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Macbooks and Linux users Apple has always had attractive and stylish hardware, but now it seems that some users are opting to run Linux instead of OS X on their Macbooks. Refurbished Macs from Amazon can help cut the cost of running Apple hardware considerably for Linux users. A redditor asked about this trend and got some very interesting answers. Tomtomgps asked why some people are putting Linux on their Macbooks: [ The InfoWorld review: 6 slick open source routers. ] More and more people at my UNI are running linux on Mac books. (Most of them have a single boot linux). Am I the only one seeing this trend ? I also have switched from OSX to archlinux on my Air. More at Reddit Fellow redditors chimed in with their thoughts about this surprising trend: Traxislyte: "1. Apple hardware is arguably good and shows thoughtful design. 2. It's a challenge to hack an Apple and put Linux on it, especially for the novice. People love challenges. 3. Lastly, these days, a lot of the challenges getting Linux running have been removed by installers, but, with an Apple, there's no safety net. So, running Linux on an Apple shows a bit of expertise." Orschiro: "This is surprising to me given that Mac OS X is designed to fit perfectly with the sold hardware. What are the overall experiences of particularly battery life when running a Mac book with Linux?" LDL2: "Why would you waste money in this manner?" Bamcomics: "On my way out of college I was starting to see a few computers running Linux (almost entirely Ubuntu/Mint and one guy used Fedora). A few of these were in fact on Mac products. I think we're doing it guys, keep spreading the good word of Linux!" Chisleu: "If there was a version of a distro for mac hardware, that worked like mac for mac-like keyboards, I would run it. Even though I would have to figure out how to do things like incremental backups to S3, my Time Capsule, and upgrade the kernel to support hot plugging of my thunderbolt." Martin8412: "The development branch of Chrome for OS X is actually 64-bit now. Even though it is the development branch, it isn't actually unstable. There are a few issues here and there, but for normal use the issues are minimal." More at Reddit Linux.com has instructions on how to run Fedora on a Macbook Air: See how easy it is to setup a dual boot to Fedora 18 on your recent model MacBook Air (MBA). You don't need to install custom boot loaders or touch the internal SSD that contains OSX at all. Instead, take advantage of a high speed USB 3 pen drive as your Linux boot disk. After booting Fedora, graphics and wifi work without any extra tinkering. With the higher end modern USB 3.x pen drives disk performance doesn't need to crawl, either. This might be just the ticket if you have a MacBook Air and wish to retain OSX on it but also want to have access to a laptop running a full flavored Linux while on the go. More at Linux.com Ars Technica reviews Fedora 21 Fedora 21 has been out for a little while now but the reviews are still coming in. Ars has a full review and finds that this release brings a new focus to Fedora. Scott Gilbertson reports for Ars Technica: We've used Fedora off and on since Fedora 6 (which at that time known as Fedora Core 6). Without reservation, this is the best release to date. That said, the GNOME desktop is not for everyone. Fortunately, there are plenty of other "spins" available, including a version with the MATE-desktop, which can now use Compiz if you'd like to re-experience Fedora with wobbly windows just like the days of yore. There are also spins featuring KDE, Xfce, and LXDE among other desktops. If you're a desktop user, there's a Fedora for you. If you're a sysadmin, there's a Fedora for you. If you're chasing the dream of cloud server futures, there's a Fedora for you. And of course if you're just looking for a distro on which to build the ultimate robot, there's still a Fedora for you. More at Ars Technica Should you use BSD or Linux? Linux isn't the only alternative to Windows or OS X. BSD is another option that some users might want to consider. MakeUseOf compared BSD to Linux in a recent article to see which one might appeal most to users. Danny Stieben reports for MakeUseOf: In the name of fair competition, it’s time that we gave BSD operating systems some recognition as well. And there’s no better way to do that than to compare them against Linux. What’s different about BSD operating systems, and should you be running it instead of Linux? How does Linux and the best BSD desktop OS, PC-BSD, compare on the desktop? ...the different BSD kernels have many different implementations of various technologies, some of which are proven to be superior to Linux. FreeBSD is known for having a fantastic networking stack, and OpenBSD is known for being about as secure as humanly possible. NetBSD can run on more architectures than even Linux can, including a toaster. So BSD operating systems aren’t bad from a technical perspective, but there’s simply less support for them by third-party developers than for Linux. ...most users will want to stick to Linux for their desktops as there are multiple reasons why Linux is better on the desktop. However, if this article has made you more curious about BSD operating systems, then feel free to try some out in a virtual machine or on a spare computer. It never hurts to know what’s out there. More at MakeUseOf Did you miss a roundup? Check the Eye On Open home page to get caught up with the latest news about open source and Linux. This article is published as part of the IDG Contributor Network. Want to Join?
Authors: Fabio Genoese, Eleanor Drabik and Christian Egenhofer Series: CEPS Commentary The outlook for natural gas demand is often considered bright, especially for gas used to generate electricity. This is because gas is the cleanest of all fossil fuels. The carbon intensity of modern gas-fired power stations is less than 50% that of modern coal plants. Moreover, gas-fired units are well-suited to follow rapid swings in supply and demand due to their flexibility. In the future, these balancing tasks will become more and more important given the intermittent character of the supply of wind and solar power. Gas seems to hold out the promise of being a key pillar of the energy transition and the perfect partner of renewables. Given the EU’s long-term climate policy goals, however, there is strong evidence that demand for gas for purposes of power generation peaked as early as 2010. In 2010, gas and coal accounted for an equal share of electricity generation at 24%. By 2014, gas had decreased to 17%, while coal increased to 27%. The recovery in demand for gas for power generation therefore implies replacing coal with gas, i.e. getting a bigger slice of the cake. But one must also consider the diminishing total size of the cake. A well-known outlook for demand is published by the association of Europe's gas grid operators, ENTSO-G.[1] It is used to estimate future infrastructure requirements. According to their ‘Green Transition’ scenario, gas demand for power generation will increase from last year’s 94 billion cubic meters (bcm)[2] to 167-232 bcm in 2035. At present, 2010 marks the record year for gas-to-power consumption with some 154 bcm. The report does not say anything about consumption beyond 2035. Such a forecast horizon is not unusual in the private sector, because business plans do not extend to 2050. Eurogas, a trade organisation representing the European gas industry, also projects an increase in its ‘Environmental Scenario’ to 230 bcm by 2035,[3] assuming a rebalancing of the power mix towards more renewables and gas: By 2035 the share of gas for power generation would increase to 33%, while the share of coal would decline to 6%. Renewables would cover 44% of electricity demand. But these projections should be taken with a grain of salt for at least two reasons. First, getting a bigger slice of the cake should not be taken for granted. Such a massive fuel switch from coal to gas is not going to happen in the absence of strong carbon pricing or policies targeting the phase-out of coal. Second, the pie is shrinking. Consumption of all fossil fuels including gas will have to decrease significantly, if the EU’s long-term climate policy objectives of reducing GHG emissions by at least 80% below 1990 levels by 2050 are to be met.[4] As stated in the EU low-carbon roadmap, an almost carbon-neutral[5] power sector forms the central assumption behind all decarbonisation scenarios.[6] This implies a declining use of fossil-fuel-fired power generation technologies, including gas-fired power stations. The decline could be partly offset by carbon capture and storage (CCS), a technology that captures carbon dioxide emitted by fossil-fuel-fired plants and hence would allow for a continued use of coal or gas. Yet, even in the EU’s low-carbon scenario with the highest share of CCS (24% of EU power generation), gas demand would not rise above 150 bcm and therefore would remain below the 2010 peak (see Figure 1). Such a scenario would require that CCS reaches technological maturity and becomes economically viable, which is currently not the case. Given the lack of CCS demonstration projects worldwide, one could argue that it is optimistic to assume that CCS could capture a market share of 24%. Other low-carbon options could be diffused more rapidly, displacing CCS. In the EU’s low-carbon scenario with less CCS (7% of EU power generation), gas demand would even decrease to 60 bcm by 2050, which is less than the eight-year low reached in 2014. Hence, considering 2050 objectives, it is reasonable to assume that demand for gas for purposes of power generation has already peaked in 2010.[7] Gas will simply not displace coal-fired generation in the absence of targeted carbon pricing. Moreover, the share of both coal and gas will have to decrease more strongly than indicated by the industry to reach the EU’s climate policy objectives. Without gas, how would the power system be balanced? A phase-out of fossil-fuel-fired generation is often equated with a power system running 100% on solar and wind. Such a conclusion, however, is overly simplistic and wrong. Hydro power and biomass will continue to account for a significant share of installed capacity, e.g. 13-14% by 2050.[8] Similar to gas, these technologies are also considered flexible and therefore well-suited to follow rapid swings in demand and supply, thereby compensating for the intermittent availability of wind and solar. But it is also true that if we want more renewable electricity and less fossil fuels, we have to find smarter ways of storing and using power. Driven by price signals, the demand side could react to the availability of intermittent sources, e.g. by partially reducing consumption on a cloudy, windless day. Low-cost storage would allow for this adaptation without a loss of comfort. Gas turbines would still be part of such a system but they would increasingly be used as a measure of last resort (back-up). Already by 2030, 50% of conventional capacity would be on standby 80% of the time, i.e. not producing and hence not emitting carbon dioxide. Utilisation will further decrease towards 2050, thus implying very low GHG emissions despite a substantial amount of gas turbines, which is consistent with running an almost carbon-neutral power sector. What does this mean for overall EU gas demand? A declining trend of gas demand for power generation does not allow any firm conclusions to be drawn as regards overall gas demand. In 2010, the power sector amounted to almost 30% of total gas demand. In 2014, it amounted to 23% of total demand with residential/commercial consumers and industry accounting for 41% and 33%, respectively. Hence, the power sector still represents a significant share of overall gas consumption. In the public debate, an increase in gas demand for power generation is often mentioned as the reason for an increase in total demand. Yet, this analysis suggests that the power sector will not act as a driver of growing gas demand, because gas will not replace all coal-fired generation and the consumption of all fossil fuels will have to decrease. Combined with the limited evidence for growing gas demand in other sectors, it is uncertain whether there will be a significant increase in total gas demand. It is time that policy-makers have another look at the projections for gas demand. Notes 1 See “Ten Year Network Development Plan 2015”, ENTSO-G, April 2015 (http://www.entsog.eu/publications/tyndp). 2 See “Statistical Report 2015”, Eurogas, January 2016 (http://www.eurogas.org/statistics/). 3 See “Long-term Outlook for Gas to 2035”, Eurogas, October 2013 (http://www.eurogas.org/uploads/media/Eurogas_Brochure_Long-Term_Outlook_...). 4 See “A Roadmap for moving to a competitive low carbon economy in 2050”, Communication from the Commission COM(2011) 112 final, 8 March 2011. 5 GHG emissions of the power sector would have to be reduced by some 95% below 1990 levels. 6 See Commission Staff Working Paper Impact Assessment accompanying the Communication from the Commission, Energy Roadmap 2050, SEC(2011) 1565 Parts 1 and 2, 15 December 2011. 7 Still, compared to last year’s low of 94 bcm, a slight recovery of gas demand until 2030 would be consistent with the EU’s low-carbon objectives. 8 See Commission Staff Working Paper Impact Assessment accompanying the Communication from the Commission, Energy Roadmap 2050, SEC(2011), op. cit. Fabio Genoese is Research Fellow, Eleanor Drabik is Research Assistant and Christian Egenhofer is Senior Fellow and Head of the Energy and Climate programme at CEPS. CEPS Commentaries offer concise, policy-oriented insights into topical issues in European affairs. The views expressed are attributable only to the authors in a personal capacity and not to any institution with which they are associated. Available for free downloading from the CEPS website (www.ceps.eu) © CEPS 2016
Blundering Chinese officials release horrifying pictures of Western execution by lethal injection (only to discover pictures are from fetish site Pictures show woman injected with liquid and then shaking in pain as dies Claimed to show a real American execution and 'expose world's dark side' Pictures actually come from a pornographic fetish film Blundering Chinese officials who attempted to smear the West by publishing pictures of a 'real execution' in America have accidentally posted grabs from a fetish film. China's leading state-run news agency Xinhua posted the screen shots on its website - claiming it shows an execution in the United States. The slideshow of 38 photos shows a women being taken to a chair, where a doctor injects a dark liquid into her right arm. China's official state-run news agency has published pictures that appear to be screenshots from a fetish film The woman appears to suffer a painful death in the pictures 'that expose the dark side of the world' The women is then seen shaking in pain as she suffers a slow, tortuous death. However, the propaganda appears ti to actually come from a hardcore pornographic film called Lethal Injection. Global Times, a staunchly nationalistic daily, also featured the slideshow of screenshots called: 'Record of a female inmate's execution - exposing the world's darkest side' on its homepage. Earlier versions of the photos shared online claimed the photos are relevations by a US executioner named 'Mark'. But the blog Out Of My Face identified the source of the pictures as a pornographic film called Lethal Injection. Chinese state-run news organisations have a history of inaccuracies. Xinhua, the People's Daily online and other websites have previously published inappropriate photos series. The blog Out Of My Face identified the source of the pictures as a pornographic film called Lethal Injection the country can hardly 'expose the dark side of the world' when it allegedly executed more people than the rest of the world combined During the National Congress of the Communist Party in November, which marked the leadership transition from Hu Jintao to Xi Jinping, it published a series of photos of 'beautiful ritual girls, female reporters and delegates' which they named 'Beautiful scenery'. Last year, the People's Daily's website featured a photo series of the most beautiful women executed in China over the last three decades. And the country can hardly 'expose the dark side of the world' when it allegedly executed more people than the rest of the world combined, according to estimates by Amnesty International. In chilling echoes of the 'gas-wagon' project pioneered by the Nazis to slaughter criminals, the mentally ill and Jews a mobile execution service was launched quietly six years ago. It was then hushed up to prevent an international row about the abuse of human rights before the Olympics in 2008 but the vehicles were then deployed across China in 2009. Developed by Jinguan Auto, which also makes bullet-proof limousines for the new rich in this vast country of 1.3 billion people, the vans appear unremarkable. They cost £60,000, can reach top speeds of 80mph and look like a police vehicle on patrol. Inside, however, the 'death vans' look more like operating theatres. Convicted criminals in China can be put to death for 55 capital crimes, ranging from theft to crimes against the state. Such is the huge number of executions, they were turned into a television show six years ago. A TV channel in Henan province in central China began broadcasting Interviews Before Execution quickly became a hit with viewers and was given a prime-time Saturday night slot. A presenter interviews the condemned, hearing them confess their crimes, weep and ask for messages to be relayed to their families.
Today we celebrate one of Urdu literature’s most iconic poets, Mirza Asadullah Baig Khan, known in popular culture by many names, but most commonly as Ghalib (meaning conqueror). Born in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, during the reign of Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah, Ghalib showed a gift for language at an early age and was educated in Persian, Urdu, and Arabic. His verse is characterized by a lingering sadness borne of a tumultuous and often tragic life — from being orphaned at an early age, to losing all of his seven children in their infancy, to the political upheaval that surrounded the fall of Mughal rule in India. He struggled financially, never holding a regular paying job but instead depending on patronage from royalty and more affluent friends. But despite these hardships, Ghalib navigated his circumstances with wit, intellect, and an all-encompassing love for life. His contributions to Urdu poetry and prose were not fully appreciated in his lifetime, but his legacy has come to be widely celebrated, most particularly for his mastery of the Urdu ghazal (amatory poem). Irshad muqarar, Mirza! Early concepts of the Doodle below
The UK on Wednesday joined the US, UN and France in condemning Israel's appropriation of 234 hectares of West Bank land. "Such steps clearly damage the diminishing prospects for a two-state solution. The UK and our international partners have consistently called for an end to settlement expansion, which is illegal under international law and an obstacle to peace," the UK government said in a statement. "If the Israeli government is truly comitted to a two-state solution then it will reverse its decision," the statement continued. Earlier on Wednesday, France's foreign ministry also expressed its concern over Israel's decision to declare the area in question as state land, calling it a violation of international law and contradicting a two-state solution. "France is extremely concerned by the decision of Israeli authorities to appropriate for Israeli settlements ... territory in the West Bank," Foreign ministry spokesman Romain Nadal said in a daily briefing, according to Reuters. "Settlements constitute a violation of international law and contradict commitments made by Israeli authorities in favor of a two-state solution." COGAT, the Israeli defense ministry body responsible for implementing government policies in the Palestinian territories, said the move to appropriate the land was taken "in accordance with the decision of the political level". It gave no further explanation nor more details, but settlement watchdog Peace Now said the land involved is south of the Palestinian city of Jericho and close to the Dead Sea. Peace Now said the land -- equivalent in size to more than 250 international football pitches -- is the biggest reclassification since a seizure of 400 hectares in 2014. The NGO said the order to seize the land was signed on March 10 as US Vice President Joe Biden wrapped up a visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories, though COGAT refused to comment on the timing. Palestinians who claim ownership of the land can appeal the decision within 45 days. Peace Now said the land could help link up and potentially expand local Jewish settlements. "This declaration is a de-facto confiscation of Palestinian lands for the purpose of settlement," a statement said. "Instead of trying to calm the situation, the government is adding fuel to the fire." In 2010, Israel unveiled plans to build 1,600 new settler homes in annexed east Jerusalem during a previous Biden visit. Weeks later, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during a visit to the White House, was denied the privileges customarily granted to foreign dignitaries, even the ritual handshake photograph. Staff with agencies
The prime of American drive-ins might be behind us, but there are still plenty of these nostalgic roadside eateries available. Whether you're looking for a quick bite or a more specialty meal, drive-ins offer one benefit that most other restaurants simply can't—fries and floats from the comfort of your own vehicle. 1. ORIGINAL SONIC DRIVE-IN // STILLWATER, OKLAHOMA Yelp/Kenneth H. Sonic might now be America’s largest chain of drive-ins, but it got its start as a single restaurant with a slogan of "Service with the Speed of Sound." The original Stillwater location opened in 1959 and was fully renovated in 2015—it now has TVs to watch sports and an outdoor fire feature, but the the original sign is still on display and the carhops will still roller-skate out to your vehicle to deliver cherry limeades, chili cheese coneys, and tots. 2. MUGS UP ROOT BEER // INDEPENDENCE, MISSOURI Located in the Kansas City metropolitan area, Mugs Up has been serving homemade root beer in old-fashioned frosted mugs since 1956. And with their trademark loose-meat Zip Burgers still only costing $2.15, and a side of onion rings only setting you back $1.75, Mugs Up feels like a preserved slice of mid-century Americana. 3. RED RABBIT DRIVE-IN // DUNCANNON, PENNSYLVANIA The '50s-style Red Rabbit Drive-In hasn't changed much since Sam and Maggie Snyder opened on Mother’s Day 1964: You’ll still find fried chicken dinners, ice cream, pizzas, made-to-order milkshakes (in regular and thick!), and fries sprinkled in “Bunny Dust” on the menu, and it’s still in the family—Sam and Maggie retired in 1988 and handed the baton to their daughter, Cindy, and her husband. Stop by and sink your teeth into the drive-in’s signature Bunny Burger, a beef patty with smoked bacon, melted cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles, onions, and a special mayonnaise-based sauce on "a special seeded roll." There’s no indoor seating, but hungry diners only have to put on their hazards and a server will come out to their car; they either eat in their vehicles or at picnic tables. Red Rabbit is closed in December and January; plan accordingly! 4. THE VARSITY // ATLANTA, GEORGIA If you’re looking for a chili dog in the ATL, the call of Varsity’s signature "What’ll ya have?" is too hard to resist. When it opened in 1928, Varsity was a small hot dog stand located near Georgia Tech University, perfect for college kids to pop in for a cheap bite. Today, it’s a sprawling restaurant that can accommodate 800 people inside and 600 cars, and the carhops still don paper caps while delivering Frosted Orange milkshakes and slaw dogs to the masses. 5. MATT'S PLACE DRIVE-IN // BUTTE, MONTANA Matt’s Place, opened by Matt Korn in 1930, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. There are plenty of delicious treats to try here, from hand-churned ice cream to a BBQ pork sandwich, but the real stand-out is the Nut Burger. Cooks use an ice cream scoop to toss the ground beef on the grill; it’s flattened into a patty, cooked, and placed on a bun, where it’s topped with Miracle Whip mixed with salty chopped peanuts. There are seats inside this 2016 winner of the James Beard American Classics Award, but car-hop service is also available. 6. CAMERON'S LOBSTER HOUSE // BRUNSWICK, MAINE When in Maine, stop by Cameron’s Lobster House in Brunswick. This drive-in seafood spot serves fresh-caught crab and lobster with every meal, including breakfast (crabmeat omelet, anyone?). Whatever time you stop by, come hungry: Menu options include a seafood combo appetizer (half a pint of scallops, shrimp, and crabs), lobster stew accompanied by oyster crackers and a grilled biscuit, and a "must try" lobster BLT that comes with chips and a pickle (if you upgrade the sandwich to a basket for an additional $3, you can choose an additional two sides). Park and leave your lights on for car-side service (there are also options to eat inside the restaurant or at outdoor picnic tables). 7. ARDY & ED'S DRIVE IN // OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN Ardy & Ed's Ardy & Ed's Drive In has been a summer staple in Oshkosh since 1948. Originally called the Southside A & W Drive In, it served root beer, hot dogs, and chips, before changing names—and owners—and becoming Ardy & Ed's Drive In. Even if you don’t own a vintage convertible, you can still swing by and order a draft root beer and drink it by the shores of Lake Winnebago. 8. DRIVE IN // TAYLORS FALLS, MINNESOTA Located in the tiny town of Taylors Falls, the Drive-In turns cars into a time machine that transports passengers back to the 1950s. Poodle skirt-clad carhops bring orders of crinkle-cut fries, homemade root beer, and bison—yes, bison—burgers. 9. FENCE DRIVE-IN // MILTON, PENNSYLVANIA Enjoy the Susquehanna River view with your burger while dining at Fence Drive-In Restaurant, a roadside drive-in located on Pennsylvania’s Route 405. It’s famous for its fish sandwich, but owner Matt Rabb also serves fresh-cut French fries; hand-breaded shrimp, scallops, and chicken; and homemade tartar sauce, red sauce, and cabbage salad, using the same recipes that founders Bob and Elva Reitz used when they first opened the Fence in 1951. 10. WAGNER'S DRIVE-IN RESTAURANT // BROOKLYN PARK, MINNESOTA Yelp/Kohleen L. Twin Cities residents with classic cars can show off their rides at the family-operated Wagner’s Drive-In Restaurant, which hosts a Monday Night Cruise Night where a group of motorheads called "The Wag-Niters" meet to enjoy fast-food favorites, admire other vehicles, and enjoy one another’s company. (Just don’t get any ketchup on their seats.) 11. SUMBURGER RESTAURANT // CHILLICOTHE, OHIO Opened in 1953, Sumburger Drive-in in Chillicothe, Ohio was originally housed in a trailer and fittingly named "Trailer Drive-in." The following year, the restaurant moved to its present-day location, expanded, and changed its name to Logan View Drive-in. But since customers referred to their burgers as "some burger," they changed their name to its present moniker in 1974. Enjoy bourbon-fried chicken, fresh strawberry pie, and burgers smothered in a special "sumburger sauce" delivered carside, or drive across town to Sumburger’s newly opened sit-down restaurant for an indoor meal. 12. THE CHATTERBOX // AUGUSTA, NEW JERSEY Settle in outside the Chatterbox or in its cozy, circular dining room for good food, classic cars and motorcycles, and great conversation. Expanding on the traditional drive-in’s all-fast-food menu, The Chatterbox offers wraps and seafood, too, although you can’t go wrong with a hefty half-pound Angus burger. 13. SUPERDAWG DRIVE-IN // CHICAGO, ILLINOIS A Chicago institution for almost 70 years, Superdawg brings only the best in all-beef hot dogs and classic, kitschy culture. Don’t miss the gift shop for t-shirts, key rings, and wedding cake toppers, all emblazoned with the drive-in’s lovable dancing hot dog mascots. "From the bottom of our pure beef hearts," the slogan goes, "thanks for stopping." 14. SKYWAY DRIVE-IN // AKRON, OHIO Love fast food but hate feeling guilty about where your food comes from? The Skyway is the place for you. All of the drive-in’s burgers and sandwiches are made with fresh, locally sourced food. Dig in to their signature double-decker Sky Hi burger with cheese, pickles, and their special house Ski Hi sauce. 15. ED WALKER'S DRIVE-IN // FORT SMITH, ARKANSAS The oversized neon sign outside of Ed Walker's may advertise their French dipped sandwiches, but according to reviews, the real showstopper is the Giant Cheeseburger—5 pounds of beef on a homemade sourdough bun, which comes with a pie server for dishing up slices of burger. Rumor has it that when Ed's first opened in 1943, they served a side of moonshine to those in the know. Though that’s likely no longer the case today, customers can still legally get a beer delivered to their cars. 16. BAR-B-Q KING DRIVE-IN // CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA There will be no multitasking here; the fare at Bar-B-Q King is sit-down-and-focus food that requires both hands and a lot of napkins. Guy Fieri of the Food Network is partial to the eatery’s barbecue fried chicken. Add some onion rings and a cherry lemon SunDrop and you’ll be good to go. 17. SYCAMORE DRIVE-IN // BETHEL, CONNECTICUT Janine Lamontagne Once a week during the summer, the sleepy little town of Bethel becomes a hotspot of rock and roll. Sunday cruise nights at the Sycamore drive-in draw chromed-up classic cars, leather jackets, and laughter from all over the local area. Be sure not to miss their root beer float with homemade root beer. 18. STEWART'S // VARIOUS LOCATIONS You might know the name for their root beer—invented by Ohio teacher Frank Stewart in the 1920s—but Stewart's has evolved to include about a dozen drive-ins scattered across New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia (they also have sit-down restaurants). Customers rave about the chili dogs, crinkle-cut fries, vast menu, friendly service, and of course, the root beer floats. 19. DICK'S DRIVE-IN RESTAURANTS // SEATTLE, WASHINGTON One of the few Northwest drive-throughs left, Dick's is a nostalgic throwback in a city experiencing rapid change; several of the five Seattle locations date back to the 1950s or early '60s. Although the simple burgers (with locally made buns) don’t offer any customization, they're a great deal and a beloved late-night eat. Fans especially swear by the cheeseburgers. 20. FRISCO'S CARHOPS // CITY OF INDUSTRY, CALIFORNIA Yelp/Brenda A. Frisco’s carhops serve more than just burgers. The Carhops—who are decked out in pink skirts and roller skates—will deliver your food with a side of song and dance. The house specialty is the parmesan sourdough bread, which they swap for the buns on their burgers, but the restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, in case you need a pancake pick-me-up in the morning. 21. AMMONS DRIVE-INN RESTAURANT AND DAIRY BAR // WAYNESVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA If you want an old-timey meal at an old-timey price, you can't go wrong at Ammons, where a hamburger still costs less than $2. The menu has more than just burgers, though. You can also pick up some fried seafood, barbecue pork, a whole cheesecake, or one of their handmade shakes. The nearby Asheville Press recommends the cobbler, which comes in various flavors that rotate throughout the week. 22. MAC'S DRIVE-IN // WATERLOO, NEW YORK Mac’s Drive-In has been operating every summer since 1961, when it was one of the first fast-food joints in its area and the first to offer curb service. Locals and tourists visiting the Finger Lakes have eagerly awaited the hamburger stand’s opening day ever since. In 2015, they served up 1500 pounds of French fries—all cut fresh on-site—on the first day of the season alone. Don’t leave without a frosty mug of Richardson’s beer, which they pour from a mini-keg that’s been a fixture on the front counter since the restaurant first opened. 23. CHUCK-A-BURGER // ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI Chuck-A-Burger's '50s-style burger and shake experience doesn't end with the food: On the last Saturday of each month through September, the drive-in hosts a classic car show featuring customs and hot rods. 24. DARI-ETTE DRIVE IN // ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA The Dari-ette Drive In goes beyond the normal burger-and-fries fare of most diners, serving up Italian specialties, too. Operating since 1951, they claim to serve the best meatballs in the Twin Cities and were featured on the first season of the Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. If you can’t give up the idea of having a burger at a drive-in, you can order the Pizza Burger, a patty melt made with Italian seasoning and homemade red sauce. 25. THE BEACON DRIVE-IN // SPARTANBURG, SOUTH CAROLINA It may not be great for up-close conversing—the place goes through three tons of onions a week—but the seven-decade-old Beacon is worth the drive for its Chili-Cheese-A-Plenty, a burger drowning in chili and French-fried potatoes. 26. DOG HOUSE DRIVE IN // ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO In general, walking in the footsteps of Breaking Bad's Jesse Pinkman is a terrible idea. Hitting up Dog House along Route 66, as he does several times in the AMC series, is one of the exceptions. Dog House is known for its spicy chili dogs, but patrons also say Dog House makes the best Frito Pie around. 27. KING TUT DRIVE-IN // BECKLEY, WEST VIRGINIA You can get your burger fix here, but King Tut's menu is more than beef: Stone-baked pizza is served daily, and all of their breads are made in-house. Opening daily (save for Wednesdays) at 11 a.m., workers get there early to start making pies from scratch. 28. PEPPERMINT TWIST // DELANO, MINNESOTA Gourmet burgers attract the adults, but it's the adjoining teddy bear-themed playground that keeps the kids occupied at Peppermint Twist, a favorite of Delano locals. The location was painted hot pink in the 1980s to make sure they stood out against a nearby Hardee's. It worked, and the Twist is a regular fixture of Minnesota "best of" lists. 29. KELLER'S DRIVE-IN // DALLAS, TEXAS Keller's is one of the few places in America you can drive up, order a beer, and sip it in your car. If suds aren't your thing, you'll still get a buzz from their famous No. 5 burger—two patties on a poppy-seed bun. 30. BILL'S HOT DOG STAND // YPSILANTI, MICHIGAN Famous for their chili dogs, Bill's also offers up a little bit of performance art. When patrons pull up to the bright yellow shop, car hops take their order instead of a speaker system. The servers then relay the menu items to workers inside via hand signal. 31. BOOMER'S DRIVE-IN // BELLINGHAM, WASHINGTON Homemade milkshakes are practically a prerequisite for any self-respecting drive-in, but Boomer's goes a step further by sourcing from a local dairy farm. The custom is to order one of their regular or monthly special shakes and then use it as a dip for their trademark waffle fries. 32. CORRAL DRIVE-IN // GUYMON, OKLAHOMA The menu at this drive-in movie theater goes beyond popcorn. The Corral is home to a full-kitchen pizzeria and grill serving up specialties like calzones and Philly cheesesteaks, but customers who don’t have the appetite for a full meal can find more typical movie theater concessions like hot dogs, nachos, and chili cheese fries as well. 33. GEORGE THE CHILI KING // DES MOINES, IOWA Yelp/David D. George the Chili King opened in the 1950s when drive-ins were a popular option for hungry motorists. A lot has changed since then, but their carhop service and all-American menu remains the same. The restaurant serves drive-in classics like burgers and fries, but (obviously) it's the chili that made it a local institution. 34. BOBO'S DRIVE IN // TOPEKA, KANSAS Located on 10th Avenue in Topeka, Kansas, Bobo’s Drive-In is hard to miss. Hungry travelers can recognize it from the neon tubing poking out from the roof or the vintage 7-Up sign overlooking the road. Inside and in the parking lot, Bobo’s serves specialties like onion rings, apple pie, and burgers topped with their signature Spanish sauce. 35. MURDO DRIVE-IN // MURDO, SOUTH DAKOTA Murdo Drive-In has been serving comforting roadside fare to locals for over 30 years. Every May, the restaurant reopens and fires up the grill for customers dining inside, on the front patio, or in their cars. But note that they close for the season on August 31, so you'll have to go elsewhere for burgers and soft-serve during the fall and winter months. 36. FROSTOP DRIVE-IN // VARIOUS LOCATIONS You can't miss Frostop—it’s the drive-in with the giant rotating mug of creamy root beer perched on top of the building (or on a pole). The first Frostop opened in Springfield, Ohio, in 1926, serving classic soda fountain fare like burgers, shakes, and, of course, frosty mugs of root beer. Frostop had 350 locations across the U.S. at its peak in the early 1960s, but now they're down to just a handful in Louisiana, Illinois, Idaho, West Virginia, Mississippi, and Utah. You'd do well to find one, whether for the nostalgia factor or for the cold-brewed root beer made from the original recipe. 37. RAINBOW DRIVE-IN // HONOLULU, HAWAII When Rainbow Drive-In first opened in 1961, the menu included $.25 hamburgers and $1 steak lunches. Prices have inflated a bit since then, but the owners still pride themselves in serving classic Hawaiian lunch plates—with plenty of mahi mahi and spam options— at affordable prices. 38. MAC'S DRIVE-IN // MCCOOK, NEBRASKA For homemade pies and tarts, thick shakes, and perfectly crispy fries, look no further than Mac's in McCook, Nebraska. Customers can order from their cars or opt for an inside booth, where they place their orders using phones at each table. And if that’s not kitschy enough for you, you can always order the Jell-O salad for just $1.60. 39. MOON LIGHT DRIVE IN // TITUSVILLE, FLORIDA The Moon Light Drive In is appropriately named—it’s just a five-minute drive from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral. When the owners opened the now-iconic establishment in 1964, they had the Apollo missions in mind. Locals and NASA tourists alike rave about the perfectly cooked burgers and creamy milkshakes, which one Yelper declares "the best thing I’ve ever tasted in my entire life." 40. DOUMAR'S DRIVE-IN // NORFOLK, VIRGINIA iStock After introducing the first waffle cone at the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904, Abe Doumar turned his sweet invention into a business. Doumar's still uses Abe’s original waffle iron to make their ice cream cones 100 years later. Ice cream isn’t the only item you’ll find on the menu of this Virginia drive-in. They also serve burgers, hot dogs, and barbecue. 41. KING LOUIE'S DRIVE-IN // WOOD RIVER, ILLINOIS This St. Louis-area burger stand is enough of a local fixture that when the owners of 18 years made the recent decision to start closing the restaurant each Sunday, they posted their personal cell phone number for patrons to call them with questions and comments. While you're there, make sure to try the homemade root beer, which you can buy by the gallon, and if you dare, try the King of the Jungle Challenge—if you can finish a 2-pound burger, loaded potato planks, and a 32-ounce soda in under 30 minutes, you’ll win a t-shirt and eternal glory. 42. RODEO DRIVE-IN // BREMETON, WASHINGTON Built in 1949, the Rodeo Drive-In now claims to be largest drive-in movie theater north of California (they can hold about 1000 cars) as well as one of the oldest in the country. But they’re also known for having a great food selection, including Philly cheesesteaks, "mega-pizzas" with all the toppings, fish and chips, and distinctive pizza dogs. The use of a pager system means you can watch the movie in your car (they have a selection of latest releases, not just old favorites!) while you wait for your food, instead of standing in line. 43. WAYNE'S DRIVE INN // LAWTON, OKLAHOMA Locals love the juicy burgers, steak fingers, ice cream, onion rings, and endless drink combinations at Wayne's (they've got 12 homemade flavors for mixing; the cherry limeade is a particular specialty). The servings run large, and so does the nostalgia—the business has been open since 1950. 44. AVI'S SCREAMERS // WICKENBURG, ARIZONA Yelp/Rob P. People drive from out of town just for their green chili burgers and chili cheese fries at Screamers, and leave raving about the taste and low prices. More than just a novelty stop, the hand-pressed burgers won’t disappoint. 45. JERRY'S CURB SERVICE // BEAVER, PENNSYLVANIA Jerry's Curb Service has been flipping burgers and delivering fries and shakes to your car window since 1947. As legend has it, the Steak Salad was invented at Jerry's in the 1960s when an unnamed patron ordered a steak sandwich, hold the bun, with fries and salad dressing. According to Jerry’s, "Not one to disappoint a customer, [Jerry's wife] Donna Reed placed the order. She noticed the man cut up the steak, mixed in the fries and poured the salad dressing on top. Curious about this rather odd concoction, Donna decided to try it for herself, but with one small change. Donna placed her sliced steak, fries and salad dressing atop a fresh bed of lettuce." Today you can order Donna’s version as well as the man’s original order. 46. DON'S DRIVE-IN // TRAVERSE CITY, MICHIGAN With its neon sign, red banquettes, and summertime carhop service, Don's Drive-In is a delightful 1950s throwback. The menu is chock full of American diner classics—burgers and dogs (cooked "the way you like 'em," chicken fingers, patty melts, onion rings, and hand-dipped milkshakes and malts—and has barely changed since Don’s opened its doors in 1958 (although we’re guessing the veggie burger is new). 47. THE PARKETTE DRIVE-IN // LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY Originally opened by Joe Smiley in 1951, the Parkette underwent a renovation and restoration in 2008. New owners Jeff and Randy Kaplan may have given the kitchen and dining room a makeover, but the car port call boxes, carhops, and landmark 40-foot-tall sign remain. Order a Poor Boy—a double-decker burger with all the fixings invented by Smiley—a Hot Brown Burger, or some Kentucky fried chicken for a gut-busting meal. The Parkette also hosts regular "cruise ins," or classic car showcases, in its parking lot. 48. THE DONUT HOLE // LA PUENTE, CALIFORNIA Yelp/Indah K. If you’re the kind of person who is afraid of driving through tunnels, the Donut Hole might be the place that helps you get over the phobia. Drive into short tunnel that’s capped by two 26-foot fiberglass doughnuts. The landmark, founded in 1968, is open 24 hours and boasts flavors ranging from the classic cake doughnut to ones covered in Fruity Pebbles. 49. FALAFEL'S DRIVE-IN // SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA In 1966, Anton and Zahie Nijmeh moved to San Jose and opened a drive-in, where they sold typical American fare like burgers, hot dogs, and onion rings. But that was just the beginning. The couple slowly started to introduce falafel and other middle eastern foods into the mix. Where else do gyros, kabobs, tabbouleh, and delicious "yogurt drink" share menu space with fries and shakes? 50. CHARLIE'S DRIVE-IN // HORTONVILLE, WISCONSIN When it comes to Charlie's Drive-In, Elvis has never left the building: For less than three bucks, the King of Rock can serve you a classic burger. Each Tuesday, the restaurant, which has been operating for 1965, hosts a classic car night where anybody driving a classic Chevy or Caddy will get a free mug of root beer with a sandwich. Written by Erika Berlin, Stacy Conradt, Michele Debczak, Kirstin Fawcett, Shaunacy Ferro, Kate Horowitz, Bess Lovejoy, Erin McCarthy, Lucas Reilly, Jake Rossen, and Abbey Stone.
The Housing Executive, which owns the property, has said it will seek legal advice if necessary A WOMAN has refused to allow authorities to remove pallets at her home near a bonfire site – saying she wants them for "decking". Stacks of pallets are being stored beside the house in north Belfast's nationalist New Lodge area where youths have been collecting materials for an August bonfire. The Housing Executive, which owns the property, has said it will seek legal advice if necessary. For weeks public agencies have been working to remove bonfire materials from the neighbourhood amid safety concerns raised by residents. Hundreds of pallets have been seized, with many found stockpiled on concerned householders' property without their consent. However, it has emerged that one householder has not given permission for public agencies to remove pallets from their side yard. It's understood both police and Housing Executive officials have called at the property at Maralin Place in recent days to discuss the matter. When The Irish News visited the house yesterday, dozens of pallets were stacked in the grounds. A woman inside was reluctant to speak, but said she intended to arrange herself for the pallets to be moved. But when asked why she did not want the authorities to remove the pallets, she said they were "for decking". A fire service official was also seen calling at the property yesterday afternoon. The Housing Executive said it was "aware of pallets being stored in the grounds of a property in the New Lodge area". "Our staff have visited the property and asked the tenant to remove them. The request to remove the pallets is being followed up in writing to the tenant. "The matter is being kept under close review. Legal advice will be sought as necessary." In a statement, PSNI inspector Paul Noble said: "The Police Service of Northern Ireland is committed to dealing with issues around bonfires along with our partner agencies and we have been liaising with them in this area following concerns raised within the local community." There have been increased safety concerns about bonfires built near homes after incidents including damage an apartment block by a loyalist pyre near Belfast's Sandy Row last month. In June some residents also had to flee their properties in the New Lodge area after bonfire material stored nearby was set alight. Anti-internment bonfires are lit in some nationalist areas to mark the anniversary of the introduction of internment on August 9 1971. Graffiti was recently painted on walls near the bonfire site at Victoria Parade in the New Lodge area warning against the removal of materials. Read more: Belfast councillors approve removal of bonfire materials The Housing Executive, which owns the property, has said it will seek legal advice if necessary Wooden pallets being stored at a property in the New Lodge area of north Belfast
In the year 2017, the world economy has collapsed. The great freedoms of the United States are no longer, as the once great nation has sealed off its borders and become a militarized police state, censoring all film, art, literature, and communications. Even so, a small resistance force led by two revolutionaries manages to fight the oppression. With full control over the media, the government attempts to quell the nation's yearning for freedom by broadcasting a number of game shows on which convicted criminals fight for their lives. The most popular and sadistic of these programs is "The Running Man," hosted by Damon Killian. When a peaceful protest of starving citizens gathers in Bakersfield, California, a police officer named Ben Richards is ordered to fire on the crowd, which he refuses to do. Subdued by the other officers, the attack is carried out, and Richards is framed for the murder of almost a hundred unarmed civilians. Following a daring jail break months later, Richards is... Written by Curly Q. Link
Flame & Fire, a Brazilian steakhouse in Roseville, is scheduled to open on Saturday, June 21, it announced on its Facebook Page. For those unfamiliar with Brazilian-style steakhouses, it's generally all you can eat, with waiters coming by the table with all cuts of beef, pork, chicken, fish, etc. See something you like? They'll cut you a tate (or more) off their slab. Here's more about this particular restaurant from a March 2014 article in the Sac Biz Journal: [Owner] Peres has been working on the concept for four years. He almost decided to open a restaurant in the Bay Area, but then he and his investors liked the Roseville market better... It's moving into a site previously used by Cloud 9 Restaurant and Ultra Lounge... The price is fixed at $19.99 for lunch and $40 for dinner. Guests get a card which they put face up if they want to get more meat, and which they put face down if they don’t want more food. I'm excited to try the place, but probably for lunch. In my more gluttonous days, I've eaten at similar style restaurants and overindulged. These days, I understand how hard it is to work off calories, and I'll probably sample a lot of their different meats. Flame & Fire is located at 963 Pleasant Grove Blvd., and can be found online at http://www.flameandfire.com/. More News: Two Not-to-Miss Local Beverages for Summer - Two Rivers Cider Company produces a refreshing, light huckleberry cider that’s perfect for summer—the easy-drinking potation offers a delicate, perfumey hint of sweet berry and a crisp, cleansing mouthfeel. And Auburn Alehouse’s fabulous PU 240 Imperial IPA knocked my socks off—first place winner at the 2011 California State Fair, this rich, explosively flavored brew is characterized by the company as a “hop bomb you didn’t see coming.” Kira O'Donnell in Sac Mag. Volcano’s Union Inn does pub food perfectly - Union Inn pub is owned by Mark and Tracey Berkner, who also own the superb fine-dining restaurant Taste in Plymouth, about 20 miles away. If Taste brings big-city sophistication to small-town life, this pub is all about connecting with the Volcano community and welcoming visitors to embrace what’s special there. The feel of the place is relaxed and easy and fun. The large patio is ideal for outdoor dining. Blair Anthony Robertson in the Sac Bee. Midtown juicery opening June 9 - Sun & Soil Juice Co., formerly known as The Cold Press Juicery, was among the finalists in the 2013 Calling All Dreamers retail business plan competition. Despite not winning the contest, business owners Tatiana Kaiser, Molly Brown and Chris Ryan moved forward with their business vision. The 1,400-square-foot space at 1912 P St. will sell a variety of cold-pressed juices, as well as smoothies and some hot drinks. Sonya Sorich in Sac Biz Journal.
PORT WASHINGTON, Wis. — Jail time is on hold for former "Saved by the Bell" actor Dustin Diamond while he appeals his sentence for an altercation at a bar in Wisconsin. Diamond was supposed to begin serving a four-month sentence last weekend at county jail north of Milwaukee. On Thursday, a judge in Ozaukee County Circuit Court stayed Diamond’s sentence pending his appeal. Diamond’s attorney, Thomas Alberti, says it could take as long as two years for the case to be considered, depending on the appellate docket. The 38-year-old Diamond played Screech on the popular 1990s TV show. Diamond was recently convicted of carrying a concealed weapon and disorderly conduct, but was cleared on a felony charge. Diamond testified he was trying to protect his girlfriend when he pulled out a pocketknife at the Port Washington bar last Christmas Day.
It’s that time of year again! Ever since Gerald Ford’s administration, the United States’ and South Korean armed forces have engaged in military exercises to practice what a conflict with North Korea (the DPRK) would look like. The first such dress rehearsal took place in 1976, shortly after North Korean soldiers axed two Americans to death when they attempted to chop down a tree in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) that divides the two Koreas. Three days later, the American forces launched the quaintly-titled Operation Paul Bunyan, rallying an overwhelming show of strength and cutting the tree down to a stump. According to the North Korean mythology, the so-called “U.S. imperialists” are desperate to make Korea their Asian beachhead as part of an attempt at world domination. So suffused is anti-Americanism in their vernacular that articles and textbooks blithely refer to “Yank bastards.” The U.S. imperialists have supposedly been plotting to seize Korea at least since the 1860s when U.S.S. General Sherman visited the country. The natives of current North Korean capital Pyongyang sank the vessel to the bottom of the Taedong River and killed the crew as well. The North Koreans claim that the assailants were direct ancestors of the Great Leader Kim Il Sung and the Dear Leader Kim Jong Il—without any basis in fact. North Korean fears about American conquest do have basis in truth. The DPRK insists that Korea is one nation, indivisible since the Paleolithic era. As a result, the names of the two countries are rendered there as north and south Korea—the south being a region under U. S. imperialist occupation. The only thing keeping us Yank devils from conquering the north is whoever the current leader happens to be—in this case Marshal Kim Jong Un. One of the reasons activists tried to smuggle the film The Interview into North Korea is that it demonstrated that Americans do not, in fact, tremble in our boots at the mention of the leader’s name. Though in the United States the Korean War is regarded as “the Forgotten War,” in the DPRK it’s precisely the opposite. Their entire history is grounded in the Great Leader Kim Il Sung driving the “Jap devils” out of Korea during the “Pacific War” (i.e., World War II) and then later winning the “Fatherland Liberation War” and expelling the hook-nosed Americans out of the northern half of the republic after we supposedly launched a dastardly sneak attack in 1950. This is so integral to North Korean history that when refugees learn that it was in fact Kim Il Sung who started the Korean War, it’s been described as akin to an American discovering that FDR bombed the Japanese at Pearl Harbor. With the United States and the United Nations forces on one side and Russia and China on the other, it was Korea that paid the strongest proportional price for the Korean War. The country was leveled due to bombing and a see-saw conflict that had both sides retreating at different times—leaving death and devastation. That this could happen again at any moment is not far-fetched for the North Korean population to believe, as the 1950s were within memory for many still in the north, and their culture remains continuous since then in many ways. As such, it’s no wonder that these annual American military exercises are used to prove that we are about to invade again and finish what we started. It’s controversial but hard to dispute that the American armed forces have a well-established history of overthrowing governments when it suits our interests, both violently and overtly as in Iraq and quietly and subversively in other instances. On the other hand, when basic communication is purposely rendered obtuse, force is the only remaining option. The North Korean government is the most oppressive on earth, and regime change would be more defensible there than anywhere else. Any talk of human rights is blithely dismissed by the DPRK government. They claim that their version of human rights means national sovereignty, so trying to undermine their government is a violation of their “human rights.” At this very moment, there are a few hundred thousand people in concentration camps in the DPRK. Officially, the North Koreans baldly state that since they do not use the term “concentration camps” they do not have any there. Regardless of the semantics, the camp inhabitants are told consistently and explicitly that, should the U. S. imperialists invade North Korea, the camps would be razed and all its occupants killed. An assault on North Korea would therefore guarantee immediate genocide. There are no easy answers—or even difficult but feasible ones—to the DPRK problem. This’s why, year after year, American forces go through the same motions with our military and Western journalists report the same livid North Korean response. The timewarp that pervades the DPRK extends beyond the borders of the Hermit Kingdom. The kindling for a new government is there, but what the spark sets it off looks like is virtually impossible to predict. Michael Malice is the author of Dear Reader: The Unauthorized Autobiography of Kim Jong Il. Follow him on Twitter @michaelmalice.
It was more than eight years ago, at E3 2006, that Square Enix announced Final Fantasy Versus XIII. Since then, it's undergone a lot of change, and was even rebranded in 2014. Final Fantasy XV, as it's now known, was originally intended to be released on PlayStation 3, but with that console generation behind us, fans are now looking forward to playing it on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Most recently, it was announced that it's being directed by Hajime Tabata--his previous work in the series includes Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy Type-0--, with Tetsuya Nomura leaving the project to focus on Kingdom Hearts 3. We still don't know exactly when Final Fantasy XV is supposed to come out, but when Final Fantasy Type-0 HD comes out in a mere ten days on March 17, everyone who buys it will get a chance to play a slice of Final Fantasy XV, Episode Duscae. I was lucky enough to play an hour of of the demo at PAX East, and while it was hardly enough time to experience everything it has to offer (the demo, not the full game), I did a lot, I saw a lot, and most importantly, I experienced something I've been looking forward to for nearly a decade. Real-time Combat Final Fantasy XV handles combat very differently than past games. To start, you only have control over the main character, Noctis. Final Fantasy XIII has a similar constraint, but at some point it opens up and allows you to switch leaders, and thus the character you're controlling. This is not the case in Final Fantasy XV, as Noctis will forever be the only character under your control. It seems that you can change your party members' equipment, but that might be the extent of your influence over your cohorts. As much as I prefer having control over an entire party in an RPG, I can appreciate how Final Fantasy XV's combat's designed. Fights break out in real-time, and you have a bevy of commands to juggle, so having to consider what everyone is doing at all times could become very confusing if you had to juggle four characters at once. This is because you fight using input commands, rather than menu-based commands. Noctis can attack freely by holding down the square button (I played Final Fantasy XV on PlayStation 4), and will do so indefinitely until you let go. The same goes for defense, which you activate by holding L1. If an enemy attacks while you're defending, Noctis will move out of the way at the last second. If an enemy has a claw-looking icon over their head when they attack, you have a chance to parry by pressing the square button shortly after dodging an incoming attack. Noctis attacks using several weapons, which you can change in the equipment menu, but the only time you really feel the effect of this variety is when issuing special commands. Each weapon comes with one special action, and you cycle through them during combat using the directional pad. Pressing triangle will initiate one of these moves, including an HP draining attack, a dragoon leap, or a lunge attack, for example. Combat can definitely be frantic, with your party and enemies running in and out of your view. There are two means to make this easier on yourself. Pressing R1 will activate a focus mode where you hone your attention on a single target. Likewise, if you want to get close to an enemy that's just out of reach, you can focus on them and press circle to teleport to their location. Most commands cost magic points, and with a limited number of MP at your disposal, you need to manage your actions carefully. If you run out of MP during battle, Noctis will enter stasis, which greatly limits his mobility. MP will regenerate over time, and you can speed up the process by teleporting to the safety of higher ground, but this is easier said than done. Juggling the above commands comes naturally, but I found it difficult to be effective in battle without depleting all of my MP, thus falling into the pit of stasis. While I enjoy Final Fantasy XV's style of combat, I don't enjoy having to hold back at the risk of falling into stasis. Hopefully this is something that will become less of an issue as Noctis levels up and has more MP at his disposal. Open World Exploration Episode Duscae takes place in the Duscae region of Final Fantasy XV, which encompasses a mix of forests, marshes, plains, and a few small outposts of humanity. We all know by now that road trips are to be featured heavily in Final Fantasy XV, but I traveled on foot here rather than via car. I also meandered about the environment, rather than tackling the story quests head on. I wanted to play the demo with as few scripted scenes as possible, which definitely gave me a different impression than others who went from point A to point B, and so on. As you run around Duscae, you encounter a lot of wildlife that's fit for hunting. It's important to hunt, because the materials you earn from hunting (general combat against wildlife) is used to cook when you camp at night. The meals you cook determine what stat boosts you earn, and if you don't hunt, you have to eat toast, which doesn't do a whole lot for your hungry crew. Some animals that you encounter are passive, only fighting back when you initiate a fight, but other creatures saw fit to make the first move, including demonic wolves and goblins. This also goes for Magitek troops. These magically-powered soldiers arrive on the scene via dropships, which patrol Duscae on a regular basis. Spend enough time exploring Duscae and you're bound to discover outposts. I happened upon a gas station, which was fitted out with a mini-mart and a handful of NPCs. It was a stark contrast to the wilderness, but it also felt appropriate given the stretch of highway that surrounds Duscae. I even spotted a car driving along once in a while. Across the map, I stumbled into a chocobo ranch, but sadly the wetlands were in poor condition for chocobo riding, so I wasn't able to rent one. We've seen evidence of large cities in previous reveals from Square Enix, but it's cool to see that even when you're far away from large populations of people, you aren't completely alone, either. Technical Performance There are times when playing Episode Duscae that I was wowed by its visuals. Gorgeous vistas with long draw distances were easy to gawk at, and combat is both exciting and beautiful, with lots of particle effects and fancy maneuvers. However, there were also plenty of times where I was surprised and disappointed to see poor anti-aliasing and dips in the frame rate. Overall, the game's art is splendid, but perhaps too ambitious given that the PlayStation 4 was struggling to keep up. Everyone wants Final Fantasy XV to be a beautiful game, especially given it's prolonged development cycle, but I'd rather there were a few less blades of grass and a few more frames per second than the otherway around. Hopefully this is ironed out in the long run. Looking Forward to the Full Game I may not have loved every second of Final Fantasy XV: Episode Duscae, but I walked away with a desire to keep playing. I want to get better at combat, which is unusual for the series but oh-so enticing at the same time. I want to find out why the characters in Noctis' crew are so loyal to him, and see if, at all, how their relationships evolve. For all of questions Episode Duscae raises, it's a great opportunity to experience a taste of what's to come in the full game. I don't know when we'll get chance to see Final Fantasy XV proper in all its glory, but I know that I'm more excited for it than ever before. Once everyone has a chance to sink their teeth into Episode Duscae, I bet I won't be the only one.
