking to show runners right now, but the idea…the premise came from two things. One was a love of Jon Heder, a feeling that we could sort of all collaborate together really well, and I think that we really appreciate what he does well when he’s at his best. We’re big fans of his, and we want to spotlight him in that sense. And the second thing is that it came from a belief that…well, there’s nothing wrong with the sitcom form. Even the multiple camera / studio audience form, there’s nothing wrong with it. It’s just that the network development process got so broken, and they sort of stubbornly refused to change it at all, even though year after year it fails to produce anything. So the idea of this show was, “Let’s go sell a large amount of them and set up a deal so that we don’t have to do the dial testing and all of the overtesting and the notes from the 20 different people.” I think that’s the only thing wrong with the half-hour comedy. So that’s where we came from creatively. And, obviously, the excitement of collaborating with Heder. BE: Last question, since I know we’re up against the wall. I know you’ve got “The Other Guys” as the next film on your slate… AM: Yeah. I’m actually here at the pre-production offices right now. BE: Even better. Any idea what’s going to be forthcoming after that? AM: Not exactly. I’ve got this project that I was supposed to do where this slot is, called “Channel Three Billion,” a sci-fi satirical comedy movie that I really like a lot, and I was all ready to get going on it, but then this one kind of came across, and it just seemed so appropriate to everything going on that I was, like, “Okay, screw it, let’s go do it.” So I’d like to get back into that. And I’m always open to other ideas, but eventually…I think that, first, I’ve got to make the jump from the style of comedies that we do to something a little different. Which I think “The Other Guys” will do, because it’s more of an action comedy that’s way more grounded than our other stuff. But it’ll still have the same sort of flair. The step after that, though, is to do something even outside of that, something different like the sci-fi satire or something like that. But, y’know, I just love movies, so we always say that we’d love to do horror films, we’d love to do action movies. I’m game for anything. My favorite director right now is Zack Snyder. I just think that guy is phenomenal, and I love what he does. Movies like “300” and “Watchmen” and “Dawn of the Dead,” and I thought “Sin City” was really great…although that wasn’t Snyder. But I’m really interested in that technique that’s sort of, like, painting with movies, where it’s animated but with a style. I’m dying to try something like that. BE: I saw that you’re at least semi-attached to “Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters.” AM: Oh, I love that movie. That’s exactly the kind of shit where, like, it almost veers a little more toward Sam Raimi Land. Yeah, our production company, Gary Sanchez, is producing that. We saw “Dead Snow,” the movie that Tommy (Wirkola) did first, and Kevin Messick, who works with us now, had Tommy come in, and he told us about this “Hansel & Gretel” idea, and we were instantly, like, “Oh, my God, we’re doing that.” And then he wrote an amazing script, so, yeah, I’m as excited about that as anything we’re doing. BE: All right, Adam, it’s been great talking to you. Here’s hoping that word of mouth will help out “The Goods” this weekend. : Yeah, so am I. But, regardless, we’re either gonna be a small little box office surprise or we’re gonna be a cult cable hit. (Laughs) It’ll be one way or the other. But it certainly makes us laugh, so we’re happy about that. Good talking to you, Will. Thanks a lot!
I’m often asked, especially as the holiday gift-giving season approaches, which books I recommend for investors. I haven’t kept exact count, of course, but over the past quarter-century I have surely read (or tried to read) a couple thousand books on investing. Nearly all of them were a tragic waste of good trees. Most weren’t worth reading even a few pages of. So I feel strongly that the usual article on “best investing books” has way too many entries and ends up suggesting good books you might read, rather than recommending great books you must read. Here’s a list that I would still be comfortable with decades from now. Every book below has stood the test of time and, I’m confident, will remain useful for generations to come. You will quickly note that some aren’t even about investing. But they all will help teach you how to think more clearly, which is the only way to become a wiser and better investor. I’ve listed them alphabetically by author. �
Our salmon are in hot water \| In In Conservation \| By By The Farmers Plenty of credit has been given in the media to the farmers who are (like always) trying to make ends meet. This year’s conditions have been especially challenging–unfamiliar at best and downright punishing at worst. Those of us in the Snoqualmie Valley are relatively lucky to have a somewhat dependable source of water and temperatures at least in the same ballpark as reasonable. The situation elsewhere is more serious. Earlier this season, temperatures around Washington have fried raspberries, cracked roads, and recently driven the state to suspend irrigation rights for hundreds of farmers as rivers drop to less than a quarter of their normal flows. Where farmers are struggling to grow food and remain viable in the face of such unusual conditions, animals, particularly salmon, are struggling to stay alive. The Seattle Times reported last week on the unfortunate fate of sockeye salmon in the Columbia River, where fish have already been dying, victims of water temperatures roughly five degrees warmer than average for this time of year. A Columbia River sockeye salmon with large patches of white fungus. Warm water puts salmon at greater risk of disease. Photo via Seattle Times Our own Snoqualmie River is under similarly warm conditions and our salmon are in for a difficult, if not impossible, spawning season. The fish can’t handle long periods of warm water, and the river is not only warmer-than-average from the duress of high air temperatures, but is continuing to warm at faster rates than normal because flows are so low. For experts, scarier than this season’s drought and its many implications is the worry that a changing climate may mean that years like this one, or worse, will become far more common. With this possibility in mind, the Snoqualmie Watershed Forum and King County’s Water & Land Resources Division recently launched a project to better understand factors that influence water temperatures in our river and to get a clearer picture of what a very extreme year looks like. Janne Kaje, King County’s Snoqualmie Watershed Coordinator, and his team have deployed 27 different thermistor instruments to continuously monitor water temperature to sites along the Snoqualmie and its tributaries throughout the county. One of these thermistors is on Oxbow’s stretch of the river between Carnation and Duvall. We have been fortunate to learn more from Janne about what’s driving the project and what the implications of its findings will be. King County water quality planner Josh Kubo retrieves a thermistor from the Snoqualmie River at Oxbow in July Janne’s team is approaching the project with a few important facts already established: Fact #1: The Snoqualmie is considerably warmer than usual already this season, and it’s going to get warmer It will likely be no surprise to any King County resident that our rivers are warmer than usual. To start with, it has been HOT. Besides the obvious cause of warmer summer temperatures heating the water, rivers are more susceptible to heating up because there is less water in them to begin with. As skiers will remember, there was hardly any snow this past winter, and therefore very little spring and summer snowmelt to boost the Snoqualmie’s Cascade Mountain headwaters. Rain, which both cools the river and adds to its volume–has been all but nonexistent since April. At this point, flows are about a quarter to a third of what’s normal for this time of year, and temperature measurements in some locations are reading in at six or more degrees Celsius higher than average. And the rest-of-season prognosis is grim. High air temperatures will evaporate a higher percentage of the river’s water and farmers must respond to the dry conditions with more irrigation. The less water in the rivers, the faster they will heat up. Interesting, too, is the effect of channel width: The less water that a river contains, the shallower and thinner its wetted channel. At extreme low flows, rivers tend to be concentrated in the middle of their beds, and are less protected by the shade of trees on the riverbank. More sunlight, more evaporation, less water, higher temperatures. The hamster wheel spins itself. Fact #2: The water is way too warm for salmon The State of Washington identifies 17.5° C as the temperature above which salmon will start to struggle. To be more specific, a river in which the seven day running maximum, the average maximum temperature of seven consecutive days exceeds 17.5° is harmful for juvenile salmon and migrating adults. Spawning salmon need even cooler water. Recent daily maximums in the Snoqualmie adjacent to Oxbow have been exceeding 24° C. This is the salmon equivalent of spending all day in a sauna. Fish are cold-blooded so, unlike humans, they cannot regulate their own body temperatures. When temperatures rise above a point of comfort, simply staying alive becomes stressful. Warm water has less dissolved oxygen, so breathing is a challenge. Moreover, warmer water supports more bacteria and viruses while at the same time adding stress to salmon immune systems. With the added stress of an increased metabolic rate, the fish burn through their energy stores more quickly, leaving those that can survive a warm spell utterly drained of energy to make their way upstream to spawn. With these two givens in mind, Janne and his team are hoping to better understand how temperature maximums and daily fluctuations vary along the length of the river. Temperature measures indicate that that water warms steadily and predictably as it flows downstream under a hot sun.. But rivers can be suddenly cooled where they are fed by groundwater seeps releasing cold water into the river below the surface. Depending on the severity of situation, these pockets of cool water can provide a life-saving refuge for stressed salmon populations. Locating and understanding these cool spots is of major interest to Janne and his team. By taking multiple measures in different parts of the river, the researchers also hope to link temperature fluctuations to visible differences in riverbank landscapes. Presuming that more hot, dry years are in store, the county is learning what effect riverbank restoration can have on shade, water temperatures and, in turn, salmon survival. Janne’s team collected the first round of temperature readings at Oxbow two weeks ago. Here’s what it looks like: That squiggly blue line represents the temperature of the water. It is squiggly because the water heats up every day and cools off every night. The straight green line is at 17.5°, the maximum temperature at which the state says salmon can live comfortably. As you can see, even the lowest temperature recorded at Oxbow in these three weeks exceeded that maximum. Combined with findings from other sites along the river, these data from Oxbow will allow the researchers to Identify areas of the river under extreme stress or that potentially offer salmon a temperature refuge. The season’s data will influence future conservation and restoration efforts. Janne is the manager of the Snoqualmie Watershed Forum, a coalition of city, county and tribal governments, concerned citizens and non-profit organizations working to improve environmental quality in the Snoqualmie Watershed. The forum was born in 1998 out of an effort to develop a recovery plan for the Snoqualmie’s native population of Chinook salmon. Chinook salmon listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Salmon conservation remains a big part of the Forum’s work to this day. We will continue to share more information about the project as we hear from the researchers about what’s happening and why. Stay tuned into what’s happening here. This article appeared in our newsletter August 3. Sign up to receive it. Want more Ox? Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram or subscribe to our newsletter.
When you take a roll call of some of the most talented guitarists of all time, somewhere slinking in the back of the class would be the lanky Steve Vai. The three-time Grammy winning virtuoso started off by transcribing for musician Frank Zappa, and learned the tricks of the trade from multi-instrumentalist and guitar ace Joe Satriani. Such is their camaraderie that master and student have gone on to be a part of G3, a supergroup consisting of some of the best guitarists in the world. We caught up with the maestro himself, as he prepares to take on India for the second time in two months at NH7 Weekender, Pune. Such is their camaraderie that master and student have gone on to be a part of G3, a supergroup consisting of some of the best guitarists in the world. We caught up with the maestro himself, as he prepares to take on India for the second time in two months at NH7 Weekender, Pune. Do you and Joe still share a student-teacher relationship, or has your bond transcended? We share a lifelong friendship. When I look back at my career, I recognise that the most valuable thing is the relationships we make along the way, and how we bond and work with the people who resonate with us. But part of me will always see him as my mentor and teacher, because he’s always inspiring. Your ninth studio album, Modern Primitive, released last year. How’s the reaction been so far? I’m thrilled at the response my fans have had for Modern Primitive. Especially people who have been following me for a long time have found it to be a charming addition to the catalogue. Do your approach to life and to composing music overlap or combine? My approach to life, like it is the case with many people, has changed through the ages. These days, I’m loving life more than ever. My main focus is being present in the now. Whatever we do creatively in our lives is affected by our state of being — and that is unequivocal. It all overlaps in ways we’re not aware of. Studio albums, live tours, hopping countries — what is it that keeps you going at 57, as one of the most important guitarists in the world today? The thing that keeps me going is the same thing that keeps us all going — expanding our creativity. You’ve also been collaborating with a lot of young artistes recently. Any stand-out performer from the lot? Recently, I discovered Jacob Collier. He’s an incredibly creative 23-year-old. Tell us a little about your time with Frank Zappa. I was extraordinarily fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with Frank when I was 18, till I was 22. Frank was the best! Not a single day goes by that I don’t think back on those days with fond appreciation. What I learned has helped me forge my own career. What made you get on board the Frank Zappa hologram tour? The Zappa Family Trust approached me with the idea of a hologram tour, and I thought that if they could pull it off, I would be happy to help them launch the tour by participating in three or four shows. After talking with the Trust recently, I discovered what they have in mind regarding the visuals for this tour is quite amazing. You played at the Meghalaya edition of NH7 in October. Pune will be your second trip this year. How has it been so far? Oh, the first trip was just fantastic. I’m looking forward to so many things that India offers that are unique to the rest of the world. My favourite thing to do while in India is just to observe; observe the lifestyle and the people! It’s such a rich culture, and it’s evolving very fast. Oh, and I’m also looking forward to kicking major a** at the festival!
Ready your wallets as more Expo Exclusive Gunpla are coming your way this August 2016. The Gunpla Expo World Tour 2016 which will be held in the Ikebukuro District of Toshima, Tokyo will commence next week and, of course, it will not be a Gundam event without its own event exclusive Gunpla. Feautring a lineup from the 00, Universal Century, Build Fighters, and IBO series, signature event only, crystal clear versions of famed kits are revealed for release this coming GEWT Summer 2016. RG 1/144 00 QAN[T] TRANSAM CLEAR VER. Release Date: August 2016, GEWT Summer 2016 Price: ¥2,700 MG 1/100 MSN-04 SAZABI GUNDAM VER.KA MECHANICAL CLEAR Release Date: August 2016, GEWT Summer 2016 Price: ¥9,720 RE/100 GP04G GERBERA CLEAR COLOR VER. Release Date: August 2016, GEWT Summer 2016 Price: ¥3,780 HGBF 1/144 CROSSBONE GUNDAM X1 FULL CLOTH TYPE.GBFT PLATED/CLEAR VER Release Date: August 2016, GEWT Summer 2016 Price: ¥3,780 HG 1/144 HI-NU GUNDAM VRABE AMAZING VER. RED COMET Release Date: August 2016, GEWT Summer 2016 Price: ¥3,670 HGBF 1/144 TRY BURNING GUNDAM PP CLEAR VER. Release Date: August 2016, GEWT Summer 2016 Price: ¥1,940 These kits will only be exclusive to the Gunpla Expo World Tour Summer 2016, regular event only exclusive gunplas such as Clear Versions of RX-78 iterations will also be available.
