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Looking for news you can trust? Subscribe to our free newsletters. Is George Painter just another old guy suffering from the effects of Alzheimer’s disease? Or is he perfectly in control of his faculties and quite correct when he says that Bruce Levine, his longtime colleague as an administrative law judge for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, made a vow 20 years ago never to rule against an investment firm? He made the charge in his resignation letter last month: There are two administrative law judges at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission: myself and the Honorable Bruce Levine. On Judge Levine’s first week on the job, nearly twenty years ago, he came into my office and stated that he had promised Wendy Gramm, then Chairwoman of the Commission, that we would never rule in a complainant’s favor. A review of his rulings will confirm that he has fulfilled his vow. Judge Levine, in the cynical guise of enforcing the rules, forces pro se complaints to run a hostile procedural gauntlet until they lose hope, and either withdraw their complaint or settle for a pittance, regardless of the merits of the case. Michael Hiltzik looks into Painter’s charges here, and concludes that (a) he seems pretty lucid, and (b) he seems to be right. It’s a great example of how you can effectively gut a financial regulatory regime without actually going through the hassle of getting the regulations themselves changed. Just hire someone someone who refuses to enforce the regulations, and voila! They might as well not exist. Nice work, George H.W. Bush.
Immigration law has recently come to the fore in esports, with the League of Legends ecosystem recently mired in immigration controversy in both the U.S. and Germany. This week, competitive Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is facing similar issues, as the all-Mongolian squad the MongolZ has been unable to secure the necessary visas to compete in the upcoming Qualifier for the Major in Columbus, Ohio. Team YP had the same problem, and will be without Dmitry "S0tF1k" Forostyanko and Dmitriy "Dima" Bandurka for the event. CS:GO fans around the world are disappointed by this outcome, and the rush to blame everyone from MLG to the U.S. federal government has been as predictable as it is misinformed. At the end of the day, there really wasn't anything MLG or another third party could have done-this whole situation boiled down to the decisions of a couple misguided, all-too-powerful consular officers. U.S. immigration law primer Generally, a citizen of a foreign country who wishes to enter the U.S. must first obtain a visa. Some nonimmigrant visas, like the B-1, B-2 and ESTA, are just for tourism and business visitors, and do not allow for employment. Other nonimmigrant visas, like the P-1, allow for employment. Editor's Picks Luminosity - CS:GO's answer to Na`Vi 2010? Luminosity are not a perfect team, but Tomi "lurppis" Kovanen sees similarities between them and one of the best 1.6 teams of all time, 2010's Na'Vi. ZeRo: the undisputed king of Smash 4 Gonzalo "ZeRo" Barrios won 55 consecutive Super Smash Bros. Four tournaments, and the streak-breaking loss remains the only blemish of his career. Taiwanese Diarchy: Dissecting ahq's Two-Man Mid Lane One only plays the blue side. One only plays the red side. In the LMS, ahq has refined the substitution strategy with mid laners Westdoor and Chawy, finding success in the process. 2 Related The P-1 visa was created to facilitate easier travel to the U.S. for "internationally recognized athletes." The athlete must be coming to the US temporarily for the purpose of competing or performing in a competition or event that requires an athlete of this caliber. It can include short trips, promotional appearances, an entire season or even a multi-year contract. Applying for a P-1 visa is very different and much more time consuming than applying for the B-1, B-2 or ESTA. Typically, a U.S.-based team acts as a sponsoring organization and a detailed petition is prepared to show how the athlete or team meets the requirements. The petition is sent to a processing center in the US for adjudication, and a decision will be reached within 4-6 weeks of submission (this can be reduced to 15 days through "premium processing"... for an extra $1,225 fee, of course). If the petition is approved, then the athlete schedules and attends an interview at a U.S. embassy or consulate. A P-1 visa is considered a "non-immigrant" visa, which requires proof that the applicant (a) is not an intending immigrant, (b) has an un-abandoned foreign residence, and (c) is coming to the U.S. temporarily. This is where things can go horribly wrong, and esports players are especially vulnerable. Proving non-immigrant intent weighs factors including family ties, assets owned in the home country, marital status, and employment commitments. And while not every esports player is the same, they certainly trend younger, unmarried, and don't possess the type of assets or traditional career that consular officers look for when determining if a person is likely to return home. Unprepared beneficiaries may not have sufficient documentation to prove their non-immigrant intent. Conversely, unduly aggressive or misguided embassy staff may ignore, mischaracterize or overly scrutinize the evidence presented by the beneficiary and unjustly deny an application. The U.S. Embassy in Mongolia's own website makes numerous assertions about fraud-it's clear the consular officials are actively looking for reasons to deny an application. Columbus major situation Contrary to the prevailing wisdom on reddit, this isn't about the U.S. needing a "cultural or diplomatic attitude change" or some failure on the part of MLG. The MongolZ and Team YP situation is relatively simple-they got screwed on the final step of the process (the interview stage with the U.S. Embassies in Mongolia and Russia). MLG did everything they could, but to no avail. "We started by going through our normal process, which has always worked in the past," said Adam Apicella, Senior Director of Events at the Activision-Blizzard Media Network. "We gave each petitioner a letter detailing the nature of the event, the level of competition, and inviting the player to compete. We spent tens of thousands of dollars booking tickets in advance so they could prove their intention to return. We also provided letters from the hotels showing the temporary nature of their stay." This evidence proved sufficient for the vast majority of competitors to obtain visas. But the MongolZ, Team YP, and FlipSid3 Tactics all had players get denied on their first petitions. MLG redoubled its efforts. "We didn't give up," said Apicella. "We got a separate letter from Valve to add more legitimacy, and even had a US Congressman contact the respective embassies on the players' behalf." The second time proved the charm for FlipSid3's Georgy "WorldEdit" Yaskin, whose petition was approved. Unfortunately, Team YP and the MongolZ were not so lucky. Their players' petitions were denied again. Conclusion The lesson here is that nothing is certain in immigration law. Identifying immigration issues early and careful planning are the best way to hedge against the uncertainty inherent in the current system. But sometimes, the ultimate result is out of your hands. MLG has no power over the individual decision making process of the consular officers who acted as judge and jury in deciding whether to grant the MongolZ and Team YP players their visas. This wasn't a case of poor planning. This is simply the perfect embodiment of a highly discretionary and inherently flawed system. Same evidence, different result. Someday, perhaps, esports will rise to a level of prominence to obtain special consideration from the U.S. Federal Government, and consular officers will be trained in the unique nature of esports P-1 petitions. But in the meantime, this is the system we're stuck with. So fasten your seat belts, esports fans. This isn't the first, and won't be the last time immigration law stands in the way of an otherwise great event. Disclosure: Bryce Blum practices law at IME Law, where he provides legal counsel for multiple teams, individuals, and businesses in the esports scene. Additionally, immigration attorney Joe Adams of Joe Adams and Associates helped advise on this article.
Film and Photography Concentration As a concentration within the Department of Visual and Dramatic Arts (VADA), the Rice Film Program offers students opportunities in both digital media and celluloid to make motion pictures. Located in the Rice Media Center, the Film Program has been a part of Rice for fifty years. Our program, from the beginning, has combined courses on making film with courses on the history of film. Our aim is to help students make meaningful films by encountering and engaging people, events and issues. Their films should reflect themselves but also seek to engage and develop community. Our program regularly brings filmmakers and artists to campus to help connect students with larger communities both locally and globally. Ultimately, the program seeks students who are interested in creating visual stories that will have a meaningful impact. Students are expected and encouraged to shape their own work. Courses offered include documentary and fiction filmmaking, video art and installation, experimental sound and video, handmade celluloid techniques and the history of film. Students within the major also take courses within VADA department as a whole, such as: sculpture, printmaking, acting or theatrical lighting; and may use film studies classes offered by other departments to count toward graduation requirements. Every year student films are eligible for exhibition in our student film showcase, Flicks. In the junior year, VADA students participate in a department wide field trip to an art-rich destination. Finally, seniors take a capstone course, Film Studio, which promotes professional development and allows students space to synthesize and apply knowledge gained towards individual film projects showcased in the annual VADA Senior Exhibition. The photography program of the Department of Visual and Dramatic Arts at Rice traces its roots to 1969, when it was established as the first photography program within an academic art curriculum in Texas. As it approaches its 50th anniversary, photography at Rice continues to evolve, but the overarching goal remains the same: to provide students a combination of technical skills, historical understanding of the medium, and critical insight into their own creative work. Students who choose to concentrate in photography will find a wide range of courses from which to choose, ranging from introductory to advanced levels of study. Introductory courses require students to acquire basic skills in analog (film-based) photography, including traditional black and white darkroom work, before advancing to digital scanning and inkjet printing. Intermediate courses include Digital Photography, Photography Bookmaking, Visualizing Nature, Road Trip Photography, and Installation Art. Advanced courses include Photography Seminar and Advanced Digital Photography.
Image zoom Getty Images We all get lonely from time to time, but for some, the ache of isolation is partly genetic. That's the finding of a new study that looked at the risk of loneliness as a lifelong trait as opposed to a temporary feeling. While it’s normal for anyone to feel down when they’re by themselves in certain circumstances (say, after your roommate has moved out, or you've just landed in a new city), the researchers wanted to know if certain people were predisposed to feel this way more often. So they looked at genetic and health information from more than 10,000 Americans ages 50 and older, including their answers to three questions designed to measure loneliness: How often do you feel that you lack companionship? How often do you feel left out? How often do you feel isolated from others? (The questions did not directly ask about loneliness, the researchers say, because many people are reluctant to admit feeling that way.) After they looked at a variety of genetic variations—and controlled for gender, age, and marital status—the researchers, from the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, found that the tendency to feel lonely over a lifetime is “modestly heritable.” They estimate that it's 14% to 27% genetic, but that the rest is based on a person’s upbringing, surroundings, and other modifiable factors. RELATED: 12 Surprising Causes of Depression In other words, some people are genetically programmed to feel lonely in the same situations in which others would feel content. “For two people with the same number of close friends and family, one might see their social structure as adequate while the other doesn’t,” said lead investigator Abraham Palmer, PhD, professor of psychiatry and vice chair for basic research at UC San Diego, in a press release. Other scientific estimates for loneliness have found that the trait is 37% to 55% heritable, but this new study was much larger than previous ones. It did look at fewer genetic variations, however—earlier analyses included rare variants that were not studied here—which could also explain the difference in findings, the authors wrote. The new study, published last week in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology, also concluded that loneliness tends to be inherited along with neuroticism, defined as a long-term negative emotional state. It also found weak links between loneliness and schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and clinical depression. RELATED: 4 Ways Being Lonely Can Affect Your Health Even without these associations, loneliness is a serious issue itself. It’s been linked to higher rates of heart disease and stroke, lower rates of physical activity, and weakened immunity. In fact, the authors point out, it’s an even more accurate predictor of early death than obesity. Palmer says that loneliness is part of the body’s biological warning system that has evolved to alert us of threats, in the same way that physical pain alerts does. But it’s clear that not everyone perceives these threats in the same way. Unlike in previous, smaller studies, Palmer’s team did not find any specific gene variants to be responsible for loneliness. (Scientists have speculated that genes involved in regulating brain chemicals, such as dopamine and oxytocin, may play a role.) The group is working to find these so-called genetic predictors, in hopes of gaining more insight into how, exactly, loneliness is passed down on the molecular level. RELATED: 31 Ways to Boost Your Mood Naturally Although the study does not provide advice for people who are perpetually lonely, it may be reassuring to know that the feeling isn’t entirely predetermined by genetics. It also reinforces the idea that loneliness isn’t always at it appears. “It’s important to note that someone can be alone, or have only a handful of close friends, and not be lonely,” Bruce Rabin, MD, director of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Healthy Lifestyle Program, previously told Health. “Or you can be a social butterfly and out with friends every night of the week and still feel isolated.” So joining lots of social groups isn’t necessarily the best way to feel better, although it may work for some people. Rather, Dr. Rabin (who was not involved in the new study) recommends volunteering. Helping others will almost certainly boost your mood, and you’ll likely meet others with whom you can form real connections.
Researchers, growers and Industry specialists from 22 countries will share the latest research into the use of Brassica species, such as mustard, radish, or rapeseed, to manage soil-borne pests and weeds – a technique known as biofumigation. “Brassica plants naturally release compounds that suppress pests and pathogens, principally isothiocyanates (ITCs), which most people would recognise as the ‘hot’ flavour in mustard or horseradish,” says CSIRO’s Dr John Kirkegaard, the conference convenor. “When ITCs are released in soil by green-manuring, soil-borne pests and pathogens can be suppressed and the yields of solanaceous vegetables such as potatoes, tomatoes and eggplants can be increased by up to 40 per cent in some cases. “The technique is relevant to developed countries seeking alternatives to banned synthetic pesticides such as methyl-bromide, as well as poor farmers in developing countries who often have few alternatives for controlling serious diseases in their crops,” Dr Kirkegaard says. “It can provide economic and social benefits, as improved crop yields lead to increased incomes, as well as a range of environmental and health benefits from a reduced reliance on fumigants and pesticides.” Using brassicas to manage soil-borne pests is not new, but modern science is providing new insights and techniques to enhance the reliability of the effect as part of an integrated pest control strategy. Brassicas can also provide other benefits to the soil as green manures. Australian scientists are at the forefront of this area of research, in projects on tropical vegetable production systems in north Queensland and the Philippines, supported by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), and on temperate southern Australian vegetable production, supported by Horticulture Australia Limited (HAL) using voluntary contributions from industry and matched funding from the Australian Government. The Symposium will consist of three days of scientific and Industry presentations designed to stimulate discussions about the underpinning science, as well as the practical application of biofumigation technology in Australia and worldwide. “The Symposium is an excellent opportunity to draw together the latest research on the subject from around the globe,” Dr Kirkegaard says.