Getty Images Japan is the clear leader in the medal table of the World Baseball Classic. Though recently outpaced and displaced in terms of popularity by football and basketball, baseball remains the official game of the American imagination. The “national pastime” holds firm as a fount of folk wisdom and popular mythology — even if the Chicago Cubs’ recent World Series win exorcised the last standing curse in American sports. For many outsiders, the sport is a mind-numbing metaphor for American exceptionalism. I remember a grumbling Italian friend capturing the common sentiment: “American football, OK, there is action and violence, but baseball … they are always standing, and you think soccer is boring?” Others poke fun at the audacity of calling the professional championship the “World Series,” especially when the only international team hails from not-so-far-off Toronto. Of course, as many a defensive baseball fan will note, the game is international, perhaps surprisingly so. As the 2017 Major League Baseball season kicked off this month, nearly 30% of the players on opening-day rosters hail from outside of the United States. The majority of these athletes come from the historical U.S. sphere of influence in the beisbol-crazy corners of Latin America and the Caribbean: the Dominican Republic provides the highest number, followed by Venezuela and an ever-increasing number of players who defected from Cuba. A handful come from less expected nations, such as Brazil and the Netherlands. Nine hail from Japan, a number that seems low at first glance, especially considering the quality of Japanese ballplayers. After all, two weeks ago, the Japanese national team took the bronze medal in the World Baseball Classic, perhaps a disappointing finish for the nation that took gold in the first two iterations of the tournament in 2006 and 2009. (Japan is the clear leader in the medal table, having also taken bronze in 2013.) The bronze medalists came tantalizingly close to the championship game, losing 2-1 in the semifinal to eventual champions team USA in a true pitcher’s duel. And they did it with only one of those aforementioned nine MLB stars on their 30-man roster: Houston Astros outfielder Nori Aoki, the elder statesman of the team at 35. The remaining 29 players were the cream of the crop from the only professional baseball league that holds a candle to the MLB in terms of prestige, size and revenues: Nippon Professional Baseball. What is the geopolitics of sports? So how did we get to this point, with Japan as a standard bearer for the most American of sports? This was actually one of the first questions that emerged when we began entertaining the idea of a column dedicated to the geopolitics of sports — a semi-joke that became a recurring quip, encapsulating the sort of questions and issues we could tackle in this space: “You know, how did Japan get baseball? That sort of thing.” The answer to this question — at least the brief version I can offer here — is an exemplary tale of how ideas travel across cultures, take root and find a life of their own. The early innings Depending on who’s keeping score, we can trace the pre-history of besoboru or yakyu (”field ball”) to either the Meiji Restoration or the American Civil War. In 1868, some 15 years after Commodore Matthew C. Perry “opened” Japan, the Tokugawa shogunate gave way to the restoration of imperial rule and the initiation of the Meiji period. A time of widespread and rapid reform and modernization, the early spirit of the era was captured in the “Imperial Oath of Five Articles,” a statement of five provisions to guide the new direction of the nation. The fifth provision, committing to an international search for knowledge in service of the state, eventually led to the arrival of legions of foreign advisers and educators, including the Americans who would bring baseball with them. But before baseball could become Japanese, it had to become the American pastime. Though various bat-and-ball games have been recorded as far back as the colonial era, baseball as we (more or less) know it emerged in 1845, with the New York Knickerbocker Base Ball Club and its formulation of the “Knickerbocker Rules.” Jason Notte: How much longer can golf survive? At midcentury, baseball was seen as a relatively civilized sport: a middle-class, mostly urban alternative to the rough-and-tumble world of animal baiting and bare-knuckle boxing that defined early American sport. The game had its early fanatics, but it wasn’t until the Civil War that baseball became firmly entrenched in the culture, superseding cricket and the dying strains of similar games such as town ball. At military encampments on both sides of the Mason-Dixon Line, the sport left the cities and crossed socio-economic lines; Americans have been chomping on peanuts and shouting “play ball!” ever since. But the Civil War did more than spur the love of the game in the hearts of American advisers to Meiji Japan. As Sayuri Guthrie-Shimizu notes in her excellent “Transpacific Field of Dreams,” it also provided the post-war social networks necessary for one war veteran to deliver baseball across the Pacific. In 1870, Horace Wilson, a Union vet originally from Gorham, Maine, found himself in San Francisco employed in the family business of another Union veteran. This job led Wilson to a position with the Japanese Consular Office and eventually to Japan itself as an oyatoi gaikokujin, as the foreign government advisers in Meiji Japan were known. As an oyatoi, Wilson was a high school math and English teacher at Tokyo’s Daigaku Nanko, where he would introduce baseball to the students — and eventually the nation — in 1872. Wilson was the first, but other Americans were not far behind. Within a year, fellow teachers Edward Mudgett and Albert Bates had brought the game to other institutions in Tokyo. Beyond the high schools, baseball’s evangelists included Christian missionaries throughout the country and a corps of American agricultural experts in Hokkaido. Many of these men espoused the nascent ideology of “muscular Christianity,” the belief that a strong body and rigorous physical practice were paramount to resisting the corruption of modernity and urban life. Though a decidedly American mentality, the linkage of body, mind and spirit resonated with contemporary Japanese perspectives on the spiritual merits of physical discipline. This ideological convergence might also help to explain the appeal of baseball to another group credited with fostering the development of Japanese baseball: the children of patricians or the recipients of government scholarships. Young Japanese men studying in places such as Philadelphia and Boston returned home with a passion for the game, and sometimes, the equipment needed to play it. Fits like a glove From these beginnings, besoboru quickly took hold, a means for the locals to challenge themselves and their American influencers; records indicate that games between students and Americans residing in the area were played by 1876. In what must be one of the earliest examples of the “glocalization” of culture, the Japanese were quick not just to embrace baseball, but to make it their own. In “You Gotta Have Wa,” his classic treatise on Japanese baseball, Robert Whiting notes that early Japanese coaches were quick to infuse the foreign game with the sense of moral purity and self-discipline that undergirds martial arts like kendo. Whiting relays a fantastic (if unverifiable) anecdote that some practitioners felt a batter who moved to avoid being “beaned” by the ball had failed to demonstrate sufficient courage. Also by Tolga Ozyurtcu: In pro sports, Europe is capitalist and the U.S. is ... socialist As the game was imbued with local norms, Japanese physical education teachers (themselves trained by American oyatoi) spread the diamond gospel throughout the country in the 1880s. By the end of the century, organized baseball teams were a fixture in the nation’s high schools, academies and universities. Notably, the academic sport system in this period displayed a level of organization and cohesion that school sports in the United States had yet to achieve. By 1905, starting with Waseda University, Japanese teams were taking trans-Pacific trips to tour and compete against American opposition on their home turf. Today, high school baseball in Japan remains a rare example of serious interscholastic sport outside of the United States or Canada; the annual high school championship is a major affair, a nationally televised tournament that is the Japanese equivalent to March Madness. In an effort to make sense of the appeal of baseball to the Japanese public, Whiting suggests that the sport ultimately “suits the national character.” He points to how baseball intertwines the individual battle with the collective effort: A pitcher and batter square off as in karate or Sumo, yet the end goal requires sacrifice, a detachment from the self. The deliberate nature and slow pace of the game provide another layer of appeal, likened by Whiting to the methodical reputation of Japanese businessmen and the drawn-out storytelling of Kabuki theater. While this perspective may be oversimplifying things a bit, the reality is that baseball has had a grip on the Japanese imagination and sporting public for almost 150 years. As in the United States, media and business interests helped to legitimize and grow the sport. At the turn of the 20th century, Japanese newspapers debated the moral and nationalistic merits of embracing a foreign game; by the end of the century, over a dozen sports dailies picked apart the statistical minutiae of every pitch and swing. In 1884, Albert Spalding, a globe-trotting baseball proselytizer and sporting goods magnate (yes, that Spalding), sent a gift of equipment to the team at Sapporo Agricultural College in an effort to make inroads into the growing Japanese market. Following suit, the Reach All-Stars — the first professional team from the United States to tour Japan — came in 1908 on a promotional junket for Reach Sporting Goods Co. The following decades saw many similar tours, underwritten by promoters and marketers, featuring American stars such as Ty Cobb, Lou Gehrig and even Babe Ruth. Despite the success of these commercial endeavors, baseball in Japan remained amateur until 1936, when the Japanese Baseball League was founded. Reorganized as Nippon Professional Baseball in 1950, the league has always been a decidedly professional and big-budget affair, with each of its 12 teams owned by a corporate parent. The popular Yakult probiotic drink company owns Tokyo’s Yakult Swallows; Nagoya’s Chunichi Dragons are owned by the dominant regional newspaper, the Chunichi Shimbun; the Yomiuri Giants (the Yakult Swallows’ cross-town rivals in Tokyo) are Nippon Professional Baseball’s version of the New York Yankees, having won the league title a record 22 times. From the Union Army vet to the national team that doesn’t need to draw on talent from the best league in the world, this, in short, is how Japan got baseball. Beating Major League Baseball to the punch by two days, Nippon Professional Baseball just kicked off its 2017 season on March 31. For any fan around the world who experiences (off)seasonal depression from late October through March, it is finally time to “Play ball!” Or perhaps: “Pure boru!” This article was published with the permission of Stratfor, the Austin, Texas-based geopolitical-intelligence firm. Tolga Ozyurtcu, Ph.D., is a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education at the University of Texas at Austin. As a faculty member in the Sport Management and Physical Culture and Sports programs at UT, he teaches classes on the history, sociology and philosophy of sport, as well as on the administration of sport organizations and businesses. His research takes an interdisciplinary perspective on the relationship between sport and mass culture. Want news about Asia delivered to your inbox? Subscribe to MarketWatch's free Asia Daily newsletter. Sign up here.
A pizza parlor in Boston was forced to shutter its doors after an attempt to buck capitalism proved an utter failure for business. Dudley Dough began in 2015 as the brainchild of Haley House, a nonprofit organization. The idea was to offer the Roxbury neighborhood great pizza by a happy staff who is paid much higher than minimum wage and who are rewarded for being an integral part of local community outreach. In their minds, it would be a progressive pizza parlor paradise and put to shame the greedy capitalists who like their pizzas topped only with profit. However, two years later Haley Houses executive director Bing Broderick has announced that Duddley Dough is done because it’s “not breaking even financially,” according to The Boston Globe, and has been putting undue stress on the nonprofit. It wasn’t that the restaurant didn’t draw customers; it was very popular. It’s just that economic justice is a terrible business model. But don’t tell the employees that; they refuse to believe that the venture was a failure. Sure, it lasted a whole two years, and perhaps the wages were more than fair, but now, everyone is out of a job. It’s hard to call that a success. H/T HotAir
Project RISE is a federally funded study on alcohol, emotions, and dating experiences between men and women. The research is conducted by doctoral student, Elizabeth Neilson, of the Department of Psychology at the University of Washington. Project RISE is no longer recruiting for new participants. The study involves one visit to our lab at the University of Washington for between 3 to 7 hours. You will be paid $15 per hour for the time that you spend at our lab (max $110). During the experiment you will be in a private room, by yourself, and will interact only with male research assistants trained to guide you through the experiment. Then you will answer questionnaires on a computer. Then you will be given a beverage that has a 50/50 chance of containing alcohol. If you receive alcohol, the amount given is intended to raise your blood alcohol content (BAC) to .10%. Following beverage administration, you will then read a sexually explicit story about a dating situation that might happen to a man your age, and will answer questions on the computer about how you would respond in that situation. While reading the story, you will place sensors on your body to measure your physical response for the duration of the story. This part of the study will take 3 to 4 hours. If you did not receive alcohol, you will be finished at this time. However, if you are given an alcohol beverage, you will be required to remain in our lab until your BAC drops to .03%. That should take an additional 3 to 4 hours. You will be paid $15 per hour for all of the time that you spend in the lab. If you want to participate in Project RISE, contact the Project RISE Office at 206-685-9333. When you call, we will ask you some questions about your drinking habits, your health, and your relationship history. You will not provide any identifying information during the screening questionnaire. At the end of the screening questionnaire, we will let you know immediately if you are eligible for the study. We will then give you more detailed information about the study, and if you are still interested, schedule you for a study visit to our lab. We will then ask you for your name and contact information in order to schedule you. If at this time you have any questions, contact: Project RISE Office Number: 206-685-9333 Project RISE email: projrise@uw.edu Principal Investigator, Elizabeth Neilson: 313-408-2928
About KAT In 2009 it was clear that there was still room for a new modern torrent community that could benefit from the huge changes of large p2p sites. Many file-sharing sites were closed or under fire by authorities, so in February 2009 a fresh engine KickassTorrents was established. Today, being more than three years old, KickassTorrents has found its place. The site has many innovative functions that have been improved out of the elder systems. Now it has more than 10 million files being shared on the whole, as hundreds of thousands of users communicate and share data daily in different languages worldwide. The ad-free version with faster speed and more benefits is there for registered users. Since the beginning of 2012, KickassTorrents holds its place in top 3 of the most used torrent sites. Its user activity and the number of members is growing rapidly. Basics on how to use With millions of indexed torrents, KickassTorrents has become one of the most prominent torrent search tools in the recent decade. The service is available for anyone who wants to use it without them having to register. Any user can try the service out and explore its features and uses without ever having to sign up. The registration is completely voluntary and is not necessary to use the basic features. However, when one registers for KickassTorrents, he gains access to numerous other tools that he could not use before. The Pirate Bay search will be more comprehensive and enjoyable for those who do take the time to submit a registration. About the content online The content available is nearly inexhaustible with thousands of new torrents being added daily. While it works like and is labeled as a search engine, KickassTorrents is not normal search engine. While it does perform customizable searches, the results are files rather than pages. These files come from the countless users who participate in the service. Anyone can share their audio and video files over the torrent portal while the site monitors submissions to verify their safety. The technical definition of the site is a directory, collection several millions of files from individual users. This allows for collaboration of a worldwide network of people to share their files and help others benefit while benefiting themselves. Any upcoming music artist can share their songs with the world to gain a following and build to a future more glamorous career. Amateur videographers can share their movies to get their name out there as they build a portfolio. Whatever one’s specific desires and niche, anyone will find a helpful tool with KickassTorrents. They can either find useful and enjoyable files, or gain a presence on the web. Short introduction of history It was in the year 2009 that KickassTorrents made its debut and instantly won widespread recognition. Since then, the site has given a very helpful tool to multiple millions of users. It has even risen to be the third most popular service of its kind. Countless people have become satisfied users, finding this service a real benefit, and have voiced this sentiment. Despite its popularity and proven service, nothing is without both its positives and negatives. While a numerous amount of files are available, a file can only be shared by those who are currently online. This limits how many people can access one’s files to the time that he is actually connected. This also means that the time that downloading may take is unpredictable because different services vary, and it may end up taking much longer for some files than expected. This may lead to the user not having enough time to finish his download. This slight inconvenience, however, is greatly outweighed by the benefits that are incurred when one uses the Music Frost program to aid their search. A person who needs some fresh music to listen can find just about any song and artist that their ears desire. With this helpful tool on their personal computer, no one will run out of fresh music to delight their soul. The search makes it easy to find just what you are looking for. A search can be conducted by the name of the composer, or it can be done by the name of the song. The user will often also find other similar files that he may enjoy. More regarding the download tool Because KickassTorrents is a relatively unfamiliar tool to many casual internet users, some explanation might be necessary regarding its use. Once the best torrent client is obtained, one can simply go to the website and search for their preferred file. The user should click the “Bit Torrent” option before searching. Many results will likely appear for the search topic, and it is recommended that one narrow his search to those with the most seeds because this indicates its quality and trustworthiness. KickassTorrents takes its place as one of the internet’s most well known and most trusted BitTorrent sites, earning its place as the third in the world in 2011. It has outlasted many of its competitors to now be called the oldest large BitTorrent service still around. KickassTorrents has weathered the technological challenges and legal battles of the last decade to maintain its current place of honor. With more than twenty million users, it is a favorite choice for sharing large media files. Both songs and full videos can be downloaded. This makes it seen as not only the best in its mother country, but also in the whole world. This multiplicity of attention naturally brought its share of law battles as other companies tried to shut it down. But the site managers have successfully fought these battles and maintained their prestigious status. Their victory has brought continued benefit to the public that cannot be found anywhere else. The system is running smoothly While many search engines and file download options are available all across the worldwide web, KickassTorrents rises to the top with its superior technology and programming. As the most advanced of its kind, it services users across the globe and has not one, but two servers. Each one is on a different contentment. With both Sweden and Canada housing these physical locations that make up KickassTorrents, users can be assured that the website will be running twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. These servers are updated hourly to keep as current as possible and give users the most comprehensive database to choose from. The search feature is extremely simple, making the most technologically ignorant person to be able to find what he is looking for with just a little instruction. This is proven by the twelve million searches that run through the servers each day, finding valuable files.
The North American home video distributor Discotek Media announced on Wednesday that it licensed the two Unico feature films for release on DVD next year. Discotek licensed The Fantastic Adventures of Unico film (1981) which was directed by the late anime and manga pioneer Osamu Tezuka, and Moribi Murano's Unico: To The Magic Island (Unico: Mahō no Shima e) sequel (1983). Both films adapted Tezuka's Unico manga about the title unicorn. Both films appeared with English dubbing on home video and on cable television in the United States in the 1980s, but the video tape versions are long out of print. A relatively recent company called New Galaxy Anime licensed the two features as its first two titles in 2007, but New Galaxy Anime never released an actual product. Update: Previous release information added. Update 2: Discotek added that "both Unico movies will have the English dub and Japanese with English subs." Thanks, WTK.
Washington Capitals 2013 first-round draft pick Andre Burakovsky is off to a great start in his OHL career. He’s been playing on the Erie Otters’ second line and has 18 points in 13 games. Erie has tied their franchise-best ten-game winning streak after a 4-0 win over the Peterborough Petes on Saturday. Burakovsky scored a highlight-reel goal in the third period of the game, marking his fourth straight game with points. Burakovsky’s goal is at 1:04. With Erie already up 3-0, Burakovsky cuts from the right wing and fires to the top shelf glove side to beat Petes’ Andrew D’Agostini. Thanks to Buzzing The Net for first posting the video and RMNB reader Joshua L. for shooting us the link. Advertisements Share this story: Facebook Twitter Reddit Tumblr Pinterest
Eden Hazard: Chelsea have no intention of selling the midfielder Paris Saint-Germain boss Laurent Blanc has conceded defeat in his efforts to prise Eden Hazard from Chelsea. Reigning Ligue 1 champions PSG have been heavily linked with an approach for the former Lille playmaker for some time. Blanc has been open in his admiration of the 23-year-old, fuelling speculation that a big-money bid was imminent. PSG are, however, prepared to shelve their transfer plans after being left in little doubt by Chelsea that Hazard is not for sale. Hazard is a top player, but I think Chelsea want to keep him. A lot of players are going to be mentioned, but we have already got our priority, David Luiz. Laurent Blanc The Belgium international, who is currently away on World Cup duty, has also revealed that he has no intention of pushing for a move. Blanc, therefore, is hoping to draw a line under the matter, with one raid on the Stamford Bridge ranks for Brazilian defender David Luiz enough for one summer. He told RMC Brazil: “Hazard is a top player, but I think Chelsea want to keep him. “A lot of players are going to be mentioned, but we have already got our priority, David Luiz. “We’re going to wait a bit before making any more signings. Be patient.” While ruling out one possible incoming, Blanc admits there may be outgoings at the Parc des Princes over the coming weeks – with the likes of Ezequiel Lavezzi, Marquinhos and Javier Pastore being linked with moves elsewhere. Blanc added: “Some players will ask to leave, we’ll have to see. For the moment, that’s not the case. “We’re going to bring in some players, one or two, of great quality.”
The "operational limitations" of Tesla's Autopilot system played a "major role" in a 2016 crash, the National Transportation Safety Board said on Tuesday. NTSB investigators met to determine the cause of a fatal crash involving a Tesla on Autopilot in May 2016. After meeting for roughly 2½ hours Tuesday, the board determined the probable cause of the accident was a combination of a semitrailer driver failing to yield the right of way to the Tesla driver, the Tesla driver's overreliance on the car's Autopilot system, and certain design limitations in the Autopilot system that failed to adequately warn the Tesla driver of the approaching truck. They recommended that automakers not allow drivers to use automated control systems in ways they were not intended to be used. The driver in the fatal Tesla crash had been using Autopilot on a type of road Tesla said Autopilot should not be used on. "At Tesla, the safety of our customers comes first, and one thing is very clear: Autopilot significantly increases safety, as NHTSA has found that it reduces accident rates by 40 percent," Tesla said in an email to CNBC. "We appreciate the NTSB's analysis of last year's tragic accident and we will evaluate their recommendations as we continue to evolve our technology," Tesla wrote. "We will also continue to be extremely clear with current and potential customers that Autopilot is not a fully self-driving technology and drivers need to remain attentive at all times." The board previously determined the crash was not the result of a defect in the system. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in September 2016 that a subsequent update to the Autopilot system could have prevented the crash. The accident was the first known fatal crash involving a car using an automated driver assistance system, NTSB chairman Robert Sumwalt said. The vehicle was set to cruise control at 74 miles per hour, above the 65 mph speed limit, moments before the crash. The Autopilot system failed to detect a semitrailer crossing an intersection in front of the car, and the car collided with the truck, killing the driver. The driver had Autopilot engaged for 37 of the 41 total minutes of the trip. Autopilot has torque sensors on the steering wheel that detect whether the driver is holding it. If the sensors indicate the driver is not holding the wheel, it issues warnings that will disengage Autopilot, forcing the driver to take over again. Data taken from the car indicate the driver had his hands on the wheel seven times during the time the system was engaged, for a total for 25 seconds. The driver's "lack of engagement" suggests an over-reliance on the Autopilot system, NTSB investigators said. In particular, the investigators said using torque sensors on the steering wheel is a poor method for gauging driver engagement. Driving is a largely visual activity, said NTSB investigator Ensar Becic, and whether hands are on the wheel does not necessarily indicate whether the driver is paying attention. The board recommends companies turn to other technologies. "One potential option is an eye tracker, a driver-facing camera," Becic said. — Reuters contributed to this report.
Feeling like you spend a little too much? You’re not alone. Millions of people around the world are looking to do a little more with what they earn. Luckily, saving money doesn’t have to be a sacrifice. 1. Eat frozen veggies Frozen veggies are almost always cheaper than their fresh counterparts. The reason for this is not because frozen veggies taste worse or because they are less nutritional. It’s simple economics! Fresh veggies must be transported quickly from one part of the world (where they grow) to another (where you live), and those costs are passed on to you. When you buy frozen veggies, you are buying the same vegetables, but you don’t pay for that fast, expensive shipping. Start buying frozen veggies to reduce your weekly grocery bill. You can even freeze your own veggies if you buy too many fresh ones by accident. Eating healthy doesn’t have to be expensive! 2. Drink water instead of expensive drinks It’s tempting to load up on delicious drinks when you’re at the supermarket. You see every type of drink there is, and you’re already buying so much food, so you think to yourself, “Why not buy a few drinks?” You may also buy smaller 16- or 20-oz drinks on a whim at your local convenience store. These costs add up quickly. Although the drinks are delicious, they’re also expensive. On the other hand, water is totally free at home, and much less expensive at convenience stores. Switch to water and you will save money – period. You will also be much healthier! Switching to water is the first tip when you’re trying to lose weight. Get a faucet filter or Britta pitcher if you don’t like the taste of your tap water. 3. Use your leftovers Never throw away your food! Leftovers are easy to reheat and some dishes even taste better the second day. You can save everything from a home-cooked meal to a late-night pizza. Tomorrow, next day, and the day after that, you’ll have a full meal or snack without spending a penny. If you struggle on how to save your food, load up on tupperware, plastic bags, freezer bags, and other useful storage containers. With a storage arsenal at your back, you will be able to save anything without inconvenience or hassle. (That’s half of the battle – we’re always lazy after we eat!) 4. Stop throwing away healthy veggie or fruit parts Do you throw away the stems, the seeds, the skin, and the leaves? You’d be surprised at just how many different parts of foods can be saved and repurposed in later dishes. As an example, if you use broccoli or cauliflower heads and throw away the stems, you are making a mistake. They are delicious and packed with nutrients – you can eat those, and save on food costs as a result! Check out our full list of common food parts you might be throwing away accidentally. 5. Cook your own meals You can make the same meal you get at a restaurant for ½ to ¼ of the price you pay there. Most people know this – they just don’t like to cook, don’t know how, or don’t have the time. The good news is that, anyone, regardless of cooking ability or patience, can cook their own meals and save huge on monthly meal expenses. (Look at how much you spent last month on takeout and restaurants – what if half of that money was back in your pocket?) Look up quick meals to cook in 20-30 minutes or less (the same amount of time you would spend getting takeout) Look up meals that can be cooked with whatever you have in the house Cook meals in bulk at the start of the week, freeze them and eat them throughout the week Look up simple recipes with just a few ingredients and steps to get your feet wet in the culinary world 6. Stock your kitchen pantry like a chef would Everyone knows that buying in bulk is cheaper. But when it comes to ingredients, you might be surprised at just how much cheaper. (There is a reason why restaurants have massive vats of ingredients in the back!) Basically, if it can be stored easily, you’re always better buying in bulk. And there’s no reason not to, assuming you can stomach the original cost. You can sometimes save 50% – 80%! The investment will pay off big time in the coming months when your grocery bill is a fraction of what it used to be. Click here for a full list of 50 ingredients that you can buy in bulk and store with ease. 7. Grow your own vegetables Do you have room for a garden? You can save money by planting your own vegetables at the start of the season and harvesting them when they’re ripe. Depending on where you live, you will be restricted to growing certain types of vegetables, but even if you grow only a few, you’re still saving big. Vegetables are some of the most expensive items in the grocery store! Veggies you grow yourself are yummier than what you can get in the supermarket, too. Nothing beats homegrown, not even at a luxury supermarket like Whole Foods. 8. Plan your menu around fruits and veggies that are in season Ever wonder why some fruits, like strawberries, are so cheap in the summer? The reason is because that particular fruit is in-season. If a fruit is in-season, that fruit is being harvested en masse somewhere in the world. There is an abundance of it. As a result of that, prices are cheap for you locally. You can look up which fruits and veggies are currently in-season to reduce costs while still eating fresh fruits and veggies. You’ll find something you love in every season, and right when you start getting sick of it, a new batch of in-season fruits and veggies will roll around. 9. Enjoy more dinners at home with your family Most families eat at home at least occasionally. But the meals are usually nothing fancy. You might eat hamburgers and hotdogs one night, pizza another night, and baked chicken another night. When you want something fancy, you go out to an expensive restaurant and rack up a big bill. You don’t have to go out for the privilege of having a good meal. Anyone in the house can cook a fancy meal without spending the entire day doing so or buying a million ingredients. In fact, that same meal you get at the restaurant can likely be made at home fairly easily, and for a much cheaper price. The next time you have the urge to go out, stay in with your family and put together an inexpensive, but still decadent, meal. 10. Look for recipes that are cheap to make Some meals are expensive to make. Others are cheap to make. Both can be made to be especially yummy. Take a look at these cheap meals and see if any of them appeal to you when your stomach is rumbling. Everyone loves a good steak once in awhile, but if you want to save money, you should try to cook inexpensive meals as frequently as possible. 11. Learn how to cook Learning to cook is arguably one of the most valuable skills you can pick up. When you want to make something delicious, you don’t have to pay to sit in an expensive restaurant and wait for a chef to cook it. You can do it yourself! You can also save on more regular meals – even making your own pizza is about half as expensive as ordering one for delivery is. Grab a few cookbooks and make some recipes. You’ll be shocked at how much you can save, and you might be surprised at how therapeutic and rewarding cooking your own meals can be. 12. Create a grocery list and stick to it Food is a necessity – it’s first in food, water, and shelter. But that doesn’t mean you can splurge without limitation when it comes to groceries. Think about if you “splurged” on rent and had to pay $200+ extra per month. That would be a big hit to your budget, no? Use that same thinking when you go to the grocery store. Make a list that you can afford and stick with it. As long as you can avoid temptation before the checkout line, your budget will be balanced. You can do it! (If necessary, partition some of your grocery bill towards “cheat foods” – foods that you decide to get on a whim while you’re there.) 13. Avoid convenience foods and fast food When you eat food that is convenient to get – a bag of chips, or a hamburger from a fast food place, etc. – you are paying for both the food and the convenience. Usually, you get a little for a lot. For example, a big bag of chips at the grocery store costs the same as a small bag of chips at the convenience store. Create your own convenience. Always buy a snack during your lunch break? Start making snacks at home or buying snack food in bulk. Take the convenience charge out of convenient food and you’ll save big. 14. Be aware of what you put in your shopping cart There are some foods that are disproportionately expensive: they cost much more than they are worth. Some examples of these foods are bottled water, fruit bars, and “lunch packs”. You pay a dollar but only get a nickel in value. Take a look at these 25 food items you should never buy again and see if you are purchasing any of them – if you are, stop buying them and start making them yourself. You’ll be amazed at how cheap the ingredients are and how yummy the homemade versions are. 15. Make your own snacks Making your own snacks can save you a lot of money. Even if you buy bulk, snacks are still expensive. You can get the snack ingredients yourself and make them for a fraction of the price. Check out these common snacks that can be made for less. If you eat any of them on a consistent basis, consider making them yourself. 16. Be your own barista Going to a coffee shop in the morning is a ritual for most of us. But it’s a very expensive ritual. Coffee and tea are both very inexpensive, yet at somewhere like Starbucks, you pay $3 or more for a single cup. That’s over $20 a week and close to $100 every single month. If you want that money back in your pocket, get a coffee maker that suits your needs and start being your own barista. Some of us will be able to get by with a normal coffee pot and regular hot coffee. But some will need a little more to match the coffee shop experience. Love iced coffee? Get a cold press to make cold coffee that doesn’t get diluted by ice. Never have time to make coffee? Get a timed coffee pot so the brew is ready to go when you get out of the shower. Breaking the coffee shop habit is hard to do, but the savings are immense if you can bring yourself to do so. 17. Stop eating sugar Sugar itself isn’t expensive. You can pick up a huge tub for a couple of dollars. But sugary meals, snacks, desserts, and drinks can be very expensive, and they’re not nutritious or filling in the slightest. That means you’re basically throwing money out the window when you buy them, even though you are technically buying food. Try to cut back sugary foods as much as you can. Everyone needs a slice of chocolate cake once in awhile. But if you get rid of the daily ritual of sugar, you will spend less and feel/look better. It’s worth a shot. 18. Try skipping meat with a vegetarian meal once a week If you’re not a vegetarian, you probably don’t eat many vegetarian meals. But if you’re trying to save money, you should. Vegetarian meals are not only incredibly filling and nutritious, but they’re also very cheap. Take a look at these 15 frugal vegetarian recipes and try making a new one for one meal every week. Even one vegetarian meal per week will put a couple 20-dollar bills in your pocket every month. 19. Brown bag your lunch How much do you spend on lunch every day? Buying your lunch every day is convenient, but also quite expensive. Even if you try to save money when you order, you will still spend a couple hundred dollars per month on lunch. There’s no way to avoid it. Try bringing your own lunch in a brown bag for a full month and see how much money you save. You don’t need to make peanut butter and jelly. Prepare a real meal the night before and stick it in the bag for morning. You’ll save a lot of money, and you’ll probably eat healthier, too. 20. Stop smoking Smoking is a cash drain. Every smoker knows this. Packs of cigarettes are expensive, and if you live somewhere with high tobacco taxes, the costs can be on the borderline of absurd. And you’re buying a pack every number of days, without ever taking a break… Try to quit. If not for your health, do it for your wallet. Calculate how much you spend every month and year on cigarettes. That money can be back in your pocket. Best of all, there are plenty of ways to quit smoking that don’t cost a penny. 21. Use natural remedies that are 100% FREE instead of expensive chemical products Do you buy supplements or creams for your health or skin? Chances are, you can stop buying those supplements and use inexpensive natural remedies to achieve the same results. That concept might sound unbelievable, but it’s true – many modern “remedies” can be replaced with their natural counterparts. Try the natural route and you can look and feel the same without breaking the bank. 22. Drink a glass of delicious detox water three times a day to lose weight Losing weight and feeling good doesn’t have to be expensive. You don’t need supplements, weight loss books, or a personal nutritionist. Chances are, most of what you are trying to do can be accomplished with a detox water recipe. In essence, you combine a mixture of natural ingredients with a cup of water, and when you drink it, you get all of those natural benefits without the steep price tag. Try a detox water recipe and you will be able to cut out most of your “weight loss budget”. 23. Drink green tea to lose weight Losing weight can get expensive. You have to buy all of your healthy foods and supplements. And you have to pay for your gym membership and any fitness subscriptions you have… the list goes on. What if it were a little easier? Try drinking green tea to speed up your weight loss for pennies on the dollar. Green tea is extremely inexpensive, but it contains a host of antioxidant and weight loss properties that can help anyone, regardless of diet or fitness regimen, to lose weight. Pick up some tea bags and add them to your routine. You may find that you can replace other expensive weight loss components with a simple cup of green tea every day. 24. Exercise home by watching YouTube videos A gym membership can be expensive (depending on which gym you go to). And if you take classes at the gym, your costs for fitness can skyrocket. A single class can be $50+, which stacks on top of your $30 – $50+ per month for your gym membership. That’s not cheap! If you want to do fitness classes and general fitness at home to cut all of those costs out, follow a popular fitness YouTube training course. Watching one is just like being in a class in the gym – except you’re comfy at home and you don’t have other people watching you work out. 25. Concoct your own perfume at home Some ladies have a certain perfume that they love. Others just have perfume for the sake of having perfume. The exact scent isn’t important. You’re only worried about smelling lovely. Believe it or not, you can concoct your own perfume at home and create similar aromas to the brands sold in stores. Perfume companies do not want you to know that their products are relatively simple. They hide behind flashy marketing to make you think it’s a luxury, but in reality, it’s just a few ingredients combined together. Try making your own by buying your own ingredients, then see how it smells. If you like it, you have just saved a couple hundred dollars per year on perfume. 26. Make your deodorant last longer Like most toiletries, deodorant isn’t a huge expensive – but it does add up. You’re probably buying at least one stick or spray bottle per month, and that can be $10-$20, which totals to $100-$200+ per year. Wouldn’t it be nice to have that money back in your pocket? Making your own deodorant is tricky, but making store-bought deodorant last longer is not. Follow these tips and you’ll find that your sticks and spray bottles seem to last forever. When you go to pick up toiletries, you can leave deodorant off the list, pocket the money, and buy yourself something nice. 27. Paint your own nails instead of paying for a manicure and pedicure Manicures and pedicures are expensive no matter which salon you go to. Even if you go to a discount salon, you are still paying an absolute minimum of $50 for your visit. That amount may seem like a necessary expense to you. If it does, you likely haven’t tried giving yourself a manicure or pedicure before. It’s relatively easy to do and the results are almost exactly the same as if you were to go to a salon. Check out these ideas for painting your own nails and giving yourself an at-home mani/pedi treatment. Once you give it a try and see how much you save, you likely won’t want to step foot in the salon again, or at least not as frequently as before. 28. Make your own soap Did you know that soap is extremely easy to make? The markup in stores is ridiculous. You might pay a couple of dollars for a bar of soap that literally costs a nickel to make! You probably won’t go broke buying soap, but making your own can free up funds for what you really want to buy. Take a look at our top 10 homemade recipes for soap. They’re all easy for a beginner and surprisingly fun once you get into it. You might even decide to start selling to your friends and family if you make enough soap – that’s how many of today’s popular soap brands got their starts! 29. Whiten your teeth at home There are two primary ways to whiten your teeth: dentist appointments or at-home treatments. Using the dentist can cost hundreds to thousands of dollars, depending on your insurance. At-home treatments are less expensive, but still not cheap. A pack of white strips can run over $50, and there is no guarantee that they will work, or that your teeth won’t react negatively to the chemicals. There’s an easier way: using at-home natural remedies. You can get the ingredients for less than $10, and you can turn your teeth anywhere from slightly-whiter to “celebrity white”. It’s your choice. Read how to whiten your teeth at home to get started. 30. Use no-cost beauty products you can whip up at home Do you use beauty products? Chances are, you use at least one or two. Maybe you want smaller pores, fewer wrinkles, more luscious hair… the list goes on. We all want to look good. And usually, we associate looking good with a high price tag. We usually think that the more expensive a product, the better it will work. But that’s not entirely true. Though there are many reputable beauty products out there, many of the goals of beauty products – like fewer wrinkles, smaller pores, and softer hair – can be accomplished with inexpensive at-home natural remedies. Try a few of them. If they work, you can ditch the expensive beauty products and use the more affordable alternative. You’ll still look great! 31. Get a complete makeover for free Do you find yourself buying beauty products, only to use them infrequently or not at all? If you do, you are throwing money down the drain. You may think that money is a necessary expense to try out different products and find the ones that look best on you. But these days, there are better alternatives. You can try on products before you buy them with the help of the internet. Many different companies let you upload a photo and “try on” whatever you would like through the use of special effects and filters. You’ll be surprised at how far the technology has come. Once you find the perfect combination of beauty products, you can buy those and know that you’ll be using them. 32. Dye your hair without spending a dime Dying your hair isn’t cheap, especially if you dye your hair on a consistent basis. Salons are excellent, but pricey. If you do it yourself, you probably don’t use the cheapest option available. Whichever method you choose, you have to do it frequently, further raising your monthly expenses. What if you could get that money back in your pocket? There are ways to dye your hair without spending a penny. The look you get is just like the one from the salon or the products you use. The only difference is you’re saving big. Give it a try, and remember that you can always go back to the salon or your old products if you don’t like the look. 33. Smile more to reduce stress Being happy and stress-free means you lead an affordable life. You don’t eat or smoke due to stress, you don’t make impulse purchases to make yourself feel good, and you don’t spend money on therapists and other therapeutic activities. You can be happy for free. Take a look at these easy ways to make yourself happy right this second. They’re all easy, but extremely effective. Be happier to save money. 34. Do-it-yourself home repairs When something breaks in your house, whatever broke usually just has one thing wrong with it. Your faucet might just be clogged, your toilet might have a single part in the tank disconnected, or your dryer might just have a single valve loose. Getting a repairman into your home to fix the problem can run you $100+ per hour. Most of the time, you don’t need to pay that cost. You can fix the problem yourself with the help of the internet. If your broken home appliance falls is on this list, chances are, you can do repairs yourself with no prior handyman experience and save a ton of money by doing so. 35. Make your own cleaning products instead of buying them Keeping your house clean really adds up. You either pay for a cleaning service (very expensive) or do it yourself (moderately expensive). If you do it yourself, you still have to buy cleaners, detergents, soaps, softeners, air fresheners, and whatever else you use for cleanup. If you put in the effort to do it yourself, you may want to try and pay the least amount possible. After all, you are already putting in the time to do the chore – why spend money on top of that? Click here for a full list of easy and inexpensive cleaning product substitutes that can replace the pricey store-bought alternatives that you’re using now. 36. Customize your air freshener No one likes living in a stinky house or apartment. To mask the smell, you may use air fresheners – scented candles, spray bottles, automatic dispensers, and others. All of these fresheners are expensive and can run you $20+ for a week or so of pleasant aromas. You can put together air fresheners yourself for a very low price. Often times, these fresheners smell much better than the artificial store-bought ones. There are also ways to keep your house smelling good without the help of an air freshener. Read this list and try a few of the ideas to save money and keep your living spaces fresh and clean. 37. Choose energy-efficient appliances Your appliances make up a huge portion of your energy bill. When you have old or non-efficient appliances, they take a lot of energy to work. If you have a high energy bill and old appliances, the likely reason you’re paying so much is because your appliances are sapping up tons of energy. Getting new energy-efficient appliances can save you money on a month-to-month basis. You do pay for the appliance upfront, but you save on your energy bills every single month and eventually earn that cost back. Six months to a year in, you have paid off the new energy-efficient appliance completely (via energy savings), and you have a brand new appliance to top it all off. 38. Get rid of cable TV The truth is that your TV isn’t doing you any favors. Watching it can be a way to relax, but staring at a screen isn’t necessarily enriching – there are far more healthier ways to relax. And, you pay a huge bill for the privilege of unhealthy relaxation on top of that. In some areas, due to cable company monopolization, customers pay $100+ per month to watch cable TV. Is that really worth it? $100+ in your pocket every month is quite noticeable to most people. See what it’s like to live without a TV, and if you like what the lifestyle sounds like, cancel your cable at the end of your subscription. You can always renew, but most who get rid of cable TV never go back. 39. Avoid paying for expensive cable tv by shifting to online streaming What do you like to watch on cable? Pretty much every show out there is available on a streaming service, and all streaming services are cheaper than a cable TV package. When you use a streaming service, you also don’t have to deal with commercials, or waiting for your favorite show to “come on”. Check out the most popular streaming services – there is something for everyone. Then, cancel your cable TV subscription and subscribe to one of the services that looks good. You can even subscribe to two or three and still pay less than what you pay for cable TV. And as the months go by, those savings put hundreds of dollars back into your bank account. 40. Reduce your electricity bills Have you ever tried to reduce your electricity bill? Maybe you have settled into the train of thought that your house of apartment just uses a lot of electricity. But most of the time, that’s not the case – you are the one using the electricity, and there are things you can do to use less. Take a look at these easy ways to reduce your electricity bill and implement a few of them today. You’ll notice a reduction in your energy expenditure immediately, which will lead to lower energy bills month-to-month. Those savings will snowball on top of each other until you are saving quite a bit per year. Go try some now – the sooner you start, the sooner you’ll save! 41. Use less water There are so many ways to use less water every month. And it’s not like you have to inconvenience yourself. A lot of the methods revolve around forming newer, more efficient habits when you do use water. For example, if you run the faucet while brushing your teeth, you can turn it off. If you let your shower warm up for five minutes before jumping in, you can check in every 10 seconds or so to see when it’s warm. Read the full list of water-conserving habits and try out a few every week. By a few months in, your water bill will be half of its original figure, and you’ll feel good about not wasting gallons and gallons of water, too. 42. Cut AC costs Running the AC on full blast makes your house comfortable. But with that method, you’re sacrificing lots of money for comfort. Even a small reduction on your AC expenditure can lead to big savings. Turning a window AC unit from High to Low can lower its energy expenditure by up to 30% (depending on the unit). Turning your central AC up just two degrees can lead to 15% savings in energy expenditure. Rest assured that you do not need to settle for a warmer house with less AC usage. Take a look at this list and implement a few of the techniques to increase airflow circulation and keep your house cool while using less energy. 43. Stay cool without the AC You can use certain tactics to cool off your house without resorting to the AC. Moving your furniture around and setting up fans in effective locations are just two of them. If you take the effort to keep your house cool without the AC, you can use less AC to make it chilly and comfortable, which will lead to savings. You might even be able to get by without AC at all. – 44. Organize your pantry for less than $50 An organized kitchen is a kitchen you feel good in. Everything is at your fingertips and you have room for everything you buy. Sometimes, you can even make food last longer with proper storage. For example, putting cereal in airtight containers can make it stay fresh for 3-4x longer than if you left it in the cardboard box. Check out our quick guide to organizing your entire pantry for less than $50. Beautiful and functional storage does not have to be expensive if you know what you’re doing! 45. Beautify your home for less than $50 Decorating your home can be discouraging. When you go to look online and in stores, you see all of these different items you love, but everything is so expensive! You probably don’t have a huge home improvement budget, but you still want to make a big impact. If that sounds like you, check out our recommended ways to spice up any room for less than $50. You won’t be able to get a new luxury leather couch for that price, but you can add some serious flair by replacing the right components of a room. 46. Redecorate your bedroom for less than $100 You spend eight or more hours inside of your bedroom – you want the space to feel perfect. But you don’t need to shell out money to get that effect. In fact, some of the biggest changes you can make can be done for under $100. You can get a brand new color on the walls or a brand new bedding set that makes you feel like your bed is brand-new. Take a look at the full list if you want to upgrade your bedroom in some way without setting aside a huge budget. 47. Invest in long-lasting kitchen accessories One of the biggest mistakes that homeowners make is sacrificing quality for price, especially in the kitchen. When you buy cheap kitchen accessories, they break constantly, and you have to keep replacing them month after month and year after year. A much better alternative is spending the money on quality once and using that particular accessory for years into the future. Check out our ultimate list of kitchen accessories you shouldn’t skimp on. The next time something breaks, if it’s on the list, spend the money on quality and your wallet will be happy you did. 48. Take care of your indoor plants on a budget Indoor plants have been proven to increase productivity and uplift mood. But they’re expensive! You need to get the plants in the first place, then you have to spend all of that money on their care and upkeep. The costs can make some people avoid them altogether. As long as you can afford the plants, you can afford their upkeep with some inexpensive ways to take care of them. You’ll replace all of your regular monthly costs with other materials or homemade materials. Overall, you’ll be spending just a few bucks to keep them all healthy – and the health benefits are absolutely worth that small amount. 49. Organize your shoes almost for free A really nice shoe rack can be the perfect touch to your closet or bedroom. But the nice ones are expensive. You might pay $100+ for one that you’re really in love with. You don’t have to. You can create a very cheap shoe rack that looks really good if you do it yourself. Browse through these easy and cheap ways to organize your shoes and see if you like the aesthetics of any of them. If you do, follow the instructions and you have just saved $100+. 50. Organize your closet on a budget Organizational units aren’t cheap. Even the cheapo plastic ones will run you close to $100 if you get them for your entire closet. If you get high-quality wood or metal ones, expect to spend over $100, if not a couple hundred dollars. You can do it in a smarter way. We’ve put together 11 amazing ideas for organizing your closet that are all extremely inexpensive. Get organized today without spending a fortune. 51. Organize a yard sale to get rid of your clutter The first step to removing clutter in your home is clearing everything out. From there, you have two options: throw it out or try to sell it. Don’t throw it out! Try to sell your stuff at a garage sale. The beauty of the garage sale is that you can sell anything you want, and there’s always a chance of someone buying it. Everything from those old books to that unused storage container can be put out and sold. Make sure to plan in advance before throwing your garage sale. The key is being organized. If you organize well and do the proper “marketing”, you can sell most, if not all, of your items. Start clearing your junk out, and when it’s ready for sale, plan your yard sale for maximum exposure and sales success. 52. Learn how to recycle Most people associate the word recycling with aluminum cans and plastic bottles. And those items can certainly be recycled in the traditional sense, earning you $20+ every month when you put them in the machines at the grocery store. But other items can be recycled for money, too. Old clothing can be sold to thrift shops. Everyday items can be sold on eBay and other sites. Before you throw anything out, learn how to save money with recycling and make sure you’re not throwing money in the trash! 53. Unleash your creativity and reuse old household items Everything you throw out should first be examined for reuse potential. You’d be surprised at just how much can be reused instead of tossed away. An obvious example is reusing Chinese food takeout containers for tupperware containers. But you may not know about more creative ideas, like reusing tires, water filters, and more. Look at these 20 items that can be reused with ease, and if you use any of them, try to reuse instead of repurchase to save a truckload of cash every year. 54. Collect your old pennies and turn them into a great décor piece Saving your pennies can earn you a few bucks, but it’s tough to make any real money with them. Even 1,000 pennies – or 20 rolls – is just 10 dollars. A better option is saving them and turning them into a fancy, but inexpensive, decor piece. Once you know how to put them together, you can create almost any type of art piece to display or hang in your home. Check out the guide to penny decorations, then start setting your pennies aside from the rest of your change collection to build your stash up. 55. Create a reading nook out of materials that you already have A reading nook is one of the coziest spaces in any home. There’s nothing like cuddling up with a book in secret. Many people think that they can’t have a reading nook if one isn’t in their apartment or house, but that’s shortsighted thinking. With a dash of creativity and just a couple dollars, you can put together your own unique reading nook that transports you to another world with your book. Check out our top 10 inspirations for reading nooks and get to putting one together today. You may be able to construct one with materials already in your house! 56. Revive your old dresser without spending a fortune Want to improve your bedroom, but not sure where to start? Try updating your dresser. There’s nothing like waking up to fresh clothes out of a dresser that you love the look of. You don’t need to buy a new dresser to get a new look. You can polish it, paint it, put tiles on it, and more. Check out these top 10 ways to revive an old dresser and get started on a brand-new bedroom for free. 57. Take care of your car to prevent maintenance costs The biggest expense in owning a car is paying for repairs. Some of the repairs, such as the transmission, are astronomically expensive. Even if you have a cheaper or older car, you are still going to be shelling out money for expensive parts. Some repairs can even exceed the purchase price of a used car! There is no way to completely avoid repairs, but if you keep your car in perfect condition, you can pay for as few repairs as possible. Over time, fewer parts will break, and your dedication to taking care of your car will save you thousands of dollars. You’ll also spend less time with your car in the shop – an inconvenience for everyone! 58. Invest in an affordable car without to sacrifice the quality for the price Every car model is somewhere on the “affordability index”. A car like a BMW would be very low in the index because of how expensive the repairs are. Something like a Toyota would be higher on the index because the purchase price is low and the repairs are generally inexpensive. You are going to want to get a car on the higher end of the “affordable index”. Take a look at these 12 affordable cars to own and see if any are up your alley. Rest assured that they are not low-quality cars – they are just affordable to own because of the low maintenance and repair costs. There’s something for everyone. 59. Cut gas costs Uh oh. It’s time to fill up again. You either have to bite the bullet and fill the tank up all of the way, or spend $10-$20 to reduce the blow and convince yourself that it was no big deal. Fill up less by practicing efficient driving methods. Your car will use less gas if you take a conscious effort to drive it right. Eventually, your new habits will become the ordinary, and you will pay less for gas on a month-to-month basis. Read the full list of efficient driving methods to get started now. 60. Drive smart to reduce fuel costs There are a lot of ways to burn fuel at a high rate with your car. You might accelerate too quickly, use the brakes too much, or neglect certain repairs so that your car needs more gasoline to do its job. If you can drive smarter, optimize your car’s performance, and reduce fuel costs, you can save a lot at the pump every month. In some cases, drivers have been able to use half as much gas by practicing smart driving methods. 61. Walk and bike whenever possible Driving costs money no matter how you look at it. Every mile you drive burns gas and wears down your car. Eventually, you’ll need repairs, and you’ll always have to fill up your tank. At times, the cost of owning a car can seem almost not worth it. You can drastically reduce your automotive expenses by deciding to walk or bike wherever possible. It’s simple – you don’t use your car, so you save money. You’ll get in exercise and get to enjoy the weather, too. You can’t walk or bike everywhere – but if you’re going down the street or around the block, put one foot in front or the other or hop on your bike. You’ll be happy you did. 62. Stop paying for accommodation and get adventurous by living in an RV If you travel, you probably pay for hotels. Hotels – and even motels – can get expensive, no matter where you stay. A standard $70/night motel is still over $2,000/month. We won’t even calculate what an expensive hotel would cost. You can vacation more frequently and spend more money when you do if you take the plunge and rent or buy an RV. Traveling in one temporarily is an adventure, and in a lot of ways, it’s better than living in a motel or hotel. You’re right outside with nature, you have privacy, and you can travel with all of your at-home amenities that make you feel comfy. 63. Start carpooling Ridesharing has gotten cheap enough to be an affordable option for your frequent transportation needs. Unlike taxis, most rideshare apps calculate your cost upfront, meaning there are no surprises that can eat into your budget. Use ridesharing to get around during congested hours and to potentially save on your daily commute costs. Some ridesharing apps have introduced the carpooling option, meaning you can travel with another rider and save close to half of your fare. Take a look at the best ridesharing apps and comparison apps to see how expensive travel would be if you had someone drive you around. Sometimes, it’s cheaper than driving yourself and paying for gas and parking. 64. Book your flight in advance Your flight can be cheap or expensive. That’s completely up to you. If you book in advance and with our tips to get cheap flights, you can get a close-to-unbelievable fare. You can pocket your extra savings, or use them to live a little more luxuriously during your vacation. Make sure to bookmark our guide and take action right when you know you’ll be vacationing for the best rates possible. 65. Get better rates on your rental car The listed prices for rental prices are never the actual prices. You can always negotiate in a myriad of different ways. Before you walk into the office or place the phone call, read our tips so you’re prepared to negotiate and get a better deal. 66. Plan your holiday at a cheap travel destination Some vacation spots are more expensive than others. The expensive spots are undoubtedly nice to travel to, but they can be out of reach for some vacationers. Luckily, a less-expensive vacation spot doesn’t need to mean that you’re going on a less-enjoyable vacation. If you pick the right cheap travel destinations, you can get a lot for a little and live like a king or queen on an affordable vacation budget. Read the top 10 cheapest travel destinations from around the world and pick a location that fits with what you want your vacation to look like. 67. Pay off your car loan faster to save on interest payments Interest is the “hidden cost” in any car financing deal. The dealerships will advertise a car as $199 per month, but they won’t mention the APR rate. You pay your APR rate every month, but it goes to the bank you signed with, not towards the purchase of your car. You’ll pay 2% – 10% or more extra on every single payment. APR is an expense you should try to remove right away. Often times, the rates are high compared to other types of debt, and they can make your monthly payment much higher than it actually is. Work towards paying off your car loan faster to end your financing earlier and avoid costly monthly APR fees. 68. Pay less for rent Rent is out of control! Housing prices have skyrocketed in the past decade to the point where ⅓ of Americans spend almost half of their salaries on rent. If you could reduce that cost by 10% or 20%, you would free up an enormous amount of money to spend on other expenses and purchases. Though there is no guaranteed way to get a good deal on your rent payment, you can employ certain strategies to get the lowest price possible. You can negotiate, time your search during certain times of the year, and more. Take a look at this expansive list to saving money as a renter. If you’re smart about it, you can get a nicer apartment for the same price you pay now, or lower your rent payment without downgrading the quality of your apartment. 69. …or don’t pay rent; raise money to buy your own house If you have ever dreamed of owning your own house but found the goal to be unrealistic, change your mindset. Owning your own home can be attainable if you follow the right strategies to save and set aside money. Take a look at this guide to saving money for your own house to get started on the right foot. No one wants to rent forever! 70. Move into a smaller house Realtors say that the 1 complaint from homeowners is that they bought “too much house”. It makes sense. Expensive houses with lots of rooms look very attractive when they’re totally empty, but as you fill them up, you may find that you don’t have enough stuff to use them to their fullest potential. You could probably get by with fewer rooms and better organization. If that sounds like you, you may want to consider moving into a smaller house. Although it’s not a one-and-done way to save money, it can be the ticket to slashing your mortgage payment and freeing up a serious amount of money. In addition to your savings, you might be more comfortable in your smaller house, too. Sometimes, bigger isn’t better, especially if you live alone or with just your spouse. 71. …or move to the countryside When you live in a city, everything is more expensive. Rent, food, and going out are three of the main expenses you’ll pay out the wazoo for when you live in a city. You may have already experienced this – you may be struggling to pay your rent, or you may be forced to stay in when you want to go out. Try moving further outwards from the city, or even so far as the countryside. Stuff out there is much cheaper. If you’ve lived in the city all of your life, you might not believe how cheap the prices are at first. 72. Organize your finances If you don’t pay attention to your finances, you are bound to overspend. You spend too much by accident, which leaves you with less money for other expenses and purchases. Your life gets chaotic and the worry of money is always on your mind. In extreme cases, you may even rack up extra debt if you’re unable to match your spending habits with your income. Organize your finances and that all goes away. Setting a budget and keeping track of finances lets you use your money in a responsible way. Responsibility when it comes to finances feels good – the stakes are too high to be unresponsible. 73. Create a budget and stick to it Do you find yourself spending too much and not having money at the end of the month? You probably need to create a budget. With a realistic budget, you can divvy up your income safely between expenses and spending money. Throughout the month, you will know exactly how much you have spent and how much you have left. You’ll have money for the things that you want – and you’ll ensure that you set aside the money for the things that you need. Here are our top 10 tips to creating yourself a budget and sticking to it every day. 74. Build an emergency fund Emergency expenses can hit you during the worst of times. We’ve all heard the story about the guy who got laid off from his job and had his truck break down the day after. You should always have money set aside for unexpected expenses to avoid having to borrow money. Using credit cards to pay for things you can’t afford is a great way to bury yourself with unbearable high-interest debt. Build an emergency fund so that you have a stash available in case something bad happens. You have to contribute to it on a consistent basis until it’s built, but once it is, the peace of mind you will feel cannot be underestimated 75. Save $5/day to invest later on Saving your change in a piggy bank is a good way to accumulate some spare spending cash. Saving five dollars a day is a good way to accumulate a lot of cash. If you can stay consistent in saving $5/day, in two years, you can have enough for some high-ticket items. Start using cash and save your change to put aside a few dollars each day. Adding a few more dollars on top of that is a small expense you can probably afford, and the payoff down the line is well worth it. In general, this method of saving a few dollars per day is the easiest way to get enough money for a big purchase you usually wouldn’t buy. 76. Be responsible and consistent Always remember to stick to your financial goals every day. The only way to have enough for what you want while also keeping enough for your necessary expenses is by being consistent. If you slip up one day and stray from your budget, the rippling effects will affect the days and weeks ahead in a stressful way. Remembering to be responsible about your money can make you a better person, too – you won’t get that if you go out on a whim every day. 77. Cut costs by using a money-saving app Apps are arguably the most expensive way to save money. There is an app for everything! You can get an app to check the lowest gas prices. You can get one to automatically check for the best coupon at an online store. You can get one to automatically grab print-out coupons for stores in your area. The possibilities are endless! Do a bit of browsing through the 12 best money-saving apps and see if any would help you save on what you buy. Chances are, at least a few will, and in some cases, they can help you save big. A small time investment now towards downloading the app will lead to accumulated savings every month – give it a try! 78. Quit using credit cards (or use them wisely) There’s a good chance that your credit card(s) have pretty high-interest rates. Even if you carry a small balance on them, the interest can add up quickly to the point where it eats into your budget for other expenses. You should aim to use your credit card as little as possible. When you do use it, make sure you’re using it in a way that benefits you. All cards will have different “tricks” to save the most while paying the least amount of interest. Read all about smart credit card tricks and get started with them today. 79. Sell unwanted goods on eBay/Craigslist What would you do with a couple hundred extra dollars? You can make anywhere from hundreds to thousands if you take the time to put up Craigslist ads and meet with buyers. Take inventory of any unwanted items in your house. In general, you can sell anything if it’s worth $20 or more and you post it as a “good deal”. You’ll have to spend some time taking pictures, replying to emails, and meeting with buyers, but at the end of the day, you can put some money in your pocket out of thin air with effective Craigslist ads. 80. Use cheap alternatives to expensive products In many cases, the generic version of a product is just as good as the branded one. One common example is Tylenol. You can get off-brand Tylenol with the exact same ingredients for 70% – 80% of Tylenol’s price, and the ingredients are literally exactly the same. Take note of what you use on a frequent basis and check around online for cheaper alternatives. We’ve put together a full list of cheaper alternatives to get you started on big savings right away. 81. Try living like your grandparents did What would you do if you didn’t have a penny to your name? In the times of the Great Depression, your grandparents probably had close to that. But they still got by, and they still had money for the things they needed. Learn their techniques and apply them to your modern life to live like they did and make your dollar stretch as far as possible. 82. Teach your kids to save money Fiscally-irresponsible kids can be a big cash drain on your income. Of course, it’s not their fault – most kids don’t have a clear concept of the value of money and what it’s worth. Your job is to teach them early so the entire family knows to be frugal and save as much as possible. (Frugal families always have more money available.) Take a look at our handbook for raising frugal kids. You don’t have to do anything drastic. With the right steps, you can raise your kids to respect your money as much as you do, and everyone will benefit from that. 83. Trick your spouse into saving money Relationships can get rocky when one person is spending too much. Both of you need to be on the same page if you want it to last. As such, there’s nothing wrong with trying to “trick” your spouse into saving more money. Don’t be deceptive, but guide him or her in the right direction. Use these tips to nudge him or her along and you will get rid of any tension due to the financials. Life is too short to worry about money with the person you love. 84. Share the living costs with your partner Spending a lot of time with your partner? You may consider moving in with him or her. You two can combine rent payments to get a bigger apartment for less money overall. Of course, never jump into anything – but splitting rent and using other money-saving relationship tips can be a big help to both of your finances. 85. Take free online classes An ivy-league school costs around $50,000 per year to attend. A state school costs about $30,000 out-of-state, or $10,000 in-state. An online course is free and you can learn from anywhere in the world Yes, you can get actual degrees from these online courses. Although you won’t quite get the “college experience”, you will get valuable knowledge that can help you get employed and make more money. You’re saving money on tuition and helping yourself get paid more. Check out our top list of free online college courses that give out diplomas to get started today. 86. Save and invest money for the future Once you save up a bit of money, you don’t want to invest in just anything. You want to invest in something that will lead to the right amount of risk and reward. If you are into taking gambles, you may choose to invest in a private company. If you’d prefer more stable returns, you may choose to invest in the market. Read our guide on alternative investments and bookmark the page for when you use the tips on this list and generate enough money to invest. 87. Learn to save money from the best You don’t get wealthy by blowing your money quickly. We’ve all heard of the athletes and celebrities who spent their fortunes within a few years only to go back to the “regular life” shortly after. What you don’t hear about as often are the celebrities who are exceptionally frugal. For example, Warren Buffett is known for his plain attire and standard meals, despite being one of the most wealthiest men in the world. Check out the full list of frugal celebrities and see if you can copy any of their habits to try and imitate their success. 88. Get a university diploma for free There are entire universities available online where you can earn real university diplomas. They’re not talked about often because expensive colleges want to keep you paying extraordinary fees to attend. But many employers won’t care if you went to an online university or a live-in university – as long as you have the knowledge, you’re ready to get hired. Take a look at the top 10 best free universities and see if any offer programs that interest you. When we say free, we really mean it – you can get started without putting a penny down. You’ll save on tuition costs, and you’re setting yourself up to make more money so that you have to save less in the future. 89. Develop new saving skills through reading Although this is a very comprehensive list of ways to save money, we can’t cover everything. There are ways of saving money that you’re still in the dark about. If you’d like to shed light on every single way you could save money in your day-to-day, pick up one of these money-saving books and give it a read. On any topic, there’s nothing quite like an author’s perspective. In this case, his or her perspective can educate you and make your life more enjoyable to lead. 90. Don’t fall into retail traps Are you being taken for a ride? Even the smartest shoppers can be tricked by retailers into spending more money. Their methods are subliminal and they work on you without you even realizing it. Make sure to take note of common retailer traps so that you don’t spend extra when you go out to shop. 91. Try generic brands of items you buy regularly Sometimes, the brand name is better. We all have a certain product that we need to buy the brand name for But many brand-name products are indistinguishable from the generic versions. The companies trick you into thinking their products are superior through clever marketing, but deep down, they’re exactly the same. Try replacing these common items with their generic alternatives and see how you feel. Chances are, the generic version will be just fine, and you’ll save 10% – 30% every time you buy that product. 92. Look for affordable clothing stores There are a lot of expensive clothing stores that sell low-quality clothes. At the same time, there are a lot of inexpensive clothing stores that sell high-quality clothes. The trick is finding the cheapest stores that sell the best clothes. If you can do that, you can get clothes you like wearing, but save hundreds of dollars on your wardrobe at the same time. Check out our top 20 cheapest high-quality clothing stores and see if any are in your area. You’ll be surprised at how much you can save while maintaining your spiffy look. 93. Follow stores to get amazing discounts Do you get email and regular mail from any retail establishments? You’ll probably notice there are two types of emails: general promotions and really good deals. To save a lot of money, you want to follow the stores that give out really good deals. Your mailboxes will be flooded with deals that you’re actually interested in looking at. You’ll save time because you won’t have to sort through junk promotions, and of course, you’ll save a ton of money when a promotion is in line with what you need to buy. Here are the top 10 big stores that offer promotions frequently – sign up to each of them and you’ll be saving money anytime you need to make a purchase. 94. Look for the best price online Some people assume that all retailers have the same prices for products. That’s not true. Prices fluctuate wildly online, even for high-ticket items like TVs and laptops. That $500 laptop on Amazon might be only $430 at BestBuy. If you buy at Amazon, you’re throwing away $70 and sending it to the wallet of whoever is selling the laptop. Always check for the best price. Follow our comprehensive guide to make sure you check all of the corners and get the absolute lowest price you can. Sometimes, the best deal is at a known retailer, but sometimes, you can go to smaller retailers to get prices that beat the big guys by a longshot. 95. Integrate coupons in your everyday shopping habits Most of us use coupons once in awhile. But what if you had a coupon for every purchase you made? Your life would be much cheaper. You could buy the things you wanted without ever paying full price. People are saving 10% or more on all of their expenses with clever couponing tricks. Read about them here and try to implement all or some of them to save everywhere you go. 96. Take advantage of tax-free days Almost every state has a flat-rate sales tax that you pay on every purchase you make. For example, in Massachusetts, sales tax is 6.25%, which adds 6.25% to any purchase you make. On tax-free days, that sales tax disappears, so everything you buy is a certain percentage cheaper than usual. If you can, you should aim to make big purchases on this day to save a couple bucks. If you wait a little bit and spend $2,000 on tax-free day, you can save $100+ with just a little patience. Look at tax-free sales dates and take note of when your state’s is – you can also travel to surrounding states and shop there on their tax-free days. 97. Use negotiation as your hidden shopping skill Going into the store and paying full price is one way of shopping. But if you’re smart about it, you can sometimes get the stores to lower their prices, especially if you are shopping local or purchasing a high-ticket item. (You can sometimes even get online stores to lower their prices for you.) It’s all about how you behave and what you say. Click here for a list of 25 negotiation tactics to test out the next time you have to buy something. Negotiation doesn’t always work, but some of the time you can save yourself quite a bit of money with a few simple phrases. 98. Have fun for free Think of all of the things you can do when you have no money to spend! Chances are, you can’t think of many. You can’t think of many because it’s more difficult to have fun without a full wallet in your pocket – but it’s not impossible if you get creative. Check out our top ways to have fun without spending a penny (or spending very little). Use the list as inspiration to plan a day or weekend revolving around cheap or free activities. You’ll have a blast, and you’ll save money to spend on other purchases besides having fun. 99. Make your wedding look fabulous without spending a fortune Weddings are pretty expensive for the lucky couple getting married. Even with help from friends and family, it’s rare to spend under a few thousand dollars for all of the different services required. Don’t start your marriage off with the burden of a wedding that’s too expensive. Instead, set a budget you can afford, then stretch your dollar as far as possible with our fantastic frugal wedding ideas. You can save on everything from the dress to the catering, and sometimes, the savings are so big that you will be able to reduce your budget or upgrade other services. You only get one wedding, so make sure it’s as decadent as feasibly possible. 100. Have fun watching movies that teach you lessons about saving money If you struggle with overspending, you may just need some inspiration to be a little more frugal. Movies can help with that. Seeing what it’s like to spend less can give you the kick you need to actually do it. Take a look at these 10 inspiring movies that teach us to be thrifty. Next time you go to watch a movie, select one of these for great entertainment that benefits you financially. 101. Make your no-spend weekend super fun There are so many ways to spend money and have fun. But you may feel a little trapped if you’re trying to save cash. You want to be able to go out, but it seems like everything costs money. And staying in too much gets old really fast for most. If you’re in the boat where you want to save cash while still doing stuff, put together a no-spend weekend for yourself. Take your spouse, family, or friends out without spending a dime. There are quite a few activities that you can do for free, and none of them are boring. After all, the best things in life are free. 102. Plan your birthday in advance to reduce costs significantly Doing anything at the last moment will lead to high costs. Think about booking an airline ticket. If you’re taking a trip in June, your flight cost might be 3x lower if you book in January instead of May. The same principle applies to having a birthday party. Booking venues and purchasing everything else associated with a good party is a lot cheaper if you organize beforehand. Check out the guide to organizing your birthday party and you can throw yourself or a friend an incredible party without incredible expenses to go along with it. Did you make it this far? We commend you for taking your finances so seriously. Now, it’s time for action. Scroll up and begin to implement a few of the ideas discussed to start saving money. It’s easier than you think – you just have to start. Good luck! 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The rallies were planned in multiple locations around Australia today by Reclaim Australia, as well as counter-rallies opposing the group. Reclaim Australia are a group pushing nationwide rallies against "sharia law, halal tax and Islamisation". Anti-racist protesters and other groups oppose their viewpoints. The tweets from the Reclaim Australia twitter account seemed innocent enough, at first. In preparation for the #ReclaimAustralia protest - we've given some of our activists access to this account to live tweet. first up - Jeremy — Reclaim Australia (@ReclaimAus) April 3, 2015 HEY EVERYONE! JEZ HERE - HOW YALL DOIN? — Reclaim Australia (@ReclaimAus) April 3, 2015 Apparently no one at Reclaim Australia forsaw the potential for the stunt to backfire. It quickly got weird. FUUUCK the car is just not gonna start - can anyone gimme a lift? Damo is not picking up the phone he's pilled out, in QLD - DM me for deetz — Reclaim Australia (@ReclaimAus) April 3, 2015 fuuuuuuuck I should not have punched cones with matty on that bucket bong last night - feelin it hardcore - not in good shape — Reclaim Australia (@ReclaimAus) April 3, 2015 Fuck I didn't know about this I thought this was just an aussie pride march im meant to be meeting Shaz but dunno if this is worth a root — Reclaim Australia (@ReclaimAus) April 3, 2015 However, it did not take long for Reclaim Australia to realise what was going on. ATTENTION EVERYONE - We deeply apologise for Jeremy's contributions to our account we've removed his access - we are preparing a statement. — Reclaim Australia (@ReclaimAus) April 4, 2015 After long discussion with our social media manager we will not be deleting the offending tweets due to our commitment to #freespeech. — Reclaim Australia (@ReclaimAus) April 4, 2015 In a statement issued by Reclaim Australia shortly after the Twitter incident, spokeswoman Catherin Brennan apologised for the stray tweets. "It has been brought to our attention that statements have been made on our official Twitter account that are not consistent with all our values," the statement read. There were some suggestions this was all part of a hoax by what is a fake account not affiliated with Reclaim Australia. At the time of writing SBS had been unable to reach Reclaim Australia to verify the account's veracity. "Over 20,000 Australians have been looking forward to the Reclaim Australia rally without incident and it is with a heavy heart that I must inform you that as a committee we have decided to postpone the 2015 Reclaim Australian event until further notice". Rallies proceeded in a number of cities. @HelpRefugeesOZ What do you mean bigots hey? were strayan — Reclaim Australia (@ReclaimAus) April 3, 2015 Victorian rally turns violent Mounted police were forced to form a barrier between Reclaim Australia and counter protesters at opposing rallies in Melbourne. Tensions among the crowds led to scuffles, with paramedics treating injured protestors. Pauline Hanson attends rally One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has declared she is not a racist during a rally against Islam in Brisbane. Ms Hanson, who narrowly lost her fight for a seat in the 2015 Queensland election, joined hundreds of protesters in King George Square. Many were draped in the Australian flag and carried signs denouncing sharia law and halal certification for Australian products. "We have people here today who stand against racism. Thank you for your support," Ms Hanson said. "So do I." Ms Hanson said she and her supporters had endured trial by media and those with hidden agendas. "Let my fellow Australians judge me on what I say. Don't deny me the right to have our say," she said. "I am not a racist. Criticism is not racism." Ms Hanson said she was merely a proud Australian fighting for the country's democracy, culture and way of life. Tempers flared as a counter-rally was held opposite the event and at least 30 police officers kept the two groups separate. "Go home bigots, go home," members of the counter-rally chanted. But Reclaim Australia speaker David Truman said their opponents were using tired and untrue slogans. "They hate free speech. They use fascist tactics to try and shut it down," he said. "I've got news for you and for them - we are not racists or supremacists of any kind."