Tinder revolutionized the dating world when it was launched five years ago. The dating app’s unique design inspired a surge of location-based “swipe” apps which collectively morphed online dating from an odd, secretive habit into an acceptable way to meet partners. The algorithm-based sites of the early 2000s now look obsolete, and for millions, dating has been boiled down to one essential question: “Is this person hot?” But, in drastically streamlining the attraction process, and entirely by accident, Tinder became the skeleton key to unlocking data on racism in America. The app’s data proves that black women and Asian men are the demographics on which the highest number of people swipe “left,” thereby rejecting them. By distilling dates down to a profile picture and a swipe, Tinder encourages users to act on their knee-jerk reactions, and that lightning fast process lights up corners of our minds we haven’t fully grappled with as a society. Black women and Asian men make up two demographics that have been long stigmatized as not-ideal sexual and romantic partners. It’s not that Tinder made anyone racist. It’s that the app compiles data on the quick preferences, and prejudices, of millions around the world, exposing an uncomfortable and racist reality. The'Tinder app logo is seen on a mobile phone screen on November 24, 2016, in London, England. Established in 2004, a whole six years prior to Tinder, the dating site OKCupid ensured its longevity when it sought help from Tinder in 2013 to implement the swipe into its own platform. It was a year later when OKCupid founder Christian Rudder published Datacylsm, a book which collects illustrated data visualizations with stats from OKC user profiles. The book offers incredible insight into topics like our habits, our political beliefs, our speech patterns — and the assumptions many people still make about entire populations. Generally, most users on OKC — and by extension, other sites — “swipe left” on black women and Asian men the most. That data matches Tinder’s data exactly. In a 2014 TIME article reporting on Datacylsm’s findings, Jack Linshi explained OKC’s 1 to 5 scale and how different racial groups of women rated Asian men. It wasn’t high. “While Asian women are more likely to give Asian men higher ratings, women of other races—black, Latina, white—give Asian men a rating between 1 and 2 stars less than what they usually rate men,” wrote Linshi. “Black and Latin men faced ‘similar discrimination,’ while white men had ratings “most high among women of all races.” Meanwhile, black women were considered the “least desirable” among all races of men. “Asian, Latin and white men tend to give black women 1 to 1.5 stars less, while black men’s ratings of black women are more consistent with their ratings of all races of women,” he wrote. The most highly-rated groups of women by men were those of Asian and Latin descent, with white women not far behind. A Quartz infographic exposes some uncomfortable truths. While people are free to have their individual preferences, it is extremely telling that two unique demographics are ostracized on several different dating platforms. Basic knowledge of human history, particularly American history, reveal where and how the alienation of black women and Asian men began. (It’s important to note that these subjects are dense enough to fill whole libraries, so further reading elsewhere is encouraged.) European colonists who orchestrated the African slave trade created caricatures, such as the Jezebel and the Sapphire, in order to further dehumanize and stereotype black women. Because of their strength and enslavement, black slaves were paradoxically fetishized by white masters who were both abhorred and allured by black women and their sexuality. It should come as no surprise then that white slave owners took in black women as sexual slaves, raping black women as they married white women. The modern incarnation for stereotyped black women is the plainly-named “angry black woman.” Stereotyped as hot-tempered, independent narcissists in our culture, and in our popular media, this image has been damaging to the cultural collective; in 2016, Anni Ferguson wrote in the Guardian how black females are statistically diagnosed with mental illnesses more than twice as often when compared to white women. “The fact that black women face struggles with perception every day can often mean that the constant fight seems normal,” writes Ferguson. “It became clear that these women were resigned to their fate. As a black woman you are scary, inadequate, ugly or hyper-sexualized – and you just have to accept it.” Asian men have had a vastly different cultural experience in the Americas. Although not subject to the indignities of enslavement, Asian immigrants during 19th-century westward expansion formed the basis for today’s prejudices against a cheaper-to-hire foreign working class. America’s first Asians endured discrimination from whites who felt their jobs were stolen, so their effeminate clothes, alien languages, and smaller physical features became targets. Early American media birthed the Yellow Peril, a treacherous imp who sought white women and white lands. Throughout the 20th century, after numerous discriminatory laws (such as Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the Immigration Act of 1917, the Geary Act, all anti-miscegenation, which included blacks and Native Americans) were repealed, America entered war with the Japanese, then later Communist-backed North Korea and North Vietnam, which created new stereotypes energized by the ghosts of old. When it was all over, Asian men found a new box to fill in: the model minority, over-worked math nerds who aren’t sexy enough to party with. And the model minority stereotype, as well, has left its share of psychological damage on Asian-American young people. It’s important to note that Dataclysm focused on data uncovered by OKCupid, but it’s not unreasonable to think human beings seeking sexual and romantic partners won’t behave differently just because of the platform they’re using. A number of first-person accounts, including Michelle Ofiwe in Complex in 2016, Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff in Vice in 2015, Serena Smith in Babe earlier this year, and Mahesh Sharma in Sydney Morning Herald in 2016, help illustrate that our sexual prejudices extend to Tinder, Bumble, Hinge, and beyond. It was also in 2016 when comedians Jessica Williams and Ronny Chieng explored sexual racism in a segment for The Daily Show, which (humorously) found the same data across all dating apps. As Rudder himself put it during the segment: “Everybody, collectively, is rating Asian men and black women poorly.” Tinder found a reason to reckon with its role in society earlier this summer. In a login video exclusive to Hong Kong users, Tinder showed a user swipe left only once on the only Asian male in the commercial. The site was slammed online. Though the company said in its apology that “it was not our intention” and that “we see in retrospect how the content could be seen as insensitive,” it provided proof that the struggles of dating as a member of a marginalized group are invisible to everyone else. Everyone has their individual preferences. Some women like people with blue eyes, some guys like girls with short hair. But some prefer people from a specific race. While the fetishizing and discrimination of entire races in the realm of dating is wrong, it’s also something an overwhelming amount of people are guilty of. Until we openly admit and own up to it, the data will speak for itself.
At 18, Olivia Katbi was answering the phones and emails in a Republican state senator’s office in Ohio. Then the legislator threw his weight behind a particularly contentious anti-abortion law. “I realised that the party I’m working for is evil. After that I identified as a Democrat but I wasn’t really happy with their policies either,” said Katbi, now 25. Back then, she couldn’t articulate her reservations about President Barack Obama. There were the drone strikes, and the limitations of his healthcare reforms. But mostly it was a frustrating sense he wasn’t serving her interests so much as those of a monied elite. So in the 2012 presidential election, Katbi voted for Jill Stein, the Green party candidate. But that didn’t change the world. It was only last year, when Bernie Sanders made his run under the banner of democratic socialism, that it all started to fall into place. “My politics were to the left of the Democratic party but I didn’t realise there was an entire ideology, an entire movement that was there. It had never occurred to me,” said Katbi. “Bernie was my introduction to the concept of democratic socialism. It’s not like I associated it with the cold war. It was a new concept to me completely. That was the case for a lot of millennials, which is why the movement has grown so much.” Katbi, who works at an organization helping to settle immigrants and refugees in Portland, Oregon, became “socialist curious”. She joined the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), a rapidly growing big-tent movement that has drawn in former communists and fired up millennials. The DSA is now the largest socialist organization in the US as surging membership, which has quadrupled since the election to around 25,000, has breathed new life into a once dormant group. New branches have sprung up, from Montana to Texas and New York. Earlier this month, hundreds of delegates gathered in Chicago for the only DSA convention in years to attract attention. Part of its membership veers toward Scandavian-style social democracy of universal healthcare and welfare nets. Others embrace more traditional socialism of large-scale public ownership. But the label has been taken up by other millennials who do not identify with any particular political institution. They come at it through protest movements such as Occupy and Black Lives Matter, fueled by frustration at the Democratic party’s failure to take seriously the deepening disillusionment with capitalism, income inequality and the corporate capture of the US government. With that has come debate not only about pay, housing and proposals for universal basic income, but a reappraisal of the role of the government in people’s lives in favor of greater state intervention. According to recent polling, a majority of Americans adults under the age of 30 now reject capitalism, although that does not translate into automatic support for socialism. For Katbi, though, the path is clear. Six months after the election, she is leaving Sanders behind. “I really don’t like saying that Bernie was my gateway to socialism, just because I feel like I’m more left than him now, and I also think there’s a very bizarre cult of personality around Bernie,” she said. Ask what socialism is, and Katbi looks to the campaign by the Labour party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, in this year’s British election. “I really liked Labour’s succinct tagline: for the many, not the few. That’s a great summary of what socialism is. It’s democratic control of the society we live in. That includes universal healthcare. Universal education. Public housing. Public control of energy resources. State ownership of banks. That’s what I understand socialism to be when I heard Bernie Sanders introduce it,” she said. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Jeremy Corbyn addresses the crowd at Glastonbury Festival. Photograph: David Levene for the Guardian Labour’s manifesto caught the attention of young leftwing activists in the US because, in contrast to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign platform, it laid out a clear set of ideas they could identify with. Some in the DSA are also finding common cause with Momentum, the leftwing British grassroots organisation formed in 2015 to back Corbyn which in turn has drawn inspiration from Syriza in Greece and Podemos in Spain. “The people I’m friends with who don’t identify as socialist are definitely supportive of certain socialist policies, like single-payer healthcare,” said Katbi. “Everyone has student loan debt and everyone’s rents are exorbitant and everyone’s paying like $300-a-month premiums for Obamacare. It’s common sense for people my age.” The alarm created at the prospect of millions of people losing their coverage while millions more see their health insurance premiums surge has pushed the new breed of democratic socialists to embrace universal healthcare as the gateway issue to bring large numbers of Americans, including a lot of Trump voters, around to the idea that government regulation can work for them. Americans who came of age during the cold war saw socialism being characterized as the close cousin of Soviet communism, and state-run healthcare as a first step to the gulags. There are still those attempting to keep the old scare stories alive. It was the old cold war warriors who helped detoxify socialism for younger Americans when the Tea Party and Fox News painted Obama – a president who recapitalised the banks without saving the homes of families in foreclosure – as a socialist for his relatively modest changes to the healthcare system. Then came Sanders. “With the Bernie phenomenon, suddenly you’re able to utter the S-word in public,” said Nick Caleb, 35, a long time leftwing activist who joined the DSA shortly after the election, as membership of its Portland branch surged. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Bernie Sanders supporters hold a sign in Los Angeles during the 2016 election campaign. Photograph: Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images Caleb said that even before Sanders ran, the Occupy Wall Street movement had prompted a scrutiny of capitalism. “Occupy Wall Street happened and there was a broader debate about what capitalism was, and we started to highlight the pieces of it that were most awful. So there was an articulation of what capitalism was, and then it meant someone had to define what socialism means, and we sort of left that space open,” he said. At the heart of the ideas flooding into that space is a debate about the role of the state after decades of conservatives painting government as oppressive and a burden keeping good Americans down. The campaign over healthcare, the anger sparked by the rapaciousness of big banks bailed out by the taxpayer, and a belief that only the state has the strength to reverse deepening inequality is breathing new life into the old idea that the government is there to control capitalism, rather than capitalism controlling the government. If that takes hold among a wider group of millennials, it will represent a seismic shift in the way many Americans think about the pre-eminent role of the state and capitalism in their lives. It would be a fatal mistake not to recognise there's a whole mass of white working-class people who can be won over To an older generation of leftwing activists, that sounds a lot like the New Deal – President Franklin Roosevelt’s bold attempt to remake the American economic system and rein in the forces of capitalism in response to the Great Depression of the 1930s. The Works Progress Administration, which provided jobs to millions made unemployed by economic collapse, was at one time the single largest employer in the country. A raft of legislation addressed pay, working conditions and housing. Roosevelt also introduced banking regulation that stayed in place until the 1990s. Roosevelt saw the reforms as laying the foundations for the kind of social democratic society the US helped build in western Europe after the second world war. “Young people who say that they’re socialists, or look favourably on socialism, they’re thinking about a kind of New Deal government or democracy against markets,” said Frances Fox Piven, coauthor of a widely debated radical plan in the 1960s to alleviate poverty and create a basic income, and more recently the target of a vilification campaign by Fox News. “What the New Deal represented was government efforts to regulate an unbridled capitalism and to supplement the distribution of income under markets with government programs.” Piven, a City University of New York professor, sees a shift in thinking among some younger Americans reflecting a time before politicians conflated democracy with the free market and government with private business. “The New Deal is the clearest and boldest period in the wake of real collapse in capitalist markets. You could just call it economic democracy,” she said. “What they got right was the imperative of regulating the economy. That development was cut short by the second world war and the urgency with which the government turned to big business to cooperate in the war effort and gave a lot of licence to big business. It stopped the New Deal in its tracks.” After that came the red scare, McCarthyism and the rise of global corporations. Still, President Lyndon B Johnson built on the New Deal’s legacy in the 1960s with his “war on poverty” and “great society” programs expanding welfare, greatly reducing the number of people living in poverty, and establishing Medicaid and Medicare – America’s system of public health insurance for the very poor and the elderly. Then came Reagan revolution and the Democrats’ embrace of neoliberalism. The New Deal still lingers in the American consciousness. Not so the once bouyant Socialist Party of America, long faded from popular memory. A century ago, socialists were routinely elected to public office in the US and the party’s presidential candidate drew close to a million votes in the 1912 and 1920 elections. Of course 'socialism' was most-searched term of 2015: its ideas fit our times \| Kshama Sawant Read more There are few socialists elected to public office in the US today. The most prominent is Kshama Sawant of the Socialist Alternative party, who won a seat on Seattle’s city council in 2013 and drove through an increase in the city’s minimum wage to $15 an hour. She was re-elected two years ago promising a tax on the rich in a state with no income tax. In July, the city council unanimously passed a 2.25% city tax on people earning more than $250,000 a year, although there will be no windfall from the Amazon and Microsoft billionaires who live outside its boundaries. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Protesters demonstrate during Occupy Wall Street. Photograph: KeystoneUSA-ZUMA / Rex Features Sawant has few illusions about why the measure passed. She describes the Democratic party majority on the council as beholden to corporate interests whose hand was forced by the popular mood. Sawant also suspects that other council members are counting on the courts to strike down the new tax. But that the vote happened at all is evidence of the political shift under way. Sawant is a Marxist who wants to see industry taken into public ownership or worker cooperatives. But she recognises that there’s a long way to go before Americans are ready for that. Still, she sees opportunity in what she calls an “amazing change in the consciousness of America”. “We are in a fundamentally new period. The Occupy movement really took people by surprise. They realized there was something different going on here. The younger generation of America was not going to be another docile generation waiting for their little piece of the American dream, partly because that little piece of the American dream wasn’t going to come to them because of the crisis capitalism is in,” she said. “I, for one, am elated, actually elated, at the starting point where people are angry at corporate politics, angry at neo-liberalism, angry at austerity. This is a massive cauldron and this is historic.” One challenge for the new breed of social democrats and socialists is to find the vehicle to electoral success. In the UK, the Labour party is the official opposition, with socialist antecedents Corbyn is attempting to revive. Today’s American socialists are split on whether to revive a New Deal-style Democratic party or forge a new organisation. The DSA has for now decided against becoming a political party. A recently elected member of Chicago city council, Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, argued that the Democratic party offered a path to single-payer healthcare and $15-an-hour minimum wage because so many people vote for it as a default. But Caleb is sceptical. He thought for a short while that the Democrats might learn the lessons of Sanders’ campaign and Clinton’s defeat to back away from neoliberalism. “I was somewhat hopeful after the election that the Democrats would get the memo but it’s obvious the party’s not going to change. They’ll make minor concessions but they’re tied to Silicon Valley. They had a chance to make an abrupt change and they haven’t done it,” he said. “They can’t think of anything but a market solution with tax credits and things like that. The Democratic party couldn’t even reconstitute a platform like the New Deal.” Piven, meanwhile, said the two party system smothered real debate about the issues most people care about. She said protest movements such as Occupy and Black Lives Matter – as well as the Women’s March after Trump’s inauguration and the mass protests over the Muslim ban – forced issues on to the political agenda. One of the bigger obstacles to broadening support for real socialism in America may not be so much specific policies – although there will be a lot of people doubtful about the DSA’s proposals to abolish police forces and prisons – so much as perceptions of who is now a socialist. “I want to dispel the reputation of socialism that it’s a bunch of white men talking about theory,” said Katbi. “People are hesitant to join because they’re like, is it a bunch of Bernie bros? The implication is it’s a bunch of white men yelling about Marx. It’s not.” The “brocialist” label has given added impetus to a drive for more diversity. “In DSA we’ve been very intentional about building a movement that is diverse,” said Katbi. “Amplifying the voices of women and people of color and people who have previously been oppressed. Everything we do, we do it with that in mind.” That has created its own tensions amid debate about how much focus should be put on class. “Every day you see debates around what should be emphasized,” said Caleb. “Is it a class discussion? Is it an identity discussion?” Attempts to paint millennials as beholden to identity politics is more than unfair given the Clinton campaign’s assumption that young women like Katbi would automatically vote for a female presidential candidate who claimed she was going to blast through the glass ceiling. Instead, Katbi’s support went to an old white man on the basis of his ideas. Still, Piven sees lessons in the legacy of the civil rights movement. “There’s a certain amount of discrediting of the identity politics developments that have seemed to dominate the left over the last few decades, but maybe these developments were in a way necessary,” she said. “How could there have been a black civil rights movement without identity politics? Blacks were so disparaged, so dehumanized by American political culture that you had to first have a ‘black is beautiful’ cultural and intellectual and political current. I think the same thing is true of the women’s movement. But if we stay just with identity politics then we can’t grapple with the class forces that are producing the system of stratification and oppression in the United States.” That means winning over the large numbers of low-income working people who voted for Trump, a task complicated by the sense that the left is dominated by identity politics. “We won’t be able to build a mass movement for any of the social democratic reforms, let alone for a fundamental shift toward socialism, if we don’t create an opening for those many people who voted for Trump,” said Sawant. “It is extremely important for the left in America to build movements that accomplish a dual task. One is never compromise on the question of oppression – but at the same time reaching the vast majority of working people on a class basis.” Sawant is not alone in thinking that the entry point is healthcare. She points to packed town hall meetings Sanders has had in West Virginia since the election. “Who are these people? White people who have been beaten down with entrenched intergenerational poverty and who are desperately looking for a solution. Sanders reached out to them by talking about healthcare, living wages, the need to tax Wall Street and billionaires who have wrought such havoc on their lives. I didn’t see any resistance from those people. I didn’t see anybody saying it was black people or gay people who are responsible for their misery,” she said. “It would be a fatal mistake not to recognise that there is a whole mass of white working-class people in America who can be won over.” Katbi recognises that’s a task made even more challenging by Americans’ famed individualism. “There’s a lot of polarisation. I know of people my age who are ardent Trump supporters who are very about individualism, about libertarianism, to an extent. But I think when you really start to think about these things, it’s clear that’s just selfishness and socialism is about the collective good versus hoarding it all for yourself,” she said.
Copyright by KXAN - All rights reserved Ledward Spencer, accused of burglarizing Texas State dorm (San Marcos PD Photo) Copyright by KXAN - All rights reserved Ledward Spencer, accused of burglarizing Texas State dorm (San Marcos PD Photo) SAN MARCOS, Texas (KXAN) -- Early Sunday morning, police received a 9-1-1 call from a female Texas State University student who woke up to find a man in her room. The university says police were called at around 4:40 a.m, after a man entered the dorm room and began touching a sleeping female student. He began touching her hair, arm and face while sitting on the edge of her bed, according to a police affidavit. The student screamed and the suspect ran out of her room in Sterry Hall. Both the victim and her roommate told authorities they rarely lock their dorm room door. The suspect has been identified as Ledward Spencer, who is not a student, after he was found in the 400 block of N. LBJ Drive.. He was charged with burglary of a habitation, a second degree felony, and issued a criminal trespass warrant for the Texas State campus. The university says the investigation is ongoing.