If you’re the kind of person who takes lots of photos and videos at concerts, your days might be numbered. Apple has been granted a patent that would let the company to disable photo and video capturing in places where it’s frowned upon. The patent, filed back in 2011, describes the iPhone’s camera detecting an infrared signal in order to receive information. One of the most obvious possibilities for this type of data transfer would be to prohibit concert-goers from capturing bootleg footage at exclusive events. Apple even included illustrations in the patent filing to show how the technology would work. Advertisement The tech could also be used to obfuscate any photos or videos taken in a specific location. Here’s how Apple describes that process in its patent filling: In some embodiments, a device may apply a watermark to detected images as an alternative to completely disabling a recording function. For example, a device may receive infrared signals with encoded data that includes a command to apply a watermark to detected images. In such an example, the device may then apply the watermark to all detected images that are displayed or stored (e.g., single pictures or frames of a video). Advertisement In addition to restricting some of the iPhone’s capabilities, the infrared signal could also be used to to display information about objects at places like a museum. Here’s how Apple describes the other uses in its patent filing: An infrared emitter can be located near an object and generate infrared signals with encoded data that includes information about that object. An electronic device can then receive the infrared signals, decode the data and display the information about the object to the user. Advertisement One important thing to note is that infrared technology is actually pretty old standard at this point. Apple’s iBeacon technology, which launched in 2013, allows for a similar type of data transfer in specific locations. Whether this technology ever sees the light of day remains to be seen, but maybe there’s a lesson to be learned here: it’s much better watching a concert with your eyes than through your phone’s viewfinder. [9to5Mac]
By most measures, one would probably deem Travis d'Arnaud's first cup of coffee in the big leagues something of a disappointment—yesterday's walk-off notwithstanding. After all, he is batting around .170. The walks are nice, but the plethora of strikeouts aren't. Also, he's not hitting for any semblance of power; he recently crossed into that precarious territory where on-base outshines slugging. ESPN.com's Mark Simon elaborated on those struggles: OK, so Travis d'Arnaud is not off to the best of starts pic.twitter.com/TngXqd7LpN — Mark Simon (@msimonespn) September 13, 2013 Again, by most measures, the prized prospect has left a lot to be desired. But not all measures. [cue GIF] The pitch in the above GIF was called for a strike by home plate umpire Alan Porter. This is significant because take a look at where PITCHf/x located that Zack Wheeler offering (from the catcher's perspective): In short, Travis d'Arnaud stole that strike—or more specifically, he framed the pitch so well that he was able to fool the umpire into thinking it was a strike. Quite the valuable skill. And yes, if you're unfamiliar with recent work on pitch framing, it is indeed a repeatable and very valuable skill. From a May 15th piece entitled "The Art of Pitch Framing" by Ben Lindbergh for Grantland: "Mike Fast, then an analyst for Baseball Prospectus (and now an analyst for the Houston Astros), attempted to determine what catcher receiving was worth. By studying where strikes are typically called and establishing which pitchers were getting more or fewer strikes than they "should" have, given where their pitches crossed the plate, Fast was able to isolate the effect of the catcher. He concluded that pitch framing can make a major impact, and it also is more consistent from year to year than even reliable offensive metrics like on-base percentage or slugging percentage. In other words, it's not insignificant, and it's not just noise. It's a valuable skill that persists from season to season. Fast found that (Jose) Molina, the best receiver, was worth 35 runs above average per 120 games, and (Ryan) Doumit, the worst, was worth 26 runs below average." The more one learns about pitch framing the more the intrinsic value in having a catcher that can do it effectively becomes apparent. And it seems the Mets (finally) have one. Not convinced? And another: The above was no fluke; Travis d'Arnaud appears to be extremely good at the burgeoning art of pitch framing. Not only is this visible in the above examples as well as in some of the data we've seen thus far—limited, though it may be—but it agrees with much of the anecdotal evidence we've already been able to glean on the young catcher. In a spring poll of the Baseball Prospectus prospect staff, for instance, Lindbergh ascertained that three minor league receivers warranted consideration above the rest—at least to their eyes: Houston's since-graduated Max Stassi, San Diego's defensive wiz Austin Hedges, and d'Arnaud. In an August 22nd piece for MLB.com entitled "d'Arnaud impressing Mets with framing skills" by Anthony DiComo, Mets coaches and players—including d'Arnaud himself—remark about the surreptitious ability: "The common thread, which multiple Mets pitchers referenced in talking about their new catcher, is d'Arnaud's ability to make low pitches look like strikes. It is a skill that d'Arnaud believes he learned as a teenager, watching then-Dodgers catcher Russell Martin on television, then perfected in 2011 alongside Double-A New Hampshire manager and former big league catcher Sal Fasano. "When I was younger, I pretty much tried catching just like [Martin]," d'Arnaud said. "I liked the way he caught that low pitch, so I just tried to catch like him." (Perhaps not so surprising, Martin is one of the catchers in today's game consistently ranked atop leaderboards in terms of runs saved via questionable pitches successfully framed for strikes.) Despite their relatively brief time together d'Arnaud has already managed to make quite the impression on some of the Mets pitchers as well; from the same story: "Wheeler and Gee both recalled being surprised in their most recent starts about how well d'Arnaud made their low pitches seem higher. "When the balls are down, he does something that makes them look like they're strikes," Wheeler said, referencing his Tuesday start against the Braves. "It's ridiculous. I had a couple that I threw and I knew they were balls, but they looked like strikes after he framed them up." Matt Harvey remembers being amazed during the All-Star Game at Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina's ability to frame pitches—something Harvey was able to notice in two short innings. d'Arnaud, he says, "has a lot of those qualities in him as well." "It's hard not to notice when you throw a borderline pitch low in the zone and they can kind of bring it up a little bit," Harvey said. "It's a big confidence booster as a pitcher." Glowing reactions from pitchers who may have only tossed to d'Arnaud a half dozen times or so. That's because, as they stated, he's generating value in a way that we're not used to seeing. If anything, Mets backstops have been losing value rooted in throwing strikes—and this swing can really add up over the course of an entire season. As previously mentioned, in the most extreme example Jose Molina's outstanding pitch framing ability has been measured at upwards of 3.5 WAR per season for the Rays since 2008. And it works for non-Molina brothers, too; have you every wondered why the Yankees give Francisco Cervelli so much playing time? He's a very strong framer—same with Chris Stewart. Conversely, those who aren't attuned or who are unable to pull off this high-precision technique can cost their teams value much the same way. Take a guy like Ryan Doumit, for example—he's always a seemingly attractive player in that he hits more like an outfielder, but he seems to be able to fake it at catcher. Well, there's a tradeoff to that offensive value; he's cost his teams nearly 30 runs a season in pitches that an analysis of strike zone trends would expect to be called for strikes, but were not. And this is where the Mets have found themselves over the past few seasons. In short, the recent, pre-d'Arnaud fare has been less than impressive. John Buck was among the bottom five catchers in baseball in pitch framing earlier this season—Anthony Recker too, even garnering poor reports back in his minor league days. And to no one's surprise, nor was Josh Thole—the converted catcher—a master strike thief. But now, things appear to have turned a corner. Aside from his impressive offensive resume, the young d'Arnaud possesses a different kind of skill that has already gotten the attention of his pitchers and coaches—the kind of skill that Mets fans haven't consistently seen since the days of their last great catcher. *Hat tip to AA overlord Eric Simon for the GIFs More from Amazin' Avenue:
FNC Entertainment has provided an update to the condition of AOA’s Yuna, who performed on stage in January despite suffering from a ligament tear to her right ankle. Although promotional activities for AOA’s first full-length album “Angel’s Knock” have ended, the group is scheduled to hold their first solo concert on March 11. Fans are curious as to whether Yuna will have healed enough to stand on stage. A representative of FNC Entertainment stated, “Yuna has taken her cast off and is currently focusing on her physical therapy. Though she can walk unaided, she is wearing a guard around her ankle, and she is refraining from moving around too much or walking up and down stairs.” On whether she will be performing at the upcoming concert, the source stated, “Though rehearsals are difficult for her, she has a strong will and desire to stand on stage as this is AOA’s first solo concert and an opportunity for Yuna to meet with her fans.” They also added, “She has a significant role in the group as a sub-vocal. She is also a skilled pianist, so she may prepare a performance that has her singing and playing the piano.” We hope Yuna has a full recovery from her injury and can join the other members in AOA’s upcoming concert! Source (1)
Each is associated with a priceless moment in history — and each is uniquely threatened. CNN’s Katie Hetter reports that a new list highlights 11 historical sites in the United States deemed “most endangered” in 2015. The list, which was issued by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, covers sites all over the United States and a wide range of historical time periods and facets of history. Hetter reports that each site was nominated by both local organizations and individuals eager to spur preservation and appreciation of some of America’s most important places. The Trust’s list has been in existence since 1988, writes Hetter, and of over 260 sites listed as endangered over the years, a mere 12 have been lost. That’s a victory for both the National Trust for Historic Preservation and for America, notes the nonprofit’s CEO, who told Hetter that the sites on the list “tell American stories that have been overlooked for too long.” Here’s the 2015 list: 1. A.G. Gaston Motel, Birmingham, Alabama: A gathering place and strategic haven for Martin Luther King and other Civil Rights leaders, the motel was recently called “a deteriorating relic.” 2. Carrollton Courthouse, New Orleans, Louisiana: One of the most significant structures in New Orleans outside the French Quarter, the courthouse is being prepared for auction to the highest bidder with what the Louisiana Landmarks Society calls “no safeguards in place to retain the historic building.” 3. Chautauqua Amphitheater, Chautauqua, New York: The 122-year-old venue called “The Amp” has hosted historic speeches from the likes of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Susan B. Anthony and even Jane Goodall. It’s the center of a debate about whether it should be demolished. 4. East Point Historic Civic Block, East Point, Georgia: An icon in East Point since the 1930s, the Civic Block consists of a library, park, auditorium and city hall. Neglected and unmaintained, the buildings’ futures remain “uncertain.” 5. Fort Worth Stockyards, Fort Worth, Texas: An icon of Fort Worth, this historic district, touted as the nation’s most important cattle industry landmark, is being threatened by a $175 million development project. 6. The Grand Canyon, Arizona: The spectacular canyon needs no introduction, but its pristine natural beauty is being threatened by uranium mining and other nearby developments. 7. Little Havana, Miami, Florida: “Upzoning” and gentrification endanger the historically working-class district of Havana, which is known for its distinctive architecture and its history as an entry point for Cuban refugees in the United States. 8. Oak Flat, Superior, Arizona: A sacred site for Apaches and other Native American people, Oak Flat is being occupied by protesters who object to a rider on an Arizona bill that the staff of Indian Country says “in effect gave public land containing the…[site] to a copper mining company.” 9. Old U.S. Mint, San Francisco, California: Nicknamed “The Granite Lady,” the Old U.S. Mint is one of the only buildings that survived San Francisco’s catastrophic 1906 earthquake. Now, writes the National Trust for Historic Preservation, it is “shuttered, deteriorating, and at risk of being forgotten.” 10. South Street Seaport, New York, New York: An icon of Manhattan’s early rise as a commercial juggernaut, the seaport is at the center of a dispute over whether it should be developed with condominiums and other modern buildings. 11. The Factory, West Hollywood, California: Originally built as a camera factory, The Factory became a nightclub to the stars in the 1960s and an iconic disco with significance for gay rights and the LGBT in the 1970s. Now it’s threatened by plans to transform what Curbed’s Neal Broverman calls “greater LA’s own gay-friendly version of Studio 54” into a walkable retail and hotel district. An earlier version of this story stated that the Carrollton Courthouse was located in the French Quarter. It is located in the Carrollton neighborhood, outside the French Quarter. We regret the error.
GPU Craze Slowing Down? Yes! But… It’s been a few months since the out-of-stock GPU crisis of late 2017 to early 2018 began, so what is the state of the market now in March 2018? Well, graphics cards are slowly, but finally coming back into stock… but there is a catch. Prices are Gaming in the Dark Has Never Been Fancier with a Multicolored Backlit Keyboard What’s better than playing video games by your lonesome in your room? Playing games by your lonesome in your room without the lights on. Video games always held a certain charm when played with nothing but you, the screen (whether it’s a TV screen or Listen and Talk Like a Pro with the ASTRO A40 TR Gaming Headset Check out the Astro A40TR for all systems here. As the video games industry ventured into the realm of high-stakes competitive gaming, the demand for high-quality and consistently reliable gaming gear has also risen. Gamers are no longer content with utilizing generic accessories to get them through Amazon Prime Day is HERE! – Best Deals on Gaming Merch Here… Deals Deals DEALS!!! Amazon’s Prime Day is stacked full of gaming equipment and console games. I’ll try to keep this page updated as the day goes on with the best deals. If you would rather just go check the deals out for yourself, HERE YOU GO. ALL Mad Catz Street Fighter V Arcade FightStick: Because Controllers Aren’t Doing Your Skills Any Justice When Street Fighter V was released as the newest installment in the long-running fighting game series, it wasn’t exactly showered with rave reviews or welcomed with loving arms from fans of the series. One of the most glaring issues that gamers took exception to is the lack Rev Up Your Engines in Style with the Thrustmaster VG T150 Whether you like your racing simulation games featuring either four-wheeled or two-wheeled machines, it’s no secret that the games aren’t quite immersive using only a controller or a keyboard for input. Sure, you can enjoy the games by leaning left or right whenever your vehicle makes How to Avoid Accidentally Shouting at Your Teammates? Simple: Turtle Beach – Ear Force Stealth 420X Excellent communication among teammates is one of, if not the, primary ingredient to successfully bagging an online multiplayer match. Whether it’s in the action-packed world of multiplayer online battle arenas (MOBA) like League of Legends or in the fast-paced firefights in shooter games like Call of Logitech G602 Wireless Gaming Mouse: The Perfect Companion for a 10-Day Grinding Marathon Role-playing video games (RPG) are generally considered by most as one of the more boring genres, primarily because they revolve around storytelling, character development, and exploration – gameplay elements that aren’t exactly dripping with action and excitement compared to, let’s say, shooter or fighting games – to Street Fighter 5 DLC Character Guile Gameplay Details If you were one of those who got disappointed when Street Fighter V’s initial 16 characters didn’t include fan-favorite Guile, then now would be a good time to let go of that disappointment: The dude is now coming to the game as the next DLC character. And,
Rocket League Devs: Bothering Sony “Every Day” About Cross-Play It’s common knowledge already that Psyonix, creators of Rocket League, will be have cross play for their hit game with both Xbox One and the Nintendo Switch. The only console not jumping on board is Sony’s PlayStation 4. Though Sony’s early dismissal of the idea has hardly stopped Psyonix from pestering them about the possibility – that said the company has been stonewalled at every attempt. According to Psyonix’s Jeremy Dunham, the response has been only slight variations of the same answer: “It’s, ‘Not right now” or, ‘It’s something we’ll consider.’ That’s paraphrasing, but there hasn’t been any movement.” Dunham went on to state that ever since Rocket League’s initial launch on the PS4 in 2015, a member of Psyonix has asked Sony about the possibility “every single day”. A slight exaggeration i’m sure, but it seems to get the point across that Sony really just doesn’t want to play nice with others. Nintendo itself gave the green light right away when approached, and Microsoft reportedly only need a month to think it over. However Sony seems uneager to change it’s mine. Admittedly Sony has different objectives for their company, as is their right, but it seems silly not to allow cross play to happen for popular games. The company even denying cross play for hit game Minecraft. The company’s reasoning for that particular denial was made ‘clear’ by Jim Ryan during E3, wherein which he stated the following: “We’ve got to be mindful of our responsibility to our install base. Minecraft–the demographic playing that … it’s all ages but it’s also very young….We have a contract with the people who go online with us, that we look after them and they are within the PlayStation curated universe. Exposing what in many cases are children to external influences we have no ability to manage or look after, it’s something we have to think about very carefully.” That long winded explanation aside, it’s flabbergasted many gamers on how ‘external influences’ would negatively affect the Minecraft community. It seems a rather weak excuse by Sony on why they don’t wish to connect with the other consoles, and stay firmly in Sony land. The fact that companies like Microsoft are opening their doors to cross play has been reflecting poorly on the company for quite some time, and has me wondering how other gamers feel about the companies decision making skills. Let us know in the comment’s below on what you think of the current Sony’s game plan. Please take a second to give us a follow on our twitter @TheSaveSpot1 or our instagram thesavespot. We’re a little gaming website that is trying to be like the little engine that could, but we can’t without your support.
In part two of his journey into the belly of the academic beast, Rob Montz guts open Yale University’s “administrative squid monster,” a monster he says is almost exclusively to blame for the recent rash of campus free speech controversies. And this is precisely where Montz’ latest project, “Silence U Part 2: What has Yale Become?” kicks off, replaying those infamous clips of Professor Nicholas Christakis fruitlessly attempting to convince student interlocutors that a controversial email his wife had sent just a few days earlier was entitled to the same free speech protections that applied to the student protesters. “Yale has become...a place to have a good time, rather than receive an education.” [RELATED: Yale admins push to replace ‘freshman’ with more ‘inclusive’ term] In the video, Erika Christakis had responded to a campus-wide email from the School’s Intercultural Affairs Committee urging students to avoid potentially offensive Halloween costumes, countering that free expression entails acceptance of a certain degree of offensiveness and asking, “Is there no room anymore for a child or young person to be a little obnoxious...a little bit inappropriate or, yes, offensive?” thus sending the campus into weeks of unrest. The saga culminated in an intense exchange between Mr. Christakis and several of his students on the quad of Silliman College, where a crowd of students verbally berated him, broke down in tears in front of him, and maliciously attacked him and his wife. Things eventually grew so intense that Mrs. Christakis resigned from the prestigious university altogether, while Mr. Christakis stepped down from his post as head of Silliman College. [RELATED: Anti-speech activists drive Yale administrators to resign] It is here where Montz picks up the story, returning to Yale to uncover what exactly went wrong. “Yale is supposed to combat, not cultivate, such self-righteous intolerance. This is, after all, the place that produced the Woodward Report, the 1974 gold-standard defense of academic freedom that famously called universities places to ‘think the unthinkable’ and ‘challenge the unchallengeable,’” Montz begins his new documentary. “Yale has manifestly failed to meet that noble goal. Now, why is that? What has this place become?” [RELATED: Geraldo Rivera quits Yale over Calhoun College name change] The blame, Montz suggests, largely falls on a bloated administration, one that Yale alumnus and University of Pennsylvania Professor Amy Wax criticizes as caring little for the search for truth. “Yale has become sort of this all-purpose entertainment warehouse, a place to have a good time, rather than receive an education,” Wax contends. “They need all those offices to, you know, keep the fun going. Administrators aren’t that committed to the search for truth, and they have a lot of power.” And indeed they do, as Montz carefully demonstrates, offering a shocking revelation in his new project that four administrators were allegedly present at that memorable showdown between Mr. Christakis and his students, including Burgwell Howard, the “the dude who wrote the original email warning against wearing offensive Halloween costumes.” [RELATED: VIDEO: Admins literally shred Constitution after reporter calls it ‘triggering’] “What you’re witnessing is a head on collision between what Yale was and what it is becoming, between the champions of the Woodward Report, who properly see the freedom to provoke as an essential ingredient of learning and the champions of the gilded camp, who want to beat back any challenge to students’ egos with bureaucratic controls, and the customer-service mentality dictates that the most powerful person at Yale capitulate to this cannibalism,” Montz explains, noting that he was only able to acquire one student interview in the making of his documentary because most who disagreed with the state of the university weren’t willing to speak out. “The reason no one will talk to you is that there is no professional benefit to saying controversial or interesting things,” one anonymous student admitted to Montz. [RELATED: Documentary blames Brown for hostility to speech on campus] Meanwhile, Montz goes on to explain, Yale has launched a $50 million diversity initiative and created a Dean of Diversity position, even as professorships shrunk by 4 percent and the “administrative squid monster,” as he calls it, grew by five percent, “shrinking its tentacles into virtually every facet of undergraduate life.” Montz himself is admittedly pessimistic about the future of academic, telling Campus Reform that real debate has shifted to outside the academy. “It’s completely natural for 19 year-olds to be wildly overconfident in their politics. The problem is when a university—an institution specifically designed to stoke doubt and appreciation of complexity—starts bending to the narcissism; starts compromising the curriculum and campus climate to accommodate it,” Montz said when discussing the first installment of his documentary, conceding that he thinks “real, vigorous debate is migrating to outside the academy.” The second part of Montz’s documentary, which debuted in March, can be viewed here. Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @AGockowski
Image copyright Gustavo Oliveira/WBR Photo Life in the favelas, home to almost a quarter of Rio's population, is hard. Brazil's favelas are a battleground between heavily armed drug gangs and the police. The death toll is high, and residents fear being caught in the crossfire. On average, one Rio resident is hit by a stray bullet every seven hours. A recent spike in violence comes alongside massive unemployment, as Brazil begins to emerge from the worst recession in its history. But people have grown used to carrying out their daily lives against a permanent background of violence. And some young girls have found solace and an escape from their environment through football. Image copyright Gustavo Oliveira/WBR Photo These girls gather in a pitch known to be a safe space in Complexo de Penha, located on the Morro do Caracol hill. The pitch was built by Street Child United, a UK-based charity that gives at-risk young people opportunities through sport. To ensure it was a safe place where children can play without fear, the charity struck a deal - with local residents, the police, and even the gangs - to declare it "off limits". Image copyright Gustavo Oliveira/WBR Photo The girls try to practise football at least once a week, but have had to cancel several sessions because of frequent shootouts between rival gangs and the police. "The shooting happens several times a week. You never know when the police will start an operation in the favela. Crossfire is a big problem," explains Drika, their coach. "Sometimes there is no way to get to the pitch, and some other days we have to hide in the locker room because the shooting starts from nowhere. Some kids cry in fear - and it makes my heart ache." Thammy, 20 years old Image copyright Gustavo Oliveira/WBR Photo Thammy lives in the Favela with her mum and step-father. She dreams of becoming a football coach, so she can earn some money and help her family. "In soccer my problems disappear - it is a place that I find good energy, it was there that I made friends, and I gained a new family," she says. "I like football because I believe in the union of people, because together we are strong, our dreams together create more strength. Football helps me take responsibility. I dream of being a physical education teacher, and football only feeds my dream." Taissa, 16 years old Image copyright Gustavo Oliveira/WBR Photo Thaissa lives with her mother and loves school - but classes are often cancelled due to gunfire. When school is closed, she is stuck helping her mum clean houses. Thaissa lost a family member in one of the shootings, but did not want to talk about it - and says she prefers to focus on the future. "I like to play football because it was my dream since I was a kid. I want to become a professional player," she says. Laryssa, 16 years old Image copyright Gustavo Oliveira/WBR Photo "It is an inexplicable passion, because playing football I feel in another world, I forget my problems, I laugh a lot, I have fun and I make many friendships," says Larissa. She lives in a house with seven other people, and tries to earn some money helping in carpentry. Mayara, 17 years old Image copyright Gustavo Oliveira/WBR Photo "Football makes me forget my problems. It is what I love," Mayara says. Poverty and violence has marked her life. Her mother is unemployed, and her father retired. But Mayara still dreams of a better life for herself and the six other people she lives with, including her grandmother. Ana Clara, 14 years old Image copyright Gustavo Oliveira/WBR Photo "I always wanted to be a soccer player, since I was a little girl [and] my father took me to play in the sand field on the other side of Penha." Despite the gunfire, Ana Clara tries to go to school every day, even if she is delayed while waiting for the violence to calm. Her mother is a hairdresser and her father works in a family clinic. Her dream is to play football professionally and help her family. Jessica, 16 years old Image copyright Gustavo Oliveira/WBR Photo "Since I played for the first time I fell in love with football," says Jessica, who lives with her mother and four sisters. Every day, young people are at risk of exploitation and violence from the drug gangs, and from the police when gunfights break out on the streets. Image copyright Gustavo Oliveira/WBR Photo Their coach is Claudianny Drika, part of the 100 women list in 2017, who works to promote inclusion and peace in her community through sports. Drika was born and raised by her grandmother in Sergipe, northern Brazil. She was one of 10 children, and the family had no electric lights, no TV, and no stove. She had no toys or games. Football was the one thing that made her happy. What is 100 Women? BBC 100 Women names 100 influential and inspirational women around the world every year. In 2017, we're challenging them to tackle four of the biggest problems facing women today - the glass ceiling, female illiteracy, harassment in public spaces and sexism in sport. With your help, they'll be coming up with real-life solutions and we want you to get involved with your ideas. Find us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and use #100Women When she was 14, her grandmother died and she went to live with her mother and step-father in Rio de Janeiro - but she was thrown out and ended up "couch-surfing" from place to place. She was eventually taken in by her aunt. Things began to change for Drika when she started training with the Favela Street Foundation - another sporting charity - in one of Rio's largest favelas, Complexo da Penha. At the time, they did not have a pitch like the one the girls use today. Image copyright Gustavo Oliveira/WBR Photo Image copyright Gustavo Oliveira/WBR Photo Favela Street was chosen to represent Brazil at the Street Child World Cup Rio 2014, and, with Drika as captain, the team went all the way to the final - where they beat the Philippines 1-0. Now, she works for Street Child United Brazil and is a model for girls that face same challenges as she did. She helps up to 300 children a year play sports and learn, reducing their risk of exploitation and abuse, developing their life skills, and improving their education, training, and employment opportunities. All photographs subject to copyright.