Image: Sony So many video games are about killing, but they rarely engage with the fear or experience of death in an honest way. They numb players to one of the only certain and terrifying facts of life through mindless and repetitive reenactment, rewarding the player's triumph over death without real consideration. The upcoming narrative game What Remains of Edith Finch flips the script, wading directly into death's unknowable and unavoidable fog. And based on the hour-long demo that included two of the game's thirteen short stories, it amazingly doesn't fall flat on its face for trying. Inspired by the speculative fiction of Lovecraft, Gaiman, and Borges, the next title from Giant Sparrow (the creators behind 2012's seminal indie game Unfinished Swan) takes you through the demise of the entire Finch family. As the last remaining Finch, Edith returns to her family home in Washington state, where the player uncovers vignette-style short stories detailing the untimely deaths of her family members, spanning across various generations and locations. The most recently released sequence centers on her brother Lewis' suicide and, after finishing it and finding myself fighting back tears, I was left in awe. Not only because What Remains of Edith Finch delivers on the untapped potential for games to address death—but also because a video game helped me process my own sister's recent suicide more than any other piece of art or media has come close to in the months that followed. "We try to set the table and let players experience [death] for themselves," says creative director Ian Dallas when I ask about the team's approach. "Players already bring so much heaviness on their own that there's no need for us to add any. It would be redundant. Also, the less we suggest how we want or expect players to feel, the more room we open up for them to consider their own family history." As any suicide survivor (the term used for loved ones left behind) will tell you, you spend much of the early grieving process haunted by a need for answers that no one can provide. You pour over every detail of your loved one's final days like a detective, collecting statements from all parties involved, in the hopes that a pragmatic approach might give some semblance of shape to this unimaginable horror. In the game, Edith picks up a letter addressed to her mother from Lewis' psychoanalyst, with an opening line that sympathizes with her need to make sense of it, before launching into her own understanding of what went wrong—of when, exactly, they both lost the battle for her son's sanity. Then, players are dropped into the experience that fuels every suicide survivor's obsessive search. Image: Giant Sparrow You become Lewis, his psychoanalyst narrating while the player reenacts the drudgery of his job as an assembly line worker at a cannery factory, chopping off fish heads and sending their lifeless bodies back onto the conveyer belt. A familiar wave of dread comes over my body, as the psychoanalyst explains how Lewis turned to his imagination in order to cope with the harsh reality of his life. While she speaks of the imaginary place Lewis created for himself, a small side world appears on screen, splitting the game's controls in two as well. The left analogue stick allows me to maneuver around the 2D top-down labyrinth inside Lewis' head, while the right stick forces me to continue the repetitive motions of his cannery job (grab, sever head, discard—rinse, repeat, over and over again). Giant Sparrow is best known for its design philosophy of "play, don't tell." Last time, Unfinished Swan brought meaning to first-person shooter mechanics with a paint gun that allowed players to spew ink to reveal the game's storybook world piece by piece. What Remains of Edith Finch plays out the same principle, leaving the hard work of emotionally processing each story to the player as she embodies the life and death of each Finch. "We put players into the shoes of these people by involving them in the process," Dallas said. Image: Giant Sparrow Slowly but surely, Lewis' imaginary world invades my field of vision, taking over the screen as it transforms from a simple 2D labyrinth into a full-fledged 3D fantasy realm called Lewistopia. Eventually, the cold, impersonal, repetitive violence of the factory disappears, leaving behind only the warm, colorful world of friendly faces that crown me king. Distantly, I hear the sadness in the psychoanalyst's voice as she admits that, at this point, she still thought she might be able to save him. But the consequences of Lewistopia don't hit me just yet, swept up in the celebration of Lewis' coronation, as he lowers his head over a guillotine that will allow him to stay in that world forever, leaving the life of severed fish heads to the other Lewis. "Unfortunately, the minute you get close to all the main characters of our game, they're gone," Dallas says, later informing me that he lost his own mother a few months into the game's development. "You don't really get to hear from them again, but instead you hear from their parents and their siblings. The family felt like an appropriate through line to the stories as well as a lens into death—the ripples of death, outside of just the person [who passed]." When I'm back in Edith's body, back in the starkness of reality, she's standing in her late brother's room, clutching the letter from his psychoanalyst. I'm filled once again with the certainty that none of the people left alive will be able to give me the answers I'm looking for. I feel a lump in the back of my throat because words cannot capture the magnitude of our loss, not only of my own loss, but the loss of color in a world deprived of her bright gaze, her misspent creativity, and irresistible fantasies. "My brother was really cool," intones Edith's narration, speaking to someone left nameless. "I wish you could have met him." Image: Giant Sparrow Dallas explains that, when it came to tackling the subject of death, the team worked hard to try and strike a balance between both the personal and conceptual experiences. "We tried to distill something that is ineffable into something mundane, because death is both those things at once. It's this transcendent, impossible to know concept. But we all experience it ourselves, too, and we're going to experience it first through the people that we know. We wanted to make a game that bridged the fundamentally boring, mundane, obvious side of death with the unknowable, fantastical, surreal side of it." But, funnily enough, Dallas doesn't really consider What Remains of Edith Finch to be a game primarily about death. "It's about the bizarre experience of being alive at all," he tells me. "Death is just a way for us to highlight how temporary and fragile that is."
The right to privacy hearings before the nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court ended recently. During the conclusion, it was argued on behalf of the state of Gujarat that privacy claims are only made by those who have done something wrong. Unfortunately, arguments such as these, namely the “I have got nothing to hide" argument, represent a common misconception of the meaning and value of the right to privacy. Under this view, only people with something to hide, or those who have done something wrong, are concerned about the loss of privacy. If you have nothing to hide, then information about you cannot really be used against you. Thus, the argument proceeds, no harm should be caused to you by the breach of your privacy. But some harm is caused to us when our privacy is breached. It is why we draw curtains at our homes or keep private diaries. The right to one’s privacy, family, home or correspondence, has long been recognized internationally. We do not want our neighbours, or the state, to know what happens inside our homes or inside our heads unless we choose to share that information with them. We cherish private spaces to do and be as we like, free from the gaze of others, and not because something immoral or illegal is transpiring inside our homes. The “nothing to hide" argument makes an incorrect moral judgement about the kinds of information people want to hide. It also wrongfully equates privacy with secrecy, even though they are distinct concepts. Privacy is about exercising the choice to withhold information, which others have no need to know. Secrecy, on the other hand, is about withholding information that people may have a right to know. As historian Jill Lepore explains, “Secrecy is what is known, but not to everyone. Privacy is what allows us to keep what we know to ourselves." The “nothing-to-hide" paradigm evaluates any breach of privacy only from the perspective of disclosure of unwanted information. Nevertheless, privacy is a much richer concept than secrecy. The right to privacy includes a bundle of rights such as the privacy of beliefs, thoughts, personal information, home, and property. In fact, as far back as 1890, privacy was understood as the “right to be let alone", a fact missed by the “nothing to hide" paradigm. Today, privacy is regarded as central to our identity, dignity, ability to have intimacy, and meaningful inter-personal relations. It determines our interaction with our peers, society, and the state. Privacy should thus be viewed as an integral part of self-development, a shorthand for “breathing space", since individual autonomy is all about the ability to control and share information selectively. For instance, we do not always want all of our friends to know everything about us. But surely, you may ask, the government has a right to monitor its citizens’ actions? After all, if you have “nothing to hide", then you should not worry about government surveillance. First, such an argument justifying mass surveillance upends the long-standing principle of presumption of innocence. Second, it fundamentally misunderstands the consequences of the perceived loss of privacy and ensuing chilling effects on speech and behaviour. The fear that who we meet, what we say, and which websites we visit could be subject to scrutiny, may result in an unconscious change in (even lawful) behaviour. When we believe we are being observed, we are more likely to behave according to socially accepted norms. The change in behaviour, thus, has less to do with the content of our actions, but more to do with the knowledge of being watched. Such a modification of behaviour is also evident in the arena of free speech and expression. A person critical of the ruling government may be more likely to self-censor her views if she believes her communications are being monitored. The reduction in diversity of views only undermines the democratic process. Third, surveillance programmes are problematic even when there is no “undesirable" information that people want to keep hidden. Law professor Daniel Solove explains this beautifully by using the example of Kafka’s The Trial, where the problem is not prohibited behaviour. Rather, it is the protagonist’s exclusion from the judicial process, both in terms of knowledge or participation, and the attendant suffocating powerlessness and vulnerability created by the system’s use of his personal data. Finally, justifying the invasion of privacy because “I have nothing to hide" takes a short-term view of privacy and data collection. Data once collected can be used, misused, shared, and stored in perpetuity. Worse, it can be combined with other individually inconsequential data points to reveal extremely significant information about an individual. For example, mere knowledge that an unmarried woman went to a gynaecologist does not tell us much. But if we combine this information with a visit to an abortion clinic later, we suddenly know much more about her, and more than she may want to reveal publicly. It is true that both the private sector and the state can know this information. But in the hands of the state, which has the monopoly on coercion and violence, it is far more potent. The multiple dimensions of privacy seem to have been lost in the arguments put forward by the state opposing the recognition of the fundamental right to privacy. We may have nothing to hide, but if the arguments of the state are accepted, we will certainly have something to fear. Vrinda Bhandari and Renuka Sane are, respectively, a lawyer and an economist. Comments are welcome at theirview@livemint.com
Johnny's Grill will reopen under new orders but with the same name. View Full Caption DNAinfo/Paul Biasco LOGAN SQUARE — Johnny's Grill is coming back to Logan Square. The longtime diner at 2545 N. Kedzie Blvd. closed more than a year ago but is now preparing to reopen. It's unclear what the menu will look like at the new Johnny's when it reopens in the same location, but it will remain a diner. "I knew what a special, iconic spot Johnny's Grill was and definitely saw the need for that back in Logan Square since it closed," said Sarah Jordan, the new owner of Johnny's. The restaurant will likely open later this week. Jordan, an award-winning pastry chef who previously worked at Boka and Cicchetti, said Johnny's used to be one of her favorite spots in the neighborhood. "It was my go-to place to go before I would fly home to Ireland," her birthplace, she said. Rumors of a former Brendan Sodikoff employee opening up a Nasvhille-style restaurant in the space have been put to rest. Paul Biasco says there's a new owner, but no word yet on a menu: Saul Osacky, the owner of the building as well as the Logan Square Auditorium, confirmed that Johnny's is back, but could not give any more details. "It's going to be a diner," Osacky said. The owner of the new Johnny's will become the third generation to run Johnny's on the square, which was previously run by Nicholas Kalliantasis, Osacky said. "There's so many great restaurants here, but I wanted to revive this local greasy spoon," Jordan said. Unlike the former Johnny's the new version will also function as a bar and be open until 2 a.m. "It will still be reminiscent of what was here before," Jordan said. Jordan, a longtime resident of the neighborhood, said Johnny's will be her first restaurant. She added that she's preparing to open and is in the process of hiring a new staff. "I think everyone in the neighborhood has been to Johnny's at some point," Jordan said. "Everyone's welcome." A group under the name Johnny's Grill 1 received a retail food license and an incidental liquor license on July 20. As part of the reopening, Johnny's is expanding into the former Fleur flower shop next door. Neighborhood residents were shocked when Johnny's was shut down in May 2014, stating the diner was always packed and that it was a symbolic establishment in the neighborhood. The restaurant abruptly closed over a lease dispute. Kalliantasis told DNAinfo in 2014 that the building's owner would not renew his lease for the location, adding that he was forced to leave. He could not be reached for comment on the rebirth of Johnny's. In July 2014 Dustin Tripp, the executive chef at Brendan Sodifkoff's Maude's Liquor Bar told Eater that he was planning to open a restaurant called Georgia Mae's at Johnny Grill. The new owner at Johnny's says that plan is no longer on the table. For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
The Lost City The Gospels tell us that Jesus's home town was the 'City of Nazareth' ('polis Natzoree'): And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a CITY of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgins name was Mary. (Luke1.26,27) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the CITY of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; because he was of the house and lineage of David: (Luke 2.3,4) But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee: And he came and dwelt in a CITY called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene. (Matthew 2.22,23) And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own CITY Nazareth. And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him. (Luke 2.39,40) The gospels do not tell us much about this 'city' it has a synagogue, it can scare up a hostile crowd (prompting JC's famous "prophet rejected in his own land" quote), and it has a precipice but the city status of Nazareth is clearly established, at least according to that source of nonsense called the Bible. However when we look for historical confirmation of this hometown of a god surprise, surprise! no other source confirms that the place even existed in the 1st century AD. Nazareth is not mentioned even once in the entire Old Testament. The Book of Joshua (19.10,16) in what it claims is the process of settlement by the tribe of Zebulon in the area records twelve towns and six villages and yet omits any 'Nazareth' from its list. The Talmud, although it names 63 Galilean towns, knows nothing of Nazareth, nor does early rabbinic literature. St Paul knows nothing of 'Nazareth'. Rabbi Solly's epistles (real and fake) mention Jesus 221 times, Nazareth not at all. No ancient historian or geographer mentions Nazareth. It is first noted at the beginning of the 4th century. 'Never heard of the place' Josephus In his histories, Josephus has a lot to say about Galilee (an area of barely 900 square miles). During the first Jewish war, in the 60s AD, Josephus led a military campaign back and forth across the tiny province. Josephus mentions 45 cities and villages of Galilee yet Nazareth not at all. Josephus does, however, have something to say about Japha (Yafa, Japhia), a village just one mile to the southwest of Nazareth where he himself lived for a time (Life 52). A glance at a topographical map of the region shows that Nazareth is located at one end of a valley, bounded on three sides by hills. Natural access to this valley is from the southwest. Before the first Jewish war, Japha was of a reasonable size. We know it had an early synagogue, destroyed by the Romans in 67 AD (Revue Biblique 1921, 434f). In that war, it's inhabitants were massacred (Wars 3, 7.31). Josephus reports that 15,000 were killed by Trajan's troops. The survivors 2,130 woman and children were carried away into captivity. A one-time active city was completely and decisively wiped out. Now where on earth did the 1st century inhabitants of Japha bury their dead? In the tombs further up the valley! With Japha's complete destruction, tomb use at the Nazareth site would have ended. The unnamed necropolis today lies under the modern city of Nazareth. At a later time as pottery and other finds indicate(see below) the Nazareth site was re-occupied. This was after the Bar Kochba revolt of 135 AD and the general Jewish exodus from Judea to Galilee. The new hamlet was based on subsistence farming and was quite unrelated to the previous tomb usage by the people of Japha. None of this would matter of course if, rather like at the nearby 'pagan' city of Sepphoris, we could stroll through the ruins of 1st century bath houses, villas, theatres etc. Yet no such ruins exist. Sepphoris – an ersatz Nazareth? No, not Nazareth but Sepphoris (Diocaesarea), a 45-minute walk away – and which does not get a mention in the gospels! Credulous believers sometimes suggest that Jesus may have worked (with his father!) on the town's construction or even attended the theatre in Sepphoris (hypocrite, after all, is a Greek word for actor!). Contrariwise, others suggest that the "Torah-abiding Jesus" avoided the town because of its corrupting Hellenism. These mutually exclusive explanations are feeble attempts to solve the "puzzle" of why the gospels fail to mention the "capital" of Galilee. In reality, in the early 1st century, Sepphoris was no larger than several acres, an erstwhile Herodian palace-town destroyed by Varus, the Roman governor of Syria, in 4 BC. Sepphoris reemerged as an ill-planned townlet during the time of Antipas. Only in the late 1st and 2nd centuries, particularly after the Jewish wars, did a vibrant, Romanised Sepphoris emerge, with theatres, bath houses and all the other amenities of pagan civilisation. Downsizing In short order, Christian apologists fall over themselves to explain, 'But of course, no one had heard of Nazareth, we're talking of a REALLY small place.' By semantic downsizing, city becomes TOWN, town becomes VILLAGE, and village becomes 'OBSCURE HAMLET'. Yet if we are speaking of such an obscure hamlet the 'Jesus of Nazareth' story begins to fall apart. For example, the whole 'rejection in his homeland' story requires at a minimum a synagogue in which the godman can 'blaspheme.' Where was the synagogue in this tiny bucolic hamlet? Why was it not obvious to the first pilgrims like Helena (see below) it would, after all, have been far more pertinent to her hero than a well? In reality, such a small, rustic community could never have afforded its own holy scrolls, let alone a dedicated building to house them. As peasant farmers almost certainly they would have been illiterate to a man. If JC had grown up and spent thirty years of his life in a village with as few as 25 families an inbred clan of less than 300 people the 'multitude' that were supposedly shocked by his blasphemy and would have thrown him from a cliff, would not have been hostile strangers but, to a man, would have been relatives and friends that he had grown up with, including his own brothers. Presumably, they had heard his pious utterances for years. Moreover, if the chosen virgin really had had an annunciation of messiah-birthing from an angel the whole clan would have known about it inside ten minutes. Just to remind them, surely they should also have known of the 'Jerusalem incident' (Luke 2.42-49) when supposedly the 12-year-old proclaimed his messiahship? Indeed, had no one mentioned what had happened in Bethlehem star, wise men, shepherds, infant-massacre and all? Why would they have been outraged by anything the godman said or did? Had they forgotten a god was growing up in their midst? And what had happened to that gift of gold – had it not made the 'holy family' rich? If Nazareth really had been barely a hamlet, lost in the hills of Galilee, would not the appellation 'Jesus of Nazareth' have invoked the response 'Jesus of WHERE?' The predictable apologetic of quoting gospel John ("Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" - 1.46) implies that the questioner, Nathanael, had indeed "heard of" the vanishing small hamlet (Nathanael was supposedly a local boy from Cana). But would anyone outside of Galilee have recognized the name? Then again, if Nazareth had really been a tiny hamlet, the nearest convenient 'mountain' from which the god-man could have been thrown a cliff edge ( Luke 4.28-30 ) would have been 4 km away, requiring an energetic climb over limestone crags. Would the superman really have been frog-marched so far before 'passing through the midst of them' and making his escape? Of course, all these incongruities exist because the 'Jerusalem incident' and the whole nativity sequence were late additions to the basic messiah-in-residence story. Be that as it may, was there even a tiny village? The archaeological evidence ? The world has been blessed by the fact that excavation at Nazareth has been conducted by Catholic archaeologists. In an earlier age they may well have "found" sandals neatly inscribed with "property of Jesus Christ". As it is, they diligently extract every last drop of sanctity from some pretty meagre findings. Yet for all their creative interpretations even the Franciscans cannot disguise the fact that the lack of evidence for a pre-Jesus village at the Nazareth site is virtually total. Not that the Franciscans have lacked the opportunity to find what they want to find; they have, in fact, been in Palestine for several centuries, official custodians of the 'Holy Land' as a result of Papal Bulls 'Gratias agimus' and 'Nuper charissimae' issued by Clement VI in 1342. During the Crusaders' wars, Nazareth had changed hands several times. At one point (1099) the Norman-Sicilian adventurer Tancred had set up a 'principality of Galilee' with Nazareth as his capital. But the Christians were repeatedly kicked out until finally, in 1263, Nazareth was completely devastated by Sultan Baibars and the whole area left desolate for nearly 400 years. The Franciscans got back into the area under a deal with Fakhr ad-Din II, emir of Lebanon, in 1620. They reoccupied the remains of the crusader fort but found Greek monks still in possession of 'Mary's Well' . With funds flowing in they took over the town administration and in 1730 built a church over the Grotto. The demolition of this structure in 1955 paved the way for 'professional' archaeology, and the 'discovery' of the Biblical Nazareth in the very grounds of the Church itself! Christian Hero No 1. 1955-1960 Excavations conducted by Father Bellarmino Bagatti (Professor, Studium Biblicum Franciscanum at Flagellation, Jerusalem). Beneath his own church and adjoining land, Bagatti discovered numerous caves and hollows. Some of these caves have obviously had a great deal of use, over many centuries. Most are tombs, many from the Bronze Age. Others have been adapted for use as water cisterns, as vats for oil or as 'silos' for grain. Apparently, there were indications that Nazareth had been 'refounded' in Hasmonean times after a long period when the area had been deserted. Yet overwhelmingly, archaeological evidence from before the second century is funerary. Obliged to admit a dearth of suitable evidence of habitation, none the less, Bagatti was able conclude that 1st century AD Nazareth had been 'a small agricultural village settled by a few dozen families.' With a great leap of faith the partisan diggers declared what they had found was 'the village of Jesus, Mary & Joseph' though they had not found a village at all, and certainly no evidence of particular individuals. The finds were consistent, in fact, with isolated horticultural activity, close to a necropolis of long-usage. Rather conveniently for the Catholic Church, questionable graffiti also indicated that the shrine was dedicated to the Virgin Mary, no less! Yet one point is inescapable: the Jewish disposition towards the 'uncleanliness' of the dead. The Jews, according to their customs, would not build a village in the immediate vicinity of tombs and vice versa. Tombs would have to be outside any village. "The tombs, both those discovered by Bagatti and others known from earlier explorations, would have been placed outside the village and serve, in fact, to delimit its circumference for us. Looking at their locations on the plans drawn up by Bagatti (1.28) or Finegan (27), one realizes just how small the village actually was ..." – J.D. Crossan, The Historical Jesus. But just how small can we get before giving up on a 'village'? The presence of numerous rock-cut tombs that close to the 'grotto' is evidence that, in the 1st century, in that area, there was no village. The area was not inhabited, even if it was used. Christian Hero No 2. 1996 -1997 Dr. Pfann (Franciscan School of Theology) digs at Nazareth. In November 1996 Stephen Pfann of the Center for the Study of Early Christianity began an investigation of agricultural terraces in the grounds of Nazareth Hospital. What Pfann and his crew came up with was a vaguely-dated winepress, described as 'ancient'. Potsherds were also found on the surface of the terraces, dating from various periods 'beginning with the early to late Roman periods.' An archaeological survey of the surface of the land adjacent to Nazareth Hospital was conducted between February and May 1997 by Pfann and a team, all from the Center for the Study of Early Christianity. Two distinct areas were identified which are defined by the type of terracing found there. Yet dating by traditional stratification was not possible. With typical Christian zeal Pfann was able to conclude that 'Nazareth was tiny, with two or three clans living in 35 homes spread over 2.5 hectares'. It was just unfortunate that all evidence of the homes was razed by later invaders. In truth, the scanty evidence is consistent with the site being used as a single family farm over many centuries and a single family farm does not make a village. Excavations by Michael Avi-Yonah at Caesarea in 1962: History and archaeology actually begin to coincide with the discovery of a fragment of dark gray marble at a synagogue in Caesarea Maritima in August 1962. Dating from the late 3rd or early 4th century the stone bears the first mention of Nazareth in a non-Christian text. It names Nazareth as one of the places in Galilee where the priestly families of Judea migrated after the disastrous Hadrianic war of 135 AD. Such groups would only settle in towns without gentile inhabitants, which ruled out nearby Sepphoris. Apparently, the priests had been divided from ancient times into twenty-four 'courses' that took weekly turns in Temple service. The restored inscription reads: 'The eighteenth priestly course [called] Hapizzez, [resettled at] Nasareth.' – J.D. Crossan (The Historical Jesus) A few Jewish priests and their families made up a small settlement in the southeast of the valley until the 4th century. Quite probably, they extended and re-used some of the ancient necropolis tombs. The Jewish hamlet was then supplanted by the Christian presence slightly further north, by 'Mary's Well'. One might speculate that Christian control of the village's sole water source eventually drove the perfidious Jews away, thus allowing the Greek monks to take over the 2nd century synagogue – now known as the 'synagogue-church' – sometime in the 4th century when Christianity got the official stamp of approval. A town grew up at the site, causing the abandonment and destruction of any more ancient Jewish dwellings which, as in Capernaum, were most probably built without foundations. Some Jews subsequently re-settled in the valley, for we know that they were expelled again from the area in the 7th century for collaboration with the Persians. Getting a Name The expression 'Jesus of Nazareth' is actually a bad translation of the original Greek 'Jesous o Nazoraios' (see below). More accurately, we should speak of 'Jesus the Nazarene' where Nazarene has a meaning quite unrelated to a place name. But just what is that meaning and how did it get applied to a small village? The highly ambiguous Hebrew root of the name is NZR. The 2nd century gnostic Gospel of Philip offers this explanation: 'The apostles that came before us called him Jesus Nazarene the Christ ..."Nazara" is the "Truth". Therefore 'Nazarene' is "The One of the Truth" ...' – Gospel of Philip, 47. What we do know is that 'Nazarene' ( or 'Nazorean') was originally the name of an early Jewish-Christian sect a faction, or off-shoot, of the Essenes. They had no particular relation to a city of Nazareth. The root of their name may have been 'Truth' or it may have been the Hebrew noun 'netser' ('netzor'), meaning 'branch' or 'flower.' The plural of 'Netzor' becomes 'Netzoreem.' There is no mention of the Nazarenes in any of Paul's writings, although ironically, Paul is himself accused of being a Nazorean in Acts of the Apostles. The reference scarcely means that Paul was a resident of Nazareth (we all know the guy hails from Tarsus!). 'For finding this man a pest, and moving sedition among all the Jews throughout the world, and a leader of the sect of the Nazaraeans.' – Acts 24.5. (Darby Translation). The Nazorim emerged towards the end of the 1st century, after a curse had been placed on heretics in Jewish daily prayer. 'Three times a day they say: May God curse the Nazarenes'. – Epiphanius (Panarion 29.9.2). The Nazarenes may have seen themselves as a 'branch from the stem of Jesse (the legendary King David's father)'. Certainly, they had their own early version of 'Matthew'. This lost text the Gospel of the Nazarenes can hardly be regarded as a 'Gospel of the inhabitants of Nazareth'! It was the later Gospel of Matthew which started the deceit that the title 'Jesus the Nazorene' should in some manner relate to Nazareth, by quoting 'prophecy': "And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene." – Matthew 2.23. With this, Matthew closes his fable of Jesus's early years. Yet Matthew is misquoting he would surely know that nowhere in Jewish prophetic literature is there any reference to a Nazarene. What is 'foretold' (or at least mentioned several times) in Old Testament scripture is the appearance of a Nazarite. For example: "For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines." – Judges 13.5. Matthew slyly substitutes one word for another. By replacing Nazarite ('he who vows to grow long hair and serve god') with a term which appears to imply 'resident of' he is able to fabricate a hometown link for his fictitious hero. So how did the village get its name? It seems that, along with the Nozerim, a related Jewish/Christian faction, the Evyonim the Poor (later to be called Ebionites) emerged about the same time. According to Epiphanius (Bishop of Salamis , Cyprus, circa 370 AD) they arose from within the Nazarenes. They differed doctrinally from the original group in rejecting Paul and were 'Jews who pay honour to Christ as a just man...' They too, it seems, had their own prototype version of Matthew The Gospel to the Hebrews. A name these sectaries chose for themselves was 'Keepers of the Covenant', in Hebrew Nozrei haBrit, whence Nosrim or Nazarene! In other words, when it came to the crunch, the original Nazarenes split into two: those who tried to re-position themselves within the general tenets of Judaism ('Evyonim'-Nosrim); and those who rejected Judaism ('Christian'-Nosrim) Now, we know that a group of 'priestly' families resettled an area in the Nazareth valley after their defeat in the Bar Kochbar War of 135 AD (see above). It seems highly probable that they were Evyonim-Nosrim and named their village 'Nazareth' or the village of 'The Poor' either because of self-pity or because doctrinally they made a virtue out of their poverty. "Blessed are the Poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven." – Matthew 5,3. The writer of Matthew (re-writer of the proto-Matthew stories) heard of 'priestly' families moving to a place in Galilee which they had called 'Nazareth' and decided to use the name of the new town for the hometown of his hero. Dodgy Story, Dodgy Geography The original gospel writers refrained from inventing a childhood, youth or early manhood for JC because it was not necessary to their central drama of a dying/reborn sun-god. But as we know, the story grew with the telling, particularly as the decades passed and the promised redeemer and judge failed to reappear. The re-writer of the Gospel of Mark, revising the text sometime between 140 and 150 AD, introduced the name of the city only once, in chapter one, with these words: "And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John at the Jordan." – Mark I, 9. Ironically, an indication that this sole reference to a town called Nazareth in Mark is a late, harmonization interpolation is to be found in the Gospel of Matthew. Copying the same baptism episode from an early edition of Mark, the author of Matthew makes no mention of Nazareth: "Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him." – Matthew 3.13. In the Greek New Testament no fewer than eleven variant spellings are used for Nazarene, Nazarean and Nazareth. In total the words occur thirty-one times. Though you would never guess from the English translations, on nineteen occasions Nazarene or Nazarean, not Nazareth, is intended. And in the Gospel of Mark, all four later occurences (1.24; 16.6; 10.47;14.67) the word used is Nazarene, not Nazareth. C learly, "Jesus the Nazarene" in the original tale became "Jesus, a resident of Nazareth" in the updated story of Matthew and Luke. Indeed, there are indications that an early layer in the development of Mark favoured Capernaum as the hometown of Jesus (home of the six most prominent disciples, venue for several key miracles, etc.). We can trace the subsequent elevation of Nazareth in the Gospel of Luke. Luke is the writer who emphasizes JC's ties to 'Nazareth.' Luke is the writer who goes out of his way to demonstrate an anti-Capernaum stance. Scholars have concluded Luke was not a Jew himself because of his 'glaring errors in things Jewish'. He also makes mistakes in his geography. He knows little about the place and in his mini-drama describes an impossible incident: " ... and brought him to the precipice of the mountain that their city was built upon." – Luke 4.29. Nazareth, in fact, is located in a depression, set within gentle hills. The whole region is characterized by plains and mild rises with no sharp peaks or steep cliffs. The terrain is correctly understood as a high basin, for in one direction is the much lower Plain of Esdraelon. But there is no disguising Nazareth is built in a valley and not on a mountain. Even the mediaeval town sat below the summit protected from the wind. Beginning only in 1957, the Jewish suburb called 'Nazerat Illit' ('Upper Nazareth') was built to the top of the hills to the east of the city. Foreground (below that pointy building): supposed location of 1st century 'city' of Nazareth Background & right: 'Mount of Precipice' (aka 'Lord's Leap') "When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. But passing through their midst, he went away." – Luke 4.28-30. Perhaps the Multitude might really have threatened to roll JC down the slope? It would take quite some time to get from the downtown 'synagogue' and scramble to the top of the 'cliff'! The Town that Theology Built In the 3rd century Church Father Origen knew the gospel story of the city of Nazareth yet had no clear idea where it was even though he lived at Caesarea, barely thirty miles from the present town! Even in Origen's day, as the Church became more institutionalised, intense rivalry was developing between the patriarchs of Caesarea and Jerusalem. This rivalry was only resolved (in Jerusalem's favour) at Chalcedon in 451. Part of the rivalry centred on control of 'Holy places'. Hence, 'finding' the lost city of Nazareth was a matter of major importance, Perambulating to the rescue, in the early 4th century, came the 80-year-old dowager Empress Helena. Preparing the way for an imminent meeting with her maker with a program of 'Works', she made a conscience-salving pilgrimage to Palestine. In the area of Nazareth she could find nothing but an ancient well in fact the only water source in the area (which in itself demolishes the idea there was ever a 'city' ). No doubt encouraged by canny locals, Helena promptly labelled the hole in the ground 'Mary's Well' and had a small basilica built over the spot. Conveniently, the gospels had failed to make clear exactly where Mary had been when the archangel Gabriel had come calling. Thus the Well site acquired local support for the divine visitation and Nazareth acquired its first chur ch. Helena created the pilgrimage business which has never ceased. Yet b efore the passage of the imperial grandee, not a single ancient source had established a precise location for the 'Nazara' of the gospels. 'Mary's Well': A hole in the ground evidence for Holy Family (about as convincing as an empty tomb) Note collection box for coins, lower right. 4th Century Pilgrim Route – and NO NAZARETH! Itinerarium Burdigalense – the Itinerary of the Anonymous Pilgrim of Bordeaux – is the earliest description left by a pious tourist. It is dated to 333 AD. The itinerary is a Roman-style list of towns and distances with the occasional comment. As the pilgrim passes Jezreel (Stradela) he mentions King Ahab and Goliath. At Aser (Teyasir) he mentions Job. At Neopolis his reference is to Mount Gerizim, Abraham, Joseph, and Jacob's well at Sichar (where JC 'asked water of a Samaritan woman'). He passes the village of Bethel (Beitin) and mentions Jacob's wrestling match with God, and Jeroboam. He moves on to Jerusalem. Our pilgrim – preoccupied with Old rather than New Testament stories – makes no single reference to 'Nazareth.' A generation after the dowager empress had gone touring, another geriatric grandee, the Lady Egeria, spent years in the 'Land becoming more Holy by the day'. Egeria a Spaniard, like the then Emperor Theodosius and almost certainly part of the imperial entourage reached the Nazareth area in 383. This time, canny monks showed her a 'big and very splendid cave' and gave the assurance that this was where Mary had lived. The Custodians of the Cave, not to be outbid by the Keepers of the Well, insisted that the cave, not the well, had been the site of the divine visitation. This so-called 'grotto' became another pilgrimage attraction, over which by 570 rose the basilica of another church. Today, above and about the Venerable Grotto, stands the biggest Christian theme park in the Middle East. 4th Century Roman Map – and NO NAZARETH! The Levantine coast from the so-called Peutinger map or "table" (Tabula Peutingeriana), with west to the top. The complete map is twenty-two feet wide and is so-named for Conrad Peutinger, a 16th century German antiquarian and is currently held in Vienna. The map is actually a medieval copy (12th or 13th century) of a 4th century Roman original (it shows Constantinople, founded in the year 328). The whole world known to the Romans is represented, from Spain in the west to India in the east. In the section shown here, below the city of Aelia Capitolina (centre left), the map shows one site which had by this stage entered the Christian dreamscape – the Mount of Olives (red). The cartographer of this unique record named more than 3000 places. And guess what? – he does not mention Nazareth! Grotto beneath Basilica of the Annunciation. Mary's 'maiden home' (or even home of the holy family, if you prefer) By the late 4th century by which time the Church had control of theological correctness Nazareth was being correctly described by Jerome as 'a very small village in Galilee' (Onom. 141:3). He should know: he had fled scandal in Italy to set up an ecclesiastical retreat in the area for well-heeled Romans. The village owed its very existence to the imperial itinerary half a century before. By the 5th century the supposed site of Nazareth marked by its couple of churches had become a key destination for pious (and leisured) pilgrims. We know of a Piacenza visiting in 570, of an Arculf visiting in 638, a Wilhebald in 724, an Al Mas'udi in 943. Sewulf in 1102, like the earlier visitors, reported that only the annunciation church was to be seen. In 636 Arab armies overran Byzantine possessions in Palestine, including Nazareth. A Christian presence continued in the area, though it was subject to restrictions and heavy taxes. Nearly five centuries later, Crusaders occupied the valley and built a fort. On the foundations of the earlier Byzantine 'grotto' church they built something a little grander, more befitting their resident bishop. Old town Nazareth an ecclesiastic theme-park 'JesusWorld' In the center of town, the huge Catholic Church of the Annunciation (largest church in the Middle East) built over numerous caves. Up the hill, Church of St. Joseph built over other caves ('carpenter's house and workshop'). Across the street, Sisters of Nazareth Hospice, built over ancient tombs, one with a huge rolling stone door! Up the road, the Greek Catholic Church, next to an early synagogue Today more than a million visitors (fifty per cent of tourists visiting Israel) call at Nazareth. Who would want to spoil the party? So perhaps keep it quiet ... The evidence for a 1st century town of Nazareth does not exist not literary, not archaeological, and not historical. It is an imaginary city for an imaginary god-man. Sources: René Salm, The Myth of Nazareth (Kevalin, 2007) Dan Cohn-Sherbok, The Crucified Jew (Harper Collins,1992) Henry Hart Milman, The History of the Jews (Everyman, 1939) Josephus, The Jewish War (Penguin, 1959) Jonathan Reed, Archaeology and the Galilean Jesus: A Re-examination of the Evidence (Trinity, 2002) Leslie Houlden (Ed.), Judaism & Christianity (Routledge, 1988 Karen Armstrong, A History of Jerusalem (Harper Collins, 1999) Jonathan N. Tubb, Canaanites (British Museum Press, 1998) Norman Cantor, The Sacred Chain - A History of the Jews (Harper Collins, 1994) Nazareth App You could find out more about the city of Nazareth and it's historical significance by downloading this android app play store link direct download link
Photo: Yujin Robot Food delivery robot created by South Korean robotics firm Yujin Robot. Robots are good for all kinds of things, but almost all of those things (with a few exceptions) are not things that are intended to make the lives of lazy humans (on an individual basis) better. Like, immediately better. As in, "bring me a sandwich" better. Yujin Robot, perhaps best known for (if you live in Asia) vacuums or (if you live in ROS) Turtlebot 2, is now testing out a food delivery robot that's safe enough, and affordable enough, to operate autonomously in care facilities. Here's the rather unfulfilling video, at least for people who like seeing robots, you know, actually do stuff: The GoCart system is clever enough to control a team of robots, autonomously sorting out which needs to go where, and when. It's probably most efficient, as the video points out, during fixed mealtimes where it can work out cooperative scheduling in advance, but by far the most exciting feature is the ability to order snacks on your smartphone. This is a unique capability that should really be added to the comparison chart below: We're obviously missing a few details here, like detailed tech specs (although it looks like there's some sort of laser down there along with sonar and a Kinect-ish thing) as well as what's arguably most important, which is whether GoCart really is affordable for small facilities. The suggestion is that it solves the "robots are too expensive" problem, but calling something affordable without providing even a suggestion of a price never fails to make us suspicious. It's also not quite clear from the information available how much infrastructure is required to get one or more GoCarts up and running. Now, while GoCart certainly isn't competition for Savioke's SaviOne/Botlr, it's cool to see that there are several of these relatively "affordable" delivery robots out on the market with the ability to wander around on their own in semi-structured environments amongst humans that may not be entirely comfortable with them. Technology has progressed far enough to make this possible, but more importantly, confidence in the technology has progressed far enough to make this possible, too. GoCart will start testing this October in a retirement community somewhere in the northeastern United States, and a facility in southern Sweden. [ Yujin GoCart ]
"NATO is opening up a major terror division. ... I'm sure I'm not going to get credit for it, but that was largely because of what I was saying and my criticism of NATO." During the first presidential debate at Hofstra University, Donald Trump repeated a claim that he had succeeded in pushing NATO -- the military alliance that includes the United States and Europe -- to increase its efforts on counter-terrorism. "About four months ago, I read on the front page of the Wall Street Journal that NATO is opening up a major terror division," Trump said Sept. 26, 2016. "And I think that's great … because we pay approximately 73 percent of the cost of NATO. It's a lot of money to protect other people. But I'm all for NATO. But I said they have to focus on terror, also. And they're going to do that. … I'm sure I'm not going to get credit for it, but that was largely because of what I was saying and my criticism of NATO." Trump’s claim is False. We’ll explain why. What change at NATO is he referring to? When we checked with experts on NATO and terrorism, several said the likeliest change that Trump would have been referring to was the creation of an assistant secretary general for intelligence and security to head a newly established Joint Intelligence and Security Division. Trump has previously tweeted out a Wall Street Journal story on the news and said the alliance "made the change without giving me credit." The new position was officially announced in a communiqué released on July 9, 2016, by member-state representatives at a summit in Warsaw, Poland. Was this a major change? Not really, experts said when we first investigated the claim. "NATO members have been complaining about sharing of intelligence for generations," said Stephen M. Saideman, a professor of international affairs at Carleton University in Canada who had a fellowship on the U.S. Joint Staff at NATO in 2001. "Every year or two, there is a discussion about how to improve intel sharing." This change, he said, was "not that important." Jorge Benitez, director of NATOSource at the Atlantic Council, agreed. "While the top position is new, it seems most of the staff will come from an internal reorganization of NATO bureaucracy, rather than new additions," he said. "This is because the summit communique describes this new NATO division as making ‘better use of existing personnel and resources.’ " More to the point, Trump’s comment gives the impression that NATO hadn’t been responsive to terrorism until the new division was created. That’s not true at all. NATO involvement in counterterrorism issued its first formal declaration on terrorism in 1980, and it became a significant issue for the alliance on Sept. 11, 2001, said Lisa Sawyer Samp, a senior fellow in the international security program of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Indeed, Clinton brought this up in her response to what Trump said at the debate. "NATO invoked Article 5, its collective defense provision, the day after the 9/11 attacks and has focused on dealing with this threat ever since, including most importantly by deploying troops for the past 12 years in Afghanistan," said Ivo H. Daalder, president of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs who previously served as Ambassador to NATO under President Barack Obama. At its peak, NATO and its partners sent about 40,000 troops to Afghanistan, Benitez said, and this year, there are still about 4,000 troops from NATO allies in Afghanistan. "It is impossible to argue that NATO has not played an overwhelmingly important role in the war on terror," said Timothy Andrews Sayle, an assistant professor of modern global security at the University of Toronto. It’s worth noting that, according to experts, NATO’s structure and role has made it an imperfect vehicle for counter-terrorism. "Allied warfare is exceptionally difficult and fraught with problems of coordination and compatibility," Sayle said. Intelligence sharing has been especially challenging -- a shortcoming that the new position was designed to ease. NATO’s post-9/11 terrorism blueprint did undergo one major overhaul -- but that occurred in 2012, several years before Trump started running for president. The overhaul, as announced at a summit in Wales, states that "the Alliance strives at all times to remain aware of the evolving threat from terrorism; to ensure it has adequate capabilities to prevent, protect against, and respond to terrorist threats." "So it took about a decade to update the initial post-9/11 framework for dealing with terrorism," said Matthew Fay, a defense policy analyst with the Niskanen Center. Did Trump have anything to do with it? This is where Trump’s statement goes off the rails. He said that NATO acted "largely" because of his concerns. But experts agree that nothing of the sort happened. For starters, experts said, leaders of the NATO countries feel little warmth for Trump, suggesting that they wouldn’t do anything to bolster his prospects of becoming president. "It is comical to suggest NATO would change its counterterrorism policy in response to anything Donald Trump has said about it over the course of his campaign," Fay said. "Like his claim that he was against the invasion of Iraq, this is another reflection of the Republican nominee living in a foreign policy world of his own creation." (We checked his position on the Iraq War separately here.) Even more important are the structural obstacles -- namely, that an alliance as broad as NATO tends to take longer to get all its members to sign off on strategic changes. "This is almost certainly just an odd coincidence," Sayle said. "The position would be the result of a very long slog by those who have favored the idea against those who may believe the alliance too large and diffuse to be effective – or safe – for sharing detailed intelligence." Saideman agreed. "NATO never works fast on anything, and most of the major changes are timed to be announced at summits like the Warsaw Summit or smaller meetings where defense ministers and foreign ministers meet." Finally, NATO rejected the notion that Trump had anything to do with the change in a statement to Politico. Our ruling Trump said, "NATO is opening up a major terror division. ... I'm sure I'm not going to get credit for it, but that was largely because of what I was saying and my criticism of NATO." The change he’s apparently referring to -- the creation of a new senior post and division for coordinating intelligence sharing -- is just the most recent incremental change in how the alliance handles counter-terrorism, a topic it has addressed, in big ways and small, for more than 30 years. There is no evidence that the change was made in response to Trump’s complaints about the alliance. Experts said such changes typically require a longer gestation period so that all member nations can get on board. We rate Trump’s statement False. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/sep/27/donald-trump/donald-trump-wrong-again-about-nato-increasing-ter/
Inconvenient Truths About The Apple Watch Mike Rundle Blocked Unblock Follow Following Apr 13, 2015 When Apple first showed off the Apple Watch, I was stunned. It looked glorious and larger than life. Shiny and precision-machined. Like an object from the future that time-traveled back to the present just to blow everyone away. This past Friday, the first day that the public was allowed to handle and play with the Apple Watch, everyone who had been obsessing over videos and photographs finally got the chance to use one firsthand. I made it to the Apple Store on Friday and was one of those people. I came away underwhelmed and a little disheartened. These are my thoughts on the Apple Watch after actually using one. Some Background I have owned 8 iPhones. I’ve been using a Mac since 1996. For my birthday when I was a kid, my Mom took me to the MacWorld Expo in Boston. I write iPhone apps. I’m a die-hard Apple person. I used to be a serious watch person until I started carrying an iPhone in my pocket and typing at a desk every day (buckles on watches scraping against a keyboard are not my favorite thing.) I own a beautiful Panerai chronograph, a nice pilot watch, a bunch of Swatch watches and a bright orange Nooka digital watch. I’m deeply fascinated by mechanical watch movements and have (briefly) attempted to design my own in 3D software before realizing it’s extremely hard. I aspire to own a Lange Datograph some day. Now that you know my Apple and watch cred, let’s get into it. Inconvenient Truth #1: The Apple Watch Is Really Small I was shocked at how small and slight the Apple Watch felt on my wrist. I’m a larger guy (6' and built like a linebacker who retired and got a little fat) and when I tried the 42mm Apple Watch Sport on, I thought it was the 38mm. I thought it was tiny and there was some mistake. It is the smallest watch that’s ever been on my wrist. But wait! The 42mm Apple Watch isn’t that small, right? I mean, it’s 42mm and lots of mens’ watches are around 40–44mm nowadays. Here’s the problem with that, and I think Apple has put a little marketing smoke and mirrors into play here. Most watches are round. When a manufacturer says that their watch is 42mm, it’s the diameter across the case of the watch. Depending on the exact type of watch, it’s usually 42mm all the way around. However, when Apple says that the Apple Watch is 42mm, they’re measuring it from top-to-bottom. From side-to-side it’s only 35.9mm wide which is tiny in the world of men’s watches and actually closer to a woman’s watch size. Here’s a true-to-scale comparison between the 42mm Apple Watch Sport and some other popular men’s watches. Most popular men’s watches now are 42mm-46mm measured as a diameter across the watch face. Some watches by Diesel, Guess, Fossil and other “mall stores” are actually much larger, sometimes up to 50mm wide or larger. Bigger watches are very popular now. Unfortunately, the Apple Watch isn’t large at all. Men who are used to wearing 42mm round-faced watches will definitely notice that the 42mm Apple Watch sits smaller on their wrist than they’re accustomed to. Men who are used to wearing 44mm watches (or larger) may think the Apple Watch feels more like a little kid’s bracelet than a substantial and expensive watch. I was thinking a little more deeply about this size perception issue, and I think one reason that the Apple Watch’s diminutive size struck me is because in all of Apple’s marketing materials it’s portrayed as larger than life. Look at this still from the introduction video. See how gigantic the digital crown looks? In real life it’s absolutely teeny tiny. I could hardly make out any of the cut-in little ridges when I used an Apple Watch in person. It’s very small and requires precise fingering to turn it while wearing one. Here’s another one from Apple’s website. These hyper zoomed-in detail shots subconsciously set me up to think the Apple Watch would be big with all tiny details visible. I was very wrong. The watch itself is extremely slight. I wish it was larger, felt heavier on my wrist, and had a larger screen. Maybe that’ll come in a few years. Here’s a final comparison shot between the Apple Watch and the Motorola 360. The Apple Watch looks absolutely tiny by comparison. Inconvenient Truth #2: Apple’s Leather Bands Feel Cheap Apple went out of their way in marketing materials to speak to the quality of the leather they are using. Here are some quotes about their leather straps from Apple’s website: The Venezia leather for this band is handcrafted in Arzignano, Italy. With an artisan heritage spanning five generations, the tannery has a history of partnership with some of the most prestigious names in fashion. A delicate milling and tumbling process enhances the beautiful pebbled texture. To make the leather straps for Apple Watch, we start by hand-selecting hides from three of the world’s best-known artisan tanneries. The subtly grained Dutch, pebbled Venezia, and supple Granada leathers are chosen for their superior quality and uniform texture. From the renowned ECCO tannery in the Netherlands, the Dutch leather used for this band is milled to give the grain a subtle, distinctive texture. So this all sounds nice, and if you’re reading words on Apple’s website to make you feel better about a leather strap combination you chose I’m sure the above quotes go a long way, but, unfortunately, if you feel Apple’s leather bands in person you can tell it’s just lip service. I’ll just get right to it: Apple’s leather bands feel terrible. They feel like fake leather. You know how chicken nuggets are made out of that heavily processed pink chicken sludge? That’s what I think Apple does to make their leather bands. They start with real leather from some fancy tannery and then grind and engineer and twist and mold that original, nice leather into something that only has a passing resemblance to leather in the finished product. Here’s a zoomed-in photo of the Modern Buckle leather band. What stands out to me: The side of the “leather” band is finished so precisely that it looks machined or formed. Neither of those things are desirable in a leather strap that costs $250, or hell, even $150. A $250 leather strap should look like it was crafted and finished by a single leather artisan. This looks like it was pumped out in a factory, perhaps fussed about and shaved down by one of the million CNC machines Jony Ive commands. There are no stitches! Are you kidding me? Leather watch bands have stitches because that’s how you make leather watch bands, or any leather good of a decent quality. Coach purses and wallets and bags all have stitches. Louis Vuitton purses and wallets and bags all have stitches. Hermès leather goods all have stitches. Even the cheapest leather bands you can buy online for $30 have stitches. Apple’s leather bands don’t. Apple is selling ultra-premium leather watch bands where you can’t actually tell if a human was involved in the process of making it. When the leather band reaches the watch, it gets thicker and then has a precisely-cut circular hole cut into it. When real leather bands get thicker, you can typically see extra folds of leather being used to make it thicker. The band here looks like it was formed in a mold. And that hole for the lugs? It’s too perfect. This thing was absolutely made by a machine. In case you’re not a watch aficionado, or don’t know how leather watch bands should look, here’s how Hermès makes their leather bands. And to make Apple’s watch bands and their prices even more absurd, you can purchase the hand-made Hermès leather band shown below (and highlighted in that previous link) for less than what Apple’s Modern Buckle costs. Now let’s get to the Leather Loop. It feels like a bunch of little ABS plastic pills all glued together. It feels like Apple took a leather hide, sliced it into 10 pieces all 1/10th the thickness of the original, then wrapped those Filo-dough-so-thin-is-it-really-still-leather sheets around hard little pellets. To me, it didn’t feel like leather at all, and it’s certainly not made by people’s hands because of the precise tolerances needed to jam little hard magnets into each segment and then machine each edge flat. It’s an engineering marvel, but it’s not a buttery-smooth, hand-crafted luxury leather strap. I think the most off-putting aspect of the Leather Loop, and all of the leather straps, is that the surface texture looks so fake. It looks like it was stamped on after the sorta-leather had been pressed into shape. It looks like Apple repurposed the PNG leather textures of iOS 6 to make 10-ton embossing presses. I could probably forgive these quality issues if the prices were lower, but they’re not, they’re astronomical. The Modern Buckle is $250 (granted, it comes with a nice deployant clasp), the Leather Loop is $150 and the Classic Buckle is $150. Did you know that for around $100–150 you could buy a hand-made, exotic leather strap like crocodile or sharkskin? Hell, you could even buy yourself a really nice stainless steel link bracelet for that much. But Apple doesn’t provide 3rd-party watch band adapters yet, so you’re stuck paying the Apple Tax for machine-made, factory-made, only-sorta-real leather bands with a seemingly-fake texture printed on top. On the plus side, I thought the Sport Band was the nicest available band. It elegantly drapes over the wrist and feels smooth, not rubbery. It’s a premium latex-rubber-ish strap. In all the ways that Apple’s leather straps are bad, the Sport Band is good. It’s the perfect band to wear when exercising with your Apple Watch strapped to your wrist. Inconvenient Truth #3: The Screen Isn’t As Sharp or Bright As You Probably Think For months I’ve been studying Apple Watch photos on Apple’s website. Every photo, every detail. The screen, the interface, the apps, the glass, everything. But when I’ve been looking at photos like these for months… Imagine my disappointment when I saw the screen actually looks like this:
Getty Images Doc Rivers (left) will be coaching Blake Griffin with the Clippers this season.After spending the past nine seasons as head coach of the Boston Celtics, Doc Rivers will be running the Los Angeles Clippers next season. Rivers was the highest-paid coach in the NBA this season at $7 million. That was $1 million dollars more than Gregg Popovich. Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, winner of two straight NBA titles, reportedly made about $3 million. Rivers made at least twice as much as 20 of the 29 other NBA head coaches last season. Rivers compiled 416 wins in nine seasons with the Celtics, third-most in franchise history behind the legendary Red Auerbach and Tom Heinsohn. He guided Boston to the NBA Finals twice during his tenure, winning the 2008 title over the Los Angeles Lakers, the Celtics’ first championship since 1986. PaulRivers-Paul Pairing If Chris Paul re-signs with the Clippers, what will that pairing create in Los Angeles? Paul led the NBA this season with 1.06 points per play in the pick-and-roll offense, which included passes (among 50 players with 500 plays). Under Rivers, the pick-and-roll offense was Boston’s most-used play type with Rajon Rondo. Paul’s points-per-play average on pick-and-rolls (including passes) hasn’t been outside the top five in the NBA since 2005-06. In his career, Paul’s teams have had a defensive efficiency of 104.1 points per 100 possessions allowed when he’s on the court, one point worse than the NBA average. The Celtics have had the best defensive efficiency in the NBA since Kevin Garnett joined the team in the 2007-08 season. Doc Rivers' Celtics Career By Years Rivers’ Success Rivers' success with the Celtics can be defined by the team's "Big Three", which came together in the 2007 offseason. The acquisition of Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett led to a personal Big Three for Doc Rivers -- as in, the middle three seasons of his nine-year Celtics tenure. If you remove the middle three seasons of his Celtics career, he was one game over .500. Uncertainty in Boston Celtics In Postseason Past 25 Years After experiencing a 21-season championship drought, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen guided the Celtics to a title during their first season together in 2008. Boston would make it back to the Finals in 2010, falling to the Lakers in seven games. Kendrick Perkins would be traded the following season. Ray Allen left for Miami last offseason - and now questions surround Pierce and Garnett.
