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"Astfel, potrivit caracterizarii atasate la dosar, petentul condamnat a participat in mod constant la activitatile de educatie si asistenta psihosociala desfasurate la nivelul sectiei de detinere, implicandu-se cu precadere in actiuni de instruire si influentare pozitiva a celorlalte persoane private de libertate. Totodata, urmare a participarii la activitatile de educatie a fost recompensat de opt ori, fara ca pe intreaga perioada de detentie sa fi fost sanctionat disciplinar. A publicat trei lucrari stiintifice (in decembrie 2012, mai 2014 si iunie 2014) pentru care s-au considerat 105 zile executate din durata pedepsei. Toate aceste aspecte ultim mentionate in referire la petentul condamnat formeaza instantei opinia ca pe parcursul detentiei comportamentul petentului condamnat a fost unul foarte bun, asa cum si unitatea de penitenciar a apreciat in caracterizarea inaintata la dosar", a scris judecatorul in motivarea deciziei. Adrian Nastase a iesit, joi seara, din penitenciar, fiind intampinat de cei doi fii ai sai, el declarand presei ca a ramas acelasi, ca ultimii ani l-au intarit si precizand ca are "diverse idei extravagante", pe care insa nu le dezvaluie acum.: Fiul sau, Andrei Nastase, urmeaza sa il ia de la Jilava: “E o veste pe care o asteptam demult. Asteptam tot mai repede sa il luam, si sa mergem acasa. Mama ne asteapta acasa si probabil ne pregateste tot felul de lucruri bune. Decizia ne-a bucurat foarte mult. Am fost destul de emotionat dupa pronuntare. M-a sunat, mi-a spus ca a ajuns si decizia aici in cel mai scurt timp o sa iasa si ne vom vedea cu totii. Nu vom merge la casa din Zambaccian, vom merge la Cornu.”Nastase ar urma sa paraseasca penitenciarul Jilava in cursul acestei seri, in conditiile in care decizia e definitiva.Tribunalul Ilfov a judecat contestatia procurorilor la decizia Judecatoriei Sectorului 4, prin care fusese admisa propunerea de eliberare conditionata a fostului premier.Adrian Nastase a fost condamnat la patru ani si sase luni de inchisoare, dupa contopirea pedepselor din dosarele "Zambaccian" si "Trofeul calitatii".Propunerea a fost inaintata Judecatoriei Sectorului 4 de comisia responsabila din Penitenciarul Jilava, care a aratat ca Adrian Nastase "a avut un comportament foarte bun pe perioada detentiei, nefiind sanctionat disciplinar".
SOMERVILLE, MA—Despite his advanced age, near-complete physical decay, and constant bouts of renal failure, area cat Socrates vehemently refuses to die, sources reported Tuesday. "He's a sweet old guy, and he's been through a lot," said Brian Pressman, 33, who received the cat as a birthday present during middle school. "But no matter how weak he seems or how many times he's diagnosed with something fatal, he just keeps bouncing back. Every single time." Advertisement Added Pressman, with a sigh, "He sure is a persistent one." In the past week alone, Pressman has taken Socrates to visit the veterinarian three times, missing a half day of work on Monday to treat the stubborn cat for a nagging eye infection. Once there, however, the veterinarian discovered that Socrates had developed ulcers and would require special medication that will likely lengthen the 19-year-old feline's life for another unknown period of time. The seemingly indestructible Socrates is currently on five separate prescriptions at a monthly cost of $224. Advertisement "We came to peace with the fact that Socrates might pass away when we found that tumor on his head last Christmas," said wife Emily Pressman, 31, whose 2-year-old son David has thus far been unable to kill the cat despite his playful but relentless physical abuse. "And then again in April when he fell off the table and hurt his leg. Frankly, I figured it would only be a matter of time after that, but he's still here. Still kicking." "We never could have imagined that he'd live this long," she added. "Not in a million years." Advertisement Socrates, who apparently rejects the very concept of mortality, sleeps an estimated 20 hours a day and hasn't had a solid bowel movement in more than a year, Pressman told reporters. Moreover, the cat requires a twice-daily subcutaneous saline and electrolyte injection to manage the severe kidney problems that began three years ago. The couple takes turns completing this humiliating, time-consuming task, and must also perform the animal's morning feeding ritual—which requires a special food for older cats to be ground up and watered down so Socrates' feeble teeth and digestive tracts can better handle it. "Just like clockwork, Socrates and I are up bright and early every morning at six when he starts howling and howling," Emily Pressman said. "Sometimes it's more like 5:30 if he's having one of his vomiting spells. Of course, that's assuming he hasn't woken us up already with those deep, mournful moans. But once I force-feed him his hyperthyroid pills and clean up the mess, he's usually pretty quiet for the rest of the day. I tend to forget he's even around." Of all the occasions in the past few years when Socrates has somehow managed to escape death's cold embrace, none was more harrowing, the Pressmans said, than the summer of 2004, when a weak and anguished Socrates was rushed to the hospital with the deadly feline virus panleukopenia. Advertisement "He was in such pain that we were hoping and praying that Socrates would go to a better place," Brian Pressman said. "That was over five years ago. Luckily, the doctors figured out a treatment that only cost $2,700, and here we are today. Alive and well. Five years later. It's a miracle, all right." "I honestly don't know what I'd do without him," Pressman added. "Besides not have a cat anymore."
Updated Wednesday, 4:58 p.m. Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback's phone calls with Sedgwick County Commissioner Michael O'Donnell were among those intercepted by federal officials in 2015. KMUW obtained letters sent by the Department of Justice notifying Brownback and two members of his office that some phone calls with O'Donnell were intercepted between June 3 and July 1, 2015. O'Donnell was a state senator at the time. The Wichita Eagle reported Tuesday that a former reporter and a former editor were each sent letters from the DOJ notifying them that communications they had with O’Donnell during the same period were among the calls that had been intercepted. It is not clear what the DOJ was investigating. At this time, O’Donnell had not responded to requests for comment from KMUW. From the Wichita Eagle, Feb. 15, 2017: The Eagle says other staff members were notified by the state U.S. attorney’s office that their phone calls with Wichita businessman Brandon Steven made between May 15 and June 13, 2015, had also been intercepted, but it is unclear if the two investigations are related. Steven confirmed to the paper Tuesday that he is the subject of a federal inquiry into poker and his involvement in trying to open a casino in Kansas. Below are the letters obtained by KMUW:
Columbia Pictures via YouTube One of the biggest problems with binge-watching shows on Netflix is that everybody watches at their own pace. It takes away the shared experience of watching an episode or two and then having someone to talk about it with immediately after the credits roll. Never fear: A brilliant extension for Google Chrome solves that problem. Meet Showgoers, a plug-in that allows you to sync up your stream with someone else's so you can watch together. (It's not affiliated with Netflix in anyway; we reached out to Netflix for comment, but have not heard back.) Here's how to install Showgoers Go to the Showgoers website (showgoers.tv), where an "Install Showgoers" button will direct you to the Chrome store. Once you download this feature, go check out your Netflix account and you will notice a pair of old fashioned 3-D glasses: Ian Phillips/Tech Insider Unfortunately, this won't allow you to watch "Wayne's World in 3D, but it will allow you to watch a classic like this with somebody else! Once you click on the glasses, it will lead you to this message: Ian Phillips/Tech Insider Send that link to anybody you want to share your viewing experience with. (They also have to have Showgoers installed.) Once you're watching, the pause, rewind, and fast forward options will all be in red: Ian Phillips/Tech Insider This year, Netflix's original programming has increased in an unprecedented way. Their ambitious slate of television shows has surpassed both FX and HBO. Unlike FX and HBO, Netflix does not provide the option of watching shows live at a set time. This option could bring Netflix users one step closer to actually being on the same page about "Orange Is the New Black" and "The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt." In terms of film, Netflix plans to have a few original movies as well, including a four movie deal with Adam Sandler. Use Showgoers and it will be like a virtual trip to a theater, except you get to choose who shares the stadium seating with you and the snacks cost a lot less.
Cost: 1200 Hit Points: 60 Damage: 5-9 Armor: 0 Sight: 9 Speed: 8 Range: 3 Magic: 255 max (85 starting) Death Knight These soldiers of darkness were created by Gul'dan to replace the slaughtered Warlock clans. Assembled from the corpses of the Knights of Azeroth slain in the last battles of the First War, these abominations were then instilled with the ethereal essence of the Shadow Council. Further empowered with magical energies culled from the slain Necrolytes, the Death Knights wield an arsenal of necromantic and elemental spells that mete out all but certain death to the enemies of the Horde. Haste Cost: 500 Mana: 50 Time to Upgrade: 100 By magically increasing the speed at which a body generates vital energy, the caster may bestow great speed to any being. All actions by one so enchanted are swifter than a common adversary - an advantage that is evident on the battlefield. The effects of Haste can persist for but a short time. Haste has limited uses. Haste speeds up attacks on only Dragons and speeds up the walking speed of only some units. It speeds up casting of Death and Decay for Death Knights and makes them travel very fast. It also is good for speeding up Peons harvesting Lumber, repairing buildings, and mining Gold. The main uses for Haste are for casting it on Death Knights, Dragons and Peons. Speed Haste increases the speed of most units, however, there are some units that Haste does not affect. Attacks Haste does not noticeably increase attack speed or the number of attacks except in the case of Dragons. Haste makes it appear through the animation, that units are attacking faster but actually they are not. Dragons & Gryphons are the only exception to this. Dragons do about double the attacks with Haste on them. Haste also speeds up Dragons even though they are speed 14 to 20+. Hasted Dragons attack faster and fly faster. There are a few units which Haste has no effect on such as Ogres, Flying Machines, Oil Tankers, Transports, and Destroyers. It doesn't make them travel faster nor attack faster. Speed of units when Haste is cast Land Peon/Peasant = 13 (Same as Ogre) Grunt/Footman = 13 (Same as Ogre) Axe thrower/Archer = 13 (Same as Ogre) Ogres/Knights = no effect Catapult/Ballista = 9 (Slower than a Grunt, Faster than a Mage/DK) Sappers/Demos = Speed 17! (Same as Goblin Zeppelin) Death Knights = Speed 17! (Same is Goblin Zeppelin) Mage = Speed 13. So Hasted Death Knights are faster than Hasted Mages. Air Zeppelins/Flying Machines = no effect Dragons/Gryphons = Faster than speed 17, about 21+ speed. Sea Tankers = no effect Transports = no effect Destroyers = no effect Juggernaughts/Battleships = Speed 10 (Same as Oil Tanker, Transport, Destroyers) Subs = Speed 10 (Same as tanker, trans, destroyers) Main Uses for Haste Death Knights When you cast Haste on Death Knights they move as fast as Goblin Zeppelins and they are able to cast Death and Decay VERY fast. One of the problems with Death and Decay is that often enemy units can simply walk out of the damage area of Death and Decay before they are hit with serious damage. When Hasted, Death Knights can quickly start Death and Decay bringing it to full damage before the enemy units can move out the way. Dragons/Gryphons Haste not only make Dragons travel unbelievably fast but also doubles their attacks. Bloodlust a Hasted Dragon to get even more damage. Hasted/Bloodlusted Dragons can destroy buildings and units very quickly but they can still die easily to Blizzards and Polymorph. Peons/Peasants They move as fast as an Ogre and are able to repair, chop, and mine much faster. They do not however build buildings any faster with Haste on them except when repair-building the buildings. Mining Gold Hasting Peons mining is pretty much useless. It only lasts about 2-3 trips. Harvesting Lumber It might be useful to cast Haste on peons chopping Lumber. A Hasted Peon can chop about 200 wood to every 100 that a un-Hasted Peon chops. So it's a 2:1 ratio. Cast it on 4 Peons and you get Lumber fast. Cast it on 8 and you get even more. Repairing buildings Haste allows Peasants repairing to greatly speed up the process of repair-building and normal repairs. Death Coil Cost: Free Mana: 100 Death Coil is a particularly potent variation of Touch of Darkness. by channeling the necromantic powers of the underworld through his ghoulish form, the Death Knight creates a field of dark energy that drains the life-force from any who come in contact with it. Death Coil is an area effect spell much like Death and Decay. When cast, you will lose mana even if no unit gets hit by the Death Coil. This explains why Death Coil misses. What happens is you cast it on an area, and the enemy runs out of the area before it is cast. If you want to test this, just cast a Death Coil in the middle of water or something. You will see you lose all the magic points but nothing happens. If there were some Gryphons over the water, you would have Death Coiled them. But since no organic enemy was in that area, the spell was cast, the mana lost and nothing happened. This is exactly how other area effect spells like Exorcism and Death and Decay work. Death Coil does two things. It totally misses as in you cast it nothing happens but the mana is taken away and also appears to miss but really doesn't. Take a look at this picture. As you can see Death Coil appears to miss but it doesn't. When multiple enemies are hit by Death Coil, the damage is distributed between them all. So the more enemies, the less damage it does. You have no control over which unit is hit by Death Coil when cast on a group of enemies. Cast Death Coil on a block of 9 Peons. Then with your Death Knight, try to cast a Death coil on a specific Peon. Impossible. So when trying to attack specific enemy units try to get them separated from a group. Combine Death Coil and one or more Axe Throwers for destroying Dragons and Gryphons. The Death Coil takes most of the Dragons health and the Axe Thrower will finish the job. Cast a Death coil on a Sheep, Pig, Seal or Boar to heal your Death Knight 5 hit points. A waste of mana but it is funny. Whirlwind Cost: 1500 Gold Mana: 100 Time to Upgrade: 150 This focusing of the winds of the underworld cause any caught within to be cast about with great force and violence. Bones are easily shattered and mainsails are quickly snapped within the torrents of these fierce winds. The howl of these winds allow no commands to be issued to those trapped within the Whirlwind, rendering those unfortunates helpless until the magiks fade. One of the main problems with Whirlwinds is that they are uncontrollable. Once cast there is often no telling where it will end up. Often you need fire then run out of the way to avoid damage from your own Whirlwinds. However one benefit of the Whirlwind is that it last a very long time. You can cast it on enemy Peasants mining Gold which will disrupt mining operations much longer than a Death and Decay would. If anything it's more of an annoyance and humorous spell. Death and Decay is cheaper, more controllable, and causes more damage in most situations. Whirlwinds can be casts on top of groups of ships to drive them away. While Death and Decay lasts only a short time, Whirlwinds can cause trouble for a long time. The Whirlwind tip must be exactly on a building to do any damage. [ Click to Enlarge - 62 KB ] A Whirlwind prevents Peons from mining Gold. Raise the Dead Cost: 1500 Gold Mana: 50 Time to Upgrade: 100 The dark magik is the final legacy of the Orc Necrolytes who were destroyed shortly after the First War. The Death Knight can animate corpses of the newly dead and command these monstrosities to attack their enemies. Raise the Dead can allow you to get some Skeletons after a battle. Skeletons however are only slightly more powerful than Peons. Grunts can easily kill Skeletons. Knowing this, mana is best spent on Death and Decay rather on Raising the Dead. Death and Decay can cause much more damage than any Skeletons raised from battle. However when Farm space is limited or the map is out of resources you can use your remaining Death Knights to create an undead army out of left over Peons with no resources but mana spent. Skeletons require no farms. Sometimes when you cast Raise the Dead on a recently killed unit nothing happens. That is because before your Death Knight can raise a skeleton the dead unit must decay down to bones before it can be turned into a Skeleton. So If it doesn't work, wait a second, and try again. Skeletons will only last a certain amount of time after which they explode on their own. ( Skeletons ) ( No Human Counterpart ) UNIT Armor Damage Range Sight Speed Hit Points Cost Skeleton 0 2-9 1 3 8 40 50 Mana/Skeleton. Unholy Armor Cost: 2500 Gold Mana: 200 Time to Upgrade: 200 This ancient Necromantic spell transforms a portion of the recipient's life force into an unearthly, phantasmal suit of armor. This spectral armor then absorbs the damage from any attack directed at its wearer for a limited amount of time. As the magiks that link this armor to its host cease, so will the invulnerability that it grants. Unholy Armor's main weakness in the short time that it lasts. Often what the enemy will do is see Unholy Armor, run until the spell wears off and you're left with a unit with 1/2 hit points. Another major weakness with Unholy Armor is that units can still be Polymorphed. The main use of Unholy Armor is on Death Knight before you send him in to use Death and Decay. You can also cast Unholy Armor on Demolition Squads and Goblin Sappers to blow them up. Unholy Armor is good for killing enemy Flying Machines. Cast it on Flying Machines and Goblin Zeppelins and their hit points will be cut in half. when it wears off, the enemy units will be easier to kill. Death and Decay Cost: 2000 Gold Mana: 25 Time to Upgrade: 200 The aphotic, swirling clouds conjured by the Death Knights can cause anything within their path to rot and decompose. The vapor created by Decay can consume anything - flesh, bone, wood or even the strongest metal. Heavily laden with base substances, these clouds descend and quickly diffuse, leaving only suffering in their wake. For more information refer to Blizzard and Death & Decay. Online Privacy Policy Battle.net Terms of Use Agreement ©2019 Blizzard Entertainment. All rights reserved.
Via the Associated Press: A central New York couple has been charged with fatally beating their 19-year-old son inside a church and four fellow church members have been charged with assault in an attack that also left the young man’s brother severely injured, police said Tuesday. Bruce Leonard, 65, and Deborah Leonard, 59, of Clayville, were charged with first-degree manslaughter in the death of their son Lucas, said Lt. Timothy O’Neill of the New Hartford Police Department. O’Neill said Lucas Leonard died Monday after he was beaten at Word of Life Church in New Hartford, which is 80 miles northwest of Albany. His 17-year-old brother is hospitalized in serious condition with injuries from an assault. The six church members were arraigned Tuesday and sent to Oneida County Jail. At the arraignment, it was revealed that both teens suffered injuries to their abdomens, genitals, backs and thighs. Bail for the Leonards was set at $100,000 each and for the four other defendants at $50,000 each. All pleaded not guilty. Police said more arrests are expected as the investigation continues. Details about the attack or what may have led up to it have not been disclosed. More from the Syracuse Post-Standard: Neighbors said Tuesday the church has come across as mysterious and suspicious for many years, though they’d never been inside. One woman said she most often only sees church members at night, sometimes at 3 a.m., and she hears chants emanating from the building. She also said she sees kids of various ages do yard and building work, and rarely sees women. Men in the church wear what she described as “long, black trenchcoats” but said other members she saw wore “normal” clothing. The neighbor had lived in the area for more than 10 years, and she remembers church members buying her groceries and inviting her to the church. At one point years ago, the invitations ceased and she never heard a word from members again. “They would always be trying to get us to join the church, but then we said no and then they completely stopped talking,” she said. Neighbors described seeing heavily armed police officers lying in yards, pointing rifles at the building, and a police “military” vehicle sat across the street during a multi-hour police operation. A video report on the murder is here.
By Mubasshir Mushtaq MUMBAI, India At least 12 suspected Maoist militants were killed in a violent clash with police in India's eastern state of Jharkhand in early hours of Tuesday, reported local daily Times of India. Police officials said they acted on a tip-off that Maoists would be travelling through the Bakoria village, 140 kilometers from state capital Ranchi, in two separate vehicles. The Maoists reportedly opened fire as police officials tried to stop one of the vehicles, resulting in them being killed by “retaliatory fire.” The police recovered bodies of the suspected Maoists along with rifles and ammunition while police are searching for the other vehicle, which escaped during the clash. Tuesday’s anti-Maoist operation was considered a major breakthrough for Indian security forces who have been combing Maoist and separatist-controlled areas of India since the death of 18 soldiers in an ambush in the northeastern state of Manipur last week.
InVision, the company behind the powerful Craft suite of tools for Sketch, have acquired the highly anticipated prototyping tool Silver Flows. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Silver Flows’ creators, Aby Nimbalkar and Andrey Shakhmin, will join InVision and continue working on the prototyping tool. Still in private beta, Silver Flows is now expected to be released widely in the second quarter of this year. It will fall under the Craft plugin suite for Sketch. If you’re not familiar with Silver Flows, it brings true prototyping to Sketch users. It lets users choose which UI elements flow to new views, which is great for planning out more robust apps. Those experiences can also be mirrored on actual phones and tablets for a more real-world test scenario. And if you make changes in Sketch, they will show on your device in real-time. Once you’re finished, publishing to the InVision site to entice feedback from others is just a click away. Silver flows joins the recently announced Styles in the InVision Craft suite. Though not quite ready for primetime, the inclusion of Silver Flows in Craft makes it directly competitive with Adobe Experience Design for those who prefer Sketch. With the ability to make recursive changes and prototype apps all in one package, the two toolkits are eerily similar — and powerful. It’s an exciting time for designers and developers. After what felt like a long dormancy, there seem to be a stream of powerful, fun tools that make designing apps pleasurable. ➤ InVision acquires Silver Flows [InVision] Read next: 13 tech tools you should definitely build in-house
Wouldn’t it be cool if search engines were as fast as you could type and actually showed you results as-you-type? As I found out this evening with jQuery in one hand and JSON in another, not only is it possible but turns out to be just as cool as I imagined. Inspired by the realtime-ness of Google Wave, I wanted to build a prototype search engine that did away with a search button and page loads. Instead, search queries are sent character-by-character to the lightning fast Bing AJAX APIs which returned JSON results easily processed and formatted by Javascript on the page. The UI experience is driven solely by the browser. The result is a truly “live” search experience which I’ve cunningly dubbed “The Real Live Search” as tribute to the former Microsoft search engine. I invite everyone to give it a quick whirl, but please bear in mind it’s only a couple hour’s work and may bite if prodded the wrong way.
Human-made noises are drowning out the sounds whales and dolphins use to communicate and find mates, environmental groups said Wednesday. Noise pollution, partially caused by commercial shipping, seismic surveys and improved sonar technology, is making it harder for the animals, which use sounds to communicate over thousands of kilometres, to forage and mate. As a result, the animals are losing touch with each other, environmental experts said at a UN wildlife conference held in Rome. "Call it a cocktail party effect," said Mark Simmonds, of the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society. "You have to speak louder and louder until no one can hear each other anymore." Environmental groups believe increased levels of noise pollution are behind a growing number of beached whales and dolphins, he added. Many of the beached whales and dolphins in question exhibit symptoms of decompression sickness, known as the bends, a condition afflicting divers who surface too quickly. Some environmentalists believe the sound waves caused by sonar and seismic surveys are causing the animals to dive and surface beyond their physical limits, Simmonds said. One of the aims of the conference is coming up with ways to reduce noise pollution in the world’s oceans, such as rerouting ships and banning sonar use in areas known to be inhabited by endangered whales and dolphins.
MEXICO CITY — To plot his escape from the most secure prison in Mexico, Joaquín Guzmán Loera, the drug kingpin known as El Chapo, is believed to have relied on countless little birds to whisper information into his ear and help whisk him to freedom. Now, it appears that at least one of them was an actual bird. Government officials visiting Mr. Guzmán’s cell after his breakout discovered the body of a small bird sitting in his trash can. The bird, they believe, was used to test the air quality of the tunnel through which Mr. Guzmán vanished — like coal miners who used canaries — according to an official helping to coordinate the manhunt. Officials are calling the bird “Chapito.” It was one of many marvels of the kingpin’s escape. The architects of his tunnel gave it lighting, a motorcycle on rails to transport the displaced earth and oxygen tanks. It was built high enough so that Mr. Guzmán, whose nickname El Chapo means “Shorty,” could stand.
You may ask yourself, how long can a movement whose only contribution to the world is slavery, war and destruction continue? Answer:1400 years and counting. Boko Haram and ISIS are Islam in action. NYTimes: MORA, Cameroon — At first, the attack had all the hallmarks of a typical Boko Haram assault. Armed fighters stormed a town on the border with Nigeria, shooting every man they saw. But this time, instead of burning homes and abducting hostages, the fighters gathered cows, goats and any kind of food they could round up, then fled with it all. Boko Haram, the Islamist extremist group terrorizing this part of the world, is on the hunt — for food. After rampaging across the region for years, forcing more than two million people to flee their homes and farms, Boko Haram appears to be falling victim to a major food crisis of its own creation. Farmers have fled, leaving behind fallow fields. Herdsmen have rerouted cattle drives to avoid the violence. Throughout the region, entire villages have emptied, leaving a string of ghost towns with few people for Boko Haram to dominate — and little for the group to plunder. “They need food. They need to eat,” Midjiyawa Bakari, the governor of the Far North region of Cameroon , said of Boko Haram. “They’re stealing everything.” Will we see an African exodus into Europe next?
CLOSE USA TODAY Sports' George Schroeder, Paul Myerberg and FOX Sports host Joel Klatt preview the biggest games this weekend in college football. USA TODAY Sports Oregon coach Willie Taggart runs on the field with his players before their game against Southern Utah. (Photo11: Jaime Valdez, USA TODAY Sports) Amid reports Willie Taggart is a leading candidate for the sudden vacancy at Florida State, Oregon officials are gearing up for a coaching search if necessary, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. The person requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation. Taggart, 41, a Florida native, was hired a year ago from South Florida after the Ducks fired Mark Helfrich. Oregon was 7-5 this season, though four of the losses came when starting quarterback Justin Herbert was injured. Even before Jimbo Fisher’s departure for Texas A&M was official Fricay, Taggart was already being listed as one of the Seminoles’ top targets. IMAGES FROM AROUND COLLEGE FOOTBALL In preparation, Oregon in recent days has indicated a willingness to increase Taggart’s contract (currently $16 million over five years). Taggart’s buyout is $3 million through the end of January. Oregon paid his $1.5 million buyout to South Florida; he would also owe that. It’s unclear where Oregon might turn first in a search. Though Central Florida’s Scott Frost, a former Ducks assistant, is widely believed to be headed to Nebraska, Oregon could make a run at him. Other possible candidates could range from California coach Justin Wilcox, a former Oregon player, to former Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin. Nike founder Phil Knight’s interest in and influence on the program could be a significant factor in attempting to lure a coach. If the job opens, the timing is poor for the Ducks, who appear to have missed their chance for the second consecutive year to rehire Chip Kelly. Last year, Kelly was unavailable when Oregon was searching for a coach, but was fired by the San Francisco 49ers not long afterward. Last week, Kelly was hired by Pac-12 rival UCLA. Although it’s unknown if Kelly would have returned to Eugene to coach again, the Ducks would have liked to find out.
Showtime’s brass are really happy with the premiere of its comedy veteran series Californication on Sunday. So happy that they have renewed it for Season 5 after one airing. The cable network’s new entertainment president David Nevins just made the announcement at the pay cable network’s TCA session. On Sunday, Californication’s (848,000) fourth season debut delivered the dark comedy series’ best series premiere ratings ever. Additionally, Showtime announced a greenlight for new unscripted series featuring behind-the-scenes access with the 2010 World Series champion San Francisco Giants. The series, which will chronicle the Giants’ quest to defend their title through the 2011 MBL season, is done in a collaboration with MLB Prods. Showtime also announced premiere dates for Nurse Jackie and The United States of Tara (March 28) and new drama The Borgias (April 3).
Checked again. (Richard Ellis/GETTY IMAGES) Ninth in a series of endless, tireless, exhaustive, hairsplitting, obsessive, resounding, never-before-attempted, late-night posts and conclusive posts on the fact-checking industry. Need yet more evidence that fact-checkers conduct their business in a silo separated from impact on politicians? Try the Romney apology-tour fact-check, Chapter Umpteen. The fact-checkers seemed a bit fatigued by Mitt Romney’s latest round of allegations that the Obama administration goes around apologizing for America. That’s the line of attack that the Republican presidential candidate unleashed in a Wednesday morning news conference following the deadly attacks against U.S. personnel in Egypt and Libya. Several times Romney claimed that the Obama administration’s statements in anticipation of and in response to unrest in that region amounted to “apologizing” for American values or some variation on that sentiment. Here’s how PolitiFact expressed its familiarity/frustration with the candidate’s continued reliance on this rhetorical standby: This is a theme for Romney: He has long accused Obama of apologizing for America, starting in 2010, when Romney published No Apology: The Case for American Greatness. Since then, he has repeatedly criticized what he has called an “apology tour” by Obama shortly after he took office. PolitiFact has examined those speeches, consulted experts on speechmaking and apologies, and rated Romney’s claim Pants on Fire. And here’s the corresponding paragraph from the FactCheck.org treatment: Romney has falsely accused Obama of “apologizing for America” many times before. The line has been a dependable applause-getter with conservative audiences. But we found no basis for this claim in Obama’s previous speeches and remarks. And other fact-checkers came to similar conclusions. Though both checking organizations proceeded with historical baggage, they gave fresh analysis to Romney’s charge that the statement from the U.S. Embassy in Cairo — and other official proclamations — communicated apologetic messages. That statement, issued before the attacks, reads as follows: The Embassy of the United States in Cairo condemns the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims – as we condemn efforts to offend believers of all religions. Today, the 11th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, Americans are honoring our patriots and those who serve our nation as the fitting response to the enemies of democracy. Respect for religious beliefs is a cornerstone of American democracy. We firmly reject the actions by those who abuse the universal right of free speech to hurt the religious beliefs of others. PolitiFact asked four apology experts whether those words constituted the sort of regretful statement that qualifies as an apology. The three who responded delivered an unequivocal negative — sort of a “no apology” tour of their own! FactCheck.org, likewise, found “no basis” for the apology angle. To round things out, the Associated Press titled its piece: “FACT CHECK: Romney misstates facts on attacks.” Not a good fact day for Romney. A Romney pollster said a while back that the campaign won’t be “dictated by fact-checkers.” Now we have a clean shot at fact-checking that claim. If it’s true, expect to hear more “apology”-oriented attacks on the Obama administration in the home stretch of this election. *** Read more in this series: First: Can you remind me again what this fact-check debate is about? Second: Is Fox really fact-checking the first lady’s claim that her husband is open-minded? Third: CNN says fact-checking squares with its exclusive spot in cable-news sphere. Fourth: Clinton bedevils fact-checkers. Fifth: Fox’s Cavuto slights fact-checking of Clinton speech, perhaps including Fox’s fact-checking of Clinton speech. Sixth: Fact-checking IS the substance that news consumers have been asking for. Seventh: Biden and Obama keep checkers busy. Eighth: A task for fact-checkers: Did the administration apologize for American values?
In addition to making their voices heard in the streets, net neutrality defenders have planned a massive online demonstration this week ahead of the FCC's scheduled vote on chairman Ajit Pai's deeply unpopular plan to kill the open internet, which critics have denounced as "naked corporatism." "The FCC is days away from voting to kill net neutrality, but Congress can still stop them. On December 12th we'll #BreakTheInternet to stop censorship, throttling, and extra fees." —Zephyr Teachout Slated to begin Tuesday—and continue through to the scheduled vote by the Republican-controlled FCC on Thursday—the "Break the Internet" protest is aimed at showing "the world what the web will look like without net neutrality." The demonstrations will vary widely, depending on the platform. "Facebook and LinkedIn users will 'break' their profiles by changing their relationship status to 'Married' (to net neutrality) or adding a new 'job' of 'Defending Net Neutrality,'" Fight for the Future noted in a press release on Monday. "Websites and apps will participate by doing something to 'break' their platform and encourage their users to contact Congress." Many major websites have been working in conjunction with activists to drive calls to Congress since the day Pai unveiled his plan to eliminate net neutrality rules just before Thanksgiving. According to Battle for the Net, over 833,000 calls have been made since November 21. Last week, internet users flooded the front page of Reddit with posts shaming their representatives for selling out to the telecom industry—and applauding those who have stood firm in their support for net neutrality. More of the same is expected on Tuesday, as websites large and small will use their platforms to mobilize further opposition to Pai's attack on net neutrality with a variety of tools—from simple banners warning that the "FCC is about to vote to kill net neutrality" to video bumpers demonstrating "the kind of power that giant cable companies will have over us if we let the FCC end net neutrality rules." Individual supporters of net neutrality have also been encouraged to participate by flooding congressional phone lines and using their platforms on Facebook, Twitter, and sites to raise alarm about the devastating consequences Pai's proposals will have on the web. SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT Help Keep Common Dreams Alive Our progressive news model only survives if those informed and inspired by this work support our efforts Using the hashtag #BreaktheInternet, many have taken to Twitter to promote the upcoming demonstration and encourage others to take part. Don't want to see this sign when you try logging on to the internet next? Now is the time to make a loud noise.. #BreakTheInternet #SaveNetNeutrality #SaveTheInternet #FreedomOfSpeech #NetNeutrality pic.twitter.com/rpt3DtxTQe — Koa Mirai (@apeculture) December 10, 2017 The FCC is days away from voting to kill NetNeutrality, but Congress can still stop them. On December 12th we'll #BreakTheInternet to stop censorship, throttling, and extra fees: https://t.co/aiUCWBKeks — Zephyr Teachout (@ZephyrTeachout) December 10, 2017
Clash Royale is good to go to replace Clash of Clans. Arrowheads - Arrowheads are needed due to the fact that it is actually your only reliable protection against Minion Hordes and also Princess. If you are against a Minion Horde, save arrows for them! Zap is good if the horde is visited themselves and your Crown Tower isn’t really occupied, however if your tower is secured on another target after that the Minions will survive and also take you down.Building Targeting Soldiers: This course includes soldiers which target just structures. These are great Clash Royale cards as Win-Conditions due to the fact that they go straight to Crown Towers unless sidetracked by structures. Since they typically aren’t that efficient on protection since they can’t harm various other troops, this additionally is disadvantage. Nevertheless, they are great as a distraction, damages absorption and kiting/pulling. These consist of Giant, Balloon, Lava Canine, Battle Ram, Golem, Royal Titan.As you remain to play through Clash Royale, you’ll rapidly learn that it’s a bad technique to send one army enter all alone on a rush. Your best option is to await your elixir to bill up so that you have the ability to drop at the very least two troops at once to maximize your effectiveness. For instance, say you want to send in a Titan. If you pair him with a flying army (Minions or a Child Dragon), your challenger’s soldiers will lock on and assault the Giant, permitting your air soldiers to provide assistance and also select off the ground troops.Avec juste quelques clics, vous pouvez faire fonctionner, son assez Simple! At the end of the day though you have to make a decision, are you a football celebrity, or are you a warlord? Clash Royale is great for quick, enjoyable matches with reduced consequences. You must sink your teeth into a genuine OSG if you ’d rather wage an impressive war with an enemy alliance over even more than a coffee break.A Battle Ram card sets you back 4 Elixir to deploy and also is an unusual card. A 3.0 Cycle deck that lets you spam a great deal of PEKKA in the arena. Included the possibility to switch the card language. According to my individual experience you need to spend at least 30$ to build as well as upgrade truly solid deck. Berta GR: Esta maana me funcion el truco para clash royale, pero ahora estoy probando con otra cuenta y no funciona, por que es?.Battleram/Bandit These kind of decks have actually become incredibly popular to penalize pumps and also keep the stress high. Maintain the Ewiz for the BRam as well as respond to the Bandit with either a NW or and also IG. Focus on defending and also be patient up until 2x elixir to attack with a great GY press. Easy match. Listed below we have provided the screenshot of one of clash of Hack Clash Royale royale account with full sources and prize.But it is worth keeping in mind that it does not imply that if you do not follow it will not progress, however it is these suggestions that I make use of and that I assume are good as well as the most effective method for you! Are you thrilled regarding packing your limitless source account? We bet they do! We invite you to utilize our hacks and also cheats now. However do not utilize it multiple times. The Generator permits only one each 24 Hours to be used for one account. This is maded with function so don’t get dubious. Or else, your account might be put on hold from Supercell, the maker of Clash Royale.A tough melee fighter. The Barbarian’s handsome, cultured cousin. Report has it that he was knighted based upon the sheer awesomeness of his mustache alone. App is excellent for looking into and also developing decks card capacities! Getting Giant Upper bodies from Store in Sector 3: 2.14 commons/Gem. As gamers progress, they’ll ultimately unlock access to multiplayer clans. By joining a clan, players could chat with others, compete in pleasant matches against various other users in the clan and give away cards to others.A great yet probably forgot attribute constructed right into Clash Royale is TELEVISION Royale. You can view replays of matches between the best players on the planet. What makes this truly useful is that you reach see how you can make use of as well as counter cards you may not experienced yet, and card combinations that you may have never taken into consideration.An additional intriguing facet of the video game is just how community-driven it is. You have the alternative to join a clan" of other players with which you could contribute and also request cards in exchange for extra gold needed to upgrade your devices. You could even take part in friendly battles between your clan members or enjoy other fights that have actually taken place in between other participants.Also, if you want to see exactly what the look of a top-tier play is, Clash Royale has a collection of replays that they have which is called Royale TELEVISION". This is a wonderful feature since it allows you to make note of the cards that remain in usage, however you do not have them yet. Additionally, you could not have actually considered strategies for the cards that you currently have. It is very most likely that you see players in Royale TELEVISION who have actually invested hordes of money on the video game, however let us tell you that it is absolutely all-natural. The points that you see could be super advantageous if you are a free-to-play gamer. Royale TV has actually been updated a few times now to reveal gamers the very best suits in video game but I believe there will be a very big Clash Royale upgrade for this function soon!A cool method is that you could speed up every silver breast you obtain, and also have your timer only servicing gold chests. This allows for more freedom throughout the day, as currently you need to long on extremely typically and only play in short bursts. In this manner you just need to worry about the timer as soon as during the night, when in the morning, and also when throughout the day as well as only have to log right into the game to take the totally free and crown breasts. 3240 treasures essentially allows you speed a complete 240 chest cycle worth of silver chests.As your Clash Royale card degrees grow ever before higher, you’ll discover that it swiftly gets really pricey to update them. Having an accumulation of gold could go a lengthy way - twice as so when you think about that leveling your cards is the method to level up your crown towers as well! Arrowheads pepper a large location harmful every person hit. Lowered damage to crown towers.Child Dragon - An air system that deals little AoE sprinkle damage. Does will versus little troops however is at risk to Musketeer and also Tombstone. Deals respectable damage to targets. Bringing back the power of the Dual Princess backed by the Hog Biker and Ice Wizard. Constantly aim to circle fast sufficient to obtain a Toxin Spell active until you make your press with your Valkyrie as well as your Prince. You will certainly often see that they obtain countered with something like Barbarians or a Minion Horde so utilize your Poison Spell.