Dogecoin Price Key Highlights Dogecoin price struggled to hold the ground and traded lower to set a new low below 54.0 Satoshis. There was a bullish trend line formed on the hourly chart, which was breached and failed to help buyers. There is a major resistance forming around 60.0 Satoshis, which must be cleared for more gains. Dogecoin price after setting a new low corrected higher, but facing a major resistance around 60.0 Satoshis. Break Ahead? We highlighted recently that price struggled to close above the 100 hourly simple moving average, there was a bullish trend line formed on the hourly chart. The trend line was breached by sellers to push the price below the last swing low of 54.0 Satoshis. A new low was formed at 53.5 Satoshis. The price is currently correcting higher, but facing a lot of barriers on the upside. There is a monster resistance formed around 60.0 Satoshis. As well all know that the stated level acted as a pivot area many times, and it might continue to do so in the near term. Moreover, the 50% Fib retracement level of the last leg down from 66.9 Satoshis to 53.5 Satoshis is now aligned with the same level. In short, sellers might fight hard to prevent any additional gains. We need to see how long they can prevent gains and whether buyers can break 60.0 Satoshis or not moving ahead. On the downside, the 100 hourly SMA may provide support, but if there is a break the last low of 53.5 Satoshis could be tested in the near term as long as the price is below 60.0 Satoshis. Intraday Support Level – 56.0 Satoshis Intraday Resistance Level – 60.0 Satoshis The hourly RSI and MACD are tilting in favor of buyers, which can be seen as a positive sign. Charts courtesy of Trading View
Computer viruses have come a long way from the early days of personal computers, when teenage hackers competed for bragging rights, creating malware designed for mischief or random mayhem. Now, the hackers have gone professional, and their ambitions have grown; rather than amateurs working out of their parents' basement, malware creators are often part of an underworld criminal gang, or working directly for a foreign government or intelligence agency. As the stakes have grown, so too has the potential damage and destruction brought on by malware. 1) Stuxnet (2009-2010) The arrival of Stuxnet was like a cartoon villain come to life: it was the first computer virus designed specifically to cause damage in the real, as opposed to virtual, world. While previous malware programs may have caused secondary physical problems, Stuxnet was unique in that it targeted software that controls industrial systems. Specifically, Stuxnet was designed to damage machinery at Iran’s uranium enrichment facility in Natanz. Based on the available information, including data from the International Atomic Energy Agency, experts believe Stuxnet caused a large number of Iran’s centrifuges—essentially giant washing machines used to enrich uranium—to spin out of control and self-destruct. Though Stuxnet was discovered in 2010, it is believed to have first infected computers in Iran in 2009. 2) Conficker Virus (2009)In 2009, a new computer worm crawled its way into millions of Windows-based PCs around the world, creating a massive botnet army of remotely controlled computers capable of stealing financial data and other information. Its complexity made it difficult to stop, and the virus prompted the creation of a coalition of experts dedicated to stopping its spread. At its height, the Conficker worm infected millions of computers, leading anti-virus researchers to call it the “super bug,” or “super worm.” But the real mystery of Conficker, which still infects a large number of computers, is that no one knows what it was meant to do: the botnet army was never used for any specific purpose, to the best of anyone’s knowledge. Conficker’s real purpose still confounds security experts. 3) agent.btz (2008) This piece of malware’s claim to fame is that it temporarily forced the Pentagon to issue a blanket ban on thumb drives and even contributed to the creation of an entirely new military department, U.S. Cyber Command. Agent.btz spreads through infected thumb drives, installing malware that steals data. When agent.btz was found on Pentagon computers in 2008, officials suspected the work of foreign spies. Former Deputy Secretary of Defense William Lynne later wrote that agent.btz created “a digital beachhead, from which data could be transferred to servers under foreign control.” Though some anti-virus experts have disputed the contention that the virus was the creation of a foreign intelligence agency, its effect was to make cyber war a formal part of U.S. military strategy. 4) Zeus (2007) There is no shortage of malware kits that target personal information, but Zeus has become the go-to tool for many of today’s cyber criminals and is readily available for sale in the cyber crime underworld. It can be used to pilfer passwords as well as files, helping to create a literal underground economy for compromised identities that can be bought and sold for as little 50 cents. In the age of Internet banking and online shopping, a compromised identity is much more than just a name and social security number: it’s your address, date of birth, mother’s maiden name, and even your secret security questions (your first pet, your favorite teacher, or your best friend from grade school). 5) PoisonIvy (2005) PoisonIvy is a computer security nightmare; it allows the attacker to secretly control the infected user’s computer. Malware like PoisonIvy is known as a “remote access trojan,” because it provides full control to the perpetrator through a backdoor. Once the virus is installed, the perpetrator can activate the controls of the targeted computer to record or manipulate its content or even use the computer’s speaker and webcam to record audio and video. Once thought of as a tool for amateur hackers, PoisonIvy has been used in sophisticated attacks against dozens of Western firms, including those involved in defense and chemical industries, according to a white paper written by Symantec, the computer security firm. The attacks were traced back to China. 6) MyDoom (2004) MyDoom muscled its way into the malware world in 2004, quickly infecting some one million computers and launching a massive distributed denial of service attack, which overwhelms a target by flooding it with information from multiple systems. The virus spread through email as what appeared to be a bounced message. When the unsuspecting victim opened the email, the malicious code downloaded itself and then pilfered the new victim’s Outlook address book. From there, it spread to the victim’s friends, family and colleagues. MyDoom spread faster than any worm seen prior. 7) Fizzer (2003) By 2003, many worms were spreading over e-mail, but Fizzer was an entirely new creature. If earlier worms, like Code Red (see below), were about mischief, Fizzer was all about money. While some initially dismissed the seriousness of the worm because it wasn’t as fast moving as Code Red, Fizzer was more insidious. “What makes Fizzer stand out is that it's the first instance of a worm created for financial gain,” says Roel Schouwenberg, a senior researcher at Kaspersky, an anti-virus company. “Computers infected with Fizzer started sending out pharmacy spam.” In other words, Fizzer didn’t just take over your address book to spread for the sake of spreading, it used your address book to send out the now familiar porn and pills spam. Fizzer was followed by better-known spam-inducing worms, like SoBig, which became threatening enough that Microsoft even offered a $250,000 bounty for information leading to the arrest of its creator. 8) Slammer (2003) In January 2003, the fast-spreading Slammer proved that an Internet worm could disrupt private and public services, a harbinger for future mayhem. Slammer works by releasing a deluge of network packets, units of data transmitted over the Internet, bringing the Internet on many servers to a near screeching halt. Through a classic denial of service attack, Slammer had a quite real effect on key services. Among its list of victims: Bank of America’s ATMs, a 911 emergency response system in Washington State, and perhaps most disturbingly, a nuclear plant in Ohio. 9) Code Red (2001) Compared to modern malware, Code Red seems like an almost kinder, gentler version of a threat. But when it swept across computers worldwide in 2001, it caught security experts off guard by exploiting a flaw in Microsoft Internet Information Server. That allowed the worm to deface and take down some websites. Perhaps most memorably, Code Red successfully brought down the whitehouse.gov website and forced other government agencies to temporarily take down their own public websites as well. Though later worms have since overshadowed Code Red, it’s still remembered by anti-virus experts as a turning point for malware because of its rapid spread. 10) Love Letter/I LOVE YOU (2000) Back in 2000, millions of people made the mistake of opening an innocent looking email attachment labeled simply, “I Love You.” Instead of revealing the heartfelt confession of a secret admirer, as perhaps readers had hoped, the file unleashed a malicious program that overwrote the users’ image files. Then like an old-fashioned chain letter gone nuclear, the virus e-mailed itself to the first 50 contacts in the user’s Windows address book. While by today’s standards, Love Letter is almost quaint, it did cause wide-scale problems for computer users. It only took hours for Love Letter to become a global pandemic, in part because it played on a fundamental human emotion: the desire to be loved. In that sense, Love Letter could be considered the first socially engineered computer virus. Sharon Weinberger is a national security reporter based in Washington, D.C.
Frequently Asked Questions about VX Nerve Agent (Please contact the author via the comments feature to ask additional questions, which will be answered as time permits) What is VX? VX is a chemical warfare agent. It is part of the family of chemical warfare agents known as the nerve agents, because they affect the chemistry of the human nerve system. There are two main families of nerve agents, the G-series and the V-series. The G-series includes such nerve agents as Tabun, Soman, and Sarin. VX is the principle member of the V-family. The long discontinued pesticide Amiton (VG) is also a member of the family. What does the name mean? The actual name of VX is hopelessly complex for routine use: Ethyl ({2-[bis(propan-2-yl)amino]ethyl}sulfanyl)(methyl)phosphinate. VX is the NATO digraph for this chemical. NATO assigned two letter codes for all of the various chemical warfare agents. For example, GB is Sarin and HD is Distilled Sulfur Mustard, also known as “Mustard Gas”. It is reported in several sources as well as anecdotally that the V-series of agents was designated V for venomous. (If anyone has some documentary evidence from the 1950s on this, please contact me.) Is the name “VX Gas” accurate? It is not accurate to call VX a gas. As I will discuss below, it has an extremely low vapour pressure and a high boiling temperature. It is a liquid. Indeed, even the phrase “nerve gas” is highly inaccurate as all of the nerve agents are liquids at normal temperatures. Is it volatile? The word “volatile” is often misused and various people have referred to VX as being volatile. Volatility, in chemistry, is the propensity of a substance (solid or liquid) to evaporate or vaporize readily under normal conditions. By this definition, VX is not volatile. VX is a large, heavy molecule and as such should not be referred to as a “gas”. Is it persistent? In military terms, VX is classed as a persistent agent, in that liquid contamination will remain for a very long time after use. Can we call it “VX toxin” ? No. The word toxin is similarly misused with high frequency. The definition of toxin is a toxic or poisonous substance produced by the biologic processes of biological organisms. Snake venom is a toxin. But being wholly synthetic, VX is not a toxin. What are VX’s physical properties? This table, extracted from page II-27 of the US military’s Field Manual 3-11-9 (January 2005) summarizes the key physical characteristics of VX. This information is in the public domain. The important points to take from this chart: VX is an oily, syrupy liquid, in all but the coldest of arctic conditions. In the winter at the south pole, it may be solid. It’s high boiling point is higher than it’s decomposition temperature, meaning that you can’t even make it into a gas by boiling, at least in a normal atmosphere. Colourless and odourless It’s vapour pressure is extremely low. It is about 1/500 th the volatility of Vaseline. This means that it evaporates extremely slowly the volatility of Vaseline. This means that it evaporates The low vapour pressure means that contact with liquid is by far the most dangerous way that VX can interact with the human body. The very small amounts of vapour that are given off by VX at normal temperatures are heavy, 9 times heavier than air. It is likely that a person could walk through a room with VX on the floor and not receive a lethal dose by inhalation. Likewise, an open container of VX is not likely to produce a lethal dose. A large amount of liquid VX in a confined space is one realistic scenario for vapour inhalation. However, just because it isn’t volatile, that does not mean that it cannot be sprayed as an aerosol of fine droplets. An aerosol of VX would temporarily act much like a gas. Indeed, this is the technical basis of some military VX-based weapon systems and one of the only likely routes for serious inhalation hazards. Not flammable Not corrosive Not explosive Stable for long-term storage if relatively pure. Indeed, VX manufactured by the USA in the 1960s remained fully potent in storage for over 50 years. How long does VX remain in the environment: VX, due to it’s liquid form and very low volatility, will remain for a very long time, depending on the characteristics of the surface material, ambient temperature and presence of moisture. Under some conditions, VX could last for many months. How does VX affect the human body? VX works like all of the other nerve agents – they attack the human body’s nervous system. VX can be absorbed through the skin or eyes. It can be inhaled, although the most likely way for this to happen is through a spray or aerosol, due to the non-volatile nature of the chemical. In addition, it could be ingested in food or drink. The human nervous system requires a delicate balance of chemicals to regulate itself. VX binds to a chemical known as acetylcholinesterase and, in doing so, disrupt the electrochemical reactions required for the body to operate properly. The binding of acetylcholinesterase leads to a build-up of acetylcholine, which then in turn leads to a syndrome called a “cholinergic crisis”. In effect, the nervous system starts to over-act and muscles and glands start to work over-time. The signs and symptoms, and their order of appearance, vary depending on the route of exposure. These are drawn from the Textbook of Military Medicine volume on chemical warfare agents: Liquid exposure to skin Rate of Action: Minutes to hours after exposure Mild/Moderate: Muscle twitching at site of exposure (fasciculations), sweating, nausea, vomiting, weakness Serious: Mild symptoms, plus difficulty breathing, generalized muscle twitching, weakness, paralysis, convulsions, loss of bladder and bowel control. It should be noted that miosis (pinpointing of eye pupils) is often a late sign in situations where the victim is exposed only to liquid. Inhalation of aerosolized droplets Rate of Action: Seconds to minutes after exposure Mild: Miosis (pinpoint pupils), dimness of vision, headache, runny nose, salivation, tightness in chest Serious: Mild symptoms, plus difficulty breathing, generalized muscle twitching, weakness, paralysis, convulsions, loss of bladder and bowel control How dangerous is VX? VX is extremely dangerous by contact with skin or eyes. Again, as said above, the scenarios whereby it is immediately dangerous by inhalation depend largely on making a spray or aerosol of fine droplets that can be inhaled. It should be noted that the other characteristics of VX are not dangerous. It is not flammable, explosive, or corrosive. Therefore, if contact with the skin can be avoided, it is actually easy to handle. Plastic, glass, or metal containers are adequate for storing and moving VX. What is the history of VX? VX was discovered in Britain by scientists working for the chemical company ICI. They were working on pesticides. In fact, a sister compound of VX, Amiton, was briefly on the market before being banned as too dangerous. The British government gave technical knowledge to the United States, which produced VX for use in weapon systems. The US considered VX to be a replacement for Sulfur Mustard. The US produced VX at a facility in Newport, Indiana from 1962-1968. The Soviet Union produced a slightly different molecule, often referred to as “Russian VX”, with largely the same characteristics. Iraq is known to have produced VX. Fragments of Iraqi missile warheads recovered after the Iran-Iraq war showed traces of VX. Most of the US chemical stockpile of VX has been destroyed, while remaining small quantities await destruction as part of a decades-long campaign of chemical demilitarisation. The use of VX, or indeed, any lethal chemical warfare agents, has not been part of US military doctrine or training for a number of decades. How was VX meant to be used as a weapon? Generally, with only one noted exception, VX weapons were generally designed to spread a mist of droplets, for the purposes of causing immediate casualties (either through inhalation of droplets or contact on skin) and long-term contamination of terrain and equipment. For this reason, most VX weapons were designed to burst or spray above ground level. Known weapon systems for dispersal of VX included: Artillery shells Rockets Missile warheads Air-dropped bombs Spray tanks Land mines (the only ground bursting system in the US inventory) VX was considered to be an area denial weapon. VX could be used to make airfields and ports contaminated, and could contaminate large amounts of military equipment, such as pre-positioned stockpiles of armoured vehicles (e.g. US POMCUS/REFORGER sites in Western Europe during the cold war). Is it easy to make? VX is not easy to make, particularly in quantity or in the purity needed for long-term storage. The US devoted significant effort to develop the industrial scale production facility at Newport, Indiana. It took years and many PhD’s to work out the problems and issues of VX production. However, small quantities can be done in a laboratory if access to (proscribed or restricted) precursor chemicals can be achieved. The extremist religious cult Aum Shin Rikyo managed to produce small quantities of VX, although they invested a very large amount of money and effort to be able to do so. Has VX ever been used in an assassination? The Aum Shin Rikyo cult used VX to attack three people, one of who died. This occurred in late 1994 and early 1995. This attack is described in several documents and websites. (Here and here.) Is there a way to treat exposure to VX? Treatment of someone exposed to VX requires both general supportive care, decontamination, and specific drug interventions. Supportive care includes making sure that the airway is kept clear, and that breathing and circulation are maintained. Decontamination is the systematic removal and/or neutralisation of any VX on the body. Soapy water isn’t bad for this in the lack of a more sophisticated decontaminant. Drug therapy typically includes atropine (to inhibit excess acetylcholine), an oxime – 2-PAM chloride is one in current use (to reactivate acetylcholinesterase that is bound to VX molecules), and anticonvulsants, such as Valium, to control convulsions and spasms. A lengthy discussion of treatment of nerve agents is found in Medical Aspects of Chemical Warfare available online. What about pre-treatment – can you give yourself a medicine to prevent VX poisoning? There is such a thing as “pre-treatment” for nerve agent poisoning. Generally, this involves taking a medication from the carbamate chemical family (e.g. pyridostigmine bromide) that temporarily binds with some of the acetylcholinesterase in the human body. However, it binds in such a way as to be easily re-activated by proper administration of antidotes. Pre-treatment does not reduce your vulnerability to VX exposure, nor does it prevent the appearance of signs and symptoms. It merely improves the efficiency of one type of antidote, oximes. The use of nerve agent pretreatment was principally advocated as a countermeasure against the Soviet Union’s nerve agent Soman (GD), which has a very fast “aging time” – i.e. there is a very short window in which the administration of oxime-based antidotes is effective. However, there is some dispute as to whether pretreatment is useful for exposure to VX. (here) What’s “Binary VX” ? Binary chemical warfare agents are chemical warfare agents that are created by the combination of two less-dangerous ingredients to produce the agent in question. The US military created a form of VX that could be produced by combining a chemical compound known as QL (the digraph for isopropyl aminoethylmethyl phosphonite) and sulfur powder. Exact details are still classified, but the weapon system designed for this purpose, the so-called “Bigeye” Bomb, was very complex and involved heating and mixing of the components in a specific manner that was not fully refined before the programme was cancelled. It can be inferred from now-declassified US government documents that the binary VX programme was plagued with problems and issues. The BLU 80 “Bigeye” Bomb is pictured below. (Apologies for poor image quality, but diagrams of the Bigeye are rare.)