Crain's would like you to share your views on the Detroit River -- literally. Be part of the Aug. 20 special publication of Crain's Detroit Business' Living and Investing in the D by submitting your favorite river photos and the stories to go with them. We're looking for views of the Detroit River, photos of out-of-the-way hangouts and bars by the river or photos of interesting spots to fish, play or relax. Be sure to include an explanation and story with your photos. Submit photos by July 27 to be part of a contest for the best photo. Prizes will be given to the top photos, picked by Crain's editors. The winning photo, and many others, will be used in print and online as part of this annual publication. To submit a photo electronically, go to www.crainsdetroit.com/riverviews. For questions, contact Deputy Managing Editor Daniel Duggan at [email protected] or (313) 446-0414.
It's always fun to look back at specific draft classes to see what impact they are having as a collective group. The 2014 NFL Draft class has produced several impact players, including a few that would be in the discussion as top-five players in the entire league. So, what would happen if we put all of these players in a draft tomorrow? Who would be the first pick? I posed this question to five personnel executives. Here are their answers. Executive 1: Raiders QB Derek Carr "I'd rank them like this: Carr, (Aaron) Donald and then (Khalil) Mack. You can't go wrong with any of the three but I'd lean toward the quarterback." Executive 2: Rams DT Aaron Donald "Donald would be my first choice overall. He is the most consistently dominating player at his position in the NFL." Executive 3: Carr "You have to take the QB. I'd go with Derek Carr." Executive 4: Carr "It's close for me. I could make a strong argument for Khalil Mack or Derek Carr. It's crazy that the Raiders ended up with both of them. I'd probably give the nod to the quarterback." Executive 5: Raiders DE Khalil Mack "You can't go wrong with several of these guys, but I think Mack is the best football player from the 2014 class. I'd pick him." Summary: That's three votes for Carr and one apiece for Donald and Mack. Conclusion: I can't say that I'm surprised with the voting. Mack and Donald have been dominant from the time they hit the NFL field, and Carr has quickly emerged as a top-five quarterback as well as an MVP candidate. This league values quarterbacks and players that can affect the quarterback on the other side of the ball. Personally, I think Donald is the best football player in this class, but I would select Carr first because of the importance of the quarterback position. It will be fun to watch this class continue to develop. Follow Daniel Jeremiah on Twitter @MoveTheSticks.
A teenager who contends Redwood City police officers fired a Taser at him and then taunted him has filed a civil rights lawsuit in federal court against the city and the two cops involved. Marcelo Perez was 17 when the 2010 incident occurred in downtown Redwood City, according to the suit, filed Dec. 31 in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California. He is represented by the law firm of John Burris, an Oakland-based attorney known for taking on police brutality and excessive force cases. “This is a straight-up excessive force case,” said DeWitt Lacy, the firm’s attorney handling the lawsuit. “The officers did not need to tase him.” Redwood City spokesman Malcolm Smith said the city could not comment because of the pending litigation. The suit alleges that Perez went into the Safeway store at 1701 El Camino Real with a friend to use the restroom at about 8:20 p.m. on Sept. 25, 2010. The friend stole a bottle of alcohol and as they left, employees went after the friend, saying they knew he had shoplifted. The friend threw the bottle to the employees and ran off. Perez walked away in a different direction for a planned dinner with his mother at a nearby sushi restaurant, according to the suit. While approaching Middlefield Road, he was confronted by two police officers, identified only by their first initials and last names: R. Adler and S. Sysum. When Perez reached into his pocket for his cellphone and speed-dialed his mother, Adler took out his Taser and told him to raise his hands, according to the suit. Sysum also pulled out his Taser. The officers then forced Perez to the ground “using their body weight, and forced plaintiff’s head to the sidewalk,” the suit states. They demanded he put his hands behind his back, but Perez complained that he couldn’t because his arms were pinned beneath him. “At that point, the officers removed themselves from atop the plaintiff and each one fired a Taser dart into plaintiff,” the suit states. “While the officers secured his hands, they taunted plaintiff, grabbed his hair and pushed his face into the sidewalk and injured his shoulder.” The teen’s mother arrived and demanded that the officers give their names or badge numbers, but they refused, according to the suit. The teen was later taken to a hospital for evaluation. The use of force when Perez was already pinned to the ground was unwarranted, Lacy said. “I understand that officers deal with difficult situations and there are times when force is appropriate,” he said. “This was not appropriate.” Although Perez was charged with theft, criminal conspiracy, battery on a police officer and resisting arrest, the charges were ultimately dismissed, according to the suit, which seeks unspecified monetary damages and attorneys’ fees. “Plaintiff suffered anxiety, embarrassment and loss of his sense of security, dignity and pride as a result of the unlawful arrest and use of force against him,” the suit states. Email Bonnie Eslinger at beslinger@dailynewsgroup.com; follow her at twitter.com/ bonnieeslinger.
Much as you say "Don't hate the sinner hate the sin" I think it is the case that you're not differentiating between hatred of a belief and hatred of believers. I cannot stand the major theistic religions but I have nothing against the individual believers of said religions. I personally do a fair amount of insulting religious beliefs (note not believers) because not only are they ridiculous but they can often be very dangerous. So in response to one of your questions, yes, many religious people have tried to force religion on other people. It happens to this very day in theocracies, children are being fed misinformation in the form of creation science, children's abuse has been covered up and religious groups try to stop other groups (e.g. homosexuals) from having equal rights when it doesn't affect them. These are just some examples amongst many that can sour people from religion. If it did not affect people in similar ways then I doubt there'd be as much vitriol. Every religion out there seems to think they have it the worst but this persecution complex stems from their own theology and from the emotional nature of the belief, theists often have their beliefs closely attached to how they consider themselves to be as a person thus making it harder for them to differentiate between an attack on their beliefs and an attack on them. The thing is though that in a free society views can and should be criticised. To wish to be criticism free is to not only misunderstand what it is to be part of a free society but it is a pathetic wish for special treatment when we should have equality. Source(s): Years of living in a free society where I realise I shouldn't get special treatment whatever my belief is. Robin · 7 years ago 2 Thumbs up 2 Thumbs down Report Abuse
Check out this desktop platform roadmap slide from Intel that reveals Intel is planning to launch the Haswell Refresh Platform (aka Broadwell) around mid-2014, with Haswell-E (Lituya Bay) following in late 2014 and the 14nm Skylake platform around Q2 2015. Haswell-E and Skylake will reportedly support DDR4 memory, Haswell-E is rumored to continue using LGA2011 but Skylake will likely will use a new socket. Nothing much more we can add though, have a look at the photo that was taken. Thanks go out to Chinese VR-zone for this one. Here's a (nasty) google translation of the content: Looking forward to the the DDR4 arrival, the fastest consumer market may have to wait until Haswell-E. Earlier, clearly pointed out that the and Broadwell will support SATA 3.2 version SATA Express chip, code-named Z97 and H97, this time we want to inform you the fastest Intel plans to import in Haswell-E DDR4 memory specification. San Francisco IDF in 2012, including SK Hynix and Micron memory particles plant in the presentation pointed out that in 2014, the fastest will start the import DDR4 memory, this year's CES, Crucial for the first time to show DDR4 memory modules, but generally speculated that the server-side than the earlier import of consumer goods. Recent information released by the upstream plant, Intel will begin in Haswell-E import DDR4 memory specification. Haswell-E will replace Ivy Bridge-E generation, and the current rumors Skip outflow Intel Ivy Bridge-E seems unlikely to happen, at least be able to tell from the various partners in the hands of the sample has been sent. You do not need to look forward to the early arrival of Haswell-E. According to the information in our hands, Haswell-E fastest will be launched at the end of 2014, it also means that Ivy Bridge-E is only one year of life, as to whether longevity as Sandy Bridge-E, it seems more difficult. On the other hand, Haswell life seems to trifle generous. As for the 14nm Skylake of table is scheduled to be launched in the first quarter of 2015, this processor will also support DDR4 memory. Based on current information, Haswell-E will continue LGA 2011, but the chip will replace the Lituya Bay.
In 1530, to escape the wrath of the Pope, Michelangelo holed up in a tiny secret room under the Medici Chapel of the Basilica di San Lorenzo. The artist had been working on the lavish tomb when all hell broke loose in Florence, and he was forced into hiding. With nothing but time and a little charcoal on his hands, he covered the bare walls with some prisoner graffiti. Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni designed the Medici Chapel as an elaborate domed mausoleum for his patron family, but for three months he hid underneath it and filled the walls with drawings—of himself, of Christ, and even, some experts believe, sketched reproductions of images from the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, which he had completed in 1512. Michelangelo owed his career to the Medici, one of the wealthiest and most powerful families in Europe. In 1529 he joined ranks with other Florentines who had grown weary of their rule, hoping for a more democratic system of governance. Defying the formidable family, let alone the Pope (Clement VII, who was a Medici), was more than a little counterintuitive for the artist, whose livelihood depended on them. But defy he did, working to help fortify the city walls against Medici-friendly forces led by the Pope himself. After ten months of struggle the Pope and his family won, and the republican sympathizers were swiftly punished. This would have included Michelangelo, had he not retreated for those three months to his subterranean hideaway to wait it out. In November of 1530, after the Pope let it be known that Michelangelo could go back to work—unpunished–to complete the Chapel, he reemerged. All was forgiven between the artist and his patrons, eager to finally have their finished tomb. Michelangelo never let on where he had been, and for almost 500 years his whereabouts remained a secret. During this time, some believed he had been staying with a friend or in a church bell tower. The room and the drawings weren’t discovered until 1976, when they were stumbled upon by the director of the Museum of the Medici Chapel. Since then, given its fragility, the tiny, dark and unvented space has been alternately opened and closed to the public. Imagine spending three months down there with nothing but doodling to keep you occupied.
– Northern Michigan officials say a sign supporting Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump that rises roughly 35 feet above a garage roof is too big and high. The Traverse City Record-Eagle reports Wednesday the days are numbered for Michael Witte’s sign featuring the candidate’s last name in 3-foot-by-3-foot capital letters attached to a vertical extension ladder atop his garage. Traverse City zoning officials say it violates size ordinances and gave Witte until the end of the week to remove it. Witte says he’ll comply, though ponders a smaller replacement statement that apologizes for not being larger. He says he usually doesn’t follow politics but likes Trump despite “his drawbacks.” Witte’s garage roof also bears a message: “God bless America and the world,” in matching red capital letters. (Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
Save the 924 (and other early water-cooled Porsches)! PURPOSE The purpose of this petition is to encourage PAG to add a wide range of currently unavailable parts to the Porsche Classic catalog so that water-cooled enthusiasts can continue to rebuild, restore, and enjoy these fantastic cars. CALL TO ACTION There is growing interest in the early water-cooled cars. We believe there is sufficient worldwide demand for PAG to make these parts available again. BACKGROUND OEM parts for the 924, 944, 968, and 928 models are becoming increasingly difficult to find, with several of them now NLA (no longer available). Many of these parts are specialty items only available from the manufacturer (that is, they are not normal wear parts available from aftermarket or OE suppliers). Furthermore, most of these parts are crucial for proper restorations and engine rebuilds. Enthusiasts are currently forced to rely upon a dwindling supply of suspect parts recovered from salvage vehicles. PARTIAL LIST OF NLA PARTS 924 and 924 Turbo crank reference sensor for M31.03/04/50: 931 606 021 00 wrist pin bushings: 059 105 431 tensioning sleeve for head-to-block alignment: 046 103 139 tensioning sleeve for gilmer pulley-to-crankshaft: N 023 255 1 piston wrist pins: E 046 107 411, 931 103 407 00, 931 103 407 01 main bearing sets: 046 198 451, 046 198 453, 046 198 455 spring for oil pressure relief valve: 068 115 427 cam oiler tube: 047 115 701 rod bolts: 059 105 425 A rod nuts: 059 105 427 A wastegate diaphragm: 930 123 210 sealing ring for upper charge tube-to-throttle body: 931 110 379 00 t-stat bypass hose: 046 121 053 t-stat-to-upper rad hose elbow : 931 106 159 00 heater core-to-heater control valve: 477 819 725 A heater control valve-to-cross over pipe: 931 106 271 01 expansion tank overflow to rad : 000 043 205 14 reservoir-to-rad hose : 477 121 105 heater control valve-to-cross over pipe: 931 106 271 01 G31/016Y/Z Gasket (front housing to mid housing): 477 301 191 A vacuum elbow from 931 bypass valve: 931 110 185 01 bracket, rear of intercooler: 931 110 209 04 oil cooler lines banjo bolt seals: 900 123 106 30 main banjo bolt seal for oil filter adpater-to-block: N 043 815 2 turbo oil feed line seals: 900 123 008 30 turbo drain line seals: 900 123 084 30 o-ring for oil filter console: 999 701 621 40 oil breather assembly: 931 107 063 00 oil breather assembly: 052 103 129 A solenoids for fuel distributor: 477 133 525 D, 477 133 539 B, 477 133 539 C
Tatarstan, see This article is about the republic in Russia. For the ship, see Gepard class frigate First-level administrative division of Russia Republic in Volga, Russia The Republic of Tatarstan (Russian: Респу́блика Татарста́н, tr. Respublika Tatarstan, IPA: [rʲɪsˈpublʲɪkə tətɐrˈstan]; Tatar: Татарстан Республикасы), or simply Tatarstan, is a federal subject (a republic) of the Russian Federation, located in the Volga Federal District. Its capital is the city of Kazan. The republic borders Kirov, Ulyanovsk, Samara, and Orenburg Oblasts, the Mari El, Udmurt, and Chuvash Republics, and the Republic of Bashkortostan. The area of the republic is 68,000 square kilometres (26,000 sq mi). The unofficial Tatarstan motto is Bez Buldırabız! (We can!).[15] As of the 2010 Census, the population of Tatarstan was 3,786,488.[9] The state has strong cultural ties with its eastern neighbor, the Republic of Bashkortostan.[16][17] The state languages of the Republic of Tatarstan are Tatar and Russian. Etymology [ edit ] "Tatarstan" derives from the name of the ethnic group—the Tatars—and the Persian suffix -stan (meaning "state" or "country" of, an ending common to many Eurasian countries). Another version of the Russian name is "Тата́рия" (Tatariya), which was official along with "Tatar ASSR" during the Soviet rule. Geography [ edit ] Map of the Republic of Tatarstan. The republic is located in the center of the East European Plain, approximately 800 kilometers (500 mi) east of Moscow. It lies between the Volga River and the Kama River (a tributary of the Volga), and extends east to the Ural mountains. Rivers [ edit ] View on the Taima River from Devil's Tower in Yelabuga Major rivers include (Tatar names are given in parentheses): Lakes [ edit ] Major reservoirs of the republic include (Tatar names are given in parentheses): The biggest lake is Qaban. The biggest swamp is Kulyagash. Hills [ edit ] Natural resources [ edit ] Major natural resources of Tatarstan include oil, natural gas, gypsum, and more. It is estimated that the Republic has over one billion tons of oil deposits.[19] Climate [ edit ] Average January temperature : −15 °C (5 °F) : −15 °C (5 °F) Average July temperature: +18 °C (64 °F) +18 °C (64 °F) Average annual temperature: +4 °C (39 °F) +4 °C (39 °F) Average annual precipitation: up to 500 to 550 mm (20 to 22 in) Administrative divisions [ edit ] Administrative and territorial division: 43 municipal districts and 2 urban districts (Kazan and Naberezhnye Chelny), as well as 39 urban settlements and 872 rural settlements. The Republic of Tatarstan consists of districts and cities of republican significance, the list of which is established by the Constitution of the Republic of Tatarstan. The districts consist of cities of district significance, urban-type settlements and rural settlements with subordinate territories that make up the primary level in the system of administrative-territorial structure of the Republic. Cities of national significance can be geographically divided into districts in the city. History [ edit ] Middle Ages [ edit ] An ancient mosque in Bolgar The earliest known organized state within the boundaries of Tatarstan was Volga Bulgaria (c. 700–1238). The Volga Bulgars had an advanced mercantile state with trade contacts throughout Inner Eurasia, the Middle East, and the Baltic, which maintained its independence despite pressure by such nations as the Khazars, the Kievan Rus, and the Cuman-Kipchaks. Islam was introduced by missionaries from Baghdad around the time of Ibn Fadlan's journey in 922. Volga Bulgaria finally fell to the armies of the Mongol prince Batu Khan in the late 1230s (see Mongol invasion of Volga Bulgaria). The inhabitants, mixing with the Golden Horde's Kipchak-speaking people, became known as the "Volga Tatars". Another theory postulates that there were no ethnic changes in that period, and Bulgars simply switched to the Kipchak-based Tatar language. In the 1430s, the region again became independent as the base of the Khanate of Kazan, a capital having been established in Kazan, 170 km (110 mi) up the Volga from the ruined capital of the Bulgars. The Khanate of Kazan was conquered by the troops of Tsar Ivan the Terrible in the 1550s, with Kazan being taken in 1552. A large number of Bulgars were killed and forcibly converted to Christianity and were culturally Russified.[citation needed] Cathedrals were built in Kazan; by 1593 all mosques in the area were destroyed. The Russian government forbade the construction of mosques, a prohibition that was not lifted until the 18th century by Catherine the Great. The first mosque to be rebuilt under Catherine's auspices was constructed in 1766–1770. 19th century [ edit ] In the 19th century, Tatarstan became a center of Jadidism, an Islamic movement that preached tolerance of other religions. Under the influence of local Jadidist theologians, the Bulgars were renowned for their friendly relations with other peoples of the Russian Empire. However, after the October Revolution religion was largely outlawed and all theologians were repressed. Early 20th century [ edit ] During the Civil War of 1918–1920 Tatar nationalists attempted to establish an independent republic (the Idel-Ural State). They were, however, put down by the Bolsheviks and the Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was established on May 27, 1920.[4] The boundaries of the republic did not include a majority of the Volga Tatars. The Tatar Union of the Godless were persecuted in Stalin's 1928 purges. 1921–1922 famine [ edit ] There was a famine in the Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in 1921 to 1922 as a result of war communist policy. The famine deaths of 2 million Tatars in Tatar ASSR and in Volga-Ural region in 1921–1922 was catastrophic as half of Volga Tatar population in USSR died. This famine is also known as "terror-famine" and "famine-genocide" in Tatarstan.[20] The Soviets settled ethnic Russians after the famine in Tatar ASSR and in Volga-Ural region causing the Tatar share of the population to decline to less than 50%. All-Russian Tatar Social Center (VTOTs) has asked the United Nations to condemn the 1921 Tatarstan famine as Genocide of Muslim Tatars.[21] The 1921–1922 famine in Tatarstan has been compared to Holodomor in Ukraine.[22] Modern times [ edit ] On August 30, 1990, Tatarstan announced its sovereignty with the Declaration on the State Sovereignty of the Tatar Soviet Socialist Republic[23] and in 1992 Tatarstan held a referendum on the new constitution,[24] and 62 percent of those who took part voted in favor of the constitution. In the 1992 Tatarstan Constitution, Tatarstan is defined as a Sovereign State. However, the referendum and constitution were declared unconstitutional by the Russian Constitutional Court.[25] However, articles 1 and 3 of the constitution, as introduced in 2002[24] define Tatarstan as a part of the Russian Federation. On February 15, 1994, the Treaty On Delimitation of Jurisdictional Subjects and Mutual Delegation of Authority between the State Bodies of the Russian Federation and the State Bodies of the Republic of Tatarstan[26] and Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Republic of Tatarstan (On Delimitation of Authority in the Sphere of Foreign Economic Relations) were signed. The power-sharing agreement was renewed on July 11, 2007, though with much of the power delegated to Tatarstan reduced.[27] On December 20, 2008, in response to Russia recognizing Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the Milli Mejlis of the Tatar People declared Tatarstan independent and asked for United Nations recognition.[28] However, this declaration was ignored both by the United Nations and the Russian government. On July 24, 2017, the autonomy agreement signed in 1994 between Moscow and Kazan expired, making Tatarstan the last republic of Russia to lose its special status.[29] Demographics [ edit ] Population: 3,786,488 (2010 Census);[9] 3,779,265 (2002 Census);[30] 3,637,809 (1989 Census).[31] Settlements [ edit ] Vital statistics [ edit ] Population density. Russian Orthodox Church in Tatarstan [32] Average population (1000s) Live births Deaths Natural change Crude birth rate (per 1000) Crude death rate (per 1000) Natural change (per 1000) Fertility rates 1970 3,146 47,817 25,622 22,195 15.2 8.1 7.1 1975 3,311 55,095 29,686 25,409 16.6 9.0 7.7 1980 3,465 54,272 32,758 21,514 15.7 9.5 6.2 1985 3,530 64,067 34,622 29,445 18.1 9.8 8.3 1990 3,665 56,277 36,219 20,058 15.4 9.9 5.5 2.05 1991 3,684 50,160 37,266 12,894 13.6 10.1 3.5 1.88 1992 3,706 44,990 39,148 5,842 12.1 10.6 1.6 1.71 1993 3,730 41,144 44,291 −3,147 11.0 11.9 −0.8 1.57 1994 3,746 41,811 48,613 −6,802 11.2 13.0 −1.8 1.58 1995 3,756 39,070 48,592 −9,522 10.4 12.9 −2.5 1.47 1996 3,766 38,080 45,731 −7,651 10.1 12.1 −2.0 1.43 1997 3,775 37,268 46,270 −9,002 9.9 12.3 −2.4 1.38 1998 3,785 37,182 45,153 −7,971 9.8 11.9 −2.1 1.37 1999 3,789 35,073 46,679 −11,606 9.3 12.3 −3.1 1.29 2000 3,788 35,446 49,723 −14,277 9.4 13.1 −3.8 1.29 2001 3,784 35,877 50,119 −14,242 9.5 13.2 −3.8 1.30 2002 3,779 38,178 51,685 −13,507 10.1 13.7 −3.6 1.37 2003 3,775 38,461 52,263 −13,802 10.2 13.8 −3.7 1.36 2004 3,771 38,661 51,322 −12,661 10.3 13.6 −3.4 1.34 2005 3,767 36,967 51,841 −14,874 9.8 13.8 −3.9 1.26 2006 3,763 37,303 49,218 −11,915 9.9 13.1 −3.2 1.25 2007 3,763 40,892 48,962 −8,070 10.9 13.0 −2.1 1.36 2008 3,772 44,290 48,952 −4,662 11.8 13.0 −1.2 1.45 2009 3,779 46,605 47,892 −1,287 12.4 12.7 −0.3 1.55 2010 3,785 48,968 49,730 −762 12.9 13.1 −0.2 1.60 2011 3,795 50,824 47,072 3,752 13.4 12.4 1.0 1.65 2012 3,813 55,421 46,358 9,063 14.5 12.2 2.3 1.80 2013 3,830 56,458 46,192 10,266 14.7 12.1 2.6 1.83 2014 3,847 56,480 46,921 9,559 14.7 12.2 2.5 1.84 2015 3,862 56,899 46,483 10,416 14.7 12.0 2.7 1.86 2016 3,878 55,853 44,894 10,959 14.4 11.6 2.8 1.86 (est) 2017 3,889 48,115 43,957 4,158 12.4 11.3 1.1 Note: TFR source.[33] Ethnic groups [ edit ] Ethnic group 1926 Census 1939 Census 1959 Census 1970 Census 1979 Census 1989 Census 2002 Census 2010 Census1[9] Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Tatars 1,263,383 48.7% 1,421,514 48.8% 1,345,195 47.2% 1,536,430 49.1% 1,641,603 47.6% 1,765,404 48.5% 2,000,116 52.9% 2,012,571 53.2% Russians 1,118,834 43.1% 1,250,667 42.9% 1,252,413 43.9% 1,382,738 42.4% 1,516,023 44.0% 1,575,361 43.3% 1,492,602 39.5% 1,501,369 39.7% Chuvash 127,330 4.9% 138,935 4.8% 143,552 5.0% 153,496 4.9% 147,088 4.3% 134,221 3.7% 126,532 3.3% 116,252 3.1% Others 84,485 3.3% 104,161 3.6% 109,257 3.8% 112,574 3.6% 140,698 4.1% 166,756 4.6% 160,015 4.2% 150,244 4.1% 1 6,052 people were registered from administrative databases, and could not declare an ethnicity. It is estimated that the proportion of ethnicities in this group is the same as that of the declared group. [34] Ethnic map of Tatarstan (2010). There are about 2 million ethnic Tatars and 1.5 million ethnic Russians, along with significant numbers of Chuvash, Mari, and Udmurts, some of whom are Tatar-speaking. The Ukrainian, Mordvin, and Bashkir minorities are also significant. Most Tatars are Sunni Muslims, but a small minority known as Keräşen Tatars are Orthodox and some of them regard themselves as being different from other Tatars even though most Keräşen dialects differ only slightly from the Central Dialect of the Tatar language.[35] There is a fair degree of speculation as to the early origins of the different groups of Tatars, but most Tatars no longer view religious identity as being as important as it once was, and the religious and linguistic subgroups have intermingled considerably. Nevertheless, despite many decades of assimilation and intermingling, some Keräşen demanded and were awarded the option of being specifically enumerated in 2002. This has provoked great controversy, however, as many intellectuals have sought to portray the Tatars as homogeneous and indivisible.[36] Although listed separately below, the Keräşen are still included in the grand total for the Tatars. Another unique ethnic group, concentrated in Tatarstan, is the Qaratay Mordvins. Jews in Tatarstan [ edit ] Tatar and Udmurt Jews are special territorial groups of the Ashkenazi Jews, which started to be formed in the residential areas of mixed Turkic-speaking (Tatars, Kryashens, Bashkirs, Chuvash people), Finno-Ugric-speaking (Udmurts, Mari people) and Slavic-speaking (Russians) population. The Ashkenazi Jews on the territory of Tatarstan first appeared in the 1830s.[37] The Jews of Udmurtia and Tatarstan subdivided on cultural and linguistic characteristics into two territorial groups: 1) Udmurt Jews (Udmurt Jewry), who lived on the territory of Udmurtia and the north of Tatarstan; 2) Tatar Jews or Kazan Jews (Tatar Jewry or Kazan Jewry), who lived mainly in the city of Kazan and its agglomeration.[38] Languages [ edit ] In accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of Tatarstan, the two state languages of the republic are Tatar and Russian. According to the 2002 Russian Federal Law (On Languages of Peoples of the Russian Federation), the official script is Cyrillic. Linguistic anthropologist Dr. Suzanne Wertheim, notes that "some men signal ideological devotion to the Tatar cause by refusing to accommodate to Russian-dominant public space or Russian speakers", whilst women, in promoting "the Tatar state and Tatar national culture, index their pro-Tatar ideological stances more diplomatically, and with linguistic practices situated only within the Tatar-speaking community ... in keeping with normative gender roles within the Tatar republic."[39] Religion [ edit ] Established in 922, the first Muslim state within the boundaries of modern Russia was Volga Bulgaria from which the Tatars inherited Islam. Islam was introduced by missionaries[42] from Baghdad around the time of Ibn Fadlan's journey in 922. Islam's long presence in Russia also extends at least as far back as the conquest of the Khanate of Kazan in 1552, which brought the Tatars and Bashkirs on the Middle Volga into Russia. In the 1430s, the region became independent as the base of the Khanate of Kazan, a capital having been established in Kazan, 170 km up the Volga from the ruined capital of the Bulgars. The Khanate of Kazan was conquered by the troops of Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible in the 1550s, with Kazan being taken in 1552. Some Tatars were forcibly converted to Christianity and cathedrals were built in Kazan; by 1593, mosques in the area were destroyed. The Russian government forbade the construction of mosques, a prohibition that was not lifted until the 18th century by Catherine II. When it comes to religion, Sunni Islam is the most common faith in Tatarstan, as, 54% of the estimated 3.8 million population is Muslim while the remaining population is mostly Russian Orthodox Christian and non-religious. [43] In 1990, there were only 100 mosques but the number, as of 2004, rose to well over 1,000. As of January 1, 2008, as many as 1,398 religious organizations were registered in Tatarstan, of which 1,055 were Muslim. In 2004, Sunni Islam is the most common faith in Tatarstan, as, according one study, 55% of the population is Muslim.[44] In September 2010, Eid al-Fitr as well May 21, the day the Volga Bulgars embraced Islam, were made public holidays.[45] Tatarstan also hosted an international Muslim film festival which screened over 70 films from 28 countries including Jordan, Afghanistan, and Egypt.[46] The Russian Orthodox Church is the second largest active religion in Tatarstan, and has been so for more than 150 years,[47] with an estimated 1.6 million followers made up of ethnic Russians, Mordvins, Armenians, Belarusians, Mari people, Georgians, Chuvash and a number of Orthodox Tatars which together constitute 45% of the 3.8 million population of Tatarstan. On 23 August 2010, the "Orthodox monuments of Tatarstan" exhibition was held in Kazan by the Tatarstan Ministry of Culture and the Kazan Eparchy.[48] At all public events, an Orthodox Priest is called upon along with an Islamic Mufti.[49] The Muslim Religious Board of Tatarstan frequently organizes activities, like the 'Islamic graffiti Contest' which was held on November 20, 2011.[50] Politics [ edit ] Cabinet of Ministers building. The head of the government in Tatarstan is the President. Since March 2010, the President has been Rustam Minnikhanov.[51] Tatarstan's unicameral State Council has 100 seats: fifty are for representatives of the parties, and the other fifty are for deputies from the republic's localities. The Chairman of the State Council is Farit Mukhametshin since May 27, 1998. The government is the Сabinet of Ministers. Prime Minister of the Republic of Tatarstan - Alexei Pesoshin. According to the Constitution of the Republic of Tatarstan, the President can be elected only by the people of Tatarstan, but due to Russian federal law, this law was suspended for an indefinite term. The Russian law on the election of governors says they should be elected by regional parliaments and that the candidate can be presented only by the president of Russia. On March 25, 2005 Shaymiyev was re-elected for his fourth term by the State Council. This election was held after changes in electoral law and does not contradict the Constitutions of Tatarstan and Russia. Political status [ edit ] Presidential Palace. The Republic of Tatarstan is a constituent republic of the Russian Federation. Most of the Russian federal subjects are tied with the Russian federal government by the uniform Federal Treaty, but relations between the government of Tatarstan and the Russian federal government are more complex and are precisely defined in the Constitution of the Republic of Tatarstan. The following passage from the Constitution defines the republic's status without contradicting the Constitution of the Russian Federation: "The Republic of Tatarstan is a democratic constitutional State associated with the Russian Federation by the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the Constitution of the Republic of Tatarstan and the Treaty between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Tatarstan On Delimitation of Jurisdictional Subjects and Mutual Delegation of Powers between the State Bodies of the Russian Federation and the State Bodies of the Republic of Tatarstan, and a subject of the Russian Federation. The sovereignty of the Republic of Tatarstan shall consist in full possession of the State authority (legislative, executive and judicial) beyond the competence of the Russian Federation and powers of the Russian Federation in the sphere of shared competence of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Tatarstan and shall be an inalienable qualitative status of the Republic of Tatarstan."[52] Economy [ edit ] A neighborhood in Kazan Tatarstan is one of the most economically developed regions of Russia. The republic is highly industrialized and ranks second to Samara Oblast in terms of industrial production per km2.[53] Tatarstan's GDP per capita was $12,000 in 2014,[54] with GDP in 2014 at about $44 billion.[55] The region's main source of wealth is oil. Tatarstan produces 32 million tonnes of crude oil per year and has estimated oil reserves of more than 1 billion tons.[19][56] Industrial production constitutes 45% of the Republic's gross regional domestic product. The most developed manufacturing industries are petrochemical industry and machine building. The truck-maker KamAZ is the region's largest enterprise and employs about one-fifth of Tatarstan's workforce.[56] Kazanorgsintez, based in Kazan, is one of Russia's largest chemical companies.[57] Tatarstan's aviation industry produces Tu-214 passenger airplanes and helicopters.[19] The Kazan Helicopter Plant is one of the largest helicopter manufacturers in the world.[58] Engineering, textiles, clothing, wood processing, and food industries are also of key significance in Tatarstan.[53] Tatarstan consists of three distinct industrial regions. The northwestern part is an old industrial region where engineering, chemical, and light industry dominate. In the newly industrial northeast region with its core in the Naberezhnye Chelny–Nizhnekamsk agglomeration, major industries are automobile construction, the chemical industry, and power engineering. The southeast region has oil production with engineering under development. The north, central, south, and southwest parts of the republic are rural regions.[59] The republic has huge water resources—the annual flow of rivers of the Republic exceeds 240 billion m3 (8.5 trillion cu ft). Soils are very diverse, the best fertile soils covering one-third of the territory. Due to the high development of agriculture in Tatarstan (it contributes 5.1% of the total revenue of the republic), forests occupy only 16% of its territory. The agricultural sector of the economy is represented mostly by large companies as "Ak Bars Holding" and "Krasniy Vostok Agro". The republic has a highly developed transport network. It mainly comprises highways, railway lines, four navigable rivers — Volga (İdel), Kama (Çulman), Vyatka (Noqrat) and Belaya (Ağidel), and oil pipelines and airlines. The territory of Tatarstan is crossed by the main gas pipelines carrying natural gas from Urengoy and Yamburg to the west and the major oil pipelines supplying oil to various cities in the European part of Russia. Tourism [ edit ] There are 3 UNESCO world heritage sites in Tatarstan-Kazan Kremlin, Bulgarian state Museum-reserve and assumption Cathedral and Monastery of the town-island of Sviyazhsk[60]. The annual growth rate of tourist flow to the republic is on average 13.5%, the growth rate of the volume of services in the tourism sector is 17.0%.[61] At the end of 2016 on the territory of the Republic of Tatarstan there were 104 tour operators, of which 32 dealt in domestic tourism, 65 in domestic and inbound tourism, 1 in domestic and outbound tourism, and 6 in all three.[citation needed] As of January 1, 2017, 404 collective accommodation facilities (CSR) operate in the Republic of Tatarstan, 379 CSR are subject to classification (183 in Kazan, 196 in other municipalities of the Republic of Tatarstan).[62] 334 collective accommodation facilities received the certificate of assignment of the category, which is 88.1% of the total number of operating. In 2016, special attention was paid to the development of tourist centers of the Republic of Tatarstan – Kazan, Bolghar, the town-island of Sviyazhsk, Yelabuga, Chistopol, Tetyushi. The growth of tourist flow in the main tourist centers of the Republic compared to 2015 amounted to an average of 45.9%. Currently, sanatorium and resort recreation is developing rapidly in Tatarstan. There are 46 sanatorium-resort institutions in the Republic of Tatarstan. The capacity of the objects of the sanatorium-resort complex of Tatarstan is 8847 beds, more than 4300 specialists are engaged in the service of residents. In 2016, more than 160 thousand people rested in the health resorts of the Republic of Tatarstan.[63] 22 health resort institutions of the Republic of Tatarstan are members of the Association of health resort institutions "Health resorts of Tatarstan", including 11 sanatoriums of PJSC "Tatneft". Since 2016, the Republic of Tatarstan has been operating the Visit Tatarstan program – the official tourism brand of the Republic, the purpose of which is to inform tourists, monitor the reputation of the Republic, develop the tourism potential of the regions of Tatarstan, conduct market research, partner projects with local companies and international expansion. Tatarstan: 1001 pleasure-the main message that tourists receive. The Visit Tatar website, where there is information about the main sights and recreation in Tatarstan, is available in 8 languages: Tatar, Russian, English, Chinese, German, Spanish, Finnish and Persian.[64][65] Tourist resources of historical and cultural significance [ edit ] Culture [ edit ] All Religions Temple. A building and cultural center built by the local artist . A building and cultural center built by the local artist Ildar Khanov Major libraries include Kazan State University Nikolai Lobachevsky Scientific Library and the National Library of the Republic of Tatarstan. There are two museums of republican significance, as well as 90 museums of local importance. In the past several years, new museums appeared throughout the Republic. There are twelve theatrical institutions in Tatarstan.[66] The state orchestra is the National Tatarstan Orchestra. In 1996, the Tatar singer, Guzel Ahmetova, cooperated with the German Eurodance group named Snap!, when she sang the lyrics of the song "Rame".[67][68] Sports [ edit ] Tatarstan has Rubin Kazan, a major European football team which has played in the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League. Twice Russian champions, Rubin Kazan play in the Russian Premier League. Also, Tatarstan has Unics Kazan which has gained a significant role in European basketball, playing in Euroleague and EuroCup for decades. It also has two KHL teams, the successful Ak Bars Kazan, which is based in the capital city of Kazan, and the Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk, who play in the city of Nizhnekamsk. The state also has a Russian Major League team (the second highest hockey league in Russia), Neftyanik Almetyevsk, who play in the city of Almetyevsk. There are also two Minor Hockey League teams which serve as affiliates for the two KHL teams. A team also exists in the Russian Hockey League, the HC Chelny, which is based in the city of Naberezhnye Chelny. Another team plays in the MHL-B (the second level of junior ice hockey in Russia). Nail Yakupov is an ethnic Tatar who was drafted first overall in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. Former ATP No.1 Marat Safin and former WTA number 1 Dinara Safina are of Tatar descent. Kazan hosted the XXVII Summer Universiade in 2013. Kazan also hosted the FINA World championship in aquatic sports in August 2015. Education [ edit ] The most important facilities of higher education include Kazan State University, Kazan State Medical University, Kazan State Technological University, World Information Distributed University, Kazan State Technical University, Kazan State Finance and Economics Institute and Russian Islamic University, all located in the capital Kazan. See also [ edit ] References [ edit ] Sources [ edit ] Закон №2284 от 14 июля 1999 г. «О государственных символах Республики Татарстан», в ред. Закона №23-ЗРТ от 18 марта 2013 г «О внесении изменений в Закон Республики Татарстан "О государственных символах Республики Татарстан" в части утверждения текста Государственного гимна Республики Татарстан"». Вступил в силу со дня опубликования (28 августа 1999 г.). Опубликован: "Республика Татарстан", №174, 28 августа 1999 г. (Law #2284 of July 14, 1999 On the Symbols of State of the Republic of Tatarstan , as amended by the Law #23-ZRT of March 18, 2013 On Amending the Part of the Law of the Republic of Tatarstan "On the Symbols of State of the Republic of Tatarstan" Adopting the Text of the State Anthem of the Republic of Tatarstan . Effective as of the day of publication (August 28, 1999).). (Law #2284 of July 14, 1999 , as amended by the Law #23-ZRT of March 18, 2013 . Effective as of the day of publication (August 28, 1999).). 6 ноября 1992 г. «Конституция Республики Татарстан», в ред. Закона №79-ЗРТ от 22 ноября 2010 г. «О внесении изменений в статьи 65 и 76 Конституции Республики Татарстан». Опубликован: "Ведомости Верховного Совета Татарстана", №9–10, ст. 166, 1992. (November 6, 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Tatarstan , as amended by the Law #79-ZRT of November 22, 2010 On Amending Articles 65 and 76 of the Constitution of the Republic of Tatarstan . ). (November 6, 1992 , as amended by the Law #79-ZRT of November 22, 2010 . ). Госкомстат РФ. Государственный комитет Республики Татарстан по статистике. "Административно-территориальное деление Республики Татарстан" (Administrative-Territorial Structure of the Republic of Tatarstan). Казань, 1997. Further reading [ edit ] Ruslan Kurbanov. Tatarstan: Smooth Islamization Sprinkled with Blood OnIslam.net. Accessed: Feb. 26, 2013. Accessed: Feb. 26, 2013. Daniel Kalder. Lost Cosmonaut: Observations of an Anti-tourist . . Ravil Bukharev. The Model of Tatarstan: Under President Mintimer Shaimiev . . Azadeayse Rorlich. The Volga Tatars: A Profile in National Resilience . . Roderick Heather. Russia From Red to Black Media related to Tatarstan at Wikimedia Commons Tatarstan travel guide from Wikivoyage
A crazed boyfriend, who rammed his ex off the road in his white van as their toddler cowered in the back, has been jailed for two years. David Partington, 39, from Droyslden, Greater Manchester, was furious at being told he could not see his son and repeatedly smashed his Volkswagen Caddy into the back of Farren Cummins' car. He had chased her down a busy shopping street and passed traffic by driving on the wrong side of the road to catch up with Miss Cummins, 26, as she drove her family to a wedding. He forced her to crash into the back of another vehicle as he rammed her car up the street. He jumped out and threw himself onto the bonnet, shouting abuse and threats at her. At Minshull Street Crown Court, Partington was jailed for two years, despite Judge John Potter hearing that the couple had got back together again. David Partington (right), 39, from Droyslden, Greater Manchester, was furious at being told he could not see his son and repeatedly smashed his Volkswagen Caddy into the back of Farren Cummins' (left) car David Partington who rammed his van into the back of ex Farren Cummin's car while their son was inside The court heard that at a set of traffic lights he jumped out of his van and threw himself on the bonnet of car Miss Cummins' car shouting: 'Give me my son or I'll batter you' before jumping back into vehicle and taking up the chase again when he fell into the road. The chase ended when Partington eventually sped off in another direction as police were called. Miss Cummins, the couple's child, two, and her sister were not injured in the incident last July 15 but the victim told police Partington had been 'out of control' and left her 'in fear of her life'. The court heard Partington, from the city's Miles Platting district had been left 'heartbroken' after the couple split up in April following a six year relationship. Prosecuting, Daniel Calder said: 'There was a working arrangement for the defendant to see his son. 'On the day of the incident he was due to collect him at 11am but when he didn't arrive, she contacted him on the phone and he appeared to be under the influence and she told him that he was not permitted to see their son. Miss Cummins, the couple's child, two, and her sister were not injured in the incident last July 15 but the victim told police Partington had been 'out of control' and left her 'in fear of her life' 'He became abusive towards her and she put the phone down on him. She then left home and started making her way to a wedding with their son and her sister Courtney Cummins in the car. 'As they were driving through Droylsden the defendant was driving his van when he saw them driving the opposite way. 'He performed a U-turn to get behind her vehicle and began following her and repeatedly hitting the back of her car. He was essentially pushing her up the street. He then moved his fan in front of her vehicle to block her in. 'He got out of his van and was banging on the windows and windscreen shouting at her 'give me my son or ill batter you and your sister'. 'He climbed onto the bonnet of her car and carried on hitting the windows and screaming abuse. 'Miss Cummins managed to manoeuvre her way out of the position, and drove away with the defendant clinging onto the bonnet. 'He did get off the bonnet and returned to his van, speeding through congestion and even swerving onto the opposite side of the road to keep up with her and repeatedly ramming into her car again. 'He attempted to block her in again, and again Miss Cummins managed to manoeuvre out and drive away. By this time her sister was on the phone to the police. 'He caught up to her again at speed as she was at a red light and hit her into another car before driving away. Miss Cummins said the defendant was out of control and dangerous.' Partington waved to his ex-partner and his mother as he went down, with her waving back at him and smiling Partington was arrested three days later and bailed but the pair clashed again after he bumped into Miss Cummins at her local pub. During a confrontation back at her home, he called Miss Cummins a 'stupid slag', punched her in the face and cut himself with a knife before she managed to escape. Partington pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and assault occasioning actual bodily harm. His lawyer Isabelle Thompson said in mitigation: 'The background is that he did not handle the breakdown of the relationship well. 'But there has been a reconciliation between him and the complainant, she sits in the court to support him with his mother. 'He hopes to continue his relationship with her. He is very remorseful for his behaviour.' He will be banned from driving for three years after his release from prison But jailing Partington for two years and four months in prison, Judge Potter told him: 'What you sought to do with your van was completely disgraceful because what you did using that van at most as a weapon to try to stop Miss Cummins driving with your child to that wedding. 'Sitting in the rear of that vehicle was your child. You started ramming the back of the vehicle going at a high speed. 'This was a sustained attack by you on her. I wonder what your child was thinking as you rammed into the back of the car on these occasions, terrorising your own child by using this van as a weapon.' 'Miss Cummins was clearly terrified. However she does not wish to have a restraining order despite your behaviour towards her.' Partington waved to his ex-partner and his mother as he went down, with her waving back at him and smiling. He will be banned from driving for three years after his release from prison.