A Letter To St. Bonaventure's Student Body St. Bonaventure Students, Saturday night, many media outlets and social media sites reported that the court storming by the student body was the reason a technical foul was issued against St. Bonaventure. Those reports were not correct. Since then, St. Bonaventure's administration has worked diligently to clear your names. Our student body was NOT responsible for the technical foul called on us at the end of regulation. We saw that, we made sure the Atlantic 10 saw it, and on Sunday the A-10 reversed its stance and issued a statement absolving the student body from blame. In case you didn't see it, here is a direct quote from the A-10's statement: "Although the game officials cited crowd interference as the rationale for assessing the administrative technical foul at the end of regulation in the VCU-St. Bonaventure men's basketball game, that interpretation was inaccurately associated with the SBU students and fans storming the court." I also want to be certain that you understand this clearly: our basketball team needs you! As always, the best home court advantage starts with you, the student body. Your fellow students, our team, deserves your support. It's not easy to win Division I basketball games, especially in the A-10. Your enthusiasm gives us an extra edge that can go a long way to deciding games. Finally, while we need you to be in the RC cheering, please remain off the playing floor at all times. I say this for one reason – storming the court is dangerous for everyone, starting with you and your fellow students. It also poses a risk to both teams, our staff, and the media covering the game. I cringe at the thought of anyone being hurt during a court storm. So, keep coming to the Reilly Center to cheer on the Bonnies, and do it responsibly and safely. Thanks for your support and Go Bonnies! TK Tim Kenney Athletics Director
Residents of south-eastern towns say they are living under daily terror from marksmen after new law authorising use of live ammunition to quell protests Clad in traditional baggy trousers and the woolly cap of a Muslim pilgrim, Hamdi Olas was 55 when he was struck by a sniper’s bullet. His shirt bloodied, he was lifted onto a blanket and carried several hundred metres by locals frantically seeking a car to get him to hospital. “He ran out of the house after he saw smoke rising from a nearby building, worried that there might be people trapped inside. He wanted to help,” said a relative. “On his way there he was hit by a sniper.” Olas was a Kurd in the small Kurdish-majority town of Silopi, close to Turkey’s border with Iraq. Since the Turkish government tore up a two-year truce with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK) in July, it has deployed a new weapon in the towns and villages of the south-east: sharpshooters. “Five snipers just kicked our door in and set up camp on the roof of our house, from where they shot at people in the street, at our neighbours’ home,” said Nahide, 19, pointing to the damaged door of her family home. “They stayed there for hours. We collected a whole pile of bullet casings after they finally left.” The use of professional marksmen follows a new law authorising security forces to use live ammunition rather than less lethal crowd-control techniques to quell protests. “Before they used excessive amounts of teargas during raids on certain neighbourhoods, they now immediately resort to the use of firearms,” said lawyer Emirhan Uysal, head of the human rights group IHD in Sirnak province. “We warned that this would happen when the law was discussed in parliament. We are very worried that more civilians will get killed.” When Olas was hit by the sniper, the town of Silopi was all but sealed off by armoured police vehicles, making it almost impossible to get him to a hospital. A car was eventually commandeered. “There were two younger men sitting in the front,” recalled one family member. “And Hamid’s friend was riding in the back with him, holding him in his lap.” Eyewitnesses credibly claim that heavily armed police officers stopped the car at the hospital emergency entrance, forcing the two young men in the front of the car to get out and lie face-down on the ground. Despite pleas to allow the group into the hospital, the police officer opened fire on the vehicle, immediately killing Olas and wounding his friend, the witnesses said. “He would have survived the sniper wound,” said the relative. “But they killed him.” The violence in the conflict has reached worrying levels, and there is no end in sight. Away from the main towns, PKK militants have since Sunday killed 16 soldiers and 12 police in a series of bomb attacks, prompting air stikes and a vow from the the prime minister, Ahmet Davutoğlu, that the militants will be “wiped out from the mountains”. In Cizre, close to Silopi, security forces on Friday launched a massive operation against the YDG-H, the PKK’s urban wing, with thousands of police officers deployed. All communication has been cut, according to a local lawyer, leaving residents trapped inside the town without access to electricity, mobile phones or internet connections. Violent clashes are ongoing in Cizre and the number of those injured in the crossfire between security forces and Kurdish militants unclear. Some local residents have reported that police have surrounded the local hospital, preventing people from getting medical care. “No peace could quell the anger of the people whose children have been left to die because they were hindered to reach the hospital,” tweeted local MP Faysal Sariyildiz, who arrived in Cizre on Saturday as part of a delegation from the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic party (HDP). According to latest reports, at least three civilians have been killed in Cizre since Friday, including a 13-year-old girl who was fatally hit by bullets in her own home. Last month six people, including at least four civilians, were killed in in Cizre and Yüksekova, according to the Turkish authorities. Four people, including one policeman, were killed in Silopi. According to a report prepared by the HDP, 78 civilians have been killed since national elections were held in June. Coverage of the conflict is an ever-growing challenge. Many Kurdish news sites and twitter accounts were closed following the breakdown of the ceasefire and several Turkish journalists have been fired by their newspapers for reporting from the south-east. Foreign journalists are also finding it harder to operate. Two Britons, subsequently released, and a Turkish colleague working for Vice News were last week charged with “terrorist activities” after they were taken into custody while covering the clashes in Diyarbakir. On Saturday Dutch journalist Frederike Geerdink was taken into police custody in Yüksekova, together with a group of Kurdish activists she was covering. In Cizre, mistrust is everywhere: many residents have hung up sheets and blankets in their streets to find cover from possible sniper fire. At a neighbourhood checkpoint three young men and one young woman stood watch after dark. Sandbags provide cover in the case of a raid by security forces, a PKK flag lodged between them. Each approaching vehicle is stopped, and waved through only after inspection. All of them are dressed like many other teenagers: in jeans, T-Shirts. Only the scarves wrapped around their faces to hide their identities mark them as members of the YDG-H, or “the youngsters”, as locals often call them. “We deliberately choose not to dress in uniform to underline that this revolution, this fight is carried out by the people, not by an army,” explained Ahmet, 20, who introduced himself as a YDG-H commander. Local residents brought pieces of melon and freshly brewed tea. Some pulled up chairs to have a chat with the militants. As some local residents passed by, they shouted a friendly greeting and joke was exchanged. One young man, his face covered by a ski mask, sat huddled behind the sandbags to scroll through his Facebook feed. “We need to stand watch here and protect our families,” said Rizgar, 20. “If the police manage to come into our neighbourhood, they would kill so many people. There would be arrests and torture.” His companion nodded. “This state simply cannot be trusted.” While many residents express solidarity with the YDG-H, others are tired of the spiralling violence. “We are caught between all fronts,” Emine, a 35-year-old Cizre native and mother of three, said. “But what can we do? I am scared for my children. I don’t want to see them grow up in a city at war.” “It’s the reality here now that civilians are being hit. Life has come to a halt,” one local lawyer said. “[The government] is trying to intimidate us, to scare us.” Many accuse the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, of wanting to woo nationalist voters by attacking the PKK before elections scheduled for 1 November after his Justice and Development, or AK, party failed to reach win enough seats to form a majority government when the country went to the polls in June. “The HDP got almost 85% in Sirnak province,” the lawyer explained. “This is punishment for trying to reclaim our rights through democratic politics, nothing else. But we want peace, we will stick to peace, we will bury their warmongering at the polls.” *All names, except official and historical ones, have been changed
Eric Blair Activist Post In his controversial book The Singularity is Near, Ray Kurzweil speaks of a time in the very near future when human intelligence will be amplified by thousands of times current abilities with artificial implants. Although these super humans will far outpace those without implants, Kurzweil admits that average humans will exponentially evolve their cognitive ability naturally in an attempt to keep pace. We may be seeing signs of this evolution now, where increasing numbers of children are being labeled with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). What if this “disorder” was actually an adaptive measure to the “information age” to help children organize and process large sums of information quickly without obsessing on meaningless details? A new research study seems to suggest that this may be the case. The study concluded that children who have wandering minds may indeed have sharper problem solving abilities and better multi-tasking skills. From the Telegraph: Daniel Levinson, a psychologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the United States, said that those with higher working memory capacity reported ‘more mind wandering during these simple tasks’, but their performance did not suffer. The results, published online in the journal Psychological Science, appear to confirm previous research that found working memory allows humans to juggle multiple thoughts simultaneously. Dr Jonathan Smallwood, of the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Science in Leipzig, Germany, said: ‘What this study seems to suggest is that, when circumstances for the task aren’t very difficult, people who have additional working memory resources deploy them to think about things other than what they’re doing.’ Though the study wasn’t specifically designed for people diagnosed with ADHD, its primary symptom of “wandering minds” and inability to concentrate for long periods of time was the focus of the study. In our increasingly outdated society that appears to value monotonous focus on narrow tasks, ADHD is viewed and treated as a disorder. In fact, some public school officials have attempted to force students diagnosed with ADHD to submit to being medicated so that they can sit through eight hours of excruciatingly boring memorization of meaningless details. Download Your First Issue Free! Do You Want to Learn How to Become Financially Independent, Make a Living Without a Traditional Job & Finally Live Free? Download Your Free Copy of Counter Markets There are many recognized benefits to those labeled with ADHD. Here are just some of those beneficial characteristics: Ability to find alternate paths to overcome obstacles Able to take on large situations Adaptive/collaborative Adventurous, courageous, lives outside of boundaries Always finding alternate routes to any given location. Always willing to help others Ambitious – you want to be everything when “you grow up” Artistic Attractive personality – magnetic due to high energy Being able to see the big picture Being able to see the patterns in the chaos Being intuitive towards others’ difficulties Broad focus – can see more, notice things more Can create order from chaos Can do many projects at once Can make people feel they are heard Can see the big picture Can talk about several things at one time Can think on my feet Career variety Center of attention Comfortable talking in front of groups Comfortable with change and chaos Compassion for others and for themselves Conceptualizes well Confidence Constantly evolving Courageous Creates connections easily Creative Creative writing Creative – musical, artistic, “dramatic” Good in a crisis Good at customer relations Dedicated Detail-oriented Determined to gain more control Eager to make friends Eager to try new things Empathetic, sensitive Energetic Entrepreneurial Excellent organizers using journals and reminders (notes etc.) Flexible – changes as the situation requires Fun guy to be around Goal-oriented Good at conceptualizing Good at motivating self and others Good at multitasking Good at problem solving Good at public speaking (See the full list HERE) Notably, each of these characteristics is an expression of independence and counter to being controlled. Is it any wonder why “officials” seek to treat children with these abilities with mind-numbing drugs? You can’t have a generation of free-thinking, problem-solving, independent humans running around if your goal is to have full-spectrum control over society, now can you? It seems that a more responsible society should recognize special abilities and learn to harness and direct them to reach their full potential instead of suppressing them with drugs. Regardless, adaptation to our environment is natural and cannot be contained. American Natural Superfood - Free Sample As our information environment becomes saturated to the point where minor details are irrelevant to the big picture, those with ADHD seem to possess the modern-day “opposable thumb” that allows them to progress while left-brained, detail-obsessed, pseudo robots may appear stuck scratching symbols on caves all day. Other articles by Eric Blair are available HERE. If you’d like to spread the word about this article, please vote on Reddit here: http://www.reddit.com/r/conspiracy/comments/r2zm3/is_adhd_an_evolutionary_gift_in_a_rapidly/ var linkwithin_site_id = 557381; linkwithin_text=’Related Articles:’
Last Chapter Next Chapter I stepped back into the house, though there weren’t many surfaces to work with. Too many windows, glass panes and mirrors had broken in the course of the priest’s raid. My eyes scanned the surroundings. Here and there, things had been written down in chalk. Runes, symbols, and diagrams. It looked like the metaphysical equivalent of boarding up the windows. “Thank you, by the way,” I said. I didn’t want to sound ungrateful, but it was hard enough to get the words out that it might have affected my tone. I shouldn’t have had to ask to come back inside. “We’re not friends,” Rose said. She didn’t turn around as she knelt to pick up a piece of glass she’d spotted at the foot of a bookshelf. “This isn’t us cooperating. This is me admitting that I’d rather have your cooperation and Evan than not have either.” “Okay,” I said, biting my tongue to keep it at that. “Where is Evan?” “On his way with your creations.” “Right.” Tiff, Ty, and Alexis appeared in the doorway, standing by the kitchen. “You’re back,” Ty commented. “Mission was a failure,” I answered. “But things aren’t any worse off, and I do have information.” “Share,” Rose said. I bristled at the order. “Alister, like Laird, isn’t held back by the Behaim rules.” “We know this,” Rose said. “All signs point to Alister being made head of the Behaim family. Very soon. With the appointment, presumably, comes a gift. Some kind of weapon. Evan and I met him, he forced our hands with his cards.” “The implement,” Rose said. “There are weak points, but they’re hard to target. He tends to take the initiative and hold it. You don’t surprise a guy who’s as good at reading events as he is.” “I surprised him a little. Would probably have had him, if Sandra hadn’t intervened,” I said. “What’s the deal with the five of coins?” “That’s not really what I’ve been reading up on,” Rose said. “I have. Five of coins is poverty,” Alexis said. “Loss. In practitioner circles, one’s ‘wealth’ is usually measured in terms of power, so a loss of powers. Might be being forsworn, might be a loss of something else that’s vital.” Rose frowned. “Who was going bankrupt?” “Alister, and the Behaims as a consequence, while I’m thinking it through,” I said. “He predicted he could heal the damage I could do with the Hyena here, but I guess it would have been costly?” “Something like that, Rose said. “I was close,” I said. “I was going to cut him. Because it seemed to be the thing that scared him most, after that card showed up. I wanted to do something that would take Alister out of the running, whether it was leaving a scar so maybe people wouldn’t have confidence in him, or forcing him to spend far more than he should.” “That would have been convenient,” Rose said. “Right?” I asked. “Sandra stepped in. She’s got this, I dunno, web, or net, connecting everything in Jacob’s Bell. If any big guns are deployed, she knows about it, and can respond accordingly.” “Something like that would need anchor points,” Rose said. “You can’t suspend a web without attaching it to something. Odds are good that she had her people draw symbols at key points or landmarks around the city. Okay.” “She was there with one of Johannes’ people. The other three players all in one place, and they weren’t killing each other,” I said. “After dark, apparently, is when it all gets nasty.” “I know that last part too. Which of Johannes’ people?” “Tall, brown-skinned man with glowing eyes, called Eblis?” “Djinn. That’s telling,” Rose mused. “I thought he was keeping the Djinn close to home?” Ty asked. “He was, at least,” Rose said. “If he’s willing to send them out on errands, it says something about how confident he feels. His area is probably fortified, and he’s making displays of strength.” “Or his area isn’t as fortified as that implies, and he’s trying to mislead us,” I said. “Yes,” Rose said, “Or something else altogether.” I paced, moving across the various surfaces. I couldn’t hear the bell inside the house, but the effects still lingered, making me feel restless. “T-minus thirteen hours to midnight,” Ty said. “The full set of barriers aren’t up, we’re probably not going to get a lot of visitors. Since only a few of us can work in the same room at the same time before we’re bumping into each other, we should nap in shifts, so we’re well rested when the time comes.” “Okay,” I said. “I’m available to help if you want.” “Wouldn’t hurt,” Rose admitted, sounding more than a little reluctant. “Maybe we can station you elsewhere in the house, or we could set up mirrors in places the rest of us can’t easily cover.” “I prefer the second idea to the first,” I told her. “Feels less like something you’re doing to me to keep me out of the way and more like I’m genuinely helping. ” “Good,” she said. “Second idea it is. Since you still seem to maintain a degree of connection, I’ll put Evan on the same duty. If there’s a problem you can’t handle, send him, we’ll figure it out.” “If I was better equipped to act, I’d be able to handle more problems, which would help,” I said. “I won’t let you read the books,” Rose said, with finality. “That’s-” I started. I grit my teeth and stopped at that. In the pause that followed, none of my friends spoke up in my defense, urging her to let me have access or give our side more firepower. I had to twist my own arm on a mental level to force my thoughts in the right directions: they were my friends, however they were acting now. It was outside interference that was making them so much more loyal to Rose. I had to protect them. “Alright,” I said, though I had to force the word out of my mouth. She gave me a curt nod. “Now, it does matter if they were all together like that and not actively hostile.” “They were,” I said. “If there was hostility, it wasn’t while I was around.” “That means we’re in a precarious position. They know our defenses are down. They’re united in their desire to remove us.” “How?” I asked. “How would they do it? You set up the dead man’s switch. If you don’t actively keep the Barber contained, and I’m really trying to keep from going into detail about why this is a bad idea, then they’ll have a demon to deal with. A demon that’s apparently one significant tier up from what we fought in the factory.” “I can’t tell you the details about the switch,” Rose said. I hit the nearest shelf before I realized what I was doing. A book toppled on the far side, falling to the floor. I was aware of the eyes on me. “Blake,” Alexis said. “Don’t get upset.” “We’re on the same side,” I told her. “Yeah. We are,” Alexis said. “Then why are you hiding things from me?” I asked. “Do you think I’ll go out of control? Am I supposed to turn evil?” “No,” Rose said. “Nothing’s confirmed in that department. It’s possible, if the human in you loses out to the Other, but nothing’s confirmed. That’s not the concern.” “Then what is the concern?” I asked, barely controlling the tone of my voice. “We can’t-” “You can!” I felt the television screen vibrate from the volume. I regretted it immediately. I could feel notes of fear from the others. Even Rose. I liked the clarity it gave me, even as I hated the idea of it on a cognitive level. “You can,” I said. “Because I really want to work with you, but I’ll go crazy if this keeps up, and I’m not sure I trust myself to hold it all together. I can’t think of anything you’d say that would be more harmful or troublesome than leaving me to guess and assume the worst.” Rose had her arms folded. She wasn’t looking at me, though her brow was knit. “I was talking with Alistar in the midst of the fight earlier. I had one pointed comment for him, I’m trying to remember how it went. Something about bringing prophecies to pass, in the course of trying to avert them. Now, maybe what you’re dealing with here isn’t a prophecy, but more like a-” Rose was shaking her head. “No?” I asked. “No. Stop right there. I’m not discussing this. I’m not giving you hints.” I turned, and I stalked away before I could say anything I regretted. I paced around the room. Being here like this was going to make me lose my mind. “Okay,” I said. “Keep me in the dark. Fine. Your choice. But remember, grandmother had me put together for a reason. I’d like to think she picked traits that would complement me as a vestige, and traits that would keep me fighting. Tenacity, strength. What did Isadora call me? ‘Little warrior’?” “Yeah,” Rose said. “You do have a streak of tenacity in you. That‘s obvious.” “Let me be your warrior,” I said. I pointed at my friends. “I won’t be able to help them without helping you, because you’re all connected, and I’d only hurt myself if I tried to convince them to leave.” “I’d hurt you if you tried to convince them to leave,” Rose said. “It wouldn’t help anything, them least of all.” I didn’t move or say anything. She’d dodged the first part of what I said. I waited for her to pick it back up. “And yeah,” she said. “You’re more right than you know. I’m almost positive you’re right, as a matter of fact. You were set up to be a scrapper. If I’ve put the missing pieces of memory back right, you made a good show of it. But you’re not complete, Blake. You’re a hammer in search of a nail. What happens when everything is nailed down? When things were quiet after Toronto settled down, what happened? You went after the demon in the factory.” “There were reasons I did it,” I said. “I believe that,” she said. “There will always be reasons. But you’re made to follow a certain trajectory. Everything was arranged so you would naturally self destruct. The ‘little warrior’ in you would move from one conflict to the next, removing my enemies so my way was clear, until there were no enemies left or you perished while fighting a critical enemy. If you died in a fight, I’d have the chance to take advantage of the confusion. Except the enemy who did get you didn’t get confused. I didn’t get to take advantage of any confusion. I was the confused one. But we managed.” I didn’t move a hair. She was telling me stuff. I wasn’t going to break the spell. “Now you’re back, and you’re not supposed to be. Just like you weren’t supposed to kill Laird. You’re following a different course, but you’re still a hammer looking for nails. You’re still itching for a fight. You’re not something I can manage.” “Except I just proved I can be managed, that I can be sort of respectful. Even in this damn conversation, the fact that I haven’t completely flipped out should be telling.” “It is,” she said. “Part of that was intentional. I had to push, to see how much you pushed back.” Joints in my hand snapped and cracked as I clenched my fists. I spoke with a deliberate kind of slowness, picking my words and tone carefully. “I thought you weren’t going to give me hints.” “I didn’t, not the kind I meant,” she said. “Okay,” Tiff said, stepping forward, between me and her. “Okay. Let’s… let’s stop talking about this, before we’re back to square one. Please?” “Alright Tiffany,” Rose said. She put a hand on Tiff’s shoulder, walking past Tiff to the kitchen. “We need to talk about how we’re going to move, before dark. Blake isn’t wrong. The major players are organizing, they’re more secure in the free for all at night than we are. If we’re going to move, we should-” The front door opened. It took me a second to get my bearings. “Hey,” Evan told me, as I appeared in the front window. He was perched on the wood that had been placed over the hole. “You were inside?” “Yeah.” “Awesome,” he said. “I hitched a ride with these slowpokes, going back, ’cause I didn’t want to be all on my lonesome, and I was just starting to feel bummed out that I might not get to hang with Ty.” I looked out over the city, using the section of window to the left of the broken part, and I could detect the faint toll of the bell. Something felt off, ominous, and it wasn’t the bell alone. “I’d really like everyone to be together,” I said, “without hostility.” “Me too! Yes. Er, aren’t we? If you’re inside-” “Rose and I aren’t getting along,” I said. “But she’s not imprisoning me or locking me out, so that’s something.” “Rose,” Evan said. “Right, wait, or go inside. Gotta talk to Rose.” He was gone, flying in through the open door over one of the Bogeymen’s heads. I shifted position on the window, facing the house’s interior. “Company,” Evan said. “Company?” Rose asked. “It’s your family.” “Oh,” she said. “It’s about that time, isn’t it?” Tiff spoke up, “When I tried to figure out what they were doing last night, all signs pointed to them splitting up.” “I did that,” I said. “Or helped it along. Mags got them kicked out of the cafe they were gathering at. That would’ve been yesterday. I stalled as best as I could. If you hadn’t bound me, I would’ve tried to keep up the disruptions.” “They would have had to get up first thing and meet to get this far this early,” Rose said, ignoring the last part of what I’d said. She ran her hands over her clothes. “I’m wrinkled and dusty. Damn it. I wanted to portray a better image. The house is in a pretty sad state, too.” “We could do a quick clean,” Tiff said. Alexis added, “If you need us to back you up when they arrive, we could hang here, or-” “Please clean,” Rose said. “And then stay out of the way. You being here would be ammunition.” “Can do,” Alexis said. “Watch the diagrams,” I commented. “They’ll raise eyebrows.” “Eugh,” Ty said, looking around. “Right. That’s a thing. They’ve been here so long I look right past them.” “Move the piles of books and boxes,” Rose said. “Hide them without covering them up. It looks like things will be messy after all.” They worked as a group. Even Evan chipped in, gathering the odd piece of paper and flying it elsewhere. I could have used sympathy to help, but it was a gross and disgusting overuse of my power. Besides, I still wasn’t a hundred percent sure I trusted Rose. She’d promised no mischief or attacks on me while I was in the house, but I wasn’t sure she wouldn’t try something the second we were both outside of the house. “Rose,” Alexis said, “Stop. Go wash up and change. We can handle this.” I could see indecision cross Rose’s face. “You’re sure?” “I’m sure. You’re going to need to tap Conquest for this, aren’t you? Better to be a proper Lady of status than Lady Macbeth.” “I’d really rather not tap him.” “We knew you’d probably have to,” Ty said, moving a box. “It was a conscious decision we made when we decided we didn’t have the time to focus on the issue of your family. It wasn’t said aloud, but I think we all agreed. I’m suspicious you knew it too.” Rose hesitated. “Right. Back in a minute. If they come before I’m down, make them wait.” “Right-o,” Ty said. Rose got as far as the stairs before pausing. “Blake? Don’t make me regret letting you inside. Please.” I wasn’t able to formulate a response, so I only bobbed my head in a curt nod. She was gone so soon after that I wasn’t sure she’d even seen my response. I watched the others work. They were pretty efficient, saving breath for work, only speaking to call across the room and ask if a box or stack of books was in a good spot. I stood watch by the front window. “That’s going to have to do,” Ty said. There was a sheen of sweat on his face. “Dishes, papers…” He hurried from the room with what he could carry. Tiff and Alexis left with the spellbooks that had been strewn on the table in front of the couch. Alexis was faster in returning, an unlit cigarette in her mouth. I’d known her to do that when stressed. “This arrival feels too convenient,” I said. “A push from Sandra?” Alexis asked. “It would fit.” “Yep,” she said. I wasn’t sure what else to say. I continued watching the streets outside via. the window. Alexis hadn’t visited me while I’d been bound. She’d been the person closest to me before all this, and now she was the furthest. When I glanced back her way to see if she was cleaning, I found her less than a foot from me. I didn’t startle, but my heart did something funny in my chest. “I don’t know how to feel, seeing you like that,” she said. “What do you mean?” “My work, becoming something warped. It’s all how I’d ink the branches, the spatter pattern, the watercolor in the space beyond is maybe a little pale, but if I was dealing with someone who didn’t give a damn about the fading…” “The colors were more vivid when you first did them,” I said. “In my head, anyway.” “That’s… were the lines that good?” “Yeah. I think so. My eye isn’t bad, but I was so happy with what I got I didn’t exactly study it to find flaws.” “That would be some of my best work, either way. Except now the darkness is using it on a symbolic level or something. It’s being used to turn you into something else. That…” a pause. “Sucks.” Sucks. Such a simple word for an utterance she had so many subtle emotions into. “I think I was something else to begin with,” I said. “Rose’s attitudes seem to point that direction.” “Blake, I can’t- if you start talking like that, fishing for tells…” “You’re good at hiding your tells,” I said. “But okay. We won’t go there.” “I’m thinking a year and a half ago, if I had to put it somewhere chronologically?” “Yeah. About.” “Yeah,” she said. “Huh. I can even picture the week it was. I thought it was a slow week.” I rotated my arms, studying the tattoos that now clustered on them. More tattoo than bare skin. “Well,” I said. “If I’ve got to have something changing, as I lose my humanity, this is…” I searched for how to phrase it. I had to be careful not to lie, and I felt like the choice of words was exceedingly important. Alexis, standing behind me, didn’t say anything. “It’s good,” I decided. A light thud. Alexis’ head forehead rested on the glass of the window. I couldn’t make out her face, with the angle of her head, but I could see the cigarette sticking out. I checked the street. No sign of the family. Reaching up, I touched the glass from my side. The side of my thumb traced the line of Alexis’ hair. “I know you don’t remember it. I know it might not have even happened, but to me, you saved me, Alexis.” She didn’t move. “I was cursed with an inability to create,” I said. “Maybe that’s part of being built as a warrior, with only the necessary parts. But I could never draw. Tried a bunch of things, but I never found that talent. I don’t… I’m trying to sum up this one thought, but I feel like I’ll keep getting off track if I try to explain it. I don’t really know, but if there’s any ability for an artist to be able to tell this sort of thing through their work, I really want you to be able to look at this and see it as it was supposed to be, and know that you saved me. That-” Again, I couldn’t find the words. “That- Um- Shit.” I wasn’t choked up, but I wasn’t sure I could be choked up in the normal way anymore. Words simply failed me. I tried taking in a deep breath, even though I didn’t need it. The back of my hand stroked the glass that separated me from touching her hair, then dropped to my side. “If- If I’m stubborn, if I have any well of strength to draw from at all, I owe that to you. That means I have a responsibility. I can’t use that strength and stubbornness the wrong way. I- you never let me in enough for me to really know why you were so set on helping people like Tiff and me. I’ve guessed. I’ve speculated… “…But I want you to know that you did help me. You helped me to my feet, helped me be a real live boy again. And maybe the demon took that away when he took away the connection, and maybe that’s why you took it harder when I left. Maybe it’s not real, maybe it didn’t really happen, I don’t really know. But if you were trying to prove to yourself that you were capable of something… I think you proved it.” The silence that followed scared me. I’d conquered my demons, so to speak, in the midst of the realization that I wasn’t entirely real. But I was a little scared, standing there. Looking past Alexis, I could see Tiff and Ty standing in the hallway, only a sliver of their bodies visible beyond the living room door. No doubt they’d seen or heard some of it and then stepped back out to leave the two of us alone. The pressure of the silence grew with every second. I glanced back. Nobody approached, though one car had stopped by the side of the street. “Sorry,” I said, “If that was presumptuous or if I was adding to your burdens, saying you’re somehow responsible for me.” “No,” she said. She stepped away. “That was…” More silence. “It was?” She smiled a small smile, lips pressed together a little in that unconscious way she had of hiding her teeth, the cigarette in her mouth bent, maybe from when she’d rested her head against the window. “Good.” Was there less tension in her face and neck than there had been? “I really need a damn smoke,” she said, with no rancor in her tone. “Excuse me. I’ll be outside.” “Is that a good idea?” Ty called out. “We’ve got some wards. I’ll be okay,” she replied. I was left alone, with only the faint murmur of Ty and Tiff’s conversation in the hallway. Two minutes passed, me agonizing over ever last word I’d said, wishing I’d picked some better ones, while paradoxically not at all displeased with what I’d said in general. I’d needed to say it. “We need a theme song,” Evan chimed in, behind me. “Hm?” “Bird boy and scary tree,” he said. “I’m not a tree yet,” I told him. “You’re covered in branches.” “And birds. Can’t I be, I dunno… there’s got to be something better than tree.” “Bird boy and tree, you and me…” Evan said. It took me a second to realize he was even trying to sing. “Um. Were you good at music?” “I was good at building,” I said. “None of the creative stuff. Those other guys were the artists.” “Any of them good at singing?” “Ty’s pretty good at everything,” I said. “Okay,” Evan said. “I’ll ask him later.” “Ask him to come up with something better than tree, while you’re at it?” “Eh,” Evan said, noncommitally. I shot him a look. He broke apart, becoming a ghost, just to stick out his tongue at me. A moment later, he condensed back into bird form, flapping his way around in a circle before he could find his perch again on the lampshade by the window. Smiling, I watched what was going on outside. “Rose is really scared,” Evan said. “I believe it,” I told him. “Scared is good. The problem is when scared leads to her acting like Molly. We need to do something. Act.” “We will,” he said. “But we gotta survive first. And, uh, with me being dead and all and you being, um, uh, sorta you? The surviving part is something we should work on.” “Point,” I said. It took another minute before the first confirmed Thorburn sighting. Not long after that, they arrived en-masse. Dad, Mom, Uncle, Aunt Jessica, Aunt Steph, and Aunt Irene, with just about all the kids in tow, minus Paige and Molly. I wished I’d asked more about Molly’s status. “Rose!” Evan called out. The group made their way up the long driveway. Rose answered Evan’s call, coming downstairs. Still wearing grandmother’s clothes, but a different outfit. A blouse with lace around the folded collar, a brooch, and a knee- length skirt, black. “You smell like mothballs,” Evan chimed in. “I’ve worn and washed these clothes before,” Rose said. “How can I still smell like mothballs?” “Here,” Tiff said, walking up behind Rose. “Post it, and a rune, and… a bit of blood.” “Better already,” Evan said. Tiff removed the post-it. This was what I’d missed, being in the drains. The anger nestled deep inside of me had gone quieter though. Where I might have been inarticulate in anger before, unable to express just how and why that bothered me, even to the point of not fully realizing I was angry, I was able to get a hold on it now. “Alexis is out back,” Ty said. “Okay, that’s just not a good idea,” Rose said. “You don’t split up when there’s a horror movie monster after you, and we’ve got at least thirty equivalents in town right now.” “We’ve had a surplus of horror monsters after us for a while,” Ty said. “She’s supposed to be smoking in the bathroom with the fan.” “I think she needed space?” Tiff asked. “Rule still holds, space is irrelevant. Go get her,” Rose said. “On it,” Ty answered. I met Rose’s eyes. Pale, with faint dark circles under her eyes, blond hair tied back until there wasn’t a hair out of place, a white blouse and ivory brooch, her shirt crisp. I was rumpled, tattered, my skin riddled with dark lines and faint splashes of color. My hair, once blond, was dark with the grime that now impregnated it. She didn’t say anything. She headed to the door, and as per her earlier request, the others vacated the area. Alexis hurried past, taking the stairs two at a time to get upstairs. Evan roosted on the back of the chair beside Rose. Rose opened the door. “Rose. I’d apologize for not calling ahead,” Uncle Paul said, “But-” “I knew,” Rose interrupted. “We even had time to tidy up.” That seemed to put him slightly off balance. Rose was different. Poised. He seemed a little caught off guard. “If this is the place after cleaning up, I’m very concerned about what it was like before,” Aunt Steph snarked. “We had, how should I put it, unwelcome visitors? Something of a break in,” Rose said. That shut Aunt Steph up. “A break in?” Uncle Paul asked, skeptical. “I’m more inclined to think you had a party.” “No,” Rose said. Confident, clearly in control of herself. “It was a break in. I’m guessing you found something in the contract.” “Several somethings,” our father said. “Of course. Come in,” she said. She didn’t wait to see if they’d listen, or wait for a response. They followed her into the living room. “You’re wearing grandmother’s clothes?” Callan asked. “Funny thing,” Rose said. “All the clothes that I had over at mom and dad’s place were, what was it exactly? They just happened to go up in flames?” “They were packed into the back of the garage for storage, and, unfortunately, the garage flooded earlier this fall.” Rose spread her hands. One by one, everyone found seats. Adults took the sofa and chairs first, the younger individuals – Callan, Kathryn, Ellie, Peter, James, Christoff, and Roxanne, all stood, framing their parents. A show of force. Evan had apparently gone completely unnoticed as Aunt Jessica sat down. He flapped his wings, fluttering, and she startled, flying out of her chair. Rose whistled, and Evan flew to her. I was supposed to feel bothered by that, but I was glad she had that. “What’s with the bird? And the getup? Why not buy clothes. And act sane? You look weird,” Roxane said. Roxanne was twelve, her blonde hair normally straight but presently curled, spoiled rotten by Uncle Paul and Aunt Jessica, aware that she was pretty and cute, and fully capable of leveraging that to get what she wanted. She managed to put a lot of bite into very simple criticisms. I imagined she was an unholy terror in whatever grade she was in. “I’m a little weird these days,” Rose answered. “I said that badly,” Roxanne said. “You look fucked up. It’s like you’re a crazy bird lady only it’s more fucked because you’re too young to pull it off. Can’t we get the house if she’s crazy?” “The term is mentally unsound,” Uncle said. “And yes, we could. But we don’t need to.” “I know false bravado when I see it,” Rose said. “You’re confident, you’re not that confident.” “And you’re a twenty year old girl with a high school education,” Uncle Paul said. “The house is visibly falling apart. You know the contract terms name you custodian and heir only if you keep things to a certain standard.” “That’s your plan of attack?” Rose asked. “I thought you’d surprise me.” “This is preliminary,” Uncle said. “We’re not going to discuss everything we found with you. We would like to give you an idea of what we’d be saying and doing if lawyers were to get involved.” He dropped the pad of papers on the coffee table. It was thick enough to thud as it landed. “You’re trying to intimidate me? Uncle P, you have no idea what I’ve been dealing with these past few weeks.” “Believe me,” he said, “I actually think I have an idea.” I walked through my version of the room, and changed my focus. Letting go. It was harder than it had been. My first attempt failed. “Why don’t you illuminate us?” “No.” My second attempt managed to produce a reflection of the pile of papers on the coffee table. I picked them up, and began to leaf through them, looking at the highlighted points. “You claimed the place was broken into just yesterday? Did you file a police report?” “No.” “Why not?” “That’s none of your business. I’m not volunteering any more information, if you’re just here to fish and make one of the obvious and most easily dismissed legal stabs at me.” She was right. There was more to it than that. I flipped straight to the end, and found notes. I snapped my fingers. Peter turned his head. Then scrambled to get out of the way as Evan flew over. I bent down low. “Tell her,” I murmured, “They are going to declare her mentally unsound. Duncan is helping. Sandra is helping. People are on their way now. They are going to get her put in a mental hospital. It will not last for any longer than they need it to, but it will free someone else to come after the rest of them, without risking hurting her. She needs to stop it from happening. Go.” Evan flew back to Rose. Looking visibly distressed, Aunt Steph asked, “Can you cage that thing?” “Thing?” Evan asked. Nobody reacted. His voice was only for us to hear. “I’ll get him a bit of food,” Rose said. She stepped into the kitchen. I followed her. “Mental aslyum,” Evan said. “Just to keep you out of the way.” Rose nodded, but couldn’t reply without being heard talking to herself. Which wouldn’t help matters. “Right now, they’re coming. We need to deal with it somehow,” I said. Rose shook her head. “Against Sandra? And Duncan? They’re too strong.” “What, then?” I asked. “We’re going to give them me,” she said. She sounded a little too much like Conquest, and not quite enough like Rose. “And we’ll let them face the consequences.” Last Chapter Next Chapter
Jupiterimages This is the second of three articles adapted from Tracie McMillan’s new book, The American Way of Eating: Undercover at Walmart, Applebee’s, Farm Fields and the Dinner Table. Read Part 1 here: I Got Hired To Do the Hardest Job at Applebee’s. One thing I almost never see at Applebee’s, not in my first week or anytime after, are customers. I hear the one-line stories dropped by waitstaff and managers between runs to the dining room, all of which inevitably skew towards the outrageous and scatological. (“So I take the birthday cake to the table, and her husband says she went to the bathroom and then her friend says, ‘She’s taking a shit.’ I mean, what do you say to that?”) But otherwise, I hear nothing, see nothing of the people who eat here apart from the plates sent back to be corrected by the cooks. I poll my co-workers, though, about who’s out there ordering all these shrimp-parm steaks (sirloins topped with a handful of grilled shrimp and a dollop of parmesan cream sauce), steak quesadilla towers (strips of grilled beef rolled up with cheese, onions and peppers, burrito style, then grilled, sliced in half and arrayed vertically), and chicken fried chickens (a flat pancake of a chicken patty, breaded and deep fried, served atop two mounds of mashed potatoes and flooded with a peppery gravy that’s been nuked in a Styrofoam cup). So far as anyone can tell me, the typical table at our Brooklyn establishment is occupied by middle-class blacks and Latinos, interspersed with college students plying the bar, a few after-theater drop ins, and a more mixed lunch clientele from nearby businesses. There’s no real way for me to know if “middle-class” means actually middle income or simply that most of those who show up don’t look poor or rich. This is a place, after all, that probably constitutes a splurge for most folks, and our management knows it, reminding us that tax season is beginning and people are looking to spend their refund checks on a treat. Statistically speaking, the servers’ assessment is probably right: Our patrons most likely come from the middle-to-upper class. Full-service restaurants like Applebee’s tend to draw their customers from higher-income households, a function of economics. Even with deals like Applebee’s “Two For Twenty,” which feeds two adults for $20, a family of four could easily end up with a bill of $70 by the time tax and tip are taken care of. At that rate, families earning $50,000 could spend their “eating out” budget at our tables almost twice a month, while families earning more than $75,000 could do so every six days. But if I am surprised to learn of Applebee’s solid middle-class appeal, even this far from the midwestern highway exits and shopping mall parking lots that I associate it with, that’s only because I haven’t been paying attention to the restaurant industry. Restaurants like Applebee’s are just a modern expression of a midcentury invention: the family restaurant. Fine dining has existed for the wealthy since the first formal restaurant opened in France in 1782. Quick, cheap food for workers, whether from peddlers’ carts or tavern tables, is as old as modern civilization itself. But eating out wasn’t introduced to the middle class until much later, around the turn of the twentieth century—and even then, it was still modest. Then came the 1950s. As the American middle class sprawled out after World War II, and we became a nation transported by automobiles, eating out came within reach of far more Americans. First and foremost, we had more money. From 1947 to 1975, our real incomes nearly doubled. And as our incomes rose, we spent more of our money to go out to dinner. In 1940, Americans spent about fourteen percent of their food budget on eating out; by 1975 it was up to twenty-two percent, and by 2010 it was forty-one. But families were heading for suburbia and car culture, making a family outing seem like less hassle. And more women were working outside the home, many of them lured to part-time work as a way to boost their living standards. McDonald’s gets all the attention as the premier chain of the 1950s (it opened shop in 1948), and it is the indisputable pioneer of turning meal preparation into an industrial activity. But its predecessors laid the groundwork for automated cooking. In the late 1800s, Fred Harvey tacked dining car restaurants onto trains running between Kansas and New Mexico, staffed by uniformed Harvey Girls and serving a wide variety of freshly prepared meals. He pioneered the development of centralized menu planning and, importantly, the logistics management it required. But it wasn’t until the 1940s, at Howard Johnson’s, that centralized food preparation began to enter the mainstream, tying affordable meals to taking the family out as a unit for a sit-down meal. Howard Johnson’s made its initial fortunes by selling meals to families traveling long distances on state turnpikes before World War II. Along the way, HoJo’s did something even bigger: It figured out what could, and could not, be industrialized when trying to run a sit-down restaurant. At first, the restaurant used all the conveniences that modern industry had on offer to prepare meals. Its central commissaries used condensed bouillon, precooked chicken, margarine and frozen vegetables to prepare massive quantities of chicken pot pie filling and clam chowder. The cooks froze great blocks of the stuff and then shipped it out to be defrosted on site. Then, in the early 1960s, the chain started to experiment with improving their food quality, figuring out how to use modern culinary technology to its best advantage. The company was learning important lessons: If you remove the ultra-perishable bellies from fried clams, you can ship breaded strips of the shellfish out to be fried on-site. Macaroni and cheese tastes better if it is portioned out at the commissary, frozen, and then baked at the restaurant. This was the kind of culinary research that required serious kitchen know-how, and for the key, experimental stint during the 1960s, HoJos employed real chefs for the task. Jacques Pépin, a celebrated French chef of 1960s New York, ran the central commissary in Queens, while his contemporary, Pierre Franey took a post as Vice President and traveled the country doing quality control for the company—even serving his gourmet friends reheated frozen meals on the sly as a way to test their quality. Within the next decade, Howard Johnson’s research paid off—less for HoJos than the emerging fast-food chains like Burger King, Kentucky Fried Chicken and, naturally, McDonald’s, all of which stripped down HoJo’s techniques to offer food quicker and cheaper. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, eating out was more accessible to the middle class than ever before. Rising incomes were part of it, but so were new food distributor networks cropping up to produce, store, distribute and deliver a vast range of pre-made foods that could be cooked, reheated, or assembled from constituent parts into meals. Sysco, today the largest food supplier for restaurants in the country, went public in 1969. By 1980, when the first Applebee’s opened in Atlanta, Georgia, chain restaurants ruled the suburbs and highways. Sophisticated distribution companies that could manage a mix of perishable, frozen and dry goods with ease were up and running—something critical to developing a standardized menu that went beyond burgers and could be replicated nationwide. Those networks could be hired to supply restaurants, or could provide a template for operators who wanted to run their own, providing a means of expanding singular restaurants into chains. That’s what happened at Applebee’s, which started out as a neighborhood eatery called T.J. Applebee’s Rx for Edibles & Elixirs, which was headed up by Bill and TJ Palmer. The eatery was so successful the couple sold it three years after opening their doors, to corporate giant W.R. Grace and Company—which eventually sold the rights to the Applebee’s concept to a pair of franchise operators in Kansas City. By the time the company went public in 1989, there were one hundred Applebee’s in the country; in 1999, there were 1,000 all over the globe. Other full-service chains were doing the same, leveraging industrial economies of scale and advanced distribution technologies to move a great river of food down American highways to their myriad far-flung outposts. In 2009, Applebee’s operated 2,008 restaurants, 140 of them abroad. You could get the same Firepit burger in Lebanon as in Brazil, the same platter of riblets in Greece as you’d order in Mexico. Eating at these places became a hallmark of American prosperity, a celebration of mainstream, middle-class success. When Applebee’s opened a restaurant in the heart of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn in 2006, neighborhood leaders and city officials alike considered it a coup—a sign that the tide was turning for one of America’s most infamous ghettoes. By the time I’m in the kitchen, though, it feels like America’s rising fortunes have stalled. A quarter of New York City lives below the poverty line, and while it has always had more poor than the nation as a whole, the gap has narrowed—not because more New Yorkers moved up in the 2000s, but because more of America got poorer over the same period. Unemployment is peaking, stretching to over ten percent nationwide—and above eleven in Brooklyn. Any sensible working family, really, would be well-advised to cook their meals at home. And yet, they keep coming, flocking to Applebee’s, families and couples and professional lunchers, waiting twenty, thirty minutes—even with some of the city’s most lauded restaurants a ten-minute walk away. In one of my first weeks here, the denizens of my store’s borough, more than a third of them born on foreign shores, spent $122,000 at our Applebee’s, nearly eight times the weekly sales of an average restaurant. Applebee’s doesn’t sell itself as a cultural experience the way more self-conscious restaurants do, but I suspect that’s just downmarket advertising at work. Our customers might not visit Ethiopia or Indonesia or a lush farm upstate by eating here, but it takes them somewhere else that’s becoming just as rare: the twentieth century American dream, when owning your own home and going out for a nice meal were within easy reach for so many of us. And that, oddly enough, makes my work at Applebee’s gratifying in a way that I doubt I’d find in fine dining. Our customers aren’t here for the food—not in any sophisticated culinary sense. They’re here to take a night off from the daily grind. From The American Way of Eating: Undercover at Walmart, Applebee’s, Farm Fields and the Dinner Table by Tracie McMillan. Copyright © 2012 by Tracie McMillan. Excerpted with permission by Scribner, a Division of Simon & Schuster.
Let’s play a word association game. I’m going to give you a term, and you tell me what comes to mind. Ready? “Mexican underground tunnels.” And the correct answer is…awesome tourist destination! Who had that? Yeah, I didn’t think so. The Riviera Maya is a stretch of coast on the East side of the Yucatan peninsula. It has the beautiful beaches and resorts you’d expect of any place that self-applies the term “Riviera.” But just a bit inland, in the state of Quintana Roo, is a tourist attraction that is the opposite of wide open vistas and sunny skies. There are the Cenotes, caves that serve as the gateway to some of the world’s longest underground rivers. Many of them are currently being explored and charted by the National Geographic’s specialized cave divers. Others are being explored by slightly less qualified adventurers, namely me. I started my caving adventure in the Sac-Actun Cenote system by rappelling down into an enormous dark mouth of a cave with assistance from the Alltournative adventure agency. A few slightly nerve-racking moments later, found myself in the the second longest underwater cave system in the world, one that stretches 110 miles, that we know of (most it is still unexplored). Near the entrance, I could see the mighty stalactites and stalagmites glisten in the humidity, and see single drops of water fall from the ‘tites onto the ‘mites, knowing that the same drop had been falling for millions of years. (And yes, I’m a cave explorer now, so I can use ‘tites and ‘mites in conversation, as long as I can remember which is which). I swam through the amazingly clear water, purified by the underwater system, the bottom and sides of the river as smooth as a swimming pool or waterslide (at a good water park anyway.) There are over 130 Cenotes within Sac-Actun, which translates from the Mayan language to mean “The White Cave.” They call it this because you can actually see in this cave, and because of the nearly-organic looking limestone that the caves are cut out of. The other caves, the deeper, darker ones, don’t have names with visual descriptors. That’s because they are caves, they are black, and they are both terrifying and serene at the same time. Next, we snorkeled into the Nohoch Nah Chich cavern, which had continually breathtaking rock formations, including millenary stalactites and stalagmites, which had a strange coral look that made me think “hmmm…this looks like where sharks live,” even though I knew that no sharks could possibly live there. Totally sure of that. Yep…no doubt about it. No way I was getting attacked by any monsters while snorkeling in the dark of an underground cave. I jokingly confirmed with my guide that this was the case. He assured me that the danger was getting lost, which would lead to a slow, painful death as opposed to the quick release of a shark/monster attack. So I felt totally better. Before entering the water I participated in a traditional Mayan purification ceremony. This involved lots of smoke Mayan chants, that the priest claimed was purifying my soul. I tried to ask why I needed my soul purified, since usually you worry about having a pure soul RIGHT BEFORE YOU DIE, but apparently it’s more like you want to be clean because the cave has holy significance. Or he could have been purifying me so I wouldn’t give a monster an upset stomach. (Did Mel Gibson make me mistrust Mayan ceremonies? Why do I keep associating them with death?) After I got into the Cenote, we traveled by a combination of doggy paddling, climbing over and between the jagged limestone rocks, and jumping off the rocks into pools (depth mostly unknown. These were literal leaps of faith). Our guide, an Archeologist from Rio Secreto, assured us when it was safe to jump. He knew the caves, and would occasionally stop us and tell us to point our flashlights up, and we would realize the cave roof, which had been a few feet above us before, now was 100 feet above our head, and were standing in a cathedral, a monument to the church of Geology, formed by processes and forces that view all of human history as a blink of an eye. And this was only minutes from the tourist resorts on Playa del Carmen. I think this is especially exciting, because it means that as a traveler, you’re close to both a ton of clubs and relaxation type spots, but also adventures like this. If you’ve got even a week to kill, it’s easy to find cheap flights to the area and get a wonderful blend of action and relaxing. In one particular dry spot, I climbed over what appeared to be a pterodactyl fossil (it was dark, but still – not a good sign) and sat down. I sat in pure darkness for a few minutes, the first of which were discomforting. I could feel my brain search for stimulus, my thoughts accelerated, the constant input from the outside world cut off, and synapses fired just for the sake of firing. But after a few minutes of anxiety, I could felt myself accept the silence and darkness, and I entered the meditative state where could feel the air on my skin. I waved my hand in front of face and saw nothing. But I could smell the odor of my dirty hands. Could I have smelled them normally? Or were my brain’s visual resources being diverted to olfactory areas? Was I becoming Daredevil? Soon we moved on, and the moment was over. After that, however, I felt more confident about anticipating pterodactyl attacks. When we got out, I felt happy to be in the sunlight, and to see and hear the busy life of the jungle. But after the initial happiness of surfacing, I felt like I wanted to go back down. Being so out of one’s element, splashing and jumping off of limestone slides and platforms into mysterious pools is not like anything else. People don’t consider cave diving a serious tourist attraction and this is a shame. There are only so many environmental variables on the planet to experience. There is really hot, really cold. There is forest and jungle, and there is ocean and desert. There are mountains and valleys. But they are always outside. Being in a cave, one that extends hundreds of miles, is one of the few truly alien experiences you can have right here on Earth. Are you not done reading about weird stuff in Mexico? Try Shamans, Spas, and Mel Gibson: Spiritual Tourism in Mexico, Mexico, Beyond the Border and the Hype: Adventure Travel in Veracruz, Cenotes – Underground Sinkhole Exploration for Dummies, or Pre-Urban Exploration Mexico: Hilton Puerto Vallarta Resort
Fernet is a bracingly bitter liqueur from the amaro family, a category of spirits that are often consumed after a meal to help aid in digestion or to help settle an upset stomach. Fernet isn’t actually a brand of spirit, it’s a style of amaro whose intense flavor has been likened to everything form a mix of Aqua Velva and mouthwash to drinking a minty pine cone. While there are several brands of Fernet currently available (including Luxardo Fernet, Leopold Brother’s American Fernet Leopold, and a sweeter and minter Fernet Brancamenta), when people refer to Fernet, they often mean Fernet-Branca. Manufactured by the Fratelli Branca Distillerie in Milan, Fernet-Branca is one of the higher proof amari (78 proof / 39% ABV), and also one of the lowest in sugar. Fernet-Branca is made from an assortment of forty herbs, roots, and spices. While the exact recipe is a secret, we do know that Fernet-Branca contains aloe ferox (also known as bitter aloe), gentian (a bittering agent), chamomile, angelica, quinine, colombo root, chinese rhubarb, myrrh, peppermint, saffron, and ireos. These herbs, spices, and roots are divided up between hot infusion (basically percolating herbs like coffee with spirit) and cold infusion, during which they are soaked in alcohol and then centrifuged. After the infusions are left to settle for a month, they are blended and then aged for a full year into Slovenian oak barrels and Eastern European oak. Fernet-Branca is one of the few amari to be aged for a full year. The aging process serves to both add characteristics from the barrel and to intensify flavors of the spirit. The nose on Fernet-Branca is intensely herbal and considerably stronger than other herbal liqueurs like Jägermeister. While Fernet-Branca’s intense herbaceousness is often what people smell at first, it’s the strong peppermint which emanates from underneath all the dense herbs that defines Fernet-Branca’s character. Underneath this minty piney top note are deeper root and floral notes. There’s a caramel note in there, too, but as you try to dig through the nose of Fernet-Branca, the mint constantly pops up and dominates. Fernet-Branca is extremely popular in Argentina, the largest consumer of the spirit, where it is often consumed with Coca-Cola. In the United States, Fernet-Branca found a home among craft bartenders, who embraced the bitter amaro as a tribal “right of passage” drink. This is one of the reasons why Fernet is often referred to as “The Bartender’s Handshake” and shots of Fernet are frequently consumed when groups of bartenders assemble. As with most things related to alcohol, the exact intersection between Fernet and the craft cocktail universe isn’t well or accurately documented. The most likely story is that it was discovered by young bartenders working at restaurants in the predominantly Italian area of South Beach in San Francisco. Fernet would have been one of many amari on the back bar of the old historic Italian restaurants and perhaps the one least often consumed by its customers, making it a perfect option for a quick backroom nip. Because of its intense flavor and bracing mint, Fernet-Branca has a refreshing quality to it. Whereas taking a shot of whiskey can make you feel warm all over, Fernet-Branca gives you a cool, invigorating feeling – one reason why it’s often considered a good “second wind shot”, and a perfect shot for a working bartender who is looking for something quick and easy to help carrying them through a long shift. Bartenders’ conspicuous consumption of Fernet didn’t go unnoticed by their customers, and this helped create a solid following following for Fernet, especially in areas with strong concentrations of craft cocktail bars (including San Francisco, New York, and Portland, Oregon). Fernet also began to find its way onto drink menus in mixed drinks as craft bartenders showed off their ability to incorporate Fernet’s strong flavors in more balanced and approachable drinks. This lead to the resurrection of drinks like The Hanky Panky, a classic drink from the 1900s which appeared in the famed Savoy Cocktail Book. The Hanky Panky, a variation on the sweet martini, has 1 ½ ounces of gin, 1 ½ ounces of sweet Italian vermouth, and 2 dashes of Fernet, stirred over ice and then served up in a chilled cocktail coupe with an orange peel on top. Hanky Panky By Ada Coleman, head bartender at the American Bar in The Savoy (1925) 1 1/2 oz. gin 1 1/2 oz. sweet vermouth 2 dashes Fernet Branca Stir ingredients with ice in a mixing glass and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a twist of orange peel. Fernet-Branca is intensely bitter and deeply herbal, so it definitely falls into the “acquired taste” category. The role of mint and subtle sugar in the mix really do serve to pull all this intense herbaceousness and bitterness together, and help transform it into something that is oddly crave worthy. I’ve had many discussions with bartenders about their favorite amaro, and often things like Nardini, Cynar, and Amaro Nonino get mentioned. Then somehow when someone mentions Fernet-Branca, there are shot glasses lined up on the bar and we’re all doing shots of Fernet. It’s hard to think of another spirit that has this unique and ritualistic following. Fernet-Branca (39% / 78 proof, $24)
Rotational and Geographical Poles of the Earth Like a giant spinning top, our blue planet rotates around an imaginary axis which intersects the Earth’s surface at the rotational North and South Poles. These rotational poles, however, do not necessarily correspond to the geographic poles of the Earth. This is because, as the Earth is not a perfect sphere, it wobbles on its axis, thereby constantly shifting the position of its rotational axis. Scientists use the position of stars and methods of satellite telemetry to measure the position of the Earth’s imaginary rotational axis, as well as by taking the long-term averages of these rotational positions. From there, they can estimate the location of the Earth’s geographical North and South Poles. The Earth Wobbles? Scientists studying the Earth’s rotation have observed that the rotational poles of the Earth are not stable, and actually shift positions due to their wobbling effect. In the past, the rotational axis would oscillate from east to west and vice versa, with an overall trend which indicated that the axis was shifting towards Canada. However, since 2000, the phenomenon has exhibited a dramatic change, and the Earth’s rotational axis is now on a steady shift in the eastern direction, heading towards the Greenwich Meridian in the United Kingdom. The Cause? As explained by Surendra Adhikari and Eirk Ivins, researchers at a U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) laboratory in their recently published paper “Climate-Driven Polar Motion: 2003-2015”, published in the journal Science Advances, the eastward shift in the Earth’s rotational axis is coming about as a result of climate change. The scientists claim that, as ice melts in one part of the planet and collects in the form of liquid water in the other part, the shift in the mass is sufficient to make the Earth wobble worse, and tilt even more towards its heavier side. The fact that Greenland loses over 600 trillion pounds of ice each year and that western Antarctica loses 275 trillion pounds of ice annually can easily provide an estimate of the redistribution of weight occurring on the planet. However, this is still not able to explain the sustained shift of the Earth’s rotational axis to the east, since it is expected that the melted water will soon be distributed evenly to halt a sustained shift of the axis in a singular direction. The researchers thus explain that it is not just the melting of ice sheets at the poles, but also the high rates of evaporation and extractions of fresh water from the lakes and aquifers around the Caspian Sea region and in India, facilitated by both global warming and booming human populations, an that these are also shifting the Earth’s rotational axis to the right. Thus, this combined action of melting ice and changes in continental water storage is ultimately tilting the planet in one direction over the other. A Lesson Learned The shifting of the Earth’s rotational axis does not appear to have any current implications for life on Earth. If this shift remains steady over a longer period of time, however, it might become deemed necessary for scientists to recalculate the position of the geographical South and North Poles of our planet. Even though the eastward tilting of the Earth does not have any direct implications, it is indeed quite meaningful. This same polar motion data can also be used by scientists to make more accurate climate change predictions for the future. The dramatic shift also reveals the profound impact human activities are having on our blue planet. If such activities are able to send the planet off balance, it can be well imagined the impact such activities are having on the Earth’s climate, ecosystems, and biodiversity.
The voice of "Dora the Explorer" Fatima Ptacek poses with Nickelodeon's character 'Dora' on July 29, 2014 in New York City. The teenage actress who voices Nickelodeon's spunky "Dora the Explorer" character was given special treatment after she was caught vaping in a private high school bathroom, according to a lawsuit filed Monday by another student's parents. The parents of a 14-year-old former student at Manhattan's Avenues: The World School, identified as M.S. in a state Supreme Court civil case, say their child was forced out of the private school while 15-year-old actress Fatima Ptacek was only suspended for three days after they were caught using a vapor pen to inhale caramel-flavored water last December. The lawsuit refers to Ptacek, who's from Queens, by her initials but identifies her as being the voice of Dora and an actress in an Oscar-winning movie. "The fact that F.P. is a known actress for being the voice of Dora Explorer may have played a role in why she was ultimately not expelled even after the school threatened as much, and M.S. was expelled instead as a scapegoat," says the lawsuit by the parents, Nadia Leonelli and Fredrik Sundwall. Ptacek's publicist did not return a request for comment on Monday. Neither did a spokesman for Nickelodeon. School spokesman Bruce Bobbin said disciplinary matters are "private and confidential," and he declined to comment on the lawsuit. Leonelli and Sundwall want their daughter reinstated in the school and are seeking $40,000 in damages to cover tuition payments and legal fees, according to their court filing. Their daughter had never been in trouble before and succumbed to peer pressure because she wanted to appear "cool" in front of Ptacek, the lawsuit said. "Dora the Explorer," which premiered in 2000, features a bilingual Latina main character and her adventures inside an animated world. Ptacek voiced the title role from 2012-2015 and has voiced Dora's character on the spinoff "Dora and Friends: Into the City!" since 2014, according to her website. Copyright Associated Press
Recently, an Army veteran who was convicted of having Glock pistol magazines in violation of New York’s state gun laws has managed to avoid prison time, but he’s not giving up the fight. This story from guns.com says Simeon Mokhiber, 42, of Niagra Falls, was convicted on charges earlier this year stemming from violations of the state’s magazine capacity limits imposed by the SAFE Act. In 2016, Mokhiber was stopped by police, who found three loaded Glock 17 magazines which exceeded the 10-round limit. He could have been sentenced to as much as 21 years in prison for three counts of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, the story says. Instead, Niagara County Judge Matthew Murphy this week handed down a sentence of 15 hours of community service and about $500 in fines and fees. Mokhiber said he plans to fight the conviction on the grounds that the SAFE Act is unconstitutional. New York is certainly not the only state in the U.S. with limits on magazine capacity, and a national magazine ban has been proposed in the wake of the Las Vegas shooting on October 1. It can get kind of tough to keep track of. Here’s a quick guide to the magazine restrictions in various states, important if you carry concealed and travel over state lines, and particularly important when traveling among the patchwork of states in the northeast and New England, where the laws are mostly restrictive and, sometimes, complex. If a state is not listed below, it does not have any laws restricting magazine capacity. For more information, handgunlaw.us is an excellent resource. NOTE: The following information in no way constitutes legal advice or guidance. Please consult your local laws and authorities. States and Cities with Magazine Capacity Restrictions (UPDATED: 8/2/18) California Magazine Capacity Limit: 10 rounds Law: PC 32310. Details: The importation, sale of, and manufacturing of any magazines that hold more than 10 rounds, for any type of firearm, is illegal. The importation, sale of, and manufacturing of any magazines that hold more than 10 rounds, for any type of firearm, is illegal. The law states that any “high-capacity” magazines possessed by state residents must be disposed of by being removed from the state, sold to a licensed firearms dealers, destroyed, or surrendered to law enforcement by July 1, 2017. Colorado & Denver Magazine Capacity Limit: 15 rounds Law: Sec. 18-12-301. Details: In addition to limiting detachable box magazines to 15 rounds, Colorado also limited tubular shotgun magazines to 28 inches and any detachable box magazine for a shotgun to eight rounds. Tubular .22LR magazines are exempt, as are lever-action firearms. Denver passed a 10-round magazine capacity limit that went into effect July 15. The city ordinance exempted law enforcement officials, members of the military, competitive shooters and people who hold federal firearm licenses. Connecticut Magazine Capacity Limit: 10 rounds Law: Bill No. 1160 LCO No. 5428 January 2013 Session Details: The state bans any detachable “magazine, belt, feed strip, or similar device that has the capacity of, or can be readily restored or converted to accept more than 10 rounds of ammunition. This doesn’t include permanently altered feeding devices, .22LR tube magazines, or the tube magazines on lever-action firearms. If you move to Connecticut from another state and you already own mags that hold more than 10 rounds, you have 90 days to either render them inoperable, sell hem to a licensed gun dealer, or remove the magazine from the state. There is an exemption for military personnel. If you were “…in lawful possession of a large capacity magazine and has been transferred into the state after January 1, 2014, may, within ninety days of arriving in the state, apply to the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection to declare possession of such large capacity magazine.” If a magazine is declared and registered, it must be kept at the person’s residence or place of business (only if it isn’t loaded with more than 10 rounds), on the premises of a target range or on the premises of a licensed shooting club. It’s also permitted to be in possession of them while traveling to any of the above places. The magazine laws and restrictions in Connecticut are numerous and complicated. You can read the entire bill here Washington D.C. Magazine Capacity Limit: 10 rounds Law: D.C. Official Code § 7-2506.01 Details: “The District of Columbia prohibits the possession, sale or other transfer of any large capacity ammunition feeding device, regardless of whether the device is attached to a firearm. ‘Large capacity ammunition feeding device’ is defined as a magazine, belt, drum, feed strip, or similar device that has a capacity of, or that can be readily restored or converted to accept, more than 10 rounds of ammunition.” Hawaii Magazine Capacity Limit: 10 rounds Law: Haw. Rev. Stat. § 134-8(c). Details: “The manufacture, possession, sale, barter, trade, gift, transfer, or acquisition of detachable ammunition magazines with a capacity in excess of ten rounds which are designed for or capable of use with a pistol is prohibited." This includes rifle magazines capable of use in any pistol, such as the AR-15, AK, M1 carbine, H&K carbine, Thompson, and aftermarket Ruger .22 magazines. Illinois Law: 430 ILCS 66 Section 90. Preemption. Details:The regulation, licensing, possession, registration, and transportation of concealed handguns and ammunition for concealed handguns by licensees are exclusive powers and functions of the State. Any ordinance or regulation, or portion thereof, enacted on or before the effective date of this Act that purports to impose regulations or restrictions on licensees or concealed handguns and ammunition for concealed handguns in a manner inconsistent with this Act shall be invalid in its application to licensees under this Act on the effective date of this Act. This Section is a denial and limitation of home rule powers and functions under subsection (h) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution. All local restrictions on Handguns are null and void. Local Governments can keep their restrictions on long guns and magazine bans for long guns. (With new state preemption laws, these following limits would only apply to long guns.) Aurora Law: § 29-49 Magazine Capacity Limit: 15 rounds Chicago Law: 8-20-010 Definitions Previous ordinances on the restrictions have been deleted and this section has all the restrictions for handguns and long guns in Chicago. The new preemption law voids all handgun restrictions in Illinois. Franklin Park Law: § 3-13G-3 Magazine Capacity Limit: 16 rounds Oak Park Law: §§ 27-2-1 and 27-1-2 Magazine Capacity Limit: 10 rounds Riverdale Law: Law: § 9.05.010, § 9.05.020 and § 9.05.030 Magazine Capacity Limit: 35 rounds
Shadowland Magazine published an article about Dragon Ball Z for their spring issue called “Cell: The Perfect Monster.” And it was written by me! What’s it about? Shadowland Magazine is a quarterly magazine that focuses on Science Fiction, Horror, Anime, Fantasy and the best in classic monster movie cinema. The theme for this issue was Post Apocalypse and “end of days” scenario’s. Dragon Ball has a LOT of end of days scenarios, from Piccolo Daimao to the arrival of the Saiyans and Majin Buu. For this article I decided to do a psychological analysis of Cell and pose questions about what it means to be an “artificial human” seeking “perfection.” I juxtapose the artificial human’s creation with the original film that inspired Akira Toriyama to make them in the first place; Blade Runner. By comparing and contrasting the concepts of man, machine, and monster I attempt to help the reader look within at their own humanity, and question what it actually means for the Saiyans to defeat these beings. Who is the real monster if the only way to end violence is with more violence? Be sure to pick up a copy at Shadowland Magazine’s website or at your local comic shop. If they don’t have it, request it! There’s also a discount coupon code on an advertisement in the magazine for “It’s Over 9,000!” But you need to get the magazine to get the code. This also marks the first time I’ve had an article about Dragon Ball Z published in a magazine. So go pick up a copy!