Ayapa Zoque (Ayapaneco), or Tabasco Zoque, is a critically endangered Zoquean language of Ayapa, a village 10 km east of Comalcalco, in Tabasco, Mexico. The native name is Nuumte Oote 'True Voice'.[3] A vibrant, albeit minority, language until the middle of the 20th century, the language suffered after the introduction of compulsory education in Spanish, urbanisation, and migration of its speakers.[3][4] Nowadays there are approximately 15 speakers whose ages range from 67 to 90.[5] In 2010 a story started circulating that the last two speakers of the Ayapaneco language were enemies and no longer talked to each other.[3] The story was incorrect, and while it was quickly corrected it came to circulate widely.[6] Daniel Suslak, an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Indiana University, is one of the linguists working to prepare the first dictionary of the language.[3][7] Since 2012, the Instituto Nacional de Lenguas Indígenas (INALI) (also known as the National Indigenous Languages Institute) has been supporting the Ayapa community's efforts at revitalising their language.[3] In 2013 Vodafone launched an advertisement campaign in which they claimed to have helped the community revitalize the language, proposing an erroneous story of enmity between Don Manuel and Don Isidro. According to Suslak and other observers the actual help provided to Ayapan and the Ayapaneco language by Vodafone was extremely limited and did not address the actual necessities of the community.[6][8] Since 2013, a PhD dissertation on Ayapa Zoque is being prepared at the Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales (INALCO).[9] See also [ edit ]
The economic reward for settling the Israel-Palestinian conflict with a two-state solution? $173 billion. That’s according to a new analysis by the RAND Corporation, which calculates that a two-state solution would result in a $123-billion economic gain for the Israeli economy and a $50 billion boon for Palestinians. That’s an average per capita income increase of $2,200 (5%) for every Israeli and $1,000 (36%) for every Palestinian in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. But if a two-state resolution is not reached in the next 10 years, says the study, the economic hit would be greater than the gains: gross domestic product in the West Bank and Gaza would shrink by 46%, and in Israel by 10%. “The point is to demonstrate that there is money on the table,” Charles P. Ries, a RAND vice president told the New York Times. “There are big gains, and people don’t realize how big they are.” RAND measured the impact of factors like trade and tourism, as well as Palestinians’ renewed ability to travel more freely and exploit mineral resources in the region. Contact us at editors@time.com.
Updated at 6:30 p.m. Eastern. WASHINGTON — The Obama Administration’s final budget request, released Feb. 9, offers $19 billion for NASA in fiscal year 2017, a decrease of $260 million from the agency’s final 2016 budget, with sharper cuts to the agency’s two major exploration programs. The $19.025 billion budget, as proposed, would shift some funds from NASA’s Space Launch System and Orion programs to aeronautics and space technology, in addition to the overall cuts, while also move funds within the agency’s science account. The budget request is likely to face strong opposition in Congress, where House and Senate leaders have already said that the administration’s overall budget request will be considered dead on arrival. Elements of the NASA proposal are also likely to face congressional scrutiny. “I understand that it’s not necessarily at the profile in some areas that Congress asked,” said David Radzanowski, NASA’s chief financial officer, in a Feb. 9 teleconference with reporters. “This is the administration’s proposal as to how to provide a balanced NASA budget, both for exploration and across other areas.” The account facing the biggest cut is exploration systems, which would receive $3.3 billion in the proposal, down nearly $700 million from the final omnibus bill. The proposal offers $1.31 billion for SLS, a cut of nearly $700 million from what it received in 2016, and $1.12 billion for the Orion crew vehicle, a cut of about $150 million. That aspect of the proposal almost immediately generated criticism from industry groups and Congress. “We are deeply concerned about the Administration’s proposed cut to NASA’s human exploration development programs,” said Mary Lynne Dittmar, executive director of the Coalition for Deep Space Exploration, in a statement. “This proposed budget falls well short of the investment needed to support NASA’s exploration missions.” “This administration cannot continue to tout plans to send astronauts to Mars while strangling the programs that will take us there,” said Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), chairman of the House Science Committee, in a Feb. 9 statement about the NASA budget. “This imbalanced proposal continues to tie our astronauts’ feet to the ground and makes a Mars mission all but impossible.” NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, in a Feb. 9 “State of NASA” speech at the agency’s Langley Research Center, made no specific mention of those cuts. “We’ll continue to make great progress on the SLS,” he said, also mentioning assembly of the Orion that will fly on the first SLS launch in 2018. Radzanowski said that the budget supports a 2018 launch of the first SLS/Orion mission, Exploration Mission (EM) 1, and a 2023 launch of EM-2. Progress made to date thanks to increased funding, though, could still allow an EM-2 launch as early as 2021. Although the fiscal year 2016 spending bill directed NASA to work on a new, more powerful upper stage for SLS called the Exploration Upper Stage (EUS) so that it could be ready for EM-2, Radzanowski said the budget proposal assumes the less powerful upper stage flying on EM-1 would also be used on EM-2. “We are moving forward on Exploration Upper Stage,” he said. “We can’t support it for EM-2 at this budget request.” Funding Europa NASA’s science programs would receive $5.6 billion, effectively unchanged from 2016. However, Earth science would get an increase of $111 million while planetary science would be cut by a nearly equal amount. The proposal includes nearly $50 million for a Europa mission, far less than the $175 million appropriated in 2016. The request for Europa, and the projections for funding for the program through fiscal year 2021, would support a launch of the mission in the late 2020s, much later than advocates for the mission, both in the scientific community and in Congress, would desire. The request also does not assume a launch on SLS, as mandated by Congress in the 2016 spending bill, because of cost uncertainties about the heavy-lift vehicle. The budget request does include an alternative funding profile that would support a 2022 launch, as requested by Congress. That would require spending $194 million in 2017 and increasing to $678 million a year by 2020. “Acceleration of the launch to 2022 is not recommended, given potential impacts to the rest of the Science portfolio,” NASA’s budget request states. That alternative profile, Radzanowski added, doesn’t include a lander, another Congressional mandate, since its cost is still being evaluated. Asteroid mission delays The budget request includes a total of $217 million for various activities associated with the Asteroid Redirect Mission, the agency’s three-year-old proposal to send a robotic spacecraft to a near Earth asteroid and bring back a boulder from it to cislunar space to be visited by astronauts. That request includes $66.7 million for work on the robotic spacecraft, called the Asteroid Redirect Robotic Mission (ARRM). Radzanowski suggested that ARRM may not be ready for launch until well into the 2020s, later than earlier expectations. “We’re looking at a target date in the early to mid 2020s, roughly 2023,” he said, adding that date was notional. He claimed that this schedule would still allow a crewed mission to the recovered boulder in 2025, the deadline set by President Obama in an April 2010 speech. “It could be earlier than that,” he said of the ARRM launch date. “Don’t get fixated that there’s a delay on ARRM at this point in time.” Aeronautics and technology increases Bolden, in his address, made no mention of the cuts to exploration programs and the Europa mission, or the overall $260 million decrease in NASA’s budget. “Because the state of our NASA is strong, President Obama is recommending a $19 billion budget for the next year, to carry out our ambitious exploration and scientific discovery plans,” he said. One winner in the budget is space technology. The budget proposes $827 million for that program, a $140 million increase from 2016. That funding, according to the fact sheet, would be used for a variety of programs, from satellite servicing to development of solar electric propulsion. Another winner in the proposed budget is the agency’s aeronautics division. The request offers $790 million for aeronautics, $150 million above what it received in 2016. The request is part of a 10-year, $10.6 billion plan that includes the development of several experimental “X-planes” to demonstrate new fuel-efficient technologies and supersonic flight that minimizes sonic booms. “It’s largely due to the alignment of our strategy with the administration’s priorities,” said Jaiwon Shin, NASA associate administrator for aeronautics, referring to the division’s strategic plan completed in 2013. “All those efforts are the basis for this increased budget request.” The requested increase, though, was still a pleasant surprise. Shin said he heard about the proposed increase in an email last month from Radzanowski. “His email subject was, ‘Christmas in January,’” Shin said. NASA Budget Proposal (in millions of dollars)
Who was really the first explorer to discover North America? Ancient Romans, Egyptians as well as Irish Saints have all vied for the title. One thing is certain, it wasn't Christopher Columbus. Was Joanna Southcott a messenger of God, who would give birth to a New Messiah, or a fraud selling worthless tickets to Heaven? What Was the Fabulous Lost City of Norumbega? Columbus’s discovery of North America, set off a scramble for territory, resources and riches by the major European powers. Two of the main rivals and contenders for supremacy in the New World were... Ants are amazing - but are they intelligent? Does the fact that ants built complex cities and societies, farm other insects and raise crops mean that they have intelligence or is it all instinct? Twentieth Century History The Nazi Invasion of Canada On February 19, 1942, the Canadian City of Winnipeg fell to a Nazi invasion. Luckily the invaders were not quite what they seemed. History & Archaeology Taking a Chance: The Amazing Life of Pierre Loustaunau The incredible life story of Pierre Loustenau, a humble French peasant who parlayed some stolen goats to become one of the richest and most powerful man in the world, only to lose it all. pairedlife.com Don't Forget Me: How to Remember Names of People You Meet Remembering names is a an important social skill. But a lot of people are lousy at it. Luckily, you can learn how to remember names and make a good impression. owlcation.com The Wonderful Horrible History of Esperanto, the Universal Language Esperanto is a language invented by Dr. L.L. Zamenhof in the late 1800s. It is an artificial language as opposed to natural human languages whose vocabulary and grammars developed randomly over time through custom and usage, rather than a plan.... owlcation.com Before Columbus: The Forgotten Expeditions to North America Who was really the first explorer to discover North America? Ancient Romans, Egyptians as well as Irish Saints have all vied for the title. One thing is certain, it wasn't Christopher Columbus. owlcation.com Strange Messiah: The Prophecies of Joanna Southcott Was Joanna Southcott a messenger of God, who would give birth to a New Messiah, or a fraud selling worthless tickets to Heaven? History & Archaeology The Lost City of Norumbega What Was the Fabulous Lost City of Norumbega? Columbus’s discovery of North America, set off a scramble for territory, resources and riches by the major European powers. Two of the main rivals and contenders for supremacy in the New World were... Bullying & Cyberbullying Issues How to Defend Yourself Against Adult Bullying Bullies come in all shapes, sizes and ages. Often the bullies you had to deal with in high school, continue being bullies as adults and in the workplace. What can you do to defend yourself? owlcation.com What If the Roman Empire Had Never Existed? The Roman Empire created the modern world. Its political and social institutions survive today. What would the world be like if the Romans had never built their empire? Alternative & Natural Medicine The Health Benefits of Sutherlandia, the Amazing Cancer Bush from South Africa This article examines the health benefits, as well as the traditional uses, of Sutherlandia - a plant nown by many as the "Cancer Bush" because of its alleged cancer-fighting properties. Sutherlandia Frutescens has been used for centuries by indigenous tribes of South Africa to treat cancer,... caloriebee.com Buckwheat Tea Health Benefits Buckwheat tea is a traditional Chinese health remedy which may help fight several diseases. Alternative/Nontraditional Cancer Treatments Does Graviola Cure Cancer? Graviola is being studied as a potential cancer treatment. This article reviews the scientific research into the health benefits of graviola (also known as paw paw and soursop). Cancer DCA - Is DCA a Cure for Cancer? 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The director of Europol, the European Union's law enforcement agency, has warned about the growing use of encryption for online communications. Speaking to BBC Radio, Rob Wainwright said: "It's become perhaps the biggest problem for the police and the security service authorities in dealing with the threats from terrorism." Wainwright is just the latest in a string of high-ranking government officials on both sides of the Atlantic that have made similar statements, including FBI Director James Comey, NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton, the head of London's Metropolitan Police, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, and UK Prime Minister David Cameron. Wainwright told the BBC that the use of encrypted services "changed the very nature of counter-terrorist work from one that has been traditionally reliant on having good monitoring capability of communications to one that essentially doesn't provide that anymore." What that overlooks is that the "good monitoring capability" was of very few channels, used sporadically. Today, by contrast, online users engage with many digital services—social media, messaging, e-mail, VoIP—on a constant basis, and often simultaneously. Although the percentage of traffic that can be monitored may be lower, the volume is much higher, which means that, overall, more information is available for counter-terrorism agencies. Wainwright also claimed that terrorists were using the "dark net," "where users can go online anonymously, away from the gaze of police and security services." One of Snowden's leaks revealed that the NSA has managed to unmask anonymous users of Tor, so that ability to avoid the "gaze" of the police and security services is not absolute. More generally, in an earlier online Q&A session hosted by The Guardian, Snowden makes an important point about the use of strong cryptography: "Encryption works. Properly implemented strong crypto systems are one of the few things that you can rely on. Unfortunately, endpoint security is so terrifically weak that NSA can frequently find ways around it." As we now know, most systems of strong encryption have been subverted in various ways. But even for those that do work as claimed, law enforcement agencies can still gain access to digital communications by attacking the endpoints. The move to strong end-to-end encryption means that eavesdropping on communications can only be done on a targeted basis. What Wainwright is really complaining about is that the golden age of bulk surveillance when the NSA and GCHQ could "collect it all" is coming to an end. But if that forces the police and security agencies once more to target their activities more precisely, rather than simply to spy on everyone, is that really such a bad thing?