SAN FRANCISCO — Apple Inc. will add a gold color option for its full-size iPads in an effort to boost a category that’s posted declining shipments this year, according to people familiar with the plans. New versions of the company’s 9.7-inch iPads, anticipated to be unveiled this month, will include gold as a choice of color for the rear metal cover, adding to the silver and gray available for the lighter iPad Air, the people said, asking not to be identified ahead of an announcement. Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks displays the new iPad mini after it was unveiled during an Apple special event at the historic California Theater on October 23, 2012 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) ( Kevork Djansezian / GETTY IMAGES ) That brings the colour palette into line with the iPhone 5s, which come with silver or gold backs for models with a white faceplate, and space gray for those with a black front. Teresa Brewer, a spokeswoman for Cupertino, California- based Apple, declined to comment. Sales of the iPad have declined for the past two quarters after soaring from $5 billion (U.S.) when the product was introduced in 2010 to $30 billion in 2012. Last year, iPad sales produced $32 billion. Article Continued Below Apple hasn’t introduced a new iPad since last October, and consumers have instead been shifting to iPhones with larger screens, such as Apple’s new iPhone 6 Plus, which has a 5.5 inch screen. Roughly half the consumers polled by RBC Capital Markets in the days after the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus were announced on Sept. 9 opted for the 6 Plus, wrote RBC Capital Markets analyst Amit Daryanani in a Sept. 17 note. Apple has used colour to goose sales of products many times in the past, starting with the introduction of candy-colored iMacs in 1999. The strategy has had varied levels of success. Sales of the iPhone 5c, a lower-end model introduced in 2013 that came in a range of bright colors, were disappointing, said Daryanani. The more important milestone will be the introduction of a larger iPad, said Daryanani, because it would appeal to new types of customers, particularly business people. This device, which is set to have a 12.9-inch screen, won’t be introduced until next year, people with knowledge of the situation have said.
As Bitcoin's value continues its ridiculous climb, into the $600s and $700s on popular exchanges, a price forecasting analyst states the obvious, "This is a classic speculative bubble." Based on its current momentum, he predicts that it may go as high as $1,700 within the week. Disclosure: I own (increasingly valuable) Bitcoin that remain from my week of living on them. Walter Zimmermann, chief technical analyst for United- ICAP , says that the tell-tale signs of a bubble are “clearly obvious.” Looking at a website called Fiatleak, which shows which currencies are being used to buy Bitcoin, Zimmermann says "it is quite obvious that Chinese buying is inflating this Bitcoin bubble." A Senate hearing in the U.S. today also likely helped pump it up. While there aren't a ton of use cases for Bitcoin today, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke sent a letter to the Senate committee noting that Bitcoin may "hold long-term promise... if the innovations promote a faster, more secure and more efficient payment system." Meanwhile, representatives from the DOJ, Treasury and Secret Service warned about the use of virtual currencies for money laundering and illegal activity but declared the currency a legitimate one in a hearing that the Washington Post described as a Bitcoin lovefest. That may be another reason for the trading around Bitcoin getting hot and heavy. "The rapid surge in bitcoins is linked to a far more widespread interest globally. Add to this a very inelastic supply some US agency testimony and the consequence is another extreme surge in the price as happened in the past," says Sebastien Galy, a currency analyst at SocGen. "The collapse and eventually recovery are programmed, given the way bitcoins were programmed." Sen. Tom Carper invited representatives from the Secret Service, the DOJ, and Treasury's FinCEN to testify about Bitcoin Zimmermann predicted Monday morning the price would go to $689 this week; it's already nearly there on U.S. dollar exchanges. Meanwhile, on BTC China, a Shanghai-based exchange that announced Monday a $5 million investment from Lightspeed, Bitcoin is already trading at over 6,300 yuan Monday evening, or more than $1,000 USD. Zimmermanm says the bubble inflation will continue, predicting that the cryptocoin could reach a value of up to $1,700 this week, but that the bubble will pop. He's not the only Bit-Cassandra. Fred Ehrsam of Coinbase, a San Francisco-based Bitcoin exchange which had to halt its bitcoin sales after being overwhelmed by demand, says, “I think the current movement in the price is overdone at the moment and we’ll see a correction soon." Meanwhile, the media attention the virtual currency is getting is leading many people to realize they have some valuable digital change between their computer couch cushions. Says one Redditor, "I bought Bitcoin in 2010 and forgot about it." What he likely spent less than $100 on is now worth over $50,000. Similar tales have been popping up as Bitcoin surges, including a guy in Norway who suddenly discovered that he had enough money to buy an apartment and then some based on his formerly-worth-$27 BTC holdings. But there are also tales from those who missed out on the digital gold rush. "In 2011, I sold a web app on eBay for $10k," tweets Dustin Curtis. "The buyer paid with 4718 bitcoins, which I immediately converted into USD at $2.12/bitcoin." At the current Bitstamp valuation of $675, those bitcoins would be worth over $3 million today. All Curtis is left holding is Bittersweetcoin.
Things must be kept in perspective. Yes, it’s only two games into the season, but Boris Bede nonetheless remains ninth — and last — among Canadian Football League kickers when it comes to field goals. Bede, in his second season with the Alouettes, has made three of six attempts. It doesn’t take a math genius to understand he has connected on 50 per cent of his kicks. Nobody else in the CFL is lower than 62 per cent. “We’ve only played two games. It’s three missed kicks and three made kicks. As soon as you get one kick back up, you’re in the positive,” Bede said following Tuesday’s practice at Stade Hébert. “There’s no worries. “As soon as the ball’s on the block, I have to do my job. There’s nobody else to blame,” he added. “There’s nobody to blame, really. And there’s no panic mode. We still have a lot of games to play and a lot of kicks to make.” It would be an understatement to suggest the Als struggled in their last game, June 30 against Ottawa. And Bede most certainly has played stronger games. He missed two of three kicks, including one from 36 yards early in the second quarter. Last season, conversely, Bede made 36 of 40 field goals (90 per cent). He also was perfect on 28 attempts from inside the 40. Bede has a new holder this season, Kyle Graves — a former Canadian college quarterback — following the release of short-yardage quarterback Tanner Marsh. Marsh, in turn, replaced Brandon Bridge last season. “I think it’s timing. We’re working on timing and we’ll get it back,” Bede said. “Obviously it’s a different person, but the guy’s still doing the same job. And he’s doing an excellent job.” While special teams co-ordinator Kavis Reed admitted Bede’s in a funk, the assistant head coach — like any good captain — also puts the blame on himself. Reed said too much pressure has been placed on Bede, who has a strong leg, by forcing him into making long kicks. This is the result, of course, of a struggling offence. That never has been a problem in the past. Indeed, his longest kick as a rookie came from 52 yards. But this season he already has missed from 40 yards late in the fourth quarter against Winnipeg with Montreal leading by eight points. Against the Redblacks, Bede made a 53-yarder but missed from 50 during a game in which the Als were desperate for points. “I would admit I’m not doing what I need to do to help him get out of the little bit of a slide he’s in. He’s in a bit of a funk,” Reed said. “The confidence thing has to come back. I have to be conscientious about how we manage the game, to make certain his first kicks aren’t 60 yards away … give him chip-shots so he gets his confidence back. “I feel he’s going to work himself back out of this funk. We’ve analyzed all of his mechanics. We see some things we need to tweak. I’m working with him on the mental side,” Reed continued. “When a golfer slices one or two and doesn’t hit the fairway, he starts to overcompensate. Trust the club. He needs to trust his leg. “The new holder definitely has something to do with it. They need to get their timing down,” Reed admitted. “Kyle’s doing a phenomenal job of holding the ball. Boris just has to get used to it.” With the Als preparing for Friday night’s home game against Hamilton, the time has come for Bede to work himself out of his early-season malaise. Each miss carries the potential of greater risk because of Tiger-Cats return-specialist Brandon Banks. He made the Blue Bombers pay last week, returning a field goal 120 yards for a touchdown. Banks returned four punts for scores last season. It hasn’t been causing Reed sleepless nights this week, but he admits he was awake at midnight recently watching the replay of Banks scoring against Winnipeg. “I’d be lying if I told you I haven’t thought about that,” Reed said. “He (Banks) is special. Any mistake you make, he has the potential to make it catastrophic for you.” Where the kick lands is paramount, Reed explained. If it’s deep in the end zone, he’s confident the Als can cover. Anything less and a problem could materialize. Of course, there’s one simple solution. “He won’t need to return the ball if it’s through the uprights,” said Bede, a potential free agent after this season who’s expected to test his luck in the NFL. Meanwhile, starting quarterback Kevin Glenn missed his third consecutive day of practice with what the team has said is inflammation in his left eye — making it less likely he’ll be able to play this week, especially if he doesn’t participate in Wednesday’s workout. Not only has Glenn not thrown since June 30, it’s imagined, the Als are breaking in new receivers this week who would have no timing with the pivot. “He has an excellent chance of playing. It’s just a matter of how much practice time he gets in. The more you miss, the more it puts it in jeopardy,” general manager and head coach Jim Popp claimed. “He can play with what he has. His eye’s a little blurry, still. We have to make sure it’s clear before we put him out there.” One bright spot was the return of wide-receiver Duron Carter, who took numerous reps with the starting offence. Carter, who suffered a gash to his forehead against Ottawa and is suffering from headaches, said he has been medically cleared to have physical activity. hzurkowsky@postmedia.com twitter.com/HerbZurkowsky1
Please enable Javascript to watch this video DENVER -- Rob Manzanares has only seen his daughter once in four and a half years but that hasn’t stopped him from battling courts in Utah and Colorado to get custody of his child. A judge in Denver Friday decided to allow him visitation rights going forward, something he calls a victory for all ‘dads’ like him who are being denied custodial rights to their children. The situation usually happens when the birth mother and father are not married. In many states, fathers have to sign up with a state registry to assert their rights. In Utah, experts say the laws are much more in favor of the birth mother, which is why fathers often lose custody rights when courts in that state get involved. “Because I signed up to be my daughter’s dad in Colorado long before the mom—Carie Terry—decided to go to Utah and let her brother adopt our child, the courts there should never have approved the custody change,” said Manzanares. “But because adoption lawyers there often work with the LDS Church, most fathers have little or no chance of winning custody battles.” The break in the case happened early this year, when the Utah Supreme Court overturned a lower court decision, and decided to overturn the Utah adoption meaning the custody case would have to be heard in Colorado. “The ruling was a major victory, in that had the high court there upheld the ruling, the case would have made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court where the covers would have been pulled off the adoption scams being run against un-wed fathers in Utah,” said Manzanares. Today, a Colorado court decided to give visitation rights to both birth parents, something that must happen within the next 30 days. “I want the child to undergo testing to see how well she is handling visits from both parents, I need to have a plan for visits to happen, and I want to make sure the rights of even the adoptive parents are being protected, even though those rights were not given legally,” said Judge D. Brett Woods. “We are going to move this case along, and we are going to have a trial, but I want the child to be given every opportunity to know her parents without putting any undo pressure on her.” The case has national implications in as much as fathers around the nation are watching to see how Manzanares makes out with his custody battle. “This is huge,” said Manzanares. “For all the dads fighting for custody, this ruling will go a long way in rewriting laws both in Utah and other states as it relates to what a dad’s rights are, when a mother violates one state’s laws to get a child adopted in Utah.” The case will be back in court in late May, after both parents—at different times and places--have had a chance to be introduced to their little girl.
Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh before the attack that seriously wounded him(AP) [PA] The revelation casts doubts on a quick return to Yemen and spells a deepening power vacuum. In the wake of Saleh's evacuation to Saudi Arabia for treatment, Yemen's violence escalated, with government troops battling Islamic militants and opposition tribesmen in two southern cities on Tuesday. The military said it killed 30 militants who were among a group that took over the city of Zinjibar last week amid the country's turmoil. The United States fears that al Qaida's branch in Yemen - one of the terror network's most active, blamed for two attempted anti-US attacks - will take advantage of the chaos to strengthen its base in the country. Washington and Saudi Arabia are pushing Yemeni officials to seize the opportunity of Saleh's evacuation to immediately begin a transfer of power and formation of a new government. The US ambassador in Sanaa spoke with Vice President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who is acting president, to press the American view, US State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters in Washington. Mr Toner said he was not sure how long Saleh would undergo treatment in Saudi Arabia, or whether he still planned on returning. But he said Yemen needed to move forward in the meantime. "We need to see all sides moving forward on a constructive basis," he said. Friday's attack on Saleh's palace compound came amid two weeks of battles in Sanaa between government forces and opposition tribesmen determined to drive him from power. The fighting pushed the impoverished country closer to civil war after four months of street protests by hundreds of thousands of Yemenis failed to oust Saleh, who has been in power for nearly 33 years.
Text size September’s first Monday is earmarked for honoring American workers, but don’t be fooled by what the calendar says: This isn’t labor’s day. That’s not to say that jobs don’t matter, or that fuller employment doesn’t lead to freer spending and a more stable society. Yet for all the fuss we make over monthly jobs data, how much does the stock market really care about the state of our workforce? Consider the evidence: The U.S. is in its seventh year of job creation, and unemployment is near a nine-year low of 4.9%. But since 2010, workforce productivity has expanded at an annualized rate of just 0.4%—the most sluggish since World War II. Wage growth barely keeps pace with weak inflation. Real assets—such as homes owned by working Americans—are near all-time lows relative to financial assets, such as stocks and bonds. But that hasn’t worried this stock market. Deutsche Bank analyst Dominic Konstam and his team examined how different factors, like corporate earnings and the expansion in valuation multiples, have contributed to rallies, and found that earnings growth has overwhelmingly propelled every recent bull run, including those of 1983-90, 1996-2000, and 2003-07. ALAS, THAT’S NOT what’s goosing this year’s serial new highs. Konstam found that 92% of the rally over the past four years can be traced to one driver—the collapse in “equity risk premium,” which is the excess return investors demand from stocks over government bonds. This surplus premium that investors demand to justify the risk of owning stocks has shriveled as bond yields plummeted and central banks cut interest rates to zero and below. In other words, it hasn’t mattered much that earnings for Standard & Poor’s 500 companies peaked in 2014 and have stagnated since. Or that American consumers are propping up the economy as Europe’s growth stalls with the uncertainty over Brexit, and China’s credit and construction spending decelerates into 2017. Investors desperately seeking yield have had to buy stocks. Can a rally built not on earnings growth but on the continued repression of bond yields be sustained? This precarious state of affairs helps explain the market’s recent paralysis. The S&P 500 has gone 40 sessions, and counting, without so much as a 1% move up or down, an eerie calm that’s already the second longest of this bull run, notes Bespoke Investment Group. August’s stock-trading traffic was the quietest in two years. Sure, hotter pleasures beckoned from Montauk to Maui, but you can also blame our collective cold feet on a market already straining at 19 times what companies had earned, and record highs not corroborated by capital goods orders, which have declined. The stalwart stock market has rebounded 19% since February, but it’s also up just 2% in 15 months. WHERE JOBS DATA seem to matter, of course, is in central banks’ pantomime of policy consideration. The Federal Reserve now even has a Facebook page to help you better understand its policy posturings, but does it really understand what it’s doing? Unemployment has been at or below 4.9% for almost a year now, yet Fed members still seem divided and undecided about what to do next. In the past, when unemployment was 4.9% or lower, the federal-funds rate had averaged 4.96% or more, notes Mike O’Rourke, Jones Trading’s chief market strategist. “Central banks are the largest blind buyers in the world, accumulating trillions of dollars’ worth of assets with no thought of price, valuation or exit strategy,” he writes. The latest staged drama—should we raise rates in September or December?—helps obscure the fact that central banks are running out of road and the exit ramp leads somewhere unfamiliar. Central bank chiefs of the G-7 nations have been at their posts a collective 17 years, and they have just one little rate increase—Janet Yellen’s quarter-point hike—to show for the whole lot, notes Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Thanks to them, the planet is awash in $12.3 trillion of negative-yielding bonds, and central banks now hold $25 trillion of financial assets, more than the combined gross domestic product of the U.S. and Japan. Today, even the idea of a Labor Day parade seems quaint, since we all know the place to congregate and see and be seen is on Instagram! Not surprisingly, technology once again is the stock market’s biggest sector, making up 21% of the S&P 500; that’s up from 13% in 2002, but still far off its bubble heyday near 35% in 2000. The Internet and mobile technology haven’t just revolutionized our everyday lives, they help explain why long-term inflation expectations—and rates—remain depressed. Think about it: The stock market considers Google’s parent Alphabet (ticker: GOOGL) a very important company, and while it has twice the market value of, say, a former heavyweight like General Electric (GE), it has just a fifth of GE’s 333,000-strong workforce. Netflix (NFLX), with 3,700 employees, has supplanted Blockbuster , which once employed 60,000. Amazon.com (AMZN) is everywhere these days, but its 268,900-strong workforce is just about half that of Kroger (KR). It’s all awesome if you work for Google. But sustainable, real economic growth occurs when more Americans work, and work productively. Technology makes our lives deluxe, delicious, and delectable, but it’s also a force of deflation. E-mail: kopin.tan@barrons.com Follow @kopintan Like Barron’s on Facebook Follow Barron’s on Twitter
Hot on the heels of box-office hit Maleficent, Disney is eyeing similar success with a live-action remake of 1991 animation classic Beauty and the Beast and two other much loved titles. No word yet on who is rumored to play Belle or the Beast, but slated to direct is Bill Condon, who is most well known for his work on Dreamgirls and parts one and two of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn. According to Variety, Evan Spiliotopoulos (The Lion King 1½, Hercules) will pen the screenplay. The Brief Newsletter Sign up to receive the top stories you need to know right now. View Sample Sign Up Now Beauty and the Beast joins two other live-action reboots in the pipeline: The Jungle Book will be directed by Jon Favreau and Cinderella by Kenneth Branagh. [Entertainment Weekly] Contact us at editors@time.com.
In reporting this story last year on 49ers left guard Mike Iupati, a theme emerged in interviews with general manager Trent Baalke, offensive line coach Mike Solari, center Jonathan Goodwin and ESPN analyst Jon Gruden. The consistent thread: This dude is a rare bird. In various ways, the quartet explained that guards like Iupati don’t come around very often. Tellingly, Baalke recalled the precise date (Sept. 17, 2009) he made the trip to the University of Idaho to meet Iupati and watch five of his game tapes. Seven months after that visit, the 49ers made Iupati the No. 17 overall pick in the draft. A rare bird? A first-team All-Pro last year, Iupati is one of three guards taken with a top-20 pick since 2002. “In scouting, you live for those moments when you find someone that comes out at his position that isn’t likely to come out for another five to 10 years,” Baalke said in October. “… I don’t know that (Iupati) is a once-in-a-generation player, but he’s certainly not an every-year guy. You just don’t find men that big; that move that well; that are that powerful on a consistent basis year in and year out.” I thought of those words – and similar praise from the others — last week after the 49ers signed right tackle Anthony Davis to a five-year, $37.3 million contract extension. The extension could be the first in a series over the next year or so with the contracts of Iupati, wide receiver Michael Crabtree, quarterback Colin Kaepernick and outside linebacker Aldon Smith all set to expire after the 2014 season. From a practical standpoint, Iupati, 25, would seem to be next in line for an extension. The 49ers can’t begin negotiating with Kaepernick and Smith until after the 2013 season and their maiden contract negotiation with Crabtree in 2009 didn’t yield a signature until after a 71-day holdout. In my mind, though, Iupati’s rare ability is the most compelling reason he’ll be the next to sign a long-term extension. The 49ers, after all, love to play power ball on offense and a human freight train such as Iupati is a prized weapon who would be exceedingly difficult to replace (particularly for a team that figures to draft in the back end of the first round for the foreseeable future). At 6-foot-5 and 331 pounds, Iupati’s rare blend of size, strength and agility is a primary reason the 49ers run an array of successful trap plays, an old-school run rarely seen outside San Francisco. The 49ers have embraced the new-wave read option, but their running attack has imprints of Jim Harbaugh’s coaching influences all over it. Last week, former NFL offensive lineman Jumbo Elliott, Harbaugh’s former teammate at Michigan, said his friend has taken elements of the Wolverines’ smash-mouth offense to the pros: “When I watch him, I see a lot of modernized Bo Schembechler,” Elliott said on 750 The Game in Portland. Last year, Gruden said Iupati’s nastiness made him an ideal fit in the 49ers’ offense. Or any offense, for that matter. “If I was coaching,” he said, “I’d like to have two or three Iupatis on my team.” Of course, it’s hard enough to find just one Iupati, which is why the 49ers will place a priority on making sure he doesn’t get away. On Twitter: @Eric_Branch
Shares Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), and the recently-suggested IOM term systemic exertion intolerance disease (SEID), is characterized by long-term fatigue and a host of other symptoms that impair the patient’s ability to function. It sometimes develops after a flu-like illness, but can also come on gradually with no apparent antecedent. The cause is unknown. There is controversy about the diagnostic criteria, and treatment has not been very successful. Between 8-63% of patients improve during follow-up, but fewer than 10% of adult patients return to pre-illness levels of functioning. A 2001 review in the Journal of the American Medical Association ( JAMA ) found that cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and graded exercise therapy (GET) were the most promising treatments, but the evidence was mixed and the supporting studies had methodological inadequacies. They warned that positive results on subjective measures in these studies did not mean the participants had actually improved their physical capacities. The PACE trial was designed to look for better evidence. The PACE trial The PACE trial was published in The Lancet in 2011. 641 patients meeting Oxford criteria for CFS were randomized to four groups: Specialist medical care alone (SMC): explanation of CFS, generic advice such as avoiding extremes of activity and rest, specific advice on self-help, and symptomatic pharmacology. SMC plus adaptive pacing therapy (APT): helping the patient achieve optimum adaptation to the illness by planning and pacing activities. SMC plus cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): based on the fear avoidance theory that regards CFS as reversible and says fear leads to avoidance of activity, which interacts with physiological processes to perpetuate fatigue. SMC plus graded exercise therapy (GET): based on the theory that CFS patients suffer from deconditioning that is reversible with systematic gradual increase in physical activity. Primary outcomes were rated by subjects who filled out standard questionnaires to assess fatigue and physical function. Results Percentage of subjects with improvement in fatigue from baseline: SMC: 65% APT: 65% CBT: 76% GET: 80% Percentage of subjects with improved physical function from baseline: SMC: 58% APT: 49% CBT: 71% GET: 70% Adverse events were monitored and serious deterioration did not vary significantly between groups. Recovery? A second PACE report was published in 2013 in Psychological Medicine . It claimed that 22% of subjects treated with CBT or GET recovered, as defined by a score within the range of mean plus or minus one standard deviation of a healthy person’s score. Together, the two PACE reports concluded that CBT and GET, when added to SMC, were safe and effective treatments for CFS, with a moderate effect size; and with those treatments, a substantial number of patients could achieve recovery from CFS. Criticism of the PACE study by patients There was an extensive reaction from patient and advocacy communities. CFS patients were offended by the suggestion that their symptoms were psychological: they knew there was a large body of research indicating that CFS was a biological condition. CFS patients could not accept the results of the study, because in their experience, even mild exertion could increase all the other symptoms of the disease, and they knew that their exercise tolerance varied from day to day. They knew that starting low and building slowly simply wouldn’t work for them. They had learned to rest as soon as they felt tired. There was evidence to support them. A 2011 study compared CFS patients to normal controls on two maximal exercise tests done 24 hours apart. There were no significant differences on the first test, but the CFS patients had significantly worse performance on the second test, indicating an atypical recovery response and protracted malaise in CFS. One patient, Julie Rehmeyer, pointed out the problem with subjective reports: But the subjective reports from patients seemed suspect to me. I imagined myself as a participant: I come in and I’m asked to rate my symptoms. Then, I’m repeatedly told over a year of treatment that I need to pay less attention to my symptoms. Then I’m asked to rate my symptoms again. Mightn’t I say they’re a bit better — even if I still feel terrible — in order to do what I’m told, please my therapist, and convince myself I haven’t wasted a year’s effort? Criticism of the PACE study by scientists Dr. David Tuller, writing on the Virology blog, identified several major flaws: 13% of subjects already met the criteria for “recovery” at the start of the study. In the middle of the study, subjects were given a newsletter including glowing testimonials about how the treatments had helped patients. During the trial, the researchers deviated from the protocol. They changed methods and relaxed the criteria for “recovery.” They violated their own protocol by failing to tell prospective participants about their conflicts of interest: connections to government and insurance interests. Tuller quoted several top researchers who agreed that the study was fraught with indefensible methodological problems. Comments included statements like “I’m shocked that The Lancet published it” and “It’s a mass of uninterpretability.” The struggle to access the trial data Critics pushed for an independent review of the trial data. They submitted dozens of freedom-of-information (FOI) requests for PACE-related documents and data. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) chimed in, and experts said the deconditioning hypothesis was flawed and untenable. The authors claimed they were being persecuted by patients and advocacy groups. They had received death threats and a phone threat of castration, and one had been stalked by a woman who brought a knife to one of his lectures. When the trial data were finally made available (only after long persistence, many FOI requests, and a court order), an independent group did a preliminary analysis of “recovery” from CFS using individual participant data. It found that the previously reported recovery rates had been inflated by an average of four-fold. Re-analyzing the data according to the published trial protocol revealed that the recovery rate was 3.1% for SMC alone, 6.8% for CBT, 4.4% for GET, and 1.9% for APT. These differences were not statistically significant. Fiona Godlee wrote in an editorial in the British Medical Journal ( BMJ ) that when there is enough doubt to warrant independent re-analysis, “Such independent reanalysis and public access to anonymised data should anyway be the rule, not the exception, whoever funds the trial.” The authors of the re-analysis said, The PACE trial provides a good example of the problems that can occur when investigators are allowed to substantially deviate from the trial protocol without adequate justification or scrutiny. We therefore propose that a thorough, transparent, and independent re-analysis be conducted to provide greater clarity about the PACE trial results. Pending a comprehensive review or audit of trial data, it seems prudent that the published trial results should be treated as potentially unsound, as well as the medical texts, review articles, and public policies based on those results. An open letter calling for the article to be retracted went unheeded. The original open letter to Psychological Medicine was reposted with a total of 142 signatories. An article in the Journal of Health Psychology includes an impressive number of references and concludes: Science is not always plain sailing and sometimes the voyage is across an angry sea. A recent clinical trial of treatments for chronic fatigue syndrome (the PACE trial) has whipped up a storm of controversy. Patients claim the lead authors overstated the effectiveness of cognitive behavioural therapy and graded exercise therapy by lowering the thresholds they used to determine improvement. In this extraordinary case, patients discovered that the treatments tested had much lower efficacy after an information tribunal ordered the release of data from the PACE trial to a patient who had requested access using a freedom of information request. Conclusion: A flawed study with lessons to be learned Studies like the PACE trial can have a strong impact on patient care, and flawed studies can result in harm to patients. Conventional peer review is obviously not enough: the effective peer review in this case came after publication. Numerous flaws were found that should have been addressed before publication. Critics called for the study to be retracted; so far, it hasn’t been. This unfortunate episode can serve as a wake-up call and it points out the value of freely sharing raw data with other researchers. Good scientists want to know if they are wrong. They want to have their work scrutinized and should be willing to share their data without the requesters having to resort to a court order. ADDENDUM: The tribunal that finally resulted in the release of the data found that the researchers’ claims of death threats were false. Their complete report is available online.
Daron Acemoglu’s and James Robinson’s research agenda is to emphasize one overarching factor in the prosperity of nations: inclusive political institutions. In Why Nations Fail, especially, they seek to underscore the idea that a successful economy requires centralized, but not authoritative, governments. In a recent piece for Foreign Policy, Acemoglu and Robinson produce a list of failed states to illustrate several reasons why a lack of a stable, centralized government will undermine efforts to achieve the accumulation of wealth. One example is Somalia. The authors write, One must-have for successful economies is an effective centralized state. Without this, there is no hope of providing order, an effective system of laws, mechanisms for resolving disputes, or basic public goods. A cursory glance at the literature on post-Siyad Barre Somalia shows that this statement is palpably untrue. After the initial years of violent civil conflict and relative chaos, Somalia began to gradually settle. We see during the late 1990s and early 2000s a decentralization of power, in fact stripping it away from the mythical warlords that many imagine Somalia ruled by, and the restructuring of a system of social order and law. Christian Webersik’s 2006 paper, “Mogadishu: An Economy Without a State,” explains the process of the diffusion of power well; he also explains how businesses, in their own interests, began to provide security around the Mogadishu area. They provided these public goods so that their firms could thrive in an environment of extreme uncertainty. This spontaneous order, of sorts, began to externalize its fruits. Around the same time, businesses and clan elites begin to favor the establishment of Islamic Courts, ruling by Sharia Law and the local Xeer. These institutions of law did not exhibit the extremist tendencies that are sometimes attributed to the former (Sharia). In fact, prior to the arrival of Ethiopian troops in Somalia, the Islamic Courts were moderate. By the middle of the first decade of the 21st century, the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) had done quite well towards stabilizing the middle and southern regions of the country. They were providing the goods and services that Acemoglu and Robinson so vehemently claim cannot be provided without the State; see Webersik (2006) and Ken Menkhaus’ 2003 essay, “State Collapse in Somalia: Second Thoughts.” Sometime during and after 2006, the UIC quickly loses control. What causes this failure? The Ethiopian invasion in 2006 leads to the dismantling of the UIC, splitting its moderate membership from the more extreme sect. The moderates decide to join, or support, the Transitional National Government (TNG), and the extremists resist. Like previous attempts, the TNG does not appear to be succeeding. Much of central and southern Somalia have fallen under control of extremist organization Al Shabaab, although surely the occupation by part of the African Union has helped the TNG remain relevant. But, what’s important to note is that it was the international push to establish a central government which undermined the gradual stabilization of Somalia, and this trend continues today. (See David Shinn, “Al Shabaab’s Foreign Threat to Somalia,” Orbis 55, 2 (2011), pp. 203–215.) We see, therefore, that not just is the State unnecessary for the provision of security, and therefore the existence of the basic institutions that allow for prosperity (e.g. property rights), but that sometimes pushing for a State can actually undermine the spontaneous efforts by part of society to provide these kind of public goods. Menkhaus (2003) notes a correlation between attempts to support the TNG and escalations in violence. In fact, notes Menkhaus, that while the late 1990s saw a gradual death to the civil violence, the 2002 attempt to establish the TNG causes a radical increase in resistance and clashes. This is also consistent with the story in Shinn (2011), where southern and central Somalia have deteriorated since the orchestrated move to replace the UIC with the TNG. Yet, while the evidence suggests exactly the opposite, Acemoglu and Robinson continue to peddle the same story about the need for political institutions. I emphasize ‘need,’ because for our authors a wealthy society is impossible without these institutions (for a more academic, although no less erroneous, exposition see Daron Acemoglu, “Politics and Economics in Weak and Strong States,” Journal of Monetary Economics, 52 (2005), pp. 1199–1226). In Somalia, private spontaneous order provided institutions of law and order, only to be undermined by the international community’s efforts to prop up a central government that few Somalis actually want or trust. Somalia is a tragedy, but it is a tragedy that has been made much more acute by the persistent efforts to impose a social structure that foreigners see as beneficial. But, that outsiders perceive benefit does not imply that Somalis acknowledge the same. Whatever the motivations of political actors in Ethiopia, or those which decide the interventions of the African Union, and the United States (who have intervened extensively in Somalia, and still do — American drones continue to patrol Somalia), it is just as tragic that academics advocate these policies on the grounds that establishing a central government is the only means of providing social stability. Somalia is a failure because no one has trusted its ability to succeed, and this is the real tragedy.
Screenplay by David S. Goyer Story by David S. Goyer & Christopher Nolan Directed by Zack Snyder Running time: 133 minutes Year: 2013 LISTEN TO OUR MAN OF STEEL PODCAST Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. BEAT SHEET ACT I Sequence I: KAL-EL’S BIRTH AND ESCAPE FROM KRYPTON. 1-2 OPENING: LARA LOR-VAN gives birth to a son, KAL-EL. Her husband, JOR-EL, assists in the delivery. 9 – Jor-El chooses Earth as the destination for Kal-El. Lara fears for their baby’s life, but Jor-El convinces her that it’s their son’s, and the people of Krypton’s, only hope. LARA He’ll be an outcast, a freak. They’ll kill him. JOR-EL How? He’ll be a god to them. 14 – INCITING INCIDENT: As Jor-El battles Zod, Lara initiates the launch and sends Kal-El toward his new home. Jor-El is stabbed and killed by Zod as he watches his son leave the planet. _______________________________________ Sequence II: ZOD IS SENTENCED AND KAL-EL LANDS IN SMALLVILLE ON THE KENT FARM. 20 – STRONG MOVEMENT FORWARD: Kal-El’s space craft crash lands on Earth. _______________________________________ Sequence III: CLARK SAVES LIVES WITH HIS SUPER POWERS AND WE SEE HIM AS A CHILD STRUGGLING TO DEAL WITH HIS DEVELOPING ABILITIES. _______________________________________ Sequence IV: YOUNG CLARK SAVES HIS CLASSMATES FROM DEATH BUT IS TOLD BY HIS DAD TO KEEP HIS POWERS SECRET, AT ALL COSTS. 30 – FLASHBACK: END OF ACT ONE (INTERNAL): Outside, Jonathan pleads with Clark to keep his powers secret. JONATHAN You have to keep this side of yourself a secret. CLARK What was I supposed to do? Just let them die? JONATHAN Maybe. 31 – FLASHBACK: END OF ACT ONE TURN (EXTERNAL): Jonathan shows Clark the space craft they found him in. Clark is proof to extra-terrestrial life, but Jonathan is fearful of what the world would do if they discover him. Jonathan hands him a black command key with the famous Superman symbol on it. ACT II Sequence I: CLARK DISCOVERS THE KRYPTONIAN SCOUT SHIP AND SAVES LOIS LANE’S LIFE. 38 – FIRST TRIAL: Using his heat vision, Clark melts a pathway and discovers an alien spaceship. On board, he inserts the command key, triggering the ship to come alive. A MAN the audience knows as Jor-El appears, beckoning Clark to follow him deeper into the craft. 41 – FIRST CASUALTY: Clark saves Lois from the droid, notices the attack has caused internal hemorrhaging. He calms her and explains he must cauterize the wound. Lois screams as Clark uses his heat vision to prevent further hemorrhaging. (Also, the eventual casualty of his true identity because Lois will find out with her journalistic skills.) _______________________________________ Sequence II: CLARK LEARNS ABOUT KRYPTON FROM JOR-EL AND FLIES FOR THE FIRST TIME. 45 – TRAINING / KNOWLEDGE / DESTINY BEAT: Back on the spaceship, the mystery man on board reveals himself as Jor-El, Clark’s biological father. Though deceased, Jor-El is a hologram containing the preserved consciousness of the real Jor-El. Clark is told his real name is Kal-El. JOR-EL You will give the people of Earth an ideal to strive towards. They will race behind you. They will stumble. They will fall. But in time, they will join you in the sun. In time, you will help them accomplish wonders. _______________________________________ Sequence III: CLARK TELLS LOIS ABOUT JONATHAN KENT’S DEATH AND GENERAL ZOD ARRIVES, THREATENING THE EARTH TO GIVE UP KAL-EL. 54 – Clark finds Lois at Jonathan Kent’s grave. He tells her that he doesn’t wish to have his story told, but ends up sharing the story of Jonathan Kent’s death with her. CLARK My father believed if the world found out who I really was, they’d reject me. 65 – MIDPOINT: Zod takes over all sources of communication around the world with a message… ZOD My name is General Zod. I have journeyed across an ocean of stars to reach you. For some time, your world has sheltered one of my citizens. He will look like you, but he is not one of you. I request that you return this individual to my custody. To those of you who know of his location, the fate of your planet rests in your hands. To Kal-El, I say this: Surrender within twenty-four hours, or watch this world suffer the consequences. ACT II-B Sequence I: CLARK STRUGGLES TO MAKE HIS DECISION TO ACT. FLASHBACK TO JONATHAN KENT CHARGING CLARK TO DECIDE WHAT KIND OF MAN HE WANTS TO BE. 68 – FLASHBACK: Outside of Sullivan Truck & Tractor Repair, thirteen-year-old Clark is pushed around by a bully, but doesn’t fight back. Jonathan’s presence scares them away. Clark begins to question whether or not to fight back. JONATHAN You just have to decide what kind of man you want to grow up to be, Clark. Whoever that man is, he’s going to change the world. _______________________________________ Sequence II: CLARK AND LOIS BOARD ZOD’S SHIP AND CLARK COLLAPSES FROM THE KRYPTONIAN ATMOSPHERE. ZOD ENTERS HIS DREAM, TELLS HIM HOW HE GOT TO EARTH, AND VOWS TO ANNIHILATE THE HUMAN RACE. 75 –ASSUMPTION OF POWER: Outside the base, ZOD’S SOLDIERS arrive for Clark, led by Zod’s second in command, FAORA-UL. Faora greets Clark and then informs Swanwick that Zod has requested Lois on the journey. Swanwick pushes back, but Lois defuses the situation and agrees to go. 81 – DECLARATION OF WAR: Zod reveals his intent to transform Earth into a new Krypton, annihilating the human population in the process, and use the codex to repopulate the planet with genetically engineered Kryptonians. Superman resists. _______________________________________ Sequence III: JOR-EL TEACHES LOIS AND CLARK HOW TO DEFEAT ZOD WHILE ZOD GOES TO THE KENT FARM TO FIND THE CODEX. _______________________________________ Sequence IV: CLARK BATTLES ZOD, FAORA AND NAM-EK AND WINS THE TRUST OF THE MILITARY. _______________________________________ Sequence V: CLARK AND THE MILITARY FORMULATE A PLAN TO STOP ZOD. 105 – END OF ACT TWO TURN: At the military command center, Dr. Hamilton sees Earth’s mass increasing and realizes the world machine intends terraforming, turning Earth into Krypton. 106 – END OF ACT TWO DECISION: With Superman and Lois, the military devises a plan to re-purpose Clark’s original space craft into a Phantom Zone Projector and bomb the world machine in Metropolis. First, Superman must take out the world machine along the Indian Ocean, but due to the atmospheric changes, he will be weaker. ACT III Sequence I: BATTLE ON MULTIPLE FRONTS AND BOTH WORLD MACHINES ARE DESTROYED. SUPERMAN CHOOSES HUMANS OVER KRYPTONIANS. 117 –TRUE POINT OF NO RETURN: In the scout ship, Zod closes in on Hardy’s plane. Moments before he can fire on it, Superman crashes into the ship, knocking it off course. Inside, he uses his heat vision to destroy the ship, thwarting Zod’s plans. ZOD If you destroy this ship, you destroy Krypton! _______________________________________ Sequence II: FINAL BATTLE OF ZOD AND SUPERMAN. SUPERMAN KILLS ZOD. 127 – They crash land back into a Metropolis’ version of Grand Central Station. Superman puts Zod in a chokehold. With no way out, Zod uses his heat vision to threaten a group of citizens. ZOD If you love these people so much, you can mourn for them! 128 – CLIMAX: Superman snaps Zod’s neck to protect the citizens, making himself the last surviving citizen of Krypton. EPILOGUE Sequence I: CLARK SAYS GOODBYE TO HIS MOTHER AND BEGINS HIS NEW LIFE.
1 Year Ago, Nepal Buckled Under A Quake That Killed 9,000 People A year after the earthquake, reconstruction work in Nepal is proceeding slowly and thousands are still living in temporary shelters. The government has been criticized for its sluggish response. LOURDES GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST: This week, Nepal marks a somber anniversary. A year ago, the country was hit with twin earthquakes. Nine thousand people were killed, and half a million others were left homeless. Danielle Preiss reports from Kathmandu the recovery is going slowly. DANIELLE PREISS, BYLINE: Gyanbahadur Biwsokarma’s house in the village of Dunkharka has a facade littered with deep cracks and a crumbling roof. His wife squats on the mud for, boiling black tea while their 13-year-old daughter, Anita, feeds baby Arjun. GYANBAHADUR BIWSOKARMA: (Through interpreter) After the earthquake, for about a month we stayed under plastic tarps in the road. PREISS: Biswokarma doesn't earn much as a mason in the mountainous Kavre district, where 97 percent of houses were damaged. He got $150 from the government and help from an organization - he's not sure which - to build a tiny tin-and-tarp shack. BIWSOKARMA: (Through interpreter) We don't have money to build a new house right away. PREISS: A year after the earthquake, the family of five still sleeps in the shack but spends their days inside the wrecked house. JEFF SHANNON: We still have tens of thousands of people who are sleeping under a tarp that was distributed almost a year ago - tin sheets. PREISS: That's Jeff Shannon, director of programs at Mercy Corps. The Portland, Ore.-based charity provided emergency relief in Biwsokarma's village, like sanitation kits and blankets for the winter. SHANNON: And these tin sheet houses or tarp houses - in winter they were ice boxes. There's no insulation. PREISS: Outside the Kathmandu Valley, about 31,000 families have rebuilt. In the densely populated valley itself, exact numbers are hard to come by while the government still surveys. Meanwhile, little of the $4 billion pledged by the international community has turned up. And organizations like Mercy Corps say they've been waylaid by conditions in Nepal. Last fall, protests at the Indian border killed more than 50 people and blocked nearly all imports, including fuel, for five months. SHANNON: At the very time when everybody was funded, staffed, ready to start rebuilding, everything shut down. PREISS: The government has been criticized for its sluggish response. The National Reconstruction Authority was set up to manage rebuilding and distribute grants of 200,000 rupees, about $2,000, to people whose homes were destroyed. The money is supposed to be used for earthquake-safe construction. And so far, only a few hundred households have received any. GOVINDA POKHREL: (Laughter) Unfortunately, it's the politics that is causing delay. PREISS: Govinda Raj Pokhrel teaches engineering at Kathmandu's Tribhuvan University and was head of the Reconstruction Authority for just two weeks before the agency dissolved last fall in a government changeover. It took months for the body to start up again under new leadership. POKHREL: Even delays of week or days is causing huge social cost to the nation. PREISS: The government also banned charities from helping with housing reconstruction until only a few weeks ago. The uncertainty has left organizations unsure how to help and victims frustrated. For some, the question of how to rebuild is secondary to where. In several weeks, the monsoon rains will likely trigger landslides in the highly mountainous country. UNIDENTIFIED VILLAGERS: (Foreign language spoken). PREISS: A massive landslide looms on the hill above 13 houses in the village of Chyamrangbesi, the next village over from Dunkharka. Uddhav Prasad Dahal points out the cracks in his house, where 8-foot boulders rained down during the earthquake and crushed his cow and buffalo shed. PRASAD DAHAL: (Through interpreter) This is also cracked. PREISS: Though government engineers told Dahal his land is unsafe, they've offered no alternatives. DAHAL: (Through interpreter) People come, give us sympathy, and we feel good for a little while. But then tomorrow, when we think about not having a safe place to live, it hurts so much. Where are we going to go? PREISS: Thousands of victims across the country are asking the same question. For NPR News, I'm Danielle Preiss in Kathmandu. Copyright © 2016 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc., an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
Pedophilia Scandal Sends Shock Waves Through U.K. Soccer Enlarge this image toggle caption Christopher Furlong/Getty Images Christopher Furlong/Getty Images In mid-November, a former professional soccer player told a British newspaper that as a child, he had been sexually abused for years by a well-respected youth coach. The player said he knew other players had experienced the same thing — and that a culture of silence kept the abusers out of the spotlight. But he wasn't keeping the secret anymore. "I want to get it out and give other people an opportunity to do the same," Andy Woodward told The Guardian. "I want to give people strength. ... I'm convinced there is an awful lot more to come out." His interview unleashed a flood. In the weeks since, a half-dozen other former players have come forward in the media, alleging years of abuse by multiple coaches and scouts in the U.K. More than 20 former pros have alleged abuse to the Professional Footballers' Association. Some 350 people have reported abuse at youth soccer clubs to police, according to The Associated Press. The BBC has a detailed timeline of who has stepped forward as a survivor. Now some 17 different police forces are investigating the scandal. At least 10 suspected pedophiles have been identified, the AP says — and allegations are emerging that authorities within the U.K. soccer world paid off victims in exchange for their silence. "It was the worst-kept secret in football" The narratives of those who say they were abused trace a similar arc: Vulnerable young athletes meet powerful coaches and scouts; their families are captivated by the dream of a career in pro soccer. Staying at a coach's house or taking trips without supervision are par for the course. When the abuse begins, it's paired with blackmail and threats to keep the young player silent. Woodward, the player whose story broke the dam, told of being abused by serial pedophile and former soccer coach and scout Barry Bennell, starting when Woodward was 11. He was a player in Crewe Alexandra's youth program. toggle caption Reuters "I just wanted to play football. My mum and dad will say that I always had a football in my hands, wherever I went. I saw Crewe as the start of that dream," Woodward told The Guardian. "But I was soft-natured, too, and it was the softer, weaker boys Bennell targeted." He said Bennell arranged for him to stay at his house. "It was my dream, remember, to be a footballer and it was like he was dropping little sweets towards me: 'You can stay with me and this is what I can do for you,' " Woodward said. "Plus he had a reputation as the best youth coach in the country. So I'd stay at weekends and summer holidays and even take time out of school sometimes." After the alleged sexual abuse began, he said, Bennell would use threats of violence — and reminders that he could drop Woodward from the team at any time, ending his dreams of a pro career — to control him. Bennell went on to date and later marry Woodward's older sister. Woodward described the wedding as "torture." Steve Walters, who was inspired by Woodward to tell his story, also told the Guardian that he had been sexually abused by Bennell over a period of years. "I just had to pretend it never happened and block it out. I knew it could never come out and I was absolutely petrified because I thought that if it did ever come out that would be it for my career — finished," he said. "In my mind, I wouldn't even be able to go out, never mind play football. And football was my dream. It was my life." But despite the silence about the alleged abuse, it was never wholly secret. "There were always rumors" about what was happening, Walters said. "It was the worst-kept secret in football that Barry had boys staying at his house." "Throughout those years at Crewe, so many people used to talk about it," Woodward said. "Other players would say directly to my face: 'I bet he does this to you, we know he does that.' There was all that dressing-room bravado. Then, outside the club, it was never discussed." Multiple convictions, prison terms for pedophilia Woodward's interview wasn't the first allegation of sexual abuse in the British youth soccer system. It wasn't even the first allegation against Bennell. Enlarge this image toggle caption Christopher Furlong/Getty Images Christopher Furlong/Getty Images In fact, Bennell served multiple prison sentences for pedophilia — but he was a free man when Woodward spoke to The Guardian. In 1994, Bennell was traveling to the U.S. with a youth soccer team when he was arrested by Florida authorities. He pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a young player. He was given four years in prison — although he could have received 30 years for each of his six counts of custodial sexual battery — as part of a deal that meant the victim didn't have to travel to the U.S. to testify at trial. He served three of the four years before being deported to the U.K. There he was arrested and charged with 45 offenses related to sexual assault of young players. He pleaded guilty in 1998 to 23 offenses. "You preyed on adolescent and pre-adolescent boys," a judge told him at sentencing, according to news outlets at the time. "You could point young boys in the right direction and help them with their careers and wishes to become successful footballers. They were prepared to do almost anything you asked them." He was sentenced to nine years in prison. After he was released, he was convicted again, in 2015, after confessing to an assault on a 12-year-old in 1980. He served two years for that sentence. He was out again when Woodward's interview went live. He was taken to the hospital on Nov. 25 after he was found unconscious and now faces fresh charges of child sex abuse. Awareness of "potentially dangerous situations" Bennell's first conviction was noticed in the press. A Channel 4 Dispatches investigation that aired in early 1997 suggested the entire system of youth soccer programs made children vulnerable to serial pedophiles like Bennell and put children in "potentially dangerous situations." Here's how The Independent described the documentary: "An investigation by Dispatches says that the hold coaches have over their school-age proteges — the chance of a career in professional football — can give them the opportunity to abuse boys for years with little fear of discovery. "One former coach, Barry Bennell, who worked at Manchester City, Stoke City and Crewe Alexandra is currently serving four years in a United States prison after admitting buggery and assault on a boy. "Another amateur club, Ipswich Saracens, found that their coach Keith Ketley was a convicted sex offender. Despite this he had been able to set up another team with Football Association affiliation. He is now serving five years in jail after being found guilty on four counts of indecent assault. ... "Les Reed, Charlton's first team coach, says that with such a large number of children involved with adults there is a 'potentially dangerous situation' and guidelines help protect both children and staff. 'The FA needs to come out of the towers at Lancaster Gate and really investigate what is going on,' he said." The next year, in 1998, the club manager of a youth football club connected to Celtic F.C. was convicted of sexually assaulting three teenagers in the late '60s and early '70s. There were rumors that Celtic itself had been involved in a cover-up to keep the assaults secret. In 1999, the Football Association announced a plan to identify young people who had been sexually abused and put them in contact with "specialists from social services." But public awareness of the problem didn't seem widespread. In 2005, a government-backed commission investigated "child protection in football." The 59-page report, which said the structure of youth football puts children at risk, mentioned sexual assault or sexual offense only twice, both times in footnotes. The report said there were 250 cases of alleged child abuse under investigation by the Football Association. At the time, the Guardian noted that the report "gives no details of the child abuse investigations that it cites ... but they are thought to include inappropriate behaviour and bullying." A soccer executive responsible for child protection told the Guardian that she preferred to use the term "bad practice" and that the incidents "can't be defined as child abuse unless somebody has been convicted." She said all the cases her team had resolved did not involve a criminal conviction. "It fell on deaf ears" In the late '90s, one young player who had been abused by Bennell waived his right to anonymity and went public. Ian Ackley appeared in the Dispatches documentary on how children were vulnerable in youth soccer programs. He spoke to the newspapers about the ordeal of Bennell's assault. It didn't trigger a wave of revelations or outcry, the London Times writes: "Where was the media outcry then, the demands for an inquiry, the FA inviting him down for a chat, the world throwing an arm around him? None of that happened. " 'It fell on deaf ears as far as the rest of the media world was concerned,' [Ackley] says. 'It was a taboo, like a dirty secret. People didn't want to sully their hands with it.' Extraordinarily, he gets those words out without bitterness. ... " 'I thought it was done and dusted, I wouldn't hear any more about it,' he says." Instead, it was Woodward's interview with the Guardian that took the pattern of serial assaults out of old criminal records and into the headlines. FIFA, world soccer's governing body, says it's possible the pattern of pedophilia is not limited to the U.K. and that the world should be "very open to really listening" to anyone in world soccer who steps forward, the AP reports. And investigators aren't just grappling with hundreds of reports of pedophilia; they are looking into whether there were organized efforts to cover up the abuse. On Friday, the Daily Mirror reported that a former Chelsea player said he was paid 50,000 pounds (more than $75,000) to keep quiet about years of sexual abuse he allegedly suffered at the hands of a soccer scout. The massive scale of the scandal, which is still unfolding, has drawn comparisons to the case of Jimmy Savile, a British TV personality and serial predator who abused hundreds of underage girls during the decades he spent at the BBC. Investigation into the Savile case uncovered other cultural icons who had committed indecent assault and rape of minors, including BBC broadcaster Stuart Hall and rock star Gary Glitter, and found that a "culture of deference" at the BBC allowed the men to commit abuse with impunity.
ALAIN DE BOTTON has become the self-help guru to the British middle-class—a life coach pitched at those who might read The Guardian on an iPad, buy ethical chocolate, and assert an interest in the Booker shortlist. If you’re a certain kind of amateur intellectual with self-improving impulses, it’s less vulgar to entrust your anxieties to a Cambridge- and Harvard-educated pop philosopher who speaks three languages than to the hearty exhortations of Tony Robbins or Oprah. Oprah asks the right questions, says de Botton—“how do we live with other people, how do we cope with our ambitions, how do we survive as a society”—but she “fails to answer them with anything like seriousness.” Enter Professor de Botton. But if the latest publications from his “School of Life” imprint are the current course curriculum, truth-seekers would be better off reading O magazine. De Botton’s breakthrough book was How Proust Can Change Your Life (1997), an effort to combine Winfrey-like wisdom with philosophical depth. As its title suggested, the book took passages from The Guermantes Way and In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower and sifted them for Proust-approved guidance on friendship, living life in the present, or self-expression. It was the first successful outing for the Alain de Botton formula: mine the work of a great thinker for choice quotations and slot them into a beguilingly simple frame—“How To Be Happy In Love,” for example. There were follow-up questions, too: “Did Proust have any relevant thoughts on dating?” “One must never miss an opportunity of quoting things by others which are always more interesting than those one thinks up oneself,” de Botton quotes the novelist in Proust, and this adage became the organizing principle of his subsequent work. The Consolations of Philosophy (2000), delivers potted summaries of Socrates, Epicurus, Montaigne, Nietzsche, and Schopenhauer, structured around subjects like “Unpopularity” or “Not Having Enough Money,” or the brilliantly catch-all “Difficulties.” De Botton eventually became something of a middle-class lifestyle sage, producing: The Art of Travel (2002), Status Anxiety (2004), and The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work (2009)—literary-lite guides to living with just enough to tickle the brain without actually taxing it. Since 2008, de Botton has also presided over The School of Life, both a publishing imprint and a physical space near Russell Square in London. The self-declared mission of the School is to provide an enterprise that will “direct you toward a variety of useful ideas … guaranteed to stimulate, provoke, nourish and console.” The School’s shop has a few lightly stocked book-shelves (Oliver James, Paul Theroux, Italo Calvino, and, of course, the complete de Botton bibliography), while in its downstairs classroom, the School hosts talks that are a mixture of book-promos (“Steven Pinker on Violence and Humanity” to sell copies of The Better Angels of Our Nature), schedule fillers (an eight-week course on “Mindfulness,”), and champagne tastings. “There are as many kinds of fizz as there are of parties,” advises the materials for this course, and promises a “consideration of the origins of bubbles, the meaning of happiness and the strange connection between the two.” A one-day class—such as, “A Voyage in Epicuriosity with Jenny Linford,” which traces “a history from school dinners to wedding parties”—costs £150 (roughly, $240).