Surviving members to stage US charity gigs for disabled children Buffalo Springfield‘s surviving members have announced plans to reform after 42 years for two American charity concerts. Neil Young, Stephen Stills and Richie Furay are set to perform as an acoustic trio for the Bridge School Benefit in Mountain View, California on October 23, 24. The trio are staging the gigs at Shoreline Amphitheatre to raise funds for children with severe speech and physical impairments, reports Rollingstone.com. Young and his wife Pegi have organised charity gigs at the school since 1986. Pearl Jam, Elvis Costello, Kris Kristofferson, Modest Mouse, Grizzly Bear, Billy Idol, Lucinda Williams and Jackson Browne are also on the bill. Young, Stills and Furay are the only surviving members left of the original five-piece. Bassist Bruce Palmer died of a heart attack in 2004 and drummer Dewey Martin passed away from natural causes last year. The group released three albums – ‘Buffalo Springfield’, ‘Buffalo Springfield Again’ and ‘Last Time Around’ – before disbanding in 1968.
by DMtShooter, Five Tool Tool Today's list was inspired by an out of the blue comment from one of my blog's regular readers, who decided to slag Abraham Lincoln. No, really. In that it was the first time I've ever really read a criticism of the man, it made me wonder... where shouldn't you go, really? So here's the list of argument that you really should not make, unless you're really looking for a fight, or don't care how you are perceived. 10 - Jackie Robinson was overrated. In terms of pure statistics (1.518 hits, 137 home runs), Robinson struggles with a short career, and by playing in a strong pitching era, his numbers don't appear all that impressive. Of course, trying to assess Robinson's importance with numbers misses the point in ways that can only be described as breathtaking. 9 - Joe Namath's Super Bowl win was a fluke. This one inspires the outrage of J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS fans only slightly less than asking their teenage daughter for anal. Actually, make it more. Anyway, it's a great way to start a bar fight, or a few dozen comments... 8 - Mike Tyson never beat a good fighter. Defensible under the theory that the heavyweight division has gone to hell in a handbasket, but still wildly offensive to the people who grew up with the Iron One, and kept buying his fights deep into the Clown Period. 7 - Pete Rose should not be the all-time hit leader. Easier since the man disgraced himself with lying about gambling, but still offensive to those who spent years rooting for him to take out Ty Cobb... which he only did by being a player-manager that continually played himself despite being one of the worst hitters in baseball, just so he could get a record. 6 - The NBA was not better in the 80s. One more way to insult people of a certain age is to dismiss the golden age of Larry, Magic and Michael by pointing out that the league didn't have foreign talent, defensive intensity, top-tier coaching or advanced scouting. Bonus points if you can also insult their love of college hoop by pointing out how that's fallen apart. 5 - Muhammad Ali was helped by prison. This one's really not defensible on the merits, but it helps to demean Ali, which is just about impossible to do without revealing yourself as a terrible racist. Handle with care. 4 - Racial differences exist and are routinely exploited. Once more into the ugliness, and all you have to do is talk about Great White Wide Receivers, the utter dearth of caucasian cornerbacks, or why black guys don't punt or place-kick. This way to Campanis Land! 3 - New stadiums are media-aided theft. Sit in a new yard, and you can't help but be seduced by the sight lines, the wide concourses, the ample and clean restrooms... and it's all designed to separate you from your cash as fast as possible, so that you get less game for your entertainment dollar. And the reason why no one ever points this out in the media is because... those folks are being bought by the cushier press boxes. Theft, I tells ya, theft! 2 - Steroid abuse makes economic sense. Let's see... the athlete gets the job. The team gets production. The fans get the experience of watching what seems to be the finest athletes to ever play. The media gets to moralize. And doctors and pharmaceutical companies get to increase their billing. Everybody wins! 1 - The NFL's growth in popularity is entirely due to gambling. Point spreads. Over/unders. Fantasy leagues. Off-shore sportsbooks. Sure, there are plenty of people who live and die with their team, and need no more juice for the experience than just to see who wins and who loses. And frankly, there are fewer of them every day...
This pizza is so easy to make and tastes even better than one that can be delivered. I used store-bought crust that I got from Whole Foods and it made the pizza that much better. It was some of the best pizza crust I’ve ever had. I got the recipe from this incredible cookbook. Enjoy! Ingredients: 1 portobello mushroom, stemmed 3 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil Salt and freshly ground black pepper All-purpose flour, for dusting Two 8-ounce balls store-bought pizza dough Yellow cornmeal, for dusting 2/3 cup store-bought marinara sauce 6 marinated quartered artichoke hearts, each cut in half lengthwise 6 ounces (about 1 cup) mozzarella cheese, grated 6 very thin slices prosciutto 1 cup (lighly packed) fresh arugula (I put fresh basil on mine) Directions: Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place the portobello mushroom on a heavy baking sheet and drizzle with 1 teaspoon of the oil. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the mushroom is tender and its juices are released. Let the mushroom cool , and then cut it into 3/4 inch slices. Combine the mushroom strips and any accumulated juices in a bowl. Season the mushroom strips with salt and pepper to taste, and set aside. Lightly dust a work surface with flour, and press 1 ball of pizza dough into a thin round disk that is about 9 inches in diameter. Lightly dust a pizza pan, baking sheet, or pizza stone with cornmeal, and place the dough on the pan. Spread 1/3 cup of the marinara sauce over the dough in a thin layer, leaving a 1/2 inch border around the edge. Arrange half of the mushroom strips and half of the artichokes over the pizza. Sprinkle with half of the mozzarella cheese. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the bottom is crisp and a deep golden brown and the cheese has melted and become pale golden on top. Remove the pizza from the oven and transfer to a cutting board. Repeat with the remaining dough, marinara sauce, mushrooms, artichokes, and cheese. After the pizza is out of the oven, drape 3 slices of prosciutto over each pizza and scatter the arugula on top. Drizzle with the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil. Cut each pizza into 4-6 slices, and serve.
OTTAWA—The Harper government, which never foresaw that pipelines would become the battleground in a frenzied struggle over climate change, is contending with a continentwide wave of political opposition that has imperilled plans to sell more Canadian petroleum in foreign markets. The result of the unusual April 12 plebiscite , though non-binding, was seen as a serious blow to Enbridge Inc., the company behind the planned $6.5-billion conduit to carry oil from Alberta across the Rockies to an export terminal in Kitimat. In one of the first soundings of voter attitude toward the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline planned for B.C., the citizens of Kitimat turned out to reject the project in a referendum. In British Columbia, a few thousand people in the small coastal town of Kitimat have given powerful symbolic momentum to the movement against pipelines designed to carry oilsands-derived crude for export. In Canada, Enbridge is under fierce pressure to find ways to reduce the widespread opposition from aboriginals, greens and others in B.C. to Northern Gateway. So the company had launched an extensive campaign promoting the project in Kitimat before the local vote. The project would provide the town with 180 direct jobs worth $17 million, plus more spinoff employment for suppliers and builders, Enbridge had said. With the future of multibillion-dollar projects hanging in the balance, the issues surrounding energy development are becoming more heated by the day. These are the latest in a series of developments that have called into question the Harper government’s strategy of tapping oilsands-derived crude to cement Canada as a global energy superpower for decades to come. Obama, whose supporters are bitterly divided over Keystone, again put off a final decision on whether to allow the pipeline. Some had expected a yes-or-no answer on the project by mid-year. But Obama’s April 18 announcement means no ruling is likely until after the Nov. 4 U.S. congressional elections and possibly not until well into 2015. Less than a week later, U.S. President Barack Obama delivered a setback to another major Canadian pipeline proposal, the Keystone XL project designed to move petroleum from the oilsands to the United States. The Kitimat experience shows how hard it has become for Enbridge to address opposition to this pipeline, says Ben West, oilsands campaign director at ForestEthics Advocacy in Vancouver. But it was not enough to convince a majority of the town’s voters. “Frankly, I was actually surprised by the outcome,” he said, adding that Enbridge’s pro-pipeline campaign in Kitimat in advance of the plebiscite greatly outgunned the opposition. “It really was a grassroots response in Kitimat,” West said. “This is an area that is pretty desperately in need of economic development opportunities, but this project is already so tarred and feathered in the minds of many people in that part of the province that the idea that there is really anything the company could do to reverse that — at this point, it really doesn’t reflect reality.” The Kitimat vote was a small skirmish in the clash over new pipelines and oilsands production that has grown to global dimensions and has the potential to shape economic trends, energy supplies, environmental approaches, political fortunes and even diplomatic relations between Canada and the United States. Prime Minister Stephen Harper has linked Canada’s future prosperity to natural resource development, particularly from the huge oilsands deposits in Alberta. But the new pipelines that are key to this strategy have become a prime target of the environmental movement, which fears petroleum spills but also sees reining in oilsands production as a defining struggle in the effort to slow global warming. Just a day before the Kitimat referendum, federal government officials sent out to hold consultations with aboriginals on Northern Gateway were told by an influential group of First Nations leaders in B.C. that the pipeline was a no-go. “Their pipeline is now a pipe dream,” Chief Peter Erickson said. At the same time, hundreds of protesters marched through a suburb of Vancouver in the latest expression of opposition to another proposal to bring crude from Alberta to the B.C. coast — Kinder Morgan’s planned expansion of the 1,150-kilometre, 60-year-old Trans Mountain pipeline. And in the U.S., former president Jimmy Carter took the unusual step of publicly calling on Obama to reject TransCanada Corp.’s proposed $5.5-billion Keystone project. Carter pointedly referenced Obama’s recent state of the union pledge to tackle global warming, saying that putting a stop to Keystone would usher in a “new era” of environmental awareness. Two days later, Obama moved to delay a final decision. Keystone now looms as one of the legacy moments of his administration and no one seems to know how, or when, he will decide. With Keystone up in the air and Northern Gateway facing broad public hostility and possibly years of lawsuits from aboriginals, the federal government’s determination to tap into new foreign markets for oil exports is looking increasingly problematic. “How’s that energy superpower thing working out for you?” quips New Democrat MP Nathan Cullen, who represents the northern B.C. riding of Skeena—Bulkley Valley. “The strategy has completely backfired,” he told the Star. But Enbridge vowed after the Kitimat referendum to continue its efforts to win public acceptance of the project. “As a longtime resident of northwestern B.C., I passionately believe that Northern Gateway is the right choice for Kitimat and for the future of our community,” Donny van Dyk, Northern Gateway’s Kitimat-based manager of coastal aboriginal and community relations, said in a statement issued after the vote. And newly appointed federal Natural Resources Minister Greg Rickford said the Conservatives remain committed to opening up new markets for resource exports. “Our government is focused on the responsible development of our natural resources in a way that protects the environment and creates jobs and economic growth,” Rickford said. “We have been clear that projects will only proceed if they are found to be safe for Canadians after an independent, science-based environmental and regulatory review.” But watching these energy debates unfold, many observers have concluded the federal government and industry failed to anticipate the depth of opposition to new oil pipelines and completely mishandled attempts to seek aboriginal co-operation on Northern Gateway. “The energy companies made a fundamental mistake,” TD Bank chief economist Craig Alexander said in an interview. “They felt that selling the public on these projects was going to be far easier than it actually turned out to be. There were mistakes made about how to get buy-in from the public and from some governments on the merits of these projects. And they may not have fully incorporated some of the environmental issues into their planning process.” The Harper government appears to have been impatient with a range of issues around the creation of energy megaprojects. It has streamlined approval processes, narrowed the qualifications for intervenors in regulatory hearings and given the federal cabinet the final say on approving construction. Among environmentalists, then natural resources minister Joe Oliver’s 2012 suggestion that greens were trying to “hijack” the regulatory process to achieve their “radical ideological agenda” is seen as a spark that contributed to the explosion of opposition to West Coast pipelines and more oil tankers. Canada has also not shied away from lecturing Obama on Keystone, regardless of the cost to bilateral relations. Harper has said approving Keystone is a “complete no-brainer” and Ottawa would not take “no for an answer” from the White House. And when Jimmy Carter came out against Keystone, the Canadian government shot back that he shouldn’t forget the gasoline shortages that plagued Americans while he was president. After the latest Keystone postponement, Jason MacDonald, a Prime Minister’s Office spokesperson, said the Canadian government is disappointed that “politics” seems to trump all else in Washington. Now that Keystone is on hold, Harper will be under more pressure to give a final thumbs-up to Northern Gateway. A decision is expected from the federal cabinet by June. But some observers believe opposition to the pipeline across B.C. is so pronounced that the Conservatives will provide only a provisional approval, with more regulatory scrutiny before construction could actually begin. Doing so might delay a possible political backlash in B.C. beyond the next federal election in 2015. All of this uncertainty has increased interest in other means of getting oilsands-derived crude to deep-water ports for export. Besides the possibility of moving more petroleum by rail, there is growing interest in TransCanada’s $12-billion Energy East pipeline. The 4,600-kilometre line would carry oil from Alberta to export terminals and refineries in Eastern Canada. Much of it would be done by converting an existing natural gas conduit, with new sections of pipeline being built in parts of eastern Ontario and from Quebec to New Brunswick. After witnessing the outpouring of opposition to other proposals, TransCanada has gone out its way to discuss the project with communities and native groups along the pipeline route in advance of filing a full application for Energy East to federal regulators. But this option is also being scrutinized carefully. The Ontario Energy Board has been holding hearings as part of an independent assessment of the project’s impact on consumers, the economy, aboriginals and environmental safety. The Council of Canadians, along with other groups, is mounting a community-based campaign against Energy East under the banner: “Our Risk, Their Reward.” “Almost all of the oil is expected to be exported, with benefits flowing to the oil industry,” says Maude Barlow, the council’s national chairperson. “In Ontario, TransCanada will attempt to use a converted 40-year-old natural gas pipeline to carry tarsands oil, including diluted bitumen, over some of the province’s most important waterways, such as Nipigon River, which flows into Lake Superior.” But TransCanada says it will conduct extensive studies in advance of any construction to minimize the project’s impact on wildlife, land and the environment. The fact that much of the pipeline is already in the ground should lessen potential environmental problems, the company says. With files from The Canadian Press
Alan Pardew has already broken the club record for a signing this summer – but if last season’s slide is to be avoided the most significant addition may be to come Guardian writers’ predicted position: 12th (NB: this is not necessarily Dominic Fifield’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips) Last season’s position: 15th Odds to win the league (via Oddschecker): 750-1 Early August, with the top-flight season looming ever larger and an assessment of the state of play at Crystal Palace is far from straightforward. At first glance both club and squad would appear to be considerably stronger than a year ago. The ownership structure has been revamped to reflect heavy investment from the American businessmen Josh Harris and David Blitzer. There was encouragement, too, from an early summer splurge in the market that reinforced three previously troublesome sections of the side. Even with the club’s transfer record having been eclipsed once already to secure a recent England international, the sense is the most significant addition is still to come. Palace cannot rest easily just yet. This team have arguably lacked a consistent goalscoring presence since Glenn Murray landed awkwardly in the Brighton penalty area in the first leg of the 2013 play-off semi-final and felt the ligaments in his right knee wrench. Strikers have since succeeded only in fits and starts, from a recovered Murray to an eager Dwight Gayle, the regularly hamstrung Marouane Chamakh to Connor Wickham, who, infuriatingly for all, has been just as injury prone. None has proved prolific. Even those additions that were considered cost-effective gambles – Fraizer Campbell, Cameron Jerome, even Emmanuel Adebayor given the lack of a fee – never really paid off. They were probably risks worth taking, given Palace, still relatively new to this level and operating within the Premier League’s internal financial fair play guidelines, lacked the budget to splash cash. Yet, with the financial shackles now relaxed after three years in the elite and with the coffers bloated by the latest injection of television monies, ambition has been exposed. Back in the hierarchy’s post-season planning meetings, conducted in south London and on the Côte d’Azur, a belief had emerged that Palace’s intent might surprise a few. Eye-watering bids have duly been submitted for players from Merseyside to Marseille. The problem is, as yet, they have failed to land their man. Instead, this summer has been transformed into a test of patience. Marseille accepted a bid of £31.6m for Michy Batshuayi, who subsequently joined Chelsea for slightly more. West Bromwich Albion were sounded out over the availability of Saido Berahino and once Stoke City had offered a deal worth £20m, Palace tried the Chelsea tactic and made clear they could submit one that would rise to £23m. Jeremy Peace, who has made a habit of knocking back interest in his much-coveted forward, was still not inclined to accept. Not yet, anyway. That situation is likely to be revisited now Diafra Sakho appears destined for The Hawthorns, for all that Palace’s first game of the season is against Albion. The real intrigue lies with Christian Benteke, a player who will always be on the fringes of Jürgen Klopp’s plans but would appear ready-made for Palace’s favoured system. Liverpool are willing sellers at the right price. Palace initially offered a deal worth £25m and then upped that to £27m, plus add-ons – but the haggling has yet to yield agreement. It would probably be in all the parties’ interests to compromise and it is far from inconceivable Benteke and Berahino will start September at the south London club. With so many trying to save face, however, such transfers can be protracted affairs. Palace have simply been made to wait while pre-season friendlies offered reminders of their need as incisive approach play was too often undermined by a familiar lack of presence in the opponents’ box. Wickham is the only fit senior striker. Keshi Anderson and Freddie Ladapo, players plucked from non-league, are raw, not ready. The intent to strengthen bodes well. Palace are commencing a fourth consecutive season in the top flight and they have never enjoyed a five-year spell at that level. It had been a quarter of a century since the same manager even led them into successive campaigns in the elite, with the team’s toils since the turn of the year enough to convince Alan Pardew of the need to refresh and revive. Palace under Steve Parish and the previous ownership structure had progressed year on year since 2010: from Championship survival to mid-table, promotion via the play-offs, then 11th- and 10th-place finishes at the higher level. Last season, with its early burst of form and second FA Cup final appearance, had briefly threatened to be the best yet. It ended up feeling like a reality check. Pardew had offered a typically frank assessment while the Premier League campaign was fizzling out and long before Manchester United’s Jesse Lingard jettisoned those aspirations of a first major trophy in extra-time at Wembley. Before his team’s trip to Tyneside in April, the manager had surveyed the remaining games as “four fixtures to define our season either as one of the greatest Palace have ever had or as disappointing, if we lose the Cup final and finish in a low position”. Only one of those matches, at home to Stoke, was won. A 15th-place finish, which would have been cause for huge celebration only a few years ago, felt inadequate. The loss in the FA Cup final provided a numbing anticlimax to pursue the club into the summer. Pardew was probably proved right. What grated was the sense this was a missed opportunity. There had been the early-season successes, the win at Stamford Bridge – albeit one made rapidly to look routine – and the steady progress that resulted in Palace spending Christmas Day level with Tottenham Hotspur and outside the top four only on goal difference. As meaningless a stat as it was, there was still something impressive about the 61 points accrued over the calendar year of 2015, a tally bettered by only five clubs. But if the rise was eye-catching, the collapse was almost cataclysmic. The league sequence from Boxing Day read two victories in 21 matches, a prolonged stretch of dismal form the club had not endured since groping blindly through nine months without a home win to finish bottom in 1998. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Alan Pardew was convinced of the need to refresh his squad by Crystal Palace’s poor league form in the second half of last season. Photograph: Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images It was a reminder of the true depth of quality in a squad stretched by progress in both domestic cup competitions and how untimely injuries – Yannick Bolasie, Jason Puncheon, James McArthur and Wickham spent long periods on the sidelines – can derail even the most serene campaigns. “We have a lot of lessons to learn from this year,” Pardew had added before the 1-0 loss at St James’ Park. “Three years in the Premier League, and a Cup final, but people lose perspective about the size of this club. Our fans got carried away when we were flying at the top of the league with a fit squad and everything was good. We got injuries and our Cup run also affected that. We mustn’t let that happen to us again next year.” It should be acknowledged that it was the hierarchy, rather than the supporters, who had sought to raise expectations, given their desire to reinvent this club. But now, with an opportunity to ward off a repeat collapse, they have been nothing but bold. The France No2 goalkeeper, Steve Mandanda, had been hugely impressive over nine years at Marseille and arrived for a bargain £1.4m, while James Tomkins – for £10m – has plenty of Premier League experience and, at 27, is a centre-half who will recognise the opportunity for regular game-time offered by a switch across the capital. Andros Townsend’s transfer, for what most in the elite would consider a paltry £13.5m, was the first of the summer’s club record bids. Where Palace were so blunted by Bolasie’s absence last season, with the onus thrust on the impressive Wilfried Zaha to compensate, now they have options and pace aplenty from wide. There would appear to be greater depth and versatility. A setup boasting a new first-team coach in the former Colchester manager Kevin Keen – Andy Hughes, to Huddersfield Town, and John Salako have moved on – potentially possess the ability to tweak their tactical approach. Pardew experimented with three at the back – a formation Wales ensured is suddenly en vogue – over their three-game trip to the US in pre-season and seemed keen, too, to explore how to use a strike partnership in attack. Palace supporters still salivate over the prospect of that pair being Benteke with Berahino. The weeks ahead will prove whether those aspirations are realistic.
At least seven men were killed and another 12 injured on Monday when the Israeli army blew up an attack tunnel stretching from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory, the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said in the deadliest incident in the coastal enclave since the 2014 Gaza war. Israel’s Chanel 2 put the death toll at 11, but this was not confirmed by Hamas officials. “The explosion took place inside Israeli territory. The majority of the dead were activists that entered the tunnel after it was exploded and died in the Gaza Strip, and not as a result of the explosion,” said an IDF spokesperson Avichay Adraee Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Free Sign Up The IDF said the terror tunnel was discovered inside Israeli territory near the Gaza Strip and is believed to have been dug after 2014. The tunnel was being built by the Islamic Jihad terror group. It ran from the Gazan city of Khan Younis, crossed under the border for dozens of meters, and approached Kibbutz Kissufim. The incident significantly raised tensions in the region, with leaders of the different Palestinian terror groups meeting in Gaza in a bid to formulate a response. Israel deployed its Iron Dome rocket interceptors in the area and declared a closed military zone near the Gaza border in case the Palestinians tried to respond with rocket fire. “We are not interested in an escalation but we are ready for all scenarios” Adraee said. Media reports said Islamic Jihad wanted an immediate coordinated military response, while Hamas was urging caution and coordination with Egypt in order not to jeopardize the fragile Palestinian unity deal that is supposed to be implemented over upcoming weeks. Above: Casualties of the strike at a Gaza hospital. Hamas called the Israeli strike a “dangerous escalation against our people” and said it was “a desperate attempt to sabotage efforts to restore Palestinian unity.” “We affirm that resisting the occupation, in all its forms and through the use of various tools, is a natural and guaranteed right of our people,” the Hamas statement said, adding that it stood together with Islamic Jihad. “We are brothers in jihad and comrades in martyrdom, united around the core principles of our people and its resistance.” The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said four of the dead were Islamic Jihad members, including two senior commanders, Arafat Abu Murshad, the Islamic Jihad’s central Gaza commander and his deputy Hassan Abu Hassanein. The other three others were named as Ahmad Khalil Abu Armana, 25, Omar Nasar al-Fallit, 27, and Jihad Abdullah al-Samiri, 32. Two Hamas members, Musbah Shabir, 30 and Mujahid Mohammed Marwan Algha, were also killed during the rescue operation, Hamas said. Islamic Jihad also threatened revenge. “This is a massacre,” said senior Islamic Jihad leader Khaled al-Batash. “All our options are open. We will take all considerations into account, but we will not allow the enemy to set the rules of engagement.” “The Zionist terror government must realize that we will not hesitate to protect our people and our land,” Islamic Jihad spokesman Dawood Shehab said on Twitter, adding that the terror group “is considering all of its options,” including the “option of responding to this aggression.” Islamic Jihad is the second-largest terror group in Gaza after Hamas. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman hailed the IDF for destroying the attack tunnel, with the two leaders attributing its discovery to Israel’s new “breakthrough technology.” In remarks at the weekly Likud faction meeting, the prime minister said the long-rumored advanced technology to locate the attack tunnels had been utilized in the recent operation. “I told you many times before that we are developing breakthrough technology to deal with the tunnel threat,” said Netanyahu at the start of the meeting. “We are implementing it. Today, we located a tunnel and we destroyed it.” The prime minister said Israel holds Hamas responsible for all military action against Israel emanating from the Gaza Strip and “whoever hurts us, we hurt them.” Earlier, the military said the tunnel had been under surveillance for an extended period of time and was under active construction at the time of the demolition. “The tunnel was detonated from within Israel, adjacent to the security fence,” the military said in a statement. IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said the tunnel was at least two kilometers (1.25 miles) away from the kibbutz and did not pose a threat to its residents. Liberman also said no Israelis were endangered by the tunnel. The demolition was carried out near the fence separating Israel from Gaza, on the Israeli side. The destruction of the tunnel was first reported by Palestinian media on Monday afternoon. The reports said it was carried out by airstrike. The IDF initially contradicted those reports, saying it was a “controlled demolition,” but Conricus later clarified that the military would not comment on what munitions were used. The IDF officers said it was not immediately clear who dug the tunnel, but that ultimately the Israeli army holds Hamas “accountable and responsible,” as it is the governing figure in the Strip. Avi Issacharoff contributed to this report.
On Talkin' Cowboys, Spagnola, Broaddus and Cahill hand out OTA awards - DallasCowboys.com In yesterday's show, the three guys handed out their OTA awards in different categories, which I've roughly summarized in the table below: Award Spagnola Broaddus Cahill Offensive Standout: Dez Bryant. Picked up where he left off last year, looks like he's learned to play the slot. Great get-off. Brandon Weeden. Everything seems to be very positive. There's a comfort-level with Weeden. There's something there with this guy. Brandon Weeden. For a third quarterback, you're simply not going to get the quality of work Weeden delivered out there. Didn't miss a beat. Defensive Standout Terrell McClain. Good movement, nice burst, quickness. Signed him on second day of free agency, they had a plan. DeMarcus Lawrence. Has taken every snap with the first team. Sometimes Tyron Smith says "Enough, young man," but he's getting better very day. Jakar Hamilton. Coaches like the guy a lot. - - Most improved Terrance Williams. Playing with more confidence. Gavin Escobar. Confidence. Looks physically different, they are doing a lot more with him. - - Guy to keep an eye on heading into camp/mini-camp DeVonte Holloman. Lance Dunbar. Tyler Patmon. Diamond in the rough. Best rookie Zack Martin. Hard to evaluate at this stage, but looks good. DeMarcus Lawrence. Has been winning better than 50/50 against Smith/Parnell. Anthony Hitchens: When Lee went out, he came in and didn't miss a beat. Never really heard Andy Hitchens being corrected or shouted at by the coaches. Ben Gardner. Like what he did with his hands Coach that's going to make a difference Matt Eberflus. Huge impact if he can find three guys to make a difference. Rod Marinelli. Leon Lett has also done a nice job. Mike Pope. "Yoda-like," he knows it all. Biggest disappointment Not having Orton here. Haven't seen Jeremy Mincey do anything. Injuries. Hate that guys are hurt and don't get to practice. Injury has robbed me from evaluating players. - - We'll take their awards under advisement and consider them not as awards but as preliminary nominations that we'll need to verify. So, do you agree with their choices, or would you pick somebody else? In other news: With OL retooled, Cowboys look to fix DL - Todd Archer, ESPN Dallas Archer walks through how the Cowboys re-tooled their offensive line, and writes that the D-line "might be a question of quality, but there is no question of quantity." Garrett explains: "The best defensive lines I’ve been around are the ones that have ‘wave’ players," Garrett said. "If you think back to the 90s when this team was winning Super Bowls there were eight legit defensive linemen rotating through games. Jim Jeffcoat playing 12 plays in a game. It’s ridiculous." DT Terrell McClain one of most impressive players in Cowboys OTAs \| David Moore, DMN According to Moore, Terrell McClain was one of the most impressive players during organized team activities for the Cowboys. "He’s absolutely one of the guys who is showing up the most in these first eight OTA practices," head coach Jason Garrett said. "He has great intensity in all that he does. He flashes some ability. We really like how he goes about his business.’’ "He’s not the typical zero nose tackle in a 3-4 defense where he just sits over the center and two-gaps,’’ Garrett said. "That hasn’t been his mode since he’s been playing. He’s always been a guy who has been on an edge, being able to play up field a little bit." Dallas Cowboys could use slot by committee at WR - ESPN Dallas In one of the most exciting developments of OTAs so far, the Cowboys have played almost everybody as the slot receiver, hinting at a possible offensive flexibility that can prove challenging for defensive coordinators, Archer writes. The different strengths of the receivers can prove troublesome for defensive coordinators with what personnel packages they would want to use to defend the Cowboys. Beasley has almost exclusively been used in the slot during the organized team activities open to the media, but Dooley said he has increased his route inventory and will have to play outside. Harris can be a devastating blocker in the slot, which opens up the run and the pass. Escobar showed he can work the seams and his height might be too much for most cornerbacks. Frederick says assistant line coach Frank Pollack's 'more direct role' last year paid off - Carlos Mendez, Star-Telegram Mendez writes that with Bill Callahan taking over playcalling duties last year, Frank Pollack was more directly involved with the line, and that his influence is credited for the improvement in the running game and zone-blocking scheme over the last half of the season. Travis Frederick concurs: "I don’t know how much credit he’s gotten, but I certainly think that he deserves a lot of credit for what he’s done," Frederick said this week during OTAs. "Obviously with Coach Callahan being in the offensive coordinator role and stuff last year, coach Pollack spent a lot more time with us in a more direct role. So I think that he was very responsible for a lot of things that happened last year. Coach Callahan was certainly still very involved. It’s extremely nice this year to have them both around all the time." Three Questions: Broaddus On Value Of OTAs, Martin - DallasCowboys.com Broaddus answers a question about Zack Martin taking some snaps at center and ruminates on OTAs and minicamp practices. Here's who he thinks "the smartest rookie" is at OTAs. When I watch the defense practice, I notice that safety Ryan Smith always appears to be helping his young teammates get in the right spot while not being out of position himself. I have yet to see a snap where he appears to be busting coverage or not reading his keys correctly. He plays like a very natural player in the back end, and it’s this knowledge that allows him to look very comfortable in the way he plays. With rookies, especially in the secondary, when they don’t have an understanding of what they are doing scheme wise, they panic. I haven’t noticed this at all with Smith when it comes to his game. He is very relaxed and controlled. Mark Sanchez, Matt Barkley struggling at Eagles’ OTAs \| ProFootballTalk The good news in Philadelphia is that starting quarterback Nick Foles is looking good in Organized Team Activities. Backups Mark Sanchez and Matt Barkley? Not so much. Sanchez and Barkley have both been struggling, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Thursday, March 10, 2016 The Daily California, Dean of Campus Law School Takes Leave of Absence From Position After Allegations of Sexual Harassment Arise: Sujit Choudhry will be taking an indefinite leave of absence from his position as dean of the UC Berkeley Law School, but will remain a faculty member of the school, amid allegations of sexual harassment. According to a statement issued Wednesday by Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Claude Steele, based on the findings of an investigation of the allegations of sexual harassment, the campus determined that Choudhry’s behavior violated the university’s sexual harassment policies. On Tuesday, Choudhry — as well as the UC Board of Regents — was sued by Choudhry’s executive assistant, Tyann Sorrell, for alleged sexual harassment, including hugging, kissing or caressing Sorrell at least multiple times per week, among other allegations. The lawsuit states that after Choudhry became dean of the law school in July 2014, Choudhry began making unwanted sexual contact with Sorell until March 2015. “(Choudhry) demonstrated a failure to understand the power dynamic and the effect of his actions on the plaintiff personally and in her employment,” Steele said in the statement. The investigation conducted by the Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination found in July that Choudhry “demonstrated a failure to understand the power dynamic and the effect of his actions on the plaintiff personally and in her employment,” according to the statement from Steele. Steele said in the statement that he believed a combination of “disciplinary actions, monitoring of his behavior and formal training would be an appropriate and effective response, and would produce the necessary changes in his behavior.” After the investigation, Steele docked Choudhry’s salary as dean by 10 percent for one year. In addition, Steele mandated Choudhry’s participation in counseling at the dean’s own expense and instructed him to issue a letter of apology to Sorrell. Sorrell alleged in the complaint that Steele told her that he had “seriously considered terminating the Dean” but had decided not to because “it would ruin the Dean’s career.” In 2002, John Dwyer resigned as Dean of UC-Berkeley Law School in the face of allegations that he had sexually harassed a law student. Update: https://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2016/03/uc-berkeley-law-school-dean-takes-leave-of-absence-after-being-sued-for-sexual-harassment.html
StraKo Profile Joined February 2017 93 Posts Last Edited: 2017-07-11 16:43:51 #1 The problem with adepts is their core design. Their design leads to imbalance, because they break basic rules of RTS. There is no counterplay, interaction or decision making involved for the opponent. The protoss player can always decide if he wants to shade or not. If he wants to let the shade finish or not, etc... This creates a random factor for the opponent, because he's unable to tell if shades will go through or not, which means that you basically need atleast double the amount of defending units, because you're forced to defend more than one location at once for just one group of harassing adepts. If a group of hellions moves into mineral line X, you just need defense in mineral line X. If adepts move in mineral line X, you need defense for mineral line Y and Z too. Protoss can decide when to pick fights and the opponent better be prepared, because there is no escape when adepts shade on top of you. The adept needs a complete redesign. If you just nerf the unit, it will just become weaker or maybe even underpowered, but the core problem of shades will still exist and will always cause trouble (the same thing is basically happening with liberators, they are just weaker now, but their design is still bad for the game). If you just nerf adept's stats, the unit may disappear out of standard protoss unit composition, but the harass potential will always be broken because of the shade ability or it will become uselss. I'm convinced that we can't get the unit in a good spot, because the core design itself is problematic. So it will either be too good or too weak. As many other community members already pointed out, there is no real downside for going adepts. The reason is that the unit's stat's are not justified and don't match the unit's ability. The adept is a very tanky unit, but at the same time it doesn't actually has to close distance with anything, because of the shade ability. The hellbat for example is a tanky unit, because it's job is to defend tanks from getting overrun. The hellbat is tanky to allow a mech player to get his tanks in position to siege up during an engagement. If hellbat's don't do their job good enough, the mech player risks to lose his army. That's their justification for being a tanky unit. To allow the mech terran to do something with his army. So the hellbat has a very clear role, but as you can see it also has very obvious weakness. Hellbats are very slow, have very little range, can literally get countered by walking away from them. Hellbats have very clear role and very clear counterplay. Now imagine if hellions would be as tanky as hellbats. First of all, you wouldn't see hellbats anymore (Adept/zealot relationship). Also this would lead to hellions being OP for their role. Hellions role is basically harass, but the opponent has clear counter opportunities like walling off mineral lines, having units in position, building static defense or simply splitting the workers to buy time and minimize damage. This relationship between harasser and defender only works, because the hellion is not tanky. If you catch the hellion, it dies. There is no justification for the unit to be as tanky as a hellbat, because it has other strengths (in this case being able to easily escape from danger due to high mobility) and a different role. So as you can see, there is also no justification for the adept to be as tanky as a zealot. The adept does everything a zealot does, but only much better. Adepts don't actually have to walk through mine fields or walk into tanklines or lurkers etc.... Adepts can just shade on top of their target, so there's no justification to make it actually that tanky. This obivously creates additional problems if you combine it with the shade ability, because adepts are tanky enough to commit to worker harass, but usually survive long enough to be able to shade out again and then be a core unit for a follow up push for example. The fact that adept shades still can get canceled, can't get body blocked or forcefield blocked is just not understandable for me. etc.... What could be a possible change? I honestly don't know what could be a good design direction for the adept. The shade ability is just very poor design wise and the game would be better without them in my opinion. But if you make adepts more tanky as a tradeoff, they kinda overlap with zealots again, even if they're ranged. And if you turn them into glascannons, you might as well just give stalkers some kind of dmg buff vs light !? What do you guys think ? What are your thoughts on the adept's design and what are your suggestions ? I'm really interested to hear them. I think if we can work together as a community, we can help blizzard to move the game into a direction that we all enjoy more, on every skill level and every race. We already got rid off tankivacs, reaper's being too strong, Tempests being too supply efficient etc... We already achieved a lot of good changes during lotv's lifetime and we can change more questionable gameplay elements, if we keep discussing them in a constructive way. Thanks for reading and i apologize for my english ;P Edited 11.07.17 Hi guys, sorry for the long read, but i think we really have to talk about this topic. First of all, this is not a balance whine thread or anything like this. I would like to talk with you guys about the adept's design and why it is problematic for SC2. I hope we can share some thoughts down belowThe problem with adepts is their core design. Their design leads to imbalance, because they break basic rules of RTS.There is no counterplay, interaction or decision making involved for the opponent. The protoss player can always decide if he wants to shade or not. If he wants to let the shade finish or not, etc... This creates a random factor for the opponent, because he's unable to tell if shades will go through or not, which means that you basically need atleast double the amount of defending units, because you're forced to defend more than one location at once for just one group of harassing adepts.If a group of hellions moves into mineral line X, you just need defense in mineral line X.If adepts move in mineral line X, you need defense for mineral line Y and Z too.Protoss can decide when to pick fights and the opponent better be prepared, because there is no escape when adepts shade on top of you.The adept needs a complete redesign. If you just nerf the unit, it will just become weaker or maybe even underpowered, but the core problem of shades will still exist and will always cause trouble (the same thing is basically happening with liberators, they are just weaker now, but their design is still bad for the game).If you just nerf adept's stats, the unit may disappear out of standard protoss unit composition, but the harass potential will always be broken because of the shade ability or it will become uselss. I'm convinced that we can't get the unit in a good spot, because the core design itself is problematic. So it will either be too good or too weak.As many other community members already pointed out, there is no real downside for going adepts. The reason is that the unit's stat's are not justified and don't match the unit's ability.The adept is a very tanky unit, but at the same time it doesn't actually has to close distance with anything, because of the shade ability.The hellbat for example is a tanky unit, because it's job is to defend tanks from getting overrun. The hellbat is tanky to allow a mech player to get his tanks in position to siege up during an engagement. If hellbat's don't do their job good enough, the mech player risks to lose his army. That's their justification for being a tanky unit. To allow the mech terran to do something with his army.So the hellbat has a very clear role, but as you can see it also has very obvious weakness.Hellbats are very slow, have very little range, can literally get countered by walking away from them.Hellbats have very clear role and very clear counterplay.Now imagine if hellions would be as tanky as hellbats.First of all, you wouldn't see hellbats anymore (Adept/zealot relationship). Also this would lead to hellions being OP for their role.Hellions role is basically harass, but the opponent has clear counter opportunities like walling off mineral lines, having units in position, building static defense or simply splitting the workers to buy time and minimize damage.This relationship between harasser and defender only works, because the hellion is not tanky. If you catch the hellion, it dies. There is no justification for the unit to be as tanky as a hellbat, because it has other strengths (in this case being able to easily escape from danger due to high mobility) and a different role.So as you can see, there is also no justification for the adept to be as tanky as a zealot.The adept does everything a zealot does, but only much better. Adepts don't actually have to walk through mine fields or walk into tanklines or lurkers etc....Adepts can just shade on top of their target, so there's no justification to make it actually that tanky.This obivously creates additional problems if you combine it with the shade ability, because adepts are tanky enough to commit to worker harass, but usually survive long enough to be able to shade out again and then be a core unit for a follow up push for example.The fact that adept shades still can get canceled, can't get body blocked or forcefield blocked is just not understandable for me.etc....I honestly don't know what could be a good design direction for the adept. The shade ability is just very poor design wise and the game would be better without them in my opinion. But if you make adepts more tanky as a tradeoff, they kinda overlap with zealots again, even if they're ranged.And if you turn them into glascannons, you might as well just give stalkers some kind of dmg buff vs light !?What do you guys think ? What are your thoughts on the adept's design and what are your suggestions ?I'm really interested to hear them. I think if we can work together as a community, we can help blizzard to move the game into a direction that we all enjoy more, on every skill level and every race.We already got rid off tankivacs, reaper's being too strong, Tempests being too supply efficient etc... We already achieved a lot of good changes during lotv's lifetime and we can change more questionable gameplay elements, if we keep discussing them in a constructive way.Thanks for reading and i apologize for my english ;PEdited 11.07.17 DieuCure Profile Joined January 2017 France 3108 Posts #2 Shade should cost hp. Or upgrade. Imo Aron Times Profile Blog Joined March 2011 United States 257 Posts #3 There needs to be much fewer activated abilities in the game, especially when it comes to core combat units. The game needs less ability micro and more positional and combat micro. Regarding the Adept, I think the Shade ability needs to be removed or turned into a late game upgrade. It breaks the rules of RTS and it's frustrating to fight against. It's okay for rules-breaking abilities late in the game, when you're trying to break stalemates, but early on, it just turns the game into Benny Hill RTS. "The drums! The drums! The drums! The neverending drumbeat! Open me, you human fool! Open the light and summon me and receive my majesty!" IMPrime Profile Joined September 2011 United States 712 Posts #4 You have to be very careful about nerfing the adept because tosses are very reliant on adepts to beat terrans, and the race has partially been balanced around adepts (for example, colossi were OK to nerf upon LotV release partially because adepts destroy marines so badly). Obviously adepts definitely need a reworking but you will need to consider the sweeping effects that would happen if adepts get nerfed. There are many ways you can alter the adept, but I believe that removing the shade ability entirely is required in some way. Shade just breaks too many rules of RTS's. What other changes would need to be made to compensate for this, I'm not sure, but shade has to go. pvsnp Profile Joined January 2017 6265 Posts Last Edited: 2017-04-09 20:38:46 #5 Adepts need to be nerfed somehow, whether that's to shades, shields/health, Glaives, warpins, whatever. Not a huge nerf that makes them useless, just some slight reduction to one of their strengths so that they can't excel the multiple roles of slaughtering workers and flooding bases and winning fights. Holy triangle of balance is Health/Attack/Speed, pick two. Adepts have all three. Protoss has always had a strong lategame. Adepts give them a strong early game as well. Strong early+strong late = imba race. Not by much, mind you, just a little. If heroes run and hide, who will stay and fight? Aron Times Profile Blog Joined March 2011 United States 257 Posts #6 We can't nerf the adept because that'd mean that P loses early game. We could buff the other gateway units but then warp gate rushes would be too OP. I think the problem lies in the warp gate and the shade abilities, both of which break fundamental RTS gameplay rules. So here's my suggestion: 1. Make warp gate a late game tech. 2. Make shade a late game tech or remove it entirely. 3. Buff core gateway units. Another thing I'd like to see, if warp gate were moved to late game is to add endgame reinforcement features to T and Z: 1. Protoss - Warp Gate. Already exists ingame. 2. Terran - Drop Pods. Newly trained units can be rallied to a command center/planetary fortress, bypassing terrain. 3. Zerg - Nydus Network. Already exists ingame, but is underused. Maybe turn existing hatcheries into exits? Protoss would still have the best endgame reinforcements since they can freely warp in entire armies anywhere. Terran would not have to deal with long walk times to the front lines, while Zerg's nydus network sees more use. Basically, I want the game to play out like this: Tier 1: Simple units and abilities: armies are F2+A capable, but micro will give you small gains here and there. Tier 2: More advanced units and abilities come into play: stim packs, blink, cloaking, flying combat units. Standard RTS abilities. Tier 3: Gamebreakers designed for breaking sieges: Units and abilities that break RTS rules like the shade ability, mass recall, battlecruiser teleport, warp gate, mutalisk fast healing, liberator siege mode, etc. We could even have a tier 4 which gives you access to the stuff that has been removed from the game for being too OP: Khaydarin amulet, tankivacs, release interceptors ability, void ray speed upgrade, etc. "The drums! The drums! The drums! The neverending drumbeat! Open me, you human fool! Open the light and summon me and receive my majesty!" JackONeill Profile Joined September 2013 849 Posts #7 The problem with the adept is the shade, only the shade, and for 2 very particular reason : - harass : shading left and right between mineral lines : minimal amount of skill required, but terran pros can't even defend it efficiently - snowball : the reason why adepts snowball so hard is because no matter how many adept you have or the nature of your opponent's army, with the shade ALL your adepts will be able to fight. If you compare 30 adepts and 30 roaches, roaches can't dive into an ennemy army (for all the roaches to shoot without needing a 360° concave) without suffering losse. On the other hand, shades assure that each and every adept you have will be able to shoot all the time, not matter where the fight is located. I don't mind protoss needing "assault/shock" troops since with the siege tank and the ravager buffs, stalkers not fit a smaller role in the game (which is good, they were omnipresent in HOTS). But some design changes to the adept shade NEED to happen for this unit to be less abusive. FrostedMiniWheats Profile Joined August 2010 United States 30311 Posts #8 Make Adepts only producible from gateways, no warp-ins. NesTea \| Mvp \| MC \| Leenock \| Losira \| Gumiho \| DRG \| Taeja \| Jinro \| Stephano \| Thorzain \| Sen \| Idra \|Polt \| Bomber \| Symbol \| Squirtle \| Fantasy \| Jaedong \| Maru \| sOs \| Seed \| ByuN \| ByuL \| Neeb\| Scarlett \| Rogue \| IM forever SC2Toastie Profile Blog Joined October 2013 Netherlands 5721 Posts #9 In the end all problems stem from Warpgate... Mura Ma Man, Dark Da Dude, Super Shot Sos! LHK Profile Joined May 2015 111 Posts Last Edited: 2017-04-09 20:39:24 #10 The adept picks all three. Blizzard tried to justify this by giving it a short ranged attack, but that attack range doesn't matter at all due to shade. The unit needs to be scrapped and replaced with a mobile/damage unit so the zealot can have a clear role again. Fast moving adepts with good damage and at least half their hp/shields removed would be great, as long as gateway units are addressed to compensate. Make guardian shield better, or sentries cost less, or make zealots a little more tanky, or modify DPS of stalkers, literally anything, adepts are so boring and we have to try something.. Playing protoss is so boring these days. It's not the race i fell in love with anymore Tanky, damage, or mobility, pick two - is the general rule of thumb that RTS should be following in all unit design.The adept picks all three. Blizzard tried to justify this by giving it a short ranged attack, but that attack range doesn't matter at all due to shade.The unit needs to be scrapped and replaced with a mobile/damage unit so the zealot can have a clear role again. Fast moving adepts with good damage and at least half their hp/shields removed would be great, as long as gateway units are addressed to compensate. Make guardian shield better, or sentries cost less, or make zealots a little more tanky, or modify DPS of stalkers, literally anything, adepts are so boring and we have to try something.. Playing protoss is so boring these days. It's not the race i fell in love with anymore girlgameryay StraKo Profile Joined February 2017 93 Posts #11 On April 10 2017 04:34 IMPrime wrote: You have to be very careful about nerfing the adept because tosses are very reliant on adepts to beat terrans, and the race has partially been balanced around adepts (for example, colossi were OK to nerf upon LotV release partially because adepts destroy marines so badly). Obviously adepts definitely need a reworking but you will need to consider the sweeping effects that would happen if adepts get nerfed. There are many ways you can alter the adept, but I believe that removing the shade ability entirely is required in some way. Shade just breaks too many rules of RTS's. What other changes would need to be made to compensate for this, I'm not sure, but shade has to go. Yes i agree. My post is just about getting the adept in a good spot design wise. If this results in protoss being too weak balance wise, you can obviously just increase stats of unit XY accordingly. But the goal is to get the design in a good, healthy spot in the first place. Yes i agree.My post is just about getting the adept in a good spot design wise. If this results in protoss being too weak balance wise, you can obviously just increase stats of unit XY accordingly.But the goal is to get the design in a good, healthy spot in the first place. StraKo Profile Joined February 2017 93 Posts Last Edited: 2017-04-09 20:54:32 #12 On April 10 2017 05:37 LHK wrote: adepts are so boring and we have to try something.. Playing protoss is so boring these days. It's not the race i fell in love with anymore adepts are so boring and we have to try something.. Playing protoss is so boring these days. It's not the race i fell in love with anymore Yes i really agree with you :/ I used to play a lot of protoss, but the race just doesn't feel good anymore. I never get the feeling of simply outplaying my opponent. It always feels cheesy, because blizzard turned everything into a gimmick. Even defending my base is based around a huge gimmick. It just doesn't feel right and it doesn't feel rewarding. Shading 10 adepts from mineral line to mineral line doesn't feel as good as controlling 3 drops at a time etc... I wish the race would be more "straight up". Even pro players like MaNa complain about the design of the race. Yes i really agree with you :/ I used to play a lot of protoss, but the race just doesn't feel good anymore. I never get the feeling of simply outplaying my opponent. It always feels cheesy, because blizzard turned everything into a gimmick. Even defending my base is based around a huge gimmick.It just doesn't feel right and it doesn't feel rewarding.Shading 10 adepts from mineral line to mineral line doesn't feel as good as controlling 3 drops at a time etc...I wish the race would be more "straight up". Even pro players like MaNa complain about the design of the race. AlexGPunkt Profile Joined January 2016 Germany 256 Posts #13 I dont have a solution but I agree with the problematic. Adepts did not enrich sc2 in my opinion. Edowyth Profile Joined October 2010 United States 183 Posts Last Edited: 2017-04-09 21:29:58 #14 On April 09 2017 23:29 StraKo wrote: The problem with adepts is their core design. Their design leads to imbalance, because they break basic rules of RTS. There is no counterplay for the opponent. The protoss player can always decide if he wants to shade or not. If he wants to let the shade finish or not, etc... Protoss can decide when to pick fights and the opponent better be prepared, because there is no escape when adepts shade on top of you. The adept needs a complete redesign. If you just nerf the unit, it will just become weaker or maybe even underpowered, but the core problem of shades will still exist and will always cause trouble (the same thing is basically happening with liberators, they are just weaker now, but their design is still bad for the game). I agree. The adept is currently filling three roles for Protoss armies: - gateway harassment unit - core (burst) damage dealing army unit - anti-immobility unit I think that all three of these are somewhat lacking in other early gateway units, but this is the kind of sets of roles you see filled by marines and lings. It's trying to be a generalist, scaling unit to base armies around, but it currently only works as nearly the entire army by itself because its design is focused in the wrong areas. Adepts don't need to be able to always out-position the opponent to fill a generalist damage role. They don't need to be able to always pick the best fight. They don't need the shade, design wise. I agree. The adept is currently filling three roles for Protoss armies:- gateway harassment unit- core (burst) damage dealing army unit- anti-immobility unitI think that all three of these are somewhat lacking in other early gateway units, but this is the kind of sets of roles you see filled by. It's trying to be a generalist, scaling unit to, but it currently only works as nearly the entire army by itself because its design is focused in the wrong areas.Adepts don't need to be able to always out-position the opponent to fill a generalist damage role. They don't need to be able to always pick the best fight. On April 09 2017 23:29 StraKo wrote: What could be a possible change? Get rid of the shade ability and adjust the unit's stats accordingly. Define a clear role for the unit. My suggestion would be to turn adepts into a glascannon. -powerful in the early game -useful for early game defense (maybe a good way to finally get rid of MSC and overcharge?) -relatively high movement speed -twilight upgrade to add some bonus dmg vs armored units in order to gain more versatility in the later stages of the game. I think this kind of unit would be a much more interesting and fair addition to the protoss arsenal. I mostly agree. The only quibble (it's a big one) is this: the redesigned adept must not have +armored, nor +light, nor +anything damage. Protoss' units are all specialists. It's the biggest problem with the race. You either have absolutely the correct unit or you don't and you die. There's no mass-able unit in Protoss for which you say: "build these to have a pretty good mid-game. You'll need appropriate support." This makes tech-rushing the life or death of the Protoss race. This isn't how Protoss should survive. Their fighting units all cost at least 2 supply already. They're already the few-but-**** race! The problem is that all the strength has previously been focused in high-tech units. Protoss needs a unit to compete with lings / marines! Adepts are currently this unit, but barely anyone likes how they change the game. For such a unit to realistically compete, it must be: - fast (base movement speed) - damaging (high fire rate, decent DPS) - of a very carefully considered attack range (if the unit is slower than stimmed bio, it needs longer range than 6) - flat damage (so that the addition of a very small number of massive / light / armored units doesn't invalidate all your investment into stability for the mid-game) It has to have reasonable upgrades in the mid-game to reduce its early power, but let it scale upwards all game long. Not surprisingly, these kinds of upgrades are common on these types of units: 1 - speed upgrades (lings, marines, marauders, hydras) 2 - damage upgrades (lings, marines, marauders) 3 - range upgrades (hydras) 4 - hp upgrades (marines) These kinds of upgrades (spread out) allow great interactions between different types of units (marines vs lings: pre-slings marines win, post slings ligns win, post stim marines win in a choke / with kiting / with medivacs, post adrenal slings destroy buildings [allowing even stronger counter-attacks]). That's the kind of stuff we want in PvX, not shades flying everywhere. I mostly agree. The only quibble (it's a big one) is this: the redesigned adepthave +armored,+light,+anything damage.Protoss' units are all specialists. It's the biggest problem with the race. You either haveor you don't and you die. There's no mass-able unit in Protoss for which you say: "build these to have a pretty good mid-game. You'll need appropriate support." This makes tech-rushing the life or death of the Protoss race.This isn't how Protoss should survive. Their fighting units all cost at least 2 supply already.The problem is thathas previously been focused in high-tech units.Adepts are currently this unit, butlikes how they change the game.For such a unit to realistically compete, it must be:- fast (base movement speed)- damaging (high fire rate, decent DPS)- of a very carefully considered attack range (if the unit isthan stimmed bio, it needs longer range than 6)- flat damage (so that the addition of a very small number of massive / light / armored units doesn't invalidate all your investment into stability for the mid-game)It has to have reasonable upgrades in the mid-game to, but let itall game long. Not surprisingly, these kinds of upgrades are common on these types of units:1 - speed upgrades (lings, marines, marauders, hydras)2 - damage upgrades (lings, marines, marauders)3 - range upgrades (hydras)4 - hp upgrades (marines)These kinds of upgrades (spread out) allow great interactions between different types of units (marines vs lings: pre-slings marines win, post slings ligns win, post stim marines win in a choke / with kiting / with medivacs, post adrenal slings destroy buildings [allowing even stronger counter-attacks]). That's the kind of stuff we want in PvX, not shades flying everywhere. On April 09 2017 23:29 StraKo wrote: -It could help to get rid of MSC/overcharge -It would provide protoss with early game mapcontrol unit -Protoss would have an effective harass unit on gateway tech, without making it broken with shades. -Protoss could upgrade the unit in the midgame to give it a bit more versatility in the army composition. Absolutely. Having a low health, mobile, damage unit is exactly what's needed to get the push-and-pull of map-control into PvX for the first time since WoL. Having something mobile that's worth building to scale into the mid-game is exactly what's needed to reduce the power of PO, then remove it. Absolutely. Having a, mobile, damage unit is exactly what's needed to get the push-and-pull of map-control into PvX for the first time since WoL. Having somethingis exactly what's needed to reduce the power of PO, then remove it. On April 09 2017 23:29 StraKo wrote: Clear role, clear counterplay. This is the only way we can achieve interesting unit compositions. What do you guys think ? What are your thoughts on the adept's design and what are your suggestions ? I'm really interested to hear them. I think if we can work together as a community, we can help blizzard to move the game into a direction that we all enjoy more, on every skill level and every race. Thanks for reading and i apologize for my english. I think you're largely correct in what the Adept needs to be moved into being. A generalist unit to fight for map-control with no activated ability or spell to hamper its role is exactly where it needs to move. Protoss doesn't need flashy units like the current Adept. It needs a generalist to begin to scale-back the too-specialized nature of its army! I think you're largely correct in what the Adept needs to be moved into being. A generalist unit to fight for map-control withto hamper its role is exactly where it needs to move. "Q. How do I check a valid [e-]mail address? A. You can't, at least, not in real time. Bummer, eh?" /r/programming Of course, you could just send them a validation email. VHbb Profile Joined October 2014 598 Posts Last Edited: 2017-04-09 21:31:42 #15 "The problem with adepts is their core design. Their design leads to imbalance, because they break basic rules of RTS." one can already imagine the trend of the thread.. let's nerf something but let's call it "game design".... -___- what the hell are "basic rules of RTS"? who made judge of what these "rules" are? is there imbalance in win-ratios? why can't an RTS being an RTS while not respecting these "theoretical rules"? Is the epitome of a good RTS the Terran race? (feels like it from these posts..) You can write several walls of text, the bottom line is: you are not good at dealing with adepts, so you would like Blizz to nerf them. Many terrans are good at dealing with them, so maybe before opening threads with sweeping statements on game design (whatever that means to you) you could spend a good amount of time trying to adapt and learn how to play vs adepts.. p.s. if you can link me to a compendium of accepted "RTS Rules" I would be glad to read it, though I'm not sure Blizzard is so interested in sticking to it (and I'm happy that it is this way..) edit: And I Strongly disagree with the previous post. Protoss doesn't need a unit like marines or lings, because protoss is not terran or zerg! it's a very different race, and if I'd like to play with something like marines or lings I would play T or Z when you open with statements like this:"The problem with adepts is their core design. Their design leads to imbalance, because they break basic rules of RTS."one can already imagine the trend of the thread.. let's nerf something but let's call it "game design"....