If you're watching the air-cooled Porsche 911 market as closely as we are, you'd know prices have been rising at an astronomical rate. The days of the $20,000 911SC are long gone, and good examples of a standard 964 can reach over sixty grand. While these prices seem high, nothing can prepare you for how much this ultra-rare 1995 993 GT2 sold for. $2.4 million dollars. Yep. The 993 was Porsche's last air-cooled generation of the 911, before Porsche decided to start cooling its engines with water in the 996. The automaker built almost 70,000 993s in its five-year production run from 1993-1998. It's considered by some to be the pinnacle of 911 design, and its fantastic driving attributes certainly help its reputation. RM Sotheby's The GT2, a hardcore, race-focused version of the already fast 993 Turbo, was produced in extremely tiny numbers. Only around 57 were made, making them one of the rarest 911s to roll off the factory line. They were equipped with the Turbo's air-cooled 3.6 liter flat six, and made 430 horsepower to just the rear wheels. And if you haven't noticed already, the car also came equipped with some serious aero, and badass riveted fender flares. This particular example is finished in stunning Riviera Blue, adding even more desirability to an already special car. Prospective owners at RM Sotheby's London auction weren't shy about it either, bidding the car all the way up to a staggering £1,848,000, or roughly $2,464,798. That's almost as much as a brand new Bugatti Chiron. For a 20-year-old 911. For context, RM Sotheby's estimated the car to sell somewhere between $1,000,000 and $1,133,000. So it went for, uh, more than double that. The air-cooled market is something else.
Larry Klayman’s effort to launch a Second American Revolution is fueled by all kinds of conspiracy theories, in addition to some reality-based concerns like the extent of the NSA’s electronic snooping. At Klayman’s rally last week, the now-expected invocations of tyranny and gun control fascism appeared alongside more esoteric theories, such as one about American sovereignty having been destroyed by an act of Congress in 1871 that changed “The Constitution for the United States of America” to “THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES,” and in the process turned the U.S. from a country to a corporation in the service of nefarious bankers. One speaker topped the conspiracy theory charts. Thomas Robert Lacovara-Stewart, an Oath Keeper who set his theatrical speech against a backdrop of patriotic music, said that the Department of Homeland Security “blew up Boston” and committed murder to hide it. “Because we now truly do fear our own government. The words fill sadness in my heart. I am a true son of liberty, born into it by my own bloodlines direct. And that is exactly what they have sought to destroy with multiculturalism forced, to disintegration of morality and of the family. It has become presidentially acceptable to not only embrace immorality but promote it with spectacles such as we have never seen, time and time again, attacked by progressives, another word for communists… Lacovara-Stewart encouraged people to visit his website, Libertyimprovementandcare.org. The website, which calls itself The Holy Order of the Sons of Liberty, promotes a remarkable collection of conspiracy theories, in addition to the charge that the Boston bombing was a “false flag” operation. Many are focused on conspiracy theory staples: Zionism, the Rothschilds, the Federal Reserve. Others are more creative. Lyme disease is biological warfare being carried out by former Nazis that were allowed entrance into the U.S. And speaking of Nazis, Does it not bother anyone that the German people submitted to Hitler? Well here is why. The Nazis fluoridated the water of the people. And it made them passive and not able to do more than whine and complain but never have the nerve to do anything when faced with hard choices. Oh and by the way, they fluoridate ours too. On his website, Lacovara-Stewart warns, “We must realize that these devils exist among us…continuing their one world government Nazi/Soviet Socialist bankers dream!” At Klaymen’s rally, Lacovara-Stewart’s message for President Obama: “We are here to tell you that your eviction notice is served!”
A 6-year-old Mississippi boy was found dead from a gunshot wound on Thursday in the back of a car that had been stolen from his mother hours earlier in Jackson, Miss., the authorities said. Ebony Archie, the boy’s mother, had left him in a running Toyota Camry at about 1:15 a.m. while she ducked into a Kroger grocery store, according to Heath Hall, a spokesman for Madison County Sheriff Randy Tucker. At some point during the 10 to 15 minutes that she was gone, a Honda Civic pulled up and someone jumped out and got into the Camry, taking the car and the boy, Kingston Frazier. Image Kingston Frazier Credit Mississippi Highway Patrol Ms. Archie notified a law enforcement officer at the grocery store, who began filing a report for a missing car before realizing later that Kingston had been taken, too, the authorities said at a news conference. An Amber Alert was issued at about 4:15 a.m., describing Frazier as 3 feet 9 inches tall and weighing about 40 pounds. He had last been seen wearing a white tank top, khaki pants and “black and gold Jordan tennis shoes,” it read.
On a quiet suburban California cul-de-sac where neighbors hang wind chimes and grow rose bushes, one three-bedroom house stood out. At night, dozens of cars swarmed outside. Groups of young women headed inside the fenced-off home dotted with security cameras. The next morning, the street was littered with syringes. What looked like a typical single-family home in a suburban neighborhood on the edge of Orange County's Little Saigon had been turned into an illegal gambling house where betters plunked down thousands in cash and stolen credit cards during all-night binges fueled by drinking and drugs. Over the past three years, police in the largely Vietnamese area said they've found more than a dozen of these homes run by gangs. In some cases, police were tipped off by neighbors tired of the noise and traffic; in others, they were led there after a fight landed one of the gamblers in the hospital. Inside the homes, players try their hand at video poker or blackjack. But one of the biggest draws is a six-seater table featuring a video game that gamblers play for money. The game earned the homes the name "slaphouses" as the sound of players pounding their hands on the game controls can be heard outside. "They don't just go there for an hour, they'll be there for hours on end," said Westminster police Sgt. Darin Upstill, adding that the objective of the game is to shoot out fire and kill a dragon. "Now, who is financing it is another story. That's what we're trying to figure out." Gambling has long been popular in the Vietnamese community that settled in Orange County after the fall of Saigon in 1975 and has since grown to 200,000. For years, authorities said, Vietnamese coffeehouses featured machines rigged for poker, blackjack and other games where owners could flip a switch and turn the screens back to run-of-the-mill video games when police walked in the door. Authorities said the coffeehouses were drawing drug dealing, fraud and gang activity along with the gamblers. In 2011, police in the Orange County city of Garden Grove raided more than a dozen coffeehouses, seizing 186 machines and $150,000 in cash. Weeks later, the city passed a law banning arcade games from coffee houses. Since then, Garden Grove police have detected at least 15 illegal gambling houses in residential areas, said police Lt. Tom DaRé. Moving gambling into residential neighborhoods makes it tougher for police to detect, since they need a warrant to get in. Neighbors are often afraid to report the homes to police even when they draw drug use and other crime. Bac Duong, an Orange County inmate who escaped from jail earlier this year and led California authorities on a weeklong manhunt, was charged with shooting a man outside one such house in nearby Santa Ana, authorities said. "It's a hub for organized crime," DaRé said. "Off a slaphouse, you're probably making $100,000 a month — easy." Gambling is lucrative for gangs because the profits are high and the risk is low compared with drug dealing and fraud, which carry higher penalties. Police in largely suburban Orange County are trying to dig deeper into the slaphouses, which are usually set up in rental homes. At least one person lives in the house and provides security. Cash is regularly moved out to reduce the risk of theft, and gamblers need a trusted contact to get in. Underground gambling has roots in diverse communities and is hardly unique to the Vietnamese. But gambling is popular in Little Saigon, where large billboards beckon players to legitimate casinos in Southern California. Dr. Timothy Fong, co-director of the Gambling Studies Program at University of California, Los Angeles, said gambling is accessible and culturally acceptable in many immigrant communities, especially among Asians where risk-taking is encouraged and betting seen as a way of testing fate. "It is very steeped in tradition," Fong said. "You are supposed to take huge risks and you are supposed to 'go big.'" Most gamblers frequent legitimate casinos, but a few are drawn underground, he said. Gambling aside, Dan Nguyen, manager of Cafe Di Vang 2, said customers often played arcade games for fun at his Garden Grove coffeehouse until police banned them during the gambling crackdown. He said he's since lost customers and revenue to venues in neighboring cities that don't face the same restrictions. "I wish I could have five or six games for my customers, so they could come here, and play a little bit," Nguyen said as scantily-clad waitresses served coffee to patrons watching soccer matches on flat-screen TVs. Just a few miles away, half a dozen men sipped iced drinks at a similar coffeehouse in Westminster while playing on game machines. Upstill said he expects his city will also eventually move to strip arcade games from coffeehouses to prevent gambling there, but for now they're focused on dealing with slaphouses. "You shut them down enough times, they'll be out," he said.
"There's more work to be done," Strickland said. "And we need to bring the community along with us on this journey." The committee carried the motion, but the plan will still need final approval from council. Recommendations also included: working with health-care providers to improve their knowledge of harm reduction and ability to support people who use substances; identifying and working with new community partners to provide harm reduction services; and exploring opportunities and funding to expand outreach/mobile initiatives in the community. Five delegations spoke, endorsing the plan to boost harm reduction efforts. Stigma about substance use, several said, was a big barrier stopping people from staying safe and getting help. "They deserve dignity and they deserve respect. A supervised injection site is a step in the right direction," said Jenn Boyd, harm reduction co-ordinator for the AIDS Committee of Cambridge, Kitchener, Waterloo and Area (ACCKWA). She said the sites are "an effective way to keep people healthier and engage them more meaningfully." Adding more services can reduce vulnerability and, as a result, harm, Boyd said. "It says that we see you, we hear you and we care. Change comes from support." Violet Umanetz, outreach manager for Sanguen Health Centre, said after getting calls from business owners about drug use in public bathrooms, she asked clients why they used those spots. "What they told me flat out was that they didn't want to die," Umanetz said. They told her they knew if something went wrong and they overdosed, there would be someone there to call 911. With a "staggering number" of fatal overdoses over the past year, more work is essential to avoid preventable illness and death. "We have lost so many good people. People who never had the chance to recover," Umanetz said. Region of Waterloo Paramedic Services averaged just under 43 suspected opioid overdose calls per month ending in March — a 92 per cent increase since January 2016 or an extra 21 calls per month. "Harm reduction keeps our entire community safe and healthy," Umanetz said. "We need to expand the work we are doing." Marion Best, addictions programming director at Simcoe House in Cambridge, said misconceptions linger about addiction. "People still think it's a choice," Best said. "No one feels more guilt or shame than the person with the addiction." A new local substance abuse study was also presented to council on Tuesday. It found the top substances used in the region, in order, are alcohol, cannabis, "club drugs" such as ecstasy, cocaine, prescription opioids, methamphetamine (crystal meth), benzodiazepines, amphetamines, crack and heroin. Crystal meth use was emerging when the first study was done in 2008, while opioid use continues to be prevalent. Emergency department visits for opioid use increased by 17 per cent between 2005 and 2015. The spike in fatal and non-fatal overdoses are linked to fentanyl, which people are using intentionally and unintentionally when it's added to another drug — that's caused a lot of fear among drug users about overdosing, Bermingham said. A safe place to use was mentioned during interviews for the study, which included substance users, service providers and police. The sites could also offer clean supplies and proper disposal. jweidner@therecord.com , Twitter: @WeidnerRecord
The world's best photographers, from Ansel Adams to Richard Avedon, relied on black-and-white pictures to convey more than an image, but a message, an emotion. Long after color photographs became a snap to take, some people still see the beauty of black and white. An architecturally significant midcentury modern that went up for sale Tuesday, Aug. 15, is being marketed with only black-and-white images by Darius Kuzmickas of KuDa Photography . "We decided to use black and white because it's a creative's house," says listing agent Suzann Baricevic Murphy of Where, Inc. "The color photos are equally fantastic but the black and white expresses the real message of the home. It's a Northwest midcentury icon. It was the best way to evoke the true essence of the home." She's right. Black and white does convey a timeless, classic quality. But there are other reasons to dial down the rainbow. Photographer David Geffin wrote on the fstoppers.com blog that shooting in black and white makes you focus on the key elements of lighting, composition and subjects, in and out of the frame. Limiting color also amplifies the shadows and negative space, which add depth to the image. Bigger reason: Viewers are not distracted by color and look at the shape, form and patterns. They get an eyeful here, at 3136 SW Fairmount Blvd. in Portland's Scenic Fairmount Loop , which is listed at $699,000. The midcentury modern house with vertical cedar siding was designed by architect Van Evera Bailey. The late, Portland-born architect's career spanned 40 years, evolving from traditional Craftsman-style homes to glass-and-wood moderns. Like architects Pietro Belluschi and John Yeon and other champions of the Northwest Regional style, Bailey used local materials and designed to eliminate strict boundaries between rooms, as well as expand outdoor entertaining areas. Bailey's national reputation was launched in 1940 when he persuaded Los Angeles-based architect Richard Neutra to use cedar instead of stucco on the Jan de Graaff house in Portland's Dunthorpe. Throughout his long career, Bailey's work was published in lifestyle and design publications. In 2015, the preservation organization Restore Oregon had a tour of six Bailey's houses in Southwest Portland and Lake Oswego. The home, built in 1952 on 0.36 acres, has two bedrooms, two baths and 2,439 square feet ($287 a square foot). -- Janet Eastman jeastman@oregonian.com 503-799-8739 @janeteastman
Ladies, bid farewell to your birth control, your cancer screenings, and all the other health care you get from Planned Parenthood. The Republican Congress is coming for all that, and this time, there won’t be a President Obama to veto the bill. “The entire movement is poised for a victory,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony List, an advocacy group that opposes abortion. “We have every assurance [from congressional leaders] that it’s going to happen. Nobody is saying ‘whether,’ the question is ‘when.’” If successful, this latest push would be the single biggest victory for anti-abortion groups in years, and likely the first step in a broader agenda aimed at sharply curtailing abortion procedures. Federal law already bars Planned Parenthood from using taxpayer funds for abortions; the group uses the money for family planning and other health services. But anti-abortion groups insist the funding facilitates abortion by freeing up other funds for abortion services. [...] In interviews, Republican sources said it will be difficult to back away from defunding Planned Parenthood, particularly after the Senate successfully slipped a defunding provision into the Obamacare repeal bill last year using the same reconciliation procedure. And although they lost two Senate seats on Election Day, meaning they have only 52 GOP seats to work with next year, Senate Republicans likely have the votes to repeal Obamacare and defund Planned Parenthood. The House would be expected to easily approve the bill. Defunding will directly affect women on Medicaid, who won’t be able to go to Planned Parenthood for care anymore. But, while the organization vows to keep its doors open and continue providing care, taking a $550 million hit is likely to have one hell of a ripple effect. And after Republicans make unplanned pregnancies more likely by restricting access to birth control, they’ll look at other anti-abortion bills like a 20-week ban and making the Hyde Amendment permanent. Congressional Democrats sure are going to have a lot of opportunities to stand and fight.
Update: The Marvel teasers continue, and at this point it's almost certain Marvel has extended its teaser program to include new story arcs from existing series as opposed to just strictly for new titles. The future of Captain Marvel from Kelly Sue DeConnick has been up in the air for the past few months. October's issue is not listed as a final issue, but the series did not show up in Marvel's solicitations for November and December 2013. Now, with the teaser marked "HIGHER" by Kelly Sue DeConnick and David Lopez, could there be hopes for fans of Carol Danvers' solo adventures? Maybe, but Marvel's not telling if this is a continuation, a relaunch, or just something altogether new. The teaser promises news at the Superior Spider-Man & Friends panel at New York Comic-Con, and Carol has been linked to Spidey in the past, but we'll find out in a couple of weeks for sure. Credit: Marvel Comics Original story: Marvel is at it again. The publisher kicked off the new week with another "All-New Marvel NOW!" New York Comic Con teaser, their 8th since Wednesday morning. "SINNERS" promises some manner of title or story arc by writer Charles Soule and artist Carlo Baberi that will be revealed at Marvel's NYCC Amazing X-Men and the Marvel Universe panel.
A medical technician who was charged last week with causing a hepatitis C outbreak in New Hampshire was fired from a hospital in Arizona in April 2010, an official at the hospital said. The technician, David Kwiatkowski, was fired after being found unresponsive in a men’s locker room with syringes and needles; tests found cocaine and marijuana in his system, said the official, Monica Bowman, chief executive of Arizona Heart Hospital. Mr. Kwiatkowski, 33, is accused of stealing anesthetic drugs from Exeter Hospital in New Hampshire and contaminating syringes. His strain of hepatitis C has been diagnosed in 30 patients, and testing has been recommended for about 4,700 people in New Hampshire alone. Officials are still determining who should be tested elsewhere. They have confirmed that Mr. Kwiatkowski also worked in Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania before being hired in New Hampshire.