Posted by coltsindianapolis on July 24, 2015 – 9:02 pm The Indianapolis Colts today agreed to terms with cornerback D’Joun Smith and defensive end Henry Anderson. Smith, 5-11, 193 pounds, was drafted by the Colts in the third round (65th overall) of the 2015 NFL Draft. He played in 44 games (34 starts) at Florida Atlantic and compiled 120 tackles (78 solo), 1.0 sack, 29 passes defensed, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and nine interceptions, returning two for touchdowns. He also contributed on special teams and finished with 47 kickoff returns for 1,093 yards (23.3 avg.) with a long of 49 yards. In 2014, he started all 11 games he played in and registered 53 tackles (32 solo), eight passes defensed, one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries and one interception, which he returned for a touchdown. Smith garnered Second Team Conference USA honors and was the team’s Defensive Player of the Year. As a junior in 2013, Smith started all 12 games and finished with 35 tackles (25 solo), 1.0 sack, 13 passes defensed, two forced fumbles and seven interceptions, returning one for a touchdown. His seven interceptions ranked No. 1 in the conference and No. 3 nationally as he was First Team Conference USA All-Conference, received first-team defensive honors from Phil Steele and was named the team’s MVP. Additionally, he was named the College Football Performance Awards National Defensive Back of the Week after recording three interceptions against Tulane. In 2012, Smith started all 11 games he played in and tallied 25 tackles (16 solo), eight passes defensed and one interception. He appeared in 10 games as a true freshman and had seven tackles (five solo). Anderson, 6-6, 300 pounds, was drafted by the Colts in the third round (93rd overall) of the 2015 NFL Draft. He played in 48 games (35 starts) at Stanford and finished with 140 tackles (76 solo), 17.0 sacks, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and seven passes defensed. In 2014, Anderson started all 13 games he played in and recorded 65 tackles (40 solo), 15.0 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks and two passes defensed. The fifth-year senior received several accolades including First Team All-Pac-12, SI.com All-America honorable mention and Phil Steele First Team All-Pac-12 honors. Anderson boasted honorable mention All-Pac-12 (2013) and Second Team All-Pac-12 (2012) honors during his redshirt sophomore and redshirt junior years. In 2013, he started all eight games he played in and registered 19 tackles (eight solo), 4.0 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks. Anderson started all 14 games as a redshirt sophomore and contributed 50 tackles (27 solo), 13.0 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, five passes defensed and one forced fumble. In 2011, Anderson saw his first game action, appearing in 13 games and recording six tackles (one solo) and one fumble recovery. He was also a standout in the classroom, as he received First Team Pac-12 All-Academic honors each of the last three years of his collegiate career (2012-14). Share this: Twitter Facebook Google Print Like this: Like Loading... Posted in Colts Blog
Sampling strategy 1 1 3 Sample Collection protocol/comments Air swab Swab of the air from the clinical laboratory where the placental samples were obtained Sterile swab Unopened sterile swab Extraction blank Blank tubes for possible extraction/reagent contaminants Placenta (MS) Basal plate biopsy obtained after removal of placental surface Placenta (FS) Placental biopsy obtained after removal of placental surface Saliva Collected in sterile 50-mL conical tube Vaginal swab Swab inserted into maternal vagina for 30 s Six women were selected for study with uncomplicated singleton pregnancies at term in spontaneous labor (regular contractions, cervical dilation) or following spontaneous rupture of membranes. Demographic and clinical characteristics of participants are listed in Additional file: Table S1. Sample types collected are listed in Table. Placental samples were isolated as 0.5 × 0.5 × 0.5 cm cuboidal sections from internal structures within the placenta (maternal and fetal sides) to eliminate surface contamination. Maternal saliva samples and vaginal swab samples were also collected by study personnel from participants at admission to the hospital preceding delivery. Analysis of paired samples from the same patient is a notable difference from [], where non-placental samples (vaginal/oral) were from historical controls. Three types of negative controls were collected. Following each delivery, a swab was waved in the air in the clinical laboratory where the placental biopsies were carried out (adjacent to the labor and delivery rooms), then sealed in a closed container (designated “air swab”). Unused sterile swabs were also collected (“sterile swab”). Thirdly, samples containing the purification reagents only were purified by each method to document bacterial sequences introduced during downstream sample processing (“extraction blank”). DNA was then purified from each specimen. Two different kits were compared, the STRATEC PSP Spin Stool DNA Plus Kit (henceforth “PSP”) and the MO BIO PowerSoil DNA Isolation Kit (abbreviated “MO BIO”), both of which have been used extensively in microbiome research, and the second of which was used by Aagaard et al. [3], which proposed the existence of a commensal microbiota. An additional reason for comparing these two methods is to identify reagent contamination, because contaminating 16S rRNA gene sequences introduced by DNA purification kits tend to differ by kit [9, 10]. Analysis of total 16S rRNA gene copies using quantitative PCR 1a b 7 ± 1.42 × 107 SEM (standard error of the mean). Mean copy number in the vaginal samples was 5.97 × 106 ± 2.92 × 106 SEM. Results for placental samples were much lower, with mean copy number for maternal side (MS) at 5.72 × 102 ± 3.48 × 102 SEM and fetal side (FS) at 1.24 × 102 ± 2.1 × 101 SEM. For controls, the mean copy number was between 9.7 × 101 ± 4.1 × 101 and 1.93 × 102 ± 3.07 × 101 SEM. For the MO BIO kit, mean copy number for the saliva samples was high, 3.69 × 108 ± 2.98 × 108 SEM, while mean copy numbers for the placental samples were again much lower and indistinguishable from contamination controls; maternal side placenta was 2.56 × 102 ± 1.05 × 102 SEM, fetal side was 2.61 × 102 ± 6.3 × 101 SEM, and for controls mean copy numbers were between 8.77 × 101 ± 1.1 × 101 SEM and 1.29 × 102 ± 2.87 × 101 SEM. Quantification of 16S rRNA gene copies by quantitative PCR is shown in Fig.. For qPCR, equal volumes of the purified DNA of all samples were used in the assay. In this and subsequent figures, results for DNA samples prepared using the two purification kits are shown side by side. For the PSP kit, the mean 16S rRNA gene copies in the saliva samples were 2.3 × 10± 1.42 × 10SEM (standard error of the mean). Mean copy number in the vaginal samples was 5.97 × 10± 2.92 × 10SEM. Results for placental samples were much lower, with mean copy number for maternal side (MS) at 5.72 × 10± 3.48 × 10SEM and fetal side (FS) at 1.24 × 10± 2.1 × 10SEM. For controls, the mean copy number was between 9.7 × 10± 4.1 × 10and 1.93 × 10± 3.07 × 10SEM. For the MO BIO kit, mean copy number for the saliva samples was high, 3.69 × 10± 2.98 × 10SEM, while mean copy numbers for the placental samples were again much lower and indistinguishable from contamination controls; maternal side placenta was 2.56 × 10± 1.05 × 10SEM, fetal side was 2.61 × 10± 6.3 × 10SEM, and for controls mean copy numbers were between 8.77 × 10± 1.1 × 10SEM and 1.29 × 10± 2.87 × 10SEM. For statistical analysis, we compared the cycle of threshold values for all sample sets, because this represents the rawest form of the data (Fig. 1c, d; amplification curves in Additional file 2: Figure S1). The cycle of threshold indicates the value at which exponential increase in the fluorescence signal initiated, so larger values indicate lower numbers of starting templates. For tests of samples purified using either method, there was no significant difference between median values for any pair of placental and control samples (p > 0.05; Kruskal-Wallis test with Dunn’s post test). In comparisons without correction for multiple comparisons, one pair showed a difference in the direction of the negative control air swab amplifying at lower cycle of threshold (more template copies) than the fetal side placental sample (Fig. 1c). Using a Bayesian approach, it is possible to interrogate these data further (Additional file 3: Figure S2). A posterior probability distribution was calculated for the difference in mean cycle numbers between air swabs and all other sample types. Based on the posterior probability distribution, we calculated that for both placental samples extracted by either of the methods, comparison to air swabs yielded p > 0.05 for the probability of greater abundance of 16S rRNA gene DNA in the placental samples, as was seen with conventional hypothesis testing. Further, we calculate the probability that the pooled placental samples contain 10-fold or more 16S rRNA gene copies than air swabs as p = 0.00004 for PSP and p = 0.004 for MO BIO. In addition, the analysis shows that there is a 95 % probability that the placental samples have <3.5× more DNA than air swabs in MO BIO and <0.8× DNA for PSP. For comparison, the vaginal or oral swabs have ~30,000-fold more DNA than controls when compared by this method. In summary, all placental and negative control samples were at the extreme low end of the range detectable by qPCR (Additional file 2: Figure S1A–C). For both purification methods, we conclude that placental and control samples showed low and indistinguishable numbers of 16S rRNA gene copies. Analysis of bacterial community structure using deep sequencing Samples were next compared based on the proportions of bacterial lineages in each specimen using deep sequencing, investigating the hypothesis that the types of bacteria present in placental and control samples differed. Samples were pooled for sequencing by adding equal volumes of the purified DNA from placental and control samples and equal masses of DNA for the higher biomass oral and vaginal samples. 2a b 11 15 16 18 3 DNA samples were PCR amplified using bar-coded primers flanking the V1V2 region of the 16S rRNA gene, and samples were sequenced using the Illumina method (Fig.). The V1V2 region is useful with low biomass samples because the shorter length allows more efficient amplification of rare template sequences, as shown, for example, in studies of bronchoalveolar lavage samples [], and V1V2 has been used extensively in previous work []. An alternative approach is to use shotgun metagenomic sequencing to characterize all DNA present in a sample []—however, this has the disadvantage for placental samples that the great majority of the sequencing effort is expended resequencing human DNA and so provides little additional information at a much higher cost when only a characterization of bacterial taxa present is desired. Each sample returned an average of 59,198 (PSP extraction) and 25,044 (MO BIO extraction) 16S rRNA gene reads. After forming operational taxonomic units at 97 % identity, a total of 12,813 OTUs were recovered for the PSP samples and 12,032 OTUs for the MO BIO samples. For the high biomass saliva samples, the major bacterial lineages were consistent between the two DNA purification methods. The saliva samples were high in Streptococcus, Veillonella, and Prevotella, paralleling many previous studies [11, 14, 19]. The lineages detected for samples purified with each of the two methods were identical at the OTU level. Vaginal samples were collected as single swabs and thus could be assayed with only one DNA purification method. We chose PSP because it yielded particularly good DNA recovery from other types of microbiome samples [20]. Vaginal samples were high in Lactobacillus, as has been seen for vaginal samples in many studies [19, 21–23]. For the placental and background contamination samples, results diverged radically and were associated with the kit used to purify the DNA. For samples purified using the PSP kit, all placental samples and background controls contained Sediminibacterium, Bradyrhizobiaceae, Methylobacterium, and Propionibacterium. In most samples, the first three contributed the majority of the sequence reads. Sediminibacterium, from the family Sphingobacteriaceae, is a known soil bacterium. Bradyrhizobiaceae contains both soil- and plant-associated bacteria as well as animal-associated bacteria. Methylobacterium is a normal inhabitant of soil and water. Propionibacterium is a ubiquitous human skin organism that is common in house dust. All four lineages have all been reported to be common contaminants of DNA extraction kits [9, 10]. Additional lineages were prominent in a few samples. One of the maternal side biopsy samples was high in Enterobacteraceae and a second in Prevotella. Several contamination controls were high in Phyllobacteriaceae, another bacteria associated with soil and plants that has been identified as a contaminant of DNA extraction kits [9, 10]. For DNA purified from the MO BIO kit, the dominant lineage in the controls was an OTU aligning 100 % to Clostridium difficile. This OTU was predominant in 22 out of 23 samples, including fetal side and maternal side placenta, extraction blanks, unopened sterile swabs, and swabs exposed to air in the clinical laboratory. This OTU was found in a previous negative control sample from our laboratory in another study extracted with this kit, but not in negative control samples extracted with other kits, suggestive of contamination in commercial reagents. We have previously amplified C. difficile 16S rRNA gene sequences in our laboratory, so we cannot rule out that the low-level contamination originated from this source. However, as C. difficile only appeared in negative controls worked up with the MO BIO kit, we tentatively associate this contamination with the kit. Additionally, one sample was high in a lineage of the order Streptophyta, possibly a sequence derived from chloroplasts in pollen. We attempted to investigate the origin of the sample-specific high proportion OTUs in the maternal side placental data set but were unable to specify the source. Of particular interest were connections with oral microbiota, since oral sites were proposed to donate lineages to placenta in the previous report on a commensal microbiome by Aagaard and colleagues [3]. For the PSP-extracted samples, although Prevotella lineages could be detected in subject 67’s oral samples, the OTU enriched in the maternal side placental biopsy was not among those present in the subject’s saliva sample, nor in her vaginal or fetal side placental samples. Thus, the data did not support the idea that the Prevotella detected in placenta originated at an oral site. For the Enterobacteraceae OTU enriched in the maternal side sample from subject 61, no reads were detected from this OTU in saliva or vaginal samples, and three reads were detected for fetal side placental samples (out of 7633). Thus, we were unable to trace the origin of these outlier lineages to specific body sites in our paired samples. Analysis of clustering by sample type We next compared community structure by calculating distances between all pairs of samples and interrogating these data for clustering associated with sample type. In our first approach, we calculated Bray-Curtis distances for data pooled at the phylum level, paralleling the approach used by Aagaard et al. [3]. For each purification method, when all sample types were analyzed together, the difference among groups was highly significant (PERMANOVA p < 0.001 for comparison of the centroids of each group), driven by the formation of discrete clusters for the vaginal and oral samples. The analysis was then repeated, excluding the vaginal and saliva samples. In this case, PERMANOVA p values were >0.05 for PSP-extracted samples and 0.033 for MO BIO. The p value lower than 0.05 in the MO BIO analysis could be attributed to outliers in the unopened sterile swab controls—comparison of placental samples to swabs exposed to air in the clinical laboratory and extraction blanks only (dropping out the unopened swabs) showed a p value of 0.11. Thus, we conclude that we could not distinguish placental samples from contamination controls by PERMANOVA analysis of Bray-Curtis distances. We repeated the PERMANOVA tests using weighted and unweighted UniFrac distances generated from operational taxonomic units (OTUs) clustered at 97 % sequence similarity, a more conventional approach (Additional file 4: Figure S3A-H). Once again, there was significant clustering by group when all groups were analyzed together (p = 0.001 for both weighted and unweighted UniFrac). When the vaginal and salivary samples were removed, p values were >0.05 for PSP-extracted samples and 0.024 and 0.049 for MO BIO (unweighted and weighted, respectively). Paralleling the results of the Bray-Curtis analysis, removal of the sterile swab data resulted in p values >0.05 for use of both weighted and unweighted UniFrac (comparing placental samples to air swabs and extraction blanks). Thus, we conclude that we could not distinguish placental samples from contamination controls using UniFrac and PERMANOVA, though we could readily distinguish oral and vaginal samples. 3 A heat map summarizing OTU representation in the sample set is shown in Fig.. Clustering by resemblance among samples pulled the oral samples together, with pairs of samples from each of the six individuals clustering together despite purification using different DNA purification kits. The placental samples and contamination controls were interspersed and mostly clustered by the kit used for purification (27/28 for MO BIO and 28/29 for PSP). The vaginal samples mostly clustered together (5/6) within the PSP group.
The long-awaited album looks like it finally see the light of day. Cannibal Ox will finally release the follow-up to 2001’s legendary The Cold Vein. The 19-track album is titled Blade of the Ronin and is due out on March 3. The album was mostly produced by Bill Cosmic, with MF Doom, U-God, Elzhi and the Artifacts to feature. The cover art and tracklist are below, via HipHopDX. Vast Aire and Vordul Mega reunited back in 2012, launching a Kickstarter to help them finish the album and eventually holding fans over with 2013’s Gotham EP. 01. Cipher Unknown (Intro) 02. Opposite of Desolate f/ Double A.B. 03. Psalm 82 04. The Power Cosmiq f/ Kenyattah Black 05. Blade: The Art of Ox f/ Artifacts & U-God (of Wu-Tang Clan) 06. Pressure of Survival (Skit) 07. Carnivorous f/ Elzhi & Bill Cosmiq 08. Thunder In July f/ Space, Swave Sevah & Elohem Star 09. Water 10. The Horizon (Interlude) 11. Harlem Knights 12. Sabertooth f/ Irealz & Bill Cosmiq 13. Iron Rose f/ MF Doom 14. Solar System (Cosmos) (Skit) 15. The Fire Rises 16. Gotham (Ox City) 17. Unison (Skit) 18. Vision f/ The Quantum) 19. Salvation
Police busted 19 people on drug trafficking and gun charges in East Harlem Wednesday morning, confiscating heroin, cocaine and PCP that would have been sold wholesale to dealers in the city, law enforcement authorities said. “We are dealing with people who have guns under their pillows,” Deputy Chief Lori Pollock said at a news conference announcing the bust. NYPD detectives served 15 search warrants and recovered 14 firearms, multiple kilograms of heroin, gallons of liquefied PCP, and more than $100,000 cash and designer watches from the defendants’ homes about 4 a.m., authorities said. The dealers belonged to two related drug trafficking organizations that allegedly possessed and sold drugs wholesale in Manhattan and the Bronx. The pushers were selling heroin, cocaine and PCP around Upper Manhattan, the Lower East Side, and the Bronx, officials said. The drugs were known by the street names thriller, crush and OMG. All those arrested after a 20-month investigation had violent histories that include attempted murders, shootings and homicides, the officials said. They were expected to be arraigned Thursday afternoon.
Lighting in your home is one of those items that you don’t always notice when it has a good presence and feeling when you’re in the space. Although, when the lighting is poor and you are trying to perform a task, or you feel the opposite of how you would like to feel in the space, you notice it immediately. Lighting is for ambiance, aesthetics, tasks, and seeing better in your home. Think about your home and if it has all the lighting qualities you would like. If your answer is no, here are some tips on how to choose the perfect lighting for you and your family. Determine what your lighting goals are: Direct or task lighting is focused in the space you are trying to work. Ambient or indirect lighting is used for ambiance and for overall lighting of a space. Once chosen you can begin to choose lighting options. Each room in your home should have a mood you want to set, as well as a function you want your lighting to serve. Provide lighting for safety and security on the exterior of your home: Walkways, sidewalks, perimeter of your house, and the front entry should be lit with ambient lighting. Too dim of lighting on the exterior is a welcome sign for intruders. While too bright of exterior lighting is costly and disturbing to neighbors. Consider installing flood lights at the exterior corners of your home that are motion activated to further deter intruders. Follow the aesthetics and security lighting of your neighborhood for further guidelines as to what to implement at your own home. Walkways, sidewalks, perimeter of your house, and the front entry should be lit with ambient lighting. Too dim of lighting on the exterior is a welcome sign for intruders. While too bright of exterior lighting is costly and disturbing to neighbors. Consider installing flood lights at the exterior corners of your home that are motion activated to further deter intruders. Follow the aesthetics and security lighting of your neighborhood for further guidelines as to what to implement at your own home. Use exterior wall sconces for décor: Outdoor lighting doesn’t have to only be utilitarian. Wall sconces can provide washes of light against the exterior walls of your home to create ambiance in the evening hours. Directional sconces pointing upwards or downwards can focus on architectural elements on your home, and draw attention to exterior niches and plantings around your home. Inside your home use multiple light sources for one space: For rooms like the kitchen, bedrooms, and living spaces, multiple light sources will help you achieve a variety of functions and activities in that space. In the kitchen, under counter lights can provide great task lighting. While in a living room, opt for a floor lamp next to a couch or favorite reading chair. In bathrooms the lighting at the mirror should be free from shadows and glaring light. For high ceilings and modern décor use recessed lighting: “Can” light fixtures, so called because of the metal recessed “can” that is inserted into the ceiling and the light fixture fits inside. These fixtures are subtle and can be directional, and can be connected to dimmer switches to give a range of light from subtly dim to full brightness to illuminate an entire room. “Can” light fixtures, so called because of the metal recessed “can” that is inserted into the ceiling and the light fixture fits inside. These fixtures are subtle and can be directional, and can be connected to dimmer switches to give a range of light from subtly dim to full brightness to illuminate an entire room. In nurseries and kid’s rooms, remember night lighting: Think about the lighting for when children sleep when planning lighting requirements. Night lights can help small children from being scared, but can also help parents navigate through dark rooms. For nurseries consider a dim wall sconce, or table lamp that can be used for changing diapers, or rocking infants to sleep. In formal living and dining areas, research chandeliers wisely: In spaces that a formal chandelier is considered, choose one that will not date your space. Often time’s chandeliers are bought without thinking of the space and the décor that surrounds it. Chandeliers come in extremely simple designs that include faux candles, small bulbs, or a few lights to the ornate and expensive crystal varieties. Whichever is your décor choice, measure out the space, and ceiling height before ordering to ensure enough head room will be available below the hanging chandelier. Don’t be afraid when choosing lighting for your home, it can help your ambiance and mood in the space. If you need lighting help ideas get inspiration from lighting stores, catalogs, and online decor and fashion blogs/magazines. Just like the color of your rooms, lighting should enhance your space and make it feel warm and inviting! Freshome reader’s how do you choose lighting for your home? Have any suggestions for choosing fixtures in certain rooms? We’d love to hear from you!
Bars and restaurants across the city can again sell alcohol starting at 8 a.m. during the Calgary Stampede, the province's liquor authority has announced. The "blanket approval for early liquor service" will apply to all Class A, B and C liquor licensees in Calgary from July 8 to July 17, according to the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission (AGLC). Businesses along the route of the Stampede parade can also apply to open one hour earlier, at 7 a.m., on the day of the parade, July 8. "The Stampede is a major event in our province, bringing thousands of visitors to Calgary to enjoy the unique Stampede experience," the AGLC said in a release. The AGLC "is pleased to support liquor-licensed businesses with more flexible liquor service hours," it added. The commission introduced across-the-board early hours during the 2014 Calgary Stampede as a pilot project. At the time, Calgary police said they would monitor the situation closely for any changes in impaired driving or social disorder calls, but no major increase in problems was observed. For years prior, the AGLC had been granting permits for early liquor service for special events on a case-by-case basis. In February 2014, it also allowed bars province-wide to serve alcohol starting at 5 a.m. during the gold medal hockey game at the Olympics in Sochi, Russia. The AGLC also announced on Friday that it would eliminate the previous restriction on "happy hours" that prevented bars from selling drinks at discounted prices after 8 p.m.
Get the top 100 trends happening right NOW -- plus a FREE copy of our award-winning book. Our Research Methodology This article is one of 350,000 experiments. We use crowd filtering, big data and AI to identify insights. Travel and Discovery Platform Travel Noire was Acquired by Blavity - Sep 28, 2017 References: techcrunch References: travelnoire Multi-cultural media platform Blavity recently acquired a travel and discovery platform specifically for black millennials. The Travel Noire site provides "cultivated insights from a global community of black travelers," and is an example of how travel content can target very specific demographics when travel apps and sites are increasingly popular. Travel Noire covers travel-related topics such as food and style picks and goes beyond experiential travel tips to offer more general guidance millennials will find interesting (recent articles published include "How to Quit Your Job and Move Abroad" and "Travelanthropy and the Power of the Black Missionary"). The travel and discovery platform also hosts video content for unconventional travel, making it a good fit for the Blavity brand.
Russia appoints combat generals to command its new army at the border with Ukraine Tuesday, July 11, 2017 9:05:00 AM The Russian Defense Ministry has selected the commanders of the Southern Military District’s 8th combined-arms army, which is stationed on the border with Ukraine. The leadership has been reinforced with combat generals. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a closed decree appointing the officers to command the 8th Army, and all the organization steps are scheduled to be completed by the end of the year, after which the 8th army will begin carrying out its task in full. The officers in command of the 8th army were chosen very carefully. Notably, attention was given to the practical combat experience of the officers, giving preference to those who had proven themselves in combat. According to journalists, together with the 49th and 58th armies (stationed in Stavropol and Vladikavkaz respectively), the 8th army is supposed to provide security on the border with Ukraine. Ukraine’s intelligence services have accused several of the appointed generals of commanding Donbas militants. In July 2015 information came out that General Kuzovlev was commanding Russian regular forces in the Luhansk region, but the general himself denied it. General Tsekov was accused of commanding the 2nd brigade of LPR separatists. General Khudyakov, according to Ukrainian intelligence, supervised the shipment of weapons to the Donbas, and the Ukrainian media identified General Krasina as the commander of the 2nd Army Corps of the LPR separatists. Share Comments Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.
With less than four weeks to go in the 2016 election, some Republicans are beginning to distance themselves from or outright shun Donald Trump in their TV ads. New ads from House Republicans' campaign arm and Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) both, in different ways, try to get past the Trump question. And they could be a preview of what's to come. The ad from Toomey begins with the senator saying, "I have a lot of disagreements with Donald Trump. I've been very clear about that. But what's important for Pennsylvanians is having a senator who'll stand up to any president's bad ideas." A new ad from the National Republican Congressional Committee basically assumes that Hillary Clinton will be president, and makes no mention of Trump. "While Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi seek rubber stamps like Kim Myers to fast-track their agenda, our security and livelihoods are at risk," the narrator says in the ad for GOP candidate Claudia Tenney in New York's 22nd district. The latter ad hearkens back to a John McCain video from September, after his primary victory, in which he talks about a world in which Clinton is the president and needs to be held in-check. "My opponent, Representative Ann Kirkpatrick, is a good person," McCain said in the video. "But if Hillary Clinton is elected president, Arizona will need a senator who will act as a check — not a rubber stamp — for the White House." In a video posted by his Senate campaign, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) warns that if Democrat Hillary Clinton is elected president, "Arizona will need a senator who will act as a check ... for the White House." (John McCain) This isn't a new strategy, of course. As our own Amber Phillips wrote when the McCain video came out: McCain is pulling from a playbook Republicans used two decades ago to ditch the Republican presidential nominee. Before McCain, the highest-profile Republican to deliver that message was House Speaker Paul D. Ryan, who sent a fundraising email in August that read, "If we fail to protect our majority in Congress, we could be handing President Hillary Clinton a blank check." It looked to The Post's Jenna Johnson and Karen Tumulty that Ryan might have predicted Clinton would win in a landslide (because only a historic Clinton landslide would be enough to put the GOP House majority in peril). Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who also won his primary Tuesday, said something similar in June: "I feel deeply that no matter who is elected president of the United States," he told MSNBC, "we're going to need a Senate that has people willing to check and balance that." The Toomey ad, meanwhile, is a more direct repudiation of Trump and his politics. Toomey is basically acknowledging that this guy is weighing him down -- which is 100 percent true, if you look at polling in Pennsylvania -- and emphasizing that he's not a Trump Republican. Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Colo.) in August became the first House Republican to use this tack. These two new ads represent different approaches to the GOP's Trump problem. But if Trump can't right the ship, they're likely to be imitated in the days and weeks ahead.
My rematch santa went way above and beyond. Somehow, they peered into my brain and got me books that I've been wanting for ages. I had provided my santa with a short list of likes, and my goodreads account that chronicles many of the books I have read. For months, I've been thinking about reading an Ian M. Banks novel as they are one of the few scifi authors I haven't read before. So, my santa must have been hiding in the corner of my local bookstore as I perused the scifi section and passed on Banks novels only to regret it later. Well, now I am regret free thanks to my santa. The second book I received was right inline with the many left leaning books I have read. I read all sorts of left history books, but somehow I have never read A People's History by Zinn. Often I would feel like I was living a lie while talking to friends as they assumed I had read Zinn's popular work. I now no longer have to perpetuate this lie. My santa has released me into the light of the truth. Finally, my santa sent me a copy of their favorite book, The Narrows by M. Craig. If I judge this book only by its cover I can tell it is full of charm. It was obviously written by someone as an act of love. I opened the book, and it's freak'n signed :O. This book seems really special, and I am most looking forward to reading this tale. Thank you so much rematch santa. Your generosity is mind blowing and inspiring!
David McNew via Getty Images Women are speaking up about both the giant tragedies and the daily indignities that accompany their existence. I always thought it would be worse to have a girl. Between the sexual assault and the body image issues alone, I’ve been reliving the shitshow of female adolescence on my therapist’s couch long enough to know what it entails. When I became the mother of a son, I thought I’d dodged a bullet. All I had to do, I figured, was make sure he never raped anybody, and I’d be OK. These days, that seems like a pretty tall order. It’s a strange moment in the history of gender politics. Triggered by Harvey Weinstein’s decadeslong parade of consequence-free sexual predation, women are speaking up about both the giant tragedies and the daily indignities that accompany their existence. Women’s rage has become a breathing creature with teeth large enough to demand men take notice. The whole system teeters on its edge as we hold our breath, waiting to see whether it will fall or simply settle back into place. It’s an even stranger moment to be raising a son. Amid all the rage and the pain, society naturally finds a sliver of hope in the next generation. A chorus has risen: “Raise good men.” “We’ll teach our sons to be better.” And then we carefully pick our parenting battles while a gender war rages outside our doors. My efforts are starting to seem like grains of sand against a steady wave-crash of misogyny and rape culture. Of course, we all want to raise feminist sons. I wrote an article a few months ago detailing the ways I try to do just that. But my efforts are starting to seem like grains of sand against a steady wave-crash of misogyny and rape culture. In my previous article, I wrote, “In my sweat-soaked, sit-straight-up-in-bed feminist nightmares, I can imagine a future in which my own spawn makes some woman feel as voiceless as the boys in my high school once did, a world in which he blithely argues against the existence of male privilege and shit-talks the latest all-female remake on Twitter.“ Lately, I can imagine it even more clearly. My first-grade son is sweet, sensitive and loving. When we talk about the fact that there are people in this world who don’t think women are as good as men, just as there are people who will think he is less valuable because of his brown skin, he angrily denounces those people as “the worst.” And yet, my son loves Power Rangers, “except the pink and the yellow ones.” He scoffs also at the pink Wonder Woman shirt he used to wear before he started school and began picking up gender stereotypes like a communal cold. He seemed to enjoy a dance he was doing at school, until he found out it was ballet, which, he shouted angrily, he doesn’t like. These may seem like small or harmless stereotypes, but to me, they’re clear warning shots about who’s doing the teaching around here, and it isn’t me. It’s the kid who told him that boys don’t kiss boys so convincingly that none of my assurances that yes, honey, they most certainly do can pierce his belief. It’s the sports he sees on TV and the ones that the whole neighborhood cheers for through our too-close and poorly insulated walls. It’s Peppa Pig fat-shaming Daddy Pig. It’s the part in nearly every music video we try to watch where the camera zooms in on bouncing, objectified female body parts. It’s the fact that he actually really does know the “B-word” — even though I didn’t believe him when he told me he did — because he hears it tossed out in the street like a gum wrapper. It’s which section of the store where we can find the Wonder Woman merchandise. It’s the fact that there are sections at all. Children never fully belong to their parents. I started losing mine to the world of men years ago. My voice is strong, but what chance does it have against the chorus of voices ready to drown me out every time he steps out the front door or turns on the TV? Being told to “raise a good man” is starting to feel like the devil is telling me to keep cool while steadily raising the thermostat in hell. Worse, when I look around at the adult men I know, I’m not sure exactly who I’m supposed to be raising him to emulate. Even the men whom I love and trust seem tied up in knots about this gender business ― one gets the impression they are constantly fighting against their instincts, carefully choosing their words while I carefully arrange my face to receive them so that we can all feel good about remaining friends. To be intimate with these men is to always be waiting, a little, for the microaggression that may or may not come. If we gain anything from the sheer magnitude of horrendous stories to come out in the last few weeks, it’s the knowledge that the problems we are now facing are systemic. Parents alone didn’t create Weinstein and his many, many counterparts, and parents certainly aren’t who shielded them from consequence for so long. Ultimately, for my son to become a good man, he needs more than a strong, take-no-shit, feminist mother. He needs to see her values reflected in the media, in advertising, in pop culture, among his friends and at school as well as at home.
Image caption Frigide Barjot (centre) has electrified the anti campaign While same-sex marriage is now well established in some European countries, proposals to introduce it in France have provoked a strong backlash. Two weeks ago, French opponents of gay marriage and adoption staged one of the biggest demonstrations of popular feeling that the country has seen in years. Some 340,000 people, according to police, marched through central Paris to oppose a government bill that goes before the National Assembly on Tuesday. Supporters of gay marriage have staged their own shows of strength, and believe they have public opinion on their side. This weekend some 125,000 rallied in Paris, police said. But it is the scale of the "manif pour tous", against gay marriage and adoption, that took many outside observers by surprise. Normally it is the political left in France that puts on these mass shows of support. But this was unmistakeably a conservative protest, backed - in the main - by right-wing parties and the principal religions. When I see the people who protest against gay marriage, I am just so disappointed for France. The family today is not the same as the family yesterday Magali, Gay marriage supporter So what does it show? The existence of a silent French majority, slow to act but formidable when aroused? The latent powers of the Catholic Church to mobilise the faithful when an issue is sufficiently grave? Provincial hostility to a metropolitan elite that dominates debate and puts an ever smoother liberal spin on issues of right and wrong? Yes, a bit, to all of the above. But there are a couple of other factors too. Shrewd pitch First, the antis have run an intelligent and media-savvy campaign. From the start they recognised the dangers of being seen as the twitching arm of reactionary homophobia. So they have made sure they constitute a broad-based "citizens" movement, with no formal links to churches or politicians. Image caption Observers have been surprised that so many people came out in public opposition to gay marriage And in their spokeswoman - a performer who goes by the pseudonym Frigide Barjot - opponents of gay marriage have found a perfect antidote to charges that they are superannuated bigots. A 50-year-old, blonde-haired extrovert who describes herself as an "anarchist of love", Barjot has become a national figure in recent weeks, with constant appearances on radio and television. She takes care at every interview to state that her arguments are not directed at gay people, but at the proposed law, as framed. "If what was on offer were a law that further enshrined rights for gay couples, that enriched their unions, and got rid of the discriminations and injustices that undoubtedly still exist - then I would support it," she says. Instead - according to Barjot - what President Francois Hollande has promised is a law that will "de-structure" society by "destroying the concept in law of mother and father" and changing the time-honoured essence of the family. Everybody affected The other reason why gay marriage has provoked such a powerful debate in France has to do with the nature of the country's institutions. France is practically unique in Europe in making it obligatory, for couples who marry, to do so in a civil ceremony, with potential jail terms for priests who conduct a religious ceremony first. In other countries, priests, rabbis or imams who carry out weddings are also acting as civil officials, and the marriage conducted in church, synagogue or mosque is duly registered in law. Image caption "We read the Bible gaily": gay marriage supporters at a march in Strasbourg This is the case in other "Catholic" countries like Spain and Portugal, which have recently adopted gay marriage. Indeed the absence of long-lasting controversy over the issue in Spain and Portugal is often adduced as an argument by supporters of gay marriage in France. However - as a study by the liberal French think-tank the Thomas More Foundation has noted - in Spain and Portugal people who oppose gay marriage can continue to get married in church, content with the feeling that "their" marriage has nothing to do with the civil one organised by the state and now open to gay people. But in France, there can be no such separation. The civil marriage in France is compulsory, and so if there is a change in the civil code on marriage, it affects everybody. Again, this may help explain why so many people feel so strongly about the issue. The antis have certainly been emboldened by the success of their 13 January demonstration. On Friday they were received at the Elysee Palace, where they restated to President Hollande their insistence that the issue be put to a referendum. They argue that to extend full-blown marriage to gay people is to play sorcerer's apprentice with the most important building-block of society. They say that the right to gay adoption will remove from children the fundamental right to have a father and a mother. Manifesto pledge The pressure has had some effect. A clause that would have legalised the use of sperm donations to enable lesbian couples to have children has been dropped - though it may be reintroduced later in a separate bill. However for all the spring in their stride, opponents of gay marriage are also aware that their chances of blocking France's law are small at best. One reason is that gay marriage was clearly presented in President Hollande's election manifesto last May. The French people cannot argue that it has been foisted upon them unexpectedly. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The BBC's Hugh Schofield said the organisers of the 13 January rally did not want to be seen as homophobic And for the president - who is under pressure on the economic front for not being sufficiently left-wing - sticking to gay marriage is a useful way of burnishing his progressive credentials. But the bigger reason why the anti movement will have difficulty building on their momentum is that gay marriage is actually supported by most of the French. It is not a huge majority, but polls are consistent in showing that around 55-60% believe it is the right thing to do. (In comparison, only about 50% support adoption, and there is a majority against assisted births.) Over the weekend, demonstrations took place in Paris and across France in support of the government's bill. There the arguments in favour of gay marriage got their outing: that it is a logical expression of equality; that it is just; that there is no evidence of it leading to a breakdown in society; that children brought up by gay couples are perfectly happy; that such children already exist by the tens of thousand so need legal recognition; that heterosexual marriage is hardly sacrosanct when so many end in divorce, and when so many children are born out of wedlock. As a young woman called Magali at Sunday's demonstration in Paris put it: "When I see the people who protest against gay marriage, I am just so disappointed for France. "They talk about family first, but they should see that society has changed. The family today is not the same as the family yesterday. We have to rethink the whole concept of family." Arguments that a majority of the French - and a bigger majority among the French young - would appear to agree with.
Stupid ES6 tricks Emil Ong Blocked Unblock Follow Following Oct 14, 2016 Here are a few ES6 techniques that aren’t really tricks, just exploiting some of the new syntax either to reduce code, improve readability, or possibly just have fun. I’m planning on collecting more here, so please feel free to bookmark and check back every once in a while. Also, if you have some fun tricks that I don’t mention here, please write a response! Destructuring Destructuring is my hands-down favorite part of ES6 syntax. It’s also in Node 6 now too, so I use it on both the frontend and the backend. Check out Mozilla’s explanation if you’re not familiar with the basic concept, but TL;DR it let’s you assign variables to deeply nested parts of a value easily. Simple examples: Renaming One feature of destructuring you might not know about is renaming while destructuring. If you’ve used ES6 modules, you might know of the as operator for renaming imports and wondered, as I did, why as doesn’t work in destructuring. Well, that’s because destructuring has a different syntax! In conjunction with default parameters Default parameters let you assign values to parameters that are not passed by the user, but what if you planned to destructure when they do pass in params? No problem… you have a “left-hand side” of an assignment (a.k.a. an lvalue) with default parameters, so you can use destructuring there too! Destructuring itself also has default values, so you can intermix the two! Assigns, branches, and leaves You can destructure deeply into an object (or array!), but intermediate keys of objects don’t get assigned when you do that. What if you want both the intermediate keys (branch nodes) and some deep node too? Just ask for it! In other words, as we show in the example below, you simply declare any variable you want (intermediate in this case) and use it again as a specification for descending to another level (intermediate -> nested). Idiomatic command line arguments for Node Node is great for writing scripts. For command line argument you can extract them from process.argv. If you’re doing anything complicated, or really anything intended to be used by humans, you’re best off using something like yargs to parse them. But… if you’ve got a script that simply takes a small number of arguments, you can use array destructuring to skip the first two arguments (usually the node path itself and then the script path) and assign the rest to variables, e.g. Enhanced Object Literals The upgrades to the object literal syntax are really cool and we used some examples above with the “property value shorthand.” The first technique is not a trick at all so much as a way to avoid binding if you don’t need it. Say you want to expose a variable or a function externally, but also want to use it within functions you’re exporting as a utility object. The technique of declaring them outside your returned object and then including them below allows you to avoid binding. With JSX Ok, so this is not properly ES6, but you can use some ES6 features like property value shorthand very conveniently with JSX spread/rest syntax. Object.assign Object.assign is a fantastic new addition that’s great for keeping things immutable (or at least only doing ephemeral mutations to intermediate objects). But did you know you can use it for setting array values too? What are yours? Got any favorite ES6 tricks or techniques that I missed? Respond with them below!
For more than a year, The Secret Society of Film Masons (aka #TSSOFM on Twitter, Instagram, and other social media platforms) has been meeting most Wednesdays at the Alamo Drafthouse in Ashburn, Virginia, to witness cinema’s best, worst, and weirdest. They launched their film club with Alfred Hitchcock’s undeniable classic Vertigo, and have peppered their weeks with equally brilliant movies like The Third Man, The Red Shoes, The Searchers, Goodfellas, and Jackie Brown. However, some of the more lively discussions have been borne out of the Not-Quite-Hollywood endeavors like Maniac Cop 2, The Ice Pirates, and Turkish Star Wars. Quality is not a criterion to exclude a film. I was there at the first meeting and quickly rearranged my life to ensure that I made the rest. From the start, original Alamo DC programmer Aaron Prescott would ask members for their cinematic wish lists – those movies they missed on their first go ‘round, but have been aching to see projected on that holy silver screen. At every opportunity, I would urge him to accept William Shatner’s infamous Star Trek V: The Final Frontier into the club. These brief conversations often ended in a jovial dismissal. Why would anyone show up to a screening of the often-cited Worst Star Trek Film? But is it? Certainly Star Trek V has its issues, and was probably doomed from the start thanks to a writers’ strike, Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade stealing ILM away from the production, and producer Harve Bennett lacking any real faith in Shatner’s concept. “What Does God Need With A Starship?” The very idea of the crew penetrating The Great Barrier at the center of the Galaxy only to encounter a God-Thing feels ridiculous, but very much in tone with the original series. The crew of the USS Enterprise bumbles about for most of the running time. Sulu and Chekhov are pretty much relegated to flat-falling comic relief, Scotty is an embarrassment aboard his own ship, and Uhura is offered little more than a fan dance. Star Trek V is not Star Trek II. No self-respecting Trekkie/Trekker would argue such a thing. However, the film nails the trinity of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. Their friendship is the beating heart of the franchise. Sitting around the campfire, roasting marsh melons, and attempting an analysis of Row, Row, Row Your Boat, the triumvirate basks in the knowledge that they are each other’s family. This scene should warm even the most cynical of cynics. And for me, makes Star Trek V: The Final Frontier absolutely essential Star Trek viewing. After the torch of cinema was past from Aaron Prescott to new programmer Gabriel Ruzin, and after nearly two years of weekly pestering, the Alamo Drafthouse broke down & added Star Trek V to their March #TSSOFM schedule. Victory! Now the real work had to begin…promotion. Taking to Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Tumblr, Smoke Signals, Carrier Pigeon, and whatever other social media avenues we had at our disposal, the Secret Society bombarded the internet with Star Trek V love! After all, the film had never screened at an Alamo Drafthouse before, and most likely hasn’t screened anywhere else in its 27 years since release. We reached out to director William Shatner for a pre-taped introduction, and received a polite tweet of “Thanks, but no thanks.” We reached out to George Takei, Walter Koenig, and Nichelle Nichols but we were unable to penetrate their busy internet celebrity lifestyles. The greatest words of encouragement came from Linda Howard, who played The Cat Woman on Nimbus III that lost her life after an exchange of some serious Kirk Fu. Mrs. Howard tweeted her encouragement, and spoke fondly of her four days of shoot-time and six hours of makeup application. Talked to one cast member, Dork achievement unlocked. Away we went! After a month of anticipation, Star Trek V Day (3/30/16) was finally upon The Secret Society of Film Masons. Some of my greatest joy came from stalking the website’s ticket sales. 10 tickets sold, 20 tickets sold, 30 tickets sold….63 tickets sold! Frankly, as one of the most die-hard Star Trek V defenders, I was astounded by this number. Considering classic movies like Johnny Guitar, The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg, and Sunset Boulevard failed to make such numbers truly indicates the passion for Star Trek, and the real rarity of a Final Frontier screening. Unfortunately, the usual #TSSOFM MC, Gabriel Ruzin, had business in the Alamo’s motherland of Austin, Texas, and was unable to host this historic event. The terrifyingly privilege of introducing the film to the electric crowd fell on my shoulders. I will forever be grateful to Gabe, and the staff of the Alamo for allowing such a fanboy to take that stage. I remember very little of what I said. My heart was beating out of my chest with nervous excitement. Here was my opportunity to defend a flawed but deeply loved film. Maybe I was a little too protective of the movie, maybe even a little too self-deprecating. I was with the choir. These folks were here already, the converted. I left the stage. The lights went dark. The pre-credit introduction of Nimbus III, and the laughing Vulcan Sybok projected itself in front of us. Jerry Goldsmith’s iconic score soared, and the title Star Trek V: The Final Frontier beamed before our eyes. There was a lump in my throat, a tightness in my chest, and tears in my eyes. It was a level of cine-freak glee I have never experienced in a theater before. But would the audience feel even an inkling of that emotion? The Yosemite shore leave won the audience early on. Plenty of chuckles around that campfire, and once you’re won over by Kirk, Spock, and McCoy then that friendship can carry you through some of those wonkier moments. The question at the center of the galaxy of “Why are we here?” lives and dies with that trio, and resonates within all of us. My greatest joy of the screening came when Sybok confronts the triumvirate in the observation room. Sybok backs McCoy into a corner, “Your pain is deepest of all. I can feel it, can’t you?” Over his shoulder, McCoy’s father has his final moments in life. A pointed silence enveloped the theater as we bore witness to real emotion, real heartbreak, real regret, real pain. For eight minutes, there was no better moment in Star Trek. The Final Frontier validated for the Secret Society of Film Masons. The film rushed to its climax. I passed a note to my wife, “I do not want this to end.” But all good things… Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and Sybok encounter the God-Thing on Sha Ka Ree. “What does God need with a Starship?” Uproarious laughter from the crowd. Captain Klaa fails to get his Terran. Kirk doesn’t hug Spock in front of the Klingons. Kirk, Spock, and McCoy back around the campfire as brothers. Credits rolled. A round of thunderous applause. After the film, the crowd didn’t want to leave the theater. We gathered around the screen. There were a few “Worst Star Trek” responses, but plenty of “Not bad”s, and even more “That was great”s. I learned that we had guests from Maryland, Pennsylvania, and even North Carolina. One lover of Trek traveled five hours to reach The Alamo, and had to skedaddle to make it home in some reasonable speed. Eventually we had to leave the theater for the next show time, but we lingered in the bar until the next day broke. Sharing our surprise, and glee for a film that’s rarely celebrated amongst the cannon. Is Star Trek V the worst Star Trek film? Is there such a thing? If something is not wholly good, does that mean it’s wholly bad? Just because a film is not Citizen Kane, does not mean it’s not worth our time and attention. When William Shatner envisioned this story, I imagine that he intended for it to be viewed with the reverence that the #TSSOFM offered. I would only ask that Star Trek V’s myriad of detractors revisit the film with an open heart, and an eye for the value found within. Is Star Trek V the worst film of the franchise? Tell us your thoughts in the comments section below.
Pull up a chair. You might want to sit down for this news. You’ve probably heard of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). For those who haven’t here’s a quick summary: PCBs were used in the 1930s through the 1970s in electrical equipment, plastics, flooring and many other industrial products, until they were later banned in 1979. They have been linked to cancer in animals, endocrine damage, fertility and other reproductive damage, as well as memory, learning and other neurological effects. Almost all of the PCBs sold in the U.S. where created by, you guessed it, Monsanto. While Monsanto defends itself against potential legal charges, the United States House of Representatives intends to give Monsanto the ultimate gift in such a situation—immunity against what is anticipated to be millions of dollars’ worth of damages the company faces linked to its development and distribution of PCBs. Congress is currently working to reform its Toxic Substances Control Act, with the addition of one paragraph that lets Monsanto off the hook for any legal liability for human, wildlife, or environmental destruction the company may have caused as a result of PCBs. The clause, found at section 7(c) of H.R. 2576, would block PCB lawsuits by state and local governments, as well as American citizens. It would even prevent states from passing their own PCB regulations. The legislative provision for PCBs, along with several other sticking points, must be resolved before Congress passes the new legislation revamping the way that thousands of chemicals are regulated in the US. While many people agree that the chemical legislation has been in serious need of being overhauled, this new legislation will largely determine how the chemical industry is regulated, who can sue, and possibly even which chemicals will be allowed or disallowed. But for some unknown reason that neither the federal lawmakers or Monsanto will take credit for, the new wording serves to protect only a single company—Monsanto, not the thousands of people who may have been harmed by PCBs in the United States. The government itself knows about the very serious health threats linked to PCBs, as is clear in its “Health Effects of PCBs” article on the Environmental Protection Agency’s own website. The Environmental Working Group criticizes the clause for being “written so broadly it could even stop states and individuals from suing under negligence, product safety, clean air, and clean water laws for damages related to PCBs. At stake are a staggering amount of human and environmental devastation – and a lot of Monsanto’s money.” In Anniston, Alabama, over 4,600 people have come together in a class-action lawsuit to hold Monsanto accountable for the damage it caused there, including allegations that the company has poisoned multiple properties in the city. Earlier evidence suggested that Monsanto may also have been involved in a decades-long cover up about the serious health risks linked to its chemical herbicide known as Roundup. Check out my post “Has Monsanto Covered Up Evidence of Roundup’s Health Risks for Decades?” Why would the government grant immunity to one corporation against the damage it caused in the midst of potentially millions of dollars’ worth of lawsuits? According to the New York Times, Monsanto insists that it did not request this immunity and the House of Representatives denies that the legislation is a gift to the only company it benefits, but I’m not buying it. The House of Representatives is supposed to represent the millions of taxpayers in the US and not the one multinational corporation with a reputation for environmental and human health degradation – the company sometimes referred to as “Monsatan.” Tell the government that the “Monsanto PCB Shield,” also being referred to as the “Monsanto Bailout Clause” must go. The company is not above the law and needs to be accountable for the damage to both humans and the environment it has caused. Sign the petition “Don’t Let Monsanto Get Away with Poisoning Anniston!” Dr. Michelle Schoffro Cook, PhD, DNM, is an international best-selling and 19-time published author whose works include: Weekend Wonder Detox: Quick Cleanses to Strengthen Your Body and Enhance Your Beauty. This article originally appeared on Care2.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Sunday U.S. leader Barack Obama does not deserve the Nobel Peace Prize he was awarded, the EFE news agency reported MOSCOW, October 11 (RIA Novosti) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Sunday U.S. leader Barack Obama does not deserve the Nobel Peace Prize he was awarded, the EFE news agency reported. Obama was named winner of the Nobel Peace prize on Friday for his "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples." "We are witnessing for the first time a nominee being given an award he has done nothing to deserve: it's the prize for an intention which is still too far from being put into life," the agency quoted Chavez as saying. The outspoken Venezuelan president said awarding Obama is the same as awarding "a baseball player who, in the beginning of the season, says he's going to win all matches he takes part in" without waiting for him to actually win them. "What has Obama done to deserve this prize? The jury explained its decision by his urge for peace without nuclear weapons, but forgot about the presence of his troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and his intention to occupy military bases in Colombia," he said. Since taking office, Obama has promoted the idea of a nuclear-free world, entering into talks with Russia on a new nuclear disarmament treaty and pushing the concept last month when he became the first U.S. president to chair a session of the UN Security Council. However, given U.S. involvement in wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as cross-border drone attacks on targets in Pakistan that have resulted in civilian deaths, the choice is proving a controversial one in some quarters. Speaking to reporters outside the White House on Friday, Obama said he felt unworthy to be in the company of previous winners, but that he will accept the award as "a call to action."
Instagram is not just for selfies anymore, it can also be used more mindfully by filling your stream with nuggets of bite-sized learning you can “snack on” while you’re on-the-go. And I’m not just talking about inspirational quotes! What I’m talking about is useful knowledge that you can use in conversations and to help inspire your curiosity. Instagram is the ideal mobile app to combine visual inspiration and learning in a way that dramatically increases the amount of novelty, unpredictability and complexity in your daily information diet. To get started, here are some of the best educational Instagram accounts that I highly recommending following to spike both your curiosity and dopamine levels: 1. Science This fascinating Instagram account is dedicating to helping you understand how the building blocks of the Universe fit together with science, which is something definitely worthing learning about! 2. Tech The pace of technological innovation is at breakneck speeds these days. It can be hard to keep up with all the latest discoveries and innovations coming from all the amazing creative minds in the world today. This Instagram account will help you stay informed. 3. NASA What could possibly be more inspiring than contemplating the vastness of outer space? NASA has a great Instagram account that gives you an ever-changing window on the glory and enchantment of the Cosmos. The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is also a must-follow account for astronomy buffs. 4. U.S. Department of the Interior Explore the beauty and wonder of the natural world that lies within the borders of the United States. The Department of the Interior is charged with the task of protecting America’s vast wilderness. Hopefully, they can inspire enough people to go explore for themselves and then fight to protect this amazing Planet. 5. Astrophysics Impress your friends with your knowledge of Astrophysics. This Instagram account is full of insanely beautiful starscapes and great explanations for how the mysterious laws of the physics and the Universe operate. 6. Futurism Pledge allegiance to the future. This fun and inspiring Instagram account explores how new scientific discoveries are shaping the future of the world. Follow their weekly guides to new discoveries in science and technology to discover the new possibilities that science is regularly uncovering. This Week in Space: New Alien Planets, Images of the First-Ever Predicted Supernova, And More: Futurism.com/ThisWeekInSpace A photo posted by Futurism (@futurism) on Dec 19, 2015 at 2:11pm PST 7. The History Channel I think history is underrated. It won’t make you rich, but it may make you smarter enough to not make the same mistakes that have been made by people, cultures and societies over and over again for eons. The History Channel’s Instagram is a good way to spark your interest in learning from historical events (another good one is History in Pics). In 1799, during Napoleon Bonaparte’s military campaign in Egypt, a French soldier named Pierre Francois Bouchard discovered the Rosetta Stone. This artifact would provide the key to cracking the code of Egyptian hieroglyphics, a written language that had been dead for almost 2,000 years. A photo posted by HISTORY (@history) on Nov 30, 2015 at 8:19am PST 8. Curiosity Spark your curiosity with daily, bite-sized educational insights. For example, can you believe that a headless chicken named Mike lived without a head for 18 months? Seriously interesting stuff! 9. TED An educational Instagram from the people dedicated to sharing ideas worth spreading. The TED Conference (which stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design) inspires with the stories of their incredible speaker’s lives and all kinds of amazing facts about the world we live in. 10. National Geographic I spent a lot of my childhood reading my parent’s massive library of yellow National Geographic magazines. Now I can follow them for daily inspiration in my Instagram feed. I love the way their stories celebrate the adventure and diversity of life on Earth. You should also follow my Instagram account DIY Genius for creative inspiration and thought-provoking memes. What Did I Miss? What are your favorite Instagram accounts for learning and inspiration? Let me know in the comments below. Did you learn something new from this post? Please share the learning inspiration with your friends.
From movie shoots to search-and-rescue operations to your neighborhood park, drones are everywhere. This week, the Federal Aviation Administration released data revealing the exact whereabouts of the country’s registered drones. Among the findings: Los Angeles County is the drone capital of America, with 12,250 registered drones. (Hello, Hollywood!) In second place is Arizona’s Maricopa County, home to a number of Phoenix-based aerial photography companies. Looking at the data from a per capita perspective, Hinsdale County, Colorado wins out, with 5.2 drones for every 1,000 people. (Though only 774 people live there.) Check out our map below to see the places where drones are most popular. Made by companies like DJI and Parrot, consumer-grade drones typically feature four rotors, a camera and autopilot-style technology, making them surprisingly easy to fly. Their uses range from the recreational, like a hobbyist taking a spin out in their backyard, to the professional, like a construction company using them to keep tabs on a big dig. They’re also a booming business — consumer drone sales will top $2 billion by 2024, by some estimates. While plenty of drones likely go unregistered and thus untracked, the FAA’s data offers the best look yet at America’s drone hotspots. The Federal Aviation Administration late last year began keeping track of the drone explosion by requiring owners of certain models to register their aircraft online. Methodology: The Federal Aviation Administration’s registration data contains 38,975 records for the United States for a total of 459,384 drones. For each record, we matched the zip code to its county. In the occasional case where a zip code spans multiple counties, the zip code was matched to the county with the largest population. A total of 2,049 drones could not be matched to a county due to invalid zip codes in the original dataset. For per capita calculations, we used the 2015 population estimates for the counties. Some drone owners register multiple drones, so the numbers here represent the minimum number of drones. Write to Alex Fitzpatrick at alex.fitzpatrick@time.com.
Catalan independence leader Carles Puigdemont asked Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to meet “anywhere but Spain” – where arrest warrants are pending for him and four other members of his cabinet – following last night’s election result. Speaking to reporters in Brussels, Puigdemont said that the Spanish government must recognise the electorate’s will. Yesterday night (21 December), 7.5 million Catalans voted in a record turnout (more than 83%) for the fourth time in as many years. Although the pro-independence coalition (Together for Catalonia, Republican Left, and the Popular Unity party) gained a total of 70 seats, enough for an absolute majority in the 135-seats Catalan parliament, they did not receive the majority of votes. The unionist party Ciudadanos came first with 25.4% of the vote, at the expense of Spain’s governing conservative party (4.2%). The Spanish socialist party got 13.9% of the vote, and Comú (the Catalan branch of leftwing Podemos), who refused to position itself on the question of independence, gained 7.4% of the vote. Pro-independence parties win Catalan elections Pro-independence parties won an absolute majority of seats during regional elections held in Catalonia on Thursday (21 December), despite the ‘unionist’ party Ciudadanos coming on top. However, Puigdemont was confident that last night vote brought Catalonia one step closer to independence: “If you look at the figures it is clear. We managed to vote en masse and without incidents – and under the rules of the Spanish state!” Spain dissolved the Catalan government after it held an unconstitutional referendum on 1 October, which was followed by a unilateral declaration of independence. “Catalonia wants to be an independent state. We want to vote to decide of our future. It is not a criminal act,” said Puigdemont. Asked whether he will return in Spain, he avoided a clear-cut answer and said he needs to receive recognition and reassurance from Spain’s prime minister Mariano Rajoy that the central government will respect yesterday’s vote. “If they respect the ballot, I can go back tomorrow,” he said. He wants to meet with the prime minister anywhere but in Spain, and is ready to talk “about anything”, without preconditions. He went on to accuse Rajoy of unilaterality, something Madrid has accused him of: “The way of this parliament has always been through dialogue. Unilaterality comes from the other side. If the other side does not respect dialogue, everybody needs to adapt to this scheme.” On the EU, Puigdemont was cautious in choosing his words. EU institutions have kept silent on the issue, repeating that Spain’s constitutional order must be respected. The Spanish Constitution is based “on the indissoluble unity of the Spanish Nation” – which is de facto incompatible with Catalan independence. He said he is not asking the European Commission to change its mind, but speaking in French, he said: “the vote of 7.5 million European citizens gave us the right to be listened to”.