Ann Arbor Science & Skeptics is hosting their second annual “Scientists Fair” this Saturday, May 25th from 1:00-3:00pm at the downtown Ann Arbor library. Ann Arbor Science & Skeptics is hosting their second annual “Scientists Fair” this Saturday, May 25th from 1:00-3:00pm at the downtown library. This event will feature scientists and researchers in a variety of fields including cosmology, evolution, human cloning, geology, climate change, and nuclear power – all available to answer questions or provide explanations. It is open to the public. Located in the Multi-Purpose room (in the lower level of the main branch of the Ann Arbor Library), there will be several professors and researchers from the University of Michigan and other institutions with expertise in general fields of knowledge, available to answer your questions. Some of the topics will include particle physics, human cloning, climate change, the Big Bang, and more. You can watch a short video about the Scientists Fair here (video). The purpose of this event is to not only acquaint people to scientific knowledge, but also to how that knowledge is obtained. We want people to ask these experts how theories are supported with experimentation, what hypotheses were tested and confirmed or falsified, and to what extent is there consensus amongst their colleagues about a given theory. Share this: Google Email Reddit Facebook Twitter Print Hubski Tumblr Pocket
New Delhi: Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday accused BJP leader Subramanian Swamy of trying to create an "archive for ulterior motives" by seeking documents from the party and Associated Journals Ltd (AJL) in the National Herald case. The Congress top brass made the submission before a Delhi court, alleging that Swamy was seeking "fishing and roving enquiry" and wanted to make out a "new case" against them by taking recourse to a "fishing" probe in the matter and sought dismissal of his application seeking documents. Swamy told Metropolitan Magistrate Lovleen that "I am not going to get National Herald if I win the case as all these are public properties." He said he would file a detailed reply to the accused's claim and sought time from the court, which posted the matter for further hearing on November 4. Appearing for the accused, senior advocates R S Cheema and Rebecca John told the court that "there is an effort to create an archive for ulterior motives. No fishing or roving enquiry should be allowed." Swamy has accused the Gandhis and other party leaders, Motilal Vora, Oscar Fernandes, Suman Dubey and Sam Pitroda, of allegedly conspiring to cheat and misappropriate funds by just paying Rs 50 lakh by which Young Indian Pvt Ltd (YI) obtained the right to recover Rs 90.25 crore which AJL owed to the Congress party. All accused have denied the allegations levelled against them. During arguments, the counsel representing the accused said there was no specific time period given in Swamy's application for which the documents have been sought and several of them are already on record. The counsel submitted there was no list of witnesses filed by Swamy in the case who could certify the documents. The accused also opposed Swamy's plea seeking summoning of Income Tax records from the Congress party and AJL, saying these entities were not accused and hence their records cannot and should not be disclosed for maintaining their confidentiality. The court had on August 27 issued notices to Gandhis and the other accused and the firm YI seeking their replies.
Disappointed by a court's verdict to acquit the accused reportedly involved in the murder of her 15-year-old daughter Scarlett Keeling in 2008, her mother Fiona MacKeown on Thursday said that it seems as if no one had killed her. Samson D'Souza and Placido Carvalho were accused of drugging and sexually abusing British teen Scarlett after a party, and left her to die in shallow sea water. The court cleared both men of all charges due to lack of circumstantial evidence, even as MacKeown repeatedly maiantained that there has been an attempt to hush up the crime. "I wanted to know why my daughter died. I want to know every single detail of the case. Because I did not trust the police, the police have been lying from the beginning. I find it ludicrous that these points have been brought up and very, very sad that the murderers are walking free, and apparently no one killed my daughter," she said. Police originally said Keeling had drowned after taking drugs, but changed their story after MacKeown complained, and a second autopsy concluded she had been raped and murdered. MacKeown has also accused the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) of corruption after the accused were let off. MacKeown now plans to move a higher court against the judgement. "Certainly, I mean we are still examining the judgment in detail, and after a discussion and taking other opinions, we will move forward to the high court," said Vikram Varma, her lawyer. Keeling's case has raised questions about the safety of tourists in the coastal state of Goa amid claims of police negligence. The Indian media said at the time that there may have been an initial attempt by the police to down play the death to protect Goa's tourist industry.
Chapter 25: A Friendly Chat With Da Chief Get ready for another one of The Draigg's signature InfoFacts(Trademarked)! Get ready for this one: the letter G is the most badass letter of the alphabet. Think about it. We got stuff like Getter Robo, Gurren Lagann, G Gundam, Gundam in general, GaoGaiGar, and Giant Robo. Plus, the letter G is also part of the word "green", which has been already been proven to be the most hardcore, OG, and badass color in the spectrum. So, I hope you liked that pointless fact! Now, let's get back to the story! xxx It was a nice, evenly temperature Friday evening. Normally, people looked forwards to Fridays for recreational or relaxing reasons. It was a day reserved for movie dates, card games, or dinner with friends. But, this Friday was special to Sun and Neptune for an entirely different reason. The suspect that they had arrested was finally cleared for interrogation. After all, it wasn't like the police department could just question a man who not only had a gaping bullet wound in his arm, but severe whiplash from the car chase then ensued. The man needed medical attention. It was the reasonable and moral thing to do. The Vale City Police Department wasn't made up of a pack of savages, after all. So, Sun and Neptune were given the previous Thursday off, in order to properly book the White Fang member and treat him for his injuries. However, that small break was all the hunter duo needed. After that whole chase, the pair, Neptune especially, needed a break after the events of Wednesday evening. There was no rational way to describe what occurred that night. How else could anyone put together the fact that a deadly game of Vacuo Roulette led to large fight in a nightclub, which then led to a car chase all the way across Vale City to the city outskirts, which then finally ended with them arresting a suspect in a city-threatening bomb plot? It simple boggled the mind. So, it made complete sense that Neptune and Sun needed some time to wrap their minds around all that shit. But now that their minds finally had a day-long break, Sun and Neptune were more than ready to get back onto the case. In fact, to say they were pumped was an understatement. To fit that metaphor, they were as pumped as a parade balloon filled to burst with helium. Or, for the dirtier version, as pumped as a past-his-prime porn star who needed an extra boost for his little friend on a last-minute shoot. Sun and Neptune had shown up at VCPD headquarters in their staged cop getup. Sun flexed his back, satisfied with the creaking of his leather chest holster and straps. Meanwhile, Neptune flicked his aviator shades off of his face and tucked them into his white jacket's front pocket. Slicking back his blue(?) hair, Neptune turned to his partner. "Ready for this?" he asked Sun. "Yep," Sun growled. That out of character sounding reply made Neptune give pause. "Dude, what's with the voice?" Neptune questioned. Sun looked at Neptune awkwardly. After a long beat, he muttered, "…Just tryin' to sound cool…" "Sounds like you tried to swallow some steel wool," Neptune sighed. Of course Sun would try to sound like the character archetype he was dressed as. In everyone's mind the guy dressed as a loose-cannon, world weary detective would have a gravelly voice. "Yeah, but it kinda fit, didn't it?" Sun rhetorically asked as the pair climbed the steps towards the station's front doors. "Not really. I think you'd need to drink more…" Neptune mused. But then, realizing what he said he quickly added, "But don't do that!" "Yeah, yeah, I hear ya," Sun waved off. "…Party pooper," he added under his breath. At that, there was nothing more really said as the pair weaved through the police station. They had a job to do, and this really wasn't the time to debate about how to properly pull off a convincing worn-off cop character type. xxx A few minutes later, Sun and Neptune had made their way past all the offices and holding areas, and towards the interrogation room. More specifically, the one farthest from the holding cells. It was more out of the suspect's safety than any convenience. If there was anything that united violent humans together, it was a terrorist Faunus to beat up on. That's why the perp had had to be kept in a relatively isolated holding cell as well. "You're late," Chief Irons grunted as Neptune and Sun walked into the observation room. "Blame traffic," Sun waved away as he stepped up to the observation window. "Yep, that's our guy," he noted out loud. "What tipped you off? The fact that it's the same guy ya brought in?" sneered Chief Irons. Ignoring the sarcasm, Neptune asked the chief, "Did we miss anything?" "Not yet," Chief Irons replied, crossing his arms. "We're gettin' his file in right now. Looks like your friend 'ere has a little history with us." "What're we lookin' at? Extortion? Rape? Murder?" Sun questioned, turning to the chief. "Why're ya asking me? Does it look like I have the file in my hands?" sneered Chief Irons. Sun rolled his eyes in frustration as he turned his attention back to the observation window. Just looking at the guy sitting in the interrogation room, Sun could tell that he wasn't going to break easily. It was the look in his eyes. Sun could see it in his smile—no, scowl. Yeah, scowl. No, he totally didn't have that song stuck in his head for the entire day. And he really didn't appreciate the dulcet, smooth tones of the artist's singing. He was hardcore. Not like bad hardcore, like the White Fang member. But like the good kind of hardcore, like a badass cop. Then, getting the feeling that he was somehow getting off track, Sun turned to Neptune. "Think we should interrogate 'em ourselves?" he asked out of the blue. Before Neptune could even get in a word, he was interrupted by a (typically) irate Chief Irons. "We didn't ask you two! You're not even trained for this type o' thing!" he protested, trying to knock the idea out of Sun's head. "I'm sure we can drag SOMETHIN' out of 'em!" Sun shot back. "No, you won't!" Chief Irons argued back. "We already have a way to get 'em to crack! Now, just stay here, and don't interfere!" Neptune decided that this would be a good point for him to step in between the two arguing hotheads. If he didn't then the argument would probably get them taken off of this case again. And there was no way Neptune was going to allow that to happen. "Look, look," the blue(?) haired hunter bargained, "Chief, can we at least make a suggestion?" Chief Irons narrowed his eyes. "What'dya have in mind?" he drawled. "Uhhh…" Neptune groaned, having no idea what he could suggest. Catching onto the opportunity Neptune was giving him, Sun chimed in. "If he doesn't break, we can tell ya what to do in there," he said with a grin. Chief Irons could see Sun's game. But, he had enough confidence in his officers that he wouldn't really need to have those two clowns with badges dictate shit to him. Plus, he already told his interrogator what to use against this perp. So, if anything, he didn't have much to lose by agreeing. "Deal," he finally grunted. Sun and Neptune shared a small fist bump. At least they got a victory over this guy. It was a rare thing indeed. After all, he was only begrudgingly allowing them to tag along with the rest of the department. So, anything positive Sun and Neptune could get over the chief was worth its weight in gold. Suddenly, everyone's attention was drawn to the observation window. A detective with a pair of aviator shades, dark beard, and matching combed hair walked in, carrying a manila folder. Tossing the folder onto the table separating him and the criminal, the detective sat down and began to speak. "Nahw, what do whe gaht heah?" the detective said in an odd, thick accent. Sun and Neptune looked at each other. This man's inner-city accent was way thicker than they expected. How could this guy get through the day with an accent like that? What would happen if he burned his tongue on something hot? Was it already burned? That's kind of what it sounded like. "I ain't got anything," the White Fang member defiantly stated. "Whell, if YA don't, this foldah prob'ly does," the detective said, opening the manila dossier. He began to read the information on the files inside. "Rick Chai, pantha' Faunus, got fah lahceny, rahbary, 'ssault with a deadly weapon. Nah ya a White Fang?" Although the others didn't see it, Chief Irons slightly facepalmed. Maybe he should've gotten someone else to do the interrogation. At this rate, Irons wasn't all that convinced that this Rick guy understood half of what he was saying. "Oh, big man," Rick sneered, "That folder's REALLLL scary." Snapping the folder shut, the interrogating officer decided to get a little rougher with the criminal. "Stahp playin' games! Nah I KNOW ya a path of da White Fang! If ya don't wanna be a dick wharmha, then tell me where ya hideout is!" "Did you have a stroke?" Rick said, blowing off the officer's threats. "What's with the accent?" Chief Irons couldn't take any more of this. The detective's accent was just getting in the way. They couldn't give this terrorist a thread to hang on. They needed to go in for the kill as soon as possible. Tapping on the glass, Chief Irons gave the signal for the detective to leave the room. Abruptly, the interrogator stood up from the table and picked up his file. Pointing at Rick, he threatened, "Dahn't THINK we're dahn 'ere." Chief Irons walked out of the observation room and shut the door. Neptune and Sun could only vaguely hear him talk to the interrogating detective. Although Sun walked over to the door and put his ear against it, he still couldn't make things out all that clearly. But, after a minute or so, he could hear the thick accented detective stop talking, followed by the sound of someone walking away. Sun felt incredibly confused by all this. Were they planning to reschedule the interrogation? "What the hell…?" Sun heard Neptune mutter. His confusion rising, Sun walked over next to Neptune and looked out the observation window. To his surprise, Chief Irons himself was now sitting at the interrogation table, and going over Rick Chai's files. He went over their heads! The crafty son of a bitch! "He's fuckin' muscling us out!" Sun growled. Out of pure angry reflex, he began to walk towards the door. However, he was stopped by Neptune grabbing his arm. "Don't go in there! You'll mess it up!" Neptune hissed. Sure, Neptune wasn't all that either that the chief went back on their deal, but he at least knew that he had to deal with it now. Having an irate Sun burst into the interrogation room would only make things worse. Sun yanked his arm away and glared at Neptune. Judging from the look on his partner's face, Neptune wasn't fucking around when he said that. With a dejected huff, Sun crossed his arms and looked back through the observation window. In his commotion, he missed out on the first few bits of what Chief Irons was saying. "—Have the ability to save yourself here, Rick. Just tell me where the White Fang're hiding," Chief Irons said calmly. "Yeah, how about no?" dismissed Rick. "Ya know, for this… list of crimes, I stand to send ya to some shithole, ya know?" Chief Irons threatened. "You're just like that other guy. Weak threats," Rick said, leaning back into his chair. "Fine, fine, I guess if you said it, its okay. But, just so ya know, Schwartzveil has gotta LOT of free slots now," Chief Irons coolly replied, before standing up to leave. That sent a visible shiver of fear down Rick's spine. "Hey hey hey! Let's not do that, 'kay? Ya better not send me to that hellhole!" "Oh, I'm sure you'll make a buncha new friends at the penal colony. Ya know, join a gang, all the labor, tons of fun stuff," Chief Irons continued. "Hey, the Grimm Wilds ain't no place for a prison. It's fucking insane!" Rick protested. "And you're gonna go there," Chief Irons said. But then, sitting back down, he added, "Unless… there's something you wanna tell me." Rick stared silently at the desk for a few minutes. To the looks of Neptune and Sun, it looked like he was trying to make a really hard decision. But, after that extended beat, Rick said, "…If I tell you, can I get a lesser sentence?" "I'll see what I can do," Chief Irons replied. Rick sighed. "We're… on the docks. The waterfront, I mean. The warehouse on Ray and Agi… It's surrounded by a metal fence. Ya can't miss it." "Anything else? Ya know, so I can vouch for the jury," pushed Chief Irons. "I just guard the entrance… I do know they got some crazy shit in there. Mechs, all sorts of dust, like crates of them, and guns. It's a lot," Rick admitted. "Great, Rick. That's all I need for now," Chief Irons said, abruptly getting up from his chair and towards the door. "Wait!" Rick called out after him. "Am I safe or what?" "It ain't up to me. All I can do is put in a good word," was Chief Iron's reply, before leaving the interrogation room. Sun and Neptune turned to face the observation room door as they heard it open. Chief Irons only poked in his head, as if he was intent on going somewhere else. "Ya got what ya needed. I want ya to check out the joint tomorrow," he briefly ordered, before withdrawing his head and leaving. The hunter pair turned to each other and blinked. Man, that all turned out fast. That Irons sure was a good interrogator. It had only been what, a few minutes flat? If only they didn't miss his opening lines. They must have been something pretty good. Oh well, that was only an assumption. They would never really know for sure. But, what Sun and Neptune DID know for sure was that now not only did they have the location of the White Fang hideout in the city, but also a pretty good idea of what firepower the group was packing. Well, if they could verify those claims, anyway. But, that's why they were going to scout out the place tomorrow. At this rate, the case was going to be closed soon. After that… heck, maybe they'd get some medals! Now it was really only a matter of time! xxx We're heading towards the climax soon, folks! Now, I bet I know what you're thinking: Sun and Neptune were going to do a good cop/bad cop routine. But, that's what you EXPECTED. I'm not all that big of a fan of expectations. In the words of Hayao Miyazaki, in order to win over an audience, you need to subvert their expectations. I think I did that well enough. Plus, the main characters can't do EVERYTHING. The world just doesn't revolve around them. Oh, and I hope you like the little cameo from Burnie's cop character. I haven't made a Rooster Teeth reference in a while, so it only felt right to put here! So, with that being all said, leave me a comment of how pumped you are for the beginning of the climax! It's coming up, I swear! This is The Draigg, and I'm only beginning to peak!