Bitcoin prices since the start of the month. ( Bitcoincharts.com In recent weeks, some Bitcoin critics have been rethinking their initial Bitcoin skepticism. But others are as convinced as ever that the cryptocurrency is doomed. One of the harshest critics is Mark Williams, who teaches finance at the Boston University School of Management. He predicts that in the first half of 2014, bitcoins will lose almost 99 percent of their value, falling below $10. We spoke by phone on Monday. The transcript has been edited for length and clarity. Timothy B. Lee: What informs your thinking about the future of Bitcoin? Mark Williams: I used to be the senior vice president of a commodity trading firm in Boston. I'm very familiar with commodity prices with high volatility. For example, energy prices would have swings of 400 to 500 percent in a year. That's significant price movement. But Bitcoin is in a universe of its own. Right now Bitcoin is looking at price movements as high as 8000 percent since January. It moved from $13 per bitcoin to a high of $1200. So what we see then is considerable risk associated with Bitcoin. At least with a commodity like power, natural gas or oil, there's an underlying value. That product can be used for something. With Bitcoin, it's a virtual commodity, so there's no backing. In essence, Bitcoin is worth something as long as you or I are willing to sell things for it. But if you say I'd rather have $1,000 than a bitcoin, Bitcoin is going to drop like a rock. That's what we've seen. Just in the commodity exchanges today [Monday], we've seen a 30 percent swing from the low to the high today. Many advocates for Bitcoin have said hey this currency is a virtual currency, but when you have a 35 percent fluctuation in a given day, that can never be a currency. Another way of looking at it: the most the U.S. dollar fluctuates is about 10 percent on an annualized basis. This is 30 to 35 percent fluctuation in a given day. It just shows how toxic and how dangerous this is. There was such sentiment against central bankers in their mismanagement of the economy by 2009. This whole concept of creating this virtual currency, moving away from the central bankers of the world, had a real populist feel to it. Reality is in the execution. That's why last Thursday, when the central bank of China, the second largest economy in the world, warned its member banks not to accept Bitcoin as currency, that was the collapse of this dotcom bubble. This isn't the first time we've seen the price of Bitcoins skyrocket. There were previous "bubbles" in June of 2011 and April of 2013. Yet in both cases, after falling, the price rose again. What makes you think that won't happen again? Bitcoin has had a number of mini-bubbles. In 2011, it hit a high of $30. Then it dropped dramatically: 80 percent in two months. Then it took a hiatus. Then in 2013, it went to $200. [With any asset bubble, there are three stages, growth, maturity, and pop.] When you think about this bubble the maturity stage really hit in November and December of this year. As more information comes out about whether this is truly a virtual currency or a virtual commodity, you see that it's really a virtual commodity. With increased volatility is downside risk, and now they're experiencing it. What we're seeing in the market on Friday for example, the amount of people who are trying to exit Bitcoins caused up to a 45-minute delay in being able to execute orders. Many people trying to run for a very small exit. Talk to me about Bitcoin's fundamentals. You've predicted that Bitcoin will be below $10 before long. But if Bitcoin isn't a viable currency why wouldn't it go all the way to $0? Optionality. I view that there's always a chance that a Bitcoin could be adopted. Could be used potentially as a basis for virtual currency. And so that would have some upside. An option premium of $5, $7, $10 seems reasonable. Look at where it was. If you and I had this conversation a week ago, the price would have been $1,200. At that point, it looked like this was being widely accepted by retail organizations, Google's equivalent of China [Baidu] was allowing payment in Bitcoin, and now just in three to four days, we've seen that the second largest economy in the world said "your money isn't good in our house any more." I look back in the history of these coins. When they were first mined they were sold for pennies. Even through to 2012, they still sold for single digits. That reflected the optionality, the chance that these would be the future in regards to virtual currency. But if virtual currency does take off, there are 35 currencies out there. Bitcoin has what we call the first mover disadvantage. What we've learned is that "the nail gets the hammer." When Bitcoin came out, it had some warts. It had some weaknesses. Other [electronic] currencies popped up. What kind of disadvantages do you have in mind? Initially Bitcoin was supposed to be a very democratic process. We could just open our laptop and start mining Bitcoins. Now to mine Bitcoins after 11 million have been mined, you have to have super computing power. It isolates the majority of people who can actually mine. If we have a decentralized system, but yet there's concentration risk, there's a greater chance of market manipulation. Exchanges, they're telling us this is the spread. How can you and I be sure because it's not regulated. As bitcoins increase in value, there's greater incentive to try to manipulate the price. But there are also first-mover advantages, right? People want to use currencies that others will accept. The name recognition is there. But also the reputational damage. Silk Road itself has hurt their reputation. We think about the fact that they were the purveyor of drugs and prostitution and guns. If you think about some of these other e-currencies that have popped up, there's not an association [with drugs]. Interestingly enough, you had Ben Bernanke, who said there may be an opportunity for increased efficiency [in Bitcoin]. Conservative central bankers are not saying it's not an innovation. It just needs to be controlled. Name one country with a decentralized currency. The euro is decentralized [with multiple fiscal policies]. If you're Greece or Germany you're having second thoughts [about joining the euro zone]. Sovereigns want to be able to control their destiny, and that means controlling their own currency.
Vodafone is the first UK network operator to open up pre-orders for the new Huawei P10. The Chinese company's latest flagship is available to pre-order in white or black (sadly not the eye-catching "dazzling blue" we've been using lately), with on-contract prices starting at £28 per month. (That's for 500MB, with a £200 upfront fee.) Vodafone has a wide range of plans going all the way up to 30GB at the high end, which will set you back £48 per month, with a £10 upfront charge for the phone. That's bundled with unlimited calls and texts, 4GB of roaming data, and a free Spotify, Sky Sports Mobile or NowTV subscription. A similar deal at £42 gets you all of the above, but with 24GB of UK data and 2GB roaming. Right now Vodafone doesn't appear to be offering the P10 on PAYG. In our recent review, we found the P10 to be a solid flagship phone, with one outstanding weakness:
Robyn Beck/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Updated, With Latest Developments, 6:30 p.m.: The Minnesota Supreme Court’s declaration that Democrat Al Franken has won the state’s hotly contested Senate seat produced nearly minute-by minute reactions and news. Featured in the post below are the announcements by Gov. Tim Pawlenty that he would certify the election results for Mr. Franken today; reactions from the national G.O.P. (no congratulatory note from Chairman Michael Steele); Senate Republicans on the Democrats’ 60-vote achievement as well as Mr. Franken’s list of his new committee assignments, which include the Judiciary Committee. Related article by Carl Hulse and Monica Davey. The Minnesota Supreme Court has just issued its long-awaited judgment in the Senate race, declaring that Democrat Al Franken is the winner. And Norm Coleman, his opponent, at 4 p.m., announced that he had conceded and contacted Mr. Franken. The 32-page unanimous decision by the state’s highest court was released after a seven-months long battle over the seat formerly held by Norm Coleman. On every ground, the judicial panel rejected Mr. Coleman’s claims of trial errors or constitutional violations, and decided that Mr. Franken’s election should be certified by the state as valid. Mr. Coleman stepped outside his home just a short while ago to give his news conference. He indicated that he and Mr. Franken had a positive, personal talk and he told the Democrat that being senator was the “best job he’ll ever have.” The Republican’s statement began this way: “Ours is a government of laws, not men and women. The Supreme Court of Minnesota has spoken and I respect its decision and will abide by the result. It’s time for Minnesota to come together under the leaders it has chosen and move forward. I join all Minnesotans in congratulating our newest United States Senator – Al Franken.” With Mr. Coleman’s concession, Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a Republican who had demonstrated a reluctance to certify election results until the state’s highest court issued its ruling, announced that he would sign the certificate validating Mr. Franken’s election to the United States Senate. In a statement issued by his office, Mr. Pawlenty declared: “The Minnesota Supreme Court has today addressed the issues surrounding the accuracy and integrity of our election system during the 2008 U.S. Senate race in Minnesota. In light of that decision and Senator Coleman’s announcement that he will not be pursuing an appeal, I will be signing the election certificate today as directed by the court and applicable law.” Mark Ritchie, Minnesota’s secretary of state, also issued a statement saying: “This unanimous opinion of the court affirms the accuracy and fairness of Minnesota’s election laws and recount procedures. As required by Minnesota law, I will co-sign the election certificate as soon as it is issued by Governor Tim Pawlenty.” Late this afternoon, Mr. Franken emerged from his home with his wife at his side, promising to get to work as soon as possible in the Senate. “Working with our fantastic senior Senator, Amy Klobuchar, I’m going to fight hard to put people to work, improve education, make Minnesota the epicenter of a new renewable energy economy, and make quality health care accessible and affordable for all Minnesotans. “No matter whether you voted for me, or for Senator Coleman, or for Senator Barkley, or whether you voted at all, I want the people of Minnesota to know that I’m ready to work for all of you, and that I’m committed to being a voice for all Minnesotans in the U.S. Senate.” The senator-elect, who had begun hiring staff for the move awhile ago, said he had indeed spoken already to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and he announced his committee assignments, which offer a great seat on the most high-profile issues coming up in the Senate. Among them are the Judiciary Committee, which begins confirmation hearings for Judge Sonia Sotomayor in less than two weeks and the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which is one of the leading panels on overhauling health care. He also said he would sit on the Indian Affairs and Aging committees. As for his timetable for assuming the new posting, he said he planned to be in Washington next week, when Congress returns from its July 4th recess. Mr. Franken will become the Democrats’ much coveted 60th vote. That is the number required to avert filibusters, and with both Senators Edward M. Kennedy and Robert C. Byrd absent due to illness, the Democrats have sometimes scrambled to make sure they had lined up enough votes to overcome that obstacle, with help from a few moderate Republicans. (My colleague Carl Hulse notes that neither side has reached the 60-vote majority since 1978.) Leading Republicans on the opposing side were quick to point out what they believe should accompany the achievement of reaching that sought-after 60-vote pinnacle. Senator John Cornyn, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, first welcomed Mr. Franken to the Senate, but added: “The implications of this Senate race are particularly significant because the Democrats will now have 60 votes in the Senate. With their super-majority, the era of excuses and finger-pointing is now over. With just 59 votes, Senate Democrats in recent months have passed trillion-dollar spending bills, driven up America’s debt, made every American taxpayer a shareholder in the auto industry and now want Washington to takeover America’s health care system. It’s troubling to think about what they might now accomplish with 60 votes.” In its decision, the Minnesota Supreme Court upheld the rulings of the trial court, which had concluded that Mr. Franken won the election by about 312 votes. Throughout this battle, Mr. Coleman and his lawyers have cited discarded or wrongly discredited absentee ballots as well as other miscounted votes as part of the evidence of problems with the state’s count in this race. But at oral arguments on June 1, the Supreme Court judges were highly skeptical of Mr. Coleman’s claims, on the counting grounds or constitutional grounds. John Schwartz, our national legal affairs correspondent, attended the arguments and indicated the judges’ questions made it fairly clear that the panel was not persuaded it should overturn the findings of the trial court, or the State Canvassing Board before that. That was borne out in the panel’s ruling today. Once Mr. Coleman had conceded, the White House released this statement on behalf of President Obama: “I look forward to working with Senator-Elect Franken to build a new foundation for growth and prosperity by lowering health care costs and investing in the kind of clean energy jobs and industries that will help America lead in the 21st century.” Earlier, Senator Bob Menendez, the chairman of the National Democratic Senatorial Committee, urged a resolution to the race: “As we’ve seen over the past 238 days, no matter how many times Norm Coleman goes to court, the result of the election never changes: Al Franken earned more votes than Norm Coleman. Al Franken was elected to the Senate and he ought to be able to get to work for the people of Minnesota. We’ve always said that Norm Coleman deserved his day in court, and he got eight months. Now we expect Governor Pawlenty to do the right thing, follow the law, and sign the election certificate. From health care to the Supreme Court to getting our economy moving again, the challenges facing us are complex and we need Al Franken in the Senate. In this historic and urgent moment in our history, Minnesotans have gone long enough without full representation. Al Franken will be an critical voice on the issues before us and it’s time to let him get to work.” For their part, Republicans on the national level expressed disappointment. Michael Steele, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, issued a statement that conspicuously offered no congratulations to Mr. Franken: I am deeply disappointed in the decision made by the state Supreme Court, and I share the frustration of Minnesota’s voters. At the core of our democracy lies two concrete principles: No valid vote should go uncounted and all votes should be treated equally. Sadly, those principles were not adhered to during this election. While I would have proudly stood behind Norm Coleman had he chosen to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, I know that his decision to withdraw from this race was not an easy one, but one that he felt was the best decision for the people of Minnesota. For the last six years, Norm represented the people of Minnesota with distinction, earning a much deserved reputation as one of the hardest-working members of Congress. I, on behalf of all Republicans, thank him for his service and will miss his leadership in Washington.” As for Mr. Coleman, he did not disclose his future plans at the news conference outside his home. Asked whether he would run for governor of Minnesota (Mr. Pawlenty has decided not to seek re-election), Mr. Coleman would only say that he was merely pondering how better to catch fish after apparently experiencing a poor catch this past weekend. Despite what many in Minnesota viewed as a stubborn refusal to concede, Mr. Coleman said today: “I have never believed that my service is irreplaceable. We have reached the point where further litigation damages the unity of our state, which is also fundamental. In these tough times, we all need to focus on the future. And the future today is we have a new United States senator.” Just this morning, MSNBC’s First Read listed several factoids that have accumulated during this fight:
Story highlights The bee has long been a symbol for Manchester Money from the tattoos will go to a fund for victims and their families Manchester (CNN) As Manchester heals after the suicide bombing that claimed 22 lives on Monday, people lay flowers at makeshift memorials around the city. Some people write messages in chalk on the ground, which disappear in the rain, only to be replaced hours later with new messages of grief and love. Other people have lined up for hours, choosing to remember the victims by getting something for life -- a tattoo of a bee. The bee has long been the symbol of Manchester, symbolizing a "hive of activity" in an industrial city. Now it's a symbol of those lost, of strength and of the city's unity. Poppy Howarth getting a tattoo by artist Paul Taylor at Stingin Ink parlor in Bolton, which is a town in Greater Manchester. The Manchester Tattoo Appeal was started by tattoo artist Sam Barber to show solidarity with those affected by the attack and to raise money for them and their families. Those getting tattooed were asked to donate 50 pounds ($64). Read More
Here are some results from internal performance testing between FrostWire 5.7.7 and the latest beta build for FrostWire 6.0.x CPU usage on search has been reduced almost by 2/3rds, search experience should be significantly better, specially on older machines which had a hard time using FrostWire. Memory usage while searching has been reduced up to a 50%. The Peak number of threads is now 41% of FrostWire 5’s. And we’ve gotten rid of over 2,000 classes, and we keep getting leaner and leaner as we prepare for the first release candidate. These tests were performed on a MacBook Air, 1.7GHz Intel Core i5, 4Gb 1333 MHz DDR3 of memory running on OSX 10.9.5. Soon we’ll have results on an older machine running Windows XP. Please Test and compare FrostWire 6 to FrostWire 5 for yourself. We’d like to invite people passionate about testing software performance and let us know what they find independently. We’d rather be validated by non related third parties on the fact that FrostWire 6 is a superior file sharing client than its predecessor. FrostWire Source Code: http://github.com/frostwire/frostwire-desktop http://github.com/frostwire/frostwire-jlibtorrent http://github.com/frostwire/frostwire-common Advertisements
I think most of us who remember the first Earth Day in 1970 would agree that hope and excitement for the future was our Number One takeaway from the day. So many of us thought we’d finally gotten the attention of multitudes of people and relayed the important message of the interconnectedness of all living things. What could be more important than keeping a living, breathing planet alive and well for what we though was forever. To quote Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson: “The fate of the living planet is the most important issue facing mankind.” Sadly, as we check in 42 years later, I think a lot of us would say that as we struggle to keep hope as our primary focus, today’s state of affairs as they pertain to our planet are far from where we thought we’d be back in 1970. I could link to many articles – they abound on any news aggregator site: BP oil spills, Keystone Pipeline, nuclear disasters, fracking…and on and on. However, as the proprietor of the web site “Wisdom Voices,” I’m opting to share with you a wisdom voice I stumbled upon about a year ago. Diarmuid O’Murchu is a social psychologist and a member of the Sacred Heart Missionary Order who has spent most of his working life in social ministry, predominantly in London. His book Catching Up with Jesus: A Gospel Story for Our Time presents a unique and entertaining way of looking at the interconnectedness of all living things. It’s a fascinating read. In it, he presents a Jesus of Nazareth who carries on a conversation directed at us in the 21st century. O’Murchu ends the book with wisdom and a future vision as articulated by this Jesus. “Everything lives on in a creative universe like ours…And energy carries information, the cumulative wisdom of the ages…My friends as you emerge from the oppressive power that has entrapped you, you will discover once more what intuitively you knew so well for thousands of years. This is a wise universe; ours is a wise earth…So, why are you humans behaving in this strangely stubborn and unenlightened way…Look around you and contemplate the wonder of all that exists in creation. Everything works in cooperative fashion as it is designed to do; and within that cooperative endeavor is a great deal of freedom and choice. “If you choose to destroy yourselves, I am not going to play the rescuing parent. You have got to grow up and become adults. There is no space for childish power games in my relational matrix…Get into your hearts and see with the eyes of deeper vision. That is what will give you hope and meaning. And thereby you’ll access the wisdom that will enable you to live differently…Keep your attention on learning to relate rightly: with the cosmos, with the earth, with all creatures inhabiting creation, and all will be well. “It just annoys me that it is taking you so long to grow up and become cosmic, planetary adults. Meanwhile, I and my relational matrix will forgive you for being such pests – not to me, but to the earth and to your own kind! So come on folks, time is running short and Mother Earth is getting weary of all this adolescent belligerence. The hour is fast approaching when you will have to choose between life and extinction. The choice is yours.”