-___-what the hell are "basic rules of RTS"? who made judge of what these "rules" are? is there imbalance in win-ratios? why can't an RTS being an RTS while not respecting these "theoretical rules"?Is the epitome of a good RTS the Terran race? (feels like it from these posts..)You can write several walls of text, the bottom line is: you are not good at dealing with adepts, so you would like Blizz to nerf them. Many terrans are good at dealing with them, so maybe before opening threads with sweeping statements on game design (whatever that means to you) you could spend a good amount of time trying to adapt and learn how to play vs adepts..p.s. if you can link me to a compendium of accepted "RTS Rules" I would be glad to read it, though I'm not sure Blizzard is so interested in sticking to it (and I'm happy that it is this way..)edit: And I Strongly disagree with the previous post. Protoss doesn't need a unit like marines or lings, because protoss is not terran or zerg! it's a very different race, and if I'd like to play with something like marines or lings I would play T or Z My life for Aiur ! Edowyth Profile Joined October 2010 United States 183 Posts Last Edited: 2017-04-09 21:42:22 #16 On April 10 2017 06:28 VHbb wrote: one can already imagine the trend of the thread.. let's nerf something but let's call it "game design".... -___- You might read the thread, instead of simply insulting the author from a place of ignorance. The thread is absolutely about design. If he's "right" or "wrong" isn't the point of his OP either, but to generate discussion about the adept's current design. Further, the OP suggests an actual overhaul of the unit (mixed buffs and nerfs) to convert it to a mobile DPS unit from the gateway with no shade. Given that adepts have been either the first or second most complained-about unit from the beginning of LotV, and that the vast majority of these complaints are "it's not fun" (in other words the design is poor) rather than "I can't win" (in other words the balance is poor), and recent tournament results have Protoss players almost exclusively using adepts early-game, the thread is both timely and obviously well-intended. EDIT: You might read the thread, instead of simply insulting the author from a place of ignorance.The thread is absolutely about design. If he's "right" or "wrong" isn't the point of his OP either, but to generate discussion about the adept's current design.Further, the OP suggests an actual overhaul of the unit (mixed buffs and nerfs) to convert it to a mobile DPS unit from the gatewayGiven that adepts have been either the first or second most complained-about unit from the beginning of LotV,that the vast majority of these complaints are "it's not fun" (in other words theis poor) rather than "I can't win" (in other words theis poor),recent tournament results have Protoss players almost exclusively using adepts early-game, the thread is both timely and obviously well-intended.EDIT: On April 10 2017 06:28 VHbb wrote: And I Strongly disagree with the previous post. Protoss doesn't need a unit like marines or lings, because protoss is not terran or zerg! Your argument is literally nothing. One could just as easily claim "Protoss doesn't need air units because Protoss isn't Terran." Put some real thought into it and discover why you believe that generalist, mobile DPS units aren't needed for Toss, then make an actual argument. Your argument is literally nothing. One could just as easily claim "Protoss doesn't need air units because Protoss isn't Terran." Put some real thought into it and discoveryou believe that generalist, mobile DPS units aren't needed for Toss, then make an actual argument. "Q. How do I check a valid [e-]mail address? A. You can't, at least, not in real time. Bummer, eh?" /r/programming Of course, you could just send them a validation email. VHbb Profile Joined October 2014 598 Posts #17 The author complains about balance literally in the second paragraph of the thread you are suggesting me to read..... My argument is: I enjoy sc2, I enjoy playing protoss, I wouldn't like changes that take away from the flavor of the race to make it more similar to some abstract standard . Maybe it's a weak argument to you, but it's super annoying to see this continuous whines masked as game design discussion. I know NOTHING about game design, so I won't make an argument about it, but I also won't take the "word" of a poster on TL over blizzard design, especially if I enjoy the latter.. I also would be very interested in the statistics of how many people complain about adepts over the total player base. Polls on tl with O(100) votes don't mean much.. My life for Aiur ! Meepman Profile Joined December 2009 Canada 601 Posts Last Edited: 2017-04-09 22:03:05 #18 On April 10 2017 06:28 VHbb wrote: what the hell are "basic rules of RTS"? I always ask myself this lmao. Is there a rulebook? Must everyone past T3 masters or C on iccup memorize all these rules? what if we made it so that you had to complete a shade once you started it, and slowed down the shade's movement speed? This would eventually fix the harassment potential i think I always ask myself this lmao. Is there a rulebook? Must everyone past T3 masters or C on iccup memorize all these rules?what if we made it so that you had to complete a shade once you started it, and slowed down the shade's movement speed? This would eventually fix the harassment potential i think Wrathsc2 Profile Joined March 2011 United States 1995 Posts #19 make it faster and take away shade A marine walks into a bar and asks, "Wheres the counter?" SidianTheBard Profile Joined October 2010 United States 2198 Posts #20 I still think zealots should do less damage but be tankier while adepts do more damage (maybe the same they have now) but are fairly weak hp wise, especially since their shades can't take damage so they can usually always get into place. Maybe if Zealots just got a slight hp or armor buff and a nerf to their damage and Adepts just got a slight hp/armor nerf. I'd also wonder if you made it so a +1 adept would 2shot workers, otherwise it takes 3 shots would help a bunch. Creator of Abyssal Reef, Ascension to Aiur, Battle on the Boardwalk, Habitation Station, Honorgrounds, IPL Darkness Falls, King's Cove, Korhal Carnage Knockout & Moonlight Madness. 1 2 3 4 5 10 11 12 Next All
Who doesn't love the smell of bacon in the morning? Let's hope that people with chronic nosebleeds really love it, because doctors have found new evidence that strips of bacon inserted up the nose can stop nosebleeds. Yes, it's true. A report published in the Annals in Otology, Rhinology and Larynology found that strips of "cured salted pork crafted as a nasal tampon and packed within the nasal vaults" successfully stopped a 4-year-old girl's nosebleeds. The doctors who treated the girl at the Detroit Medical Center speculated that the meat may have certain tissue factors that help the body stop bleeding. The authors noted that this was the "first description of nasal packing with strips of cured pork for treatment of life-threatening hemorrhage in a patient with Glanzmann thrombasthenia," aka chronic nosebleeds. Despite some evidence that the bacon craze may be going too far (here's looking at you, Bacon Lube), the surprising treatment isn't necessarily a sign that society has become a little too bacon obsessed. Doctors of yesteryear apparently knew much about the curative powers of cured pork. According to a report in the Guardian, doctors in the 1940s and 1950s reported the benefits of salt pork in stopping the occasional nosebleed. Eventually, doctors may have turned up their noses at the practice because of "bacterial and parasitic complications," as well as improved medical techniques, the authors of the current study speculate. But eating bacon is another story . A recent study in the British Journal of Cancer found that eating a single daily serving of bacon, sausage or other processed meat may increase the risk of pancreatic cancer. And that should be enough to curb anyone's enthusiasm for a while.
The Canadian Press QUEBEC -- The newly installed Parti Quebecois government wasted no time showing its sovereigntist stripes by appointing, on its first day in office, a minister responsible for advancing the cause of Quebec independence. A unique new portfolio of minister for "sovereigntist government" was among the cabinet titles handed out as Premier Pauline Marois took office and introduced her ministry Wednesday. The man with that title has a doctorate in constitutional law and knows the rest of Canada far better than most Pequistes: 35-year-old Alexandre Cloutier worked as a clerk at the Supreme Court of Canada and lectured at the University of Ottawa, in addition to studying at Cambridge University in the U.K. Cloutier's mission: loosen Quebec's ties to Canada. The party has promised to introduce policies that could butt up against Canadian constitutional law, confront the federal government for a transfer of powers, and use each case as evidence of how Quebec would be better off on its own. "It is becoming apparent to us that remaining a province of Canada has become an unacceptable risk for Quebec," Marois said as she introduced her cabinet, with the Canadian flag once again gone from the Red Room in the provincial legislature as it is whenever the PQ holds office. "It is imperative to advance with force our interests, to promote our identity -- not as a province but as a nation." She said Quebec is no better, or worse, than other provinces -- it's just different. And she will argue that on a variety of issues, from economics to culture, the interests of Canada and Quebec are irreconcilable. She said Wednesday that her government intends to "protect each parcel of sovereignty" that Quebec already enjoys and will seek to acquire more. In his first news scrum as a minister, Cloutier was tight-lipped about his plans. He said he would have more to say over the coming days about his portfolio, which includes intergovernmental affairs. Asked what tone he would adopt when dealing with the federal government he replied: "The tone? The tone will depend on the issue, and on the answers we get." It's unclear how much the PQ can achieve with only a minority government. Cloutier conceded as much, saying he would seek federal-provincial files where the PQ could work with opposition parties. He didn't cite any examples but the gun registry, the environment, natural-resources policy, crime and transfer payments are areas where Quebec political parties share similar views and might have stark differences with the Harper Conservatives. Cloutier won't be the only minister working on independence-related files. Two of the hottest, most politically sensitive, portfolios will go to Bernard Drainville, the former Quebec City bureau chief of Radio-Canada, the French-language CBC. He will be responsible for introducing an idea that he personally spearheaded, of allowing referendums by popular initiative. It's unclear how much teeth the plan will have, given that the PQ appeared to water it down slightly during the campaign. Drainville will also lead a ministerial committee on so-called identity issues. The party promises to create a Charter of Secularism that would set limits on religious headwear being worn by public servants, and introduce a "Quebec citizenship" that people would have to get to run for public office. He will be joined in cabinet by an old colleague -- a man who followed him into Radio-Canada's Quebec City bureau as a political analyst. Pierre Duchesne covered the emotionally charged tuition debate several months ago when he was still a TV journalist. He is now the PQ cabinet minister tasked with scrapping the tuition hikes and holding a summit on education funding. Marois became the 30th Quebec premier and the first woman to hold the job. She is now the fifth female premier of a Canadian province or territory. The daughter of a garage mechanic and a teacher, Marois has held a number of powerful political roles in a 30-year career that has seen her run most of the largest provincial departments. There were numerous bumps on the road to high office, including a leadership mutiny. Then, when her election win finally arrived, it was marred by tragedy. Marois had to be whisked off the stage during her victory speech when a gunman approached the assembly hall and shot two people, killing a stage technician. The accused shooter emerged again on Wednesday to cast a shadow over a happy moment for Marois. Richard Henry Bain, the suspect, called radio stations from his detention centre to share his theories about how Montreal should become its own province. Marois was held to a minority in the Sept. 4 vote; her margin of victory was less than one percentage point in the popular vote and four seats in the legislature. That minority status makes it all but impossible for her PQ government to hold an independence referendum. However, with a plurality of seats in the legislature, control of ministries, and with her main Liberal opponent in the throes of a leadership race, Marois could seek to advance other parts of her agenda. She has already called tougher language laws a central priority, while adding that she will seek consensus with opposition parties where possible. Her appointments sent a mixed message on language. Marois' best-known and most aggressive spokesman on language policy was placed in a role that, on the surface, gives him only peripheral involvement in the file. Jean-Francois Lisee, another former journalist who advised past PQ premiers, will be responsible for international affairs. But he will also be minister responsible for Montreal -- the scene of the vast majority of language disputes in the province. Marois also tasked Lisee, who has been extremely vocal about the need for more stringent language laws, with the role of building bridges with Quebec Anglos. The environment portfolio went to Daniel Breton, who once helped spearhead Quebec's Green party. A more junior environmental role will go to Scott McKay, who led that Green party. The people appointed to economic roles are less well-known. In the runup to the swearing-in, some pundits had observed that at a time of global uncertainty the economy might become the PQ's Achilles heel. Nicolas Marceau, an economist and university professor, is Quebec's new finance minister. Marceau, 48, a professor at Universite du Quebec a Montreal since 1996, was first elected to the legislature in 2009. He has a PhD from Queen's University in Kingston and has served as an academic for most of his professional career. He previously held the role of finance critic. A former colleague, fellow economist and university professor, Stephen Gordon, praised Marceau and suggested he should not be underestimated. "Quebec now has the government with the best economic mind at Finance," Gordon tweeted. "Nicolas Marceau is very sharp." He will be tested -- quickly and often. The Harper Tories appear willing to poke holes in the PQ's economic credibility. The federal government has, like a mantra in recent days, repeated that Quebecers and other Canadians don't feel like talking about constitutional issues and would rather focus on the economy. One federal minister, Quebec lieutenant Christian Paradis, even held a news conference last week where he accused the PQ of hurting the economy by abandoning the controversial asbestos industry. The federal government has repeatedly pointed to the narrow vote result as evidence that Quebecers don't want to squabble about constitutional issues and would rather focus on the economy. Paradis appears poised to battle the PQ again if the new government makes good on its promise to push for a transfer of control over Quebec's share of the Employment Insurance program. The program used to be run by individual provinces, decades ago. But Paradis said this week that EI is a federal responsibility and will remain that way.
A former San Francisco political consultant pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to two charges in connection with the alleged discovery of active lethal toxins and an illegal gun in his Nob Hill home. Ryan Chamberlain, 44, entered guilty pleas to charges of unregistered possession of a biological agent or toxin, and possession of a firearm with a serial number that was removed, before U.S. District Judge Vincent Chhabria. He is scheduled to be sentenced April 12. Chamberlain reached a plea agreement with prosecutors in the case, although a recommended prison sentence was not discussed in court Tuesday. The charges each include a maximum sentence of five years in prison, which can be served consecutively, Chhabria said. Chamberlain could also face fines up to $250,000 for each count as well as supervised release for the rest of his life for one of the charges and three years of supervised release for the other charge, according to the judge. A court order attached to the plea agreement prevents Chamberlain from contacting 11 individuals, whose names or connections to the case will not be released to the public, Chhabria said. Chamberlain was without handcuffs as he reclined in a courtroom chair on Tuesday morning in an orange jumpsuit, chatting and at times smiling with his defense attorneys. When Chhabria asked for his age, Chamberlain responded, “I lose track of time.” Chamberlain has been in custody since his arrest in San Francisco in 2014 after leading authorities on a three-day manhunt after FBI agents allegedly found the ingredients of a homemade bomb in his apartment. As part of a plea bargain, prosecutors dropped four other counts in which Chamberlain was accused of possessing two other toxins and a homemade bomb. The charges against Chamberlain were revised and expanded several times as the investigation proceeded and authorities tested materials allegedly found in his apartment. He was accused of six counts in a third superseding indictment issued by a federal grand jury on Oct. 22. The charges included possession of an unregistered destructive device, namely, the alleged bomb — and possession of a gun with the serial number removed. Chamberlain was also accused of possession of a biological toxin, abrin, for use as a weapon; possession of an amount of abrin not justified by research or peaceful purposes; possession of another biological toxin, ricin, for use as a weapon; and possession of a chemical weapon, namely sodium cyanide. In pretrial proceedings, defense attorneys contended there was no proof the alleged bomb components would have worked as a bomb or that Chamberlain intended to use the substances allegedly found in his apartment for harmful purposes. Bay City News contributed to this report. Read more criminal justice news on the Crime Ink page in print. Follow us on Twitter: @sfcrimeink
The test ban is over, and the MotoGP season is about to get underway. Bikes are already circulating, as the test riders put the first versions of the 2014 models through a shakedown to ensure that everything is in place, and working the way the engineers intended. In a few hours, we get the first glimpse of what the 2014 season could hold. The rule changes for 2014, though at first glance relatively small, could have a major impact. For the front runners, the fuel allowance is dropped from 21 to 20 liters, a change requested by the manufacturers to give them the engineering challenge they demand to justify their involvement. All of the Factory Option (the designation for the bikes which have been referred to as factory prototypes for the last two seasons) entries must now use the spec Magneti Marelli ECU, but they retain the ability to develop their own software for the computer which sits at the heart of every modern vehicle. That reduced fuel allowance will place a premium on fuel conservation, meaning the manufacturer who can reduce friction, thermal efficiency and combustion efficiency will hold the upper hand. It's not just the factory bikes that have a new designation. The CRT category has disappeared, replaced by the Open class. The change is not as big as the renaming would appear. Like the CRT bikes, they have 12 engines instead of 5 to last the season, and 24 liters of fuel to last each race. And like the Factory Option bikes, they must also use the spec Magneti Marelli ECU. The difference, with both the Factory Option bike and last year's CRT machines, is that now they must use the Dorna-controlled software, written by Magneti Marelli to Dorna specifications. The switch to control software means that the claiming rule, which defined the CRT class, has been dropped. Anyone can enter anything in the class, from modified Superbike (as long as, like Aprilia's ART machine, it uses a prototype chassis) to full-fat factory engine, as long as they use the spec software. What effect will the new rules have on the racing? Less fuel is rarely a positive factor in any form of racing. Of the various ways of limiting performance – engine capacity, rev limits, and fuel flow – fuel limits are invariably the most expensive, both in terms of engine development and in terms of the price riders pay to keep their weight down. As a formula for promoting eating disorders among young men, fuel limits are worryingly effective. Less fuel will favor lighter riders once again, and riders who can create a more efficient aerodynamic shape on the bike. Tucking in behind the screen will become even more important than it was. Who does having less fuel favor? Of the three manufacturers who have competed with factory status in recent years, it is Honda who have handled fuel best. The combination of an effective engine layout and Honda's reputation for combining maximum power output and fuel efficiency from their engines has seen Honda finishing with fuel to spare, even at notoriously fuel hungry circuits like Motegi. They are not called Honda Motor Company for nothing. Fuel consumption has not been a problem for Ducati either, but the Desmosedici has other problems which vastly outweigh its good fuel consumption. The fuel limits would appear to hit Yamaha hardest. Yamahas being pushed back to the pits after running out of fuel on the cooling down lap have been a common sight throughout the four-stroke era, and maintaining their competitiveness with a liter less gasoline will only exacerbate that problem. Yamaha's strong point has always been its handling, easier to control, better at braking, turning, and carrying corner speed, but whether they can compensate their disadvantage in fuel consumption through a better-handling bike is open to question. It is an even more pressing question given that Yamaha has also given up its advantage in braking, as the bike has been focused more and more on maintaining corner speed. Only Jorge Lorenzo's sublimely smooth style has kept Yamaha in the race, with the other Yamaha riders struggling with the effects of braking instability with the new, softer construction front Bridgestone introduced in 2012. It was a problem Honda found a solution for in 2013, while Yamaha faced the consequences. They will need some major improvements if Valentino Rossi, Bradley Smith and Pol Espargaro are to get closer to the top three this year. The first Sepang test will be the first measure of Yamaha's progress. Though the Malaysian track plays more to the strengths of the Honda than the Yamaha – two long straights with a few hard braking zones ensure that – it has plenty of flowing sections where the Yamaha can come into its own. At last year's tests, only Jorge Lorenzo was able to match – and sometimes even beat – the times of the Hondas, while Valentino Rossi and Cal Crutchlow were four tenths of a second or more off the pace of Dani Pedrosa and the remarkable Marc Marquez. If Rossi can be one or two tenths off the pace of Lorenzo, rather than three or four tenths, that will be one sign the bike has improved. It remains a delicate balancing act though, as Yamaha must try to improve braking stability without compromising the bike's corner speed. Like the other Yamaha riders, Lorenzo needs the ability to brake later to defend against attacks from the Hondas or try to pass any RC213V he finds in his way. But if he loses corner speed, there will be little benefit in being able to brake later. Sepang will also be a key test for Valentino Rossi, regardless of what Yamaha bring. It will be the first test for him with his new crew chief Silvano Galbusera which Galbusera will have had a chance to prepare fully, now that he has spent a couple of months working inside the Yamaha factory MotoGP structure. Rossi needs Yamaha to improve the bike, but he also needs to gauge whether his lack of competitiveness – a relative term, given the record numbers of wins and titles Rossi has racked up over the years – is down to his collaboration with former crew chief Jeremy Burgess, or the fact that his age is starting to work against him. If the gap between Rossi and Lorenzo is larger than the gap between Rossi and Smith, then Rossi will have to start doubting himself. But it is still very, very early. In the Tech 3 Yamaha team, Smith finds himself facing a fierce rival, with Pol Espargaro moving up to MotoGP. Smith now has a better bike beneath him – on the same spec of machine as Espargaro, much closer to the factory bikes than he had last season – and with a year of experience under his belt, it is time to show what he is capable of. Smith's target will be to be the first satellite rider, chasing the Hondas of Stefan Bradl and Alvaro Bautista. Espargaro has the easier task, focusing purely on getting to grips with the MotoGP class, and adapting his riding style to handle the bike. He made an impressive start at Valencia, and he will be looking to carry this on. At Honda, all eyes will be on newly-crowned world champion Marc Marquez. Last year, Repsol Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa dominated at the tests, but that was while Marquez was still learning to ride the bike. With a year of experience and the small matter of a world title under his belt, Marquez will look to come out flying. The 2013 Honda RC213V was already a great bike, and the 2014 bike will only get better. The places where the bike is weaker than the Yamaha are a result of the compromises made, and overall, the bike remains a better package. With a liter less fuel, that advantage should be even greater. For Dani Pedrosa, the goal is to try to repeat his form of late 2012, where he dominated the class. He will have his hands full with his teammate and Jorge Lorenzo, but at least Sepang is a track where the Spanish veteran has always shone. The biggest question marks hang over the garage of Ducati. Test rider Michele Pirro has already put in plenty of laps at Sepang, testing the 2014 version of the Desmosedici against the 2013 bike. Presumably, he will also have been testing the bike running in two configurations, one with the factory software and 20 liters of fuel, and one running in Open configuration with the Dorna software and 24 liters of fuel. For this is the dilemma which Ducati boss Gigi Dall'Igna faces. He has not had enough time to analyze the problems, develop solutions and then build a bike better than the one left to him by his predecessor. The GP14 is largely a product of the work done by his predecessor, Bernhard Gobmeier, and more changes are likely to be needed. The engine freeze imposed on any entry under the Factory Option rules means that he would be unable to modify the engine in any significant way, and so Dall'Igna is pondering competing under the Open class rules. That would allow Ducati more fuel, more engines, and crucially, the freedom to experiment with engine internals such as crankshaft, valve timing, and even the relative positioning of components, in pursuit of a more compact motor. Ducati have until 28th February to make their decision. The Sepang 1 test will be crucial, with factory riders Andrea Dovizioso and Cal Crutchlow reported to be ready to do back-to-back tests of the bikes in both configurations. That means that the decision will likely be made in the period between Sepang 1 and Sepang 2, with the second Sepang test being used to develop the bike in the chosen direction. It seems all but certain that Ducati will follow the Open route. The bike's electronics are the very least of their problems at the moment, and the freedom they gain in development – even chassis changes may require engine mounting points to be modified, something which will be impossible as a Factory Option entry – vastly outweighs the disadvantage of working on software. They can continue that work with the test team, ready for a possible return as a Factory Option team in 2015. But it is possible they could stick with the Open class, if it gives them the advantages they are looking for. That would put the cat among the pigeons, rather as their switch to Bridgestone tires did in the past. The Sepang test is also the first chance to get a proper look at the Open class. Two bikes appeal most to the imagination. The Yamaha FTR to be raced by Colin Edwards and Aleix Espargaro in the NGM Forward team will provide an interesting comparison of the differences between the Open and Factory Option categories. A 2013-spec satellite Yamaha engine and chassis, in bodywork and other parts produced by Moto2 and Moto3 chassis builder FTR, the bike should benefit most from the extra fuel the Open class is allowed, compensating for Yamaha's traditional weak point. There will be no need to dial back the power – other than saving engine life, as the package being offered by Yamaha consists of just 5 engines, not the 12 allowed under the rules – and so the bike should be able to maintain its speed throughout the race. It will also be a chance to see how the Dorna software compares to the Yamaha, and just how much of an advantage the sophisticated vehicle dynamics packages developed by the factories confer. It will lack the seamless gearbox of the factory Yamahas, but then again, it is still not clear whether the Tech 3 machines will also be using the seamless gearbox in 2014. The Honda RCV1000R is a different concept, but just as interesting. The production version of the RC213V differs in several aspects, most importantly missing the seamless gearbox of the factory bike. The engine makes less power too, using steel rather than pneumatic valve springs, limiting both engine speed and valve lift duration and profile. But that the underlying concept is strong is clear. The bike may lack speed compared to Yamaha's offering, but it should at least stop and turn. The bike has been designed to get riders closer to the satellite machines, but beating them should be hard. Those riding the Honda RCV1000R make for an interesting cross section of the MotoGP grid. Nicky Hayden leaves Ducati after five seasons, and will be pleased to find himself on a bike which doesn't suffer the understeer of the Desmosedici. His goal will be to beat the Yamaha FTRs, and harass the satellite machines as closely as possible. His year on the Aspar Honda will provide a glimpse of how much of the 2006 world champion's results in recent years were down to the Ducati, and how much down to him. At the other end of the spectrum sits Scott Redding. The young Englishman came close to winning the Moto2 title last year, and now he takes on the challenge of MotoGP. More fuel will compensate for his biggest disadvantage – his physical size, the tallest rider on the grid, as well as the heaviest, despite his slim frame – and the RCV1000R is an ideal tool for a rookie season. A chance to get to grips with the Bridgestone tires, and get a handle on racing a MotoGP machine, without the pressure to perform. Redding was still suffering with a wrist injury at Valencia last November, so Sepang is his first chance to ride the bike properly. The weather here in Sepang is rather balmy, or at least as balmy as a tropical climate allows. Temperatures are expected to remain around the 28° mark, never really rising into the thirties. No rain is predicted, though the sun remains covered by a layer of thin cloud belying the typical tropical humidity. Ideal conditions to go testing. From tomorrow, the 2014 MotoGP season gets underway in earnest. It has been a long wait.
Elon Musk (Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty) Elon Musk is clearly in the 2016 race for Supervillain of the Universe, because on the "Late Show with Stephen Colbert," he suggested there were two ways to make Mars hospitable for humans. There's a slow way and a fast way, and both, said Musk, involve warming the planet. The slow way is to flood the planet with greenhouse gases and cause a kind of Martian climate change over a matter of years. The fast way is much more … interesting. "The fast way is to drop thermonuclear weapons over the poles," said Musk with a completely straight face. "You're a supervillain!" Colbert said. "Superman doesn't say, 'let's drop nuclear bombs.' That's Lex Luthor, man." And how does Musk propose getting to Mars affordably? Why, with his reusable SpaceX rockets, of course. The last test of that technology, which involved landing the craft on a floating barge in the ocean, failed spectacularly when it tipped over and exploded. But within two to three years, Musk told Colbert, it'll be ready for human passengers. Yes, really -- Musk thinks that people like you or I could hop in a SpaceX craft and start jetting around in space. Is it ready? It'll have to be: SpaceX really wants to use its reusable rockets to bring NASA astronauts to the International Space Station within the next couple years, said Musk. What could go wrong?
Stanford research suggests support for incarceration mirrors whites' perception of black prison populations Informing the white public that the percentage of black Americans in prison is far greater than the percentage of white people behind bars may not spur support for reform. Instead, it might actually generate support for the policies – such as stop-and-frisk and three-strikes laws – that created the situation. Rich Pedroncelli/AP Stanford psychology researchers discovered that when white voters perceive more black Americans in the prison population, they support harsher laws. Although African-Americans constitute only 12 percent of America's population, they represent 40 percent of the nation's prison inmates. But informing the white public of this disproportionate incarceration rate may actually bolster support for the very policies that perpetuate the inequality, according to a study published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. Stanford psychology researchers Rebecca Hetey and Jennifer Eberhardt found that when white people were told about these racial disparities, they reported being more afraid of crime and more likely to support the kinds of punitive policies that exacerbate the racial disparities. The expansion of harsh policies – such as California's Three Strikes law and similar measures by other states – has led the United States to have the largest per-capita prison population in the world. "Most people likely assume this must be due to rising crime rates, but the explosion in the prison population is better explained by harsh criminal justice policies," said Hetey, a postdoctoral scholar and the lead author on the study. Real-life test Hetey and Eberhardt, an associate professor of psychology, wanted to know whether making white people aware of racial disparities in incarceration would bolster or diminish their support for draconian policies. Their first experiment unfolded at a train station near San Francisco. A white female researcher asked 62 white voters to watch a video containing mug shots of male inmates. Some of the participants saw a video in which 25 percent of the mug shots were of black men, while others saw a video in which the percentage of black men among the mug shots rose to 45 percent. The participants then had an opportunity to sign a real petition aimed at easing the severity of California's three-strikes law. "It seemed like a great opportunity – a real-life political issue – to test this question of whether blacker prison populations lead people to accept these more punitive policies," Eberhardt said. The results were clear. Over half of the participants who'd seen the mug shots with fewer black men signed the petition, whereas only 27 percent of people who viewed the mug shots containing a higher percentage of black inmates agreed to sign. This was the case regardless of how harsh participants thought the law was. Stop-and-frisk policy To determine whether fear of crime might explain these findings, Hetey and Eberhardt conducted a second experiment. In 2012, the New York City Police Department detained people more than 500,000 times under the city's controversial stop-and-frisk law. Of that total, 55 percent were African-American. For their experiment, Hetey and Eberhardt showed 164 white New Yorkers statistics about the prison population. The New York residents read about black inmates either in terms of the national incarceration rate (40 percent of prisoners are black) or the New York City rate (60 percent.) Next, they were asked about their support for the stop-and-frisk policy. About 33 percent of the participants who saw the lower national statistic were willing to sign a petition to end the policy. But only 12 percent of those who saw the higher city rate of black incarceration were willing to sign the petition. Participants who saw the higher rate of black incarceration were more likely to report concern over crime, which was associated with reluctance to sign the petition. Social activists or policymakers trying to fight inequality often use statistical evidence to motivate people to join their cause. In light of this study, that strategy may backfire. "Many legal advocates and social activists seem to assume that bombarding the public with images, statistics and other evidence of racial disparities will motivate people to join the cause and fight inequality," Hetey said. "But we found that, ironically, exposure to extreme racial disparities may make the public less, and not more, responsive to attempts to lessen the severity of policies that help maintain those disparities." "Our research shows that numbers don't always speak for themselves," Eberhardt said. "Reducing inequality takes more than simply presenting people with evidence of extreme inequality." Shara Tonn is an intern at the Stanford News Service. Media Contact Rebecca Hetey, Psychology: rhetey@stanford.edu Jennifer Eberhardt, Psychology: jleberhardt@stanford.edu Dan Stober, Stanford News Service: (650) 721-6965, dstober@stanford.edu
The deadly flashflood that killed 152 in southern Russia this month prompted a local adherent of Islam to change religion, an Orthodox Christian priest told RIA Novosti. The deadly flashflood that killed 152 in southern Russia this month prompted a local adherent of Islam to change religion, an Orthodox Christian priest told RIA Novosti. The Krasnodar region resident was visiting the city of Krymsk, which bore the brunt of the disaster, when the flood hit on July 7, Archpriest Sergei Karpets said. The man, whose name was withheld, was not in the disaster zone, but was impressed by the “Christian unity” of people involved in the cleanup, Karpets said on late Tuesday. The Muslim requested to be baptized, but will have to wait until the cleanup is ended because the priests will first have to educate him in the basics of the faith he is seeking to accept, Karpets said. He gave no timeframe for the baptism. Apostasy is punishable by death in Islamic Shariah law.
The Obama administration asked a Venezuelan diplomat based in Miami to leave the United States by Jan. 10, potentially straining US-Venezuelan relations further as Iran and Venezuela grow closer. The expulsion corresponds with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s visit to Venezuela yesterday, the first stop on his four-country Latin America tour. Some fear Iran is using the region as a staging ground to attack US interests, an issue that’s especially salient given recent Western anxiety about Iran’s nuclear goals. In December, a Univision documentary called “The Iranian Threat” linked Livia Acosta Noguera, the Venezuelan Consul General to Miami since March 2011, to a potential cyberattack coordinated by Iran, Cuba, and Venezuela against the US. There is no indication that American officials have been able to verify Univision's allegations, reports The New York Times. Some analysts say the expulsion had less to do with the merits of the accusation than a desire by the Obama Administration to defuse Republican pressure over Iran during an election year. “This [expulsion] has to be viewed in the wider context,” says Michael Shifter, president of Inter-American Dialogue. “The tensions are escalating with Iran and the US, so Venezuela becomes a greater concern.... [And] the Obama Administration doesn’t want to be vulnerable as soft on Iran and Latin America.” Last month four US representatives wrote a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton drawing attention to the documentary's accusations. “According to the documentary, when she served as the vice secretary at the Venezuelan embassy in Mexico in 2008, she interacted with members from the Iranian and Cuban embassies and students posing as extremists from the Universidad Autónoma of Mexico to coordinate a cyber attack against the U.S. government and critical infrastructure systems at the White House, FBI and CIA,” reads the letter, which was posted on Florida Rep. David Rivera’s (R) website and signed by New Jersey Rep. Albio Sires (D) and Florida Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R) and Mario Diaz-Balart (R). Sen. Robert Menendez (D) of New Jersey, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, called for hearings on the alleged plot. The Venezuelan government dismissed the Univision report as false and uncorroborated. “They are using a lie as an excuse to attack us,” President Hugo Chavez said in December, calling on allies to be on guard. Lessons learned from George W. Bush’s first term in office show a confrontational approach to Chavez is not effective, says Mr. Shifter, because criticism "gave Chavez greater ammunition for his own political agenda.” “Any kind of real confrontational posture towards Venezuela will only help Chavez, as it has in the past,” Shifter says. But Obama, he adds, is under pressure from Congress and the Republican presidential candidates to take action on the perceived strengthening ties between Iran and some Latin American countries. Mr. Ahmadinejad plans to attend President Daniel Ortega's inauguration in Nicaragua tomorrow, another event that prompted outcry from some US politicians. Chavez, who is also running for reelection this year, frequently paints the United States as an imperialist adversary set out to destroy his socialist government. “He sees himself as a victim of the [US] empire,” says Shifter. “The US doesn’t want to feed him any new material.” The request for Ms. Noguera to leave the US within 72 hours could serve as fodder for Chavez’s verbal attacks on US policy, and a reciprocal expulsion of diplomatic staff on behalf of Venezuela can’t be ruled out, Shifter says. Get the Monitor Stories you care about delivered to your inbox. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy Neither the US nor Venezuela have hosted each other’s ambassadors since 2008, when Mr. Chavez charged American Ambassador Patrick D. Duddy with backing a plot to overthrow him in a military coup. The US removed its ambassador in response, heightening tension between the two nations. Venezuela has had a strong geopolitical alliance with Iran since Ahmadinejad came to power in 2005. “Both countries want to curtail US power,” says Mr. Shifter, “and they both get benefits out of provoking the United States.”
First up is Marvin Emnes' match-winning goal back in August 2011. The Dutchman scored midway through the second half of a controversial clash that saw three players red-carded, including our own Tony McMahon and then Leeds favourite Jonny Howson. Another of Boro's Dutchmen to score at Elland Road was Bolo Zenden in January 2004. With Leeds scrapping for their Premier League lives, Zenden scored our first early in the second half before further goals from Joseph Desire-Job and Michael Ricketts sealed an emphatic 3-0 win at Elland Road. Leeds also had goalkeeper Paul Robinson sent off in the final minutes. The previous season, Leeds were also clinging on to their top-flight status when Geremi scored a superb goal at Elland Road. Mark Viduka had given Leeds the lead, but goals from Massimo Maccarone and Juninho turned the scoreline around before Geremi made it 3-1. Viduka did add a second for Leeds, but we recorded the win from what proved to be former Boro manager Terry Venables last game as Leeds boss. The two sides first met at the Riverside in November 1995 when Jan-Aage Fjortoft scored a terrific goal after just 11 minutes to give us the lead. Brian Deane, later to play for Boro, equalised for Leeds that day on the stroke of half-time. When Juninho scored an absolute rocket at the Riverside in August 2003 we appeared to be on course for victory against Leeds, having turned the scoreline around after being 1-0 down early on. But Leeds hit back to level before winning the game in the final after that man Viduka cashed in on an Andrew Davies error to make it 3-2. It took David Nugent just three minutes to make his mark when the club's last met at the Riverside. Nugent put us 1-0 up in a game that was settled by some comedy defending that included a Giuseppe Bellusci own goal and a gift for Diego Fabbrini.
Top Gear could be making the transition from BBC Two to a juicy Sunday prime time slot on BBC One, it has been claimed. The show, which recently announced a seven presenter line-up including Chris Evans, Matt Le Blanc and Sabine Schmitz, is due to return for an eight part run later this year. And, despite early and persistent rumours of numerous disasters on set, it is looking like it could be a success, despite having lost Jeremy Clarkson. And Chris Evans and his team have more than a reason than ever to give it their best shot, with a BBC Insider telling the Mirror that if it performs well on its initial return, it will be moved into a slot which follows BBC ratings titan Countryfile. The source explained: ‘The feeling is it is best to see how the show goes in May. If it hits the ratings threshold they will press ahead with the move next year. It would have been too much of a gamble this year.’ It is expected that it would need to secure around five million viewers on its return to justify the risk of a move to the main Beeb channel. It would be in a lineup which also includes another ratings winner, Antiques Roadshow. Advertisement Advertisement Countryfile continues to surprise us all by continuing to grow in popularity, often pulling in around nine million viewers on Sunday evenings. And the BBC could be on to a winner if they schedule Top Gear straight afterwards. The last time the channel had success in poaching a BBC Two hit was with Great British Bake Off which was last year’s most watched show on television. MORE: James May reckons ‘ballsy’ Chris Evans will be brilliant on Top Gear A BBC spokesperson has played down the rumours of a Top Gear move however, saying that it is ‘too early’ to discuss the plans for next year. Clarkson, meanwhile, is currently working on a rival car show for Amazon Prime alongside Richard Hammond and James May. MORE: Steve Brookstein moaned about there being women in Top Gear and got the response he deserved MORE: Simon Cowell reckons he would be a better Top Gear host after taking a swipe at Chris Evans
Last week I talked about the revamped radar for attacking midfielders and forwards. Today I’m going to introduce the new central and defensive midfielder template and talk about some things I’ve learned from doing the visualizations. Let’s start with a real-world example of old vs new. This is what Steven Gerrard looked like on the old radar. And this is what he looks like on the new version. So what changed? First of all, any player hitting a boundary on the outside of the radar has produced a season ranking in the top 5% of all players for that stat at that position, based on production of all players in the big 5 European leagues from 2009-2014 on a per90 basis. This is very, very good. Like, saaaay, Andrea Pirlo. From the sublime to the not so good, we have the other side of this change. Any player hitting the dot in the center of the circle produced a season that ranks in the bottom 5% in that category for that season. All of that space in the circle itself is the two standard deviations from the mean. This should make it a bit more statistically rigorous and meaningful, and it also makes average look a lot less awful than it did on the old versions. Speaking of average, this is what statistical production looks like for your average “midfielder”. I found this slightly surprising, as your average midfielder looks like a mediocre DM. What that tells us is that most midfielders across the big leagues perform defensive duties and act as recyclers, but don’t have a big impact on the offensive end. That leaves the bulk of the scoring work to be done by forwards and attacking mids. Now this is what a player who scored in the 75th percentile in all stats would look like. We’re getting quite a bit more offensively here, as key passes are over 1.6 per 90, scoring contribution is over a goal or assist every 4 matches, and you have some dribbling as well. However, it still doesn’t push out to the halfway point in the circles. What this means is that top 25% of all midfielders contribute a ton on offense, and drag the whole population toward the boundary with them. Translation: There aren’t nearly as many midfielders who have high contributions on the offensive end, and thus they are more considerably more valuable than you might expect. A player that has good contributions in both attack and defense and plays midfield? Enormously valuable. Meanwhile, good attacking mids are actually fairly easy to pick out and not that uncommon. (A reason why I thought buying Juan Mata for £37M in January was insane.) Keep this in mind when you see people making midfielder recommendations and attaching prices to them this summer. True midfielders, including deep-lying playmakers, that add to the attack should bring big money on the transfer market. Other things I learned while revamping this include. Tackles and dribbled past are likely inversely correlated. This creates what I call the sting ray effect (you can see it in the Ramsey and Vidal radars below), where by making a lot of tackles, you also put yourself in position where you probably get dribbled past a bunch in the process.Follow-up question because of this: Are high numbers of tackles and fouls also correlated? I don’t know yet. Additional follow-up question: Do extreme performances in tackles make it impossible to have a high number of interceptions as well? Is that true for DMs or only box-to-box players? This one goes more with the Forward radar, but dribbles and dispossessions are also probably inversely correlated, especially at the boundaries. The more you dribble, even successfully, the more likely you are to also be dispossessed compared to the general population. There’s a usage rate issue that deserves looking at, but there’s tons more stuff to explore here. If you want to know more about what other changes I have put in place, scroll to the bottom for a change log. If you want to see a bunch of big-name player radars and comparisons, stay right here. Radar Love CM Radar Change Log Redid all axes with 5%/95% cutoffs Added Age: XX for the season Added gridlines in the bottom right corner so that you can look up the actual stats produced for that season. I did this because you lose informational acuity for Top 5/Bot5% seasons and I wanted a way to track it. When I have time, I will also highlight top 5 in green and bot 5 in red. If I forget to change the stats in that section, they will probably be Aaron Ramsey’s from 13-14, since he’s the first plot I did on the new template. Turned all text on the bottom half of the radar right side up. Question: Why didn’t you make each ring represent a percentage of the distribution? Essentially, why isn’t the average player a perfect circle at the 50% mark? Answer: Because I felt that doing so would make it less intuitive to read for non-stats people. Additionally, I discovered that by doing so, you lose the distribution point I made above regarding attacking stats and midfielders. To me, Question: How are these created? Answer: I grab the data from a MySQL database that has Opta stats, and then plot the radars and fill in additional information by hand in Photoshop. At some point I would like to get the creation of these automated, but my programming knowledge is not there yet and I really don’t want to decrease the quality of presentation. I’m sure there will be other iterations of these in the future, and I’m currently working on fullback radars as well. As with almost all graphical presentations of data, there are issues with these, but I feel like they are improving as we learn more about the stats and the sport itself. Baby steps. Related Article by Ted Knutson
Mar 21, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Oklahoma Sooners head coach Lon Kruger during practice the day before the second round of the 2013 NCAA tournament at the Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports Oklahoma Sooners vs. San Diego State Aztecs The Oklahoma Sooners struggled at the end of the 2012-13 college basketball season. A team that looked like a lock for the NCAA college basketball tournament instead entered March Madness as a 10th seed, a bubble team, and now has to fight in a tough first round match against the San Diego State Aztecs. The only way that OU can turn around their late season struggles (loss to last place TCU, first round exit in Big 12 tournament) is if they can count on Romero Osby to play one heck of a good game. If San Diego State (22-10) double teams Osby, and takes him out of the game, Steven Pledger will have a tough time winning this one on his own. It can be said that the Oklahoma Sooners will have an advantage because Lon Kruger knows San Diego State so well. He did face the Aztecs every year that he coached the UNLV Running Rebels, but that also means he knows how tough Steve Fisher’s team is. While at UNLV, Kruger turned that franchise around and made them winners. Against the Aztecs, Kruger’s Running Rebels compiled a 5-13 record. In three of those seven seasons, Kruger’s team lost to San Diego State three times, twice in the regular season and one in the league tournament. That was nine losses in three seasons to his team’s heated rivals. On the positive side, that means in the other four seasons Kruger’s team went 5-4, which is slightly better. But just because Lon Kruger coached against them before doesn’t mean he knows secrets about this team. Sure, he knows Fisher’s coaching style, but the players are all different faces. “I didn’t see them play that much this year,” Kruger said. “I know they’re very talented, very athletic. Steve Fisher does a terrific job. As far as knowing exactly about this team, we’ll learn more the next couple days watching film.” In 2011, Fisher led his Aztecs to the NCAA college basketball tournament and into the Sweet 16. They are one of only 17 NCAA schools to play in four consecutive NCAA tournaments. Fisher has made them into perennial winners. Guard Jamaal Franklin leads them with 16.5 points and 9.5 rebounds. Fellow guard Chase Tapley averages 13.5 points a game. Romero Osby leads the Oklahoma Sooners in scoring (15.8), rebounds (7.0) and field goal percentage (.522). He is the first Big 12 first-team player since Blake Griffin in 2009. Steven Pledger adds 11.8 points while Amath M’Baye puts down 10.1 a game. With Osby and Pledger both seniors, they know this is their final chance to prove themselves, and the Oklahoma Sooners, to the world. “Before the game, we need to go on the Rocky run and put on our sweats and everything,” Osby said, referring to the classic sport’s underdog movie. “He had his back against the wall and people didn’t believe he could do what he did. Hopefully, we can do the same thing.” The Oklahoma Sooners and San Diego State Aztecs tip off at 8:20 p.m. CST.