1. It’s been six and a half years since Heath Ledger was the Joker in The Dark Knight. There hasn’t been a supervillain half as good. Not even close. You can stump for Loki in Avengers and the Thors, but as a character, he’s trapped in a muddle of incoherent motivation (He hates Asgard! He loves his mom! He hates his brother! He’s mad, mad he tells you!). Tom Hiddleston is a scenery-chewer of the first order—but the Marvel movies are made of greenscreen, and he’s chewing on vapor. 2. What other supervillains linger, in six-plus years of superhero cinema? Kevin Bacon played an exceptional Bond villain in X-Men: First Class. Robert Redford gave his vanilla-handsome gravitas an insidious grin in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Anne Hathaway had fun in The Dark Knight Rises, which is more than you can say about anyone else in The Dark Knight Rises. Next to that, you’ve got a parade of Nefarious Business Villains in the Iron Men and Goblin retreads in the Amazing Spider-Men and Peter Dinklage’s evil mustache in X-Men: Days of Future Past. Lee Pace and Michael Shannon played Ronan the Accuser and General Zod, identical cartoon fascists in space exoskeletons—two excellent actors, squandered. 3. Maybe times are changing. James Spader has the subtitle role in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Llewyn Davis has the subtitle role in X-Men: Apocalypse. Sony is drydocking Andrew Garfield in favor of The Sinister Six. Iron Man is the bad guy, maybe-kinda-sorta, in Captain America 3. And now Warner Bros. just announced a movie filled with supervillains, starring a cast of exciting actors and Jai Courtney. 4. Suicide Squad is not a big name by any stretch of the imagination: Reason to be excited, since that sorta makes it the DC Cinematic Universe’s version of Guardians of the Galaxy, a cool idea with so many iterations that’s wide open for a good director to put their unique stamp on. Good news: The director they chose is David Ayer, a demi-auteur with a filmography filled with tough people doing tough jobs. Until this year, Ayer was the reigning practitioner of LA pulp: Writing Training Day and Dark Blue and S.W.A.T. and some part of the first Fast & Furious movie led to directorial efforts Harsh Times, Street Kings, and End of Watch. Not all of those movies were good but they got better; End of Watch is one of those incipient near-classics that everyone seemed to discover on Netflix one week a couple years ago. Then, this year, Ayer made a big-budget tank movie, Fury, about a bunch of dudes on a suicide mission; he also made Sabotage, one of the most insane action movies ever made. Almost a year later I still don’t know if Sabotage was great or just bonkers; it feels like the last action movie ever made, in the sense that it feels like a 109-minute HGH overdose. Now Ayer is making Suicide Squad, which feels theoretically like the middle of the Venn Diagram between Fury and Sabotage, except with huge stars playing supervillains. 5. One of those villains is the Joker, one of those actors is Jared Leto. No point complaining about this, right? Every character will get played by someone new every ten years, right? Maybe this is different, because Ledger-as-the-Joker is the best supervillain ever. (McKellen-as-Magneto comes close, but his impact is blunted after four movies, not to mention the fact that Fassbender-as-Magneto has so much more to play with.) Warner Bros. clearly believes that they can carry over all the profound zeitgeist-of-the-generation love that people feel for the Dark Knight movies into this new DC Universe. But sometimes, people like movies the way they like them, and don’t want to see very different versions of those movies just a few years later. (See: The low-performing Amazing Spider-Man 2. See also: The low-performing X-Men: First Class, in a world where Jennifer Lawrence didn’t become your best friend and retroactively envelop First Class in the warming glow of her smile.) 6. But I’m game. Leto is a legitimate weirdo of the highest order—he’s a man who clearly believes that he is a rock star sent from space to teach humanity how to love, and humanity recently validated all those beliefs by handing him an Oscar. Maybe he’ll play the Joker with an erotic edge—the sensual danger, the kinkiness that was banished from the Dark Knight movies. Ledger turned his purple suit into the best Halloween costume of the decade; maybe Leto can make a purple suit look cool. 7. Oh, and also, um, Will Smith. Now, because Will Smith is one of the biggest stars in the world, and because he pops up here and there in cameos and endearing Fallon appearances, and because his children are rock stars sent from space to teach humanity about ancient texts that can’t be pre-dated, it can be easy to forget that he hasn’t created an iconic new character in six years. That would be Hancock, star of Hancock, not a good or even particularly beloved movie but a movie that ripples with the Platonic Idea of Will Smith-ness in a way that After Earth decidedly did not. Smith was offered the lead role in Django Unchained, but he turned it down. He told my colleague Adam Markovitz: “Django wasn’t the lead, so it was like, I need to be the lead.“ 8. Will Smith is playing Deadshot, a character who has kind of gradually become cool by virtue of being relatively simple. He’s an assassin; he shoots real good; sometimes he’s some kind of cyborg. Classically he’s a white dude, but that appears, blessedly, to no longer be such a big deal when it comes to casting. Classically he’s the member of an ensemble—he’s like the bad guy version of Hawkeye, a value-added commodity who makes a decent team into a better-than-decent team but who doesn’t really carry his own story. (At least, that’s what Hawkeye was, before Matt Fraction turned Hawkeye into the best mainstream superhero comic of the last few years.) 9. It’s an easy bet that Smith is playing Deadshot as the initial viewpoint character of Suicide Squad: The guy who joins the Squad at the start of the movie, Noah Wyle-in-the-first-episode-of-ER style. Or maybe Smith is playing Deadshot as the leader of the Squad, with Joker as the volatile new addition. 10. Do you know what Suicide Squad is about? It’s an excellent concept, straight out of the Dirty Dozen. A bunch of supervillains get brought out of Super-Jail and receive an offer from the Government: Work for us, and we’ll give you some ounce of freedom. The Squad goes on the missions that are too dangerous for anyone who isn’t an evil bastard; there’s often a high body count; there’s not really any of the moralizing that has come to define the superhero movie genre, no speeches about the Greater Good. They’re bad people doing good things because it’s their job. If the movie is actually about that, it will be a whole new kind of super-film. (Until The Sinister Six, arriving a few months later in 2016.) If the movie is actually about a bunch of supervillains who are bad, but not like bad bad, and they wind up doing good because being good is good…well, then it’ll be exactly the kind of movie you expect a major corporation to make. 11. Margot Robbie is playing Harley Quinn, one of the most beloved Batman villains among a certain class of cosplaying Bat-fandom. When it comes to Margot Robbie, all we really have to go on is The Wolf of Wall Street, where she played a sex kitten with the soul of an alpha wolf, and an accent that sounded like a hilarious imitation of a New York accent from the ’30s. And that, basically, is Harley Quinn. 12. Tom Hardy is playing Rick Flag. I consider myself decently well versed in comic books—I went to the comic book store every week from first grade through eighth, read Marvel and DC and Image and Dark Horse—and even after looking him up on Wikipedia and reading the entry three times, I can’t quite tell you what a Rick Flag is. He appears to be some kind of very aggressive person in unheathily-good physical condition, which sounds an awful lot like Tom Hardy. Hardy’s presence in Suicide Squad has to be seen as some kind of make-good, after he gained two Tom Hardys of muscle for The Dark Knight Rises and spent the movie trapped behind a mask and whatever that accent was. 13. Jai Courtney knows something. I don’t know what he knows. But if you’re someone in charge of running a studio, you’re worried about what he knows, and you will cast him in anything. Die Hard and Terminator, Divergent and Jack Reacher, a superhero movie: Jai Courtney is like the Brightest Timeline of every attractive young vaguely tough-looking actor in Hollywood. He’s playing Boomerang, so that’s a thing, I guess. 14. Cara Delevingne is playing the Enchantress, and this is a good time to re-mention that part of what makes Suicide Squad fun is how often it kills off lesser-known characters. “Killing off” isn’t really something superhero movies have done much lately, because “actual risk” isn’t really something superhero movies have done much lately. Suicide Squad isn’t quite a risk—one of the biggest stars in the world, an Oscar-Winning actor, a constant almost-star waiting for his big showcase, two women who will split up the magazine covers for August 2016, and Jai Courtney. But it’s a movie about bad crazies doing violent weirdness. Between now and Suicide Squad, we’ll have seen another Avengers movie, another Fantastic Four movie, a movie that’s basically a Justice League movie, a movie that’s basically an Avengers movie, and another X-Men movie. Maybe we’ll be ready for Suicide Squad? 15. According to Variety, the shortlist of actresses to play the badass government agent in charge of the Squad is: Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, and Oprah Winfrey. I think we’ll be ready for Suicide Squad. ——- Have thoughts about the Suicide Squad casting? Email me at darren_franich@ew.com, and I’ll respond in next week’s Geekly Mailbag.
By Nam Sang-so Chinese people believe China, or "zhong quo" meaning the Middle Kingdom, is located in the center of the universe. There are 1.4 billion Chinese, which is 21% of the world's total population, compared with 315 million Americans, 127 million Japanese and 51 and 25 million Koreans in the South and North respectively. Anyone who cannot read Chinese characters is a foreign devil. And large numbers of these devils don't have black hair. Chinese people quite simply do not like Japanese. It's a long story, several hundred years old, and it has to do with war, rape, pillage, and poaching of their culture by Japanese soldiers. On the other hand, they regard Korea as their little brother, and cute sister, and try to maintain a friendly relationship with the people on the peninsula. They thought that Gen. Douglas MacArthur came too close to their border in the Korean War. With Americans they have a complicated love and hate relationship. Russians, as vodka alcoholics, are looked upon as an ex-comrade. Although they are close neighbors with a lengthy shared border, China keeps an ever-vigilant eye on Russia. Nevertheless, united by their shared suspicion of America, they co-operate to veto any important- policies that Washington may dream up. The Chinese are proud of teaching their language to Korea. And "Aiya" in Chinese and "Aigo" in Korean are gems of exclamation, useful in almost every imaginable circumstance, casually thrown in at the beginning or end of a sentence. Uttered with different intonations, they can express frustration, trouble, empathy, awe, shock, glee, or any emotion, and greatly dramatize a situation. Like a French shrug, they are applied liberally and only appreciated by the natives. Chinese people would say, "Aiya, it's good to see you!" A Korean answers, "Me, too, Aigo. It's a beautiful day." Chinese: "I hear your son was accepted by Yale, Aiiyaa." Korean: "Yes, but, Aigo, I'm not sure if I can finance it." "Aiya," exclaims the Chinese. When a young unmarried man dies, the Korean would say, "Aigo, he is gone without experiencing a joy of having a wife," and the Chinese would utter, "Too bad he is gone without experiencing a joy of stealing, Aiya." Men's clothes in China have a lot of pockets for the purpose of splitting money. Theft is the most common criminal offense. Chinese youngsters find it hard to understand when they see Korean men freely walking around in Seoul with a bulging leather wallet peeking out from their back pocket. Our big brother on the other hand would cross Korean and other boundaries indifferently. If you ignore this unique trait, you'd never understand why Chinese disregard the intellectual property rights and keep copying your inventions or fishing in Korean water without suffering from a guilty conscience. It was Japanese women a decade ago Chinese men wanted to marry but they now find Korean girls far more attractive and want to marry one and live in an American style house, drink French wine instead of tea, play around with Russian girls, hire a Filipina housemaid, and eventually become a leading member in the communist party of the nation of statism. Dragon is the totem symbol and the supreme holy animal of the Chinese people. It is colorfully composed of a large serpent's body, a head of camel, claws of hawk, large red eyes of rabbit, and scales of carp. The people in the neighborhood must be careful in associating with Chinese as the dragon blows fire when it gets angry.
Near the end of last year, I wrote a post asking whether inclusiveness was a meaningless virtue. This post was written in response to several comments and posts that I’ve seen expressing related thoughts: 1) boundaries are essential for an identity to have meaning, 2) those who argue for inclusion without limits either implicitly place limits anyway (so, they are hypocritical) or do not realize that a limitless inclusion is meaningless (so, they are naive.) My reaction was to say that I thought that advocacy for inclusion implicitly placed limits, so rather than this being hypocritical, this was just a part of the term — even if people weren’t explicit about it. In response, one interlocutor collected several memes where limits were not (and could not be) reasonably implied. Look at those silly people! I still think about this. Especially when we consider something like the LDS Church (with its disciplinary actions) in specific of the Gospel of Jesus Christ more generally. Must one focus on the exclusive aspects of Mormonism or Christianity for things like Zion, the church, salvation, or exaltation to be meaningful? The common “political” breakdown (although this is not a clear-cut breakdown) has politically liberal folks seeing that the Gospel must be inclusive, while politically conservative folks tend to focus on the narrowness of the road that leads to life — there are not many that find it. (and then, of course, there are conservative folks who argue for a different kind of inclusion. For example, Elder Bednar’s comments that there are no homosexual members of the church can be seen as radically inclusive — according to him, every son or daughter of God can strive to follow the commandments [no matter what aspects about them cause them to struggle with those standards!]. Every instrument is precious I thought of a certain metaphor that occasionally gets used by various church leaders, which is taken by many folks online as example of more inclusive tendencies. The church and its members have often been compared to an orchestra with many members. For example, in an October 2000 General Conference address from then Relief Society General President Mary Ellen Smoot, we are all instruments in the hands of God: Truly, we may each be an instrument in the hands of God. Happily, we need not all be the same kind of instrument. Just as the instruments in an orchestra differ in size, shape, and sound, we too are different from one another. We have different talents and inclinations, but just as the French horn cannot duplicate the sound of the piccolo, neither is it necessary for us to all serve the Lord in the same way. But lest you think that be merely advice of a bygone era, or advice only to the sisters of the church, please also recall Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin’s comments in his talk “Concern for the One” during the October 2008 Conference: Some are lost because they are different. They feel as though they don’t belong. Perhaps because they are different, they find themselves slipping away from the flock. They may look, act, think, and speak differently than those around them and that sometimes causes them to assume they don’t fit in. They conclude that they are not needed. Tied to this misconception is the erroneous belief that all members of the Church should look, talk, and be alike. The Lord did not people the earth with a vibrant orchestra of personalities only to value the piccolos of the world. Every instrument is precious and adds to the complex beauty of the symphony. All of Heavenly Father’s children are different in some degree, yet each has his own beautiful sound that adds depth and richness to the whole. These quotations sound really good, and they sound like positive messages for both sides of the spectrum — everyone is welcome…but we are all welcome to serve. So, why does there need to be another post here? The misunderstood saxophone Well, it all got started when I was thinking of a story to go along with one of my video game cover songs. I was covering a song from an old Playstation game, Final Fantasy Tactics. The song was called “A Chapel,” and in the original game, there’s really not any saxophone or jazz — so I wanted to provide some sort of explanation to why I would do a saxy, jazzy cover of such a song. I also wanted the video to be somewhat autobiographical — let people see and hear more about me while they listened. In weaving a story, I thought about my own upbringing as a child. I remembered how growing up, several of the more musically-inclined boys and girls in the ward would play special musical numbers during sacrament. I wasn’t the best musician, but I always wondered why I could never do the same. At some point, I asked, and I was told that the saxophone simply wasn’t a reverent enough instrument for the church. I didn’t really think much about it. I mean, I wasn’t really that great at music back then anyway. But here we come to the present. Isn’t it strange that there would be talks in Conference about how every instrument is precious and adds to the complex beauty of the symphony, and yet certain instruments are categorically banned from the chapel? (For more information, please check out this link of frequently asked questions for music during sacrament. It directly quotes a section from the 2nd Handbook that comments that “Instruments with a prominent or less worshipful sound, such as most brass and percussion, are not appropriate for sacrament meeting.”) But then I re-read the general conference talks, and realized that what everyone had taken as radical inclusion had its own boundaries all along. Instruments of the Symphony Orchestra When I grew up, I was in symphonic band. We did not have a whole lot of french horn players, so frequently, my band director would rewrite music that was designed for french horn to be for the saxophone instead. I didn’t think anything of it — I just thought: well, we don’t have a lot of french horn players. I did notice that occasionally, the orchestra director would hold auditions for certain band people — clarinetists, flautists and oboists, usually — to join in an orchestra production. I wondered why saxophonists were never asked, but I didn’t think much of it. But if you look at the image above, you will see the reasoning. A symphony orchestra simply doesn’t include every instrument in a modern marching band, much less every instrument that was ever created. The symphony is a particular styling of music with particular instruments. The Symphony and the Church In one sense, this metaphor of the church as a symphony is a great example of how a seemingly inclusive metaphor can still implicitly have its limitations (even if those limits are not explicitly mentioned or emphasized). However, this metaphor can also serve as a great example of how seemingly inclusive intentions can nevertheless lead to exclusive behaviors and outcomes. If you asked me if I thought Elder Wirthlin or President Smoot intended for their metaphors to be self-limited, I would say, “No”. I think that they intended these metaphors to be inclusive — anyone who is willing to repent and serve is allowed in the church. And yet, this metaphor is implicitly exclusive. The orchestra may not need only piccolos, but it never needs an electric guitar. If you want to play electric guitar, you have to find something other than an orchestra. A saxophonist may sometimes be invited to play with the orchestra, but only if he can conform his sound to that of a french hornists, or only if his conductor is picking musical selections from composers who wrote saxophone in with the orchestra. So far, we have stuck with mostly European instruments, but if you think, the unexpected exclusivity of the orchestra has implications on scales of distance and times. The orchestra is a particular creation in time and space, and although it has modernized somewhat over the decades and centuries, it has in other senses been resistant to change. That’s the main reason why the saxophone, invented in 1840 only after much of the classical orchestral repertoire had congealed, is not a standard part thereof. But the orchestra also is primarily European, and so instruments like the Chinese erhu don’t play a role in the standard orchestra. (This does not mean that there cannot be orchestral fusions like The Butterfly Lovers Concerto, but these are exceptional [in both the literal and colloquial senses of the word], and even this concerto was original written for western instrumentation, with traditional Chinese instrumentation only seeping into performances after China’s cultural opening in the 1970s.) This provides rather unexpected (if not disarming) depth to the metaphor for the church — the church too is situated in time and space, and risks alienating those who fail to conform to that time and space. Or, put in another way…in the same way that any musician can play in the orchestra (but only if some of them pick up different instruments or learn to play certain styles of music), everyone can be a good Mormon (but only if they conform to certain cultural expectations that may or may not be identified as eternal or divinely inspired.)