Can’t wait for the NES Classic Edition to hit stores? One enterprising chap 3D printed his very own Raspberry Pi Mini NES Classic Console. For gamers of a certain age, the new NES Classic Edition from Nintendo is an atomic bomb of nostalgia. It’s so small! And cute! With a pre-loaded library of classic games! But it’s far from perfect. The software is non-expandable, for starters, so you can’t have more than 30 (admittedly classic) games. And the flip-top lid for the cartridge slot doesn’t open. Even the connectors for the controllers are proprietary, so you can’t add your own. These kinds of limitations give one pause, regardless of the affection we have for the iconic hardware and software. But thankfully, there is an alternative! A talented maker by the name of “Daftmike” has crafted a Raspberry Pi Mini NES classic console, complete with 3D printed case, joypads, and game cartridges. “It was inevitable. I have a Raspberry Pi, I have a 3D printer, I’m a huge nerd. At some point I was going to print a case for it in the shape of the old Nintendo Entertainment System,” he explains in a blog post. See how it was made and how it works in the video below: NFC Game Cartridges in Raspberry Pi Mini NES What really stands out about the Raspberry Pi Mini NES is the loving attention to detail. For one thing, Daftmike dug his original NES out of mothballs to measure the case and recreate the precise dimensions at 40% scale in Autodesk123D. When it came to 3D printing the components, he sourced the filament from Faberdashery to precisely match the color scheme of greys, blacks and whites. But the icing on the cake is how he employed NFC technology for the game cartridges. How do they work? They tell the emulator software on the Raspberry Pi which pre-loaded game to run. The cartridges effectively use the same technique that the amiibo system uses to interface with Wii U and 3DS consoles. A completely unnecessary flourish, perhaps, but to the end user it looks and feels exactly like an original NES, right down to pushing the cartridge bay down and hearing the latch click. Ironically, Daftmike had begun his project several weeks before Nintendo announced the NES Classic Edition. Read his blog for the complete journey, all the way from inspiration and inception, to details about the specific switches he used for the “Power” and “Reset” button. It’s wonderful stuff if you’re interested in Raspberry Pi and 3D printing, and — yes — a complete nerd.
• Shaun Harvey admits future uncertain after only one season • ‘Launching the trophy as quickly as we did didn’t help the situation’ The controversial Checkatrade Trophy may be scrapped after only one season, according to the head of the English Football League. Introduced this season as a replacement for the Football League Trophy, the Checkatrade allowed category A academy sides to enter a tournament previously reserved for clubs in League One or Two. Amid controversy over the changes and concern as to whether rules over selection were being bent, the cup has generated fan dissent and historically low attendances. Now the EFL chief executive, Shaun Harvey, admits its future is uncertain. “We’ve always committed to review the competition and its objectives with our 48 League One and League Two clubs,” Harvey said on Thursday. “We said we would do this after the one-year pilot and it will take place in April. “We will see if amendments need to be made to the rules for it to continue in this format, whether it can continue in this format, whether it continues at all.” When asked if this meant the cup could be scrapped after a single season, Harvey said: “There’s as much potential that it won’t as it will.” He went on to suggest that a reformed competition was the most likely outcome. He also claimed that in terms of its original goal of youth development, the Checkatrade Trophy has been a success. But he admitted there had been problems in the way in which the trophy was devised and implemented. “When you look at the squads and the players who have been exposed to this competition now, they are predominantly from under-21 sides,” he said. “Some of those young players are now going on to make senior first team appearances. They’re signing new contracts at the clubs. I don’t accept if you’re using [youth development] as a measure that it’s not been successful.” EFL fines 12 clubs £60,000 for fielding under-strength teams in Checkatrade Trophy Read more The speed with which the competition had been set up hindered the competition’s effectiveness, according to Harvey. “One of the things that’s causing a challenge with the EFL clubs is a requirement for them to play what is defined as ‘full-strength sides,’” he said. “The reason for that is we can’t run a pilot to see if we can benefit younger players if they’re not actually being exposed to senior football. I think launching the Checkatrade Trophy as quickly as we did didn’t help the situation. We couldn’t be really clear about what we were trying to achieve. That didn’t help get this competition off on the right foot.” Harvey was speaking at the launch of EFL Futures, another new initiative to help develop young, homegrown talent. A prize fund of £2.25m is to be distributed across Football League clubs over the next three seasons according to the number of appearances made by English players under the age of 21 (for Newport County and Cardiff, the players must be Welsh). Funded from the EFL’s 1% youth development levy, the league hopes to nudge clubs into giving academy talent more first team opportunities. The scheme will also be supported by Sky, who will mark the names of young prospects with a red F when they appear on live broadcasts.
Image copyright AFP Image caption Before becoming an MP, Jo Cox worked for several charities A man is appearing in court charged with murder in connection with the shooting and stabbing of Labour MP Jo Cox. She was fatally injured outside her constituency surgery in Birstall, West Yorkshire, on Thursday. Thomas Mair, 52, is appearing before Westminster Magistrates' Court charged with the murder of the 41-year-old. He faces other charges including GBH, possession of a firearm with intent and possession of an offensive weapon. Speaking on Friday, temporary Chief Constable Dee Collins said a 77-year-old man remains in a stable condition in hospital after he was injured when he "bravely intervened" in an effort to help the mother of two. Vigils were held across the country on Friday evening as members of the public and politicians came together to lay flowers, light candles and stand in silence in memory of Mrs Cox. Speaking earlier the Anglican Bishop of Huddersfield, the Right Reverend Dr Jonathan Gibbs, said there was a "deep sense of sadness" in the community. "I think also people are beginning to reflect on these events," he said. "Of course there's great anger that Jo's life should have been taken in this dreadful way, but there's also a sense of reflection on what does this say about our current political culture?" Image copyright PA Image caption Tributes to Jo Cox MP were placed on a memorial in Glasgow's George Square Image copyright Getty Images Image caption David Cameron and Jeremy Corbyn laid flowers in tribute to Jo Cox in her constituency of Batley and Spen Prime Minister David Cameron said the whole nation was "rightly shocked" at her death and called for people to "value, and see as precious, the democracy we have on these islands". Politics is about public service and MPs want to "make the world a better place", he said. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn described the former aid worker as "an exceptional, wonderful, very talented woman.... [who] had so much to give and so much of her life ahead of her", during a joint visit to her home town. Meanwhile, Downing Street has responded to a Daily Telegraph report that an unnamed female Conservative MP wrote to Mr Cameron last year raising concerns about the safety of her colleagues and attacks on her personally. 'Inadequate protection' A statement from Number 10 said: "The Prime Minister replied to the letter and voiced deep concern about the attacks she had suffered." It said "action was taken at the highest levels of government" in response, and the Home Secretary had met the MP and the chief constable of the MP's police force. A new security package for MPs had also been unveiled in January, it added. Chris Bryant, Shadow Leader of the House of Commons, told BBC Newsnight he had warned Westminster authorities about "inadequate protection in their constituencies". "I've said in terms an MP will be shot. This will happen. And the truth is we all know we can't guarantee that something like this won't happen again but we need to make sure that we've taken all the proper precautions," he said. Image copyright PA Image caption The prime minister's tribute included a message which described Mrs Cox as 'a passionate MP and campaigner' Image copyright AFP Image caption Conservative peer Baroness Sayeeda Warsi and Labour MP Naz Shah attended a vigil in Batley "I don't think the system is right to be able to deliver real security... for constituents when they come to a surgery, for staff in MPs offices, for MPs. There needs to be a regular risk assessment." Tributes have flooded in from across the world to the "humanitarian with political nous". President Barack Obama offered his condolences and phoned Mrs Cox's husband from Air Force One. 'Zest and energy' A White House statement said: "The president noted that the world is a better place because of her selfless service to others, and that there can be no justification for this heinous crime, which robbed a family, a community, and a nation of a dedicated wife, mother and public servant." Canadian MP Nathan Cullen, who was a friend of Mrs Cox, broke down with emotion as he paid tribute to the late MP in Canada's House of Commons. French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said on Twitter the killing was an attack on the democratic ideal. The Remain and Vote Leave sides have suspended national campaigning in light of Mrs Cox's death, while the Prime Minster confirmed Parliament would be recalled on Monday. The House of Lords has also been recalled to pay tribute to Mrs Cox. Mrs Cox is the first sitting MP to be killed since 1990, when Ian Gow was the last in a string of politicians to die at the hands of Northern Irish terror groups. She entered Parliament as MP for Batley and Spen in last year's general election. Image caption Jo Cox was elected as Labour MP for Batley and Spen in 2015 She was married to campaigner Brendan Cox and had two young children, with the family dividing its time between its constituency home and a river boat on the Thames. In a statement, he said: "Jo would have no regrets about her life, she lived every day of it to the full. "Jo believed in a better world and she fought for it every day of her life with an energy and a zest for life that would exhaust most people." A fund set up in her memory has raised more than £220,000 for three causes which her family and friends said were close to her heart. The charities are:
Commanders! World of Tanks team would like to announce the imminent start of the first game event on the new Global Map, during which new mechanics and principles of large scale Events will be tested! Quest tasks, heated tank battles, clan confrontations and, of course, gold and tank prizes, all await you in the new game event: “Operation Safari"! It is the early 21st century. The world is experiencing a period of instability and tension in anticipation of large tremors. Much of the planet is engaged in heated confrontations, echoes of which reach throughout all corners of the planet. The world maintains a shaky balance, but one event that has taken place in the Southern Hemisphere threatens to push the world into another World War - a war which could be the last for all humanity. It all began when one of the Gulf states decided to transfer their stockpile of weapons-grade uranium to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for processing. Several tons of uranium were loaded onto a cargo ship under the utmost secrecy. However, there was a leak of information! Because of sabotage, the warship escorting this cargo ship was sunk in the Gulf of Aden and the cargo was seized in the ensuing attack by Somali pirates. This threat of unprecedented magnitude cast a shadow over the world. Access to uranium could now be granted to anyone with enough money. Armed forces of all UN members were put on high alert and the goal was set very firmly – prevent the resource falling into the wrong hands! We must act immediately, while we still have time, before the uranium is smuggled out and disappears into the vastness of Africa! Operation Safari The event will start on 15 October at 01:00 CEST (UTC+2) and will last until 25 October at 00:00 CET (UTC+1). Event System: Clans will have to perform a sequence of tasks, which will be issued to them individually. The successful completion of the tasks will be awarded with Fame Points. The Fame distribution and rankings will be split between clans and individual players. The event activities will be carried out on one front, consisting of the Horn of Africa and parts of the Arabian Peninsula. In order to allow more clans to get a good share of gold, all provinces on the event fronts will have an income of 600 . Awards and Achievements During the event, clans will earn Fame points, and individual clan members will receive Personal Fame points for each battle they take part in. Those with the highest scores will win event prizes: Main Prizes in Operation Safari: 1,000 x FCM 50 t, French Tier VIII Premium heavy tank 9,000 x T23E3, American Tier VII Premium medium tank Important: Please note that parallel to this event, the T23E3 will undergo some balancing in terms of penetration: standard AP shell will now have 149mm of penetration at 100m (old value: 128mm), and the APCR shell will have 190mm of penetration at 100m (old value: 177mm). The balancing will affect all corresponding vehicles, including ones distributed in past events. Unique medals: Peacemaker Art of War (in 4 Classes) Bounty Hunter (In 3 Classes) New Rules for Prize Tank Distribution Taking your experience and feedback from the past events into consideration, the prize distribution system of tanks will be re-designed, with the basis for eligibility being the participant’s activity – both as part of a clan as a whole and as an individual player. This new system will balance the awarding of prizes among clans and clan members. The distribution of tanks to clans, as well as to individual players, will be based on the system of licenses you may already know from previous events: Prize tanks distribution: 1,000 FCM 50 t licenses will be distributed between clans with the highest scores in the ranking. Surplus FCM 50 t tanks (licenses unused due to the clan having less than 100 members) will be distributed using a “Wild Card” system among individual players, in accordance to the score of their Personal Fame points. 6,000 T23E3 licenses will be given to clans, according to their position in the ranking of Fame points. Surplus T23E3 tanks (i.e. licenses which are unused due to the clan having less than 100 members) will be distributed by a “Wild Card” system among individual players, in accordance to the score of their Personal Fame points. Once all clan tanks are distributed, 3,000 T23E3 tanks will be given to individual players, in accordance to the score of their Personal Fame points. More detailed information about the event, its rules and regulations will be provided soon. Can you hunt down the resources before it’s too late?
Stop Writing Reactive Gherkin Scenarios. Go Outside-In! A Simple Guide to Outside-In Scenario Outlines Kamil Nicieja Blocked Unblock Follow Following Feb 7, 2017 (The article is excerpted from my book, Writing Great Specifications. Today, you can get WGS 39% off—check out the ending of the post.) As people who are familiar with Gherkin or Cucumber probably already know, Scenario Outlines are templates for similar scenarios. But what the same people don’t know is that the method that they have been most probably using to create their Outlines is reactive instead of proactive. In this article, I am going to show you a proactive way for writing Scenario Outlines in Gherkin. Thanks to Scenario Outlines, you don’t have to repeat the same Given-When-Thens in your feature files. So if we have two scenarios that are very similar Feature: Shipping Scenario: Shipping PDFs Given a PDF book in Simona’s cart When she pays for it Then the book should be sent to a mobile device Scenario: Shipping audiobooks Given an audiobook in Simona’s cart When she pays for it Then the book should be sent over email we can easily merge them into a single Scenario Outline with two examples like that Feature: Shipping Scenario: Shipping methods Given a <format> book in Simona’s cart When she pays for it Then the book should be <shipped> Examples: \| format \| shipped \| \| PDF \| sent to a mobile device \| \| audiobook \| sent over email \| Merging redundant scenarios is one way of creating Scenario Outlines, but it’s not the only one. I like to call the other way an outside-in method for writing Scenario Outlines. An outside-in Scenario Outline is written directly out of examples collected by the team during analysis, rather than by merging similar scenarios. The outside-in method consists of two steps: collect real-world examples for your specification in the form of a table; write the Scenario Outline based on the table, adjusting the steps and parameters to the data. The outside-in method requires you to analyze examples first and write scenarios later. The table you create in the first step doesn’t even have to be a Gherkin table. It can be a simple spreadsheet created in Excel. The merging method, on the other hand, assumes evolving scenarios into Scenario Outlines only if you notice redundancy and the specification becomes difficult to manage. In that sense, the outside-in method is much more proactive than the merging method—and since it’s better to be a proactive delivery team than a reactive one, outside-in Scenario Outlines can end up becoming a great asset to your development efforts. Introducing some business context For the purposes of this article, imagine that you work for a company based around an e-commerce shopping application like Amazon. This company wants to be the online retailer of books, movies, music and games along with electronics, toys, apparel, sports, tools, groceries, and garden items. Selling books was the original purpose of the company. After that, it decided on expansion, adding products such as e-readers, tablets, and headphones, chosen to fit into the store’s reading landscape. Now we have to deal with shipping all these different kinds of products. There’s still a lot of work ahead, and the business is already diverse — and, thankfully, full of different examples to work with for the purposes of writing scenarios. 1. Collect examples in a table To derive a Scenario Outline from examples, we first need some examples. And to get examples, we need a new feature to implement. Thankfully, our theoretical company owners can happily oblige. The company’s current priority is to get more items into the store, to expand the marketplace. Negotiating with big publishers and producers proved to be difficult, and the management wants to open the store to individual merchants who could sell both new and used items. The merchants would benefit from our advanced shipping infrastructure — and we’d take a cut from their profits. After some analysis, sales and marketing agreed upon a pricing model that works under the following rules: merchants can create their accounts and list new items for free; we take a cut after the item is successfully sold; our cut depends on the purchaser’s shipping location, because merchants must pay for access to the global customer database made available thanks to our shipping infrastructure. Let’s now settle on the price ranges and remake our list into the draft of the examples table (Table 1). The commission was designed based on shipping distances from our US operations base and our infrastructure in each region. Table 1 This table could be the result of a conversation between the non-technical stakeholders from sales and marketing and the delivery team of programmers, testers, and designers. One doesn’t need any technical skill to create or understand it, because there’s no Gherkin involved yet. If you fear that Scenario Outlines are too technical, you can keep your examples at the non-technical level during your specification workshops. There’s nothing wrong with that. 2. Derive Given-When-Thens out of the collected examples Now that we have our Examples table, we can write the Given-When-Thens. To do that, we need to find a scenario template that works well with the structure of our table. For example, can you see that the Region row is like a question and the Commission row is like an answer to each question? North America? We take 10% of the purchase. South America? The cut is 11.4%. Europe and Asia? The commission is 12.9%. Africa? Be ready to give away 13.5%. From a technical point of view, the questions define the state of the system before we decide how much of a commission to take — and the answers define an outcome based on the chosen state. System states are described by Givens and the outcomes should be written as Thens. We already have two-thirds of our scenario ready to write down! Given a purchase from <region> Then we should take <commission> of the price That certainly looks promising, but because this is a scenario about sellers, and not buyers, we could add another Given, which specifies that a merchant is our main actor. We can call the smaller shop Quick-Ship, for example. Given a merchant called Quick-Ship And a purchase from <region> Then we should take <commission> of the price With these three steps, we only need one more, which will specify the main action of the scenario. Given a merchant called Quick-Ship And a purchase from <region> When Quick-Ship gets paid for the purchase Then we should take <commission> of the price 3. Add the table to your scenario The last thing we need to do is combine the Examples table we prepared earlier with the Given-When-Thens, and add remaining keywords like Feature or Scenario Outline. Feature: Selling items through individual merchants Scenario Outline: Merchant commissions Given a merchant called Quick-Ship And a purchase from <region> When Quick-Ship gets paid for the purchase Then we should take <commission> of the price Examples: \| region \| commission \| \| North America \| 10% \| \| South America \| 11.4% \| \| Europe \| 12.9% \| \| Asia \| 12.9% \| \| Africa \| 13.5% \| As you see, with a little creativity, we easily arrived at a complete Scenario Outline. Choosing examples to derive our Outlines is a separate art, though, and one that requires a lot more space to cover appropriately — so we won’t be covering it in this article. But for now, we know how to write outside-in Scenario Outlines! 4. Profit! Generally, I prefer the outside-in method. Scenario Outlines made from merging often look too programmatic, which makes business people reluctant to read the Outlines. I think it has something to do with the “Don’t Repeat Yourself” principle, which is the founding principle of the merging technique. The cost of elegant structure and removed redundancy is often sacrificing Gherkin’s natural language and putting too many things into brackets and parameters. In contrast, the outside-in method puts emphasis on a gradual evolution from a non-Gherkin table, which any non-technical person can read, to a Gherkin scenario, which they don’t need if they read the examples. This evolution often makes the resulting Outline look more natural. For more on scenarios, Scenario Outlines, Gherkin, and what they can do to help your business run like a top, download the free first chapter of Writing Great Specifications. Get WGS for a third of the price! You can also read my presentation on Slideshare to find a 39% discount code!