By Jason Ziller, Director of Thunderbolt Marketing, Intel If you’re a business professional, content creator, gamer, or just want to simplify your 4K workspace, your world is about to get faster and simpler. Today Intel® unveiled Thunderbolt™ 3, the fastest, most versatile connection to any dock, display, or peripheral device – including billions of USB devices. “Thunderbolt™ 3 is computer port nirvana – delivering two 4K displays, fast data, and quick notebook charging”, said Navin Shenoy, vice president in Client Computing Group and general manager of Mobility Client Platforms at Intel Corporation. “It fulfills the promise of USB-C for single-cable docking and so much more. OEMs and device developers are going to love it.” Users have long wanted desktop-level performance from a mobile computer. Thunderbolt was developed to simultaneously support the fastest data and most video bandwidth available on a single cable, while also supplying power. Then recently the USB group introduced the USB-C connector, which is small, reversible, fast, supplies power, and allows other I/O in addition to USB to run on it, maximizing its potential. So in the biggest advancement since its inception, Thunderbolt 3 brings Thunderbolt to USB-C at 40Gbps, fulfilling its promise, creating one compact port that does it all. Computer ports with Thunderbolt 3 provide 40Gbps Thunderbolt – double the speed of the previous generation, USB 3.1 10Gbps, and DisplayPort 1.2. For the first time, one computer port connects to Thunderbolt devices, every display, and billions of USB devices. In Thunderbolt mode, a single cable now provides four times the data and twice the video bandwidth of any other cable, while supplying power. It’s unrivaled for new uses, such as 4K video, single-cable docks with charging, external graphics, and built-in 10 GbE networking. Simply put, Thunderbolt 3 delivers the best USB-C. More Speed. More Pixels. More Possibilities. What does this mean for end users? At 40Gbps, it is the fastest connection to your computer. You can transfer a 4K movie in less than 30 seconds. You can connect two 4K displays with nearly 16 million more pixels than an HDTV. Full 4K Video Experience Connect two 4K 60 Hz displays with astonishing resolution, contrast, and color depth to see your photos, videos, applications, and text with amazing detail. Best Single-Cable Docking Now, one compact port provides Thunderbolt 3 data transfer, support for two 4K 60 Hz displays, and quick notebook charging up to 100W with a single cable. It’s the most advanced and versatile USB-C docking solution available. External Graphics Gamers can now connect plug ‘n’ play external graphics to a notebook to enjoy the latest games at recommended or higher settings. Thunderbolt™ Networking Provides a peer-to-peer connection at 10 GbE speeds to quickly transfer files between computers, perform PC migrations, or set up small workgroups with shared storage. Solutions and products built to Thunderbolt and Thunderbolt 2 specifications will work with Thunderbolt 3 via an adapter. Initial products with Thunderbolt 3 are expected to begin shipping before the end of this year, and ramp in 2016. Technology Features Thunderbolt™, USB, DisplayPort, and power on USB-C USB-C connector and cables (small, reversible) 40 Gbps Thunderbolt™ 3 – double the speed of Thunderbolt 2 Bi-directional, dual-protocol (PCI Express and DisplayPort) 4 lanes of PCI Express Gen 3 8 lanes of DisplayPort 1.2 (HBR2 and MST) Supports two 4K displays (4096 x 2160 30bpp @ 60 Hz) USB 3.1 (10 Gbps) – compatible with existing USB devices and cables DisplayPort 1.2 – compatible with existing DisplayPort displays, devices, and cables Connect DVI, HDMI, and VGA displays via adapters Power (based on USB power delivery) Up to 100W system charging 15W to bus-powered devices
CLOSE Andy Lack is the NBC News executive who fired Matt Lauer. The 70-year-old chairman is now under fire himself. Wochit Matt Lauer on Nov. 8, 2017 (Photo11: Nathan Congleton, NBC) If you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere, the song goes. Evidently, making it in the highly-competitive television news industry in the Big Apple has often meant, for women, enduring sexual harassment at the hands of their male co-workers. The list of men ousted from high-profile seats of TV power grew this week with NBC's ousting Wednesday of Today co-anchor Matt Lauer. But NBC is not alone. All of the major television networks have been hit with similar situations recently, making Lauer just the latest in a line that most recently includes Charlie Rose, who co-hosted CBS This Morning and had his own nightly show, produced by Bloomberg Television and aired on PBS for 26 years. He was dismissed from all three networks two weeks ago after accusations of sexual harassment and assault. More: Sexual harassment went unchecked for decades as payouts silenced accusers NBC News also last month terminated its contract with political analyst Mark Halperin who also appears on MSNBC. He had been accused of sexually harassing women while he worked at ABC News as political director in the late 1990s and much of the 2000s. Showtime also dismissed Halperin should the premium channel continue its political documentary series The Circus, which he co-hosted. Back in April, Fox News Channel dismissed Bill O'Reilly, host of the network's ratings leader The O'Reilly Report after an internal investigation prompted by The New York Times report that Fox and O'Reilly had paid millions to settle several sexual harassment accusations. O'Reilly's ouster followed the July 2016 resignation of Fox News CEO Roger Ailes, who had also faced allegations of sexual impropriety. That media scandals would arise in New York makes sense because that is where the major outlets' headquarters reside and house the executives who have the power to hire and promote staffers, says Mark Feldstein, a broadcast journalism professor at the University of Maryland, College Park. "New York is where the power is and this is fundamentally a scandal about power and the abuse of power in sexual ways," said Feldstein, a former journalist at NBC. "When I was a network correspondent it was often a running joke about the ugly TV executives bedding the beautiful on-air women, who otherwise obviously wouldn't have given them the time day. … It seemed to be a consensual casting couch mentality that resembled the Hollywood version of that." That's why there's a concurrent wave of harassment allegations hitting Hollywood, too, he says. "It’s happening in Los Angeles because in the entertainment industry that is where the power is and if you look at sex scandals in politics, Washington is going to be the capital (place) because that is where political power is based," Feldstein said. "I suspect if you looked at impropriety in the fashion industry or finance industries, New York would also be tops." Harassment has permeated the media industry for decades, we've learned as the accusations have been made public. Many victims have remained quiet over fear of reprisal. But the recent revelations do not surprise Mark Hertsgaard, an investigative editor for The Nation and author of several books, including Bravehearts: Whistle Blowing in the Age of Snowden. When sent to CBS News in the early '90s to do a story on 60 Minutes and its kid-glove treatment of President Reagan for Rolling Stone, as the magazine's then-media reporter, Hertsgaard switched gears upon seeing out-in-the-open harassment. While talking to a female producer, Hertsgaard saw Mike Wallace walk by and slap the behind of the woman with a rolled-up magazine. "I look at her and my mouth drops open and I said, 'Does that happen much here?' She said, 'You wouldn’t believe.' That is how I got onto the story," he said. The story was published in May of 1991. He talked to three women who would not go on the record because show creator Don Hewitt "like Harvey Weinstein, for that matter, was famous for being vindictive and ruining peoples' careers," Hertsgaard said. Wallace, the women told him, repeatedly put his hands on the thighs of his producers during meetings and snapped and unsnapped women's bra straps from behind "like an eighth-grade boy" would do, Hertsgaard said. "While it is true that especially for people like Hewitt and Wallace, this was seen as one of the perks of the business if you were a powerful man," said Hertsgaard, who was the son of a Baltimore TV anchor. "It’s not true of all people. My dad never did that kind of thing. But there were very few women who I talked to at 60 Minutes who did not have a story like this. It is and has been an epidemic." Betsy West can attest to that. Currently the Fred W. Friendly professor at the Columbia Journalism School in New York, West oversaw 60 Minutes as the senior vice president at CBS News from 1997 to 2005. Her time there coincided with that of Hewitt, who stepped down as executive producer in 2004 (he died in 2009), and Wallace, who became a correspondent emeritus in 2006 before retiring in 2008 (he died in 2012). "By that time I think a lot of that had abated or I didn’t witness that myself," she said. "But certainly there were stories about that atmosphere. It did sometimes feel like a boys’ club." A filmmaker whose newest documentary RBG on Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will premier at Sundance in January, West says had heard stories about Rose and him "being abusive and yelling at people, but never the kind of reporting that came out about him." However, West had her own experiences with harassment elsewhere. About one year into her first job, which was at ABC Radio, the male-dominated newsroom began to sing "Happy Birthday" to her. "I thought, 'Oh, this is so nice. They've got me a birthday cake' and they came around and as I got closer to the cake I saw it was in the shape of a penis," she said. "I was so mortified and embarrassed and I thought, ‘Well, I’m just going to laugh,’ because I’m going to be a good sport. I’m going to go along with this. It was mortifying, but I just laughed and put it out of my mind and just moved on." She recalls late Friday night work shifts when an executive would put raunchy cable access program The Robin Byrd Show on his TV and have pornography in the office. Certain men considered it "their right," West said, to "look you up and down and make a comment about your appearance or say ‘Oh, gee, Betsy, I love it when you wear a skirt,’ always reminding you there was a sexual aspect to all of this and the way they were considering you." These days when she recalls these events to her 23-year-old daughter, "she looks at me in horror like ‘Why would you put up with that?' The answer is we didn’t know what else to do," West says. "We thought it was the price of having these great jobs, of having opportunities to work in a business which had been closed to women to a large extent until the 70s." With the events of recent weeks, West said, "everybody is remembering the things that happened including things you had suppressed." The blowback in New York has not been confined to on-air talent and top executives or even TV newsrooms. On the same day that Lauer was fired for inappropriate behavior, so was Teddy Davis, a CNN senior producer on the network's State of the Union show, hosted by Jake Tapper. Online content company Vox Media, headquartered in New York, fired editorial director Lockhart Steele, in October after allegations of sexual misconduct. And the president and publisher of the New Republic, Hamilton Fish, quit earlier this month after initially taking a leave of absence following charges made against him. Having worked in news bureaus across the world, West says harassment certainly isn't confined to New York. "Nor do I think it is unique to the media," she said. To be sure, recent events emphasize that harassment within the media does not have geographic boundaries. The New York Times' White House reporter Glenn Thrush was suspended two weeks ago amid accusations of sexually inappropriate behavior. Also in Washington, NPR new chief Michael Oreskes resigned earlier this month after sexual harassment allegations, first reported by The Washington Post that took place when he was a Washington bureau chief for The New York Times in the '90s. Subsequently, NPR said another more recent allegation of impropriety had been reported at the network. And Leon Wieseltier, contributing editor at The Atlantic, had his new magazine project dropped after numerous women said they had been sexually harassed by him during his three-decades at The New Republic. After the Ailes and O'Reilly exits at Fox News happened, "I think a lot of people were saying, ‘Maybe this is a turning point'," West said. "But I think it wasn’t so clear then. I now think it really is a cultural upheaval … It’s causing a lot of people certainly in my business and in the journalism world, in the media and in the television world to look back at some of the things we put up with." Journalists, she said, "are irreverent, but there’s a certain point at which where sexist, homophobic, racist comments can’t be tolerated." Follow USA TODAY reporter Mike Snider on Twitter: @MikeSnider. Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2noYsV5
Rio Ferdinand has revealed a number of reasons why David Moyes failed at Manchester United in his new autobiography – with one of his faults being the banning of chips before matches. The 35-year-old returned to Old Trafford on Sunday for the first time since he left the club at the end of the season, but endured a day to forget as Queens Park Rangers suffered a heavy 4-0 defeat to a rebuilt United squad inspired by new singings Angel Di Maria and Daley Blind. The match coincided with the release of Ferdinand’s new autobiography ‘#2sides’, which has made a host of revelations on the season after Sir Alex Ferguson announced his retirement which led to Moyes taking over. Join Independent Minds For exclusive articles, events and an advertising-free read for just £5.99 €6.99 $9.99 a month Get the best of The Independent With an Independent Minds subscription for just £5.99 €6.99 $9.99 a month Get the best of The Independent Without the ads – for just £5.99 €6.99 $9.99 a month In an extract serialised by The Sun, Ferdinand admits that the squad had become deeply unhappy with Moyes’ tenure – and in particular his ban on the players eating chips the night before a game. "It's not something to go to the barricades over (the chips). But all the lads were p**d off,” said Ferdinand. “And guess what happened after Moyes left and Ryan Giggs took over? "Moyes has been gone about 20 minutes, we're on the bikes warming up for the first training session and one of the lads says: 'You know what? We've got to get on to Giggsy. We've got to get him to get us our f*g chips back.'” Shape Created with Sketch. Manchester United 4 QPR 0 player ratings Show all 22 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. Manchester United 4 QPR 0 player ratings 1/22 David de Gea Was found wanting in the first half after very nearly being caught out by Matty Phillips. Did well to save from Armand Traore in the second period, however. 7 2/22 Rafael Posed a considerable threat throughout the match down the right flank and broke effectively. A good outlet for United. 7 3/22 Marcos Rojo Slotted into the Manchester United backline with ease. Looked decent with the ball at his feet and showed a willingness to get forward. 7 4/22 Tyler Blackett Perhaps a misfit on a teamsheet of Galacticos, the young defender didn't look out of place in Louis van Gaal's side. 7 5/22 Jonny Evans Needed to be alert to a QPR counter attack in the first half but had precious little to do. 7 6/22 Angel Di Maria Showed the ambition and ability to really trouble a poor QPR side at Old Trafford. His goal had an element of luck about it but his quality is undeniable. A man of the match display. 9 7/22 Daley Blind Cut a composed figure at the heart of Manchester United's midfield and showed the Red Devils supporters exactly what they've been missing of late. 8 8/22 Ander Herrera Took his goal really well and linked Manchester United's defensive midfielders up with the more attacking players brilliantly. 8 9/22 Wayne Rooney Seems more mature with the captain's armband on. The England man put in another decent shift and grabbed himself an impressive goal too. 7 10/22 Robin van Persie While the Dutchman always poses a considerable threat, he looks out of sorts at the moment. 6 11/22 Bets of the bench: Radamel Falcao Didn't have long to make his mark but showed enough drive to enthuse the Old Trafford regulars. 7 12/22 Rob Green Any goalkeeper who concedes four goals isn't going to score too highly. Made a number of decent saves which keeps his score respectable. 5 13/22 Mauricio Isla Was brought to the club to give QPR a threat down the flank but continues to struggle in English football. 5 14/22 Steven Caulker While the former Cardiff City man didn't do a great deal wrong, he went missing for large periods. 5 15/22 Rio Ferdinand Would have had dreams last night of scoring the winner against his old club but was easily overrun by the new United talent. 5 16/22 Clint Hill Taken off at half-time, his deflection took Angel di Maria's cross into his own net. A poor afternoon. 5 17/22 Junior Hoilett Made little impact on the game but shouldn't let it get him down. These aren't the games which count for Rangers. 5 18/22 Niko Kranjcar Showed glimpses of class but, like many of his team-mates, he failed to make his mark. 5 19/22 Sandro Didn't look match-fit at times and subsequently delivered a lukewarm performance on his debut. 5 20/22 Leroy Fer Returned to the Premier League with QPR after relegation with Norwich City. Did little to suggest he will avoid that fate again. 5 21/22 Charlie Austin A dangerous player at QPR's disposal but was left isolated for large periods. 6 22/22 Matty Phillips Was bitterly unlucky not to score in the first half after David de Gea's error but it wasn't to be. 6 1/22 David de Gea Was found wanting in the first half after very nearly being caught out by Matty Phillips. Did well to save from Armand Traore in the second period, however. 7 2/22 Rafael Posed a considerable threat throughout the match down the right flank and broke effectively. A good outlet for United. 7 3/22 Marcos Rojo Slotted into the Manchester United backline with ease. Looked decent with the ball at his feet and showed a willingness to get forward. 7 4/22 Tyler Blackett Perhaps a misfit on a teamsheet of Galacticos, the young defender didn't look out of place in Louis van Gaal's side. 7 5/22 Jonny Evans Needed to be alert to a QPR counter attack in the first half but had precious little to do. 7 6/22 Angel Di Maria Showed the ambition and ability to really trouble a poor QPR side at Old Trafford. His goal had an element of luck about it but his quality is undeniable. A man of the match display. 9 7/22 Daley Blind Cut a composed figure at the heart of Manchester United's midfield and showed the Red Devils supporters exactly what they've been missing of late. 8 8/22 Ander Herrera Took his goal really well and linked Manchester United's defensive midfielders up with the more attacking players brilliantly. 8 9/22 Wayne Rooney Seems more mature with the captain's armband on. The England man put in another decent shift and grabbed himself an impressive goal too. 7 10/22 Robin van Persie While the Dutchman always poses a considerable threat, he looks out of sorts at the moment. 6 11/22 Bets of the bench: Radamel Falcao Didn't have long to make his mark but showed enough drive to enthuse the Old Trafford regulars. 7 12/22 Rob Green Any goalkeeper who concedes four goals isn't going to score too highly. Made a number of decent saves which keeps his score respectable. 5 13/22 Mauricio Isla Was brought to the club to give QPR a threat down the flank but continues to struggle in English football. 5 14/22 Steven Caulker While the former Cardiff City man didn't do a great deal wrong, he went missing for large periods. 5 15/22 Rio Ferdinand Would have had dreams last night of scoring the winner against his old club but was easily overrun by the new United talent. 5 16/22 Clint Hill Taken off at half-time, his deflection took Angel di Maria's cross into his own net. A poor afternoon. 5 17/22 Junior Hoilett Made little impact on the game but shouldn't let it get him down. These aren't the games which count for Rangers. 5 18/22 Niko Kranjcar Showed glimpses of class but, like many of his team-mates, he failed to make his mark. 5 19/22 Sandro Didn't look match-fit at times and subsequently delivered a lukewarm performance on his debut. 5 20/22 Leroy Fer Returned to the Premier League with QPR after relegation with Norwich City. Did little to suggest he will avoid that fate again. 5 21/22 Charlie Austin A dangerous player at QPR's disposal but was left isolated for large periods. 6 22/22 Matty Phillips Was bitterly unlucky not to score in the first half after David de Gea's error but it wasn't to be. 6 The former England captain also claimed that Moyes’ decision to play video after video of the opposition and how to stop them had the United squad doubting their own abilities and believing that other teams are better them, given that the Scot wanted to teach them how to stop opponents rather than attack them. “Before every game he made a point of showing us videos of how dangerous the other team could be,” Ferdinand added. “On the morning of a game we'd spend half an hour on the training ground, drilling to stop them. “There was so much attention to the subject it suddenly became a worry - they must be f***g good at this to have us spend all this time on it.” Following the 4-1 defeat to Manchester City – where Moyes famously declared that United needed to play like their Manchester rivals – Ferdinand met with both Moyes and defensive partner Nemanja Vidic. Despite attempting to go through what went wrong at the Etihad Stadium last September, Ferdinand admits that he didn’t have a clue of what Moyes was trying to tell them. "You heard a lot of guys complaining: 'I just don't know what he wants.' “He had me doubting everything.” Keep up to date with all the latest news with expert comment and analysis from our award-winning writers
H.P. Lovecraft: A Life by S.T. Joshi Necromonicon Press, 704 pp., $20.00 (paper) The Dunwich Horror and Others selected by August Derleth, with texts edited by S.T. Joshi Arkham House, 433 pp., $19.95 At the Mountains of Madness & Other Novels edited by S.T. Joshi Arkham House, 458 pp., $19.95 Dagon and Other Macabre Tales edited by S.T. Joshi Arkham House, 444 pp., $19.95 Miscellaneous Writings edited by S.T. Joshi Arkham House, 568 pp., $29.95 Selected Letters Vol. I: 1911-1924 edited by S.T. Joshi Arkham House, (out of print) Selected Letters Vol. II: 1925-1929 edited by S.T. Joshi Arkham House, $10.00 Selected Letters Vol. III: 1929-1931 edited by S.T. Joshi Arkham House Selected Letters Vol. IV: 1932-1934 edited by S.T. Joshi Arkham House, $12.50 Selected Letters Vol. V: 1934-1937 edited by S.T. Joshi Arkham House, $12.50 1. “Though in many of its aspects this visible world seems formed in love, the invisible spheres were formed in fright.” —Herman Melville, Moby Dick How mysterious, how unknowable and infinitely beyond their control must have seemed the vast wilderness of the New World to the seventeenth-century Puritan settlers! The inscrutable silence of Nature—the tragic ambiguity of human nature with its predilection for what Christians call “original sin,” inherited from our first parents Adam and Eve. When Nature is so vast, man’s need for control—for “settling” the wilderness—becomes obsessive. And how powerful the temptation to project mankind’s divided self onto the very silence of Nature. It was the intention of those English Protestants known as Puritans to “purify” the Church of England by eradicating everything in the Church that seemed to have no Biblical justification. The more radical Puritans, “Separatists” and eventually “Pilgrims,” settled Plymouth, Massachusetts, in the 1620s; others who followed in subsequent years were less zealous about defining themselves as “Separatists.” Yet all were characterized by the intransigence of their faith; their fierce sense of moral rectitude and self-righteousness. The intolerant theology of the New England Puritans could not have failed to breed paranoia, if not madness, in the sensitive among them. Consider, for instance, the Covenant of Grace, which taught that only those men and women upon whom God sheds His grace are saved, because this allows them to believe in Christ; those excluded from God’s grace lack the power to believe in a Savior, thus are not only not saved, but damned. We never had a chance! those so excluded might cry out of the bowels of Hell. We were doomed from the start. The extreme gothic sensibility springs from such paradoxes: that the loving, paternal God and His son Jesus are nonetheless willful tyrants; “good” is inextricably bound up with the capacity to punish; one may wish to believe oneself free but in fact all human activities are determined, from the perspective of the deity, long before one’s birth. It comes as no surprise, then, that the very titles of celebrated Puritan works of the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries strike a chord of anxiety. The Spiritual Conflict, The Holy War, Day of Doom, Thirsty Sinner, Groans of the Damned, The Wonders of the Invisible World, Man Knows Not His Time, Repentant Sinners and Their Ministers, Memorable Providences Relating to Witchcraft and Possessions—these might be the titles of lurid works of gothic fiction, not didactic sermons, prose pieces, and poetry. The great Puritan poet Edward Taylor was also a minister; much of Taylor’s subtle, intricately wrought metaphysical verse dwells upon God’s love and terror, and man’s insignificance in the face of God’s omnipotence: “My will is your Design.” Here is the gothic predilection for investing all things, even the most seemingly innocuous (weather, insects), with cosmological meaning. Is there nothing in the gothic…
WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - In one of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s biggest cases tied to the 2008 financial crisis, former Fannie Mae (FNMA.PK) Chief Executive Daniel Mudd has reached a settlement with regulators, according to court papers filed on Monday. Former chief executive of Fannie Mae Daniel Mudd exits U.S. District Court in the Manhattan borough of New York City, January 27, 2016, after attending arguments in the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) case against him. REUTERS/Mike Segar The deal with the SEC, detailed in papers filed in Manhattan federal court, resolves a 2011 lawsuit accusing Mudd of misleading investors about Fannie’s exposure to risky mortgages before the crisis. Mudd had denied wrongdoing and he did not admit any in the Monday agreement. The deal concludes one of the SEC’s few remaining cases tied to the housing downturn. Mudd was one of six executives at mortgage funding giants Fannie Mae (FNMA.PK) and Freddie Mac (FMCC.PK) sued by the SEC. The prosecutions were announced at a press conference in December 2011 but they ended in modest settlements over the following years. Under terms of the latest deal, Fannie Mae will contribute $100,000 on Mudd’s behalf to a Treasury Department account that receives financial gifts to the United States, according to documents. Fannie’s former chief risk officer, Enrico Dallavecchia, and former Executive Vice President, Thomas Lund, agreed to similar terms when they settled for $25,000 and $10,000 respectively in September 2015. A Fannie Mae spokesman declined to comment on the Mudd case. The SEC did not immediately respond to calls for comment. Mudd had continued to litigate alone after Lund and Dallavecchia settled last year and he was due to face trial in November. “I appreciate Fannie Mae and the current leadership of the SEC stepping in to end a case that should have never been brought,” Mudd told Reuters. CRISIS TENURE Mudd led Fannie Mae as a national housing bubble grew to bursting point from December 2004 to September 2008, when the Treasury Department effectively took control of the company. That same month, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc filed for bankruptcy as Wall Street was rattled by a wave of mortgage defaults. Officials injected taxpayer money to stabilize Fannie and it’s sibling Freddie which were conceived by Washington to promote home ownership and had helped underwrite a share of the easy-to-get subprime loans. The SEC had accused Mudd and the five other Fannie and Freddie executives of downplaying the companies’ exposure to risky loans. The SEC said Fannie Mae concealed exposure to more than $100 billion of subprime and $341 billion of Alt-A loans - another class of mortgage offered to risky borrowers. Former Freddie Mac chief Richard Syron as well as former executives Patricia Cook and Donald Bisenius previously settled their cases for $250,000, $50,000 and $10,000, respectively. The case is U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Mudd, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 11-9202.
It’s not you. It really isn’t. That feeling of constant anxiety, of being on edge, of feeling off balance – it’s not just you, we’re all feeling that way. You know what I’m talking about. It’s that inability to sleep soundly. That vague buzzing in the back of your head when you’re trying to get some work done, or concentrate on someone who’s talking to you. Also Read: 16 Ways 2016 Is the Worst Year Since 2001, From Prince to Trump (Photos) Problem is, just a minute ago you saw a story on Twitter that Trump named another millionaire to the cabinet to make policy for poor people. Or that he announced that the country needs to get back to the nuclear arms race. And even when you learn that his staff walks the statement back, a few minutes after that you learn that no, he’s still gung-ho to to face down the Russians on nukes. In 2016. Maybe a day goes by, then you learn that one of Trump’s surrogates – current or former – made disgusting remarks about our current president and beloved First Lady. Was he misquoted? Of course not! Then Trump lashes out at a celebrity, or a journalist, calls them “stupid,” or “losers” or “failures,” and a few minutes later lobs a compliment at Vladimir Putin. It is no wonder that we are all feeling off balance in this new Trump Nation. I am here to tell you that this is no accident, it’s deliberate. With his constant provocative statements, extreme Cabinet appointments, his goading of foreign leaders and hairpin pivots at any given moment of the day, our president-elect may appear to be shooting from the hip, but I don’t think he is. Also Read: Donald Trump's Cabinet Members Are Worth $4.5 Billion, So Far He is doing this on purpose to make us anxious, to keep us off balance – and it’s working. We’re a nation under emotional assault by our new leader. This week was remarkable in its cascade of Trump tweets on the one hand, and leaks from and about his transition team on the other hand. “As to the U.N., things will be different after Jan. 20th,” he tweets on Thursday, apropos of who knows what? A few hours later, he quotes Putin to put down Hillary Clinton: Vladimir Putin said today about Hillary and Dems: "In my opinion, it is humiliating. One must be able to lose with dignity." So true! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 24, 2016 Also Read: Trump Gets 'Very Nice Letter' From Vladimir Putin to Restore 'Bilateral Cooperation' This is not the rantings of an out-of-control autocrat to be, it’s a thoughtful provocation by a savvy narcissist aimed at stirring up the media – which works every time. He’s disrupting any attempt by regular folks – or I guess just us educated, liberal elites – to return to some state of normalcy. For those who believe Trump should pay attention to order, respect tradition, or at least the Constitution, his modus operandi scrambles the senses. Trump continues to include his children in high-level meetings, and meanwhile gives the public absolutely no sense that he intends to divest from his vast international business holdings. Which will be run by his children. Score! At the same time Trump has started acting like he’s already president, issuing policy pronouncements and weighing in on foreign affairs. All through his Twitter account. (Note to self on future blog: What would Trump’s presidency look like if Twitter didn’t exist?) Also Read: Donald Trump to Dissolve Charitable Foundation to Avoid 'Appearance of Any Conflict' Living in Trump nation is like trying to conduct a phone call while a loudspeaker is blaring in the background. After a while you start feeling a little insane. Myself, I sense that this is straining people’s nerves, driving a palpable, and constant sense of anxiety. Trump Nation is a disruptive force that makes it hard to feel normal or go back to a stable and familiar daily life. It amounts, to me, a democracy in the grip of anxiety. So here’s what I think about this, as someone who’d rather tune all this out. We have to fight any urge to do that. We have to resist the noise and the chaos and what will likely follow – an offer by Trump to calm the waters when “I alone can fix it” in weeks or months or days. Let’s hope the holidays will let us all take a breath, find the inner peace that centers as us individuals and a nation. And insist on better.
PromoDJ (All our compositions & Mixes) Myspace (Songs, Mixes, In4) MixCloud (All our Mixes online) the music of ex-musician group - de.faders [CLOSED] REAL MUSIC (Songs by De.faders) NoCoast Orchestra stuff: Thinking Stone (Vasily Kalinin) .. 1st drummer, percussion, program, melodic, sound design, program, keyboards; liroy (li) .. 2nd drummer, MC, vocals, program, keyboards, sound design, cj, dj, customsPC-engineer/designer, etc ..1st drummer, percussion, program, melodic, sound design, program, keyboards;..2nd drummer, MC, vocals, program, keyboards, sound design, cj, dj, customsPC-engineer/designer, etc liroy's t-shirt design by Murka (link to her blog) Other stuff - searchi'n. - searchi'n. Influences: 2 Step, Acid Breaks, Acid Jazz, Alternative Rap, Ambient Breaks, Artcore, Atmospheric Breaks, Baile Funk, Balearic Beat, Bassline Breaks, Beatboxing, Big Beat, Breakcore, Breaks, Breakstep, British Rap, Brokenbeat, Chillout, Comedy Rap, Crunk, Dancehall, Dirty Rap, Diss, Downbeats, Downtempo, Drill'n'bass, Drum & Bass, Drumfunk, Dub, Dubwise, East Coast Rap, Easy Listening, Electroclash, Experimental, Florida Breaks, Foreign Rap, Freestyle, Freestyle Breaks, Funk, Funky Breaks, Garage, Glitch, Go-Go, Grime, Hardcore rap, Hardstep, Hip-hop/Rap, Instrumental, Intelligent, Jazz, Jazz-Rap, Jazzstep, Jump Up, Leftfield, Liquid funk, Lo-Fi, Lounge, Miami Bass, Moombahcore, Moombahsoul, Moombahton, Neuro Jump Up, Neurofunk, New Beat, Noise, Nortec, Nu Breaks, Nu Jazz, Oldschool Drum & Bass, Pop-Rap, Progressive Breaks, Psychedelic breakbeat, Ragga Jungle, Raggacore, Reggae, Reggaeton, Sambass, Ska, Smooth Jazz, Soulful Drum & Bass, Southern Rap, Trip-Hop, Turntablism, Yorkshire Bleeps and Bass, Оld School Rap, Afro-Cuban music, Jungle, Jazz Jungle, Alien's Hip-Hop, Ragga, etc. Sounds Like: DJ 108, Aim, 9 Lazy 9, Printempo, Ancient Astronauts, Beatconductor, Broadway Project, Da Damn Phreak Noize Phunk, Eastenders, Afternoons In Stereo, Zero db, Planet-X, Red Snapper, Nils Petter Molvear, Dj Kentaro, Erik Truffaz, Moca, Jon Kennedy, The Herbaliser Band, Radio Citizen, Tommy Guerrero, Emancipator, Blockhead, Unforscene, Coco Rosie (by your side), Boozoo Bajou, DJ Cam, Miles Davis, Diesler, FingaThing, Alex Gunia & Peace, Burnt Friedman, Oscar Peterson, Flanger, Minus 8, Chris Joss, Up, Bustle And Out, Jaga Jazzist, Bonobo, The Clifford Gilberto Rhythm Combination, Erik Sumo, Bossa, Free The Robots, Terranova, Deadly Avenger, Audioweb, Tango Tempo, Madita, Paul Leonard-Morgan, Quantic, Gare Du Nord, Lamb, Flevans, Homelife, Fila Brazillia, Sole, Tsunenori, Dzihan & Kamien, Bushy, Lazy, Deadbeats, Kinny, Wax Tailor, Bus driver, Yppah, Cinematic Orchestra and more beautiful & intelectual music,etc... * feat. Sergey Martynov & Imago) from "Colour Dreams" & some dick.. NoCoast Orchestra - на данный момент, дуэт, из бывших участников альтернативной группы "De.faders" вокалист/mc/dj (и второй барабанщик NoCoast Orchestra) liroy и барабанщик Василий Калинин (thinking stone). Еще учавствуя в группе, предпринимали попытки уйти во что-то джазовое, но остальной состав не позволял этого сделать из-за их любви к тяжелой музыке. В конце 2007-го года мы (li и Василий Калинин) ушли из "De.faders", саксофонист Imago) (Артём Смирнов) и гитарист Сергей Мартынов, через какое-то время, перешли в группу "Colour Dreams". За время сущестования группы успели, открыть презентацию концертного альбома гр. Los Bananas в г. Липецк 2007, Выступить на Open-Air в Нижнем Новгороде (Druz'я Fest) 2007г., дали около 8-ми концертов в Москве (2007). Василий Калинин принимает участие в нескольких группах: SelfPlayers и Analog Sound, а так же в еще одном проекте. Послушать записи можно здесь
Get the latest news and videos for this game daily, no spam, no fuss. Following the news yesterday that BioWare had canceled Mass Effect: Andromeda's multiplayer beta, the developer has now apologized for that and explained why it was necessary. "Sorry we won't have [a multiplayer technical test]," producer Fernando Melo said on Twitter. "I know many were looking forward to it (as were we). Long story but right decision for how close we are to [going] live." He added: "[Mass Effect: Andromeda multiplayer] has had the most [extensive] user testing we've ever done." Melo also mentioned that there was a closed alpha for Andromeda earlier this year that was held on retail consoles, so the game has been tested in the wild. In another tweet, Melo said Andromeda's multiplayer is "very alive ... and awesome." People who attend PAX East this month in Boston can play the multiplayer mode. Additionally, EA/Origin Access subscribers can get a crack at the entire game ahead of launch when it arrives for the subscription service on March 16. Finally, Melo teased that BioWare still has more to announce about Andromeda's multiplayer. He kicked things off with an image of the mode's character selection screen; check it out below. Meanwhile, we'll get some more MP info out - let's get the ball rolling... see you all soon in Andromeda! 4/4 pic.twitter.com/FuhGpuat9f — Fernando Melo (@DiscoBabaloo) March 2, 2017 Andromeda's multiplayer will tie into the game's campaign. In terms of gameplay, you can expect to be on the move more often than in Mass Effect 3. Whereas that game often saw players often stay in a fixed location they could defend, Andromeda will throw new enemy types at you that force you into or out of cover. Andromeda will not have a season pass. There is likely to be DLC for the game, but it remains to be seen how it will be released. BioWare has said it is plans to discuss specifics at a later date. The full game launches on March 21 for Xbox One, PC, and PlayStation 4. For more, check out all of GameSpot's written coverage and videos here.
On a layover Saturday night after an idyllic cruise vacation to Alaska, a Hamilton social worker noticed her luggage had been damaged on the first flight. She went to talk to an airline rep in the Calgary airport about a remedy. That run-of-the-mill task turned unexpectedly violent for Laura Ricker when, she said, an Air Canada employee at a nearby counter interrupted, yelled at and hit her. He reached his hand in my face, hit me across the top of my head and knocked my hat off. - Laura Ricker She eventually called the police, who made an arrest and laid a common assault charge. None of the allegations against the worker have been proven in court. The whole interaction and the way Ricker said she was treated while she waited for the police to come left her feeling unprotected, unsafe and vulnerable in a place — an airport — she expected to feel safe. And at the hand of an employee of a company — Air Canada — that she expects to embody what she calls Canadian values of kindness and respect. Calgary Police would not say who the employee worked for. But Air Canada said it's treating the complaint seriously and has suspended the employee while it conducts an investigation. 'I'm sick of hearing you talk' Though Ricker, 37, and her partner were flying that first leg with an American airline, the agent's counter was within earshot of the Air Canada worker. "He piped up and said 'I'm sick of hearing you talk,'" Ricker said. Startled, Ricker looked over at him and suggested he mind his own business since she wasn't flying with his airline. Laura Ricker, left, and her partner, Jessica Drennan, were on their way home to Hamilton from a cruise to Alaska when Ricker said she was assaulted in the Calgary airport by an Air Canada worker. (Laura Ricker) The worker kept talking, Ricker said, and began insulting her. "It was just all not nice and aggressive," she said. "He was just talking and talking and talking." 'Bolted out from his booth and lunged at me' Things grew more tense from there. She asked for his name. He covered his name tag. "At which point I took out my phone and took a photo," she said. The agent "bolted out from his booth and lunged at me," she said. "He reached his hand in my face, hit me across the top of my head and knocked my hat off," she said. He was "screaming in my face and putting his face in my face," she said. Her partner, Jessica Drennan, tried to step between the middle-aged man and Ricker. "I was absolutely terrified and, to be honest with you, totally shocked," Drennan said. "I would consider the airport a safe place to be. That was really shocking." Help! Help! Security! "Help! Help! Security!" Ricker said she screamed. Airport customs or security officers came over but "did nothing for my safety," Ricker said, and "did not restrain the man." The airport declined to comment on the incident. Finally, the man went back to work, loading luggage and helping other customers, but he kept taunting the pair, Ricker said. "The guy hit me in the face and is still allowed to be everywhere," Ricker said. A man getting into a woman's face is absolutely ludicrous in itself. I didn't know what was going to happen. - Jessica Drennan, Laura Ricker's partner She finally called 9-1-1 and stayed on the phone for 18 minutes while she waited for police. A Calgary Police Service spokeswoman confirmed that an officer came to the scene, interviewed the victim and witnesses about the conversation that had "escalated" to the point of "physical contact" and made an arrest. The accused is expected to face the charge of common assault in court sometime next month, according to Calgary Police. "He was yelling and he was right in her face," Drennan said. "A man getting into a woman's face is absolutely ludicrous in itself. I didn't know what was going to happen." Air Canada responds Air Canada said the employee has been suspended while the company investigates. The company said the court process is underway now that the incident has become a police and legal matter and limits what they can say. But a spokesman for the company said the airline is taking what Ricker has said seriously. "This is an allegation which we are addressing very seriously since the actions described are contrary to our expectations of our employees, and do not reflect our values," said Peter Fitzpatrick, Air Canada spokesman. "We do not yet have all the details, but clearly, what this individual is alleging is unacceptable," he said. "Since the matter will be before the courts we are not able to comment further, but we are committed to resolving it soon for all involved." 'I'm stuck on the moment of my assault' Ricker and Drennan missed their scheduled flight. While they waited for the next one, Ricker wrote to Air Canada to complain about the incident. She wants Air Canada to apologize, compensate her for her delay and emotional distress and to pay for any expenses she might incur if the charges go further legally. Laura Ricker said her bags were damaged on the first leg of a flight home from an Alaskan cruise, and she was trying to get the airline to address it when an Air Canada worker attacked her. (Laura Ricker) While she said she is "grateful and relieved" to hear the worker was suspended, she still wants to hear a full apology from the airline and to see the company offer some compensation. Ricker used to be a travel agent and said her initial interaction with the airline rep for her bag damage was cordial. "I was being assertive because I knew what I wanted," she said. But she said the interaction was pleasant enough until the Air Canada worker got involved. Ricker said she and Drennan both work stressful jobs in social work and mental health fields and had left Alaska feeling rejuvenated. That's been lost, for now. "We just had the most incredible vacation, a serene, beautiful vacation and I can't remember the details of my vacation because I'm stuck on the moment of my assault," she said. kelly.bennett@cbc.ca \| @kellyrbennett
In the wake of the excitement about trans model Lea T, and outrage over moronic bookstores Barnes + Noble and Borders pulling Andrej Pejic’s genderfucking Dossier cover (an independent bookstore would never do that – just saying) it is time to throw some attention on one of our trans modeling foremothers, the awesome 1980s inter-sexpot TULA. I don’t think TULA is really spelled TULA, I think it’s meant to be Tula, but doesn’t it just scream to be TULA? If not TULA or TULA? You all know Tula. She was the video vixen in The Power Station’s Some Like it Hot video back in the 80s, shaving herself and getting her hair done and whatnot, all with mismatched neon eyeshadow, insanely great clothes, and massive feral-woman hair. Hotttttt. So we are all on the same page: John Taylor ‘s foxiness stands the test of time. More on that later. Tula was an English model who worked as a showgirl in Paris and Italy through her transition – and when I mean showgirl, I mean, like Nomy Malone-style showgirl! In the Pigalle in Paris! Okay I made that up, but where else does one perform as a showgirl in Paris, hmmm? I bet Tula was shaking her can-can at the Moulin Rouge! As for Italy, well, it may have been the more common dance so many of us ladies have danced whilst making a dollar. But whether her burlesque be on the high end or low end, Tula moved out of the cabarets and into the world of modeling! Okay, Tula was mostly a ‘glamour model’ which I didn’t even know was a genre of modeling because Tyra never talks about it, but Wikipedia insists that it exists – it’s basically soft core sexy lady shoots. She modeled for Australian Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar, but she modeled for Playboy as well. Tula was cast as a Bond Girl in the 007 For Your Eyes Only. Just typing that has sunk that fucking Sheena Easton song in my head very powerfully. Because I feel like maybe Tula and Sheena would have been awesome besties – imagine it. ‘Hey, call up Tula and Sheena and see if they want to come over and lay by the pool!’ – I would like to include a photo of Ms. Easton: Okay, back to TULA. Let us all take a moment to appreciate Tula’s flowered Spandex. They look so good with that silky sea foam green top! Pause and take in the outline of the shoulder pads. Thank you. Tula wasn’t out as being trans, because it’s none of anybody’s goddamn business, but then some tabloid creeps outed her and she had to deal with a bunch of bullshit. She selected the classy strategy of writing a book! Getting literary and making a dollar off the bullshit! I am a Woman came out in 1982. Her editor would not let her publish it under it’s full title, I am a Woman, Assholes. In 1991 she published her second memoir, My Story, under her regular, non-showbiz name, Caroline Cossey. I’m obsessed with the shift in Tula’s bangs between 1982, when she was sort of sexy-swoopy-Jerry Hall, to 1991, when she was pumping her bangs like a High School girl who snuck out of the house with her Republican mom’s bulky clip-on earrings. Oh, 80s. We miss you. Like any European model, Tula had an exciting love life. Her first husband was an Italian Count (duh), who encouraged her to fight for her rights in her homeland – Britain would not recognize trans women as women until the early 00’s, but Tula was fighting it out in the court system for decades before that. She got The Man to recognize her marriage to her second husband, a businessman, as legal, only to see a judge later overturn the ruling. Her third husband seems to be just a regular guy (he’s Canadian) and they live humbly together in the dirty south. Advertisements
Photo Google Shopping has been giving itself a makeover in time for holiday shopping — and it is starting to look a lot more like Amazon.com. Last week, it introduced wish lists for saving items and sharing them with friends, 360-degree photographs of items, retailer promotions and product reviews. These updates came after Google made a big change this fall, for the first time including retailers in Google Shopping only if they pay to list their products there. Google said this would make the listings better, because retailers would have an incentive to list up-to-date items. But as a result, Google Shopping’s listings are less comprehensive than they were before. On Search Engine Land, Danny Sullivan, a search industry expert, outlined in greater detail some of the service’s recent weaknesses in a post called “The Mess That Is Google Shopping.” The lack of comprehensiveness means that Google risks losing shoppers to other comparison shopping sites or to Amazon, even as it tries to keep them. In a shift, more people now start product searches on Amazon instead of Google, according to Forrester data. That is a problem for Google for a few reasons, the biggest of which is that retail searches and search ads are among its biggest businesses. Google is trying to lure retailers by offering new features for its shopping search. They include 360-degree photos of items, starting with holiday toys. With Shortlists, people can save items they like and share lists with friends, and Google and retailers gain insight into what shoppers want to buy. Google is also trying to attract shoppers with exclusive promotions that retailers can offer through the site. These also show up on mobile apps for Google Maps and Google Offers. And Google has expanded its product reviews. Google has long drawn product reviews from around the Web, but now people can write their own on Google and see reviews from people they know on Google Plus ranked at the top when they do a product search. Reviews have been one of Amazon’s biggest selling points for shopping search because of the volume of shoppers there. This shopping season will provide some clues as to whether Google can lure back some of the shoppers who have turned to Amazon for search.