Urijah Faber posted a message on Twitter that stated MMA veteran Joe Camacho had passed away of a heart attack early Monday morning. He passed at 5 AM to a heart attack. Joe Was 43 yrs old. Joe camacho. pic.twitter.com/Usm9RB3SOw — Urijah Faber (@UrijahFaber) December 16, 2013 More from MMA Frenzy Camacho, who ran the Joe Camacho Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy, competed as a lightweight inside the cage. He was 13-19 in his career, including a pair of 2013 fights for Bellator in which he lost via decision. His most recent bout came on November 2 when he lost to Cleber Luciano at Bellator 106. Camacho’s first official fight came in 1999, as he lost to Joe Stevenson. He strung together a five-five unbeaten streak between 2006-08, and competed against the likes of Fabricio Camoes, Roger Huerta and Antonio McGee during his career. If you wish to leave him a message, you can do so on the official Facebook page for the gym. Other people involved in the MMA world sent in their condolences to the news. Sad to say that my friend, MMA fighter, Jiu-Jitsu Blackbelt & all around great guy, Joe Camacho has passed on from a Heart Attack. RIP Joe — Big John McCarthy (@JohnMcCarthyMMA) December 16, 2013 Joe Camacho passed away. Always a very nice helpful person looking to spread knowledge and offer help. God speed to his family and friends. — Brett Cooper (@BrettCoopermma) December 16, 2013
“If I had as many friends as that ant, I’d run for governor.” – Aardvark from The Ant and the Aardvark The second alpha of the Artful Aardvark (to become 17.10) has now been released! This milestone features images for Lubuntu, Kubuntu, Ubuntu Mate, Ubuntu Budgie and Ubuntu Kylin. Pre-releases of the Artful Aardvark are not encouraged for anyone needing a stable system or anyone who is not comfortable running into occasional, even frequent breakage. They are, however, recommended for Ubuntu flavour developers and those who want to help in testing, reporting, and fixing bugs as we work towards getting this release ready. Alpha 2 includes some software updates that are ready for wider testing, however, it is quite an early set of images, so you should expect some bugs. While these Alpha 2 images have been tested and do work, except as noted in the release notes, Ubuntu developers are continuing to improve the Artful Aardvark. In particular, once newer daily images are available, system installation bugs identified in the Alpha 2 installer should be verified against the current daily image before being reported in Launchpad. Using an obsolete image to re-report bugs that have already been fixed wastes your time and the time of developers who are busy trying to make 17.10 the best Ubuntu release yet. Always ensure your system is up to date before reporting bugs. Lubuntu Lubuntu is a flavour of Ubuntu based on LXDE and focused on providing a very lightweight distribution. The Lubuntu 17.10 Alpha 2 images can be downloaded from: More information about Lubuntu 17.10 Alpha 2 can be found here: Also in this milestone is Lubuntu Next, an experimental flavour of Ubuntu based on LXQt and focused on providing a modern, lightweight, Qt-based distribution. The Lubuntu Next 17.10 Alpha 2 images can be downloaded from: More information about Lubuntu Next 17.10 Alpha 2 can be found here: Kubuntu Kubuntu is the KDE-based flavour of Ubuntu. It uses the KDE Plasma desktop and includes a wide selection of tools from the KDE project. The Kubuntu 17.10 Alpha 2 images can be downloaded from: More information about Kubuntu 17.10 Alpha 2 can be found here: Ubuntu MATE Ubuntu MATE is the MATE Desktop based flavour of Ubuntu. It is ideal for those who want the most out of their computers and prefer a traditional desktop metaphor. The Ubuntu MATE 17.10 Alpha 2 images can be downloaded from: More information about Ubuntu MATE 17.10 Alpha 2 can be found here: Ubuntu Budgie Ubuntu Budgie is the Budgie Desktop based flavour of Ubuntu. Combines the simplicity and elegance of the Budgie interface to produce a traditional desktop orientated distro with a modern paradigm. The Ubuntu Budgie 17.10 Alpha 2 images can be downloaded from: More information about Ubuntu Budgie 17.10 Alpha 2 can be found here: Ubuntu Kylin Ubuntu Kylin is a flavour of Ubuntu that is more suitable for Chinese users. The Ubuntu Kylin 17.10 Alpha 2 images can be downloaded from: More information about Ubuntu Kylin 17.10 Alpha 2 can be found here: If you’re interested in following the changes as we further develop the Artful Aardvark, we suggest that you subscribe to the ubuntu-devel-announce list. This is a low-traffic list (a few posts a week) carrying announcements of approved specifications, policy changes, alpha releases and other exciting events. A big thank you to the developers and testers for their efforts to pull together this Alpha release! Originally posted to the ubuntu-devel-announce mailing list on Fri Jul 28 02:43:09 UTC 2017 by Simon Quigley and Dustin Krysak, on behalf of the Ubuntu Release Team
Greetings Lords, this is Fantasy War Tactics development team! Today’s topic of the developer’s note is ‘Hero Awakening’, which will be a core feature of season 2 and we believe a lot of you should be curious about it. During a year of service, there were many feedbacks about utilizing heroes, and we also had tons of discussions about how to expand the related contents. Reuse of unused heroes is necessary but there were limits in rebalancing these heroes by changing their skills. We concluded such problem comes from the structure that limits those heroes’ enhancement. So we were seeking the way to solve this problem and give a new kind of joy to you: The Hero Awakening. [Hero Awakening] Hero Awakening sets two big goals. First one is to encourage you to reuse the unpopular heroes and the second one is expansion of hero enhancement Unused heroes will be reused by their absolutely overwhelming power of awaken skills and stats. We will awaken heroes monthly to make you try out new strategies and parties. Also, upon awakening, heroes can have new equipment called ‘rune’. With time and effort, everyone can obtain runes in the world conquest or Nephthys dungeons. Greater runes can be farmed in competitive dungeons to make you challenge against more contents and feel being rewarded and enhance your heroes. [What changes by awakening?] Level 70 ★5 Heroes can be awakened by using awakening materials. The materials will be able to farmed in the Nephthys dungeon. So what will change by awakening heroes? The changes are as follows: ▶ Exclusive Aura Awakened heroes will have Auras to make visual difference from unawaken heroes. ▶ Awaken skill Awaken skill is the symbol of the awakening. Awaken skills are achieved upon awakening heroes, and they will be designed to have a fierce damage and reflect each hero’s characteristics. How to combine and when to use awaken skills will play a significant role in achieving victory. Awaken skills have overwhelming visual effects and powers, so they will have different activation mechanism from ordinary skills. ▶ Stat increase and max level unlock Upon awakening, heroes’ stats will be increased and their maximum level will be unlocked just like the rebirth. Also, stat bonuses gained from level ups after awakening will differ to that of rebirth, so the heroes can be more powerful than before. ▶ Rune slot unlock Rune slots will be unlocked upon awakening and runes can be equipped right away. Up to 3 runes can be equipped and they have stat bonuses similar to the ordinary equipment. Runes can be enhanced and upon having a specific level of successful enhancement, special options that differ from ordinary equipment will be added to them. Also, each rune has its unique specialized stat so the heroes can be used in more various ways upon equipping runes. As we’ve mentioned before, runes have ranks and lesser runes can be easily obtained from the world conquest and awakened heroes will be enhanced easily by lesser runes. With the enhanced awakened heroes, you will be able to challenge more competitive dungeons to farm greater runes and make progress on your hero enhancement. We’ve talked about contents related with awakening. Information above is in development process so there are rooms for changes. In the next developer’s note, we’re going to introduce new areas and scenarios, with big and small upcoming changes in season 2. To all of you who have supported FWT and waited for a long time, we once again thank you sincerely, and we will keep our season 2 development in progression. Lastly, we’ll introduce a grown up Lord and a mysterious ship that will make appearance in season 2. FWT Development Team. <A grown up Lord?> < A mysterious ship>
I wish I wasn’t reviewing this movie. There are so many better films out there I could be talking about. Why haven’t I seen The Revenant yet? Or Spotlight? Even The Hateful Eight? None of these I’ve yet had the opportunity to view. I could even make an attempt to be relevant and discuss Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn Of Justice, the most famous big terrible film out there at the present time. But instead, I’m going to talk about Eli Roth’s The Green Inferno. Why, you might ask, do I choose to review this film, when I rarely do film reviews? It probably has something to do with my old obsession with horror films (which occurred around the same time as my teenage metal phase, which I wrote about in my last blog). I had been watched horror since the age of 11, and as my tastes expanded to ever more gory and shocking entries, it was only a matter of time before I discovered the cannibal film. A particularly un-politically correct sub-genre kicked off by Italian exploitation directors in the mid-70s, cannibal films are usually set in the jungle, often feature real animal murders, extreme gore (at the hands of westerners and depicted indigenous people) and content influenced by Italian shock-documentaries (mondo films) and neo-realism techniques. I would eventually write by Film Studies honours dissertation on the pinnacle of the genre (and a high/low point of extreme horror), Cannibal Holocaust. Needless to say, with a topic like that, my dissertation was doomed from the very start. Perhaps mainstream American filmmakers like Eli Roth should start pointing their cameras towards the horrors taking place within their own country, of which there are plenty – rather than regressively projecting xenophobic fears onto invented demons in faraway places You can understand then, my interest when I heard that Eli Roth was re-imagining the cannibal genre for modern audiences with The Green Inferno. The title itself is a reference to a scene within Cannibal Holocaust, so I knew this would be a film I would eventually, if reluctantly have to see. It took me a while but last night I finally gave this modern cannibal retelling a spin. Eli Roth isn’t known for subtlety, the Hostel series being the crown of his filmography so far (or arguably Cabin Fever), and staying true to form, you’ll find nothing subtle here. The start of the film is not completely terrible, framing itself as an American college comedy with a bit of an ecological thriller edge. A college ‘freshmen’, Justine (Lorenza Izzo), daughter of a United Nations attorney becomes interested in a social activism group, who led by a shady but charismatic student named Alejandro (Ariel Levy) take a trip to the amazon rain-forest to film logging operations which are obliterating local tribes. This ecological thriller plot I felt could have actually been an interesting. There are a few good characters here, such as a kindly ecological protester Jonah (Aaron Burns), who has a wee crush on Justine. He is also the first to be dismembered when the cannibals arrive (each limb chopped off one by one, and his head removed – such savage indigenous folk they are). Sky Ferreira is the best known actor in the film, although she stays behind in New York, and thus lives, having been a major character for the first 30 minutes, only to decide the mission to the amazon is a ‘lame idea’. Or perhaps her management had second thoughts on the films content. Alejandro, turns out to be selfish and evil, happy to let Justine nearly be shot by the tree loggers, after the group of activists chain themselves to the fowled trees 30 minutes in. They survive however, having succeeded in filming on their smartphones the event of the loggers holding them at gunpoint. Their plane sadly crashes back into the jungle, and this is when the film moves from teen comedy/drama hybrid with some ecological themes, into a straight up classic cannibal gore-fest. I was wondering how the film would tackle indigenous subject matter, and whether it would be respectful to real cultural practices. After all, cannibal films were ethically dodgy enough in the 1970s, let alone nowadays. It turns out not, and Roth’s depiction of the savage natives is as cartoon-ish as could possibly be. This is very much a case of foreign people being envisioned as the terrifying other, proving that racial terror is deep enough an American interest to be mined for cash decades after one would assume it was too offensive to do so. At least Cannibal Holocaust gave a understandable reason for the indigenous Amazon tribes-people to be cannibalizing the westerners – that the western documentary-makers had been inflicting horrors upon them. So it was revenge cannibalism. I guess the habitat destroying of the tree loggers in The Green Inferno could be one possible reason for the indigenous people’s violence against their captive Americans – and the American teens are shown to be shallow in their desire to gain shares and views for their smartphone slacktivism, but these are themes that are only weakly address. Instead, the tribes people are like demons, brutally murdering our western protagonists in a variety of gory but not particularly interesting ways. There is some commentary on ancient female circumcision practices, but mostly it’s all schlock violence. Towards the end of the film the loggers even appear, hacking down the tribes people in a torrent of bullet fire, thus saving our final girl Jan. Therefore everyone in this film is bad. The loggers, the arrogant westerners, the cannibalistic prehistoric indigenous people of the Amazon – all evil, all corrupt. It all adds up to one boring, meaningless, stylized mess. If this was a smarter film, the indigenous people of the amazon would still be allowed to scare you – perhaps through ancient ritualistic sacrifice practices against our western protagonists, yet they wouldn’t be so completely demonized as they are in Eli Roth’s depiction. Painting them red, overdoing the make-up on the tribal leaders, and giving no reason for their savagery. At one stage, our protagonist’s force a bag of marijuana down the throat of their friends’ corpse. The natives then cook and eat this corpse, and in doing so become high. Queue a joke about the indigenous people having the munchies, which involves them suddenly becoming zombies and eating one of our westerners alive. In some sense, I guess this is an inventive way to combine between a teen-stoner comedy gag and a cannibal horror scene. Mostly, it’s mind-numbingly stupid, and undermines any attempts the filmmakers had made earlier to give any insight and backstory into real amazonian tribal practices. I hate to be a stickler for details, this is a schlocky teen horror after all – but the level of crassness in Roth’s scriptwriting made me miss the golden age of 1970s b-movies of which this film is indebted to even more. At least back then, the influential wave of Italian filmmakers such as Ruggero Deodato and Umberto Lenzi put some effort into realistically depicting the indigenous people in their notorious horror creations. On the positives, the practical effects are good and the acting was pretty reasonable. Production values were slick, and it was nice to see the jungle back on screen. Roth obviously knows his horror, and the references to Cannibal Holocaust and Ferox were appreciated. I guess I’m just disappointed. I know that a contemporary cannibal film could be better – more realistic in it’s depiction of indigenous people, more detailed in it’s handling of current ecological issues of the amazon, less campy and less-reliant on American teen movie tropes. Perhaps what I wanted was a Werner Herzog cannibal film, and even though Roth used Herzog’s Aguirre Wrath Of God as a reference, he didn’t make it anywhere near that films daring guerrilla audacity. Perhaps mainstream American filmmakers like Eli Roth should start pointing their cameras towards the horrors taking place within their own country, of which there are plenty – rather than regressively projecting xenophobic fears onto invented demons in faraway places – all for the sake of another cheap, sex and death, teen trash money-maker. Advertisements
In response to these initial changes, the Obama administration sent Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Burma last fall on a goodwill mission, relaxed some minor restrictions on assistance, and increased humanitarian aid to the country. If Burma held successful by-elections, many Obama administration and European officials promised that the West would be prepared to do much more—possibly to normalize all relations with Burma. Some in the Obama administration expect the U.S. to remove nearly all sanctions by next winter. That would be a mistake. Though Election Day itself was relatively free and fair, the military’s harassment and intimidation in the run-up to the polls—soldiers, bureaucrats, and other people connected to the government experienced pressure by the military to vote for the USDP—suggests that Burma remains a long way from a truly democratic culture of elections. More important, the by-elections were only to fill a small percentage of seats in parliament; the NLD, despite all the celebrating, will control less than one-tenth of the seats. The military’s favored party controls most of the rest, and the constitution still favors that party and allows the armed forces to return to politics at any time. Several Burmese officials have told me that by allowing the NLD to win a few seats—while ensuring that the military’s favored party still controls parliament—the government is betting that it has done just enough to normalize relations with the West, get aid and investment, and still remain essentially in control. Even some NLD members close to Suu Kyi worry about the same thing—that the NLD will offer legitimacy to the parliament even as it will have little real power to pass legislation. The party will be able to criticize government, and to try and bring greater transparency, something Burma sorely needs. But it will be almost impossible for it to pass any bills, or demand any real justice and accountability for former military leaders like Than Shwe and Maung Aye, who oversaw vast looting of the state coffers, as well as abuses by the army ranging from forced labor to rape as a weapon of war to summary execution. Many Burmese officials and analysts believe that Than Shwe and Maung Aye still wield great power from their “retirement,” through hard-line proxies sitting in the current parliament. Instead of getting caught up in the jubilation around these by-elections, foreign countries, including the U.S., need to take a harder look, and keep some of their ammunition. They should provide some humanitarian assistance and slowly open up investment, but not abandon sanctions entirely until Burma’s reforms appear irreversible—which, thus far, they do not. The true test of whether the army is really ready to step back for good will come in three years, when Burma is supposed to hold national elections for all seats, potentially allowing the NLD or other opposition parties to actually control parliament. Before that time, the government will have to make good on other difficult promises, including further opening up the media landscape after years of harsh press laws, creating a more level playing field for all political parties, and dealing with the many simmering ethnic insurgencies. Indeed, despite the military’s claims that it is retiring to the background and trying to promote peace nationwide, according to a recent report by Human Rights Watch, fighting between the military and the Kachin Independence Army (one of the largest and most powerful ethnic armies) has escalated over the past two years. These battles have led to widespread refugee displacements in northern Burma and serious abuses on both sides, including forced labor, torture, use of child soldiers, and summary executions, according to Human Rights Watch.
Developer Digital Extremes has decided to add four emotes to its third-person shooter, Warframe, for free. This announcement comes just two days after Bungie revealed that it was selling a pack of three emotes and some in-game items for $20 for its shooter, Destiny. Warframe, the free-to-play shooter that initially launched on PC in 2012 and later for PlayStation 4, is getting several new ways for players to express themselves. Players now will be able to shrug and clap, adding a new layer to interactions in-game. They will also be able to do two moves that look like martial arts stances, the Eclipse Narta and the Fathom Narta. This announcement follows Bungie's announcement that three emotes, some shaders, and three class items would be sold in a $20 pack. Developer Bungie first stated that several emotes and other in-game items would be exclusive to people who buy the Collector's Edition of Destiny's upcoming expansion, The Taken King. This edition comes bundled with the base game and the first two expansions as well as the new content. Following backlash, Bungie stated that it would be making the several Collector's Edition items available for a separate purchase. Warframe's new emotes also seem to be the second response to controversy surrounding Destiny this week. Earlier, Dying Light developer Techland posted an advertisement for an in-game promotion on Twitter which teased Destiny's new Red Bull-exclusive mission.
For most Canadians the lasting memory of the $1.2-billion G8-G20 summits will be the sight of a burning police car, and not the contents of any final communiqué. Such an unfortunate situation demands the continued pursuit of all lawbreakers involved in the summit riots. And a rethink of how and where summits are held. In downtown, Toronto gangs of highly motivated thugs torched four police cars and broke storefront windows of dozens of businesses during a wild spree of G20 violence. Police responded by arresting more than 900 protesters and bystanders. A journalist reporting on the scene claimed it was scarier than a Bosnian war zone, and one of those arrested called the 17 hours he spent in detention “tantamount to torture.” The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) is demanding an inquiry into police tactics, calling them “disproportionate, arbitrary and excessive.” What took place on the streets of Toronto was indeed a serious situation, yet anxiety over the behaviour of police is wildly overdone. Those responsible for the damage should be the focus of society’s anger. Only the professionalism and preparedness of police prevented circumstances from being much worse. Rather than an inquiry, we need further police effort to ensure every one of those lawless thugs is brought to justice. Overheated arguments from the CCLA and others regarding mass arrests and claims of police brutality need to be kept in perspective. Many of the complaints seem to involve the quality of the sandwiches in detention. Or that the police banged their batons on their shields in an “intimidating” manner. It’s possible many of those arrested for breach of the peace were not directly involved in any violence. But they were released in a matter of hours. Canadians’ constitutional rights have survived the ordeal unscathed. It is necessary to keep the violence that did occur in perspective as well. Recall that when the Montreal Canadiens beat the Boston Bruins in the first round of the 2007-2008 NHL playoffs, street havoc also ensued. And those Montreal rioters managed to torch or smash 16 police cars. So by at least one measure, the G20 conflagration produced only one-quarter of the damage created by a run-of-the-mill hockey riot. Further to the point, there were no injuries significant enough to mention and the riot earned only modest international attention. This was no Bosnia in the 1990s. It wasn’t even Montreal in April. Of course with the leaders of most major nations in attendance, the security issues at the G8-G20 summits were far more significant than at any playoff match. For their $1.2-billion outlay, Canadians got a massive police presence, a lengthy fence in downtown Toronto and a raft of crowd-control innovations. This enormous show of force meant police outnumbered protesters in most circumstances. Even so, this wasn’t enough, as the burnt police cars testify. But consider what might have happened without this massive investment in security. Had the “black bloc” anarchists responsible for the extant street damage penetrated the security fence and disrupted the actual G20 events, the international attention would have been much more significant, and the damage done to Canada’s reputation far greater. Whatever steps the police took to prevent this from happening were both necessary and welcome. In fact the police should be commended for their vow to pursue any and all protesters associated with the vandalism. Merely detaining and releasing violent hoodlums is not a sufficient response to the threat they pose to civil society. The protection of free speech and assembly can only exist when there is proper respect for the rule of law. Legitimate protest acknowledges the existence of state authority while providing a different point of view. The same is true with civil disobedience. What we saw over the weekend, however, had nothing constructive to offer society. It was simply opportunistic chaos. It is thus imperative that we find and punish everyone responsible for this embarrassing period of disorder. We welcome the determination a Toronto police spokesman expressed to our reporters (page 26): “Our team will continue to work for the next two years, five years, if necessary to bring every one of these people to justice . . . Nobody is getting away with this.” Nor should they. Beyond the role of the police, however, there’s another reason—largely overlooked—why a major security catastrophe was averted: the global protest movement appears to be losing steam. The mass of protesters agreed on very little other than a general sense of unhappiness with the status quo, whatever it might be. Issues seen and heard from the crowd ranged from animal liberation to legalization of marijuana to the treatment of homosexuals in Iran. There was no consistent message, other than the minority position on the desirability of broken windows. Only after the fact have protesters managed to coalesce around a common theme of alleging police brutality. Yet it bodes poorly for the future of the protest movement if the only coherent argument it can muster involves the reaction of others to itself. At the end of the day, debate over street violence, protest and police ought to be secondary to the summit’s practical achievements. And the G20 summit did conclude on a note worthy of some optimism: a pledge to cut government deficits in half by 2013. While this only applies to the most advanced economies within the G20, it is still a step in the right direction. Bringing the world’s major economies back to fiscal balance is crucial to closing the book on the Great Recession. Was this accomplishment, significant though it may be, worth the candle? As we have argued previously, most of the real summit work is completed at earlier meetings attended by finance ministers and assorted underlings. The role of formal summits is largely to provide world leaders with an opportunity to mingle and pose for a group photo. Given the massive cost of security—and the fact that even $1.2 billion cannot prevent an embarrassing riot—there’s a pressing need for a more efficient means to this end. There are two obvious possibilities. Hold smaller get-togethers in remote locations that are more easily secured. Or designate a permanent and safe location for the G20, as is the case with the United Nations in New York City. We cannot allow international summits to become an excuse for roving lawlessness.
AC Milan will fall short of challenging Juventus for the Serie A title this season unless they can tempt Paris Saint-Germain striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic to rejoin, according to former teammate Antioni Cassano. Ibrahimovic has been linked to Milan throughout the current transfer window, with club president Silvio Berlusconi claiming the Sweden international would be welcomed back to San Siro "with open arms". Cassano's two-year stint at the club matched that of Ibrahimovic and the former reckons Milan "cannot win the Scudetto" without the latter. "Together with Sampdoria, Inter are a team close to my heart. I hope Inter can win the Scudetto but it will be hard," said Cassano. "Juventus are favourites for the next four or five years, with Roma able to cause them some problems. "As for AC Milan, unless Zlatan Ibrahimovic returns they cannot win the Scudetto." Juventus have won four titles in a row and will be hoping to make it a record-equal fifth consecutive Scudetto as Serie A kicks off.
It’s hard not to notice the contrast between Jisha’s house and the comparatively big houses around it. The houses next to Jisha’s, located in the suburbs of Perumbavoor town, some 30km east of Kerala’s economic hub Ernakulam, have decorated courtyards, balconies and large tracts of vacant spaces lying idle. The murder victim, however, lived on a little strip, less than 100 sq. ft, of what is called purampokku land (the land which was in excess when the government decided to build a canal). The house fronts onto the canal although it is screened from prying eyes by trees. A concrete slab placed over the canal leads to a narrow lane that acts as the house’s only entrance. The lane is dotted with flowering plants in various states of neglect. The police have restricted entry to the lane, after Jisha’s gruesome murder became more than just another statistic in Kerala, now debating larger questions over women’s safety and gender equality. Twenty-eight-year-old Jisha, a Dalit law student at the Government Law College, Ernakulam, was found murdered on 28 April at her home, where she lived with her mother. No cause or suspect has been detected yet. “It’s a house that almost ends as (soon as) it begins," says a policeman, laughing. He is supposed to guard the house, but was sitting in a police jeep outside on the road. He claims to be one of the first to enter the scene of the crime, and paints a grim picture of the inside of the house. Built using hollow bricks and roofed using broken asbestos sheets, he says, the house is actually one room partitioned into three. The first partition is a living room, which is where Jisha’s body was found. Then came a portion that served as the sleeping area and finally the kitchen, with a wood-fired hearth. The main door opens to three tiny rooms, one after the other. The floor was full of cardboard boxes. All the clothes that the two residents (Jisha and her mother Rajeshwari) had were wrapped inside the boxes. In half-a-dozen other boxes were books and other belongings. A wooden plank placed over four hollow bricks presumably served as a study table for the law student (It had been broken when the officer entered). The walls were filled with posters or pictures, giving a sense of the residents’ aspirations. The first, on opening the front door, was a poster of a regal house with manicured lawns and groomed hedges. Then there were five or six photographs of a young Jisha performing Bharatanatyam, including one with her father, who abandoned the family when Jisha was in school. Towards the right was a picture of Jisha’s estranged elder sister Deepa, smiling along with the husband she eloped with several years ago. He abandoned her later. On the far right corner were images of every conceivable divinity— from Ganapathi to Jesus Christ —the posters encircled with cheap plastic garlands of small red and white flowers. Next to that was a big poster showing a basket full of fruits and vegetables. The second and third rooms were full of wooden logs and utensils. But beneath the bed, the police found a sickle. At the back of the house, some torn plastic sheets had been rung around four poles; this probably acted as the bathroom. There was no roof over it; you could see the sky and the coconut trees of the neighbours. A small roofing tile lay on the ground, positioned towards the canal, which stank of urine. There was no indication of what the house’s inmates did when nature called. * Jisha was found lying in a pool of blood, naked except for a shawl around her neck, a little over three weeks ago. She was brutally assaulted and raped, according to the post-mortem report. The body had 38 injury marks, most of them in the form of deep wounds on her chest and neck; her small intestine had come out. Someone hit her on the head with a sharp weapon, which was the cause of death, suggests the report. All of this, the police estimate, happened between 1.30pm and 6pm. The attacker possibly hit her on the head, rendering her unconscious, and then raped her. Or she was raped first and then murdered. There’s something the police still don’t understand—there are some 20 houses within a 50m radius, yet no one seems to have heard any scream when such a brutal attack took place, or saw anyone walking in or out from the house. Hardly anyone in the neighbourhood kept friendly relations with Jisha’s family. That is the backstory of Jisha’s murder, the attitude of a society to a family and its connection to a brutal murder. Suresh, who prefers not to give his full name, and lives with his family including two young girls just on the other side of the road, says they were surprised when they learnt from the police that there is no toilet in the house. Eliyamma, who lives along with her son’s family in a four-acre property close by, says she is not sure whether it’s the older girl or the younger one who died. Omana, who like Jisha and her mother is also from a backward caste family, is another elderly woman who lives just behind their house. She lives in her son’s rather large house that is still under construction. “I was preparing to go to bed after the 8.30pm television serial when my grandson told me there’s some noise in the house next to Mariyamma Chettathi (the grandson did not know Jisha or her mother’s name). My husband went up to see what happened but immediately returned seeing police vehicles. We don’t have anything to do with that family and we didn’t want any troubles," Omana said. Jisha’s wasn’t a lonely cocoon-like existence in an urban jungle. The locality is in a rural countryside where houses contain rooted families that have been living there for decades, including Jisha’s family. The local residents’ association is so strong that it recently won a competition held by a newspaper. The women in the households know each other as they are organized under the umbrella of Kudumbashree, a four million strong self-help network of women in Kerala. Jisha and her mother were not part of this, according to the neighbours. How is it that just one family became an exception or an outsider in this seemingly normal community? Is it because of their caste? Jisha’s mother Rajeshwari was from the Ezhava caste (OBC) and her father K.V. Pappu from the Pulaya caste (SC-ST), according to Thankamma, a distant relative of Pappu. As per Jisha’s college and school records, she chose her father’s caste. It couldn’t be immediately verified whether they were the only Dalit family in the immediate neighbourhood, but the family was living in the midst of upper-caste Nair families and Christian families. The neighbours vehemently deny that the family was discriminated against because of their caste. In fact, when this reporter visited the area, the whole neighbourhood was erupting in anger against television channels, which, they said, “showed them in a bad light". “You don’t know her mother. It was impossible to deal with her," says Suresh. “She was mentally unstable and always behaved in a weird way. If she saw someone on the road, or if someone stood before her house for a few seconds, she would start hurling abuses. She would even call the police, saying the person has intentions to attack her. About 20 young men in this area have police cases against them for petty reasons because of her." Almost everyone in the locality has some sort of story to tell about Rajeshwari’s mental stability. There are stories that say she had asked the daughter to carry a pen camera for safety. The two women seem to have had little connection with relatives, which could also explain the insecurities and fears. In the hospital where Rajeshwari has been admitted for severe mental stress, there was no family present. Thankamma had actually come to see her pregnant daughter in the hospital, but on the way, she says, she came to know from media reports about Rajeshwari being admitted in the same hospital. “Both the mother and daughter did not attend any social functions in the family, so we had no clue about their whereabouts," says Thankamma. The family used water from certain wells some kilometres away, despite everyone in the neighbourhood having wells and government-provided piped connections to their houses (Jisha’s house was an exception). “She (Rajeshwari) used to take water from our house," says Suresh. “One day, I saw her taking water at around 8.30pm. I asked whether she could do such things in the morning. She hurled abuses, spit inside the well and walked away." After encounters similar to what Suresh experienced, Rajeshwari was generally shunned by most in the nearby houses, according to neighbours Even the local MLA Saju Paul (he lost in the 2016 polls) and panchayat member Shiju Saju, both members of communist parties, weren’t spared of the mother’s suspicion. “One day, my brother’s son was playing near the canal next to their house and the mother got really pissed off. She attacked the boy and my brother intervened. Then she turned against my brother, and filed a police complaint that he tried to attack her," says Saju. From her hospital bed, Rajeshwari has made serious accusations against Saju’s brother and the local MLA, even saying these politicians murdered Jisha. The above-mentioned brother has been bedridden for the past six months after a road accident. “She was really weird, but given her living conditions, how could one blame her? I think every small quarrel she made came out of her insecurity. If you look at the politician’s case, the children were playing near the canal. The family’s little bathroom is right next to the canal, which explains why the mother was peeved," says Madhu, who lives in the nearest house. He says there is no better evidence to prove that the mother’s insecurity wasn’t entirely baseless than what happened on that fateful Thursday. Perhaps she needed medical attention. “But what she received was ostracism, including from me," he says in a feeble voice. There is an eerie resemblance here to the world of Franz Kafka’s A Little Fable. Wherever she was, the woman expected a trap waiting. The manifestation of the family’s insecurities simply ended up as a different trap. * Jisha was so brilliant that she cracked both the MA entrance exam of Marthoma College under Mahatma Gandhi University and the rigorous Kerala law entrance in 2010. She joined the history department at the college for some months, but later chose law and joined the Government Law College in Ernakulam the same year, “because she had a rooted understanding of justice and reality", says Anu V. Kuttan, who sat on the same bench with Jisha throughout her law school days, till 2013. “She was a bold girl with strong convictions, who always said she would marry only after getting a job. She studied hard and when our classes ended in 2013, she had only three subject papers to clear to become a practising advocate," says Anu. If someone like Jisha, an educated, strong-willed woman aware of the laws of the land, met with such a tragic end, it says something about the society they lived in. “This girl had all sorts of disadvantages and she fought her way up in life," says J. Devika, an academic at the Centre for Development Studies, an institution for applied economics and social science research based in Thiruvananthapuram, who has been writing about Kerala for long time in several Indian and international publications. “Yet they were living in fear... it’s not just caste. Don’t think Dalit as just lower caste, Dalit means oppressed in every way. Her mother belongs to that group of workers (domestic) in Kerala who are most underpaid and most ill-treated. They don’t have land. They are a woman-headed family. It’s difficult to imagine a worse form of disempowerment." But Kerala has the best development indicators for women, categorized by high literacy, low infant mortality and favourable sex ratio, hailed even by the likes of Amartya Sen. So how did such a heinous crime take place here? The answer, say sociologists, lies ironically in the same thing: development. Jisha’s case is a classic example of income inequality in Kerala, the highest in India, reflecting the crude social inequality in the state. “Growth has social consequences. Many of the social consequences are bad. One thing that happened with growth (in Kerala) is that people stopped to care about their neighbourhood. You are worthless if don’t have money or some other cultural capital like a higher caste name," says Devika. The reality of Jisha remains the same for some 232,000 families who don’t have a piece of land or house and have registered with the government for some help, says Harish Vasudevan, a Kerala high court advocate and social activist. Add to that the gender discrimination that the women in Kerala have to face, just like everywhere else in India, despite the best development indicators, he says. In fact, the persistence of discrimination against women is something that gender activists have been consistently writing about for years now, but often gets overlooked because of the relatively good conventional development indicators. “I get really irritated when people call me up and ask reasons (on what led to Jisha’s murder). I mean, we have been shouting about this from the rooftops for decades. No one cared to listen then," says Devika. “From the perspective of an educated woman who can think for herself and would like to enjoy the basic freedom of making her own decisions, Kerala is far from the heaven on earth one may have been made to believe," noted a 2007 anthology on gender studies titled, The Enigma of the Kerala Woman: A Failed Promise of Literacy. “Young girls can move out alone after dark only at their peril; the perceived risks of sexual harassment outside the carefully drawn out ‘lakshman rekha’ are high. Even married couples shun going for late night movies for fear that the general public might mistake the wife for a mistress, and misbehave," Swapna Mukhopadhyay, the editor, writes in the introduction to the book. The book notes that rape and domestic violence constitute the majority of reported crimes against women in Kerala. It also finds that a 60.8% of women in Kerala justified wife-beating on one or other grounds, as against only 53% across India. “Literacy and better education are considered important means by which knowledge and information is acquired and a progressive attitude towards gender equality ingrained. However, high female education in Kerala, rather than contributing to the emancipation of women, has led to social conformity and dependence," notes S. Irudaya Rajan of Centre for Development Studies in a research paper in the book. Perhaps a most striking research on this subject came from an anthropology professor at University College London, Daniel Miller. He spent a month observing people in North Kerala’s Kannur district in order to know the minds of the state’s inhabitants, with a completely non-conventional indicator put for testing—jeans. His study identified how wearing jeans could lead to a woman being judged in Kerala as straying from the “traditional" path ordained by society. “Unmarried, older girls almost all said they had jeans, but only wore them when travelling outside of Kannur, which was now almost entirely accepted, depending upon how they are worn. Jeans, partly covered with a long loose kurta/blouse was fine. But jeans with a short blouse and certainly any kind of tight blouse… is seen as a sign of potential ‘loose’ behaviour," noted Miller. “Perhaps," says Irudaya Rajan, “Jisha’s murder should be an eye-opener for the Kerala society on why it could not translate better development indicators into less gender discrimination and atrocities on women." Comments are welcome at feedback@livemint.com
Obama’s nuclear summit in Washington has been overshadowed by the absence of Russia. It is an absence that stands as an indictment of the lack of harmony and cooperation that continues to exist despite the growth of international terrorism. The threat to nuclear security posed by global terrorism is one of the most dangerous the world has ever faced. The potential consequences of radical extremists getting their hands on a nuclear device, or being able to manufacture their own – i.e. a dirty bomb – are catastrophic. With this in mind, and given the proliferation of terrorism and the need to defeat it, never has it been more important for the world’s major powers to work in close cooperation and harmony to meet a threat that is no respecter of borders or cultures, as the mounting series of atrocities we have witnessed attests. Yet still there remains a staggering lack of will on the part of the US Government to treat the threat with the seriousness it demands. The two-day summit in Washington, bringing together about 50 heads of state, is the fourth nuclear summit hosted by Obama. They are the brainchild of his administration and as such completely arbitrary and shorn of international legitimacy, undermining in the process the role and status of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN’s official nuclear agency. It constitutes further evidence of Washington’s attachment to the outdated and antiquated belief in a unipolar world, in which its interests and leadership are divinely decreed as paramount. "We have to do even more to prevent the flow of foreign terrorist fighters...we all have a role to play" —@POTUS to global leaders — The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 1, 2016 The absurdity of the economic sanctions that continue to be in place against Russia at the behest of Washington, over the Ukrainian crisis, are rendered even more absurd when placed alongside Russia’s effective leadership when it comes to confronting the menace of Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) in Syria. Moscow’s role in this struggle, which bore fruit most recently with the liberation of Palmyra, stands in contrast to the double dealing and malign role played by NATO member and US ally, Turkey, when it comes to IS and other terrorist groups that have descended on Syria. This is an important point to make in light of the statement made by senior White House National Security Council official, Ben Rhodes, to the international media in response to Russia’s non-attendance. “Frankly, all they're doing is isolating themselves in not participating,” he claimed. You would find it hard to find a more elastic interpretation of the word “isolated” than this. Rather than isolated, Russia could not be anymore engaged in world affairs if it tried. In Syria, as mentioned, it is leading from the front in conjunction with the Syrian, Iranian, and Iraqi governments in taking the fight to IS and other terrorist groups. It is a military campaign that has been combined with a peace process that has succeeded in securing a ceasefire between pro-government forces and elements of the Syrian opposition, taking the first crucial steps towards a negotiated settlement to the conflict with an eye on Syria’s reconstruction in the months and years ahead. The aforementioned are not the actions of a country that exists in isolation. On the contrary, they are confirmation of Russia’s commitment to meeting the threat posed by terrorism with action rather than words. Palmyra’s liberation, it should be recalled, was an event that met with deafening silence in London and received grudging acknowledgment in Washington. Read more When it comes to the issue of nuclear weapons or material falling into the hands of terrorist groups, the news that in February the authorities in Belgium uncovered surveillance footage of a top Belgian nuclear official while searching the home of a man connected to the terrorist attack in Paris last November, serves as a chilling warning of the folly of allowing ourselves to lapse into complacency. Taken together with the revelation that the security measures currently in place at some of the airbases and facilities in Europe that are hosting US nuclear bombs are woefully inadequate, we are entitled to concede a growing sense of alarm. Placed alongside the determination of IS to turn Europe into a second front in its attempt to alleviate the huge pressure it is under in Syria, the fact that US nuclear weapons are being housed in less than secure circumstances does nothing to instill confidence in the status quo. In 2016, the need for international cooperation on the issue of nuclear weapons and materiel has never been more pressing. However, before this cooperation can become an accomplished fact, the on-going attempt to isolate Russia with economic sanctions is untenable. With this in mind, President Obama’s use of the word “madmen” to describe the kind of people that would like nothing better than to get their hands on a nuclear bomb, homemade or otherwise, is a word that could also be reasonably applied to leading figures in Washington – people for whom the enemy isn’t so much Islamic State as it is Putin.
Processor Our test configuration uses one of the most powerful ULV processors that Intel currently has to offer, the dual-core processor Core i7-5600U. The CPU is part of Intel's Broadwell processor range. The processor runs at a base speed of 2.6 GHz. The turbo allows speeds of up to 3.1 GHz (dual-core) and 3.2 GHz (single-core) respectively; however, it can only be activated in power-supply mode. Single-thread tests are run at 3.1 to 3.2 GHz and multithread tests at 2.7 to 2.8 GHz. Thus the multithread performance lies far behind the CPU's capabilities. In battery mode the CPU runs at a constant 2.6 GHz (=base speed). The deactivation of the turbo during battery mode was intentional by HP. Those who want to use the turbo in both modes need to activate the option "Enable Turbo Boost on DC" in the BIOS setup. The Core i7-5600U processor is the successor of the Core i7-4600U CPU (Haswell). The latter uses a lower base speed (2.1 GHz) and a somewhat higher maximum speed (3.3 GHz). Due to the improvements of the Broadwell architecture and the higher first turbo level (3.1 GHz vs. 2.9 GHz), the Broadwell processor performs about 5 to 20% better than its Haswell predecessor.
The Valemount Glacier Destination resort is slated to begin construction in the near future. It will have the largest vertical drop of any ski resort in North America. Some of the longest ski runs in the world. And absolutely unbeatable Canadian Rocky Mountain scenery. It’s been extensively planned, approved by the government, and promises not to cause irreparable damage to the environment. In short, it sounds like the perfect ski resort. But if that’s the case, why do I feel so conflicted about it? A History of Controversy Valemount has had a relatively quiet time getting planned and approved. The man behind it, however, is Oberto Oberti. You might remember that name from the rather uproarious controversy over the Jumbo Glacier resort. That resort was projected to have serious negative consequences for the grizzly bear population and the glaciers themselves. Not to mention the First Nations peoples who had called the Jumbo valley home for thousands of years. Fortunately, the Jumbo resort was defeated, thanks to public and corporate outcry. You can see the sort of breathtaking wilderness that Oberti was trying to develop in this rather affecting featurette Oberti didn’t make a great name for himself throughout this process. Millions of dollars spent, thousands of Canadians incensed, and, now, nothing to show for it. The Jumbo resort was in planning for over 20 years, despite significant local resistance. All for nothing. You can see why many people are a bit suspicious of Oberti’s projects. A New Project: Valemount Valemount Glacier Destination is Oberti’s newest project. And this one has been approved. Of course, the strong force of popular opinion was given a bit more consideration this time. The environmental effects are predicted to be much less significant than those at Jumbo. But still, Valemount will be in prime grizzly, wolverine, and goshawk territory. By virtue of being pretty much in the middle of nowhere, the land around the town of Valemount is absolutely pristine. Much like Jumbo, the landscapes are phenomenally breathtaking. And Oberti is about to build a big resort right in the middle of it. It will host thousands of skiers (in both the summer and the winter), sightseers, and mountain bikers. As the resort continues to grow, the number of people and activities will no doubt grow with it. As I’ve mentioned, the amount of environmental investigation and planning that’s gone into Valemount is impressive. There’s no denying that. And I mostly believe them when they say that the environmental impact will be as minimal as possible. But still, there’s something . . . ugly . . . about putting a giant resort in the middle of pristine Canadian wilderness. Out With the Old In a world that’s increasingly industrialized, overpopulated, and extremely unfriendly to the environment, I find that I can’t support the development of land like this. Especially for a monumental ski resort. Maybe if it was a small backcountry ski center, or a heli outpost, it would be different. But the scale of this resort is something else. It’s going to be a massive blight on the face of what was once untouched, wild land—a resource that’s quickly dwindling. If we didn’t have enough ski resorts, that would be one thing. But British Columbia already has some of the best skiing in the world. Whistler and Revelstoke draw people from around the globe every year to experience a tamed version of the Canadian Rocky Mountain wilderness. And that’s great. I’m a skier myself, and I’m all for getting people out into nature. But do we need another mega-resort? When Jumbo was being considered, the locals said no. Emphatically. What does Oberti and the British Columbian government think has changed? And when giant conglomerations like Aspen and Vail are buying up resorts left and right, the loss of smaller and independently owned resorts rankles. Outside makes a good point in saying that there are a number of reasons why they smaller guys just can’t compete any more. But I’ve never been a fan of huge juggernauts owning everything. So when you combine a private trust of rich investors—that will probably be owned by Aspen or Vail sooner or later—with the defacement of some of the world’s most beautiful mountain landscapes, you’re going to get some negative responses. Including from me. Keeping an Open Mind To be totally fair, much of what I’ve said has sprung from my emotional reactions. I don’t know a whole lot about Oberti, I don’t know the depth of environmental planning that went into Valemount, and I haven’t talked to anyone who lives there. I’m ignoring the fact that it will create hundreds of jobs. And that it has the support of the Simpcw First Nation. And that more people will get to ski some of the rippin’-est terrain in the world. Just check out some of this heliskiing in the area (and don’t blame me for the music): Even the fact that there’s going to be a First Nations Interpretive Centre there could be a positive (or quite exploitative, depending on how it’s done and how you feel about that sort of thing). This is going to be a one-of-a-kind place, there’s no doubt about it. And I’m doing my best to keep an open mind about it. Nonetheless, my gut reaction is that this is not a good thing. I’m all for trails. I’m all for getting people out into nature. I’m even for people getting way out into the backcountry if that’s their thing. But this sort of mega-development just feels . . . wrong. As someone who loves the outdoors, this feels like the opposite of what we should be doing. All that said, I’m trying to stay open. I’ll be keeping an eye on the Valemount development to see how public opinion reacts to the continued development of the area. And I sincerely hope that the thousands of hours of work put into this resort make it a place that’s just as good for the environment and the local community as it is for skiers from around the world. And, of course, I’d really like to hear from you, our readers. What do you think about Valemount? Do you support this type of development? What would make you feel more positively or negatively about the project? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Mother Nature has canceled the 747 fly-by that had sparked huge interest in Indianapolis. Low clouds forced Rolls-Royce to call off the scheduled Boeing 747 fly-by Tuesday afternoon. The plane was scheduled to fly over the east side of Indianapolis then just south of downtown on its way to the southwest side. Instead, the plane never got as low as scheduled and was sent on to its next stop in Tucson, Arizona. The flight was planned to give Rolls-Royce and Raytheon employees and the general public a closer look at the Flying Test Bed aircraft powered by Rolls-Royce and sponsored by Raytheon. Rolls-Royce statement Rolls-Royce issued the following statement about the cancellation Tuesday: We want to thank everyone in our Indianapolis community for their understanding about the postponement and eventual cancellation of today’s scheduled Rolls-Royce Test Bed fly over Indianapolis. As many of us know in the aviation industry, all the best planning relies on the weather cooperating. Unfortunately, that was the case today. We received word as the Rolls-Royce Flying Test Bed was entering Indianapolis airspace, that the cloud ceiling was simply too low. After receiving communications from the FAA, the aircraft’s flight crews waived off the approach and continued on to its destination in Tucson, Arizona. There is at least one shining light in today’s planned event; most of the community has a better understanding of the type of work that we do here in Indianapolis. For those of you who wanted to see what the aircraft looked like – this was a photograph that was taken last night from Michigan, where it was recently repainted. (Pictured to the right)
Fantastic. Life-changing. By Shea , Submitted on 2016-04-29 As a member with family and friends who have either left the church or are having serious doubts and faith crises, this book brought me immense comfort and understanding. I think it would benefit anyone, whether he/she has serious doubts or not. It certainly helped me come to view other people (especially fellow members) and issues (both current and historical) with a broader and more charitable perspective. Here are a few particular quotes I liked: –"Doubt is thus less a problem in need of a solution than a common part of the mortal experience that should, like all things, be treated with charity and ultimately consecrated to God. (Members with doubts are more looking for a listening ear rather than a solution.) –"Perhaps the most important thing we can do in the face of our current challenges is to make the church a more welcoming place for those who struggle, creating conditions in which they feel comfortable while they work through questions and doubts in the midst of the body of Christ rather than feeling excluded from it." –"Taken together, these portraits of faith from the Book of Mormon suggest that each one of God's children has a different pattern of testimony. There is no cookie-cutter version of belief, even for those within the church . . . Not everyone is a Nephi or an Alma, but that doesn't mean that they are a Korihor or a lost soul either. For some people, the best and perhaps only way that they can describe their relationship to spiritual things is through the language of sincere doubt." –"...We sometimes fall into the trap–laid by Joseph [Smith's] critics–that the central issue at stake in determining the validity of the restoration's salvific message is the personal character of the prophets who are its messengers." –"Unicorns and Rhinoceroses." This chapter changed the way I look at history. I can recommend this book without hesitation!
A smaller proportion of people say they regularly shop, visit and work in Adelaide's CBD. The Adelaide City Council’s City User Profile Survey will be concerning reading for city businesses and jobseekers, as well as for the State Government which has focused heavily on its multi-billion-dollar “vibrant city” agenda. In the survey of just over 2000 people in the CBD and North Adelaide earlier this year, 41% said they visit the city “daily/most days”. That’s down from 50% last year and, according to previous survey statistics, the lowest in a decade. The proportion of respondents who said they visit the city in the evening at least once a year was 46% – down from 76% in last year. The proportion of respondents who said they shop in the city at least once a year was 72% – down from 87% last year. Those who reported they visit the park lands at least once a year also fell: 34% this year, down from 57% last year – the lowest recorded figure since 2007. The proportion who said they work in the city was 23% this year, down from 34% last year. The proportion who said they live in the city was 8% this year, down from 14%. A spokesperson for the city council acknowledged that “there has been a decline in daily visitation to the city in the past 12 months”. “Council continues to explore ways to boost the city’s attractiveness as a great work, study, tourism, dining, entertainment, retail and recreational destination,” the spokesperson said. Further survey statistics provided by the council – but missing the years 2010, 2011 and 2014, when surveys weren’t taken – indicate that this year’s 41% figure was the lowest in a decade. Advertisement The City User Profile Survey, to be presented to an Adelaide City Council meeting tonight, does contain some small positives. The proportion of respondents who said they were a tourist or visitor staying in short-term accommodation rose from 8% to 11%. The proportion of university (or other tertiary) student respondents rose from 20% to 21%. And there were slightly more school student respondents (rising from 1% to 2%). The tertiary and school student results fell between the 2.1% margin of error (+/-). The survey had a 95% confidence interval. City of Adelaide Minister John Rau told InDaily the survey was “indicative of the changing face of the city”. “The increasing education role of the city is the reflected in the numbers – as is the increasing role of the city as a major hospitality and entertainment area. “These are both positive trends and indicate the Government’s policies are working to make the city vibrant.” Asked why they were in the city on the day of the survey, more respondents than last year said they were in the city to meet friends, for education, to visit the park lands or for cultural events. But there was a significant decline in the proportion of those in the city for work or to visit cafés. As InDaily reported in March, Adelaide city businesses employed 6437 fewer employees in 2016 than they did in 2014. However, official estimates of the population of the City of Adelaide have climbed each year, reaching 23,396 in 2016. City users abandoning cars for buses The survey found city users were increasingly favouring buses over cars as a means to get into the city. Asked how they travelled into the city the day of the survey, 34% reported they came in by bus – up from 29% the previous year. By contrast, the proportion that drove into the city was 22% this year, down from 29% last year. However, the proportion that came into the city as a passenger in a car ticked up slightly. Advertisement According to the survey summary report, “this is a continuation of the trend found in past surveys around an increased trend for public transport use and away from private vehicle use”. “Other modes of transport, such as walking and catching the tram or train, has remained constant over the past two years.” However, the data in the report shows walking into the city has, in fact, become less popular. Percentages were rounded in all graphs.Save Save Save Save Save Save Save We value local independent journalism. We hope you do too. InDaily provides valuable, local independent journalism in South Australia. As a news organisation it offers an alternative to The Advertiser, a different voice and a closer look at what is happening in our city and state for free. Any contribution to help fund our work is appreciated. Please click below to become an InDaily supporter. Powered by PressPatron
By Thomas Bøhn and Marek Cuhra Food and feed quality are crucial to human and animal health. Quality can be defined as sufficiency of appropriate minerals, vitamins and fats, etc. but it also includes the absence of toxins, whether man-made or from other sources. Surprisingly, almost no data exist in the scientific literature on herbicide residues in herbicide tolerant genetically modified (GM) plants, even after nearly 20 years on the market. In research recently published by our laboratory (Bøhn et al. 2014) we collected soybean samples grown under three typical agricultural conditions: organic, GM, and conventional (but non-GM). The GM soybeans were resistant to the herbicide Roundup, whose active ingredient is glyphosate. We tested these samples for nutrients and other compounds as well as relevant pesticides, including glyphosate and its principal breakdown product, Aminomethylphosponic acid (AMPA). All of the individual samples of GM-soy contained residues of both glyphosate and AMPA, on average 9.0 mg/kg. This amount is greater than is typical for many vitamins. In contrast, no sample from the conventional or the organic soybeans showed residues of these chemicals (Fig. 1). This demonstrates that Roundup Ready GM-soybeans sprayed during the growing season take up and accumulate glyphosate and AMPA. Further, what has been considered a working hypothesis for herbicide tolerant crops, i.e. that, as resistant weeds have spread: “there is a theoretical possibility that also the level of residues of the herbicide and its metabolites may have increased” (Kleter et al. 2011) is now shown to be actually happening. Monsanto (manufacturer of glyphosate) has claimed that residues of glyphosate in GM soy are lower than in conventional soybeans, where glyphosate residues have been measured up to 16-17 mg/kg (Monsanto 1999). These residues, found in non-GM plants, likely must have been due to the practice of spraying before harvest (for desiccation). Another claim of Monsanto’s has been that residue levels of up to 5.6 mg/kg in GM-soy represent “…extreme levels, and far higher than those typically found” (Monsanto 1999). Seven out of the 10 GM-soy samples we tested, however, surpassed this “extreme level” (of glyphosate + AMPA), indicating a trend towards higher residue levels. The increasing use of glyphosate on US Roundup Ready soybeans has been documented (Benbrook 2012). The explanation for this increase is the appearance of glyphosate-tolerant weeds (Shaner et al. 2012) to which farmers are responding with increased doses and more applications. Maximum residue levels (MRLs) of glyphosate in food and feed Globally, glyphosate-tolerant GM soy is the number one GM crop plant and glyphosate is the most widely used herbicide, with a global production of 620 000 tons in 2008 (Pollak 2011). The world soybean production in 2011 was 251.5 million metric tons, with the United States (33%), Brazil (29%), Argentina (19%), China (5%) and India (4%) as the main producing countries (American Soybean Association 2013). In 2011-2012, soybeans were planted on about 30 million hectares in the USA, with Roundup Ready GM soy contributing 93-94 % of the production (USDA 2013). Globally, Roundup Ready GM soybeans contributed to 75 % of the production in 2011 (James 2012). The legally acceptable level of glyphosate contamination in food and feed, i.e. the maximum residue level (MRL) has been increased by authorities in countries where Roundup-Ready GM crops are produced, or where such commodities are imported. In Brazil, the MRL in soybean was increased from 0.2 mg/kg to 10 mg/kg in 2004: a 50-fold increase, but only for GM-soy. The MRL for glyphosate in soybeans has been increased also in the US and Europe. In Europe, it was raised from 0.1 mg/kg to 20 mg/kg (a 200-fold increase) in 1999, and the same MRL of 20 mg/kg was adopted by the US. In all of these cases, MRL values appear to have been adjusted, not based on new scientific evidence, but pragmatically in response to actual observed increases in the content of residues in glyphosate-tolerant GM soybeans. Has the toxicity of Roundup been greatly underestimated? When regulatory agencies assess pesticides for safety they invariably test only the claimed active ingredient. Nevertheless, these do not necessarily represent realistic conditions since in practice it is the full, formulated herbicide (there are many Roundup formulations) that is used in the field. Thus, it is relevant to consider, not only the active ingredient, in this case glyphosate and its breakdown product AMPA, but also the other compounds present in the herbicide formulation since these enhance toxicity. For example, formulations of glyphosate commonly contain adjuvants and surfactants to stabilize and facilitate penetration into the plant tissue. Polyoxyethylene amine (POEA) and polyethoxylated tallowamine (POE-15) are common ingredients in Roundup formulations and have been shown to contribute significantly to toxicity (Moore et al. 2012). Our own recent study in the model organism Daphnia magna demonstrated that chronic exposure to glyphosate and a commercial formulation of Roundup resulted in negative effects on several life-history traits, in particular reproductive aberrations like reduced fecundity and increased abortion rate, at environmental concentrations of 0.45-1.35 mg/liter (active ingredient), i.e. below accepted environmental tolerance limits set in the US (0.7 mg/liter) (Cuhra et al. 2013). A reduced body size of juveniles was even observed at an exposure to Roundup at 0.05 mg/liter. This is in sharp contrast to world-wide regulatory assumptions in general, which we have found to be strongly influenced by early industry studies and in the case of aquatic ecotoxicity assessment, to be based on 1978 and 1981 studies presented by Monsanto claiming that glyphosate is virtually non-toxic in D. magna (McAllister & Forbis, 1978; Forbis & Boudreau, 1981). Thus a worrisome outlook for health and the environment can be found in the combination of i) the vast increase in use of glyphosate-based herbicides, in particular due to glyphosate-tolerant GM plants, and ii) new findings of higher toxicity of both glyphosate as an active ingredient (Cuhra et al., 2013) and increased toxicity due to contributions from chemical adjuvants in commercial formulations (Annett et al. 2014). A similar situation can be found for other pesticides. Mesnage et al. (2014) found that 8 out of 9 tested pesticides were more toxic than their declared active principles. This means that the Accepted Daily Intake (ADI) for humans, i.e. what society finds “admissible” regarding pesticide residues may have been set too high, even before potential combinatorial effects of different chemical exposures are taken into account. For glyphosate formulations (Roundup), realistic exposure scenarios in the aquatic environment may harm non-target biodiversity from microorganisms, invertebrates, amphibians and fish, (reviewed in Annett et al. 2014) indicating that the environmental consequences of these agrochemicals need to be re-assessed. Other compositional differences between GM, non-GM, and organic Our research also demonstrated that different agricultural practices lead to markedly different end products. Data on other measured compositional characteristics could be used to discriminate statistically all individual soy samples (without exception) into their respective agricultural practice background (Fig. 2). Organic soybeans showed the healthiest nutritional profile with more glucose, fructose, sucrose and maltose, significantly more total protein, zinc and less fiber, compared with both conventional and GM-soy. Organic soybeans contained less total saturated fat and total omega-6 fatty acids than both conventional and GM-soy. Conclusion Roundup Ready GM-soy accumulates residues of glyphosate and AMPA, and also differs markedly in nutritional composition compared to soybeans from other agricultural practices. Organic soybean samples also showed a more healthy nutritional profile (e.g. higher in protein and lower in saturated fatty acids) than both industrial conventional and GM soybeans. Lack of data on pesticide residues in major crop plants is a serious gap of knowledge with potential consequences for human and animal health. How is the public to trust a risk assessment system that has overlooked the most obvious risk factor for herbicide tolerant GM crops, i.e. high residue levels of herbicides, for nearly 20 years? If it has been due to lack of understanding, it would be bad. If it is the result of the producer’s power to influence the risk assessment system, it would be worse. References American Soy Association, Soystats. 2013. 16-5-2013. Annett, R., Habibi, H. R. and Hontela, A. 2014. Impact of glyphosate and glyphosate-based herbicides on the freshwater environment. – Journal of Applied Toxicology DOI 10.1002/jat.2997. Aumaitre, L. A. 2002. New feeds from genetically modified plants: substantial equivalence, nutritional equivalence and safety for animals and animal products. – Productions Animales 15: 97-108. Benbrook, C. M. 2012. Impacts of genetically engineered crops on pesticide use in the U.S. – the first sixteen years. – Environmental Science Europe 24:24. Binimelis, R., Pengue, W. and Monterroso, I. 2009. “Transgenic treadmill”: Responses to the emergence and spread of glyphosate-resistant johnsongrass in Argentina. – Geoforum 40: 623-633. Bøhn, T., Cuhra, M., Traavik, T., Sanden, M., Fagan, J. and Primicerio, R. 2014. Compositional differences in soybeans on the market: Glyphosate accumulates in Roundup Ready GM soybeans. – Food Chemistry 153: 207-215. Cuhra, M., Traavik, T. and Bøhn, T. 2013. Clone- and age-dependent toxicity of a glyphosate commercial formulation and its active ingredient in Daphnia magna. – Ecotoxicology 22: 251-262 (open access). DOI 10.1007/s10646-012-1021-1. Duke, S. O., Rimando, A. M., Pace, P. F., Reddy, K. N. and Smeda, R. J. 2003. Isoflavone, glyphosate, and aminomethylphosphonic acid levels in seeds of glyphosate-treated, glyphosate-resistant soybean. – Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 51: 340-344. EC . Review report for the active substance glyphosate. 6511/VI/99-final, 1-56. 2002. European Commission. Health and Consumer Protection Directorate-General. Forbis, A.D., Boudreau, P. 1981. Acute toxicity of MON0139 (Lot LURT 12011)(AB-81-074) To Daphnia magna: Static acute bio- assay report no. 27203. Unpublished study document from US EPA library Harrigan, G. G., Ridley, G., Riordan, S. G., Nemeth, M. A., Sorbet, R., Trujillo, W. A., Breeze, M. L. and Schneider, R. W. 2007. Chemical composition of glyphosate-tolerant soybean 40–3-2 grown in Europe remains equivalent with that of conventional soybean (Glycine max L.). – Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 55: 6160-6168. James, C. Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops: 2012. ISAAA Brief No. 44. 2012. ISAAA: Ithaca, NY. Kleter, G. A., Unsworth, J. B. and Harris, C. A. 2011. The impact of altered herbicide residues in transgenic herbicide-resistant crops on standard setting for herbicide residues. – Pest Management Science 67: 1193-1210. McAllister, W., Forbis A. 1978. Acute toxicity of technical glyphosate (AB–78–201) to Daphnia magna. Study reviewed and approved 8–30–85 by EEB/HED Mesnage, R., Defarge, N., Vendômois, J. S. and Seralini, G. E. 2014. Major pesticides are more toxic to human cells than their declared active principles. – BioMed Research International http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/179691. Monsanto . Residues in Roundup Ready soya lower than conventional soy. http://www.monsanto.co.uk/news/99/june99/220699_residue.html . 1999. Moore, L. J., Fuentes, L., Rodgers, J. H., Bowerman, W. W., Yarrow, G. K., Chao, W. Y. and Bridges, W. C. 2012. Relative toxicity of the components of the original formulation of Roundup (R) to five North American anurans. – Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 78: 128-133. Pollak, P. 2011. Fine chemicals: the industry and the business. – Wiley. Shaner, D. L., Lindenmeyer, R. B. and Ostlie, M. H. 2012. What have the mechanisms of resistance to glyphosate taught us? – Pest Management Science 68: 3-9. USDA . National Agricultural Statistics Service. 2013. 16-5-2013. The Authors: Thomas Bøhn GenØk – Centre for Biosafety, Tromsø, Norway Professor of Gene Ecology, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT The Arctic University of Norway Marek Cuhra GenØk – Centre for Biosafety, Tromsø, Norway PhD student, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT The Arctic University of Norway If this article was useful to you please consider sharing it with your networks.