The Pharmacy Council has proposed a change to their code of ethics, here’s everything you need to know. EDIT 22/10/2015: When this article was published it didn’t include details of the Pharmaceutical Society’s submission. Since then, I have spoken with their Chief Pharmacist Advisor, Bob Buckham, about their submission. For more details, see my article summarising it: Pharmacists Don’t Want to Sell Unproven Products The Pharmacy Council is the statutory body responsible for setting standards of conduct and competence of pharmacists in New Zealand. They have a code of ethics, the Safe Effective Pharmacy Practice Code of Ethics 2011, which currently includes a section that requires pharmacists must: 6.9 Only purchase, supply or promote any medicine, complementary therapy, herbal remedy or other healthcare product where there is no reason to doubt its quality or safety and when there is credible evidence of efficacy. Safe Effective Pharmacy Practice Code of Ethics 2011 (Pharmacy Council) In August, the Pharmacy Council proposed to change this section of the code of ethics. The first part of the proposed change is to remove the requirement for complementary therapies and other healthcare products to be supported by credible evidence of efficacy before they can be promoted or supplied in a pharmacy. The other part is to add a requirement that purchasers must be given enough information about these products to make an informed choice: 6.9a Only supply or promote any medicine or herbal remedy where there is no reason to doubt its quality or safety and when there is credible evidence of efficacy. 6.9b Only supply any complementary therapy or other healthcare product where there is no reason to doubt its quality or safety and when sufficient information about the product can be provided in order for the purchaser to make an informed choice with regard to the risks and benefits of all the available treatment options. Proposed supplementary wording to clause 6.9 of the Code of Ethics 2011 (Pharmacy Council) As part of this proposal, the Pharmacy Council called for submissions from stakeholders. In my last article on this topic, I discussed the submission from the Society for Science Based Healthcare, of which I am a co-founder. Although the extended deadline for submissions passed last Friday, various other groups have made their views on this proposal clear and made their own submissions. The Society for Science Based Healthcare The Society for Science Based Healthcare is a group of consumer advocates, scientists, and medical professionals. I am one of its co-founders. The submission from the Society for Science Based Healthcare proposed a modified version of the new wording: 6.9a Only supply any medicine or herbal remedy where there is credible evidence of efficacy. 6.9b Only promote any complementary therapy or other healthcare product where there is credible evidence of efficacy. 6.9c Only supply or promote any medicine, herbal remedy, complementary therapy or other healthcare product where there is no reason to doubt its quality or safety, when there is not credible evidence to suggest that the product lacks efficacy. 6.9d Provide sufficient information about any medicine, herbal remedy, complementary therapy or other healthcare product product in order for the purchaser to make an informed choice with regard to the risks and benefits of all the available treatment options. Pharmacy Council Code of Ethics Proposal (Society for Science Based Healthcare) After lodging a complaint last year with the Pharmacy Council regarding an incident in which a patient was misled by an Auckland pharmacy that recommended and sold them a homeopathic product, both the Pharmacy Council and the Health and Disability Commissioner refused to enforce the code by telling the pharmacy not to promote or sell the homeopathic product, despite the fact that it was not supported by any credible evidence of efficacy. In principle, the society would oppose the change. However, having have found that the existing section of the code is disregarded rather than enforced, the society decided it was best to try to turn the code into something the Pharmacy Council might be willing to enforce that could still offer protection to patients. It is currently widespread practice for New Zealand pharmacies to supply and promote healthcare products which are not supported by credible evidence of efficacy, such as homeopathic products. Pharmacy Council Code of Ethics Proposal (Society for Science Based Healthcare) This view that the current code of ethics is commonly disregarded has been shared among many of the other submissions that have been made public, and appears to be supported by a statement made by the Pharmacy Council chairman Dr Andrew Bary in a recent article on Stuff.co.nz: But Pharmacy Council chairman Dr Andrew Bary said the rules as they stood were “unworkable” and many pharmacists, including himself, were already selling complementary medicines, even if they didn’t believe their claims. Doctors and pharmacists clash over complimentary medicines (Stuff.co.nz) The Society for Science Based Healthcare’s submission also argued that there are both potential risks and potential benefits to these products being sold in pharmacies. The proposed new wording is intended to provide the best risk/benefit profile for patients. On the one hand, if these products are available in a pharmacy consumers will be more likely to visit a pharmacy to purchase them. This can put them in a position where a pharmacist is able to provide them with evidence-based advice, so they can make an informed decision on purchasing the best product for whatever problem they are experiencing. If the product were not available in a pharmacy, they may instead seek it from a source which would not provide them with this information, or which may misinform them. … On the other hand, when a product is available in pharmacies it is likely to lead consumers to believe that it is an effective, evidence-based product. This is often used as a selling point by products which are not supported by evidence. For example, the homeopathic product No-Jet-Lag advertises itself as being available at “Most chemists nationwide“. In this way, pharmacists stocking products without credible evidence of efficacy can also contribute to an increase in consumer demand for them. For all intents and purposes, supplying a product in a pharmacy is also a form of promotion. Pharmacy Council Code of Ethics Proposal (Society for Science Based Healthcare) When it was submitted this submission had a list of 36 supporters, 24 of whom are healthcare professionals or PhD scientists The NZ Skeptics The NZ Skeptics’ submission opposed the change. It also proposed that the Pharmacy Council maintain a list of products or product categories that are not supported by credible evidence of efficacy, to make it easier for pharmacists to determine which products could or could not be sold in pharmacies. The motivation for this recommendation is similar to one made in the Society for Science Based Healthcare’s complaint last year: As a result of this complaint, we want pharmacists to have the opportunity to do the right thing and fulfill their ethical obligations. In order to achieve this, we suggest that the Pharmacy Council consider the following courses of action: … To assist pharmacies in evaluating whether or not a healthcare product is supported by credible evidence of efficacy, the Pharmacy Council should develop and publish guidelines regarding what constitutes credible evidence of efficacy. This need not be a strict requirement so much as a useful guide that pharmacists can use to establish a consistent minimum standard of evidence. NaturoPharm Wartoff Complaint (Society for Science Based Healthcare) To inform their submission, the NZ Skeptics conducted a “secret shopper” exercise with their members to discover what actually happens when consumers talked to pharmacy staff about homeopathy. We found that around half of the pharmacies visited had staff that were willing to promote or supply homeopathic products without adequately explaining the current lack of evidence. … It seems that some pharmacies did not stock homeopathy, but a significant number of others did have homeopathic products on their shelves and in most of these pharmacies staff were willing to offer homeopathy as a viable treatment, with no information offered about a lack of efficacy. … With the code being an important patient protection mechanism, we’re disappointed to see it so readily disregarded. Submission to the Pharmacy Council’s 2015 Code of Ethics Consultation (NZ Skeptics) The NZ Skeptics have made these reports available on their website: Pharmacy Homeopathy Reports. As well as this, they conducted a non-exhaustive search for New Zealand pharmacies promoting homeopathic products online, and made the results of this available too: Pharmacies Promoting Homeopathy. One argument that is used to support pharmacies selling products with no credible evidence of efficacy is that, if pharmacists were prevented from selling these products, then patients’ freedom of choice would be infringed. This argument has been made, for example, by Pharmacy Council chairman Dr Andrew Bary when he was interviewed on Radio New Zealand about this proposed change: You know, I think we need to respect the wish of the consumer from time to time, so you know, individuals have their own cultural and traditional beliefs around certain alternative and complementary therapies… So I think that the key thing is that we are setting out that we think pharmacists should be informed about the efficacy of the evidence for each individual product when they are promoting and making recommendations to people. But at the same time, we need to put the person at the centre, the consumer, and respect their wishes and desires. Pharmacy Council moves to change code of ethics over homeopathy (Radio New Zealand) The argument has also been put forth by pharmacists that sell these products in their pharmacies: “Many patients believe homeopathy has been of benefit and they should be given the freedom to choose it if they want, [Lincoln Mall Pharmacy owner pharmacist Caleb Townsend] says.” Pharmacists support patient choice with homeopathy (Pharmacy Today) It may be worth noting that Lincoln Mall Pharmacy is one of the ones on the NZ Skeptics’ list of pharmacies promoting homeopathy online, and the Pharmacy Today article notes they have “qualified homeopaths onsite”. An Advertising Standards Authority complaint laid by Society for Science Based Healthcare member Simon Clark was settled in June when the pharmacy opted to remove claims that homeopathic products can “treat a wide range of illnesses and concerns” from an online listing. Ben Albert et al. Dr Ben Albert is a paediatric endocrinologist who researched fish oil for his PhD, which made headlines earlier this year after his research was published in the Nature journal Scientific Reports. Along with five other doctors, he has written a submission to the Pharmacy Council opposing the change. Despite coming from a group of individuals rather than a professional society, the submission boasts the impressive support of 180 medical doctors, predominantly senior consultants, representing all medical specialties. It also has the support of the NZ Society of Paediatric Surgeons and the NZ Resident Doctors Association, which represents over 90% of the resident medical officer workforce in New Zealand. Its authors are: Dr Benjamin B. Albert FRACP, Paediatric Endocrinologist and Clinical Research Fellow. Liggins Institute, University of Auckland. Professor Wayne S. Cutfield MD FRACP. Professor of Paediatric Endocrinology, and Director of A Better Start National Science Challenge, Liggins Institute, University of Auckland. Past president, Australasian Paediatric Endocrinology Group. Past president, Asia Pacific Paediatric Endocrine Society. Professor Paul L. Hofman FRACP. Professor of Paediatric Endocrinology, Director of the Maurice and Nessie Paykel Clinical Research Unit, Liggins Institute, University of Auckland. President Asia Pacific Endocrine Society. Past president Australasian Paediatric Endocrinology Group. Professor Alistair J. Gunn PhD FRACP. Professor of Physiology and Paediatrics, and Head of Department of Physiology, University of Auckland. Paediatric Endocrinologist. Associate Professor Timothy Kenealy PhD FRANZCGP, Professor of Integrated Care, University of Auckland. General Practitioner. Dr Olivia J. Albert FANZCA. Anaesthetist, Royal Hospital for Women, Sydney, Australia. The specific recommendations made in their submission are: Reject the proposed change, or reinsert the requirement for “credible evidence of efficacy” in to clause 6.9b. We suggest this wording. where there is no credible evidence to suggest a specific complementary and/or alternative medicine/product is effective, or the proposed effect of the product is scientifically implausible pharmacists should not promote or recommend its use Current ethical standards should be enforced Treatments and products that do not have “credible evidence of efficacy” such as homeopathic remedies, ear candles and magnet based therapies should be listed by the PCNZ, with the intention that they are not sold in pharmacies. Submission to the Pharmacy Council of New Zealand (Ben Albert et al.) The last recommendation echoes that of the NZ Skeptics, aiming to simplify things for pharmacists by providing a list of products or product categories which clearly are not supported by credible evidence of efficacy. The rationale for their opposition to the change is laid out clearly and concisely in the submission: The suggested change is in opposition to the general principles of the code, and the expectations of the public and other members of the multidisciplinary science based healthcare team. … This change would make it permissible within the ethical code for pharmacists to promote and sell products that are unproven and even scientifically implausible. We believe that this is harmful and wrong. … the current code should be enforced, not amended. Submission to the Pharmacy Council of New Zealand (Ben Albert et al.) They raise another counterargument to the “freedom of choice” argument, noting that pharmacists should be wary of their conflict of interest between advising against patients purchasing products that aren’t supported by evidence and selling more products to generate more profit for the pharmacy: pharmacists (like many health providers) have a conflict of interest when they sell and give advice about health products from which they make profit. There is evidence that financial pressures do impact the clinical decisions of pharmacists1. One of the reasons that a code of ethics is important is because it provides guidance where the interests of pharmacists and patients differ. 1 Chaar B, Brien Ja, Krass I. Professional ethics in pharmacy: the Australian experience. International Journal of Pharmacy Practice. 2005;13(3):195-204 Submission to the Pharmacy Council of New Zealand (Ben Albert et al.) They also raise the issue that products sold in pharmacies are likely to be seen as effective by the public, which can lead to harm when they are sold in pharmacies: Many patients will assume that the pharmacist endorses the health products sold in the pharmacy as scientifically supported. But many pharmacists sell products that are known to be ineffective, such as homeopathic remedies3 or potentially harmful, such as ear candles4. Selling such products conflicts with the principles of the current code5 as it reduces patient autonomy. The patient that wrongly assumes that a health product is scientifically supported is ill-prepared to make an informed decision. 3 Ernst E. A systematic review of systematic reviews of homeopathy. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2002;54(6):577-82. 4 Seely DR, Quigley SM, Langman AW. Ear Candles-Efficacy and Safety. The Laryngoscope. 1996;106(10):1226-9. 5 Zealand PCoN. Code of ethics 2011: Pharmacy Council of New Zealand; 2011 [cited 1015 17 September]. Available from: http://www.pharmacycouncil.org.nz/cms_show_download.php?id=200. Submission to the Pharmacy Council of New Zealand (Ben Albert et al.) Although this submission has not been made public, it shares much in common with a letter to the editor from the same authors that was published today in the New Zealand Medical Journal. I spoke with Dr Albert to ask what motivated him to take action on the Pharmacy Council’s proposal, here’s what he had to say: For years it has bothered and surprised me that products that are entirely implausible such as magnets and homeopathic remedies, and harmful products such as ear candles are sold in pharmacies. When scientifically trained and trusted health professionals promote and sell such treatments they betray the trust of the public who will quite reasonably assume such products are endorsed by the pharmacist and supported by scientific evidence. The current PCNZ code of ethics indicates that it is unethical and unprofessional for pharmacists to sell these products. The right course of action is to stop selling them. To instead change the code to redefine ethical behaviour appears cynical and makes the sale of unsupported or harmful treatments no less wrong. Dr Ben Albert The New Zealand Medical Association The New Zealand Medical Association is New Zealand’s largest medical organisation, representing over 5,500 medical professionals. The New Zealand Medical Association’s submission strongly opposes the change. They echo the views of other submissions that in the face of widespread behaviour at odds with the current code, the way forward should be change behaviour to match the code rather than to relax the code to permit existing behaviour: The NZMA is strongly opposed to the above proposed change … We do not believe that pharmacists should be selling ‘treatments’ that are known to be ineffective or lack evidence of effectiveness. We contend that doing so is unethical. While this practice may be happening under the present Code, we believe that the PCNZ should be seeking ways to enforce the Code rather than amend it to accommodate this practice. Submission to the Pharmacy Council of New Zealand (New Zealand Medical Association) The NZMA acknowledged the trust placed in pharmacists by the public, and how this affects the way in which products sold in pharmacies are perceived: It is our view that allowing pharmacists to sell ineffective therapies or products is contrary to the profession’s own aspirations, including of trustworthiness and professionalism. More broadly, it undermines the social contract between the public and the profession. The pharmacist is trusted by patients and other members of the health care team precisely because of their scientific training. The sale of products by pharmacists that knowingly do not work is inconsistent with the high trust health care professional the public expects and the profession requests. Submission to the Pharmacy Council of New Zealand (New Zealand Medical Association) The NZMA also deals with the “freedom of choice” argument in a similar way to the other submissions: We understand that patient autonomy and freedom of choice are being advanced as the rationale for the proposed rewording to the Code. We believe these are spurious arguments on which to remove the requirement for “credible evidence of efficacy” for pharmacists to sell complementary therapies or other healthcare products. Freedom of choice should not transcend the health and well-being of the patient. Furthermore, such products are already available to people to purchase at other outlets, such as health food shops and supermarkets. Submission to the Pharmacy Council of New Zealand (New Zealand Medical Association) The NZMA raised some new concerns, regarding the potential impacts of the proposed change: The proposal is of all the more concern given the current lack of regulation of complementary therapies in New Zealand. … We are also concerned at the impact of the proposal on equity. Patients that are least likely to consult a doctor could end up being even more likely to purchase costly ‘healthcare’ products from their pharmacy that do not work. … The proposal also undermines the wider health sector’s efforts to improve health literacy. Submission to the Pharmacy Council of New Zealand (New Zealand Medical Association) The NZMA’s final recommendation is for the requirement for credible evidence of efficacy to be kept and enforced, and until it is enforced for the newly proposed requirement for supplying sufficient information to make an informed choice to bridge the gap: Ideally, we would like to see pharmacists end the sale of complementary therapies or other healthcare products for which there is no credible evidence of efficacy (ie, meet their obligations under the existing Code). Until such time, we would suggest the addition of a subclause to 6.9 which addresses the need to provide sufficient information for herbal remedy, complementary therapy or other healthcare product. Accordingly, we proposed the following wording: 6.9 Only purchase, supply or promote any medicine, complementary therapy, herbal remedy or other healthcare product where there is no reason to doubt its quality or safety and when there is credible evidence of efficacy. 