Where to buy: Silvine [Here] Price: Varies depending on what notebook you want Page count: “ Paper: Natural White Wave Paper weight: 90gsm Binding: Stitched (& glued in the case of Project) Recommend?: Each notebook has its own purpose. They all do well in their own particular niche. Considering the nostalgia and personality that you get from looking at the notebooks and from writing, I would definitely recommend these notebooks. When I opened the package from Silvine, I had an amazing sense of nostalgia. I remembered seeing loads of these notebooks around my nanna’s house when she would look after me as a child. I think “Silvine Original” is a fantastic name, because they definitely do seem to pay homage to the original Silvine notebooks but with new fantastic designs, applications and of course – paper quality. There’s a real personal touch with these notebooks with a hand stitched spine. I’ve had these notebooks for a couple of weeks now and I haven’t experienced any problems with them coming undone or anything like that. I would take complete confidence because they haven’t failed me during my time using and testing them. The stitching is done with a very dark blue thread, which gives a striking aesthetic that doesn’t detract from the design of the notebook. It also works very nicely with the black bold logos on the front. Silvine is a British company that has been around for over 175 years. They explain how they feel that “British attitude has been one of enthusiasm, innovation and endeavour.” They’re certainly working with that ethos even in 2017; they’re a British company and “proud of it”. On the outside, you see the iconic red cover that has been colour matched “to the 1960s bold red” cover. The same one that you’d be used to seeing in the Post Office, your local shop or, hey, sitting on your grandfather’s coffee table (my mother has also expressed her nostalgia when she saw them for the first time on our own coffee table). The cover is 300gsm that has a very interesting texture to it; I’d describe it as ribbed and feels very nice to the touch. The covers do well. I had one of them in my back pocket for a few days just to wear and tear it and it held up very well. There’s some bending as a result of being in the pocket, which is going to happen anyway – it’s not a hardcover. There’s no tearing or damage. It’s what I would call personality or individuality. Going onto the inside, you’re greeted with 90gsm Natural White Wave writing paper, which provides some feedback on your nib. That’s something that I really love about this paper. I like a smooth writing experience, but I don’t want it so smooth that you forget you’re writing (of course, part of this is the result of the nib itself as well as the lubrication of the nib as a result of the ink). I know I made reference to this in the above paragraph, but I think it adds ‘personality’ to the writing experience. It feels more personal and more enjoyable. The textured paper really hits the spot for me. It’s white paper, but it’s described as having an “off white hue”. It’s not ice white like something you’d see in some Clairefontaine or Rhodia notebooks, which achieves a vintage look to the paper and I rather admire that. On the topic of the paper, I noticed across all the notebooks that the paper quality was very good. I mentioned it’s 90gsm, so that’s what you would expect. On some notebooks (such as the Pocket) I experienced ghosting. I’m not going to moan about that, because I do enjoy ghosting to an extent, but I didn’t experience any feathering or bleed through. I was able to write on both sides of the paper. There are a few more things that go for every notebook, so instead of repeating the same thing, I’m going to lay them out here. All the pages are perforated, which means you have the option of tearing them out if you need. I had no trouble tearing out pages that weren’t necessarily the first page in the notebook. The pages are held in very well; I would not be worried about turning the page and tearing it out by mistake. Furthermore, the perforations aren’t very obvious. So if you do want to keep every page in tact, I certainly wouldn’t worry about them falling out. Another thing I experienced across all notebooks was that the paper performed very well. I received a large collection of notebooks. To make it easy to sort through them within the review, I’m going to talk about them individually from smallest to largest. I will state the name of the book, the size dimensions and the number of pages. The pages are the individual sheets, so you may want to double the number in your mind for the number of writable pages.Because let me assure you, these pages can take some beating. You can definitely write on the back of them. I will also include the price. Pocket – 110x72mm, 40 pages £6.50 The pocket size is a dainty little thing and you can buy them in packs of 3 (because three is a magic number). This is smaller than the usual “pocket notebooks” such as Field Notes, and I think the purpose of this is because it’s designed more for a “shirt pocket”, as quoted by Silvine. The pages are plain, which I think are essential for something as small as this. It gives you more freedom on the page and allows you to scribble things down on the fly easily and quickly without feeling restricted, allowing you to easily transfer thoughts to paper. I wrote the writing in the image below at work (it did indeed become a very busy day..) and it shows a little bit of ghosting but nothing drastic. I’m someone who rather enjoys a bit of ghosting through the paper. There’s no bleed through that I experienced, however. I wrote this at work. It became a very busy day.. Back of the paper to show some ghosting, but nothing drastic I mentioned in an earlier paragraph about carrying this notebook in my back pocket for a few days. It held up incredibly well. There was some bending, which was expected, but there was no damage to the cover. As much as I love the Pocket, it sadly won’t knock out my daily carry pocket sized notebook. Memo – 159x97mm, 52 pages £4.50 The Memo size is the next size up. It’s more rectangular than the pocket size, and larger than your normal pocket notebook. Silvine say that the Memo “stands true to the proportions of the classic Memo book” and is “still the perfect size to keep with you all day.” Which I agree with. I love my pocket notebooks, but sometimes you need something a little bit extra – Memo achieves this. This isn’t a pocket notebook and, as with the Pocket, it won’t be knocking out my daily pocket notebook carry. But this is something that would be brilliant to throw in a backpack/satchel/messenger bag/whatever people are carrying these days. I promise that this wasn’t intentional, but Silvine state that the Memo “makes making notes, scribbling ideas or just taking down a phone number a beautiful thing.” This was something for work. The training I was doing, believe me, a nice notebook to write in was something that was well needed.. If “scoopy biscuits” is anything of an indicator.. With the faint blue lines, plentiful number of pages and an absolutely perfect size, the Memo will surely be a welcomed companion to your bag. This is probably my favourite of the collection, followed extremely closely by the Exercise (ohhh, the anticipation). Note – 190x125mm, 52 pages £6.00 The Note is a perfect companion to the Pocket. It has the same dimensions as the Pocket size; it also contains plain paper (but more pages than the Pocket). Being so complimentary, it means you are able to expand on your ideas you had created in Pocket and transfer them to Note. Exercise – 230x162mm, 52 pages £7.00 School’s out (well.. Almost) but these notebooks are in! It was nostalgic writing in these because I remember using Silvine (and Rhino) exercise books during primary school 8 years ago. Opening the cover to see the classic blue lines with a red margin certainly put a smile on my face. Writing in this drives home the vintage or retro feel. Sadly I missed the boat when it came to using fountain pens in school (don’t worry – my classmates and I still found ways to get ink in our mouths and down our hands.. I’m ashamed to report there were more cases of the former than the later) but I did put a Pilot G2 to the paper, which is what we used in class and mmmmm baby. Along with the Memo, I think this is my favourite of the Silvine bundle. I would wish for more pages, but then I would be concerned what it would do to the binding, so I think it’s worth the trade off. Just have to stock up, ey?! Project – 305x200mm, 96 pages £14.00 This is the big boy. It can be thought of as a very big, with far more pages, Sciences book from the Field Notes Arts & Sciences edition. Grid on the right and plain paper on the left. This is a notebook for your projects and, as Silvine put it, “less of a book, more of a locker of inspiration,” which I think sums it up rather nicely. With plain paper on one side you can include illustrations, pictures/photographs, designs, whatever and then annotate and write your thoughts on the right hand side. For me? Well I used it as an excuse to write out phases in bacterial growth aaaaand something a little less academic with a random colouring in of the boxes. The only negative thing I have to say about these notebooks is about this one in particular. The Project isn’t hand stitched, but instead glued. There was some slight manipulation of the spine which meant that for the first few pages it was hard to lay it flat. While this isn’t a result of the way it was bound (i.e. glued) because I was able to lay it flat easily and comfortably once I found myself further in, but as a result of the quality control. In conclusion, I think that we have a fantastic array of notebooks. Other than perhaps a gap between the Pocket and Memo for a size of the pocket notebooks we’re used to. My favourite size has to be the Memo – it’s large enough to use for a range of applications but small enough to be very convenient. Exercise, as I said, comes a very close second. It’s traditional to the old school (ha) notebooks that I used at primary school. The paper is extremely well performing and provides a lovely writing experience. The off-white hue gives it a very interesting contrast which, given the story, I think works very well for this collection. I would like to thank Silvine for the opportunity to review these notebooks. I was sent them in exchange for an honest review. As a result, all views expressed are my own. Advertisements
PlayStation Blog goes hands-on with Naughty Dog’s classic on PS4 With The Last of Us Remastered’s PS4 30th July release just weeks away, I dove into a pre-release version of the game to see exactly how Naughty Dog is leveraging PS4’s hardware to upgrade last year’s biggest Game of the Year winner. First, there’s the immediately noticeable bump in native screen resolution. The jump from 720p (PS3) to native 1080p (PS4) gives the visuals a major shot in the arm. The crisp new presentation banishes those nasty jaggies to the margins, while higher resolution environment textures adorn the lovingly crafted post-apocalyptic environments. But the kicker is the new framerate. I’ll admit to being at least a bit sceptical on hearing that Naughty Dog would target a smoother, more fluid 60 frames per second for The Last of Us Remastered. I wondered whether it would add a distracting layer of artificiality; that it might somehow interfere with the game’s cinematic look and feel. “The Last of Us Remastered has a silky smooth feel that makes aiming and camera control feel more responsive and natural” Thankfully, based on my hands-on experiences at a recent media event in New York City, those concerns feel entirely unwarranted. Played at the higher framerate, The Last of Us Remastered has a silky smooth feel that makes aiming and camera control feel more responsive and natural. Conveniently, the PS4 version was shown side-by-side with the original PS3 game. Curious, I picked up the DualShock 3 and panned the camera around for a few seconds, before hastily switching right back to Remastered. It’s nice to see that Naughty Dog is giving players the choice to lock TLOUR to 30fps, but for me it’s 60fps or bust, no contest. I suspect this one will boil down to personal preference. Then there are a slew of subtler visual details. Lighting quality has received a boost, with improved shadow detail. Joel and Ellie’s in-game character models also look more detailed, sporting higher resolution textures that allowed me to see the fabric weave in Joel’s filthy flannel shirt. The 1080p presentation also helped me spot subtle visual details I’d never noticed in the original PS3 version, like the way tiny streams of blood trickle down Joel’s arm when he’s injured, or how rats weave erratically through garbage-strewn ruins. “The 1080p presentation also helped me spot subtle visual details I’d never noticed in the original PS3 version” The gameplay remains unchanged, though the higher framerate does lend a feeling of increased responsiveness. The most notable difference is that the L2 and R2 triggers now control aiming and firing — and yep, you can switch back to the classic L1 and R1 controls if that floats your boat. Though I didn’t get a chance to try out the multiplayer mode (a personal favourite), the campaign is looking mighty promising. The Last of Us Remastered will come complete with all previously released DLC, including the excellent story chapter Left Behind. And at £39.99, it’s a good bet for both new PS4 owners who missed out on one of the best games of the generation, and seasoned TLOU veterans eager for another dose of Joel and Ellie.
BOISE, Idaho -- Derrick Marks scored 30 points and Nick Duncan added a career-best 26 as Boise State defeated New Mexico 76-65 on Tuesday night. Duncan made a career-high eight 3-pointers while Marks added five as the Broncos (21-7, 11-4 Mountain West) made a season-high 15 from behind the arc -- one shy of tying the single-game school record. James Webb III collected 11 rebounds for Boise State, which has won 11 of its past 12 games. Deshawn Delaney scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half to lead the Lobos, who lost their seventh straight game. Hugh Greenwood added 13 points for New Mexico (14-14, 6-10). Marks (18) and Duncan (12) combined for 30 of Boise State's 39 first-half points as the Broncos led by 10 at the break. Duncan made four 3-pointers in each half as he topped his previous scoring high by six points. The Lobos shot 55.6 percent from the field but were outscored 16-2 on points off turnovers. New Mexico had no answer on how to defend Marks and Duncan, who made 20 of Boise State's 26 field goals. Marks also had five rebounds, five assists and two steals. Marks, a leading Mountain West Player of the Year candidate, had his sixth 30-point outing of the season which moved him into sixth place on the Mountain West's all-time scoring list. Marks has 1,814 career points and he passed former New Mexico guard Kendall Williams (1,813 from 2010-14). Boise State led for nearly the entire contest but the Lobos battled back from a 19-point first-half deficit to trail 43-36 on Greenwood's 3-pointer with 17:48 remaining. Duncan responded by hitting consecutive 3-pointers to make it a 13-point margin. A jumper by Greenwood got New Mexico back within 11 before Boise State rolled off 11 in a row, with Marks knocking down two 3-pointers and Duncan sinking one to make it 60-38. Duncan's eighth 3-pointer made it 65-49 with 8:49 remaining. But the Lobos made another mini-run to pull within 11 on a 3-pointer by Delaney with 6:01 to play. Marks and Igor Hadziomerovic followed with baskets to increase the lead to 15 and end New Mexico's final charge. In the first half, Duncan made his fourth 3-pointer midway through the stanza to begin a string of eight straight points as Boise State took a 27-17 advantage. The Broncos rolled off 11 straight points a short time later to take a 38-19 lead as Marks scored eight points during the burst on two 3-pointers and a fast-break dunk after a steal. The Lobos finished the half strong, getting 3-pointers from Sam Logwood and Greenwood during a 10-0 surge to cut their deficit to 39-29 at the break. --- TIP-INS New Mexico: The Lobos won six of seven meetings with Boise State until being swept in this season's two meetings. . New Mexico lost the rebounding battle (27-26) for the first time in 13 games. . Greenwood is 25 points away from becoming the 33rd player in school history to reach 1,000 career points. Boise State: The Broncos hit a school record 16 3-pointers against Elon on Dec. 21, 2004. ... Duncan's previous career high was 20 points against Air Force earlier this season. . Marks (523) passed the 500-point mark for the third different season, joining Tanoka Beard (1989-93) as the lone players in program history to do so. . Webb had just two points on 1-of-6 shooting after scoring 23 and going 7-of-7 from 3-point range when the teams met in New Mexico on Jan. 18. UP NEXT New Mexico travels to play Fresno State on Saturday. Boise State visits San Diego State on Saturday.
World 25 Senior Nusra Commanders, Terrorists Killed in Airstrike in Idlib TEHRAN (FNA)- Over 20 Fatah al-Sham Front (previously known as the al-Nusra Front) militants, including several notorious field commanders, were killed in an airstrike in Northwestern Idlib. "At least 25 Nusra terrorists, including their senior commanders attending a meeting in their command center, were killed in an airstrike by unidentified fighter jets on a main military base of Fatah al-Sham near the town of Sarmada in Northwestern Idlib," several local and media activists reported on Wednesday. In a relevant development on Monday, two notorious commanders of Fatah al-Sham Front were also killed in a drone attack on their vehicle on Sarmada-Batbu road in Northern Idlib. Abu Omar al-Turkistani, one of the most important commanders and a main nominee for presiding the Militants' Council, was killed in a drone attack. In the meantime, Khatab al-Qahtani, one of the most notorious commanders of Fatah al-Sham and al-Qaeda that accompanied Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan's war, was also in the vehicle and was killed right on the spot. It is not yet clear who operated the drone and launched the attack. On Monday, local sources said that continuous air and bomb attacks against the commanders of Ahrar al-Sham, Faylaq al-Sham and Fatah al-Sham Front terrorist groups and insecurity in Idlib have pushed militants in the province into deep fear, accusing each other of treason. "Unidentified people that had planted a large volume of explosive materials in one of the vehicles of Fatah al-Sham detonated it in the town of Khan al-Sabal in Southeastern Idlib, killing Abu Amyar al-Khorsani, a commander of Fatah al-Sham, and his assistant," the sources said. They added that a bomb-laden vehicle of Ahrar al-Sham was also detonated in the town of al-Tah in Idlib countryside, injuring a group member. The sources went on to say that Faylaq al-Sham's bases in the town of Kaftin in Idlib countryside were also raided by masked assailants who stole weapons and took the guards into captivity. "Panic has spread among Fatah al-Sham members after the recent incidents. They are accusing each other of treason and mounting spying devices in their commanders' vehicles," the sources pointed out.
It is, by now, one of the most recognizable and defining sights of Toronto’s streets: through the dark of night, peering down the road, you see the three white lights lined up in a row — the small round headlight on each side and the big one in the middle — and centred above them two green lights. You see those lights and you know. A streetcar is coming. Finally, you might mutter. A CLRV or Canadian light rail vehicle, in Toronto. The fleet of CLRVs have been on city streets for decades. They won't be completely gone until at least 2019. ( Richard Lautens / Toronto Star ) Then there’s the rumble, like a giant ceramic bowl rolling around on its rim, maybe the clang-clang of a bell. And then bands of colour come into view, the red along the front, the shiny dark of the windshield, the white along the roof broken by the black-and-white of the destination sign. For 40 years, these CLRV streetcars have been Toronto’s trolley, an ever-present feature of downtown streets, our unique ride, a design used nowhere else in the world. Now, of course, they are being phased out as the TTC’s new Flexity cars — a modified version of the most common streetcar design in the world — takes over. The CLRVs, it’s short for Canadian light rail vehicle, won’t completely disappear from service until at least 2019, so it will be a long goodbye. But a fond one, for some of us. And one marked by a milestone last week, when a video uploaded to YouTube December 9 showed Car 4000 lifted from its tracks and placed onto a truck, headed for the scrapyard. The plan, I’m told, is to keep one or two for charters and special occasions, museum pieces, like the old PCC and Peter Witt cars you still spot once or twice a year on Queens Quay. Car 4000 was not, by a long shot, the first one taken out of service, but it was the first one put into service. It was the first one Toronto ever saw — the prototype, made in Switzerland and brought here in 1977. There were complaints at first: the windows didn’t open despite a lack of air-conditioning, they were very much louder than the PCC “Red Rocket” cars they replaced, they had slanted rows of seats in the front. These complaints were eventually addressed and changed. And though only one car, of the 196 that were produced, ever wound up with air-conditioning (Car 4041), they became beloved. At least to some of us. Article Continued Below Not all of us had the opportunity to ride them, of course. Among the cars’ shortcomings, certainly the biggest one was that they were not accessible to those in wheelchairs. You had to climb multiple stairs to get onto and off of them. For the elderly they were difficult, for those with strollers, too. That’s why, beyond simple age, they had to be replaced by something different. Because it’s about time our fleet was accessible to everyone. And the law says it must be by the end of 2024. Still, for many of us who rode them, they had their charms. When I was a kid, riding them to hockey games by myself, I’d plonk down beside the driver near the farebox and chat the ride away, mostly so he could alert me when we’d reached my stop. Later I’d come to think of the standing-room area in the middle of the car as hockey equipment storage space, and riding with my mom and siblings I’d think of it as where you wanted to go with a stroller. Learning the operation of the back doors was a rite of passage for new riders — so many trips featured a tourist who would stand at the top of the stairs calling to the driver to open the door as everyone nearby shouted “Stand down onto the step! Stand on the step!” Equally often, the crowd would then have to shout at the next person along to climb up off the steps so the doors could close. They had that row of single seats along the driver’s side — the most-desirable real estate for someone who wanted to settle in with a book undisturbed by their neighbours. And they had plenty of standing room. The new streetcars, the Flexities, will no doubt grow familiar in time. But after their initial novelty, there are times I have found them wanting in comparison to the old CLRVs — the difficulty of talking to the driver who is suddenly behind a plexiglass shield, the frustration many riders seem to have figuring out how to pay their fare (and pay it quickly enough) at the machine stations midway down the car that take a minute or so to process each transaction, the too-narrow standing-room passage along the middle between seats. And then there’s that seating arrangement that makes passengers face each other in little conversational foursomes, forcing unintentional footsie games and staring contests. And they do not compare to the CLRVs when it comes to the view they offer — that fatal, unfair fault of the old cars, their inaccessible high floor, also meant that those aboard got an elevated view of the streetscape, looking out above the tops of passing cars at the sidewalks and storefronts. Article Continued Below Of course, there was also the view of the streetcars from the outside, that instantly recognizable appearance I mentioned back at the start. People have made T-shirts with minimalist renditions of the CLRV streetcar — all they need is bands of colour (red, black, white) with that circle in the middle and rounded rectangle across the top. Spotting one in a Hollywood movie (not always but often supposedly set in New York or Chicago or a generic American city) gave a very specific kind of pleasure, and became a pastime for some people. Car 4000 lasted 40 years on the street. That’s a long time for a streetcar — longer than we expected them to last, and longer than we expect their replacements to stay in service. That car and the rest of that model served Toronto for a generation, an indelible part of the look and feel and sound and travel plans of the city. Those who’ll miss them have a while yet to get used to the new ones. And to hope they serve us half as well. Edward Keenan writes on city issues ekeenan@thestar.ca. Follow: @thekeenanwire
And the largest oversupply is in Melbourne where there has been a frenzy of inner-city apartment building. They forecast the total available homes in Victoria outstrip demand by 123,000. Two housing economists say Australia is experiencing a housing bubble. Credit:Nic Walker NSW has a surplus of more than 40,000, according to their analysis, which was based on data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. "Contrary to the analyses of the vested interests, the data clearly establishes Australia is in the midst of the largest housing bubble on record. Policymakers are caught between a rock and a hard place, as implementing needed reforms will likely burst the bubble," Mr David and Mr Soos state in a submission on behalf of real estate and financial services research house LF Economics. They believe the current bubble is worse than those in the 1880s, 1920s, mid-1970s and late 1980s. "Australian economic history and recent international events illustrate collapsing housing bubbles can quickly increase the number of unsold properties [stale stock], shattering the pervasive myth of a deleterious dwelling shortage," they wrote. "Falling housing and rental prices, including sales, would be a doomsday trifecta for investors as they suffer losses in both capital prices and net rental incomes. "This calamitous outcome is especially likely in Melbourne where rents have not increased in real terms since 2010. Melbourne is primed to become the epicentre of a legendary housing market crash due to the combination of a staggering boom in real housing prices [178 per cent]. Perth is also in a serious predicament. "Housing prices across all capital cities remain grossly inflated relative to rents, income, inflation and GDP. What event or set of events triggers the beginning of the end of the housing bubble is not yet known. A bloodbath in the housing market, however, appears a near certainty due to the magnitude of falls required for housing prices to again reflect economic fundamentals." Treasurer Joe Hockey sparked a national debate on house prices this month when he rejected the existence of a bubble, saying people would not be buying houses if they were unaffordable. A bloodbath in the housing market, however, appears a near certainty due to the magnitude of falls required for housing prices to again reflect economic fundamentals His statements directly conflicted with his departmental head John Fraser and some warnings by Reserve Bank of Australia governor Glenn Stevens. But Mr David and Mr Soos believe even the most bearish officials underestimate the coming collapse that has been made worse by rampant lending of "colossal sums of private debt to speculators". Their analysis was greeted with scepticism by some market watchers. Domain Group economist Andrew Wilson said Australia does not have a history of cataclysmic price falls and there is little prospect of the sharply higher interest rates that have brought on previous price falls. The sharpest decline occurred in Sydney in 2008 when the market fell 4.5 per cent in a year, he said. "The language is certainly getting more exciting by the week. It has almost become a truism in the housing market that we're not just in a bubble but we're in the mother of all bubbles," he said. Dr Wilson said the supply picture was a "mixed picture" and an oversupply in the Melbourne CBD was tempered by dire shortages in inner and middle ring suburbs. He said the prospect of a bloodbath like the one described by LF Economics was "absolutely remote". Janine Dixon, an economist at University of Victoria, said last week that prices in inner Melbourne and Sydney were only going "up and up". The home ownership inquiry begins on Friday. Treasury, the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Department of Social Services are scheduled to appear. HOUSING OVERSUPPLY/UNDERSUPPLY BY STATE NSW 40,537 VIC 123,242 QLD -3126 SA 28,302 WA -44,509 Source ABS, third quarter 2014 Follow us on Twitter
Image copyright Reuters Image caption So far, only "modest" numbers of people have fled Mosul, the UN says Islamic State (IS) militants have abducted tens of thousands of civilians from around the Iraqi city of Mosul to use as human shields, the UN says. The group also killed some 190 former members of Iraq's security services and 42 civilians, apparently for refusing to obey its orders, the UN adds. Iraqi, Kurdish and allied forces have advanced on their push to retake Mosul, IS's de facto capital in Iraq. As many as 1.5 million people are believed to remain there. There are fears IS could use them to defend itself as the operation gets closer to the centre of the city. "Credible reports" suggested that civilians in sub-districts around Mosul had been forced from their homes and relocated inside the city since the offensive began earlier this month, UN spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Battle for Mosul: Inside the Kurdish advance on the last IS stronghold Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Residents of Mosul tell an Iraqi radio station of the fear of living in the city held by the IS group Men, women and children from 6,000 families were abducted in areas including Shura, she added. "Isil's depraved cowardly strategy is to attempt to use the presence of civilian hostages to render certain points, areas or military forces immune from military operations, effectively using tens of thousands of women, men and children as human shields," Ms Shamdasani added, using an acronym for IS. She said the allegations had been corroborated by the UN but added that the true number might be greater. The UN said last week so-called Islamic State was apparently not allowing families to flee for territory held by the Iraqi army outside Mosul and that civilians suspected of being disloyal to the group appeared to had been targeted. The organisation added that only "modest" numbers of people had so far fled Mosul.
Last week, UCSD student Daniel Chong made headlines after he was left to rot in a San Diego holding cell. To survive, Chong reportedly had to drink his own urine. In response to this horrific act of ignorance by the DEA, San Diego’s NORML chapter will be protesting at the San Diego DEA office TODAY. Here is the message from the group’s Facebook page: Dear Community, Many of you are aware of the recent tragic events related to UC San Diego student Daniel Chong. For those who do not know the story, Mr. Chong was detained by DEA agents for five days without food and water following a raid at a 4/20 celebration. In response to this outrageous action by DEA agents, San Diego NORML, along with other local groups and activists, will be holding a protest this Monday, May 7, at 4:20 p.m. at the San Diego DEA office. The address of the office is 4560 Viewridge Avenue, San Diego, CA 92123. Please come to show your support for Daniel Chong, and to condemn recent actions taken by DEA agents and the federal government. Feel free to bring a sign, banner, megaphone, or anything else that will help publicize our message. We hope to see you all there! Michael E. Cindrich, Esq. San Diego NORML www.sandiegonorml.com If you’re in San Diego, take off work early and go show your support. Change doesn’t come by sitting on your couch and rolling joints.
This article originally appeared on AlterNet. “There is a myth out there that…at heart, he’s really on the side of the little guy,” Hillary Clinton said recently of Donald Trump. “Don’t believe it.” I agree. But I’ve never liked using the phrase “little guy” to describe America’s working men and women. A lot of people in this country are managing to survive against pretty long odds, and that's a pretty big accomplishment in my book. Advertisement: I have nothing against anybody who was born rich. But if anybody is a “little guy” in this story, it’s Trump himself, and I’m not just talking about his hands. It takes a little heart to be born into such wealth and yet be filled with such self-regard and selfishness. It takes a little heart to want so much for himself and so little for others, to bring out the worst in our neighbors and be so cruel to the strangers at our door. Come to think of it, maybe we should call this spoiled child of privilege a "little prince.” Trump’s empathy seems to extend only as far as his aristocratic peers, for they — and only they — will directly benefit from his economic policies. His tax breaks for rich people and corporations have received a lot of attention. But his call to repeal the estate tax is even more precisely targeted toward his fellow princes and princesses, the other children of billionaires and mega-millionaires. Trump prefaced his call for a repeal this way: “American workers have paid taxes their whole lives, and they should not be taxed again at death, and it’s just plain wrong.” Repealing the estate tax has been Republican policy for some time. But where most Republican politicians are merely servants of the ultra-privileged, Trump is one of them. If anybody knows how tiny a burden this tax imposes on the wealthy, it’s him. Today’s estate tax is only imposed on less than 0.2 percent of households. Fewer than two estates in a thousand pay it. More than 2.5 million Americans die each year, but less than 5,000 estates were taxed in 2014. Only estates of $5.4 million or more must pay any estate tax at all. As the Center for Tax Justice points out, the estate tax is highly progressive. The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities reminds us that the tiny number of estates that are taxed typically pay less than one-sixth of their value; that giant loopholes allow many of them to avoid the tax altogether; and that the largest estates are mainly made up of “unrealized” capital gains that have never been taxed at all. (So much for being “taxed again at death.”) Advertisement: As for that consultant-crafted and focus group-tested phrase “death tax,” it’s catchy — and completely false. The estate tax is levied on the worth of what is left behind, which means it is paid by the living and not the dead. Fear not, Americans: death, like sunshine and butterflies, is still free. Our tax system already favors the wealthy in many different ways. Now, with his plan to abolish the estate tax, Donald Trump is offering up yet another gift to his rich pals. Come to think of it, it’s a “friends and family plan” for Trump, since it would also presumably save his own children millions of dollars (although the narcissistic Trump may not really believe he’s ever going to die). The estate tax will collect an estimated $270 billion in revenue over the next 10 years. At an average teacher’s salary of $56,310, that money could be used to pay nearly half a million teachers for an entire decade. It could be used to double the scope of Hillary Clinton’s infrastructure plan. Or, should Mr. Trump suddenly learn to love his neighbors, it would allow us to increase by nearly tenfold the number of refugees admitted into this country. Trump would rather turn that revenue over to the wealthiest heirs and heiresses in the nation instead. Advertisement: Trump won’t fight for the little guy. He is the little guy, at least in spirit. He’s only fighting for himself, and for the privileged boys and girls who are the only peer group he has ever cared about.
Monday, Aug 23, 1999 4:00 PM UTC T here is one person on the planet whom I can honestly say I hate. This in spite of two and a half years of lovingkindness meditation. I’m not talking about the profound yet somehow abstract hatred you feel for a brutal dictator in a far-off land, nor the reluctant half-desire, half-loathing of an ex-lover. I’m talking about the peculiarly bitter, tenacious hatred you feel for a person who once caused you an acute and unforgettable humiliation before a tribunal of peers. Oberlin College in the mid-’80s was fertile ground for humiliation. “Identity” politics were gathering steam, and everyone was discovering his or her oppression. In the larger superstructure of both the college and society, minorities of all categories still struggled for basic parity. Our student social life, however, had become a sort of inverted universe: The more oppressed groups you belonged to, the higher your status. And the higher your status, the more license you had to publicly call people on their unconscious bigotry. Generally, those of us whose sole claim to oppression was gender had only white males on whom to take out our anger (and I took mine out in spades). Occasionally, however, someone could gain status through the sheer force of moral indignation and be accepted as an honorary member of a more oppressed group than her own. These individuals were always the most virulently righteous when taking other members of their own societal subsection to task for their sexism, racism, classism or homophobia. Don’t misunderstand me. I have no desire to belittle anyone’s anger at injustice by slapping it with the mocking label “politically correct.” College is a violently politicizing time; the sudden awareness of your personal story as part of a broader societal mosaic can galvanize phenomenal growth, courage and action. And if some tender feelings get hurt along the way, I’m not convinced that’s always a bad thing, especially if those feelings have survived 18 years without close examination. Given all of that, why do I still hate her, after all this time? “Laura” was a latter-day hippie when she arrived at Oberlin from a New England prep school in 1984. She played Woody Guthrie songs on her guitar, was openly bisexual and wore her muddy blonde hair hanging straight down her back. She seemed to frequent every political organization on campus, but was most visible in the Women’s Center, where she was the primary contact for Violence Against Women Awareness Week (VAWAW) and its crowning event, the Take Back the Night March. That same year, I arrived at Oberlin from Lawrence, Kan., with shaved legs and lipstick, wearing polka-dot leotard and mini-skirt combos, my wavy brown hair permed in a fluffy ‘fro. Like Laura, I was eager to get involved in the abundant political life of the Oberlin campus. Giddy with admiration for the feisty, articulate student activists, I focused my political energies on SANE/Freeze and Democratic Socialists of America. For a solid year I remained blithely oblivious to the Oberlin aesthetic, roundly confused when the scruffy, defensive young men I worshipped wouldn’t give me the proverbial time of day. By our senior year, Laura had become an ultra-hip leather dyke, or its vinyl equivalent (leather didn’t go over too well in our largely vegetarian school). Her hair, now platinum, was short and spiky, and her acoustic guitar had long since gone electric. She was no longer involved with the Women’s Center, but had become the most prominent white anti-racism activist on campus. I, meanwhile, had grown out my leg and underarm hair, gained 20 pounds, traded my polka dots for tie-dye, and become an outspoken bisexual. I was now co-chair of the Women’s Center and a primary organizer of Violence Against Women Awareness Week and the Take Back the Night march. I revered Laura, but whenever I tried to connect with her, she looked at me as though I were an unwelcome pop quiz. Still, I managed to invite her to appear in our VAWAW panel discussion on “Rape and Racism,” and to my delight, she accepted. On the first day of VAWAW, we woke to find an enormous banner hanging on the Student Union bearing the words “WHITE SUPREMACY RULES.” The campus community was stunned beyond belief. We wanted, needed, to believe that it wasn’t perpetrated by students — that it was “outsiders,” most likely a group of Ohio rednecks angry at the “commie faggot students” running around town in their ripped-up clothes. Classes were canceled. A teach-in was held in the cavernous chapel-cum-concert hall where the big-name musicians played. One after another, members of Oberlin’s small student- of- color population took the stage and said that, yes, they could believe Oberlin students had done it. They told stories of the racism they’d encountered at Oberlin, the ways they’d been marginalized from the day they arrived. Oh yes, they could believe it. An angry gloom fell over the 3,000-student campus. Marches and rallies were held. White students cried; students of color caucused and raged. The VAWAW planning committee cancelled the first two days’ events, but by the third day, when the “Rape and Racism” panel was scheduled, we decided to resume. We decided as well that Take Back the Night march should take place at the end of the week as planned. As horrific as the banner incident was, there didn’t seem any point in letting our efforts go to waste. That would give the bigots too much power. All 200 seats were filled in the classroom where we held the panel, and another 50 or so people crowded the back of the room and spilled out into the hall. The atmosphere was charged, everyone still on fire over the unsolved mystery of the banner. One by one the panelists — three professors and two students — spoke about the racist perceptions around rape crimes, setting the historical context of black men lynched for looking at white women and bringing it up to the present, where black men are routinely hauled in by the police on no greater evidence than the color of their skin. Each was cheered long and loud by the multiracial crowd, and I felt a stirring of pride at my role in organizing this important event. Laura was the last panelist, and the only Caucasian. She strode confidently to the microphone and waited for silence. “Take Back the Night,” she said in a coolly mocking tone. “I can’t believe this racist institution is being perpetuated on this campus for yet another year. I thought people would’ve gotten a clue and shot the beast by now.” A strange heat rose in my body. What was she saying? “White women marching through black neighborhoods,” she continued. “That’s how this march began. You can change the route of the march, and you can try to get a few brown faces into the line, but it comes down to the same thing: privileged white women screaming at poor black men.” I couldn’t believe my ears. We had dealt with this issue! The committee had reviewed the march’s history and route exhaustively. Weeks of discussions with women- of- color groups on campus had gone into creating a march and rally that would feel inclusive and welcoming to all women. I felt a burning mix of anger, shame and fear. Laura had organized the march for the past three years! If she had suddenly gained insight into its inescapably racist nature, why hadn’t she shown up at an early meeting this year and shared her discovery? Why had she agreed to participate in something she reviled? Laura finished her speech to raucous cheering. As one of the professors rose to invite discussion, an angry buzz filled the room. Other VAWAW organizers sought my eye, expressions of mute appeal in theirs. Someone had to speak. Slowly, heart pounding, I raised my hand. “I understand the complaints against Take Back the Night’s history in Oberlin,” I began, fighting to keep my voice steady. “But I can’t accept that a march against violence against women is an inherently racist event.” As an inexperienced freshling, I explained, I had found the sensation of marching through darkened streets with hundreds of other women profoundly empowering, even life-changing. That experience made me an activist! It was true the march had attracted mostly white women in the past, but every effort had been made … And I had to maintain that even if only a few women of color chose to participate, the march was still a valid event. White women were still women, still victims of violence. Was it better to do something, however imperfectly, or to do nothing at all? At this point in my monologue, my voice began to crack, and tears came into my eyes. I concluded hurriedly and sat down. Laura returned to the microphone. She paused for a moment, then began, “It’s always an interesting thing when white women cry in front of women of color.” I don’t remember the rest of Laura’s response. At that moment, I disappeared into a kind of fresh red hell, where I could see and hear nothing but the blood trundling through my head. I was convinced that Laura was the incarnation of all things evil, dumped onto the earth in human form to quash any impulse toward constructive action. She had betrayed me, not just as a woman, but as a fellow activist. She knew my heart, I was sure, knew my intentions, but had sold me down the river to bolster her own image. Laura’s fear of the racist label was so intense that she pointed the finger, not just at me, but at a community and event she had championed passionately for the previous three years. When I returned to earth, one of the professors was at the podium. The buzz had died down, and the discussion had apparently shifted from the Take Back the Night march to the need for more ethnic studies courses. A gentle hand was rubbing my back, and I turned to see a gorgeous African-American woman whom I recognized from my course on “Women in Development.” “Hey,” she said simply. “Hey.” It was a moment of grace, a divine reminder of the power of kindness. Her simple “hey” had the power to crush an army of evil Lauras. I smiled. Take Back the Night proceeded as planned. The percentage of women of color at the march was not far off the percentage of people of color at the school, which was minuscule. In a small way, we considered this a victory. Looking back, I have to ask myself again the reason for this lingering bitterness. I have no trouble forgiving the kids who called me a Martian in the seventh grade because I wore too much green. Was Laura’s behavior really so different from theirs? A painful desire for acceptance and an excruciating fear of exclusion drive adolescent cruelty. As we get older, this same insecurity fortifies itself with an arsenal of political jargon. Those who mocked their classmates’ hairstyles in junior high can viciously attack their politics in college. The schoolyard bully turns rallies into riots. (A friend once suggested to me that the cause of war is hurt feelings. Absurdly naive as that sounds, I think it harbors a grain of truth.) What finally becomes obscured in all of this ego-shuffling is the issues themselves, as well as the actual lives that give them meaning. When bigotry becomes an insult to fling at the terminally uncool, we lose the power to name it when it’s really there. We frighten potential allies into silence, and hand those who maintain bigotry doesn’t really exist a perfect target for their ridicule. Maybe that’s what really burns me about Laura all this time. Or maybe I just wanted her to like me.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner warned rank-and-file Republicans in a conference call on Thursday against using the threat of a government shutdown to stop the implementation of Obamacare, according to people on the call. House Speaker John Boehner holds a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington March 21, 2013. REUTERS/Gary Cameron On the call, Boehner reminded Republicans of the political backlash their party suffered when the government shut down in 1995-1996, according to one person on the call. Another participant in the call, Oklahoma Representative Tom Cole, said the speaker’s main message was that he and other leaders were still committed to killing President Barack Obama’s signature health care law but that they did not want a government shutdown. A House Republican aide, however, emphasized that no final decision has been made on whether to pursue a strategy advocated by some in the party of denying funds for Obamacare. Republicans agree strongly on their opposition to Obamacare, viewing the law as a burden to businesses that will cost jobs. But the party has been roiled by heated debate over the strategy for trying to stop the law. Hours before Boehner’s conference call, about a third of the Republican caucus sent a letter to Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor urging them to oppose any annual spending bills that include funding for Obamacare. Without an agreement between Congress and Obama on fresh legislation to fund federal agencies, the government could shut down on October 1. Even many Republicans believe Obama would never agree to sign a spending bill that removed funding for his signature domestic policy achievement. Cole disagrees with the idea of using a government shutdown threat to try to take aim at Obamacare but added, “the frustration is how do you keep fighting it without taking an action that is counterproductive.” On the call, Boehner sketched out a plan in which Republicans would pass a short-term measure to fund the government until around December while insisting on keeping in place steep cuts in spending known as the “sequester.” When Congress reconvenes on September 9 after its summer break, Boehner said, “Our intent is to move quickly on a short-term continuing resolution that keeps the government running and maintains current sequester spending levels.” Earlier on Thursday, about a third of the Republican caucus sent a letter to Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor urging them to oppose any annual spending bills that include funding for Obamacare. The letter was spearheaded by Representative Mark Meadows of North Carolina and got the signatures of 80 House Republicans. During the call, one member asked Boehner, “Can you at least announce that you want to defund Obamacare?” Another asked Boehner how he would get a short-term spending measure passed, according to one person on the call. Congressional Republicans have sought repeatedly to repeal the law. While Republicans say the law will hurt job creation, supporters view it as a landmark initiative that will extend health insurance coverage to millions of Americans. In addition to the House lawmakers who signed the letter to Republican leaders, there is support for denying funds to Obamacare from prominent Republican senators including Ted Cruz of Texas and Marco Rubio of Florida. During the five-week summer recess, Obamacare has been riling up constituents at town hall-style meeting in lawmakers’ home districts, with both critics and supporters airing their views. Republican Representative Tim Huelskamp of Kansas told Reuters there was a “large divide between Republican leaders in (Washington) D.C. and Republicans in the rest of the country.” Huelskamp, who participated in the call and agrees with using the government shutdown strategy on Obamacare, said Republican leaders were ignoring that divide “at their own peril.” U.S. President Barack Obama delivers remarks on affordable education at Henninger High School in Syracuse, New York, August 22, 2013. REUTERS/Jason Reed Republican leaders have been working to find alternative ways to weaken the health law. One idea under consideration is tying approval of an increase in the country’s borrowing limit to agreement by the Obama administration to delay implementation of the measure. An aide to Cantor, the No. 2 House Republican, told Reuters on Wednesday that the debt limit was a good “leverage point” to try to force action on Obamacare.
Lloris is backing Arsenal or City to win the league (Picture: Getty Images) Hugo Lloris thinks that Arsenal are more likely to win the Premier League this season than Tottenham Hotspur. The Spurs goalkeeper fears that a lack of experience may cost them at the end of the campaign. Tottenham are currently fourth in the table – six points adrift of league leaders Arsenal. And Lloris is concerned that his young squad may not be up to the task of sealing title glory. ‘We don’t have the maturity of some teams, like [Manchester] City or Arsenal,’ the 29-year-old told the Evening Standard. Wenger will love this (Picture: Getty Images) ‘You need experience. You can’t buy it. You need to play games, you need to lose, you need to win. ‘We are young, we are talented, we are doing well, there is a great spirit in the team and we are working hard, so everything is positive – but we need to go step by step. Advertisement Advertisement ‘We will see where we are in the last 10 games, but at the moment we want to fight and stay as high as possible in the table.’ MORE: Arsenal star ready to move to English club
Online Credit Card Processing: Tips On How To Prevent Fraud If you are currently running an online business then it is important for you to do some measures to prevent frauds along the way. Preventing the entry of frauds in your business is something that you should consider seriously and the same thing is also true to your credit card provider. For your information, identity theft is increasing in numbers day by day and this is a serious issue which is being faced and dealt by many businessmen and companies during these days. Through effective online credit card processing you will be able to minimize fraud along the way. Why is it Important to Prevent Fraud? It is very important to prevent the entry of fraud in your business because this can greatly affect and hurt your company’s finances. If you have processed fraudulent payments then it is you who will be held responsible for all charges incurred. Moreover, taking the time to charge back will cost you more along the way and this could simply result in the closing of your online credit card processing account. Tips to Prevent Online Credit Card Processing There are many things that you need to consider when looking forward to preventing fraudulent charges. The following are some essential tips that you need to consider along the way: Look for a Credible and Trusted Company. The first thing that you need to focus on when looking forward to avoid fraud in your business is to look for an online credit card processing company that prioritizes prevention of fraud. Address Verification System. See to it that the billing address and numbers match up; if not, it is not a good idea to continue processing the transaction. Credit Verification Value. This is another effective way to prevent online credit card processing fraud. CVV is usually represented by a 3-git or 4-digit number which is found on the credit card of a customer. A customer who’s checking out is usually requested to provide this number to offer additional safety and security measure. 3D Security. This is a new method of preventing online credit card processing fraud wherein a password is required to the customer when making a transaction. Aside from the tips mentioned above, it is also important that you should also take the time to watch out for suspicious activity and have some effective measures to protect the identity of your customers. These are what you need to remember to prevent online credit card processing fraud.
Since this meeting will be most productive if information is widely available before the meeting, we will post online the text of a proposed health insurance reform package. This legislation would put a stop to insurance company abuses, extend coverage to millions of Americans, get control of skyrocketing premiums and out-of-pocket costs, and reduce the deficit. That passage seems to suggest one of the following is true: 1) House and Senate leadership have nearly finished negotiating a new compromise version of their legislation. The text the administration plans to post will reflect that compromise. 2) House and Senate leadership are still struggling to come to an agreement, if not over what to pass then in what sequence to pass it. The administration hopes this promise will force them to wrap things up. Actually, conversations with various sources over the weekend make me think the truth is some combination, although I'm relying on people who, in many cases, admit they're not entirely sure themselves. (That could be because not very many people know--or because I'm just not talking to the right people.) But it seems to me that either interpretation would constitute progress of a sort. If it's (1), the House and Senate have finally worked out most of their differences. If it's (2), President Obama is starting to give them the shove they need. Many insiders, including quite a few Hill staffers, have been saying for a while that it will take White House intervention to break the impasse. And, until now, that intervention hasn't been evident.
CLOSE President Obama also took the oath with the Bible that President Lincoln used. Video provided by Newsy Newslook Photo of the Lincoln Bible. Donald Trump will use it during his inauguration Friday, Jan. 20, 2017. (Photo11: Provided by the Library of Congress) NASHVILLE — When President-elect Donald Trump takes his oath of office on Inauguration Day, his hand will rest on his family Bible and the Abraham Lincoln Bible. Alex Stroman, the deputy director of communications for the 58th Inaugural Committee, confirmed the picks Tuesday morning. The Lincoln Bible, used during the 16th president's first inauguration, was most recently a part of President Obama's first and second inauguration ceremonies and is a part of the Library of Congress' collection. Trump's Bible, a revised standard version, was presented to him in 1955 by his mother upon graduation from Sunday Church Primary School in New York. Trump showed off the Bible in an early 2016 campaign video, thanking evangelicals for their support. Exit polls showed that four out of five white evangelicals voted for Trump. “My mother gave me this Bible. This very Bible many years ago," Trump said in the video. "In fact, it’s her writing, right here. She wrote the name and my address, and it’s just very special to me." Trump, a Presbyterian, has called the Bible his favorite book, and referred to it often on the campaign trail. But his Bible literacy has been questioned, including when he mispronounced a Bible verse. He cited “two Corinthians” rather than saying “Second Corinthians” while speaking at Liberty University. Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts will administer the oath Friday. It’s not a requirement for the country’s commander in chief to take the oath of office using a Bible, but it’s a presidential inauguration tradition started by George Washington, said Allison Brown, an Oklahoma-based writer and editor for the Museum of the Bible. The country's first president took the oath of office on a Masonic lodge’s altar Bible. At least four other presidents have used that King James Version, now referred to as the Washington Bible, at their inaugurations. “Washington was very aware that he was setting a precedent with everything he did,” Brown said. Swearing an oath on a Bible or other object of importance is an ancient act, Brown said. It is symbolic of the oath taker’s authority, importance and truthfulness, she said. The U.S. Constitution only says the president-elect must swear or affirm the presidential oath of office. It doesn’t mention the Bible or another book. So some presidents have chosen something other than the Christian holy book, or went without. The sixth president, John Quincy Adams, a lawyer, took the oath on a law book. Teddy Roosevelt didn’t use a book following William McKinley’s assassination, and Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in on a Roman Catholic missal found aboard Air Force One in the aftermath of John F. Kennedy’s assassination. In this Jan. 20, 2009, file photo, Barack Obama, left, takes the oath of office from Chief Justice John Roberts, not seen, as his wife Michelle, holds the Lincoln Bible and daughters Sasha, right and Malia, watch at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (Photo11: Chuck Kennedy, AP) For many of the country’s early presidents, historical records are thin on whether a Bible was used, Brown said. But nearly all of the presidents from Lincoln to Obama have used the Bible during their inaugurations, she said. Many swore on a Bible opened to a specific verse, like Ronald Reagan who used 2 Chronicles 7:14 for both inaugurations. Some quoted Bible verses in their inaugural addresses, too. “Most of the verses that presidents have chosen have been about government, have been about humility, about wisdom,” Brown said. “A lot of these verses are about how they’re going to govern a nation.” A handful opened the Bibles at random and others have kept the book closed. George W. Bush, who had hoped to use the Washington Bible like his father, but inclement weather prevented it, kept his family Bible closed during his first oath of office. Some presidents used more than one. Dwight Eisenhower swore on the Washington Bible and his own West Point Bible during his first inauguration. President George W. Bush is sworn in with his hand on a Bible passage during his second inauguration by Chief Justice William Rehnquist on Jan. 20, 2005. (Photo11: Tim Dillon, USA TODAY file) The Bibles will be closed and stacked on top of each while Trump takes the oath of office. A few swore on the Bible provided by the clerk of the U.S. Supreme Court. Some used other presidential Bibles or made symbolic selections, like Obama, who swore his oaths on the Bibles of Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr. And, many used their family Bibles. Trump’s Bible selection will certainly leave inauguration day with greater importance, said Mark Dimunation, the chief of the Library of Congress’ rare book and special collections division. The division houses some inauguration Bibles, including Lincoln’s holy book. “It’s a moment of such national significance that it imbues this otherwise modest — can be a modest book — with a level of importance that makes it forever a significant piece,” said Dimunation. “They actually do have a certain kind of electricity, a certain kind of meaning when you can hand somebody a Bible and say this is the Bible that Lincoln was sworn in on.” Follow Holly Meyer on Twitter: @HollyAMeyer Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/2jV1dqT
Federal prosecutors could seek the death penalty for a 30-year-old American man who took up arms to fight against the army of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. At a court hearing in Alexandria, Virginia on Monday, prosecutors said Eric Harroun of Arizona could be sentenced to death if convicted of using a weapon of mass destruction with deadly force. Now the FBI will try to determine if Harroun, a retired US Army private first class, killed any soldiers in the line of battle. “Any national of the United States who, without lawful authority, uses, or threatens, attempts or conspires to use, a weapon of mass destruction outside of the United States shall be imprisoned for any term of years or for life, and if death results, shall be punished by death, or by imprisonment for any term of years or for life,” reads the terrorism law that Harroun now faces. American authorities arrested the soldier late last month after he told FBI agents during a series of interviews in Turkey that he took up arms to fight against Assad, an enemy of the US and the target of a growing opposition movement in Syria. "It is extremely unusual for the US to charge a person who is fighting in a manner that is aligned with US interests," public defender Geremy Kamens told reporters after Monday’s hearing outside Washington, DC. Investigators say Harroun traveled overseas back in January with the aim of assisting the Free Syrian Army, the main rebel group going up against President Assad in the nation’s bloody civil war. But while Harroun ultimately ended up fighting in skirmishes that had him going up against pro-Assad regimes, it wasn’t with the Free Syrian Army. Harroun says he arrived in Turkey earlier this year, then crossed an international border and befriended opposition soldiers engaged in a fight with Assad’s forces. In lieu of joining the Free Syrian Army, however, Harroun aligned with another opposition group striving for the same goal. Unfortunately for the American, he ended up fighting alongside the al-Nusra Front, a branch of al-Qaeda in Iraq that was formally declared by the US as a terrorist organization in December. Harroun tells investigators that he “hates” al-Qaeda and was actually held as a hostage by the group after he hopped on the back of a Jabhat al-Nusra truck following a battle. Court papers attest that Harroun was treated like a prisoner at first by the militia, and eventually gained the trust of the soldiers to the degree that they asked him to join in firefights. Nusra Front fighters also urged the US Army private first class to become the organization’s English-language spokesman, an offer he declined. According to an interview conducted between a CBS affiliate at the soldier's father, Harroun might have even engaged in patriotic missions overseas. “I know he was doing some work for the CIA over there,” Darryl Harroun said. “I know for a fact that he was passing information onto the CIA.” But if the soldier engaged in battle against America’s enemies, though, working alongside al-Qaeda to do as much could cost the soldier his life — Harroun could be sentenced to die from lethal injection if prosecutors can prove he used grenade launchers to kill in battle. The fact that Harroun "knowingly aligned himself with al-Qaida,” said prosecutor Carter Burwell, “is perhaps one of the gravest threats to national security that the US government can countenance." Magistrate Judge Ivan D. Davis added that Harroun “actively and knowingly participated in fighting with a group the US has designated as a terrorist organization.” "There is no stronger case than the defendant's own confession," Davis said. The BBC reports that Harroun told the FBI that he shot at 10 people in Syria, but was unsure of what damage he might have caused. After his interviews in Turkey, he flew to the States in March and was arrested by the authorities. He remains in federal custody in Virginia awaiting trial.