More than a mile underground in an Ontario mine is the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory. The detector is located in the largest man made underground cavity in the world: a barrel 108 feet deep and 72 feet across forming a chamber roughly the size of a 10 story building. The entire chamber is filled with water, and its sole purpose is to detect solar neutrinos. The walls of the chamber are lined with plastic to help to keep down the radiation levels from uranium and thorium in the surrounding rock. Inside the chamber is an enormous Buckminster Fuller sphere studded with 9600 photomultiplier tubes, which itself surrounds a forty-foot acrylic sphere filled with 1,000 tons of heavy water. (The $330 million dollars worth of heavy water is on loan from Atomic Energy of Canada Limited.) SNO, as it’s known, is situated in the deepest part of the nickel mine, helping to shield the detector from cosmic rays. Despite the fact that billions of neutrinos stream through one’s body every second, they can only be detected when they strike an atom’s nucleus, giving off light. They are notoriously difficult to detect. Roughly 8 to 10 neutrino strikes are detected each day, and a single stray photon can cause a false event. Having finished the recording element of the experiment, the heavy water has been drained out as the detector is being upgraded for the SNO+ experiment. The acrylic sphere will be filled with an organic liquid much like mineral oil, which can detect neutrinos of a much lower energy than the SNO could. While the observatory itself is not currently open to the public for tours, in nearby Greater Sudbury the museum Science North shows “Secrets from the Sun,” a video tour of the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory.
Frank Seravalli TSN Senior Hockey Reporter Follow\|Archive PITTSBURGH - For the first time in a number of years, no single player dominates the TSN Top 30 Free Agent discussion, as Steven Stamkos did a year ago. Instead, a group headlined by three Capitals (Kevin Shattenkirk, T.J. Oshie and Karl Alzner) and one Canadien (Alexander Radulov) leads the list ahead of the Free Agent Frenzy that begins July 1 (11 a.m. ET on TSN 1/3/4/5). Despite a bumpy playoff run, Shattenkirk took top billing as a right-shooting defenceman with proven power-play capabilities. Shattenkirk, 28, has never netted fewer than 43 points in any of his six full NHL seasons. Shattenkirk is coming off a career-best 56-point campaign split between St. Louis and Washington, where he reportedly turned down a seven-year, $42-million sign-and-trade offer from Tampa Bay. He’s likely to sign the largest total money deal in free agency. Oshie, 30, won’t be far behind Shattenkirk. The Olympic hero winger scored a career-high 33 goals in just 68 regular-season games. Only four players league-wide – Sidney Crosby, Nikita Kucherov and Evgeni Malkin – produced at a higher goals-per-game clip than Oshie (0.49), who tied with Auston Matthews, Patrik Laine and Brad Marchand. He followed that up with 12 points in 13 playoff games for Washington. Radulov, 30, is the oldest of the top four poised to hit the market. Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin has expressed interest in re-signing Radulov, but a reportedly high ask and the looming expansion draft likely prevented a deal from coming together now. Ward: It would take something catastrophic for Radulov not to re-sign Former NHLer Aaron Ward joins Melnick in the Afternoon and talks about the off-season ahead for the Montreal Canadiens. Yes, the addition of the Golden Knights will have its fingerprints all over Free Agent Frenzy, too. The expansion draft is why established stars such as Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Mike Fisher and Jaromir Jagr didn’t make the cut. All seem to be a good bet to remain with their teams. They’re without a contract as we drift toward the middle of June because they would then need to be protected by their club for the draft, thus stealing a spot from another likely younger player. The Golden Knights and GM George McPhee will have a 72-hour exclusive interview period with pending unrestricted and restricted free agents left exposed by their clubs. They can be signed anywhere from June 18 at 10 a.m. ET to June 21 at 9:59 a.m. ET. Any free agent signed by Vegas will count as that club’s player selected in the expansion draft. Any free agent picked by Vegas without a contract already signed is under no obligation to sign with the Golden Knights and can still become a full-fledged free agent on July 1. Former Flyers netminder Steve Mason, who put up a starter-level .917 save percentage in four seasons in Philadelphia, figures to be the No. 1 goaltender on the market. Brian Elliott, Ryan Miller, Mike Condon and Peter Budaj could also draw significant interest. The one wild card on the board is defenceman Jared Cowen at No. 30. Cowen, still 26, did not play in the NHL last season after being bought out by the Maple Leafs. With that, here is TSN’s Top 30 UFAs board. For additional updates to the list as the off-season draws closer, go to tsn.ca/nhl on TSN.ca and TSN's mobile site: The Top 30 1. Kevin Shattenkirk, WSH Pos. D Age: 28 GP: 80 G: 13 PTS: 56 2016-17 Cap Hit: $4.25M 2. TJ Oshie, WSH Pos. RW Age: 30 GP: 68 G: 33 PTS: 56 2016-17 Cap Hit: $4.175M 3. Alexander Radulov, MTL Pos. RW Age: 30 GP: 76 G: 18 PTS: 54 2016-17 Cap Hit: $5.75M 4. Karl Alzner, WSH Pos. D Age: 28 GP: 82 G: 3 PTS: 13 2016-17 Cap Hit: $2.8M 5. Martin Hanzal, MIN Pos. C Age: 30 GP: 71 G: 20 PTS: 39 2016-17 Cap Hit: $3.1M 6. Justin Williams, WSH Pos. RW Age: 35 GP: 80 G: 24 PTS: 48 2016-17 Cap Hit: $3.25M 7. Kris Russell, EDM Pos. D Age: 30 GP: 68 G: 1 PTS: 13 2016-17 Cap Hit: $3.1M 8. Steve Mason, PHI Pos. G Age: 29 GP: 58 GAA: 2.66 SV%: .908 2016-17 Cap Hit: $4.25M 9. Sam Gagner, CLB Pos. C Age: 28 GP: 81 G: 18 PTS: 50 2016-17 Cap Hit: $4.25M 10. Michael Stone, CGY Pos. D Age: 26 GP: 64 G: 3 PTS: 15 2016-17 Cap Hit: $4M 11. Nick Bonino, PIT Pos. C Age: 29 GP: 80 G: 18 PTS: 37 2016-17 Cap Hit: $1.9M 12. Brendan Smith, NYR Pos. D Age: 28 GP: 51 G: 3 PTS: 9 2016-17 Cap Hit: $2.75M 13. Patrick Eaves, ANA Pos. RW Age: 33 GP: 79 G: 32 PTS: 51 2016-17 Cap Hit: $1M 14. Brian Boyle, TOR Pos. C Age: 32 GP: 75 G: 13 PTS: 25 2016-17 Cap Hit: $2M 15. Michael Del Zotto, PHI Pos. D Age: 26 GP: 51 G: 6 PTS: 18 2016-17 Cap Hit: $3.875M 16. Radim Vrbata, ARI Pos. RW Age: 35 GP: 81 G: 20 PTS: 55 2016-17 Cap Hit: $1M 17. Ryan Miller, VAN Pos. G Age: 36 GP: 54 GAA: 2.80 SV%: .914 2016-17 Cap Hit: $6M 18. Thomas Vanek, FLA Pos. LW Age: 33 GP: 68 G: 17 PTS: 48 2016-17 Cap Hit: $2.6M 19. Brian Elliott, CGY Pos. G Age: 32 GP: 49 GAA: 2.55 SV%: .910 2016-17 Cap Hit: $2.5M 20. Patrick Sharp, DAL Pos. RW Age: 35 GP: 48 G: 8 PTS: 18 2016-17 Cap Hit: $5.9M 21. Trevor Daley, PIT Pos. D Age: 33 GP: 56 G: 5 PTS: 19 2016-17 Cap Hit: $3.3M 22. Mike Condon, OTT Pos. G Age: 27 GP: 41 GAA: 2.48 SV%: .914 2016-17 Cap Hit: $575K 23. Dmitry Kulikov, BUF Pos. D Age: 26 GP: 47 G: 2 PTS: 5 2016-17 Cap Hit: $4.3M 24. Drew Stafford, BOS Pos. RW Age: 31 GP: 58 G: 8 PTS: 21 2016-17 Cap Hit: $4.35M 25. Kris Versteeg, CGY Pos. RW Age: 31 GP: 69 G: 15 PTS: 37 2016-17 Cap Hit: $950K 26. Derek Ryan, CAR Pos. C Age: 30 GP: 67 G: 11 PTS: 29 2016-17 Cap Hit: $4.25M 27. Tyler Pitlick, EDM Pos. RW Age: 25 GP: 31 G: 8 PTS: 11 2016-17 Cap Hit: $725K 28. Jordan Weal, PHI Pos. C Age: 25 GP: 23 G: 8 PTS: 12 2016-17 Cap Hit: $650K 29. Peter Budaj, TAM Pos. G Age: 34 GP: 60 G: 2.18 SV%: .915 2016-17 Cap Hit: $600K 30. Jared Cowen, TOR Pos. D Age: 26 GP: - G: - PTS: - 2016-17 Cap Hit: $3.1M Contact Frank Seravalli on Twitter: @frank_seravalli
“About sex especially men are born unbalanced; we might almost say men are born mad. They scarcely reach sanity till they reach sanctity.” — G.K. Chesterton, The Everlasting Man “For this reason the Second Vatican Council states that all the Pope’s teaching should be listened to and accepted, even when it is not given ex cathedra but is proposed in the ordinary exercise of his Magisterium with the manifest intention of declaring, recalling and confirming the doctrine of faith.” — Saint John Paul II, General Audience, March 17, 1993 (emphasis added) The Church, for decades now, has faced several crises involving a host of related, if not always obviously connected, issues. Two of these are authority and anthropology. As the spiritual, cultural, and moral authority of the Church has been attacked from without and, far too often, undermined from within, a key point of contention and dissension has been the nature of man. And, in many ways, the fulcrum has been sexuality and, by extension, marriage and family. There is a sad irony in that just when the Second Vatican Council was emphasizing the intimate connection between marriage, procreation, and “the eternal destiny of men” (Gaudium et Spes, 51), the West was flying down the slippery, disastrous slopes of contraception, the sexual revolution, and legalized abortion. The conciliar fathers, in what is one of more overlooked texts of the Council (GS, 47-52), spoke of the “sexual characteristics of man and the human faculty of reproduction” and how “the acts themselves which are proper to conjugal love and which are exercised in accord with genuine human dignity must be honored with great reverence.” They emphasized that “the moral aspects of any procedure does not depend solely on sincere intentions or on an evaluation of motives, but must be determined by objective standards,” noting that these, “based on the nature of the human person and his acts, preserve the full sense of mutual self-giving and human procreation in the context of true love.” In many ways, the pontificate of John Paul II—especially (but not limited to) his catechesis on the “theology of the body”—was an elucidation and defense of both Humanae Vitae and the aforementioned section of the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World. The rifts that emerged quickly and so destructively following the Council were fixated on sexual matters, especially contraception, but were ultimately aimed at both Church authority and the traditional Catholic understanding of human nature. While the Council is often, and not without some good reason, criticized for having a too positive view of matters, there are in fact a significant number of sober warnings, such as: “Relying on these principles, sons of the Church may not undertake methods of birth control which are found blameworthy by the teaching authority of the Church in its unfolding of the divine law” (GS, 51). Fast forward to the current situation. Over the past three years, Pope Francis has sought to address various challenges and questions facing the family. As I’ve noted, the result has been, on the whole, “much discord, confusion, and frustration, quite a bit of it revolving around that one question: ‘Are divorced and civilly remarried Catholics now able to receive Holy Communion?’” And the two big issues again, it seems to me, are authority and anthropology. So, regarding the first, what sort of authority does the Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia claim and possess? Stephen Walford, in a February 2017 essay for La Stampa, argues that it is part of the ordinary papal magisterium and as such we must conclude the following: From the teaching of popes through history, we must affirm that Pope Francis cannot possibly be in error in his ordinary magisterium concerning issues of faith and morals, and thus his teaching that under certain, carefully considered cases, Holy Communion can be given to persons in irregular situations is perfectly valid and influenced by the Holy Spirit; to come to any other conclusion is to then call into question the teaching authority of previous popes and consequently the entire fabric of Catholicism is called into question. Do we then pick and choose which teachings of which popes to accept? That would be tantamount to a form of Protestantism. Much could be said here about the nature of the papal magisterium (and here I recommend this detailed analysis provided by Steve Skojec), but I want to make three basic points. First, as has been pointed out countless times, but apparently needs to be pointed out again, St. John Paul II, in Familiaris Consortio, stated clearly and without qualification, the following: However, the Church reaffirms her practice, which is based upon Sacred Scripture, of not admitting to Eucharistic Communion divorced persons who have remarried. They are unable to be admitted thereto from the fact that their state and condition of life objectively contradict that union of love between Christ and the Church which is signified and effected by the Eucharist. Besides this, there is another special pastoral reason: if these people were admitted to the Eucharist, the faithful would be led into error and confusion regarding the Church’s teaching about the indissolubility of marriage. (par 84) Put simply, we have the ordinary papal magisterium of John Paul II stating that Catholics who have been divorced and remarried cannot receive Holy Communion. We then have the ordinary papal magisterium of Pope Francis, as interpreted by Mr. Walford, stating that some Catholics who have been divorced and remarried can receive Holy Communion. The problem here is obvious. Secondly, there are bishops (Malta, Germany, etc) who have interpreted Amoris Laetitia as Mr. Walford has, and there are others (Poland, Abp. Chaput, Abp. Sample, etc.) who have interpreted Amoris Laetitia in keeping with John Paul II and the until now consistent and clear teaching of the Church. The problem here, again, is obvious. Third, there is this glaring and uncomfortable fact: Amoris Laetitia lends itself so readily to clashing, contradictory interpretations. Which in turn raises this obvious question: if a pope is supposed to define and defend doctrine, but instead causes confusion and disagreement about doctrine, in what way is it “magisterial” and “authoritative”? After all, as Cardinal Avery Dulles, S.J., argued in Magisterium: Teacher and Guardian of the Faith (Sapientia Press, 2007), the Magisterium has three basic duties: to “herald the apostolic faith”, to “defend the faith against opposed errors,” and “clarify the faith.” Mr. Walford’s quotation from John Paul II’s 1993 General Audience is problematic for a few reasons, but one will suffice here: that the late Polish pontiff provided an important qualifier when he stated: “For this reason the Second Vatican Council states that all the Pope’s teaching should be listened to and accepted, even when it is not given ex cathedra but is proposed in the ordinary exercise of his Magisterium with the manifest intention of declaring, recalling and confirming the doctrine of faith.” (emphasis added). In what way was Francis declaring, recalling, and confirming the doctrine of faith articulated so clearly by John Paul II? Put another way, if you claim to confirm something but instead cause widespread confusion, of what value or purpose is your act of confirmation? And if you were being misinterpreted by one party or another, wouldn’t you be anxious to say so? Simply put: what exactly did Pope Francis intend in the famous eighth chapter of his apostolic exhortation? I had the privilege of studying theology under Dr. Mark Lowery, a brilliant moral theologian at the University of Dallas, whose course in Moral Theology covered the various forms of magisterial teaching. It is, needless to say, a daunting and complicated topic. But Dr. Lowery’s remark about the ordinary papal magisterium, which can be found in his online notes, is worth pondering: The ordinary papal Magisterium consists in Popes teaching “authentically,” usually in documents such as encyclicals or apostolic exhortations. These documents may contain truths that are taught infallibly, but the documents as a whole are not infallible. Rather, they require the “assent of mind and will” of the faithful, an assent which is distinct in nature from the “assent of faith” required of item s infallibly taught. Humanae Vitae, for instance, is not an infallible document. It contains ideas which require respectful assent but which, while not being erroneous, may be incomplete or partially flawed. However, in article 12 the pope touches upon a matter that, it can be argued, is infallibly taught: the inseparability of the unitive and procreative dimensions of each conjugal act. At the very best, then, it seems we can conclude that Pope Francis did not teach or proclaim error in Amoris Laetitis, in large part because it is not readily evident what he taught, wanted to teach, or wanted others to conclude. (I say this as someone who is quite convinced that Pope Francis is trying to open the door to Communion for couples in “irregular” situations; but this, I think, is the best that be said about the status of the document.) In short, the impression given in many quarters is that the pope can, by virtue of his ordinary magisterium, alter and even bypass the ordinary magisterium of his predecessors, as if his office was established for the purpose of innovation, as if the Holy Spirit can offer us contradictory statements about matters of faith and morals. Which brings us to the person, project, and propaganda of Fr. James Martin, S.J., who has been making the rounds of the secular media circuit in support of his book Building a Bridge: How the Catholic Church and the LGBT Community can Enter into a Relationship of Respect, Compassion, and Sensitivity (see this detailed CWR review by Dr. Eduardo Echeverria). In a recent piece published in Newsday, Fr. Martin invokes Pope Francis and the Holy Spirit to the cause of welcoming, embracing, and apparently celebrating those in the “LGBT community”: Catholics are realizing, in greater numbers, that LGBT people have been excluded like no other group in their church. This is becoming clearer because more people are hearing their voices, and because Pope Francis has allowed Catholics to speak about these issues more openly. This thaw is not happening everywhere. In many U.S. parishes, LGBT people still feel excluded; in some parts of the world, they are treated with contempt. And some people feel the pope has not done enough by way of change, pointing, for example, to the section in the Catechism that labels homosexuality as “objectively disordered.” However, these steps are a good start and the work of the Holy Spirit. As such, these changes not only shouldn’t be stopped. They cannot be stopped. As both Dr. Echeverria and Deacon Jim Russell point out, this call to “welcome” this so-called “community” is fraught with serious problems, not least Fr. Martin’s obvious acceptance and promotion of the basic tenets of The Reign of Gay: that the inclination to homosexuality is not “objectively disordered,” as the Catechism states (par 2358), but instead is the mark of someone “differently ordered” (as Fr. Martin suggested in this interview); that homosexuality is normal and healthy; and that the Church’s teaching about homosexuality is backward, hurtful, and bigoted. Since Fr. Martin implies the Holy Spirit wishes to change and “update” Church teaching, I can only conclude that Fr. Martin believes the Holy Spirit and the Church have been in error about the nature of man, woman, sexuality, and love for two thousand years, and that the “God of surprises” has finally come around to the wisdom of the current age. Of course, this reflects the madness mentioned by Chesterton; we are not dealing here with a man interested in objective truth but in promoting passion under the guise of soft-focused sentimentality. Fr. Martin admits he is not a theologian, but he does not hesitate in insisting the Catechism be changed, remarking: “But, as I say in the book, saying that one of the deepest parts of a person — the part that gives and receives love — is disordered is needlessly hurtful.” Such a statement, frankly, is embarrassing; coming from a priest who belongs to an order once known for its theological rigor and doctrinal fidelity, it is scandalous. However, it is also instructive, for it indicates how poorly Fr. Martin understands the logic of Church teaching and the truth about human nature. Readers would do well to carefully consider the insights provided by Daniel Mattson in his book Why I Don’t Call Myself Gay: How I Reclaimed My Sexual Reality and Found Peace (Ignatius Press, 2017), who points out how a homosexual man, in reading the Catechism’s short section, “hears the Church’s teaching not as an invitation to authentic human fulfillment, but as a rejection of himself and the person he cares about.” Mattson then quotes from Benedict XVI’s 2012 ad limina visit with the U.S. bishop, in which Benedict stated: In this great pastoral effort there is an urgent need for the entire Christian community to recover an appreciation of the virtue of chastity. The integrating and liberating function of this virtue (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2338–43) should be emphasized by a formation of the heart, which presents the Christian understanding of sexuality as a source of genuine freedom, happiness and the fulfilment of our fundamental and innate human vocation to love. It is not merely a question of presenting arguments, but of appealing to an integrated, consistent and uplifting vision of human sexuality. The richness of this vision is more sound and appealing than the permissive ideologies exalted in some quarters; these in fact constitute a powerful and destructive form of counter-catechesis for the young. Mattson then writes, in a quite profound passage: As I was coming to know who God is, and who I am as his son, this was the most important lesson for me to learn: that God loves me, that it is good that I exist, and that God has a plan for my life to bring me happiness and blessings. When I understood this divine plan of God, and finally believed that God’s plans truly were to prosper me and not to harm me (cf. Jer 29:11), I could finally begin to see the moral claims proposed to me by the Church, not as an onerous demand, but instead as an invitation to reclaim the dignity that was given to me in the Creation, and redeemed by the Passion, death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. In this context, the phrases “objectively disordered” and “intrinsically disordered” become helpful signposts on the journey of life, urging me to seek and follow the path, the order, that God has established for my life and my relationships. The Church understands that human beings are wounded creatures: the natural unity of body and soul, and the natural harmony of the mind, will, and emotions, are damaged by the Original Sin of Adam and by our own personal sins. Natural feelings and desires, which were created to guide us to choose good and avoid evil, can become distorted, sometimes pulling us in the opposite direction, toward choices that are truly not good for us. Though Christ has saved us from sin, its effects remain in us, which means that we all can be led astray by disordered appetites—urges and desires for things that are not part of God’s plan for human life and relationships. And then he sums it up by stating: “I need this teaching in order to understand who I am, why I am here, and where I am going.” Fr. Martin would have us believe—again, in direct denial of both divine truth and natural reason—that, as he told The New York Times, “Pretty much everyone’s lifestyle is sinful…” Of course, it should go without saying that we are all sinners in need of God’s mercy and grace. But that is not what Fr. Matin is saying; Fr. Martin, who is a master of skewing and skirting, distorts the truth in order to gloss over the fact that all of us are called, by the transforming power of the Holy Spirit, to be true and holy children of God. He prefers Catholics to bow before the golden calf of this age of sentimentality rather than admit that he not only does not possess the authority to rewrite the Catechism, he does not possess the power or right to question the Author of Life and Love, who has created us to be ordered to everlasting beatitude, not some shallow, passion-driven counterfeit pretending to offer “happiness” and “affirmation”. And now Fr. Martin is blasting Bishop Thomas Paprocki, who recently issued diocesan norms regarding ministry toward persons who had entered a ‘same-sex marriage’. Over at a faux Catholic rag, a shrill columnist declares that Bishop Paprocki “should be sacked,” and then provides various quotes from Fr. Martin and Pope Francis. The buzz words now are “inclusion” and “mercy”; truth, fidelity, and discipleship are of little interest. To be fair, this has been coming for decades, and I am actually in full agreement with those who argue that the acceptance of contraception, divorce, adultery, and cohabitation on the part of “straight” men and women have brought us to this point. Absolutely right. And all of those issues, again, are bound together by a failure of authority—most notably in how often truth has not been proclaimed and defended—and a failure of anthropology. But lines must be drawn, and the drawing of those lines are only going to infuriate those who feel that every line is an attack on their rights, their needs, their desires, and their happiness. For decades, the majority of Catholics have embraced bourgeois values instead of Christian virtues, and the vacuum created by confused and ambiguous teaching is being filled with opportunistic falsehood. “In the domain of morality,” wrote Archbishop Fulton Sheen many years ago, “is it not an accepted principle of our Western bourgeois world that there is no absolute distinction between right and wrong rooted in the eternal order of God, but that they are relative and dependent entirely upon one’s point of view? Hence when the Western world wishes to decide what is right and wrong even in certain moral matters, it takes a poll—forgetful that the majority never makes a thing right…The first poll of public opinion taken in history of Christianity was on Pilate’s front porch, and it was wrong.” The ordinary magisterium of the Church has always taught and held that homosexual acts—as well as fornication, contraception, adultery, masturbation, and pornography—are serious sins. But, in the near future, when representatives of the porn industry demand to be accepted, included, and embraced by the Church, without any reference to the evils of pornography, what will we say? It seems likes a ridiculous question. I’m not so sure, as ridiculous is now the new normal, and the love that once dare not speak its name now demands to be proclaimed from the pulpit.
With Discovery, 3 Scientists Chip Away At An Unsolvable Math Problem Jennifer McLoud-Mann had almost come to believe that her last two years of work had been for naught. "It had gotten to the point, where we hadn't found anything," she said. "And I was starting to believe I just don't know if we're going to find anything." Armed with an algorithm, McLoud-Mann, along with her husband, Casey Mann, and David Von Derau — all of the University of Washington, Bothell — had been trying to help unravel one of math's long-standing unanswered questions. How many shapes are able to "tile the plane" — meaning the shapes can fit together perfectly to cover any flat surface without overlapping or leaving any gaps. Mathematicians have proved that all triangles and quadrilaterals, or shapes with four sides, can tile the plane, and they have documented all of the convex hexagons that can do it. But it gets a lot more complicated when dealing with pentagons — specifically convex, or nonregular pentagons with the angles pointing outward. The number of convex pentagons is infinite — and so is the number that could potentially tile the plane. It's a problem that's almost unsolvable because, as McLoud-Mann put it, it has "infinitely many possibilities." It's a problem that also intrigued her because it was so simple that anyone could start working toward a solution using pencil and paper. "The cool thing in mathematics is that sometimes you have a simply stated problem that doesn't have a simple solution," she said. In other words: It's possible that that there are dozens — hundreds, thousands even — of these convex pentagon shapes waiting to be discovered. Up until last month, only 14 had been found, and for all anyone knew, that list could have been final. But last month, a cluster of computers that Von Derau was using to run though different shapes spit out an intriguing possibility. He sent it to McLoud-Mann, who said she was excited but suspicious. She had been sifting through the data coming out of the cluster, and most of the time when she checked the computers' work, the shapes turned out to be one of two things: an impossible pentagon — meaning one that didn't fit the mathematical definition of a convex pentagon — or one that already fit into the 14 types that had been found. This time it was different. She ran the data over to her husband's office. She told him that they needed to make a picture of it immediately. And this is what he came up with: Enlarge this image toggle caption Casey Mann Casey Mann The three mathematicians had discovered the first new convex pentagon able to tile the plane in some 30 years. The scientists had become a part of a legendary history that dates to 1918, when the German mathematician Karl Reinhardt described the first five types of pentagons to be able to tile the plane. Until last month, only four others had added to that canon: R.B. Kershner found three more types in 1968; Richard James added one type in 1975; after reading about James' find in Scientific American, Marjorie Rice, a housewife and amateur mathematician, added four types that same year. Rolf Stein found a 14th type in 1985. After McLoud-Mann and her team found No. 15, they celebrated at home. Maybe, McLoud-Mann said, they could tile a spot in their house with the new shape. Maybe the university could tile a spot on campus, like the Mathematical Association of America in Washington, D.C., did with one of the shapes discovered by Rice. Asked if she had hopes that the team's algorithm would find more of these pentagons, McLoud-Mann let out a sigh. "Oh, I don't know. I don't know," she said. So, again, the problem with this mathematical problem is that it has infinite possibilities, so there's no way to know when you're done or if the list of shapes is complete. "Sometimes, what mathematicians try to do," she said, "is simply try to chip away at the problem."
On a drunken night behind the wheel of a car, had Bollywood superstar Salman Khan mowed down a fellow Bollywood superstar, would there have been any debate on the quantum of punishment that the actor deserved? Or for that matter, would there have been any debate on whether he deserved to be punished at all? If the victim had been somebody other than a faceless, impoverished pavement dweller, would there have been a teeny weeny bit more sympathy for the family of the deceased and not merely the family of Salman Khan? Would the view that the judiciary had handed Salman Khan an exemplary sentence because of his celebrity status have been trotted out if he had killed another Bollywood star? I can’t quite think of a word that means the opposite of exemplary, but that’s just the sort of word I would use for Bollywood today. There are many things that I have grown to admire about Bollywood. I admire some of the excellent films that have been produced by the Hindi film industry. I admire Bollywood’s contribution to public relations — Hindi films are a hit in a diverse range of countries from Russia to Turkey. But on Wednesday morning, I cringed with disgust as I saw Bollywood come out in full strength to support Salman Khan. There was an outpouring of sadness over Khan’s conviction, with not a word of sympathy for the kith and kin of the man who died on the city’s pavements. It was almost as if Khan had been convicted for swatting a fly. Those who fit snugly into their Being Human T-shirts seemed to have forgotten that a man who’s dirt poor and sleeps on a pavement still qualifies as a human being. While many in Bollywood merely ignored the existence of the pavement dweller who was killed, the award for the most cringe worthy comment would have to go to playback singer Abhijeet, who had this to say on Twitter: “Kutta rd pe soyega kutte ki maut marega, roads garib ke baap ki nahi hai I ws homles an year nvr slept on rd.” Loosely translated, he feels that if a dog sleeps on the streets, he should die like a dog. He goes on to say that the roads aren’t a poor man’s father’s property, adding that, though he, too, was homeless for a year, he never slept on the streets. The tweet says much about the playback singer’s views on animals and people. While he has rather strong views on people sleeping on pavements, he seems to have no problem with people driving on them. “After watching Dabang, I actually thought the deceased man will be convicted for sleeping on the pavement instead,” she a twitter handle called @ammarawrites in a satirical swipe at Khan. Barring a few rare birds like Abhijeet, the deceased man was all but forgotten by the film industry. “@BeingSalmanKhan is a man who has always helped d underprivileged! A man who has done so much humanitarian work. Prayers for a fair judgement,” says Bipasha Basu. I can’t quite understand what “doing a lot for the underprivileged” has to do with being convicted for running over an underprivileged man. Are there so many underprivileged people in India that it doesn’t matter if you kill a few here and there? While many prefixed their sympathy with a line on how they respected the court’s verdict, some actors like Arjun Kapoor, didn’t deem fit to do so. “It doesn’t matter what anyone or any court says he doesn’t deserve this at any level…will stand by @BeingSalmanKhan no matter what…” says Kapoor, clearly an expert in the law. “It hurts when your own are punished, even if they are in the wrong. We love you and are standing by you,” says actor Alia Bhatt. Of course, the pavement dweller and his family aren’t “her own.” Once again, I wonder how Bollywood would have reacted if Khan’s car lost control and rammed into a Bollywood star, sitting, standing, sleeping, singing, dancing or pirouetting on the pavement. What if he had killed “one of their own?”
Come Wednesday, Cosatu and all its affiliates will be engaged in a general strike against e-tolling, as well as against labour brokers, the casualization of labour and attempts to restrict the right to strike. In a statement on Monday, Cosatu said it was receiving overwhelming support for one of the “biggest mass protests in years”. Thirty-two marches will be taking place around the country on the day. These include only one in Gauteng, where the e-tolling of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP) is set to commence on 30th of April this year. The march will be led by Cosatu General Secretary Zwelinzima Vavi who has on many occasions urged motorists to simply engage in a mass civil disobedience drive and not register for or pay the e-tolls in protest. The march will start at the Library Gardens and march to the Premier’s Office, the Chamber of Mines, SEISSA and also the Department of Transport and Roads. The South African Municipal Workers’ Union has pledged its support to the protest action, saying that the GFIP and the Wild Coast and Cape Winelands Toll Highway Projects were “ill-conceived, likely to have corrupt elements attached to it and too expensive for the majority” of South Africa. The union said that country’s public will already have their “pockets emptied” after the scheduled petrol hikes taking effect this week and also those to follow in subsequent months. “Municipal workers will sacrifice a day’s wage for the greater good and encourage others to do the same,” the union said in a statement. According to Samwu both unionised and non-unionised members of society will be able to take part in the protest action scheduled for Wednesday as Cosatu obtained the necessary permissions for the protest action. “Apart from scrapping the toll road projects, government must investigate as to who was responsible for steam-rolling these projects past public and stakeholder consultation as well as all the relevant checks and balances. This for us is highly suspicious, given the amounts of money involved in the various toll road projects,” the union said. A mass stay away will cost the country productivity. According to the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of South Africa, the strike comes at a considerable cost to the industry’s workers and their employers. “The anticipated loss of a day’s production and wages is regretted by SEIFSA – particularly, as it comes at a time where the majority of firms engaged in the metal and engineering industry are struggling to remain viable, and where the retention of current employment levels is under significant pressure,” the federation said. Source: Moneyweb Related articles e-Tolling prices Third of e-tolling fees go to collection
Pop TV is finding out what Spike TV and Destination America found out that it’s difficult to sell ad time on pro wrestling television, especially non-WWE pro wrestling. WWE has its own struggles commanding top-dollar for their programming, but TNA is in a tougher position as a second-tier promotion that does not have comparable brand strength or audience reach. This week, Pop bumped the Impact replay from their night late Tuesday night schedule in favor of a three-hour movie. TNA is airing at 9:00 p.m. EST, followed by “Ghost Writer” from 11:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. It makes financial sense for Pop, which generally draws more ad revenue for an acquired movie or soap opera re-run despite drawing fewer viewers. Even in the late-night timeslot, it appears Pop decided they can draw more revenue airing something different in the Impact replay time period. PWTorch obtained the following ad sales information capturing Pop’s business position. The March 29 TNA Impact generated $18,414 in ad revenue, which was less than half of its “Days of Our Lives” lead-in. Impact also generated less money for a 30-second ad than an acquired movie. TNA Impact First-Run Airing Revenue: $18,414 Avg. unit cost for a 30-second ad: $335 Days of Our Lives lead-in Revenue: $44,135 Avg. unit cost for 30-second ad: $1,100-1,250 “You’ve Got Mail” acquired movie 30-second ad: $406 There is also the cost factor of airing a two-hour Impact episode that eats into profits as opposed to a soap opera re-run or acquired movie. Part of the issue for TNA is that Pop is geared toward female viewers, as evidenced by the soap opera programming line-up and movies like “You’ve Got Mail.” TNA’s audience flips to male-heavy viewership, creating the challenge of trying to sell Impact individually to specific advertisers. Through the first 13 weeks on Pop, Impact’s first-run demo split was 67 percent males 18-49 and 33 percent females 18-49. TNA’s strength is bringing in more total viewers than any other program on the network. However, the show has yet to bring in the ad dollars of lower-rated re-runs.
A few years ago I found myself protesting a certain national politician’s photo-op tour of a shelter for people who had been displaced to my city by hurricane Katrina. This particular visit seemed a little more self-serving and crass than usual, so much so that it had folks from all-kinds of political persuasions hrumphing a bit. I was certainly hrumphing. In fact, not that this was the first time, but I made have made a weeeee bit of a scene. Well, actually I am quite sure I did as I received a pretty direct smack down from the Bishop in the very next diocese-wide newsletter. The reasons for the protest were simple: the need for assistance existed for a long time and in a belated response to public outcry, instead of support, Austin received a publicity tour. People displaced by Katrina felt it and the people of Austin felt it. So it was all the more disappointing to arrive and find the local Bishop involved in what was believed to be an image-recovery campaign. In my hubris I lost just enough of my temper and found myself shouting across the street and past barricades to the Bishop. I suggested, among a few small other things, that in this case, he was probably on the wrong side of the street. I felt strongly, and still do, that the Church must not sacrifice its prophetic voice for the appearance of power. To be clear, however, I am not writing to defend my causes for protesting the visit or for crying out to the Bishop. The key moment of learning came for me a week later when I read the Bishop’s remarks. In short the Bishop’s editorial in the monthly newsletter suggested that the guy shouting at the convention center (that would be me) was wrong for not being willing to, “set aside our differences and work for the common good.” What the Bishop said is good, especially if I was heard as saying was that the Bishop was standing with the wrong political party. If we are only going to stand on opposite street corners and yell at the Bishop, “You should be here! You should be here,” then we would just be leaning into the very culture wars which I think are killing us softly. But there was a second level of meaning in there I do no think the Bishop intended. Are were to set aside our differences and work for the common good? Is this a good time to ‘agree to disagree’ and all just try to get along? The longer I sat with this I realized that there are some differences between me and other people, other groups and ideologies, that I can not, and should never set aside. Not all of these convictions where I differ with people are mere party preferences or theories of how governments may or may not work. In fact, many of my convictions, with which others will often strongly disagree do not originate in my political tastes or preferences at all but in the stories that make up the narrative of what I have come to believe it means to be human. Here are examples of differences I can set aside: Whether it is OK to ear white after Labor Day, whether or not one should drink red wine with fish, whether or not Dallas really does have a better or worse offense since last year, and whether it is more important to enroll a first grader in Mandarin or Spanish. I can easily set these differences aside, even when they feel really important to me. On the other hand it does not make sense for black people of today or 150 years ago to agree to disagree with others about slavery. Iraqi families with relatives in war zones should probably not agree to disagree about how soon peace should come. Gandhi was not willing to put aside his differences on whether it was ok to make his own salt. Rosa Parks should not have simply chosen to go find a bus that would let her ride how she wanted to. I cannot remember a single time I remember any of the gospels saying, ” And Jesus spake saying thusly, ‘Well I just guess we have to disagree on this one my Pharisee friends.” When we are talking about convictions about the dignity of human lives, enacting policies that will increase the suffering of others, or treating the lives of others as means to someone else’s ends, I can not, nor will I suspend our differences. What I can tell you is that the story by which I live compels me to love you in those differences and to work with you for the good we can. I can tell you that I don’t find value in harming people, like you, who differ from me …and I can promise not to kill you. My challenge has been to establish a cease fire in the culture wars. For some people this has made them rightly concerned that what I am recommending is a call to let things slide, to be less passionate or concerned, to find our lowest common denominator and stick with it. When we talk about agreeing to disagree it is said as if it is the only way for people to move ahead in friendship without turning to violence; we have to learn to not care as much about important things. It seems as if we have to set aside our passions. A peaceful world will only be filled with people willing to suspend their convictions. Passion is not the problem. The problem with the culture wars is that the drive us to a certain kind of certainty of who we are and who our enemies are and the battles we fight with each other so inject us with fear that we cannot imagine much else outside of either winning or losing. The culture wars steal our passions and replace them with anger alone. As we live in the rhetoric and the thinking habits of the culture wars we become less and less cautious about the things we are willing to sacrifice in order to stay safe. We are willing to do this because the more carelessly we fight against each other the more fear we conjure. The arduous battle for the identity of citizen’s identities have fooled us into believing, whether we admit it or not, that there are three kinds of people: Red, Blue, and Useless. Neither the left nor the right have coherent moral narratives. They have platforms. These are platforms that people can agree or disagree with but that is all that they should be. Out political parties, despite the escalating culture wars do not provide us with sensible stories, narratives about what humans or for or what makes them flourish. Nor should they. Christianity, for example, does not have a platform. It is a story of about the point of being human and what it means as humans to flourish. It is a story about God. But most people when asked to give an account of the Christian faith in the America often cite aspects of political platform. Insofar as we let political platforms become the defining moral narratives of our lives, we become one whose identity is shaped more by the state than by any of the other identities we claim to be protecting. We ask for it. Our platforms have indeed become our stories, which are stories of conflict, fear and competition in which no matter what happens in any given election, only a few will win. Fear will remain our most prevalent constant. And so what we in fact need is not some sense of the lowest common denominator. Nor do we need more voices yelling louder. What we need are people, and groups of people willing to tell their stories and more important, to listen to each other’s stories. The only Christian response to the culture wars is to love our neighbors, love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. If instead we have become a people who have relented to living our convictions in both certainty of ourselves and fear of others,whoever we think we are, we are no longer the same people who lived like Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sara, Rahab, and the all star cast of famous “Faith” chapter of Hebrews. Those people of faith never relied on an election to let them be faithful to God. We haven’t even had the election and yet we have already turned on each other. This is what it means to have faith today. No matter who comes to power, no matter what law is passed, regardless of the consequences God will always provide a way for me to love. How sure am I of this? Far more certain to be willing to die than to kill. Related articles
Last year Sean A. Spence, a professor at the school of medicine at the University of Sheffield in England, performed brain scans that showed that a woman convicted of poisoning a child in her care appeared to be telling the truth when she denied committing the crime. This deception study, along with two others performed by the Sheffield group, was funded by Quickfire Media, a television production company working for the U.K.’s Channel 4, which broadcast videos of the researchers at work as part of a three-part series called “Lie Lab.” The brain study of the woman later appeared in the journal European Psychiatry. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) purports to detect mendacity by seeing inside the brain instead of tracking peripheral measures of anxiety—such as changes in pulse, blood pressure or respiration—measured by a polygraph. Besides drawing hundreds of thousands of viewers, fMRI has pulled in entrepreneurs. Two companies—Cephos in Pepperell, Mass., and No Lie MRI in Tarzana, Calif.—claim to predict with 90 percent or greater certitude whether you are telling the truth. No Lie MRI, whose name evokes the casual familiarity of a walk-in dental clinic in a strip mall, suggests that the technique may even be used for “risk reduction in dating.” Many neuroscientists and legal scholars doubt such claims—and some even question whether brain scans for lie detection will ever be ready for anything but more research on the nature of deception and the brain. An fMRI machine tracks blood flow to activated brain areas. The assumption in lie detection is that the brain must exert extra effort when telling a lie and that the regions that do more work get more blood. Such areas light up in scans; during the lie studies, the illuminated regions are primarily involved in decision making. To assess how fMRI and other neuroscience findings affect the law, the MacArthur Foundation put up $10 million last year to pilot for three years the Law and Neuroscience Project. Part of the funding will attempt to set criteria for accurate and reliable lie detection using fMRI and other brain-scanning technology. “I think it’s not possible, given the current technology, to trust the results,” says Marcus Raichle, a neuroscientist at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis who heads the project’s study group on lie detection. “But it’s not impossible to set up a research program to determine whether that’s possible.” A major review article last year in the American Journal of Law and Medicine by Henry T. Greely of Stanford University and Judy Illes, now at the University of British Columbia, explores the deficiencies of existing research and what may be needed to move the technology forward. The two scholars found that lie detection studies conducted so far (still less than 20 in all) failed to prove that fMRI is “effective as a lie detector in the real world at any accuracy level.” Most studies examined groups, not individuals. Others have not been replicated. Subjects in these studies were healthy young adults—making it unclear how the results would apply to someone who takes a drug that affects blood pressure or has a blockage in an artery. And the two researchers questioned the specificity of the lit-up areas; they noted that the regions also correlate with a wide range of cognitive behaviors, including memory, self-monitoring and conscious self-awareness. The biggest challenge—and one for which the Law and Neuroscience Project is already funding new research—is how to diminish the artificiality of the test protocol. Lying about whether a playing card is the seven of spades may not activate the same areas of the cortex as answering a question about whether you robbed the corner store. In fact, the most realistic studies to date may have come from the Lie Lab television programs. The two companies marketing the technology are not waiting for more data. Cephos is offering scans without charge to people who claim they were falsely accused if they meet certain criteria in an effort to get scans accepted by the courts. Allowing scans as legal evidence could open a potentially huge and lucrative market. “We may have to take many shots on goal before we actually see a courtroom,” says Cephos chief executive Steven Laken. He asserts that the technology has achieved 97 percent accuracy and that the more than 100 people scanned using the Cephos protocol have provided data that have resolved many of the issues that Greely and Illes cited. But until formal clinical trials prove that the machines meet safety and effectiveness criteria, Greely and Illes have called for a ban on nonresearch uses. Trials envisaged for regulatory approval hint at the technical challenges. Actors, professional poker players and sociopaths would be compared against average Joes. The devout would go in the scanner after nonbelievers. Testing would take into account social setting. White lies—“no, dinner really was fantastic”—would have to be compared against untruths about sexual peccadilloes to ensure that the brain reacts identically. The potential for abuse prompts caution. “The danger is that people’s lives can be changed in bad ways because of mistakes in the technology,” Greely says. “The danger for the science is that it gets a black eye because of this very high profile use of neuroimaging that goes wrong.” Considering the long and controversial history of the polygraph, gradualism may be the wisest course to follow for a new diagnostic that probes an essential quality governing social interaction. Note: The article was originally published with the title, "Lighting Up the Lies".
It’s that time of year again, when three words can inspire fear, anxiety and relief: back to school. When proud parents post photos of cherub-like children on social media, prepped and primped for their first day back. And for some it means being stuck in a classroom more or less non-stop until next June. We take a comparative look at what it means for children from all over the Old Continent. Though Europe is a tapestry of different cultures, traditions and languages, school term times are remarkably similar, with just a few striking exceptions. Getting schooled Italian and Danish children spend the most days in school at 200 per year while French youngsters are only in classrooms 162 days a year. This is split between weeks of five days in a majority of countries, a four day week is only a reality at primary level in France. For most pupils the school year starts in September, while some variations exist with children heading back in August, notably in Scotland and in some German regions. In Russia, the school term ends in late May. In the UK, the reason that September was chosen as the start of the academic year goes back to the nineteenth century. In Victorian Britain, the long summer break was not a time of rest, it was a time to work as the school calendar was based on the agricultural calendar. In Summer, children were in the fields, working the land and harvesting fruit. Equally in Spring they were planting seeds, while in Autumn they would be harvesting again. School’s Out When term starts so does the countdown to the next holiday. A one week Autumn break is observed in 17 European countries. Czech children get just two days, while in Switzerland it can be three weeks. Think about children in Austria and Croatia who have no autumn break to speak of. When Christmas rolls around, most young people get two weeks off. While another post-Christmas Winter break varies between countries. Poland and France take two weeks off, while there is no time off for children in Greece, Cyprus and Croatia. In France the start time of Winter holidays is even staggered across the country to spread the season for Winter sport resorts. The all-important Summer holidays vary widely across Europe. Generally, the school year ends between May and July. The length varies from six weeks in parts of Germany, the Netherlands, the UK to up to 13 weeks in Latvia, Lithuania, Portugal, Turkey. The longest come in at 15 weeks for primary school pupils in Bulgaria.
Afghanistan's Opium Harvest Sets New Record Enlarge this image toggle caption AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Afghanistan's opium poppy cultivation set a new record this year, according to an annual survey released by the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime. Total cultivation rose 7 percent, compared with last year's record figure, and potential opium production rose by 17 percent. In 2014, more than 550,000 acres of Afghan land were cultivated — that's approaching the total land area of Rhode Island. What's causing the jump in opium cultivation? The UNODC's director of policy analysis, Jean-Luc Lemahieu, says Afghanistan's disputed presidential election contributed to the increase in several ways: First, the protracted election — and fears that it could spark civil war — paralyzed the country's economy. Investment stalled, and people moved money out of the country. Afghanistan lost an estimated $5 billion to $6 billion in economic activity. That motivated farmers to turn to the illegal economy, in particular opium. Second, the "political economy" (shorthand for the candidates and their campaigns) required funding that was not available through the legal economy. So candidates tapped into the illicit drug economy. Third, Afghan security forces were tasked with securing the country during the two rounds of voting, shifting their attention from eradication efforts, which fell by 63 percent this year. Also, ongoing fighting between the Taliban and Afghan forces, which are now responsible for security in the country, prevented the government from focusing on counter-narcotics efforts — though eradication in Afghanistan has never had more than a marginal impact. The U.N. report says global demand for Afghan opium is constant though the price on the world market has steadily declined. So why has cultivation increased in each of the past four years? The UNODC and other experts say cultivation in Afghanistan is driven mostly by domestic speculation rather than by outside demand. That means as Afghans evaluate economic and security conditions, the more uncertain or fearful they are about the future, the more they hedge by growing opium. Because of growing uncertainty in the past few years about the drawdown of NATO troops and the presidential election, more people turned to speculating on opium. Now that the election has been decided, the U.N. is hoping this will quell some of the uncertainty and therefore reduce cultivation. But the U.N. warns that the legal economy likely will continue to contract next year as foreign aid money continues to decrease, and that could motivate farmers to continue cultivating opium. A report out last month from the U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction says Afghan opium cultivation is soaring even though the U.S. is spending $7.6 billion on counter-narcotics efforts. Why is this? The U.N. agrees that efforts so far have failed, and there is a lot of "soul searching" going on about how best to move forward. Lemahieu says past efforts have been "insular" and unconnected initiatives that address symptoms rather than the causes of the problem. Eradication is a tool but not a solution, he says. Likewise, subsidies and efforts to get farmers to plant alternative crops have been short-term measures that haven't solved the structural causes. Afghanistan is an extremely poor country, and as NPR has reported, many farmers here simply see no alternative to growing poppy to feed their families. Without the growth of a legal economy, the lure of opium money will continue to attract farmers. The other structural problem is the broader illicit economy. Afghanistan is one of the world's most corrupt countries. Everyone from police officers to powerful politicians profit from the drug trade, and until people start going to jail, there's little incentive for people to get out of the drug business. President Ashraf Ghani has made cleaning up corruption a top priority. But he's up against a multibillion-dollar industry that's equivalent to 20 percent of Afghanistan's GDP, and Afghanistan's legal institutions are still weak and corrupt. The U.N. says Ghani is taking the right first steps but that "he's not a magician." Although world demand for Afghan opium is flat, what about domestic demand — is all of Afghanistan's opium exported? Domestic demand is soaring. Lemahieu says the addiction rate here also is at record levels, and he believes it hasn't peaked yet. The country is ill-equipped to tackle an epidemic where estimates are as much as 5 percent of the population is addicted to drugs. And if domestic demand for opium is growing, it's that much tougher to cut cultivation.

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