6.9a When supplying a herbal remedy, complementary therapy or other healthcare product, sufficient information about the product must be provided in order for the purchaser to make an informed choice with regard to efficacy of the product and the risks and benefits of all available treatment options. Submission to the Pharmacy Council of New Zealand (New Zealand Medical Association) The Pharmacy Guild The Pharmacy Guild represents pharmacy owners in New Zealand. The Pharmacy Guild’s submission supports the Pharmacy Council’s proposed change: We support the Council’s intentions of the proposed changes to clause 6.9 of the Code of Ethics 2011 (the Code). Consultation on the proposed wording to clause 6.9 of the Code of Ethics 2011 (Pharmacy Guild) The primary motivation for this support seems to be a combination of the “freedom of choice” argument I described above, and the potential for benefit described in the Society for Science Based Healthcare’s submission: We believe that if pharmacists were prevented from selling natural products then patients wanting these products would continue to source them from somewhere. We consider that it is far safer for consumers to approach pharmacists for advice and that they purchase supplies of complementary medicines from a pharmacy rather than over the internet for instance, where the quality and safety of a product cannot always be guaranteed. Consultation on the proposed wording to clause 6.9 of the Code of Ethics 2011 (Pharmacy Guild) As well as these submissions, I have been made aware of a few more, mainly submitted by individuals. Of those I am aware of, such as Edward Linney’s submission, they are predominantly opposed to the change for many of the reasons described in these submissions. I am aware of one instance of an ex-pharmacist who supports that change who is now a practising homeopath and, scarily, was previously employed by the Pharmacy Council as their Professional Standards Advisor even while they were practising as a homeopath. However I don’t know if they have made a submission. I’m also aware that the Pharmaceutical Society has made a submission. Whereas the Pharmacy Council regulates pharmacists, the Pharmacy Guild and Pharmaceutical Society are membership organisations; the Guild represents pharmacy owners and the Society represents pharmacists in general. Although I have tried to get in touch with them, I haven’t seen the Pharmaceutical Society’s submission and can’t provide comment. I will update this article if that changes. However, I am aware that the Pharmaceutical Society has close ties to the New Zealand Medical Association, even to the point where they have a joint agreement for members to abide by both organisations’ codes of ethics. So I expect that if they have made a submission it may be along similar lines to the NZMA’s submission. If anyone knows of any more information that I’ve missed in this article, please leave a comment below. Advertisements
Copyright by WRIC - All rights reserved RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- Several organizations spreading holiday cheer will come together today to help give back. The Salvation Army Christmas Center is opening Monday morning to help those in need. The organization is taking over the old K-Mart building near Chippenham Parkway and Midlothian Turnpike at 6807 Midlothian Turnpike. Every year, holiday campaigns like Puritan Cleaners and 8News' Coats for Kids, the Richmond Christmas Mother and the Angel Tree come together and create a huge distribution center for families in need. Between December 14 and 18, families who have been selected will then get to come in and pick up coats, toys and even bikes for their kids. The Christmas center will end up serving thousands of people of this year. Today's ribbon cutting starts at 8:30 a.m.
The National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada; French: Ligue nationale de basketball du Canada) is a Canadian professional men's basketball league. The NBL was founded in 2011, when three teams formerly of the Premier Basketball League joined with four new franchises to form the NBL's "Original Seven". By 2017, the league had grown to ten teams, with six located in the Atlantic provinces and four in Ontario. The current champions are the London Lightning, having defeated the Halifax Hurricanes 4–3 in the 2017 NBL Finals. The league's season begins in November and ends in April of the following year. History [ edit ] Establishment [ edit ] In mid-2011, discussion began of a domestic basketball minor league in Canada. Three franchises from the Premier Basketball League (PBL), the Halifax Rainmen, Quebec Kebs, and Saint John Mill Rats were the first to join the National Basketball League of Canada (NBL).[2] The teams had been unhappy with the officiating in the PBL.[3] On May 12 of that year in Halifax, Nova Scotia, league CEO Andre Levingston held a press conference regarding the creation of the NBL Canada.[4] By the end of the summer, the London Lightning, Moncton Miracles, Oshawa Power, and Summerside Storm were established and had announced that they would join the league.[5][6][7][8] There had also been unsuccessful attempts to start up teams in Fredericton, New Brunswick and Kingston, Ontario.[9][10][11] The Halifax Rainmen (pictured in 2008) chose to partake in the NBL Canada due to the poor quality of the PBL. In June 2011, the league finalized rules for its first season.[12] There would be seven teams, four of which qualified for the playoffs, and no divisions.[13] It would follow FIBA rules and each team would play 36 games in the regular season. Team rosters could contain 10–12 players, at least two of them Canadian, and they had a salary cap of $150,000 Canadian.[12] Players could earn potentially $70,000 in one season, and each game would draw an average of 3,000 fans, varying by location.[14] Levingston envisioned the NBL Canada as a more stable alternative to other North American minor basketball leagues with players living close to home while playing professionally.[14] The NBL Canada held its first draft on August 21, 2011, at Rogers Centre. The Power selected Morgan Lewis of the University of Findlay with the first overall pick.[15] Jerome Brown, who was picked fifth overall by the Mill Rats, was the first Canadian to be taken in the draft.[16] The event was viewed by more than 6,000 people online from 93 different countries.[13] 180 players from across the world attended the preceding NBL Canada combine.[17] Lightning bolt ahead (2011–13) [ edit ] The first player to be signed into the NBL Canada was Canadian Yannick Anzuluni, who joined the Kebs on a three-year contract on August 17, 2011.[18] On October 29, in the first game of the NBL Canada's inaugural 2011–12 NBL Canada season, the Kebs defeated the Miracles at the Colisée de Laval.[19] Within a week, every team in the league had played at least one game.[20] The NBL Canada's opening season brought in marquee players such as Gabe Freeman, Anthony Anderson, and Lawrence Wright.[13] Amid the 2011 NBA lockout, six different players with past experience in the National Basketball Association (NBA), including Eddie Robinson and Rodney Buford, joined the NBL Canada.[14][13] The London Lightning, coached by Micheal Ray Richardson, soon emerged as the top team in the league, going 28–8 by end of the regular season, which lasted until March 4, 2012. The team defeated the Halifax Rainmen, 3–2, in the best-of-five NBL Canada Finals series to claim the championship.[21] They drew a league-high 5,106 fans to the John Labbatt Centre for the game.[13][21] Following the NBL Canada's inaugural year, Canadian sports analyst Alex Walling claimed it was a success, commenting, "The NBL could hold its head up high. It has been a great season and they've gained a great deal of creditability. They've earned the kudos."[22] Levingston touted the league because it "played a full schedule on every set date and never had a problem."[22] Shortly after the season, in April, the NBL Canada held its first All-Star Game at Halifax Metro Centre.[13] For its second season, the team salary cap remained at $150,000, with the possibility of an increase in the future. The NBL Canada also considered several cities in The Maritimes, Ontario, and Quebec, including Sydney, Nova Scotia.[23] The league soon welcomed the Windsor Express after an ownership group from Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, led by Dartis Willis, Sr., began investing in the expansion team in June 2012.[24][25] The team, which was approved into the league in late July, would play out of WFCU Centre.[26][25] On the other hand, the Quebec Kebs, who had relocated to Laval, Quebec in the offseason, left the league after experiencing challenges in their first year.[27] By November, the Kebs were replaced with the Montreal Jazz, who would compete at Centre Pierre Charbonneau.[28] In the 2012–13 season, the league consisted of eight teams separated into divisions: four teams competed in the Atlantic Division, while the remaining four competed in the Central Division.[29][30] Following the 2013–14, the league announced its first national broadcast deal with beIN Sports. Starting with the 2014–15 season, 2 regular season games will be aired each week with special coverage for playoffs and special events such as the All Star Weekend. The deal runs through the 2016–17 season.[31] The 2014–15 NBL season ended in controversy as the Windsor Express were declared winners of the Championship series after the Halifax Rainmen failed to show for the seventh and deciding game. The Rainmen organization claimed that their players feared for their safety following a physical altercation earlier in the day with the Express, as the reason for not appearing in the game that night.[32] Teams [ edit ] St. John's Edge Cape Breton Highlanders Halifax Hurricanes Island Storm Moncton Magic Saint John Riptide St. John's Edge KW Titans London Lightning Sudbury Five Windsor Express 2018–19 NBL teams Current teams [ edit ] Notes An asterisk (*) denotes a franchise move. See the respective team articles for more information. Former teams [ edit ] Timeline of teams [ edit ] Champions [ edit ] The London Lightning have the most championships with four wins, the Windsor Express are second with two wins. The Halifax Hurricanes appeared in the finals in each of their first three seasons, winning in their first appearance. The Halifax Rainmen and the Island Storm have appeared in two league finals failing to win the trophy. Current teams that have no NBL Canada Finals appearances: Player records [ edit ] Statistics below are for all-time leaders at the end of the 2017–18 regular season only. Awards [ edit ] The NBL Canada annually announces the winners of eight different awards. Players can be named Most Valuable Player, Canadian of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Newcomer of the Year, Sixth Man of the Year. The league also awards the Coach of the Year and Executive of the Year.[38] In addition, the top player in the NBL Canada Finals wins Finals Most Valuable Player.[39] After the 2015–16 season, the league started announcing Commissioner's Awards to groups that helped support it, including ownership groups, teams, and referees. These awards were first handed out by Dave Magley.[40] Until the 2013–14 season, the NBL Canada held All-Star Weekend every year. In the 2012 game, players Joey Haywood and Eddie Smith chose each team through a fantasy draft.[41] The best performer in the game was named All-Star Game Most Valuable Player.[42] Starting with the next All-Star game, the league began matching top players from the Central Division with those from the Atlantic Division.[43] At least three Canadian players were required on each team.[44] The NBL Canada discontinued the event after the 2014 game.[13] See also [ edit ]
The Alderney Gaming Control Commission held a public hearing in London regarding the Full Tilt Poker license suspension. Read below to see what happened so far. No known faces from Full Tilt £250,000 for a chance to get the license back? It looked increasingly unlikely that any resolution, or even progress, was going to take place today at the AGCC hearing in London. The press and public were shut out of the proceedings and it was doubtful we will play any further role in the hearing.It was a full house at the Park Plaza Victoria, with a crowd made predominantly of journalists and a relativley small contingent of interested players.Only one of ten seats reserved for Full Tilt Poker company officers were taken in the hearing, by a legal assistant.Prior to the hearing, most of the discussions outside of the conference room was around the (now realised) rumours that Full Tilt representatives would be lobbying to adjourn the hearing until a later date. Nobody was suprised when this was announced by the Full Tilt lawyer.Although the members of the public remained quiet for the first two hours, the news that the pre application would be considered in private inevitably sparked a reaction.Poker pro Harry Demetriou stood up, announced he was leaving, and shouted to the AGCC "What about the players? Why are you protecting this corrupt company?" - a response which was met with a round of applause from the back of the room (But was ignored by the AGCC).Soon after, a second irate member of the public bemusadley shouted out "so when are we going to hear something?" - again, to no reaction from the AGCC.The most talked about topic so far amongst the poker media who have stayed at the hotel (it appears that about 70% of the public in attendance have left) is the news that Full Tilt owe the AGCC £250,000 in unpaid license fees. The fact that this was brought up, and offered to be paid within seven days by Full Tilt (as long as there was potential to reinstate their license) was met with an odd hush from the crowd.The general consensus was that this could easily have been misconstrued as a possible bribe, and everyone was shocked it was brought up quite early. Of course it wasn't a bribe, and was brought up in the interests of speeding up the enquiry, but this is what several members of the public have interpreted it as.After several private meetings between the Full Tilt and AGCC lawyers, it was eventually revealed that the hearing will be adjourned to "no later than September 15". AGCC explained the decision as a way to allow Full Tilt to "pursue commercial interests". They added that it is in "best interests of the customers of Full Tilt to give the company more time to finalise the investment".Sorry that we cannot offer you any more information, but that is, as they say, the nature of the beast.For more information, follow our live ticker:
Warble fly is a name given to the genus Hypoderma, large flies which are parasitic on cattle and deer. Other names include "heel flies", "bomb flies" and "gadflies", while their larvae are often called "cattle grubs" or "wolves." Common species of warble fly include Hypoderma bovis (the ox warble fly) and Hypoderma lineatum (cattle) and Hypoderma tarandi (the reindeer warble fly). Larvae of Hypoderma species also have been reported in horses, sheep, goats and humans.[1] They have also been found on smaller mammals such as dogs, cats, squirrels, voles and rabbits. Adult warble flies are large, hairy and bumblebee-like and brown, orange or yellow in color. The adults have vestigial mouthparts, so they cannot feed during their short lifespans, which can be as little as five days.[2] They are found on all continents of the Northern Hemisphere, mainly between 25° and 60° latitude. Infestations [ edit ] The fly lays eggs on the forelegs of large animals. The eggs hatch within a week and penetrate the skin, where they migrate throughout the connective tissues (H. bovis) or to the esophagus (H. lineatum). After a few months, the larvae travel back to the skin surface and cause swellings called "warbles". They remain under the skin, and when destroyed by pressure, the larvae can cause large purulent swellings, or anaphylaxis. Upon emergence, the fly leaves holes in the skin. Large numbers of such punctures can render cattle hides valueless. The migrating larvae can cause damage to meat, as the tunnels they make in the muscle fill with a substance known as "butcher's jelly".[2] Infestations also hinder weight gain and growth in the animals. Milk yields may also decline. Most infections in adult cows are minor, due to immunity developed over time. Humans [ edit ] In humans, the disease intracerebral myiasis is a rare infestation of the brain by the larva of H. bovis. It penetrates the brain by an unknown mode and causes symptoms such as convulsions and intracerebral hematoma. The first case of human warble fly infection in Britain (to a four-year-old boy on a farm near South Brent, Devon) was reported in the British Medical Journal in June 1924 by Dr Frederick William Style[3] Other cases appear in medical literature.[4] Myiasis of the human eye can be caused by H. tarandi, a parasite of reindeer. It is known to cause uveitis, glaucoma and retinal detachment.[5] H. lineatum and H. sinense may also infest humans.[5] Treatment and prevention [ edit ] Warble flies have been eradicated in many countries, beginning with Denmark and Western Germany, in the 1960s. It was eradicated in the United Kingdom in 1990.[6][7] It is a notifiable disease. It may have been eradicated from Belgium. From the 1980s, the preventive treatment is easier, by subcutaneous use of ivermectin, but the warble fly remains present in North Africa. Warble fly larvae See also [ edit ] References [ edit ]