Villagers attack orangutan mother and baby trying to escape forest fires in Borneo Updated As the Indonesian fires rage on, the expression on a struggling orangutan's face has powerfully illustrated the human-orangutan conflict in the region. To escape the out-of-control forest fires burning in Borneo, an orangutan with baby by her side attempted to take refuge in a village only to be attacked by frightened villagers, an animal rights organisation reported. "The villagers threw things at the terrified mother before attempting to capture and tie her up," International Animal Rescue (IAR) said. A team from IAR reached the struggling mother and her baby who were quickly anaesthetised. "Fortunately our team got to her just in time," IAR said. "They have now been translocated and released into a safe area of protected rainforest and are being monitored by a conservation team to ensure that they are recovering well from their terrible ordeal." A photograph of the moment the mother and baby were saved shows the emaciated mother's expression of exhaustion yet relief as a rescuer tenderly reaches out to hold her head. The baby is seen gripping tightly to mum's side after their ordeal. The rescue team worked in the midst of a large crowd of almost 100 local people, who were told to call IAR when they next encountered an orangutan. The mother and baby are currently recovering at the conservation area of palm oil company PT Kayung Agro Lestari where they will be monitored for the next week or two. The company's conservation team reports they are both adapting well. Peaceful ways to mitigate human-orangutan conflict needed Villagers often consider orangutans a pest and can be scared their food crops will be trampled or raided, not-for-profit group Palm Oil Investigations said. Starving orangutans often wander into the edges of villages eating fruiting trees in people's yards and scavenging in village garbage dumps due to destruction of their habitat. A PLOS study found fear and self-defence were the most common reasons orangutans were killed by humans in Kalimantan. Orangutans were also killed for interfering with crops, the study found. The study indicated between 12,690 and 29,024 orangutans were killed during conflict within the villagers' hunting lifetimes. The study recommended a greater focus on education, awareness raising and compensatory payments for conflicts. A combination of hunting, deforestation, palm oil plantations, and the illegal pet trade have left the orangutan endangered and the current forest fires are further threatening their numbers. Program director for IAR Indonesia Karmele Llano Sanchez said: "I fear that in terms of the orangutans, the worst is yet to come. "And if serious action isn't taken soon to stop the fires, it will simply be too late." Topics: fires, animals, kalimantan First posted
On the final day of the World Cricket League Division Five in Jersey last May, a promotion berth was at stake between Oman and Guernsey, who had a chance to cause an upset. After scratching their way to 141 for 8, Guernsey had reduced Oman to 13 for 4. The tension at the ground was immense as a group of schoolkids on their way to football practice, totally oblivious to cricket etiquette, started walking near the sightscreen, distracting the Oman batsmen at the crease. The bench was stirred up like a hornet's nest, but a wise board member, standing behind the boundary rope at long-off, knew that any bee can catch more flies with honey than vinegar. "Hey kids!" he shouted out while approaching them. "If you want to cross the sightscreen that's fine, but I need you to do me a favour first. Our boys out there really need your support right now, so on the count of three, I need you to shout, 'O - MAN! O - MAN!'" The kids giggled at first, then after the next ball was bowled, obliged, following the middle-aged gentleman's lead. An enthusiastic thank you to the kids followed. The Oman bench grinned at a man who is their friend, father, brother, boss and biggest fan: Pankaj Khimji. ** Over the course of the last decade, Afghanistan have been a shining example of the merit-based value of the World Cricket League structure, vaulting from Division Five in 2008 to Division One by the middle of 2009. For every Afghanistan, though, there has to be a team going in the opposite direction to keep promotion and relegation in balance. Argentina, who were in Division Two in 2007, experienced five straight relegations, eventually being banished back to regional qualifying, the feeder into Division Five. Oman has experienced both sides of the coin. After gaining admission as an Affiliate nation in 2000, they reached the 2005 ICC Trophy in Ireland, and were again a de facto Division One team, appearing at the 2009 ICC World Cup Qualifier in South Africa. A series of relegations, concluding with a bottom-two finish at 2014 WCL Division Four, saw them slide all the way back to Division Five. "Khimji Ramdas is like family for us. We are always connected with them. Whenever we have a problem, they are always ready to help us, especially Pankaj bhai, even at the local league" Oman fast bowler Rajesh Ranpura Almost at rock-bottom, the side's stunning resurgence began at the 2015 World T20 Qualifier in Scotland and Ireland, where wins over Afghanistan, Netherlands and Canada preceded a knockout win over Namibia to reach the 2016 World T20. A stunning win over Ireland in Dharamsala helped spark a rejuvenation in 50-over cricket as well, and by the end of the year the team had secured twin promotions from Division Five back into Division Three, now two steps away from getting back into Division One at the 2018 World Cup Qualifier. They have some familiar faces and some new ones to help get them there, but the one constant through all of the ups and downs in the Oman cricket journey has been one name: Khimji. "Cricket in Oman, all credit goes to the Khimji family," says long-time Oman team manager Jameel Zaidi. The modern era of cricket in Oman began in the 1970s, spearheaded by the enthusiasm of the Khimji patriarch, Kanaksi, a man Zaidi refers to as "the godfather of cricket in Oman". With the support of the Oman royal family, Oman Cricket was formally established in 1979, with Kanaksi as president and His Highness Sayyid Abbas Bin Faisal as patron-in-chief. Pankaj, Kanaksi's 55-year-old son, who has been an Oman Cricket board member for more than 20 years and who was also elected to a position on the Asian Cricket Council executive board last year, says the Oman cricket story begins a little bit further back. "My father played school cricket and then played cricket in Oman in the early '60s, and probably even late '50s, against the visiting British naval teams when they used to anchor in our harbours and we'd give them a game of cricket," Pankaj says. "One of our royal highnesses who studied in Africa had played cricket in the schools, so it was quite a passion amongst them. "I can say that the family definitely has played a significant role in developing cricket and making cricket a success story, and I would like to say this with the utmost humility. My father, my uncles, my cousins - we're all a passionate cricket family. "We used to travel six hours by car to Sharjah to watch - the early days when Sharjah cricket and the Bukhatir league started. People would call us crazy." It's a particularly eccentric habit, considering the family seemingly had other more pressing interests to keep them occupied, in the form of the Khimji Ramdas business empire. A fifth-generation company first established in 1870, the company is omnipresent in Oman: from construction and manufacturing to restaurant and car-dealership franchising, supermarkets to shipping, insurance and travel agency divisions, residential and commercial real estate assets as well as schools (including Muscat's first English language-instruction school, which opened in 1975). The Khimji family's net worth has been estimated to be around US$900 million as of 2015. Kanaksi is labelled "the world's only Hindu sheikh". The honorary title - and citizenship - was bestowed upon the 81-year-old by the Oman royal family as a gesture to recognise the Khimjis' impact on Omani society. Yet whatever free time the family has available is dedicated mainly to cricket. Pankaj Khimji (left) and his family have put in not only money but also their time and energies to lift Oman up from the bottom rungs of Affiliate cricket Peter Della Penna "At every tournament, whether it is in Ireland, Jersey, India, [Kanaksi] is always with the team, coming there, supporting the team, taking them to dinner every day and Pankaj has come and joined us also," Zaidi says. "These are the people who are running the show, absolutely. Their interest and the cricket, which has reached this level, is because of them. "Mashallah, they are corporate guys, they are millionaires, and the only thing is their interest in giving us a lot of things. Whenever we are short of funds, they pour their money in it. They take care of all of us like family members. So the boys have respect for them, and what they have done for cricket is absolutely amazing." Kanaksi has maintained his role as chairman of Oman Cricket since its inception, a reign approaching 40 years. In some places, a board chief holding on to power for that long might be met with a cynical response. Mostly, though, Kanaksi is respected and admired for his stewardship, and in 2011 the ICC Development Programme gave him a Lifetime Achievement Award for his service to cricket in Oman. At the local level that includes the family's involvement and support for the domestic cricket league, which is centred on a corporate structure. Muscat Cricket Club, a team run by Khimji Ramdas, includes many employees who also play for the national team, among them Swapnil Khadye, Vaibhav Wategaonkar, Munis Ansari, Jatinder Singh and Rajesh Ranpura. Having corporate backing allows them to earn a living while getting flexible work hours to train for the national team. "We are lucky in Oman that all the corporate companies understand what we are doing," says Ranpura, who works as a production supervisor in a paint manufacturing plant for Khimji Ramdas. "Each corporate company has their own team and they practise in the afternoon. When a national team camp is there, in the morning we are doing fitness training, afternoon we do cricket training, and in the evening we have more training. "Khimji Ramdas is like family for us. I'm playing for him and it's like a second home for us. We celebrate all the festivals together. We are always connected with them. Whenever we have a problem, they are always ready to help us, especially Pankaj bhai, even at the local league. All the time, he and Kanaksi, whenever they are available, they are on the ground watching 50-over games and T20 games all the time." The family's modesty also stands out. A regular fixture at Oman's various tournament stops around the world, Pankaj is enthusiastic but hardly bombastic in his support for the team from the sidelines. He is quick to deflect attention onto others, especially regarding the team's resurgence over the last two years, for which he credits current coach and development officer Duleep Mendis. "That brought about a sense of preparation - a regime that made sure the team was always in a state of fitness, whether we are in a playing season or not in a playing season," Pankaj says. "He kept on identifying the fast-development track players, who was on the out and who was on the swing up. Fitness became a very important role, so we had a few people in Oman who helped in building that. "My father, my uncles, my cousins - we're all a passionate cricket family. We used to travel six hours by car to Sharjah to watch - the early days when Sharjah cricket and the Bukhatir league started. People would call us crazy" Pankaj Khimji "On tours, we had Derek Pringle, Rumesh Ratnayake, Sunil Joshi, who helped the team fine-tune themselves in those aspects of the game. Madhu Jesrani, who has been the secretary of cricket for many years, I think, is the heart and soul of our cricket. He keeps the team involved, he keeps the families involved as well." Certain infrastructure improvements have also played a major role in Oman's recent success. For years, cricket in the country was played on artificial wickets, before the inaugural turf wicket opened at Al Amerat, a facility on the south-western outskirts of Muscat, in late 2012. A second floodlit turf ground opened up in the same complex in late 2015, and a third ground, with practice facilities, is currently being developed at the site; it is scheduled to open later this year. The new turf wickets allowed Oman to host their first bilateral series, in April, with UAE visiting for three 50-over matches as part of Oman's preparation for WCL Division Three in Uganda this month. If the third turf-wicket ground opens on schedule and Oman gain promotion to Division Two, they will have the requisite number of grounds to host the event and are expected to make a bid. Pankaj credits the royal family with making land and extra funding available to develop for cricket, both locally and for when the team is touring abroad. "A couple of years ago His Majesty gave us an endowment to develop the infrastructure of cricket in Oman," Pankaj says. "That's when we got our green grounds, and we're now building a clubhouse with an indoor eight-lane practice wicket. Hopefully, by September 2017, we should have our clubhouse and our facility, which we can call the home of cricket in Oman. We got our qualification from the ministry of sports a few years ago, which meant we are now able to receive some funds to develop cricket, especially when we are going on overseas tours." Another factor that helped them do well abroad was the Khimjis' MCC connections. In familiar conditions at the 2012 World T20 Qualifier in the UAE, Oman went 0-7, finishing last in their eight-team round-robin group. Kanaksi and Pankaj are MCC members and their relationship with MCC director of cricket John Stephenson led to Derek Pringle coming on board as a key addition to the backroom staff ahead of the 2015 World T20 Qualifier, producing a dramatic reversal of results in alien conditions. Pankaj then helped bring an MCC touring squad to Oman early in 2016 in the build-up to the World T20, and a series of four matches between the sides helped Oman gear up for battle with Ireland. With all this financial and logistical help available, why are Oman's cricketers still amateurs? Particularly after achieving T20I status in 2015, shouldn't the board be arranging more fixtures and making efforts to turn players professional, especially as they approach this month's WCL Division Three tournament in Uganda with an eye toward reaching the 2018 World Cup Qualifier and Division One status once more? The answer is not so simple, considering that the overwhelming majority of Omani players are Indian and Pakistani expats whose local residency is based on the work visas sponsored by their corporate employers. Oman celebrate their win over Ireland in the 2016 World T20 ICC/Getty Images "The ICC doesn't organise bilaterals, and it's not cheap," Pankaj says. "There's a cost and you must realise that most of our players are amateur players and they have work to do. It's unfair for us to keep going back to their sponsors and employers to say, 'Free them up.' They might as well not work. "The government of Oman are already supporting us with infrastructure. Having two tournaments [a year] is good for Oman for the next couple of years so that we can focus on our own domestic cricket." As a consequence, the daily grind is taxing, to say the least. For most players in the national squad, days start at 5am, with a two-hour session, before they head home to shower and be at work by 9am. Some can get away for another 90 minutes during a 1:30pm lunch break before going back to work and then coming back in the evening for another session. It means little time is left for family or social endeavours. But players like Ranpura don't seem to mind, especially when they see someone like Pankaj standing by their side. "Pankaj sir is always there for us," Ranpura says. "Whenever we require, he is with us. I'm working under him in the same company. Basically he is like a morale booster for our team." ** After the scare early in their chase against Guernsey, vice-captain Aamir Kaleem bailed the side out by scoring a calm 35 before Khadye saw Oman over the line with an unbeaten 33, guaranteeing Oman promotion to Division Four. As Khadye walked off the field, the youth football practice on the adjacent portion of the FB Fields complex was let out and the same group of kids had begun making their way past the sightscreen again. Seeing the Oman players about to greet Khadye, the kids spontaneously began shouting "O - MAN! O - MAN!" once again. The players laughed and cheered back, clapping to show their appreciation, but nobody was more thrilled than Pankaj Khimji. The multi-millionaire missionary's family zeal to proselytise for cricket in Oman knows no bounds. His countrymen are hoping such efforts will garner a few more disciples this month, when the team are in Uganda for WCL Division Three on their crusade back toward the top flight of Associate cricket.
CLOSE ABC pulled The Great American Baking Show amid harassment claims against one of the show’s judges Time Johnny Iuzzini, served as a judge on ABC's 'The Great American Baking Show.' (Photo: Mark Bourdillion/ABC) The Great American Baking Show and Johnny Iuzzini will no longer be part of ABC's winter recipe of programming following allegations of sexual harassment facing the competition show judge. ABC has decided not to air remaining episodes of the series and cut ties with the chef. The third season of The Great American Baking Show recently premiered on ABC Dec. 7. "In light of allegations that recently came to our attention, ABC has ended its relationship with Johnny Iuzzini and will not be airing the remainder of The Great American Baking Show episodes," a spokesperson for the network said in a statement issued to USA TODAY Thursday. "ABC takes matters such as those described in the allegations very seriously and has come to the conclusion that they violate our standards of conduct. This season’s winner will be announced at a later date. Episodes of The Great Christmas Light Fight and CMA Country Christmas will take its place this week and next.” Iuzzini said he was upset with the network's decision not to air the show's remaining episodes in a statement issued to USA TODAY Thursday by his rep, Lonny Sweet. "While I understand ABC felt pressured to make this difficult decision, I am extremely disappointed and saddened that the show will not continue to air as scheduled," the statement reads. "I feel terrible for the bakers, fans of the show, the cast and everyone else involved in the production. I stand by my apology for some unprofessional behavior 8-10 years ago, but the sexual harassment allegations and many other reports against me were sensationalized and simply not true. "My friends, family and those close to me can attest that over the last several years I have worked hard on improving myself and made many positive contributions to the industry in which I dedicated my life," he continues. "Nonetheless, I will use this experience as another opportunity in my life to listen, learn and continue growing as a friend, family member, chef, mentor and as a human being." In November, Mic published a report with accusations of sexual harassment from four female former employees of fine-dining restaurant Jean-Georges who reported to Iuzzini, 43, between 2009 to 2011. The women wished to withhold their identities. The women accused Iuzzini of repeatedly putting tongues in an accuser's ear and demanding shoulder rubs. According to Mic, one accuser says Iuzzini "had a habit of touching female employees’ rear ends with items in the kitchen — knives, long vegetables and spoons — in a suggestive manner." In a statement to Mic, Iuzzini described many of the allegations as inaccurate and said "none were meant to hurt people." On Tuesday, Mic published a follow-up piece with accounts from four additional women accusing him of inappropriate behavior. Iuzzini told the outlet these claims were false. If you have ever experienced or witnessed sexual misconduct while working in the entertainment industry, we’d like to hear from you. Send us a secure tip using the instructions at newstips.usatoday.com. More: Mario Batali steps aside after accusations of habitual sexual harassment More: Russell Simmons denies 9 new accusations of sexual misconduct Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2Blc3ml
Drop in on any party or bar in the late ‘90s and early aughts and chances are a majority of people would be holding a martini glass filled with a bright pink liquid they would unashamedly be sipping on called a Cosmopolitan. Probably one of the greatest cocktail hits of our lifetime, the Cosmo is the perfect example of how fickle our booze culture can be, a drink that is for a brief moment all the rage, and then just as quickly as it came, becomes a joke that most people wouldn’t dare order, much like music today and the BackStreet Boys of yesteryear. But the Cosmo was more than just an “of the moment” drink; it made a significant impact on how we approach drinking, and cocktail culture in general. In fact, much of the high-end cocktail culture we actually encounter today, the speakeasies, the high-end ingredients, and the drinks so complex only a mixologist can recreate them, can be seen as a direct response to the simplistic era the Cosmo embodied. Just as music reacted to an influx of late ‘90s boy bands with bands like The Strokes, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and The Hives, so too did booze culture. And now, just like music, we’re probably in one of the richest and most interesting times to be a drinker, but if it weren’t for the Cosmo, we might never have gotten here. The exact origin of the Cosmopolitan is fuzzy at best, mostly because until the late ‘80s it was a similar drink that went by a different name. In the late nineteenth century a cocktail known as the Daisy emerged as a delicious drink that was loved for its ability to modify harsher flavors of booze. The classic recipe called for spirit, sweetener and citrus, which is similar to the structure of the Cosmo – this recipe is now known as the classic “sour family” recipe structure – but vodka wasn’t a spirit used much in cocktails like this back then, mostly because it already had little flavor to begin with and the citrus used was not cranberry, because cranberry isn’t a citrus. That being said, it’s possible that this proven drink structure is the foundation for which the Cosmo is based. A more direct connection comes from 1968, when the folks at Ocean Spray were looking for more inventive ways to market their cranberry juice to adults. While the drink was popular to serve to children, the marketing execs were looking for ways to expand their market share, so they printed a recipe on the side of every carton of cranberry juice for a drink they called the “Harpoon.” The Harpoon called for an ounce of vodka, an ounce of cranberry and a squeeze of lime, close to the Cosmo recipe, but still missing the sweet Cointreau. Who actually took the idea of combining cranberry, lime, Cointreau and vodka, shaking it over ice and straining it into a martini glass following the creation of the Harpoon is also a bit foggy, but chances are the drink came out of one of two meccas for gay culture: Miami Beach and Provincetown, MA. According to James Winter, author of Who put the Beef in Wellington?: 50 Culinary Classics, Who Invented Them, When and Why, Cheryl Cook, a bartender working in South Beach in the 1970s responded to customers who were looking for a drink that made them look sophisticated, yet was easier to consume – read: sweeter – than a traditional martini, so she created a drink using lemon-infused vodka and triple sec combined with lime and cranberry juice to give it a pretty pink hue. The problem with the tale, however, is that no one can definitively prove its validity as the place the cocktail was officially created. That’s because around the same time Cheryl Cook was supposedly inventing the cosmo is Miami, a bartender named John Caine was also experimenting with a similar ingredient combination in Provincetown. This makes a lot of sense as well, because as Winter states in his book, Provincetown is located near one of our country’s main cranberry producing regions, so using the juice in his cocktail would be natural for Caine. When Caine left Provincetown for San Francisco, he took the drink with him, where it became popular within the gay social scene. However both of these stories are never officially credited with the creation of the Cosmopolitan. Perhaps it’s simply because the drink never really broke out of the gay subculture where it was popular, or because when it was finally embraced by the mainstream, the parties responsible for introducing it to the masses were allowed to take the credit, as often happens when art leaves a subculture for the larger stage. Whatever actually happened, the formal invention of the Cosmo occurs in 1987 when a bartender named Toby Cecchini made the drink while working at the famous Odeon in Manhattan’s Tribeca neighborhood. It’s not hard to see why The Odeon would be the locale to put the Cosmopolitan on the mainstream map. In the ’80s and early ’90s The Odeon was one of the main restaurants to see and be seen in Manhattan. SNL cast parties were often held at the restaurant, and celebrities, models and movers and shakers often rubbed elbows in the booths. It was the restaurant that made Keith McNally – owner of Balthazar, Pastis and Minetta Tavern – famous and it’s here that many tastemakers first encountered it. While the restaurant no longer has the drink on the menu, though we’ve been told they’ll still make it if asked, they do have a variation on the recipe with a drink they call the Ginger Martini, which also calls for Citroen vodka and Cointreau, but subs lemon juice for lime and ginger for cranberry. From The Odeon the drink spread across the city, eventually ending up in The Rainbow Room, where Madonna is pictured drinking it at a Grammy after party. With Madge’s seal of approval, the drink seems to have been embraced by celebrity culture, but it didn’t truly explode until a massively popular TV show decided to make the drink its characters’ drink of choice. Sex and the City is responsible for launching several cultural phenomenons, from our obsession for cupcakes to our quest for incredible designer shoes and bags, but nothing swept the country due to the show’s influence as fast as the Cosmo. In the second season of the show the cocktail makes its debut during episode 19, when Samantha orders it at a wedding bar, and the rest is history. The cocktail appeared several more times throughout the show, leading people throughout the country to recreate the cocktail in order to sip along with their favorite characters. It’s at the same time the cocktail reached true rockstar status that the backlash had already begun. Esquire said of the cocktail: “Like Celebration, Florida (the Disney town), it (the Cosmopolitan) has the appearance of tradition with none of the workmanship. The purpose of a cocktail is to take the pronounced, even pungent, flavor of a liquor and, through careful blending with acids, aromatics, and essences, transform it into something new and hitherto-untasted. Vodka, though, has no flavor. If a cocktail is alchemy, this is just mixing.” Bartenders began to hate the cocktail for the same reasons they loved it when it was first created, it was too simple. They wanted to challenge people with flavors and textures, not simply make them a drink that was easy to swill. Just as the Cosmo started in small drinking subcultures, these groups would eventually lead to the cocktail’s demise. At the same time Sex and the City was promoting the sweet pink drink to the masses, Sasha Petraske was opening Milk & Honey on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. A speakeasy in which the bartenders made cocktails focused on true craftsmanship, they were drinks that sought to challenge the consumer, not simply provide them with an easy delivery method for booze. As music too was reacting to the bubblegum pop of this time period, drinks were as well and just like Sex and the City created The Cosmo, Mad Men would ultimately bring the craft cocktail movement to the masses, but that’s for another story. Sources: http://www.makemeacocktail.com/blog/25/history-of-the-cosmopolitan-cocktail/ http://relish.com/articles/cosmo-cocktail-history/ http://www.georgetowner.com/articles/2012/apr/04/cosmopolitan-once-it-cocktail/ http://ohgo.sh/archive/sex-and-the-city-the-cosmopolitan/ http://liquor.com/articles/behind-the-drink-the-cosmo/#lqXEzmQR6pT2bkze.97
Physics Challenge 2011 Welcome to The Virtuosi's Physics Challenge Problem website! The only [1] website that offers prizes for answering fun physics problems. Anyone can enter, just send an email with your response to the contact link above. RECENT CHALLENGE PROBLEM: The current problem ("Time Machine") can be found here. It was posted on 5 Sept. 2011 and will be open until Friday November 4th. update Award Show. Solutions. There are two main classes of problems for you to solve. The first is The Physics Challenge Problem. This will be a once-every-now-and-again posted open ended problem to solve. Our goal is to make these understandable and solvable by anyone, but the more physics you know the better! We will accept submissions to each Physics Challenge Problem for a month after it was posted [2]. The winner(s) will be sent a super-fun-awesome prize (if they want it). Winners will be determined in a largely arbitrary and subjective way, but we would really like it if you try to account for all your uncertainties and possible sources of errors. Seriously, that will make us happy. The second class of problem we have is the always-ongoing set of Kapitsa Problems (see the Problems link above for a listing). These are a collection of problems written by the Russian physicist Pytor Kapitsa. If you provide the best solution to any of these problems you will also receive a super-fun-awesome prize and we will post your solution on THE INTERNET! One of our main goals here is to encourage discussion of fun problems, so we have set up a forum in which you can discuss the problems or your solutions with others. This is just an open Google Groups page we have created (see Discussion link above). We highly encourage participation in this group! Hopefully, this will allow us to build a nice little Physics Problems community. [1] I have no idea if this is actually true. [2] This "deadline" is contingent upon us receiving enough valid entries and our own laziness. So in an ideal world the challenge would last for a month, but in the real world that should only be taken as a hard lower bound. Questions or comments? Send us an email through the contact link above. Brought to you by The Virtuosi
12 Gallery: Jersey City pimp 'Prince' sentenced A colorful Jersey City pimp known for his outrageous hair styles and "Prince" moniker died in prison Thursday while serving an 18-year sentence he began in May 2010, officials said today. On Dec. 5, Allen "Prince" Brown, 50, was transferred to the hospice unit at South Woods State Prison in Bridgeton and days before his death he was moved to an area hospital where he succumbed to illness at 2:41 a.m. Thursday, New Jersey Department of Corrections spokesman Matt Schuman said. The resident of Jersey City's Society Hill development drove exotic sports cars, lured women and girls to Jersey City with promises of "the good life" and then forced them into prostitution, state prosecutors alleged. On April 1, 2010, Brown admitted in court that he used violence and drugs to control women and girls -- some as young as 17 -- and force them to engage in prostitution. If the prostitutes did not make the daily quota -- $500 for a weeknight and $1,000 on weekend nights -- they were refused drugs, beaten or denied entry into the house until the money was made. The charges resulted from "Operation Red Light," an investigation by the Division of Criminal Justice Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau and the Jersey City Police Department. Four other defendants in the case, including Brown's mother, pleaded guilty. Brown became an Internet sensation after The Jersey Journal posted his photo on Hudson County Now and readers responded to his wild and intricate hair style. "I'm a pimp, so let's just say I like to look good," Brown told The Jersey Journal in a jailhouse interview videotaped after his May 19, 2010, sentencing. "Most people are intrigued by my lifestyle. I'm something like a dark knight. It's a secret society that we live in that's rarely exposed to square workers." But Brown told The Jersey Journal he never used violence. "They needed to sit down and talk to someone who would totally understand them -- let them know that even though they were in this life, there would be better days ahead with me," Brown said of his prostitutes. "They had the right to choose if they wanted to be with me or be with some gorilla pimp that was probably busting their heads open." Brown, who suffered from cancer, said he wanted to try his hand at being a preacher when he finished his sentence. A funeral service for Brown will be held tomorrow at noon at Jackson Funeral Home in Jersey City. Editor's note: This story has been edited to include that Brown suffered from cancer. Jersey City pimp 'Prince,' and his hairstyle, became an Internet sensation Jersey City's Society Hill pimp 'Prince' sentenced to 18 years in prison Jersey City pimp Prince's mom, 73, pleads guilty to promoting prostitution Jersey City Society Hill pimp 'Prince' to be sentenced Jersey City pimp 'Prince' speaks of catching women, writing autobiography
At KitGuru we have covered MasterCase 5 from the time it appeared at Computex and again during our recent visit to the Cooler Master European HQ. It has been a long few months and now it is time to get away from words about concepts and instead dish up a review of the finished PC case shortly before it hits the shelves of your local retailer. The only thing that differentiates our upgraded case from an actual MasterCase Pro 5 was the single fan at the front. If we had been supplied with another 140mm fan it would be have become a Pro 5 from end to end. Watch via our VIMEO Channel (below) or over on YouTube HERE. Specification: Motherboard support : ATX, Micro-ATX, Mini-ITX : ATX, Micro-ATX, Mini-ITX Expansion slots : 7 : 7 Included fans : 1x 140mm front intake (2x 140mm intake for Pro), 1x 140mm rear exhaust : 1x 140mm front intake (2x 140mm intake for Pro), 1x 140mm rear exhaust Fan mounts : 1x 200mm or 2x 120/140mm front, 2x 120/140mm roof, 1x 120/140mm rear : 1x 200mm or 2x 120/140mm front, 2x 120/140mm roof, 1x 120/140mm rear 120mm radiator mounts : 120mm/240mm front, (120mm/240mm roof for Pro), 120mm rear : 120mm/240mm front, (120mm/240mm roof for Pro), 120mm rear 140mm radiator mounts : 140mm/280mm front, (140mm/280mm roof for Pro), 140mm rear : 140mm/280mm front, (140mm/280mm roof for Pro), 140mm rear 5.25″ drive bays : 2 : 2 Internal drive bays : 4x 2.5″, 2x 3.5” (5x 3.5” for Pro) : 4x 2.5″, 2x 3.5” (5x 3.5” for Pro) Dimensions: 548mm H x 512mm D x 235mm W Changing one model of case into another, similar, model isn’t especially surprising as companies such as Cooler Master clearly do exactly that during their production runs. ‘We’ll have 5,000 with a windowed side panel, then 2,000 with high air flow, followed up by 3,000 of the budget, stripped down model.’ The difference with MasterCase is that Cooler Master intends to supply the various parts and accessories through the retail channel. So the parts we received in plain brown boxes should all be on sale very soon. These are a windowed side panel (£17.77), mesh top cover kit (£12.09), dual drive bay (£9.24), triple drive bay (£10.67), and an SSD bay (£3.55). When Cooler Master releases the high end Maker 5 with a different front panel and a fan controller we have to hope they will come up with a number of other accessories. One option we would like to see is an I/O panel with USB 3.1 Type-C connector and we have to hope the Maker 5 front panel will fit the 5 and Pro 5 to blank off the optical drive bays for those people who don’t want them. Building a system inside the case is easy as there is plenty of space. The power supply cover is fixed in place so you have to slide the PSU in from the rear of the chassis, but other than that it is all plain sailing and there is a pleasing amount of space to tuck away cables and keep things tidy. As you will see in the video the larger cable management holes have grommets and hook and loop straps to secure the cables. When you go to one side or the other to route the 8-pin EPS cable or the front panel headers you are pretty much on your own and have to route cables through holes that were not necessarily put there for that task. Certainly the smaller holes do not have grommets, however the edges of the steelwork are smoothly rolled and there are no nasty sharp edges to damage either the builder or the components. During the build we could not find a single cable tie point, and this is despite the fact that Cooler Master includes no less than ten cable ties in the accessory pack. Using the mesh top cover kit is an interesting experience as the radiator mounting bracket lifts out of the top of the case which makes radiator installation incredibly simple. It is similar to the sliding rail used by Phanteks however the lift-off mesh top cover provides even better access on the Cooler Master model. Testing To put this case through its cooling paces we will be using a test system consisting of an Intel Core i7-3930K, GTX 780 graphics card and SSD storage drive. This system allows us to produce a substantial amount of heat and effectively test the Cooler Master MasterCase 5‘s cooling capabilities. For stress testing we use AIDA64 to create the maximum heat output by stressing both the CPU and GPU. Test System: Processor : 3.8GHz Intel Core i7-3930K : 3.8GHz Intel Core i7-3930K Motherboard : Asus X79 Sabertooth : Asus X79 Sabertooth CPU cooler : Corsair H100i 240mm : Corsair H100i 240mm Memory : 16GB G.Skill DDR3-1600MHz : 16GB G.Skill DDR3-1600MHz Graphics card : Palit JetStream GTX 780 6GB : Palit JetStream GTX 780 6GB Power supply : Seasonic Platinum Fanless 520W : Seasonic Platinum Fanless 520W Storage drives : 240GB OCZ AMD Radeon R7 SSD : 240GB OCZ AMD Radeon R7 SSD OS: Windows 8.1 64-bit. Cooling Performance The cooling system in this ‘hybrid’ 5/Pro 5 system with single 140mm fans at the front and rear, and a Corsair H100i liquid cooler in the roof, worked well. Mind you, we didn’t expect much else as the airflow is nice and direct with no significant obstructions. Air flows through the front, across the motherboard and graphics card and then either straight out the back or up and out through the liquid cooler. Acoustics Performance At idle this case is lovely and quiet but when the hardware is stressed the fans on the Corsair liquid cooler are clearly audible and aren’t subdued by the chassis. This is undoubtedly due to the mesh design used in the top cover which allows air to flow out of the case with the minimum of restriction, however it also fails to keep the noise level especially low. No complaints here, it’s a simple trade-off that works fairly well. Closing Thoughts MasterCase 5 is a decent case that is relatively pricey at £89.99. If it were priced at £80 or £70 it would take the fight to Phanteks and Fractal Design, but as things stand it is a bit on the high side. One factor that may change our perception is the range of promised Cooler Master accessories for this range of cases. If they deliver some interesting products at sensible prices it will give MasterCase 5 a degree of flexibility that will lift it out of the ordinary. Until we see the accessories and the Maker 5, we are left with the MasterCase Pro 5 and this is a fine case that is priced fairly at £109.99 on OverclockersUK, but once again the accessories could also enhance this model. Pro 5 looks good, is fairly well built, keeps your hardware cool and has enough space to hide cables and other bits and pieces from sight. We like MasterCase Pro 5 despite its imperfections, in particular the lack of cable tie points. MasterCase Pro 5 is good and gives us real hope that Maker 5 could be a star in the offing. Discuss on our Facebook page, over HERE. Pros: Neat styling on the Pro 5. Useful carry handles on the MasterCase 5. Decent levels of cooling with top radiator on MasterCase Pro 5. Plenty of space for tucking cables out of sight. Optional locations for 2.5-inch SSD trays. Easy to relocate hard drive cages. Solid construction. Cons: No cable tie points The threads for most of the thumbscrews were tight and required care. Side panels appear identical but are not interchangeable. User guide is tiny, albeit a minor point. We are waiting for the promised wider array of accessories. KitGuru says: With the tiny differential of £20 between the two models it makes little sense to choose the basic MasterCase 5 when the upgraded Pro 5 offers you so much more.
Screen Daily has posted their discussion with Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno from this fall's Tokyo International Film Festival. Going into the event, Studio Ghibli co-founder, producer and former president Toshio Suzuki called Anno a next-Miyzaki, saying that Anno "will be the one to lead Japanese animation into the next decade." Anno discounted this, saying “Oh that’s just something Suzuki said. I didn’t take it too seriously.” And, he discounted working with Western creators. After accounting for his work in live-action, including Love And Pop, about the practice of ‘compensated dating’, ritual, about a washed-up director and his relationship with a psychologically disturbed woman, and the far less-realist and more lighthearted Cutie Honey, Anno discussed what was special about working in animation, and Japanese animation specifically. “There are certain things that just can’t be done in animation - the characters are symbolic and can’t reach the same depth of emotion as, say, the actress in ritual,” he explains. But he adds quickly: “Only Japanese animation really explores our interior world and emotions. Japan is probably the only country that makes animation for adults as well as children.” On working with international collaborators, or assisting on live-action adaptations of his work... “The mental structure is too different between Hollywood and Japan,” he says. “There may be some Japanese film-makers who can collaborate with Western creators, but I’m not one of them.” For more from Anno, including comments on his Cold War childhood and fascination with destruction and creation, see Screen Daily's interview. ----- Scott Green is editor and reporter for anime and manga at geek entertainment site Ain't It Cool News. Follow him on Twitter at @aicnanime.
You’ve heard of Smart cars. Well, it looks like Google’s self-driving cars will be considerably smarter. Patents published in recent weeks show that people working on Google’s autonomous vehicle program have kicked around ideas like calling on humans to take control and alerting pedestrians to nearby vehicles. But perhaps most interestingly, there’s a patent on a system for using hand gestures to control your vehicle’s accessories. These patents show a highly sophisticated system that could one day be the future of transportation for millions — if Google can execute on its plans, which first came to light last year. It’s become clear that the Google cars could already be a huge jump ahead of contemporary ones. An early prototype last year eliminated standard components like mirrors and pedals. The new patents give some insight into the possible innards of these systems. Of course, the existence of the patents doesn’t mean that these features will be part of the cars, if and when those cars are built. The company might well have run tests before or after applying for the patents and then subsequently scrapped the proposed systems. Or it may scrap them in the future. Still, the patents give an intriguing glimpse at how thoroughly Google is rethinking how cars work. Google declined to provide further information on these technologies. 1) Determining when to drive autonomously Image Credit: Screen shot One of the tricky issues with autonomous cars is what to do if drivers want — or need — to take over from the computer and drive the car themselves. This patent, filed in March 2014 as a “continuation” of a 2012 patent application, suggests Google wants to give people an opportunity to take control of these vehicles under certain circumstances. The technology covered in the patent shows how various sensors can pick up information and compare it with maps and data on regular traffic patterns. A big enough deviation from the norm can trigger an alert to the person in the driver’s seat. At that point, a driver could take control of the vehicle. But if that doesn’t happen, the patent shows how a Google car could slow down or move safely into a different lane. 2) Pedestrian notifications Image Credit: Screen shot This patent, filed in December 2013 as a continuation of a 2012 patent, shows how a Google car could respond to pedestrians appearing in the path where the car is headed. See, when people are driving cars, they can give a hand signal or say something to a pedestrian in addition to slowing down or stopping the car. Even a simple nod of the head can convey enough information to let a pedestrian know that it’s safe to cross in front of the car. But a self-driving car on its own might be limited in its ability to communicate with pedestrians. This system could potentially solve that problem. The patent contains a system for displaying signs or instructions for pedestrians on a screen mounted on the car. Another system proposed in the patent is a message for pedestrians that plays through a speaker on the car. 3) Gesture-based automotive controls Image Credit: Screen shot Google filed this patent in 2012. It documents a system for recording three-dimensional images inside a vehicle and then detecting predetermined gestures in certain areas inside the vehicle that correspond to certain functions for the vehicle. Imagine sticking up your index finger and middle finger on your left hand and waving them near your ear. That — or some other swiping, pointing, tapping, grasping, or pinching gesture — could be an acceptable sign for the car to take an action with this technology. Actions mentioned in the patent adjusting a seat, changing the speed of the fan, making the in-car temperature hotter or colder, opening or closing a window, and changing windshield-wiper and cruise-control settings. People could learn pre-set gestures, or different drivers could come up with their own customized gestures, while a face-recognition system could identify who’s who. The gestures could be safer than, say, glancing at the dashboard and fumbling with buttons to do any of these things. The patent also contains an implementation of the technology in vehicles featuring sensors of various types that can operate in autonomous mode. In that case, the driver may be able to give input through a touchscreen or voice commands. Taken together, all of these systems could come in handy for the person in the driver’s seat — whether they are inside an autonomous vehicle or not.
Economic Club of New York New York, N.Y. Today, I want to speak to you about the current state of our securities markets – an issue that I know is on your minds and one that is well-suited for the financial capital of the world. The U.S. securities markets are the largest and most robust in the world, and they are fundamental to the global economy. They transform the savings of investors into capital for thousands of companies, add to nest eggs, send our children to college, turn American ingenuity into tomorrow’s innovation, finance critical public infrastructure, and help transfer unwanted financial risks. The state and quality of our equity markets in particular have received a great deal of attention lately, with a discussion that has expanded well beyond those who regularly think and write about these markets to include every day investors concerned about the investments they make and the savings they depend on. I have been closely focused on these issues since I joined the SEC about a year ago, and I welcome this broader dialogue. Two weeks ago, just a few blocks from here, I spoke about the SEC’s plan to strengthen our current equity market structure and make it more transparent. In addition to outlining a focused review of our rules and targeted initiatives, I emphasized our commitment to comprehensively review and address core market structure policy issues, such as the overall fairness of trading in high-speed markets, changes in the number and nature of trading venues, and conflicts of interest at broker-dealers. Today, I would like to continue and broaden the discussion about these fundamental issues, focusing on the changing nature of one of the most basic of securities market functions – intermediation. At its simplest, intermediation means the services offered by market professionals to execute the buy and sell orders of investors – services offered by brokers, dealers, and exchanges. Just as in other segments of the economy, powerful forces of competition and technology can transform these services, and have done so. A central challenge for us at the SEC is to adopt regulatory approaches that ensure intermediaries harness the forces of technology and competition to better serve the needs of investors in each of the markets we oversee – not just in equities, but also in fixed income and derivatives. To understand this challenge, I want to first talk a bit about why competition and technology are so important to how we address market structure issues generally, and the role of intermediation in particular. I will then turn to contrasting markets to illustrate the complexity of our task as regulators when we grapple with these forces: namely, how the equity and fixed income markets have been affected – or not affected – by competition and technology. Competition and Technology in Market Structure Just like the U.S. macroeconomy, all of the securities markets operate within a “structure” of rules, technology, market practices, and other constraints that establish the boundaries for interactions between buyers and sellers. It is important to recognize that this “structure” does not just mean regulation, but also the much more complex interaction among regulation and other factors like competition and technology. Every incremental change in these interactions can produce significant, sometimes unintended economic consequences that may not become evident for a period of years or even decades. This dynamic reality means that we should not be chasing regulatory solutions that “fix” our market structure once and for all. Our markets are not broken and they are not static. In that sense, our work on market structure is never finished – the speed with which technology and markets change makes that impossible – instead, we must always be focused on what in our market structure can be improved for the benefit of investors and companies. Taking this approach requires expanding our perspective both in terms of time – considering developments well past the last few years – and in terms of markets – understanding the differences across markets, rather than simply excusing them as an inevitable consequence of different products and structures. If we stand too close to the particular problems in a particular market structure at a particular time, we may fail to fully understand the broader forces that are at work and the regulatory choices that are available. Consider the connection that some have asserted between the rise of high-frequency trading and the implementation of Regulation NMS in 2007. Regulation NMS, as most of you know, is the Commission’s most recent comprehensive set of rules designed to carry out our statutory mandate to establish a national market system for equities.[1] Regulation NMS includes a so-called “trade-through” provision that generally prohibits trades at prices inferior to the best quoted prices. Some have argued that this provision facilitated the fragmentation of volume among many new trading venues, enabling high-frequency trading to flourish by exploiting the fastest connections among these venues. Given the current prevalence of high-frequency traders in our equities markets – some put the number at fifty percent of daily volume[2] – one might reasonably ask whether Regulation NMS did in fact change the “rules of the game” in favor of speed. As a regulator assessing our markets, however, we cannot rely simply on the temporal juxtaposition of Regulation NMS and high-frequency trading. The issues and forces at play are more complex. This can be seen in the data from other markets both in the United States and around the world – many of which are also now characterized by high levels of high-frequency trading, but none of which have their own Regulation NMS. In this light, the rise of high-frequency trading emerges as a more complicated story than simply the unintended consequences of regulation. Take, for example, the “E-Mini” S&P 500 futures contract, which is one of the most actively traded products in the United States, and which is not subject to Regulation NMS or SEC oversight. Unlike trading in the equity markets, which is spread among multiple exchanges and off-exchange venues, all trading in the E-Mini is centralized on a single market, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. The CME does not use the pricing structure – you may have heard of the “maker-taker” model – used by most U.S. equities exchanges. Indeed, in most respects, the market structure for the E-Mini is nothing like the market structure for U.S. equities, yet empirical studies indicate – very much like the equity markets – that high-frequency trading firms account for more than 50% of E-Mini trading.[3] Comparisons like this rather basic one demonstrate the need for a wider lens in evaluating market structure issues and proposals for changes. That wider lens immediately – and inevitably – brings competition and technology into view. Intermediation in the Securities Markets Perhaps nowhere has the impact of the forces of technology and competition been more profound than in how intermediation has changed over the last twenty years in equities and listed options. At least since 1934, when Congress first mandated regulation of trading in the U.S. securities markets, intermediation has been defined by the respective functions of exchanges, brokers, and dealers. Exchanges provide facilities that bring together purchasers and sellers of securities, generally for a specified fee. Brokers are agents – they engage in the business of effecting transactions in securities for the account of others, generally for an explicit commission. And dealers are principals – they engage in the business of buying and selling securities for their own account, and generally are compensated implicitly through trading profits. And some of these dealers are high-frequency traders. To complicate things further, the neat lines that Congress drew in 1934 have not resulted in models of intermediation that are clear-cut or uniform across securities markets. Most obviously, the functions of broker and dealer often have been combined – there is a reason we call them “broker-dealers.” The conflict between investors’ interests and the intermediary’s interests that can be created by this dual role has been a source of serious concern since the SEC was created. Another type of dual role and conflict has arisen when exchanges and dealers have acted collectively to control competition among dealers in setting their prices, as occurred in the NASDAQ market in the 1990s. In addition to conflicts of interest, intermediation – when it is unnecessary, inefficient, or uncompetitive – can also unnecessarily increase the costs to investors. The explicit fees charged by exchanges and brokers, for example, may be excessive in the absence of effective competition. Serious concerns have also been raised about excessive intermediation by dealers. Embedded in trading profits, the costs of dealer intermediation are typically much more difficult to measure – and much less transparent – than the costs of exchange and broker intermediation. First, dealers may insert themselves between buyers and sellers when they are not really needed, which is most likely to occur in actively traded products for which there are often a large number of investors seeking to trade. Second, because their profits and costs are not transparent, dealers may trade at prices that are not determined by effective competition. Given that a great many securities products are not actively traded, dealers continue to play a critical role in our markets. An important challenge for the SEC has long been how to ensure that dealers have the economic incentives to continue to play this role while avoiding undue costs for investors from excessive intermediation. Putting Technology and Competition to Work for Investors Given the importance of intermediation in our markets – and the related, persistent concerns of conflicts of interest and investors’ costs – we must continually rethink the way we look at “intermediation.” In particular, for a given market, we must ask whether intermediation has appropriately harnessed competition and technology in the service of investors. Are the benefits being realized by investors? Are there unintended consequences that are adversely affecting investors? Is regulation appropriately tailored to the competitive dynamics and technological developments of the market? Stepping back to look at the contrast between the equity and fixed income markets may help us better understand these questions and the inherent complexities of the regulatory decisions for the SEC. The Equity Markets In the U.S. equity markets, competition and technology have had a profound effect over many years, generating enormous benefits for investors and issuers. Equity markets today are host to a diverse set of exchanges and alternative trading systems that match buyers and sellers. Dealer intermediation is substantial in both types of matching venues. But many orders are not intermediated on these matching venues. They are being executed by broker-dealers before they ever reach one. Off-exchange trading now represents more than 35% of equity volume, compared to just 25% five years ago, and the majority of this volume reflects broker-dealers executing directly the orders of both retail and institutional traders.[4] Today, even in the very lively debate about the various aspects of equity market structure, one would be hard-pressed to find concerns about a lack of competition among equities exchanges and other intermediaries, or that they have failed to take advantage of new technologies. At least with respect to exchanges, this is a major change from the past, where a primary concern was for years the potential for dominant markets to stand in the way of the forces of technology and competition. This concern was certainly at the forefront in 1975, when Congress amended the Exchange Act to direct the Commission to facilitate the creation of a national market system.[5] And it continued into the adoption of Regulation NMS, with fears that competition sparked by the new rules would be limited to the NYSE and NASDAQ.[6] We are now living in a much different world, where many are questioning whether the pendulum has swung too far and we have too many venues, creating unnecessary complexity and costs for investors. Over the last 40 years, the SEC has worked hard to further the statutory objectives of the national market system, which include the efficient execution of transactions, price transparency, competition, best execution, and an opportunity for investor orders to meet directly. But, as previous Commissions have noted repeatedly,[7] these objectives are not entirely aligned. In particular, the goal of competition among trading venues can lead to what we generally call “fragmentation,” where orders may be spread among competing venues. Too much fragmentation may in turn detract from efficient execution and an opportunity for investor orders to meet directly by creating opportunities for excessive intermediation. The SEC has sought paths to balance these objectives in advancing the interests of investors. No one, however, could credibly claim that this task is an easy one. For example, one serious challenge arose in the 1990s in the market structure for NASDAQ-listed stocks. Certain dealers on NASDAQ had taken action to discourage competition on quotes and to maintain wider spreads, which helped preserve compensation for the dealers as intermediaries providing liquidity.[8] Institutional investors responded to the increases in their trading costs caused by the wider spreads, finding ways to directly negotiate better prices with different dealers and take advantage of an alternative trading venue known as an ECN – an electronic communication network. While both institutional investors and dealers traded on the ECN, retail investors had no access to the more favorable prices quoted on the ECN. But brokers that handled retail orders directly benefitted from the artificially wide spreads created by the collusive scheme because they either traded with their customers directly as dealers or sold their order flow for a fee to other dealers. The SEC ultimately addressed these issues in 1996 by requiring that the NASDAQ quoting system be opened up to prices of all participants, not just dealers, and by emphasizing that brokers that handled retail order flow were required to consider opportunities for price improvement on the displayed prices.[9] These steps served to empower the ECNs, unleashing competitive forces that led to a major shift in trading volume from the NASDAQ dealers to the ECNs. By 2004, multiple competing ECNs and NASDAQ matching systems shared approximately 70% of volume.[10] Trading on these matching systems was highly automated. ECNs disseminated market data directly to their subscribers, as well as to the public. ECNs also used the pricing structure used today by most exchanges. Finally, the speed and electronic nature of the ECNs proved attractive to proprietary firms that engaged in high-volume algorithmic strategies. Before long, these firms became known as high-frequency traders. If these key features of the equity market structure in 2004 sound familiar to you, they should. Though it originated well before Regulation NMS was implemented in 2007, this structure is very similar to what we have today – and it was created through intense competition and tremendous technological changes, not just SEC actions. We are addressing a number of fundamental issues in our comprehensive review of equity market structure. But, as we examine those issues through our wider lenses, this thumbnail history suggests two current lessons for our approach. First, even if it were a desired objective, the impact of technology and competition on intermediation in our modern equity market structure cannot be undone through minor regulatory surgery – it is the culmination of over a quarter century of evolution, much of which has benefited investors. Second, given the pace of technological change and the intensity of competition in the equity markets, we must always focus on ensuring that our rules are keeping pace. If they do not, as they did not with the advent of electronic trading, our obligation to ensure that our markets continue to serve investors and companies will be compromised. The Fixed Income Markets With our expanded regulatory lens, let us now consider the fixed income markets, where there is no equivalent of Regulation NMS and the nature of intermediation has changed relatively little over the years. It is important to remember that, while almost 7,000 issuers currently have $27.8 trillion of securities trading on our equity exchanges, there also are more than 40,000 corporate bond issues outstanding, totaling approximately $11.3 trillion in principal amount, and more than one million municipal bond issues outstanding, representing about $3.7 trillion in principal amount.[11] Trading in these massive fixed income markets, however, remains highly decentralized, occurring primarily through dealers, where costs of intermediation are much more difficult to measure than in other, more transparent venues. And while transaction prices for both corporate and municipal bonds are now available to investors shortly after the trade occurs, the amount of pricing information available before a trade – bids and offers – is very limited, and is certainly not widely available to the investing public. Here, in contrast to the equity markets where the concern perhaps is whether technology and competition have taken us too far, one might instead ask for the fixed income markets whether the transformative power of these forces has been allowed to operate to the extent it should to benefit investors. It is striking that the dramatic technological advances that have transformed the equity markets over the past decade have had only a modest impact on the trading of fixed income securities. While today there are a number of electronic systems that facilitate trading in fixed income securities, they tend to be “inventory-based,” providing information primarily on the bonds their participating dealers would like to sell. In addition, information about the trading interest reflected on these systems often is restricted to participating dealers and select customers. So, although new technologies are gradually being incorporated into the trading of fixed income securities, producing efficiencies and some pre-trade pricing information, it appears they are being used primarily to support the traditional dealer model. I am therefore concerned that in the fixed income markets, technology is being leveraged simply to make the old, decentralized method of trading more efficient for market intermediaries, and its potential to achieve more widespread benefits for investors, including the broad availability of pre-trade pricing information, lower search costs, and greater price competition – especially for retail investors – is not being realized. To partially address this concern, and to help assure that investors receive the best prices reasonably available, I have asked FINRA and the MSRB to prioritize their constructive, ongoing work on two important, but in my opinion readily achievable, initiatives to improve the quality and transparency of the prices received by investors. First, to assure that brokers are subject to meaningful obligations to achieve the best executions for investors in both corporate and municipal bond transactions, we will be working closely with the MSRB in the coming months as they finalize a robust best execution rule for the municipal securities market, and with FINRA and the MSRB as they work together to provide practical guidance on how brokers might effectively achieve best execution.[12] The development of a workable best execution rule for both the corporate and municipal bond markets is vital for the protection of investors and enhancing price competition. Second, to help investors better understand the cost of their fixed income transactions, we will work with FINRA and the MSRB in their efforts to develop rules by the end of this year regarding disclosure of markups in “riskless principal” transactions for both corporate and municipal bonds. These transactions occur when dealers buy and sell a fixed income security at substantially the same price and time to fill two customer orders. Markups – the dealers’ compensation – for these transactions can be readily identified because they are based on the difference in prices on the two contemporaneous transactions, which already must be reported promptly to FINRA and the MSRB for public posting after the trade. This information should help customers assess the reasonableness of their dealer’s compensation and should deter overcharging. The need for markup disclosure is increasingly important as riskless principal transactions become more common in the fixed income markets. And the importance of markup disclosure is especially pronounced in the current low-yield environment, where the amount of an intermediary’s compensation can have a measurable impact on the yield that an investor receives. More broadly, we must take steps to ensure that the benefits of technological advances are realized by all investors in the fixed income markets. Accordingly, I have asked the staff to focus on a regulatory initiative to enhance the public availability of pre-trade pricing information in the fixed income markets, particularly with respect to smaller retail-size orders. This initiative – referenced in the Commission’s 2012 Report on the Municipal Securities Market[13] – would require the public dissemination of the best prices generated by alternative trading systems and other electronic dealer networks in the corporate and municipal bond markets. This potentially transformative change would broaden access to pricing information that today is available only to select parties. I am, however, also acutely aware of the need to carefully calibrate any regulatory proposal in this area to best achieve its goals and minimize unintended consequences. In particular, we must be mindful to strike the right balance of compelling the disclosure of meaningful pre-trade pricing information without discouraging market participants from producing it because of concerns that it will compromise trading positions. We will engage in thorough discussions with market participants, as well as careful staff analysis of the pricing data already available to assess how best to achieve our regulatory objectives. Properly implemented, rules providing for better pre-trade pricing transparency have the potential to transform the fixed income markets by promoting price competition, improving market efficiency, and facilitating best execution. Conclusion The goal is to fully understand the role of technology and competition in today’s markets and to help these powerful forces work for investors in every securities market, including the fixed income markets. Only with this broader perspective –one guided by the daily experience of investors – will we ensure that our securities market structure continues to support a strong, growing global economy. At the SEC, we are fully and continuously committed to that objective. Thank you.