Televangelist Pat Robertson, who once told viewers to destroy statues of Buddha, said today that he strongly condemns ISIS’s efforts to destroy historical treasures, even though a “700 Club” viewer pointed out that the Old Testament instructs people to destroy idols to deities. While ISIS claims that it is destroying idols, Robertson said that they were actually smashing works of art. However, if they were destroying idols, that would be acceptable, he said: “This isn’t some heathen idol. By all means, if they were having some heathen deity and this was some mount where they were offering sacrifices, by all means destroy it, but the other I think is just art.” “The Taliban was destroying statues of Buddha that they thought were — but Buddha’s a different religion,” he added.
Nick Cannon is expanding his hosting repertoire to the Style Network. The America's Got Talent and Wild N' Out host has been tapped to serve in the same capacity on Style's Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, The Hollywood Reporter has learned exclusively. Style in February revived the syndicated Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. The series was famously hosted by Robin Leach in the 1980s and '90s. Cannon will host and executive produce the new version via his NCredible Entertainment banner. "Nick is both aspirational and accessible -- key qualities of the Style brand. He is extremely talented with a grounded personality and style that a wide-range of viewers have come to appreciate and respect. Nick's comedic and down-to-earth perspective on the opulence of the wealthy makes him the ideal host as we reinvent this pop culture classic," Style Media president Salaam Coleman Smith said. "With Nick's humorous insight, Style will give viewers front-row access to how today's wealthy live, paying homage to the original Lifestyles in a fresh, fun and irreverent way." The pop culture reboot will begin production in the fall and take viewers into the homes of dot-com money, hip-hop fame, one-hit wonders and old money glitz. Cannon will introduce people who either live the dream or are maintaining the opulence while providing relatable, funny and informative play-by-play through the tours. STORY: Style Orders Three New Series, Including Update of 'Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous' "To be a part of Style's reimagination of this iconic show and follow in the footsteps of the legendary Robin Leach is a dream come true," Cannon said. "Even though I am fortunate to have certain luxuries, sometimes, I am even amazed by what people with money have and do. I want to remind people that just because you might be rich and famous, it doesn't mean you have to take yourself too seriously." The project marks Cannon's latest hosting gig, which also include Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice Awards, AGT, the Halo Awards and last year's Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest. Cannon recently revived Wild N' Out at MTV2, with the July 10 premiere delivering the highest-rated broadcast in the cable network's history. The news comes just days after Cartoon Network canceled Cannon's sketch comedy series Incredible Crew. PHOTOS: Life After the Finale: 17 TV Shows Brought Back From the Dead Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous is produced by Relativity Television, Television 360, Rysher Entertainment and NCredible Entertainment. Tom Forman, Brad Bishop and Josh Bingham exec produce for Relativity; Daniel Rappaport and Scott Lambert oversee for Television 360; and Patrick Gunn at Rysher and Cannon and Michael Goldman are on point for NCredible Entertainment. A premiere date for Lifestyles has not yet been announced. Cannon is repped by ICM Partners and Michael Goldman at Del Shaw. E-mail: Lesley.Goldberg@THR.com Twitter: @Snoodit
Tradition taps into demand created by e-commerce businesses, the flexible working day and innovation from its competition to offer customers a solid solution to delivery headaches with simple, reliable PO box service. Emirates Post has thrown its weight behind solving the last mile challenge for e-commerce companies, as it taps into the growing sector with a new service aimed at consumers who are without PO boxes. The group will use its UAE-wide network of post offices to provide common PO box addresses tied to a single location that can be used by anyone as a pick-up point. Each post office has its own PO box number, which can be provided to retailers when making transactions online. Items can be picked up at the registered mail counters in post offices by providing valid identification. According to Emirates Post, a charge will be applied at the point of collection, based on the size and weight of each item. “We believe it brings great value addition to e-commerce as a cost-effective last mile delivery option for those buying products online,” said Emirates Post’s acting chief commercial officer, Obaid Al Qatami. “As we have a large network of post offices spread across the UAE, we are in a strong position to cater to the needs of a segment of population that does not own individual PO boxes.” The last mile is a phrase used in the logistics and transport sectors to describe the final part of a network delivering services to retail end-users. As e-commerce grows, completing this final leg efficiently becomes more challenging as consumers are typically not at home when deliveries are usually made. Companies such as Aramex, Amazon and Alibaba have trialled different methods to help solve this problem, including deploying drones, setting up collection lockers and utilising cloud-based security technology to gain temporary access to customers’ premises when they are away. According to on-demand delivery app fetchr, there has been an increase in interest from investors and retailers in efforts to make the delivery of goods as easy as online shopping has now become in the region. Fetchr, which operates in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Bahrain, received a new round of funding, raising US$41 million from leading investors including New Enterprise Associates, Beco Capital and Majid Al Futtaim Holding, it said on Tuesday. Scott Sandell, the managing general partner at New Enterprise Associates and fetchr board member, said that the company has grown quickly since it first invested in two years ago. business@thenational.ae Follow The National’s Business section on Twitter
Animation in Three.js using Tween.js with examples Lachlan Tweedie Blocked Unblock Follow Following Nov 25, 2016 There’s not very many articles explaining animation in Three.js and not many examples so I thought I’d give it a go. In this article I’ll help you animate objects position, rotation or scale, fade objects in and out, and tween custom variables in the render loop. Why Tween.js? Tween.js animates within the Three.js render loop. This improves overall performance of your WebGL application and helps keep a high frame rate. It’s also good practice to never create new variables outside your init function (or however you initialise your project). Try to create all your target positions/rotations/scales at the start and reference them later on. Another thing aim for is to not modify your variables outside the render loop. For example, if the user triggers an event to rotate a mesh 90 degrees, set a variable which the mesh will update to within the render loop. An alternative solution could be to use the below animation function with a duration of 0 seconds. To use the examples below you’ll need to include and setup Tween.js in your project which you can find here: https://github.com/tweenjs/tween.js/
by Ridge Mahoney @ridgemax, Feb 27, 2017 Opening day ... As an MLS Cup finalist in 2015, Columbus overcame a leaky defense that allowed 53 goals, second-worst among the 12 playoff teams.Steffen; Afful, Naess, Mensah, Raitala, Trapp, Abu, Finlay, Higuain, Meram, Kamara.As a ninth-place finisher last year, Crew SC conceded 58 goals -– second-most in the entire league – and will look much different this year in the back. This is the lineup head coach Gregg Berhalter sent out for the preseason finale against Seattle on Saturday, and a 1-0 victory – especially the "0" part --- reflects a greater commitment to defense, as one would expect from a former U.S. international defender. Gone are two mainstays of the 2015 team, keeper Steve Clark and former captain Michael Parkhurst; in their place are Zach Steffen, who joined the team last year and played nine games on loan with Pittsburgh of the USL, and defender Jonathan Mensah. Who’s in … Who’s out … First five games … “I think we’re looking good,” said Steffen after the victory over Seattle. He left the University of Maryland after his sophomore year to play two seasons in Germany with Freiburg’s second team. “We’re fit, playing well, learning from our mistakes. We’re working as a team and helping each other. I think we’re ready.”Gambling on a young goalkeeper -- Steffen is 21 and has never played a professional top-tier competitive match -- is just one of several moves taken by Berhalter to shore up the spine of the team. Mensah has played more than 50 games for Ghana andmay have supplantedin the center of midfield.With, one of the team’s few defensive bright spots last year, sidelined with a long-term knee injury and Finnish internationalcurrently edgingfor the starting job at left back, Crew SC could start the season with three changes in the back five (including goalie).Berhalter also tinkered with a three-man back line in preseason and certainly Francis and right backcould man the wingback slots in that case. Whatever alignment the coach chooses, it must bring a greater defensive stability to support and attack that features several of the league’s top players in their positions, though there are concerns about, who required hernia surgery last year and played only 20 games. He played 90 in the three previous seasons (2013-15).Higuain looked sharp as Crew SC captured the Carolina Challenge Cup by beating Atlanta United along with Seattle and tying Charleston. A bounce-back season for him could mean the same for his team.The schedule provides Crew SC an excellent opportunity for a fast start. Four of the first five games are against teams that failed to reach the playoffs last year. Included is an MLS Cup final rematch against Portland at Mapfre Stadium, site of the Timbers' victory.: Logan Ketterer (Bradley Univ., SuperDraft).Lalas Abubakar (Univ. of Dayton, SuperDraft), Alex Crognale (Univ. of Maryland, Homegrown), Connor Maloney (Penn State Univ., SuperDraft), Jonathan Mensah (Anzhi Makhachkala/RUS, Transfer), Jukka Raitala (Sogndal/NOR, Transfer), Josh Williams (Toronto FC, Re-Entry Draft).Mohammed Abu (Stromsgodset/NOR, Transfer), Artur (Sao Pauloi/BRA, Loan), Niko Hansen (Univ. of New Mexico, SuperDraft), Cristian Martinez (Chorrillo, Transfer), Abuchi Obinwa (Hannover U-19/GER, Free Agent).None.: Steve Clark (Horsens/DEN, Free Agent), Matt Pacifici.Corey Ashe, Chad Barson, Michael Parkhurst (Atlanta United, Trade), Tyson Wahl (Retired).Cedrick Mabwati (Murcia/ESP, Free Agent), Mohammed Saeid (Minnesota United, Expansion Draft).Conor Casey (Retired)-– Chicago Fireat Houston Dynamoat D.C. UnitedPortland TimbersOrlando City
Dutch Arrest 44 Greenpeace Activists Blocking Russian Arctic Oil Tanker Greenpeace’s Rainbow Warrior along with inflatables and paragliders surround Russian oil tanker Mikhail Ulyanov to protest against first shipment of Arctic oil in Rotterdam. To see a larger version of this photograph, click here. Photograph: Ruben Neugebauer/Greenpeace The very different reactions of European countries to Greenpeace protests was seen on Thursday when 10 Dutch armed anti-terror police boarded the environment group’s flagship outside Rotterdam port and arrested 44 activists trying to stop a Russian tanker from unloading its shipment of Arctic oil. Although the activists were taken to several Rotterdam police stations and the Rainbow Warrior towed ashore, the ship and most of the protesters were released without charge within a few hours. This represented a stark contrast to September 2013, when 20 armed Russian navy commandos boarded the group’s Arctic Sunrise icebreaker, towed it 200 miles to Murmansk and jailed the crew of 28 environmental activists and two freelance journalists for more than two months on charges of piracy and then hooliganism. Greenpeace activists, who used paragliders, climbers, a fleet of boats and inflatables in Rotterdam, said the action was a serious attempt to prevent the Gazprom tanker Mikhail Ulyanov from entering the port and was not stage-managed, despite a boatload of journalists being present and the port given advance warning of a protest. Police on board Greenpeace’s Rainbow Warrior ship. Photograph: Chris Grodotzki/Greenpeace “It tells us more about how the authorities deal with dissent in Holland compared to Russia. We had every intention of stopping the oil being offloaded. The intention was just as serious as it was in Russia last September,” said Ben Ayliffe, Greenpeace International Arctic campaigner. Seven of the “Arctic 30” were part of the Rotterdam protest, including the captain Peter Willcox. “Thirty of us went to prison for shining a light on this dangerous Arctic oil, and we refuse to be intimidated. This tanker is the first sign of a reckless new push to exploit the Arctic, a place of incredible beauty which is melting before our eyes. I stand with 5 million others against those who put short-term profit above the common interests of humanity,” said Faiza Oulahsen from the Netherlands, who took part in both protests. The group is calling for an end to offshore Arctic oil drilling both in Russia and elsewhere in the world. The environmental group has heavily criticised international companies like Shell, BP and Statoil for their global Arctic ambitions as well as their joint ventures with Russian energy firms. Greenpeace International executive director, Kumi Naidoo, said: “It’s increasingly clear that our reliance on oil and gas is a major threat not just to the environment, but to global security. Arctic oil represents a dangerous new form of dependence on Russia’s state-owned energy giants at the very moment when we should be breaking free of their influence. We cannot hope for any kind of ethical foreign policy while our governments remain hopelessly dependent on companies like BP, Shell and Gazprom.” Last night the Mikhail Ulyanov was docked and preparing to offload its oil. Russia is still holding the Arctic Sunrise in Murmansk.
next Image 1 of 3 prev next Image 2 of 3 prev Image 3 of 3 A 12-acre slice of the American dream -- a gold mining ghost town in northern California, complete with bar and liquor license -- can be yours for less than a quarter million. That’s the pitch on Craigslist for the privately-owned parcel in Seneca with no known environmental hazards, several small buildings, scenic grounds along the Feather River and even an island -- all for just $225,000. [pullquote] “Seneca is the real McCoy,” the Craigslist posting reads. “Historic. Very close to, or containing a historic Chinese-built gold mine. (Active gold mining today in the vicinity.) This deal includes several small buildings in various states of (dis)repair. It was home to the ‘Woodstock of the West’ in the 1970s -- thousands attended (we have a clipping somewhere).” The deal includes all rights to minerals and timber from the land and boasts waterfront footage on both sides of the Feather River, the principal tributary of the Sacramento River, which saw a major influx of prospectors and settlers to the region during the 1849 California Gold Rush. It’s also the purported former stomping ground of Ishi, the last known member of the Yahi people of California, who was known as the “last wild Indian” before he died in 1916. “Possibly THE last private acreage within a National Forest,” the ad continues. “(Not many liquor licenses in the region, either.) A big tree is growing up through the porch of the bar. The public access dirt road from both north and south is one of the most scenic in the USA.” The northern access road, according to the pitch, is “darn scary” and features 1,000-foot drops into a gorge. The southern access road, meanwhile, is easier trekking in winter or poor weather conditions. Potential buyers should be familiar with rural living and expect to wait a few days to see the property, as the owner lives a long way from the town. Formerly North Fork, Seneca is an unincorporated community in Plumas County at an elevation of 3,625 feet. Gold was reportedly found in the region in 1851, prompting the boom of a wild mining town that once boasted a dance hall, livery, blacksmith and a hotel with solar-heated showers. The largest gold nugget found in Seneca was reportedly 42 ounces, worth $28,000 in 1942 -- or roughly $394,000 in today’s economy. Its post office originally opened in 1902 before closing in 1918, then re-opening five years later. It finally moved in 1941 before closing for good in 1943.
In 2016, Kent Roderick Jensen, 20 was charged with vehicular homicide while under the influence after a March 17th incident that resulted in the vehicular fatality of motorcyclist Jashua Fry. When he pulled out onto a front road in Billings, Montana, he didn’t see the motorcycle driver and caused the accident. His blood was present to 19 ng/mL of Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol, which is more commonly known as THC. THC is the psychoactive component of cannabis, which causes the expected high. The legal limit for driving with THC in one’s blood is 5 ng/mL, a standard that Jensen’s public defender called “arbitrary and not supported by science.” This statement came about during an attempt to dismiss one of Jensen’s charges. Gregory Paskell, who represented Jensen during court proceedings, set this as a basis for undermining the charge against his client. Because the effects of THC vary so wildly from person to person, some researchers believe that there is in fact no set amount of THC that is guaranteed to get everybody stoned. Basically, it’s difficult to measure impairment on a standard scale because no two people react identically to it. “Because of this lack of scientific support, the use of the 5 ng/mL level in the vehicular homicide statute is unconstitutional as a denial of substantive due process,” Paskell wrote when arguing for the dismissal of the charge. The Montana Crime Lab determined that the 5 ng/mL limit is sufficient to separate impaired drivers from non-impaired drivers, as well as separating those who ingested cannabis more recently versus long ago. Paskell cited a AAA study that defied these assertions while the prosecutor repeatedly contested Paskell’s claims. Jensen’s case has not yet been ruled on by District Judge Gregory Todd. He is scheduled for trial in August. Montana is one of eighteen states that have specific guidelines pertaining to how much THC constitutes impaired driving when found in a driver’s blood. But we shouldn’t be surprised to see more states that have legalized cannabis either recreationally or medicinally following their example in the future. As more states embrace cannabis as a medical and recreational substance, the topic of impaired driving has been a frequent subject of discussion.
Sattar Beheshti was detained in Evin prison for criticising government and died days after complaining of being tortured Iran's top cyber police chief has been sacked over the death in custody of blogger Sattar Beheshti, according to officials in Tehran. Beheshti, 35, from the city of Robat-Karim, south-west of Tehran, was arrested on 30 October after using his blog and Facebook account to criticise the government. He was thrown into the notorious Evin prison where he died several days later, after complaining that he was tortured. The head of Tehran's cyber police unit – named as Mohammad Hassan Shokrian by Press TV – was fired for "failures and weaknesses in adequately supervising personnel under his supervision", according to a statement posted on the website of Iran's police force on Saturday. Last month, Iran's parliament announced it had launched an investigation into the case. Earlier this week, politician Mehdi Davatgari said the cyber police unit – known as Fata – had illegally detained Beheshti in custody without a court order. Beheshti's mother has also said that while in jail, Beheshti, had no access to his family or a lawyer. She also claimed that the authorities had threatened the family with the arrest of Beheshti's sister should they speak to the media. Authorities in the country have arrested seven people suspected of involvement in his death. A judiciary official said a medical examiners had found bruises on five parts of the blogger's body. Human rights group Amnesty International has said Beheshti may have been tortured to death in custody, and has urged Tehran to investigate.