It’s that time of year again, folks. Time to make the world a better place while winning fabulous prizes. Heifer International is my favorite charity. It helps people raise themselves out of poverty and starvation. For more than 60 years, Heifer has promoted education, sustainable agriculture, and local industry all over the world. They don’t just keep kids from starving, they make it so people can take care of themselves. They give families goats, chickens, and sheep so children have milk to drink, eggs to eat, and warm clothes to wear. They provide communities with clean water to drink, building materials to improve homes, and business training to help families become self-sufficient. (Are you ready? I’m so ready. Let’s do it.) We’re always looking for ways to improve the fundraiser. So while much of Worldbuilders is the same as last year, we have some things that are entirely new, and some things that have changed a little. So even if you’re a Worldbuilders Vetran, you might want to look at this blog closely so you don’t miss the new coolness we have waiting there. As always, you’ve got three different options for donating: Option 1: The Lottery. This is the option most of you will want. It’s quick, easy, and tax deductible. You just hop directly over to the page we’ve set up on Team Heifer, and donate. When you donate on that page, two things happen. 1. You’ll move us closer to our stretch goals (shown below). 2. You’ll be entered into the lottery. For every $10 you donate on our Team Heifer page, your name will be entered into our random drawing for all the swag that’s been donated. Thousands of books, comics, and games. So if you donate $30, your name goes in three times. Donate enough for a goat ($120) and your name goes in 12 times. What’s in the lottery? A lot. So much that if I showed it to you all at once, its combined awesome would cook your brain like a toad thrown into the sun. So, for everyone’s safety, we’ll be posting up a new blog every weekday until the end of the fundraiser on December 8th. You can see all the books currently in the mix on our snazzy Lottery Library page. Or you can check out the individual blogs here: Note: We’re doing something new this year. Thanks to our sponsors like Cheapass Games and Mayfair, we have a more games in this year’s fundraiser. A lot more. We know some of you aren’t big gamers, so you’ll be able to select whether you want to win books, games, or books AND games. That way everyone gets what they like best. Stretch goals. To encourage donations, we’ve brought members of the geek community together to do whimsical things as our donation total grows. There will be music, poetry, cosplay, puppets, and so, so much more… Upcoming stretch goals include: We’re recruiting folks for new stretch goals every day, so keep an eye on this list, and the Worldbuilders website under news for updates. One of the new things we’re doing is letting y’all decide which direction these stretch goals will go. For example, donors get to vote on which animal I’ll kiss when we beat last year’s donation total. Personally? I’m hoping for the goat. People donating will also get to decide what Neil Gaiman will read when we hit $600,000: Here I’m torn. Part of me wants to hear Neil say, “Goodnight Nobody,” while the rest of me dearly wants to hear him say, “Let the wild rumpus start!” Either way, I’m going to have a new ringtone. Note: Worldbuilders ends December 15, 2014 at 11:59 pm UTC-11. To be eligible for the lottery, you must have made your donation on the Team Heifer Page before then. Option 2: The Sure Thing For those of you not interested in the lottery, or if you’re just interested in doing some Christmas shopping early, we have a well-stocked store, lovingly named The Tinker’s Packs. We’ve got t-shirts, posters, and other coolness available for purchase. We also have foreign editions of many titles, donated and signed by the authors. These are hard to find in the US. All proceeds from everything sold in our store go to Worldbuilders, of course. Additionally, this year we’ve published another calendar featuring the art of the wonderful Karen Hallion. (Click to embiggen) You can see many more pictures of the calendar in The Tinker’s Packs. We’ll be adding new items to the store throughout the fundraiser, so keep an eye on the blog. If you’re worried you might miss some of the coolness, you can follow the Tinker’s Packs on Twitter and Facebook. We’ll post updates there whenever something new happens. Option 3: Auctions. Sometimes we get donations that are really cool…. but only for a select group of people. Some people would squee with delight at winning a portal gun, but other people, (sad, unhappy people) have never played Portal, and just don’t care. The same thing is true with action figures, musical instruments, manuscripts, or other collectables. So we put those things up for auction. We have professionals willing to read and critique your manuscripts. We have signed art and rare books. We have the chance to win cameo appearances in comics and get your name into upcoming books. We auction these things off as well. All our current auctions are over on the Worldbuilders eBay page. Keep an eye on it. We’ll be adding stuff all the time. NEW THIS YEAR – Option 4: A Partnership with Powells. We show off a lot of books during the fundraiser, and over the years I’ve heard many people mention they do a their holiday shopping based off the books they see here. Or, if you’re like me, you use Worldbuilders to add to your ever-expanding must-read shelf. So this year we’re doing something new. If you see a book in this year’s fundraiser, and think to yourself, “I’ve got to have a copy of that….” you can follow this link, buy it from Powells, and they will donate 7.5% of the sale directly to Worldbuilders. This applies to anything you buy from Powells. Not just books we’re featuring in the fundraiser. If you follow that link and buy stuff, not only are you supporting one of the coolest independent bookstores around, but a hefty piece of that money will go to making the world a better place. You can also find the link in the navigation widget at the end of each of the blogs: Look at that, all fancy and clickable. Important Links and Contact Information We’ve tweaked our website, since last year. And Worldbuilders also has a Facebook page and a Twitter account for those of you who like to have the internet injected directly into their veins. If you have a question that isn’t answered here, you could check out our handy FAQ. Need to contact The Tinker’s Packs? You can e-mail them here: orders [at] thetinkerspacks.com Want to donate something to Worldbuilders? Help us spread the word? Do a stretch goal? Drop us a line here: donations [at] worldbuilders.org. All right folks. Are you ready? I’m so ready. Let’s do this thing. pat P.S. Just in case you missed it, here’s one more link to our Team Heifer donation page.
What is the backbone of British Columbia’s economy? Traditionalists might say iconic industries like forestry, agriculture, mining or fishing. Pipeline promoters will probably guess natural gas and fossil fuels make up the lion’s share of provincial wealth generation. Urban dwellers may lean towards the high tech, film and service sectors as our main economic engine. Announcements, Events & more from Tyee and select partners ‘Punch to the Gut’ Musical on Residential Schools Returns to Vancouver Children of God has been shaped by intense audience reactions, says director Corey Payette. But these attempts at pinpointing our biggest economic driver? Not even close. Whether we like it or not, B.C. has basically become a real estate economy. The BC Assessment office recently released numbers for 2017 showing that property values ballooned by a staggering $332 billion — 25 per cent — last year. This figure is more than five times the economic value of all goods-producing industries in 2015 combined and nearly double the size of our entire service sector that same year. Not surprisingly, 90 per cent of the increased values from last year’s property gold rush were in the urban land bubble in the Lower Mainland, which increased by $298 billion in 2016. Real estate inflation within this tiny area, representing just two per cent of B.C.’s land area, eclipsed the entire provincial GDP — the actual goods and services produced by all British Columbians in 2015. But is this real estate wealth actually real? As documented in a previous article, Vancouver is rapidly becoming a global hedge city much like New York or London — a magnet for the world’s wealthiest to stash their cash in residential property, providing a windfall for some while obliterating local affordability. Decades of public policy essentially selling Canadian citizenship to offshore investors, coupled with shockingly lax transparency requirements around beneficial ownership, mean that Canada is now a premier destination for dubious global lucre. Professor David Ley detailed this dismal transformation during a public lecture at Simon Fraser University last September outlining how the Immigrant Investor Program (still active in Quebec) attracted some 200,000 millionaires to the Lower Mainland while leading to the lowest declared incomes of any immigration stream, “lower even than refugees.” This steamroller of global capital creates new and undignified problems for comparatively puny local governments. The City of Richmond recently threw in the towel on policing illegal hotels catering mostly to offshore visitors. City staff told council that enforcement efforts were “very challenging” and instead recommended simply making this embarrassing flouting of local laws legal. Problem solved. (Six days later, council reversed the decision and instructed staff to draft a recommendation for a new bylaw banning most short-term rentals.) According to the Globe and Mail, these commercial operations are often advertised on Chinese language websites offering services for offshore visitors including: “[To] assist guests to get social insurance card, medical card, education funds, apply for schools, get driving licence, open bank account etc.; introduce guests to excellent real estate agents, financial insurance people and professional tax accountants; help new immigrants receive/mail maple card.” Two such operations investigated in the past by the City of Richmond for bylaw violations are owned by local businessman Miaofei Pan, who hosted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at his mansion for a Liberal Party cash-for-access event in November. Small world. During this event, Pan reportedly urged Trudeau to further open the floodgates for offshore real estate speculation, citing two massive Chinese property firms displeased with pesky Canadian restrictions. “They both have the willingness to invest here,” Pan told the Globe and Mail. “Some of their deputies have immigrated to Canada. But for a long time, they have not found good projects to invest in. I was thinking [Canada needs policies] that can attract investments and help expand investments.” Ironically, housing affordability is an oft-repeated policy goal of all levels of government. Recent reports illustrate what an utter failure these efforts have been. An annual international survey shows that Vancouver remains the third least affordable city on the planet with “the greatest housing affordability deterioration” anywhere on Earth in 2016. According to Demographia, Vancouver house prices rose last year by the equivalent of an average household income. In other words, if your family is lucky enough to own land, it might have made more money than you did last year. Something has to give. Increasingly, it is the tolerance of local residents that is waning. Figures from the same report showed that in spite of the relentless hype that Vancouver is the best city the world, more people actually moved out of Vancouver last year than those who moved in. The bona fide world-class destination of Paris is dealing with a similar exodus, losing over 13,000 residents between 2009 and 2014 — a trend blamed on Airbnb, which local politicians have called a “catastrophe” for the City of Light. Eight Solutions to Canada’s Housing Crisis read more As they say in business, there is no free lunch. Becoming a global magnet for billionaires, oligarchs and money launderers can mean displacing the creative class that breathes life into any community. Internationally renowned furniture maker and designer Niels Bendtsen has based his business in Vancouver since 1963. Soaring property assessments of his warehouse and manufacturing buildings in the Downtown Eastside may soon drive him to Toronto. His two buildings are apparently worth three times what they were a year ago and his collective tax bill will climb to over $320,000 in 2017 — a crushing increase of nearly 150 per cent. Of course, those more marginalized have far greater challenges than escalating taxes. One enterprising homeless man built a heated “coffin-like” crate he wheels around to wherever he can plug into a public outlet. Amid the daily fentanyl carnage of Canada’s most conspicuously consumptive city, a sickening disparity of wealth yawns ever wider. Call me old fashioned, but perhaps the priorities of a city should be people rather than property. The entire economic output of the province should not be eclipsed by mere real estate speculation. Vancouver seems on course to become a global hedge city largely reserved for the world’s wealthiest (or at least their empty luxury properties). Is this the country we want? What will Vancouver look like 10 years from now? The foreign buyer tax may have cooled the local land rush from thermonuclear to merely volcanic. Much more obviously needs to be done, lest this town become a Potemkin village for plutocrats. Story corrected Jan. 30 at 9:05 a.m. to include additional information on Richmond council's position on short-term rentals.
Adidas has more planned for ASU football. (Photo: Sun Devil Athletics) As if Arizona State football's Adidas uniform unveiling wasn't enough already, there will be more. Yes, more. On Thursday, we saw the first phase of ASU's redesigned look with Adidas as a partner. That included maroon, white and black jerseys. But we won't see ASU wear any of those jerseys when it faces Texas A&M on Sept. 5 at NRG Stadium in Houston. The wait is over: ASU football unveils Adidas uniforms Look no further than the Twitter accounts of ASU players, teasing a newer look than the existing new look. Wide receiver Ellis Jefferson tweeted Thursday morning, "Wait until you see our jerseys vs. Texas A&M (devil emoji)." Wait until you see our jerseys vs Texas A&M 😈 #TeamAdidasASU — District 19 (@Ellis_Jefferson) July 30, 2015 Quarterback Manny Wilkins also tweeted about the uniforms for the Texas A&M game. Really tho our jerseys vs A&M will catch the country's attention.... — Manny Wilkins Jr. (@MannyWilkins5) July 30, 2015 Really tho our jerseys vs A&M will catch the country's attention.... Adidas Global VP of Team Sports Mark Daniels didn't rule out the possibility of multiple alternate uniforms. And according to Joey Artigue, ASU will wear special alternates against Texas A&M, Oregon and Arizona this season. I've been told we'll see special game-specific uniforms for A&M, Oregon and Arizona. No surprise there. All new stuff, not seen today — Joey Artigue (@Joey_Artigue) July 30, 2015 Let the speculation begin! New ASU Adidas gear: For more from The Heat Index, go to heatindex.azcentral.com.
Even though United States government continues to push for the use of more chemically-intensive farming methods such as GMOs and monoculture-based crops, the cultivation of GMOs is being banned across the world including in several different European countries. And while Monsanto and others continue to use their multi-million dollar PR budgets to push the narrative that GMOs are needed to “feed the world,” an oft-overlooked report released in 2013 by the United Nations tells a completely different tale: that small scale organic farming is the key to feeding the world and improving food security for the needy after all. That was the key point of a publication from the UN Commission on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) titled “Trade and Environment Review 2013: Wake Up Before It’s Too Late,” which included contributions from more than 60 experts around the world. The cover of the report looks like that of a blockbuster documentary or Hollywood movie, and the dramatic nature of the title cannot be understated: The time is now to switch back to our natural farming roots. The findings on the report seem to echo those of a December 2010 UN Report in many ways, one that essentially said organic and small-scale farming is the answer for “feeding the world,” not GMOs and monocultures. According to the new UN report, major changes are needed in our food, agriculture and trade systems, with a shift toward local small-scale farmers and food systems recommended. Diversity of farms, reducing the use of fertilizer inputs and other changes are desperately needed according to the report, which was highlighted in this article from the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. It also said that global trade rules should be reformed in order to work toward these ends, which is unfortunately the opposite of what mega-trade deals like the proposed Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the U.S.-EU Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) are seeking to accomplish. The Institute noted that these pending deals are “primarily designed to strengthen the hold of multinational corporate and financial firms on the global economy…” rather than the reflect the urgent need for a shift in agriculture described in the report. Among the findings of the report are that the following changes are needed: Increasing soil carbon content and better integration between crop and livestock production, and increased incorporation of agroforestry and wild vegetation Reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of livestock production Reduction of GHGs through sustainable peatland, forest and grassland management Optimization of organic and inorganic fertilizer use, including through closed nutrient cycles in agriculture Reduction of waste throughout the food chains Changing dietary patterns toward climate-friendly food consumption Reform of the international trade regime for food and agriculture (in other words putting the power back in the hands of the people rather than companies like Monsanto) The report specifically mentions the promise held by biodynamic farming, an organic system that works with the rhythms of nature and the planet to produce incredible yields without synthetic chemicals. Food Price Speculating Remains a Major Problem Even global security may be at stake according to the report, as food prices (and food price speculating) continue to rise. “This implies a rapid and significant shift from conventional, monoculture-based and high-external-input-dependent industrial production toward mosaics of sustainable, regenerative production systems that also considerably improve the productivity of small-scale farmers,” the report concludes. While Monsanto and other GMO agribusiness companies continue to say that their products are made to “feed the world,” it’s abundantly clear from this report that economics, access to food, and other issues are the real culprits when it comes to world hunger. The United States even throws out almost half of its food and other countries have major problems in this area as well. You can read more about the report from the Institute by visiting their website here. Thanks for reading! P.S. You can subscribe for more updates by clicking here. A Message From the Founder Have you figured out what not to eat, but still have no idea what you actually should eat in order to truly THRIVE in this lifetime? Millions of people are seeing results on diets like Keto, Paleo, and Raw Vegan, but give up when the going gets tough because these diets are clearly not the easiest to follow long-term. Enter 'The THRIVERS DIET,' a simple, practical and most importantly sustainable diet and lifestyle guide from my good friend Derek Henry of the website Healing the Body. Derek overcame 13 different chronic disease conditions using the simple, concise plan found in this guide, and now he's offering it exclusively to AltHealthWorks readers. Order the guide today and you'll get access to all of Derek's secrets distilled into one easy-to-follow eBook, plus 70 free recipes, printable PDFs and much more. Grab Your Copy Now at a our special discounted rate before the price goes back up! Comments comments

Subsets and Splits

No community queries yet

The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.