Weekly Standard Editor William Kristol and American Enterprise Institute Critical Threats Project Director (yes, these people give themselves titles like this) Frederick W. Kagan have a piece up entitled "What to Do in Iraq," which—spoiler alert!—advocates more U.S. military force, more boots on the ground. Excerpt: This would require a willingness to send American forces back to Iraq. It would mean not merely conducting U.S. air strikes, but also accompanying those strikes with special operators, and perhaps regular U.S. military units, on the ground. This is the only chance we have to persuade Iraq's Sunni Arabs that they have an alternative to joining up with al Qaeda or being at the mercy of government-backed and Iranian-backed death squads, and that we have not thrown in with the Iranians. It is also the only way to regain influence with the Iraqi government and to stabilize the Iraqi Security Forces on terms that would allow us to demand the demobilization of Shi’a militias and to move to limit Iranian influence and to create bargaining chips with Iran to insist on the withdrawal of their forces if and when the situation stabilizes. In a nod to their diminished reputations as armchair generals, Kristol and Kagan tack on this defensive ending: Now is not the time to re-litigate either the decision to invade Iraq in 2003 or the decision to withdraw from it in 2011. The crisis is urgent, and it would be useful to focus on a path ahead rather than indulge in recriminations. All paths are now fraught with difficulties, including the path we recommend. But the alternatives of permitting a victory for al Qaeda and/or strengthening Iran would be disastrous. It's never really the right time for neoconservatives to "re-litigate" their past mistakes, since the consequences from them are constantly filling the world with new Critical Threats. But that really shouldn't stop the rest of us. Want to dislodge the rest of your lunch? Go back and read the entirety of Bill Kristol's February 2, 2002 testimony in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about the next steps in the War on Terror. Here's a section that's particularly poignant this week, given the awful news coming out of the Middle East: The one point I would make is that I think in all the discussion of risks we have lost sight of some of the rewards of a reasonably friendly, reasonably pro-Western government in Iraq. It would really transform the Middle East. A friendly, free, and oil-producing Iraq would leave Iran isolated. I think Syria would be cowed. The Palestinians would, I think, be more willing to negotiate seriously with Israel after this evidence of American willingness to exert influence in the region. Saudi Arabia would have much less leverage, if only because of Iraqi oil production coming on line, with us and with Europe. Removing Saddam Hussein and his henchmen from power would be a genuine opportunity, I think, to transform the political landscape of the Middle East. The rewards would be very great, and I would also say the risks of failing to do this I think are very great. After the jump more jaw-dropping wrongness from Kristol (and friends!) 12-plus years ago: The Bush doctrine seeks to eliminate dictatorial regimes developing these weapons of mass destruction, especially such regimes that have a link to terror, and they all happen to do so. So there is an almost perfect correlation between terror-sponsoring regimes and regimes developing weapons of mass destruction. [...] As my friend Charles Krauthammer wrote in the Washington Post last week: The good news about Iran is that you clearly do have opposition to the regime. There is something of "a revolution from below" going on there. The question for us is how we can accelerate that revolution. One answer is "by the power of example and overthrowing neighboring radical regimes" would, I think, show the people of Iran, it would inspire the people of Iran, "show the fragility of dictatorship," show that dictatorship is not the inevitable way in the Middle East or in the Arab world. It would "challenge the mullahs' mandate from heaven and encourage disaffected Iranians to rise." As Krauthammer points out: "First Afghanistan to the East, next Iraq to the West, and then Iran." I think that is a reasonable strategic template, stipulating always the uncertainties of war and that one has to be ready for anything in this broad war on terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. Flashback: Read the difference between the "Bill Kristol camp" and the "Nick Gillespie camp" during the near-U.S. war against Syria last year. Then read Reason's forum on the Iraq War, 10 years later.
Laureate Education, a for-profit education company with close ties to the Clinton family, suddenly swung to a dramatic third quarter loss of $103 million, a stark contrast to $81 million dollars in positive earnings it reported in the third quarter of 2016, the Daily Caller News Foundation has learned. The loss was posted by the company on its Form 10-Q that outlines quarterly earnings and losses. The $103 million loss was most dramatic in its earnings per share. The company enjoyed a positive earnings per share of 66 cent in 2016. The company’s earning per share today is $1.02 loss per share. Illustrating a potentially fragile financial state, the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) notified Laureate on Oct. 12 the company faced a “failure to meet standards of financial responsibility for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016,” according to the 10-Q. A failure to meet financial responsibility means a company has a “failing financial responsibility composite score” devised on a scale by DOE, Section 498(c) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, says. The determination means the federal department did not deem Laureate financially responsible. The company raised $137,000 in new letters of credit winning “provisional” certification from DOE, according to its 10-Q. After going public in February, four of its top directors announced their resignations including Laureate founder Doug Becker who was the company’s CEO. Laureate is the second company with ties to the Clintons that is running into financial trouble. Earlier this year Joule Unlimited, where John Podesta once served on its board, closed doors. Podesta was the national campaign chairman of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. The entire year hasn’t been good for Laureate. For the last nine months of 2017 the company suffered a loss of $106 million, according to the 10-Q. The firm enjoyed positive earnings of $327 million in the first nine months of 2016. The basic and diluted earnings per share went from a positive $2.50 in 2016 to a loss of $1.77 in 2017. The company has been tied to the Clinton Foundation and to former President Bill Clinton and has operated as a “pay-to-play” company. Over a five year period, Laureate paid Clinton $17.6 million to serve as its part-time “honorary chancellor.” Laureate in turn donated between $1 to $5 million to the Clinton Foundation. When Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State, the World Bank gave Laureate $200 million in investment funds. The United States is the largest donor to the bank and exercises great influence over it. The bank president at the time of the investment was Robert Zoellick, who later joined Laureate as a director when he left the World Bank. Secretary Clinton’s U.S. Agency for International Development also gave an additional $17 million to another entity called the International Youth Foundation. The company’s president was Becker, who is the now CEO of Laureate. Laureate became a publicly-held company again in February. It previously was a public company until 2007 when it went private, purchased by a consortium led by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., now known as KKR. The leverage buyout burdened the firm with $4 billion in debt. At the time, the consortium paid $60.50 per share. Today, Laureate’s stock price plummeted, losing nearly 14 percent of its value on the NASDAQ. It settled at $11.61. Follow Richard on Twitter Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
Passion projects I just wanted to say I’m very excited about two upcoming videos. They have a bit more cinematic production quality than my typical web videos. 1) A fun little project, due by end of November. I am putting the finishing touches on it now. I might even show a sneak peak, this coming weekend at RetroGameCon, even though it’s not 100% complete yet. It’s a funny idea I’ve had in mind, even back when I was busy with the AVGN Movie. Even though it’s a shorter video, it’s been in the works for a long time. I actually shot a scene for it as early as last December 2014. The majority of it was shot this past summer 2015, and since then, I’ve been editing visual/audio. The reason it’s taking so long is because I’ve been taking several breaks to work on all the other stuff (AVGN, Board James, Monster Madness). I’ve kept it secret all this time, so the joke will pay off best. I can’t wait for you all to see it. 2) The Board James season finale, due early December. For the time being, this is the final episode that is planned, so I’m going out with a big one. At the beginning of 2015, I plotted out 8 episodes with continuity between them. This is the last of those. Of course there could possibly be more episodes in the future. Just like how after the DreamPhone episode, there was a long break as I shifted focus to AVGN and other things. This might be the most ambitious web video I have ever done. I have been spending every waking hour on it. And if you count the total running time of all the 2015 Board James episodes, it’s almost as if I’ve made an entire feature film in a single year. And of course, after both these projects are done, I will begin working on an AVGN episode. -James
Composition Edit History Edit Impact Edit Chart history Edit Alternative versions Edit The 1997 Roger Glover Remix version which appears on the 25th Anniversary Edition reissue of Machine Head features a version of the song with an alternate Blackmore guitar solo recorded at the time, and includes Ian Gillan uttering the phrase "Break a leg, Frank", among other comments. This is a reference to injuries that Frank Zappa had sustained as a result of being attacked onstage by an audience member at a concert in London, six days after the Montreux fire. A broken leg was among those injuries. features a version of the song with an alternate Blackmore guitar solo recorded at the time, and includes Ian Gillan uttering the phrase "Break a leg, Frank", among other comments. This is a reference to injuries that Frank Zappa had sustained as a result of being attacked onstage by an audience member at a concert in London, six days after the Montreux fire. A broken leg was among those injuries. The version that appears on Deep Purple in Concert also includes Gillan's "Break a leg" comment. Personnel Edit Rock Aid Armenia version Edit In popular culture Edit In world records Edit In 1994, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 1,322 guitarists gathered to play the world-famous riff all at the same time for a place in the Guinness Book of World Records . [41] . On Sunday 3 June 2007, in Kansas City this record was topped with 1,721 guitarists. [41] Just 20 days later, in the German city of Leinfelden-Echterdingen by the group 'Party Blues In Bb' with over 1,800 other people involved. [42] Just 20 days later, in the German city of Leinfelden-Echterdingen by the group 'Party Blues In Bb' with over 1,800 other people involved. The record was again topped on 1 May 2009, in Wrocław, Poland, when 6,346 guitar players, joined by current Deep Purple guitarist Steve Morse, performed the song during the Thanks Jimi Festival.[43][44] Further reading Edit
Terror finance investigations triple over past year; more than 100 people under suspicion; $50m funnelled out of Australia to terror groups Posted Australia's financial intelligence agency is monitoring more than 100 people suspected of funding terrorism, with the number of reports to the regulator tripling over the past year. AUSTRAC, the Federal Government agency in charge of fighting money laundering and terrorism financing, revealed in its annual report a spike in terrorism-related "suspicious matter reports" from 118 in 2013/14 to 367 in 2014/15. "The volume of terrorism financing in Australia is linked to the number of Australians travelling to join terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq," AUSTRAC's report stated. "We have been monitoring more than 100 people of interest and keep our partner agencies informed about their financial activities." Of the 81,074 suspicious reports received in the past financial year, 536 were related to terrorism investigations. These reports had a monetary value of approximately $53 million, of which $11 million was cash. AUSTRAC said the funding was for individual attacks and operations, but also for sustaining terrorist groups. "It supports the less violent or obvious aspects of a group's operations, such as living expenses, travel, training, propaganda activities, and compensation for wounded fighters or the families of terrorists who have died," the report said. The agency said it had been working closely with the private sector and as a direct result there was a 300 per cent increase in reports relating to suspected terrorism funding. When Australia's terror alert was raised to high in October last year, the Government increased AUSTRAC's funding by $20 million to stop cash being funnelled to terrorists from Australia. The Federal Government is looking to boost regional efforts to track terrorism financing and proceeds of crime by co-hosting a summit with Indonesia in Sydney later this month. "The summit will be an opportunity to secure regional undertakings to collaborate and share financial and other intelligence to the fullest extent to identify, understand and counter threats posed by terrorism financing, foreign terrorist fighters and violent extremism," the Minister assisting the Prime Minister on Counter-Terrorism Michael Keenan said in August. Topics: terrorism, federal-government, australia
Despite all the window dressing of spread formations and uptempo pace, Urban Meyer's offenses have always been smash-mouth rushing attacks at their core. As this year's edition was busy putting on a running-game clinic midway in the second half of their final regular season contest, Meyer's offense would sneak in a wrinkle that went unnoticed by many. Given that Ezekiel Elliott's performance would be the headline of the Buckeyes' efforts that day, it's no surprise that a 12-yard run by Curtis Samuel didn't register with many viewers at the time. However, after taking a second look at this third-down conversion, we may have seen a new addition to Meyer's already-vaunted ground attack. The first thing we notice is the personnel and formation, in which quarterback J.T. Barrett is all alone in the backfield with Elliott standing on the sideline. While running an 'empty' formation with five wide receivers isn't new for the Buckeyes, the alignment of receivers Jalin Marshall and Curtis Samuel certainly was. Each member of the duo is aligned as a wing, just to the outside of and a yard behind the tackle to their sides, flanking Barrett. At the snap, the play happens so quickly that it appears to be a "speed option" to the left with Samuel acting as the pitch-man to the outside. In reality though, the play was a triple-option, which gave Barrett an initial option that hasn't been seen from Meyer's offenses for quite some time. During his time at the University of Florida, Meyer gained fame for tearing up opposing defenses by calling for a shovel pass to tight end Aaron Hernandez that seemingly always ripped off huge chunks of yardage. Lined up in his normal spot next to the tackle and opposite the running back, Hernandez would follow the back-side, pulling guard who would lead him through the hole after taking the pitch from quarterback Tim Tebow. Tebow of course is running a triple-option much like an old-school split-veer or wishbone quarterback would have in the 1970s or 80s, or the way flexbone signal-callers are still doing at Georgia Tech, Navy, and a handful of other schools today. However, instead of handing off to a fullback on a classic "dive" to gain yards inside, the tight end-shovel takes its place, giving the QB an easy way to get the ball upfield if the defense reacts too aggressively to the outside pitch. However, instead of just looking for a random hole to open for the shovel pass, the offensive line blocks the play as if it where the "Power" run concept with a pulling guard to kick out the defensive end if he doesn't step inside. That end is the first man the QB reads on the play, with a flowing outside linebacker or defensive back acting as the second man to determine if the QB should keep or pitch. The concept gives the offense three potential ball-carriers, which is a great solution for a unit like the 2015 Buckeyes who feature more than a handful of dangerous runners with the ball in their hands. But although tight ends Nick Vannett and Marcus Baugh might be talented players in their own right, they probably don't strike fear in the hearts of defenders when running in the open field the same way Marshall and Samuel might. One of the issues with the Buckeye offense throughout much of the season was a stated devotion to getting touches for the many play-makers on offense, which often ran counter to the natural flow of the play-calling. By implementing a more option-focused attack that put any number of dangerous runners in a position to pick up yardage based solely on the defense's reaction, the Buckeyes could much better balance this desire. Marshall lined up in this case as the "shovel" option, coming across the option from right to left. Meanwhile, Samuel backpedaled to get depth at the snap, looking to get one yard behind and five yards wide of Barrett as the quarterback rolled left. To make his decision, Barrett first reads defensive end Chris Wormley (#43), who is left unblocked. As Wormley steps down out of instinct to take away any inside action, Barrett knows the shovel isn't there. However, as the linebackers read the 'Power' blocking scheme from the line with the pulling guard, they are late to get outside where Barrett is waiting for the other unblocked player, Desmond Morgan (#3) to decide whether to take on either the quarterback or the pitch-man. Barrett intentionally gains more width than depth in his route around the outside, preparing to potentially cut back against the grain should the defense play the pitch man. His eyes are on the outside shoulder of Morgan, waiting to see him turn and square up to make the tackle. As soon as the quarterback sees this motion from the optioned defender, it's time to pitch outside. As interesting and innovative as this concept may be, there must be counters to it in order to keep the defense on its toes. Meyer was able to hide the triple/shovel-option in Florida by running it from base formations where countless other concepts could be called. This look from the Buckeyes though would be a dead giveaway the next time it shows up on the field, meaning additional plays must be added to the package. But just three plays later the Buckeyes would line up in the same look, this time bringing one of the wings in motion behind the QB before the snap and once again appearing to be an option to the outside. This would fit the profile of many "Veer" offensive philosophies, balancing a triple-option with a lead-option in which there is no inside give, allowing that player to instead act as a lead-blocker on the outside for the pitch-man. Yet the Buckeyes didn't actually call for another option on either of the two occasions in which we saw this 'double-wing' look. Instead, the Buckeyes used the motioning wing to suck defenders to the outside while Barrett ran a simple 'Power' play on the inside after faking a pitch. Just as they had on the option, Wormley is left unblocked once again and appears to be the optioned defender. However Barrett waits for his guard to get across the formation and seal the outside edge, kicking out Wormley while the rest of the line sets up a running lane inside. Barrett certainly makes a great play by juking the linebacker, James Ross (#15), but Ross has no help as his teammates have bit on the outside action from both wings, following them instead of the ball. Though Ohio State would only show this package on one drive, running the triple-option once followed by two designed runs for Barrett, the results speak for themselves. The Buckeyes picked up 32 yards on three plays, including a touchdown. Meyer's offense could run any number of option and toss sweep concepts shown by flexbone teams from this look, but to ensure teams don't simply load the box at the sight of the double-wing, the Buckeyes will be forced to throw the ball from this look as well. Luckily, the formation allows for some clear integration of some passing concepts already found in their playbooks. With two split receivers and a wing to one side, the Buckeyes could easily integrate flood concepts such as 'Sail' which gives the quarterback an easy deep-to-short read of three receivers to one side as he rolls out. Due to issues on the right side of the offensive line, Barrett is already used to rolling out with a guard to lead him in pass protection, sealing the front-side of a moving pocket. Not only does this rolling action get Barrett outside and able to take off if his receivers are covered, the pulling guard helps sell the play as another shovel pass or inside "Power" run, sucking up defenders. Looking toward both the upcoming matchup with Notre Dame on New Year's Day and the 2016 season, the package could be a big part of the OSU offense moving forward. The unit has been at its best when Barrett has been able to run the ball inside, something every opponent surely knows at this point. Add in the expected departure of Elliott and the Buckeye running game may have to re-invent itself in the near future. Even if Marshall leaves for the NFL this winter as well, a healthy Dontre Wilson could easily fill the role of the other wing player. Regardless of when we see it again, the double-wing could be a valuable addition to the Meyer's playbook, not only because of its initial success, but rather for its ability to be many things without appearing so at first.
Image caption South Korea has increased troop numbers on Yeonpyeong Island since the shelling Russia has summoned the South Korean and US envoys to express "deep concern" about upcoming live-fire military exercises on an island shelled by North Korea last month. The foreign ministry called for the drills to be cancelled to prevent tensions rising further in the region. The Russian move followed a warning from North Korea of retaliation if the planned drills were held. Yeonpyeong Island is very close to the disputed inter-Korean maritime border. Four South Koreans - two civilians and two marines - were killed when North Korea shelled the island last month. North Korea said the shelling was a response to military exercises there. "We strongly call on South Korea to refrain from holding the planned artillery firing in order to prevent a further escalation of tensions on the Korean peninsula," the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement. 'More serious' South Korea announced the exercises - the first since the 23 November incident - on Thursday. It said the one-day drill would take place between 18-21 December and would be observed by about 20 representatives from the US-led UN Command. Early on Friday, North Korea warned that the drills would lead to "self-defensive strikes". "The intensity and scope of the strike will be more serious than the 23 November [shelling]", a report from state-run news agency KCNA said. Responding to the North Korean warning, South Korea's defence ministry said in a statement that it did not need to "react to every single threat and unreasonable statement", suggesting that the drill would take place. Since the 23 November incident, South Korea has strengthened its military presence on the island and pledged to use air power against any future attacks. The warnings over the drills come amid a flurry of diplomatic activity to try to ease tensions on the Korean peninsula. Senior American and Chinese foreign policy officials have been holding talks in Beijing. And the governor of New Mexico, Bill Richardson - who in the past has acted as an unofficial US envoy to the North - is paying a visit to Pyongyang.
There is something familiar about the tide of misinformation which has swept through the subject of sex trafficking in the UK: it flows through exactly the same channels as the now notorious torrent about Saddam Hussein's weapons. In the story of UK sex trafficking, the conclusions of academics who study the sex trade have been subjected to the same treatment as the restrained reports of intelligence analysts who studied Iraqi weapons – stripped of caution, stretched to their most alarming possible meaning and tossed into the public domain. There, they have been picked up by the media who have stretched them even further in stories which have then been treated as reliable sources by politicians, who in turn provided quotes for more misleading stories. In both cases, the cycle has been driven by political opportunists and interest groups in pursuit of an agenda. In the case of sex trafficking, the role of the neo-conservatives and Iraqi exiles has been played by an unlikely union of evangelical Christians with feminist campaigners, who pursued the trafficking tale to secure their greater goal, not of regime change, but of legal change to abolish all prostitution. The sex trafficking story is a model of misinformation. It began to take shape in the mid 1990s, when the collapse of economies in the old Warsaw Pact countries saw the working flats of London flooded with young women from eastern Europe. Soon, there were rumours and media reports that attached a new word to these women. They had been "trafficked". And, from the outset, that word was a problem. On a strict definition, eventually expressed in international law by the 2000 Palermo protocol, sex trafficking involves the use of force, fraud or coercion to transport an unwilling victim into sexual exploitation. This image of sex slavery soon provoked real public anxiety. But a much looser definition, subsequently adopted by the UK's 2003 Sexual Offences Act, uses the word to describe the movement of all sex workers, including willing professionals who are simply travelling in search of a better income. This wider meaning has injected public debate with confusion and disproportionate anxiety. Two academics from the University of North London, Liz Kelly and Linda Regan, tried to estimate the number of women who had been trafficked in the UK during the calendar year 1998, an exercise which they honestly described as "problematic". First, there was the problem of the word, which Kelly and Regan solved by accepting all variations of its meaning. Then, there was the shortage of facts. They spoke to specialists, studied news reports and surveyed police, who reported that 71 women had been "trafficked", whether willingly or not, during 1998. In Stopping Traffic, which they published in May 2000, Kelly and Regan argued that the real scale of the problem was probably bigger than this and, in the absence of any accurate data, they made various assumptions which they themselves described as "speculative". At the very least, they guessed, there could be another 71 trafficked women who had been missed by police, which would double the total, to 142. At the most, they suggested, the true total might be 20 times higher, at 1,420. But reaching this figure involved a further quadrupling of the number of victims missed by police, plus quadrupling existing estimates by sex health workers, plus assuming the accuracy of a newspaper report that "hundreds" of women had been trafficked into the UK from Albania and Kosovo, plus assuming that mail-order brides were also victims of trafficking, plus adding women who were transported within the UK as well as those brought into the UK. Kelly and Regan were transparent and honest about the speculative character of their assumptions. They were clear about their adoption of the widest possible meaning of the term. They presented their conclusion with caution: "It can be estimated that the true scale of trafficking may be between two and 20 times that which has been confirmed." And they presented their conclusion as a range of possibilities: "It is recognised that this is a wide range, but it indicates the likely scale of the problem while reflecting the poverty of information in this area." During the following years, the subject attracted the attention of religious groups, particularly the Salvation Army and an umbrella group of evangelicals called Churches Alert to Sex Trafficking Across Europe (Chaste). Chaste explicitly campaigned for an end to all prostitution and, quoting their commitment to the principles of the Kingdom of God, they were enlisted as specialist advisers to the police. Chaste took the work of Kelly and Regan, brought the estimate forward by two years, stripped out all the caution, headed for the maximum end of the range and declared : "An estimated 1,420 women were trafficked into the UK in 2000 for the purposes of constrained prostitution." The misleading figure was repeated in news stories and adopted by politicians. Even the government's Crimestoppers campaign recycled it. And over and over again, the absence of a definition in the original work was replaced with the certainty that this was about women who were forced to work against their will. Chaste spoke repeatedly about "sexual enslavement" and "sex slavery". Three years after the Kelly/Regan work was published, in 2003, a second team of researchers was commissioned by the Home Office to tackle the same area. They, too, were forced to make a set of highly speculative assumptions: that every single foreign woman in the "walk-up" flats in Soho had been smuggled into the country and forced to work as a prostitute; that the same was true of 75% of foreign women in other flats around the UK and of 10% of foreign women working for escort agencies. Crunching these percentages into estimates of the number of foreign women in the various forms of sex work, they came up with an estimate of 3,812 women working against their will in the UK sex trade. Margin of error The researchers ringed this figure with warnings. The data, they said, was "very poor" and quantifying the subject was "extremely difficult". Their final estimate was "very approximate", "subject to a very large margin of error" and "should be treated with great caution" and the figure of 3,812 "should be regarded as an upper bound". No chance. In June 2006, before the research had even been published, the then Home Office minister Vernon Coaker ignored the speculative nature of the assumptions behind the figure, stripped out all the caution, headed for the maximum end of the range and then rounded it up, declaring to an inquiry into sex trafficking by the Commons joint committee on human rights: "There are an estimated 4,000 women victims." The Christian charity Care announced: "In 2003, the Home Office estimated there were 4,000 women and girls in the UK at any one time that had been trafficked into forced prostitution." The Salvation Army went further: "The Home Office estimated that in 2003 ... there were at least 4,000 trafficked women residing in the UK. This figure is believed to be a massive underestimation of the problem." Anti-Slavery International joined them, converting what the Home Office researchers had described as a "very approximate" estimate into "a very conservative estimate". The Home Office, at least, having commissioned the research, was in a position to remind everybody of its authors' warnings. Except it didn't. In March 2007, it produced the UK Action Plan on Human Trafficking and casually reproduced the figure of 4,000 without any of the researchers' cautions. The evidence was left even further behind as politicians took up the issue as a rallying call for feminists. They were led by the Labour MP for Rotherham and former Foreign Office minister Denis MacShane, who took to describing London as "Europe's capital for under-aged trafficked sex slaves". In a debate in the Commons in November 2007, MacShane announced that "according to Home Office estimates, 25,000 sex slaves currently work in the massage parlours and brothels of Britain." There is simply no Home Office source for that figure, although it has been reproduced repeatedly in media stories. Two months later, in another Commons debate, MacShane used the same figure, but this time he attributed it to the Daily Mirror, which had indeed run a story in October 2005 with the headline "25,000 Sex Slaves on the Streets of Britain." However, the newspaper had offered no evidence at all to support the figure. On the contrary, the body of its story used a much lower figure, of between 2,000 and 6,000 brought in each year, and attributed this to unnamed Home Office officials, even though the Home Office has never produced any research which could justify it. MacShane was not deterred. "I used to work for the Daily Mirror, so I trust the report," he said. Sources The then solicitor general, Vera Baird, replied by warning MacShane that "we think that his numbers from the Daily Mirror are off" and then recycled the figure of 4,000 without any of the researchers' cautions. MacShane then switched line and started to claim, for example in a letter to the Guardian in September 2008, that there were "18,000 women, often young girls, trafficked into Britain as sex slaves." He used this same figure in another debate in the House of Commons, adding "We have to get the facts and figures right." On this occasion, the source he was quoting was Pentameter Two, the six-month national police operation which failed to find a single person who had forced anybody into prostitution. But MacShane had a point: presenting the results of the operation to the press in July 2008, its operational head, Tim Brain, the chief constable of Gloucester, was widely reported to have said that there were now 18,000 victims of trafficking in the UK and that this included under-age girls. Other senior figures who were involved with this press conference say they were taken completely by surprise by Brain's claim. "None of us knew where that came from," according to one senior figure. "It wasn't in his pre-brief. It wasn't in anything: ministers weren't briefed. Tim may have meant to say 1,800 and just got his figures mixed up." Brain now agrees that the figure is not correct and suggested to the Guardian that he had been trying to estimate the total number of prostitutes in the UK, not the total number of trafficked women. But the damage had been done. Patrick Hall, Labour MP for Bedford, solemnly told the House of Commons that there was sex trafficking "in towns and villages throughout the land." Fiona Mactaggart, a former Home Office minister, in January 2008 outstripped MacShane's estimates, telling the House of Commons that she regarded all women prostitutes as the victims of trafficking, since their route into sex work "almost always involves coercion, enforced addiction to drugs and violence from their pimps or traffickers." There is no known research into UK prostitution which supports this claim. In November 2008, Mactaggart repeated a version of the same claim when she told BBC Radio 4's Today in Parliament that "something like 80% of women in prostitution are controlled by their drug dealer, their pimp, or their trafficker." Again, there is no known source for this. Challenged to justify this figure by a different Radio 4 programme, More or Less, in January 2009, Mactaggart claimed that it comes from the Home Office's 2004 report on prostitution, Paying the Price. But there is no sign of the figure in the report. In the summer of 2004, The Poppy Project, which is committed to ending all prostitution on the grounds that it "helps to construct and maintain gender inequality", surveyed London prostitutes working in flats and found that 80% of them were foreign, a finding which is well supported. They then added, without any clear evidence, that "a large proportion of them are likely to have been trafficked into the country", a conclusion which is challenged by specialist police, but which was then recycled through numerous media reports and political claims. Last year (2008), Poppy published a report called The Big Brothel, which claimed to be the most comprehensive study ever conducted into brothels in the UK and which claimed to have found "indicators of trafficking in every borough of London". That report was subsequently condemned in a joint statement from 27 specialist academics who complained that it was "framed by a pre-existing political view of prostitution". The academics said there were "serious flaws" in the way that data had been collected and analysed; that the reliability of the data was "extremely doubtful"; and that the claims about trafficking "cannot be substantiated." Illusion But by that time, the report had generated a mass of news stories, most of which took the unreliable results and overstated them. Like Chaste, the Poppy Project, which has been paid nearly £6m to shelter trafficked women, has been drafted in to advise police and until recently used office space in the Sheffield headquarters of the UK Human Trafficking Centre. The cacophony of voices has created the illusion of confirmation. Politicians and religious groups still repeat the media story that 40,000 prostitutes were trafficked into Germany for the 2006 world cup – long after leaked police documents revealed there was no truth at all in the tale. The Daily Mirror's baseless claim of 25,000 trafficking victims is still being quoted, recently, for example, by the Salvation Army in written evidence to the home affairs select committee, in which they added : "Other studies done by media have suggested much higher numbers." Somewhere beneath all this, there is a reality. There have been real traffickers. Since the Sexual Offences Act came into force in January 2004, internal police documents show that 46 men and women have been convicted and jailed for transporting willing sex workers and 59 people have been convicted for transporting women who were forced to work as prostitutes. Ruth Breslin, research and development manager for Eaves, which runs the Poppy project, said: "I realise that the 25,000 figure, which is one that has been bandied about in the media, is one that doesn't really have much of an evidence base and may be slightly subject to media hype. There is an awful lot of confusion in the media and other places between trafficking (unwilling victims) and smuggling (willing passengers). People do get confused and they are two very different things." She said that in the six and a half years since Poppy was founded, a total of 1,387 men and women had been referred to them, of whom they had taken in just over 500 women who they believed had been trafficked into sexual exploitation or domestic servitude by the use of coercion, deception or force. "I do think that there a lot more trafficked women out there than the women we see in our project. I do think there are significant numbers. I would say the figure is in the thousands. I don't know about the tens of thousands. That's probably going too far." Certainly there have been real victims, some of whom have been compensated as victims of crime. The internal analysis of Pentameter Two, obtained by the Guardian, reveals that after six months of raids across the UK, 11 women were finally "made safe". This clashes with early police claims that Pentameter had rescued 351 victims. By the time that Brain held his press conference in July last year, that figure had been reduced to 167 victims who were said to have been "saved from lives of abuse, exploitation and misery". However, the internal analysis shows that supposed victims variously absconded from police, went home voluntarily, declined support, were removed by the UK Borders Agency or were prosecuted for various offences. Dealing with this, the document explains: "The number of 'potential victims' has been refined as more informed decisions have been made about whether or not the individual is believed to be a victim of human trafficking for sexual exploitation ... Initial considerations were made on limited information ... When interviewed, the potential victim may make it clear that they are not in fact a victim of trafficking and/or inquiries may make it clear that they are not and/or inquiries may show that initial consideration was based on false or incomplete information." Research published recently by Dr Nick Mai of London Metropolitan University, concludes that, contrary to public perception, the majority of migrant sex workers have chosen prostitution as a source of "dignified living conditions and to increase their opportunities for a better future while dramatically improving the living conditions of their families in the country of origin". After detailed interviews with 100 migrant sex workers in the UK, Mai found: "For the majority, working in the sex industry was a way to avoid the exploitative working conditions they had met in their previous non-sexual jobs." The UK Network of Sex Work Projects, whose outreach workers deal with thousands of prostitutes, told the home affairs select committee last year: "It is undoubtedly the case that women are trafficked into the sex industry. However, the proportion of sex workers of whom this is true is relatively small, both compared to the sex industry as a whole and to other industries." The chairman of that committee, Keith Vaz, observed: "We are told that this is the second largest problem facing the globe after drugs and we do not seem to be able to find the people responsible." For the police, the misinformation has succeeded in diverting resources away from other victims. Specialist officers who deal with trafficking have told the Guardian that although they will continue to monitor all forms of trafficking, they are now shifting their priority away from the supposed thousands of sex slaves towards the movement within the UK of children who are being sexually abused. They say they are also dealing with more cases where illegal migrant workers of all kinds, including willing sex workers, find themselves being ripped off and overcharged for their transport. Unheard However, the key point is that on the sidelines of a debate which has been dominated by ideology, a chorus of alarm from the prostitutes themselves is singing out virtually unheard. In the cause of protecting "thousands" of victims of trafficking, Harriet Harman, the deputy Labour leader and minister for women and equality, has led the parliamentary campaign for a law to penalise men who pay for sex with women who are "controlled for gain" even if the men do so in genuine ignorance. Repeatedly, prostitutes groups have argued that the proposal is as wrong as the trafficking estimates on which it is based, and that it will aggravate every form of jeopardy which they face in their work, whether by encouraging them to work alone in an attempt to show that they are free of control or by pressurising them to have sex without condoms to hold on to worried customers. Thus far, their voices remain largely ignored by news media and politicians who, once more, have been swept away on a tide of misinformation. • This article was amended on Thursday 19 November 2009. We said that the Poppy Project had an office in the Sheffield headquarters of the UK Human Trafficking Centre. That is no longer the case. This has been corrected.
ZURICH/GENEVA (Reuters) - UBS UBSN.VX(UBS.N) shares hit record lows on Friday as Swiss bank stocks reeled on concern a widening U.S. tax probe will weaken the strict privacy rules that underpin Switzerland’s wealth management industry. People walk past the UBS building on Park Avenue in New York February 19, 2009. REUTERS/Chip East UBS led the fall in Swiss bank shares. It closed down 14 percent after hitting a new all-time low at 10.54 Swiss francs. The shares of rivals Credit Suisse CSGN.VX and Julius Baer BAER.VX, both large players in the private banking industry that has thrived thanks to Swiss bank privacy laws, were down 6 percent and 7 percent, respectively. The DJ Stoxx index of European banks .SX7P was down 6 percent. The bank worries also hit the Swiss franc. Crisis-hit UBS settled late on Wednesday U.S. criminal charges it had helped rich Americans dodge their taxes. But U.S. tax authorities said on Thursday they were still pursuing a civil lawsuit seeking to access details on 52,000 UBS clients. “It is very unfair to see that the whole profession has been dragged through the mud,” Ivan Pictet, senior managing partner and scion of one of Switzerland’s largest private banks, said in an interview with the Geneva daily Le Temps. “The reputation of the whole (Swiss) financial centre has been tarnished by the fault of a single banking institution. It is a very annoying precedent for Switzerland.” Despite tough Swiss laws protecting bank clients, the government said on Thursday it had no choice but let UBS hand over data to avoid U.S. criminal charges that could have threatened the bank’s existence and hurt the Swiss economy, which is heavily dependent on the banking industry. It was unprecedented that the data was handed over before a Swiss administrative court had the chance to say whether any fraud was committed and a judgement issued on Friday said the financial regulator was not allowed to hand over the documents. The judgement, by Switzerland’s Federal Administrative Court, said the financial regulator could not hand over details on bank clients to third parties, in particular to U.S. authorities. UBS agreed on Wednesday to pay a fine of $780 million (540 million pounds) and to disclose about 250 names of U.S. clients it said had committed tax fraud. But U.S. tax authorities now want the names of thousands of citizens it says are hiding about $14.8 billion in assets in secret Swiss bank accounts. “The Swiss made a mistake, they believed that in caving in ... that things would come to an end,” Douglas Hornung, a Geneva lawyer who represents American clients of UBS under U.S. investigation, told Reuters. Related Coverage UBS chief faces his biggest career challenge “They have now discovered with shock that it continues and the whole Swiss financial centre is in danger.” PRESSURE MOUNTS Nearly a third of the wealth that is stashed in tax havens around the world is in Swiss banks — an estimated $2.2 trillion — making the country the world’s biggest offshore centre. Other havens include Liechtenstein, Bermuda and Singapore. Tax-dodging schemes are increasingly under attack by governments scrambling to find revenue to finance the soaring costs of government stimulus programmes. John Christensen, director of the Tax Justice Network, which campaigns against bank secrecy, said he also saw a dramatic shift in public opinion against tax havens. “It is clear to many that the game is over; the game pretending this is a minor issue,” he said. “Wealth management has become an euphemism for tax evasion.” The issue will be on the agenda at a meeting of European leaders in Berlin at the weekend to prepare for the April G20 summit on reforming global financial rules. The German government said on Friday it had taken note of the UBS settlement and said it will continue to push for the implementation of international standards on tax evasion. Germany, which paid an informant last year to obtain the names of German clients hiding funds in LGT bank of Liechtenstein, is now investigating Prince Max of Liechtenstein for possible tax evasion, the Financial Times Deutschland reported on Friday. LGT said in a statement that Prince Max, the bank’s CEO who lives in Munich and is the second son of current ruler Hans Adam II, had complied with Germany tax rules and was cooperating with authorities in the investigation. Switzerland’s European Union neighbours are also watching the development of the UBS case and are hoping cooperation with the U.S. authorities will set a precedent. “I would expect that similar requests from EU member states would by no means be treated differently,” said a spokeswoman for EU Tax Commissioner Laszlo Kovacs. People walk past the UBS building on Park Avenue in New York February 19, 2009. REUTERS/Chip East Kenneth Farrugia, General Manager of Valetta Fund Services in Malta, which caters to onshore and offshore clients, said the U.S. investigation had ramifications far beyond UBS. “UBS is not reliant on investors from the U.S., or even on private banking. The stability of UBS is not in question,” he said. “The question is how will this affect U.S. customers of other Swiss banks?” UBS shares rallied on Thursday on hopes the settlement would end uncertainty hanging over the company. UBS has written down more toxic assets than any other European bank during the credit crisis, prompting clients to loose confidence and withdraw billions of dollars.
Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. An MP accused of using expenses to pay his own company has said he is "deeply hurt" by the reports and has referred his case to the standards commissioner. Tory MP for Spelthorne David Wilshire said the company never made a profit and it was approved by the Fees Office. The Daily Telegraph reports he paid £105,000 in three years to Moorlands Research Services (MRS). A Conservative spokeswoman said: "This will be resolved either way long before the general election." She added: "The standards commissioner's in-tray cannot be used as an excuse to drag this out." 'Never made profit' Mr Wilshire is understood to be meeting Conservative chief whip Patrick McLoughlin at the Commons on Thursday afternoon. Mr Wilshire said the company, which was owned by him and his partner, provided administrative, secretarial and research support for him and had been formally approved by Commons authorities. It is not unusual for MPs to claim about £30,000-a-year on such work. I am deeply hurt by the way in which the Daily Telegraph has reported on my expenses and disappointed that it has not published all of my response to their enquiries David Wilshire However Parliamentary rules say MPs "must ensure that claims do not give rise to, or give the appearance of giving rise to, an improper personal financial benefit to themselves or anyone else". Mr Wilshire said that neither he nor his partner Ann Palmer had ever received any payment from MRS, which he said had never made a profit. The Telegraph reported that the company appeared not to have been registered in the UK. BBC chief political correspondent Laura Kuenssberg said MRS did not appear to be on Companies House records but Ms Palmer had insisted to the BBC that it was "entirely false" to claim it was not registered. Mr Wilshire said it was a properly constituted business which had submitted annual accounts to the Inland Revenue. Standards inquiry The MP said: "I am deeply hurt by the way in which the Daily Telegraph has reported on my expenses and disappointed that it has not published all of my response to their enquiries. "My constituents are rightly entitled to the truth about these allegations. I have therefore written to the commissioner for standards asking him to conduct an inquiry. "Until I have had an opportunity to take his advice, I think it best if I say nothing further." Sir Thomas's review has been making waves at Westminster Standards Commissioner John Lyon's office received the request on Thursday and said it would decide whether to launch an official inquiry after consulting MPs on the committee on standards and privileges. Several MPs have referred themselves to Mr Lyon after questions were raised about their expenses claims, which were leaked to the Daily Telegraph and published in May. This week he ruled former home secretary Jacqui Smith had breached the rules and should apologise to the Commons for claiming her main home was her sister's house in London, where she paid rent. And a separate independent audit of all MPs' claims under the second homes allowance, ordered by Downing Street after the scandal broke, has resulted in many MPs being asked to repay money claimed up to five years ago - even though they were within the rules at the time. Harman warning Auditor Sir Thomas Legg has retrospectively applied his own limits to gardening and cleaning claims of £1,000 and £2,000 and asked MPs who claimed more to pay back the difference. On Thursday it emerged London Mayor Boris Johnson had repaid £1,266 claimed when he was an MP relating to a council tax "administrative error". His office said he believed the figure to be closer to £700 but decided to "pay up and move on" rather than go through a "long drawn-out" process of questioning it. Obviously we have to judge things by the rules and standards that obtained at the time, to do anything else would be arbitrary Harriet Harman Commons leader Mr Wilshire's payments to MRS were made through his office expenses which were not part of that inquiry. The Conservatives also carried out their own internal scrutiny of their MPs' expenses after the furore. MPs usually have two homes - one in their constituency and one in London near Parliament - and can choose which to designate as their "second home" on which they are entitled to claim expenses. But Mr Wilshire confirmed that his designated "main home" is in Somerset, more than 100 miles from his constituency - which is on the outskirts of London. He claimed the maximum allowed for his second home in 2007-8, £23,083, and a total of £160,542 in all allowances that year. Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? E-mail this to a friend Printable version
A 47-foot long blue whale was rescued from a beach in Maharashtra and successfully put back into the deep waters on Sunday, after locals and fishermen came together to help. The whale, weighing around 20 tonnes, had drifted into shallow waters, and washed ashore near near Madban village, close to Jaitapur nuclear power plant in Ratnagiri district. "It appeared emaciated and must have drifted some days ago. But since this is an isolated spot, it was spotted on Saturday and we were informed by the locals," said N Vasudevan, chief conservator of the mangrove conservation cell. 50 ft. Beached Blue #Whale rescued by village in #India. Team work & #compassion save the day. Great Job pic.twitter.com/3PZGsU7Xbg Daniel Schneider (@BiologistDan) September 11, 2016 Vasudevan believes that considering the "sheer size of the mammal," Sunday's rescue is "the biggest rescue of beached mammal in history." Rescue operations began early Sunday morning, and boats and fishing nets were used to lead the whale back into deep seas. The operation involving 50 people lasted six hours. This is the second successful rescue of a blue whale in the same region. A 40-foot long whale was rescued in Ratnagiri in February this year in a nine-hour long operation. Here's a video of the rescue: Not all rescue operations have been successful, however. In August last year, a 42-foot long blue whale washed ashore in Mumbai's Alibaug, but didn't survive despite an 18-hour long operation. The whale collapsed on its body weight (their bodies cannot support their weight on land) and died a few hours after beaching. In January this year, a 40-foot long whale was beached for 17 hours and could not be rescued. Its carcass washed up at Juhu beach, where it was ultimately burnt and buried. The blue whale is the largest mammal in the world. It falls under the red list of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1986. Last year, researchers identified 569 dolphins in Sindhudurg during 2014 and 2015, adding that the numbers could be even higher. Later, in February this year, Maharashtra announced plans to set up rescue centres for whales and dolphins in coastal districts after increasing cases of beached whales along the state's shores. (With inputs from PTI)
It’s been quite a while since I wrote a post, so I figured now is as good as any. I was always told change is envitable, just like death and taxes. I am one who doesn’t thrive too much on change, but it’s been a constant in my life for decades - sometimes too much. For instance, within three years, all three children left the nest, two got married and had children, the youngest went off to college. Before I was ready, I was an empty-nester. To say it’s an adjustment, is an understatement. Since that time, we have redone our house - decluttered, repainted, got new appliances, new carpet, and a new HVAC system - which is very expensive, btw. We have probably added about $10,000-20,000 value onto the home and proud of what we’ve done so far. We still have a lot more we want to do, but we got the necessary changes done first, plus we’re exhausted! I have been flitting back and forth with jobs, doing some more freelance, when I get the opportunity. I am also trying to get my brain to rewi…
16 minutes is not a lot of time for introductions. I mean what can this short span of time really communicate about ones’ intentions and plans for the future? With so much new music being released everyday, what can 16 minutes do in the face of hundreds of other demos? New Zealand’s Verberis has chosen to take this brief opportunity to make their sound memorable by hypnotizing their audience and showing them a world where black / death can be slightly psychedelic or at least mind erasing. This isn’t usually how I feel when listening to black / death but I will take it as a sign that things, for a little bit, are going to be from the land of strange. “Kaliginous Ascent” is an example of the depths in which this demo travels. With a healthy amount of woozy effects on the instruments and equal amount of echo on the vocals, the song mutates from passable and ordinary to brilliant and surprising. The band takes the standard black / death template and sends it careering into a swirling maelstroms. The chaos and anarchy which usually typifies this stile of metal is channeled and wielded by the band who wants nothing more than to transport the listener some place terrifying. Make no mistake, Vastitas is an exercise in horror with nods to ancient demon iconography yet the way Verberis conveys their love for this void is truly something special. 16 minutes is a difficult sample to gauge what an entire album would be like. Verberis may excel at short timed demos but fold when it comes to full length releases. Despite these doubts, I feel Verberis is dependable as the band successfully makes their sound unique among other black/death acts in a style which is famous for its homogeneous barbarism. These 16 minutes are convincing that black/death maybe fertile ground for subsequent experiments in controlled malice. Currently, there is zero information about Verberis aside from this debut demo. In absence of any personal information, I researched the band’s name and found it a reference to the act of lashing and Vastitas, in Latin, is similar to a wasteland. Nothing seems to be linear with Verberis and the angular nature of this act maybe in its favor when it come up from underneath and topples the rest of the demos for 2014.
42 SHARES Facebook Twitter Google Reddit Tumblr Digg Linkedin Stumbleupon Mail Print By Davy V. A mentally-ill, wheelchair bound, one-armed, one-legged man was shot to death by a Houston, Texas police officer, Saturday night. Houson, Texas police officer Matthew Jacob Marin responded to a call for a man in a wheelchair causing a disturbance at a group home. Houston, Texas police department spokeswoman Jodi Silva said the man, later identified as Brian Clounch, cornered the officer in his wheelchair and was threatening the officer while waving a metal object. That object turned out to be a pen. Silva said at the time, officer Marin did not know what the object was that Clounch was waving. She told the Associated Press, “Fearing for his partner’s safety and his own safety, he discharged his weapon.” Silva said Clounch came “within inches to a foot” of the officer and did not follow instructions to clam down amd remain still. John Garcia, the group home’s owner said Clounch, who was in his 40’s, had a history of mental illness and that he had been living at the house for about 18 months. According to Garcia, Clounch had told him that he had lost a leg above the knee and all of one arm when he was hit by a train. “He sometimes would go off a bit, but you just ignore it,” Garcia said. According to Silva, Marin is a five year veteran of the department. This is not the first time in Marin’s career as a Houston police officer that he has fatally shot someone. In 2009, Houston police investigators said Marin shot a man who had stabbed his neighbor to death. Sadly, this is just another example of police officers not knowing how to deal with situations involving emotionally disturbed individuals. As a writer and activist exposing police misconduct and corruption, I have covered many cases involving police officers unnecessarily killing mentally-ill persons. Just this past June, in my hometown of Rochester, NY, Israel “Izzy” Andino, a mentally-ill young man was shot at least 11 times by 7 Rochester, NY Police officers. Andino was despondent, and was walking down the street with a rifle. RPD officers had several opportunities to subdue Andino or at least try other non-lethal measures, but instead chose to execute Andino on his 20th birthday, in a modern-day firing squad, in the middle of a residential street full of young children. Unfortunately, Andino is not the first mentally-ill person executed by Rochester, NY Police officers. Despite the Rochester Police department having an Emotionally Disturbed Persons Response Team (E.D.P.R.T.), the team, whose creation in 2005 was lauded in the media by the RPD, is seldomly deployed, and was never called in the Andino incident. Perhaps Clinical Psychologist Dr. Ed Reitman, speaking on the Houston, Texas police shooting of Brian Clounch, said it best. “This was an incident that didn’t have to take place if the individual — a police officer — had been trained in dealing with emotionally disturbed individuals.” 42 SHARES Facebook Twitter Google Reddit Tumblr Digg Linkedin Stumbleupon Mail Print EPN

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