There are also several ideas in the bunch that are relatively unknown. An "employee levy," for instance, charges a small fee to large employers in a heavy transit area, with the idea that the company's workers contribute a good deal to commuter congestion. A "parking levy," meanwhile, puts a special tax on non-residential spaces in a corridor, on the belief that these drivers benefit from strong transit with better auto access. The always thorough Todd Litman of the Victoria Transport Policy Institute released a report last week analyzing 18 local options for funding public transportation [ PDF ]. Fare increases are there, of course, along with the gas tax , the vehicle-miles traveled fee , high-occupancy toll lanes , land value capture , and basic advertising . Litman also includes non-intuitive ideas like priced parking programs, which a city might implement on its own merit, but which could also generate revenue diverted to the transit system. Litman evaluates each of his 18 funding options on eight criteria: revenue potential, stability, equity (both horizontal equity, meaning across all users, and vertical equity, meaning across all social classes), travel impact, development impact, public opinion, and implementation. He scores each option on each criteria on a scale from -3 to 3 points. Cities went a step further and aggregated Litman's scores into a single chart (based on Table 7 from the report): The highest-scoring transit funding option was discounted bulk passes. These are passes sold in bulk to certain groups of people — often students or local workers. The revenue potential is modest, because the riders get a deal, but the passes create rider loyalty over the long term, which increases funding stability. The programs are also equitable, encourage transit use and transit-oriented development, and have a high rate of public approval. The lowest-scoring option was raising fares. The revenue potential of a fare hike is fairly strong, with a 10 percent jump creating 5 to 8 percent more revenue in the short term. But fare hikes are regressive, hurting low-income riders more than wealthy ones, and may discourage use. And, as every city official knows, the public hates them. Litman's scoring system is admittedly subjective. It can also be a bit misleading at times. Advertising scores very high, for instance, and has some natural advantages in terms of equity (we all hate ads), travel impact (none) and implementation (easy). It also has disadvantages as a funding mechanism that don't seem to get equal weight in this particular scoring system. Chief among them is the fact that revenue potential is incredibly low. Litman concludes that no single method on his list has the ability to resolve a transit agency's funding problems. What works for some places won't work for others: selling station air rights, for example, will work much better in a high-density environment like New York than in a mid-size city without rail transit. Litman concludes that cities must use a "variety of funding options" to meet the unique needs of their own system. This research discovered no new funding options that are particularly cost effective and easy to implement. Each funding option has disadvantages and constraints. So much for simple solutions. Top image: Eky Studio/Shutterstock.com
Lost Highway is the 1997 French-American neo-noir-horror mystery film written and directed by David Lynch. It stars Bill Pullman as a man convicted of murdering his wife (Patricia Arquette), after which he inexplicably morphs into a young mechanic and begins a new life. The film's score was composed by Angelo Badalamenti, with additional music by Barry Adamson, however Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails was responsible for assembling the soundtrack. David Bowie's "I'm Deranged", Rammstein's "Heirate Mich", Lou Reed's "This Magic Moment", Marilyn Manson's "Apple Of Sodom" plus more tracks from Trent Reznor, The Smashing Pumpkins all appear on the double album to accompany the Angelo Badalamenti and Barry Adamson theme music. Lost Highway premiered in 1997 in the United States on a limited theatrical release and has developed a cult following. Director David Lynch received three Academy Awards nominations, a Golden Lion award from the Venice Film Festival for lifetime achievements as well as a Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival for Wild At Heart in 1990.
If you were searching for some optimism about third-year wide receiver Sammie Coates heading into the 2017 season, beat writer Dale Lolley provided a cold bucket of water for you yesterday afternoon on Twitter, reporting that the Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver’s fingers looked like they were “mangled like a lineman” and quipped that it’s “probably not good” for a wide receiver. Saw Sammie Coates fingers yesterday. Mangled like a lineman. Probably not good for a WR. #Steelers — Dale Lolley (@dlolleyor) February 19, 2017 You might recall that several weeks back we were given to believe that the former third-round pick had surgery to repair multiple broken fingers on his hand. Coates last week revealed on his own on Twitter that the surgery that he underwent was to repair a groin injury. Melanie Friedlander asked Lolley subsequently if Coates’ fingers looked like that because he has surgery, and Lolley confirmed in the negative, so we now have visual verification that he indeed has not had his broken fingers repaired. Friedlander followed up saying that Coates should have had surgery during the season when he injured the hand and went on injured reserve, and I would tend to agree with our own resident doctor. After all, the post-injury results pretty clearly speak for themselves. Coates caught two passes for the Steelers in the season opener, including a 42-yarder, for 56 total yards. The next game he added receptions of 44 and 53 yards for a total of 97 on two receptions. After a three-catch, 50-yard effort that featured a 41-yard reception, he caught six passes for 79 yards, the longest being 47. In his final game as a meaningful contributor, he went off for 139 yards, including a 72-yard touchdown, the first score of his career. He added another short score on his six catches, some of which came after he injured his hand and broke two fingers in the process. But he was getting by on adrenalin at that point—and he did drop multiple passes early in the second half before beginning to rebound—and he finished up the regular season with just two more catches in the final nine games for 14 yards. He sat out the last two games of the regular season with a hamstring injury. He did get an opportunity to play a bigger role in the AFC Championship game, but his first opportunity to contribute consisted of a dropped pass on a long ball on third and short that had the potential to go for a long score. He did haul in a 30-yard pass in the second half and had 34 yards total on two receptions. It is a mystery to many why Coates has not, at least yet, had his fingers surgically repaired. Whether he needs surgery or can use the offseason to allow them to get better on their own by actually resting them, it is imperative that he gets back to what he was doing in the early portion of his second season.
Advocates for restaurant workers launched a 2018 ballot drive Thursday to gradually raise the state's minimum wage to $12 an hour, saying the growing industry is not paying enough to employees — including those who earn tips. The group behind the effort, the Restaurant Opportunities Center, led a similar push in 2014 that culminated with the Republican-led Legislature and Gov. Rick Snyder boosting the minimum wage by a smaller amount. The Michigan One Fair Wage committee — whose initiative was blasted by the restaurant industry — plans to soon ask the state elections board to approve its petition form, after which it will begin circulating petitions. It will need more than 252,000 valid voter signatures to put the initiated legislation before lawmakers. If legislators did not act, the bill would get a statewide vote in November 2018. Michigan's hourly minimum wage is $8.90, rises to $9.25 in January and, starting in 2019, will increase annually with inflation unless the unemployment rate is high. Under the proposal, the wage would rise to $10 in 2019, $10.65 in 2020, $11.35 in 2021 and $12 in 2022, with yearly inflationary adjustments afterward. The minimum wage for tipped employees would gradually increase from the current $3.38 until reaching the minimum wage for all other workers in 2024. The ballot committee is not seeking a $15 wage despite it being pushed by fast-food employees nationally. The $15 minimum also has been embraced by the three most viable Democratic gubernatorial candidates. "The restaurant industry is one of the largest and fastest-growing sectors of the Michigan economy, but also the lowest-paying. ... It's time for one fair wage for Michigan," said Alicia Farris, state director for the Restaurant Opportunities Center of Michigan, which announced the ballot campaign in Detroit with other organizations. State law requires employers to ensure tipped employees make at least the minimum wage, but Farris said many are single mothers deserving of a higher wage. Justin Winslow, president and CEO of the Michigan Restaurant Association, said the proposal would kill jobs and is "irresponsible and dangerously out of touch." He added that the minimum wage already is scheduled to increase for the fourth straight year. One Fair Wage, Winslow said, "is funded almost entirely from out-of-state interests who either don't know or don't care how their policies impact real people in Michigan. It is even more reckless to force Michigan into the distinct minority of states that have eliminated the tipped minimum wage, which will irrefutably harm Michigan's second-largest private employer and only serve to diminish opportunities for those that need them most."
Obama has been harassing Sheriff Joe Arpaio for eight long years. On Thursday Sheriff Joe got the last laugh. Arpaio held a news conference to discuss Barack Obama’s controversial birth certificate. Sheriff Joe says it has 9 points of forgery. And – the document to appears to be a “created” document that sources an official Hawaiian birth certificate belonging to a Johana Ah’nee. ABC15 reported: Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and Chief Investigator Mike Zullo say “nine points of forgery” have been found on President Barack Obama’s birth certificate. During a Thursday press conference, Arpaio and Zullo said their five-year-long investigation revealed new evidence including “forensic analysis showing the characters on the document were pieced together from secondary sources.” RELATED: Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio criticized for probing President Barack Obama’s citizenship According to Zullo, the certificate released by the White House in 2011 appears to be a “created” document that sources an official Hawaiian birth certificate belonging to a Johana Ah’nee. A video played during the press conference showed nine elements that were lifted and placed on the Obama certificate in “an apparent attempt to make it appear authentic.” “My concern was not where the president was born, but whether the document presented to the people was a fraud,” Arpaio said of his office’s investigation.
You simply cannot fulfill all the stereotypes of being a World-Famous Rock Band without facing some kind of internal crisis, and so, between their 2011 tour and the recording of their sixth album, Mechanical Bull, Tennessee’s Kings of Leon moved one step closer to meeting expectations. Frontman Caleb Followill had been leading a messy personal life, fraught with alcoholism and self-doubt, which culminated in a notorious moment on that tour when he vomited while performing, ran backstage for a quick beer, and returned for three songs—only to then leave again and eventually cancel the remainder of their American dates. Breakup rumors obligatorily followed: Kings of Leon being comprised of three brothers and a cousin, we can imagine family ties tightened and caused problems on occasion. Latter-day KoL—as opposed to the greasier early incarnation—has depended heavily on Caleb’s abilities as a leading man, and Mechanical Bull’s emotional core is sizable because of that. The riffs and hooks of their first few albums were so memorable that it never much mattered whether Caleb was interesting with his words—and often he wasn’t, or anyway it wasn’t always clear what he was singing about and he had a patchy way of putting things. Here, he’s more confident than usual lyrically but still plenty contemplative, like he’s clear-headed and sure of his next step because he learned from the last stumble. “She said make yourself at home/ So I started day-drinking,” he reflects on closer “On the Chin”, one of many allusions to his behind-the-music troubles. Elsewhere, he’s at the end of his rope but not necessarily determined to turn things around: “I could fuck or I could fight/ It don’t matter to me.” Finally—and this is pretty much a given—the 31-year-old is at his best vocally, powering through songs like “Comeback Story” and adding colorful lilts to the relatively lighthearted “Temple”. KoL’s aim for this album, drummer Nathan has said, was to create an “unofficial greatest hits,” an album that reflects everything they’ve done in the past decade. With Angelo Petraglia behind the boards as always, they more or less succeeded. “Supersoaker” is the album’s obvious single, but even that one has an intro nearly identical to that of “The Bucket”, from 2004’s Aha Shake Heartbreak. Second track “Rock City” has glam rock tones and is one of the first-half tracks with a flashy but efficient solo from lead guitarist Matthew. Following that is “Don’t Matter”, a scorcher that pulses along steadily like the Stones’ “Jumpin’ Jack Flash”. That just begins to cover everything here, as the band often ditches the crunchy eighth-note strums and opts for more majestic sounds, wide open like a great plain under a Talihina sky. These are the points where strings sweep (“Comeback Story”) and where backing gospel vocalists soar (“Beautiful War”). The second half is generally slower and modest, but it’s here KoL practically sound like a Southern rock U2. Even the lighter guitar work of these songs has an element of grandeur, as on the winding and weaving “Tonight”. You might call this redemption rock for how Caleb seems to be cleansing his entire being when he holds his highest notes, and certainly the album was meant to be redemptive for the fans who felt betrayed upon 2008’s Only by the Night and its uncharacteristic radio smashes (“Use Somebody”, “Sex on Fire”). Basically, Mechanical Bull is the sound of a band reviving its former selves for the benefit of each other and for their longtime fans, and it’s their best album since Aha Shake Heartbreak. It’s not often that self-intervention is quite this rewarding. Essential Tracks: “Supersoaker”, “Temple”, and “Tonight”
Yahoo will begin offering a new ‘Not My Email’ button this week that gives owners of newly claimed, previously dormant, user names the ability to ‘return’ messages that were not meant for them. This is part of Yahoo’s ongoing efforts to mitigate any potential harm that may come from its recent ‘user name recycle program‘. In order to continue providing tools to prevent these newly minted owners from getting the previous users’ email, Yahoo is doing a few things including the new button. The button, which will be easily accessible from the Yahoo Mail inbox, will allow users to reject mail that isn’t theirs. This will function in a similar manner to the way you can put a ‘not at this address’ message on physical mail that comes to your house by mistake. The program, which allowed people to claim names that were deemed dormant by Yahoo, came under immediate skeptical fire for its potential to be harmful or dangerous to the privacy of the previous owners of the names. After the initial outcry, Yahoo outlined a series of steps it took to prevent issues including a 12-month minimum on dormancy, 30 days of messages to the user to notify them that their account was going to be given away and bouncing emails back to senders to notify them that the account was deactivated and no longer valid. But anecdotal evidence over the intervening weeks that there are users who are receiving the previous occupant’s messages has continued to roll in. Most recently, an InformationWeek article cited several first-hand experiences of users getting email not intended for them, including financial information and other personal details. We spoke with Yahoo Senior Director, Platforms Dylan Casey about the issues some users are seeing and he acknowledged that there have been some cases. Yahoo has been monitoring its systems for claims about mistaken deliveries and were able to quickly identify what was going on with some of these accounts. Yahoo discovered that in some cases, the email bounce method was not enough to convince institutions and senders that the email was no longer valid. The signals that Yahoo were giving off to inform senders that they should no longer send any email to this address for the old owner were not being recognized. We’re hearing that the percentage is very, very small, even in light of the sheer number of users of Yahoo’s service. Casey would only tell us that there was a small enough number that he was able to reach out to many of the accounts that reported issues personally to figure out what was going on. The new ‘Not My Email’ button will allow users to train their inboxes, rejecting email even before they’ve read it if they recognize it’s not meant for them from the subject line. Casey says that they’re also doing individual outreach to any users or senders that they can. The risk, Casey says, is mitigated to some degree by the fact that financial institutions rarely send detailed information in emails any more. Most basic security precautions have banks sending links to log in rather than statements, for instance. Yahoo is also continuing to investigate and improve the program. In addition to encouraging senders to subscribe to its new Require Recipient Valid Since (RRVS) protocol — developed with Facebook — it says that it is also reaching out to vendors like eBay, Paypal, Amazon and Walmart to more effectively target email to current users, rather than the previous name-holders. Casey notes that the potential target area of many of the claimed emails is much bigger than average. This is due to the fact that they’re largely ‘initials’ or first-name at Yahoo addresses. This means that people filling out forms for hotels may give a fake name@yahoo answer in a field, resulting in misdirected hotel invoices. Yahoo is providing resources to help old users of email addresses reclaim their accounts if they wish or need to and is taking a number of other steps: Account reclamation for users who’ve lost their name received notice that it will be released received notice that it will be released Outreach to users as prompt and in as many ways as possible (phone, email, etc.) Extending grace periods for inactive accounts Companies recycle usernames all of the time, but email is a uniquely personal thing and becomes a repository for personal and financial information. It’s only reasonable that it should require the utmost care and consideration when ‘freeing’ these identities for others to use. Yahoo appears, at least from the steps mentioned above, to be taking it seriously and the issues don’t seem incredibly wide-spread. In the end this is about more than just Yahoo, but Casey says that he hopes Yahoo’s efforts to both release the names and ensure that users don’t get mis-delivered email will ‘help the internet’ in the long run. The argument is simple: Yahoo is far from the last company who is going to have to deal with ‘user ID fatigue’ in the long run. Twitter already deals with it, and it’s a much younger company. Short or first-name usernames are in high demand and no one wants to be known as Matthew563527bslash6. Google is trying to link real names to online identities but will likely run up against Gmail user fatigue hard soon enough, if it hasn’t already. Yahoo is doing it on a large scale and is probably one of the first to have to plow through some of these issues as it’s an old company by ‘Internet’ standards. But its trials are just the beginning. The new button will roll out before the end of the week and should help users with a direct ‘return to sender, address unknown’ option, but the ‘account fatigue’ and reset questions are just beginning to rear their heads. How this will play out over the next 10 years of the internet will be interesting.
Here's another reason to hesitate before importing from the world's largest exporter: chloromethane. Korean police believe 60,000 cars are running on Chinese AC fluid that contains the explosive chemical. As much as a lit cigarette could cause these cars to explode. Several people are under investigation for importing the product: JoongAng Daily: The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency yesterday applied for an arrest warrant for the head of an importing company, surnamed Lee, 32, for bringing in the faulty auto refrigerant from China. The police are also investigating 11 dealers who bought the refrigerant from Lee. The police believe Lee imported the cheap refrigerant because refrigerant prices doubled in price in Korea as the weather got hotter. Lee sold 41 tons of the 50 tons brought in from China, which were 40 to 60 percent cheaper than legitimate brands, authorities believe. Now check out 10 big Chinese brands that are coming to America -->
Photographer Murad Osmann creatively documents his travels around the world with his girlfriend leading the way in his ongoing series known as Follow Me To. Chronicling his adventures on Instagram, the Russian photographer composes each shot in a similar fashion. We see each landscape from the photographer’s point of view with his extended hand holding onto his girlfriend’s in front of him. With her back turned, never revealing her face to the camera, Osmann’s girlfriend guides us all on a journey across the globe to some of the most beautiful, exotic, and radiant environments. There are also comforting and familiar settings mixed in for good measure. Whether the couple is spending a romantic night in Moscow, having an exotic adventure in Asia, or simply going bowling, Osmann keeps a visual record of their escapades as he trails behind his beloved. Murad Osmann on Instagram via [Big Picture]
Every morning, John Mehaffy, 95, gets out of bed and pulls on a pair of jeans and a button-down shirt. He adjusts a white baseball cap with "The Doorman" in solid black letters on it and makes his way to the dining area at MeadowView of Greeley, 5300 29th St. He sits in a corner of the dining area, the only spot with a clear view of the front door while he eats breakfast. He doesn't want to miss a chance to say hello. Four years ago, when Mehaffy first arrived at the assisted living center, he sat down near the front door and began greeting all who walked through the doors. It didn't take long before Mehaffy became known as John the Doorman, and someone saw fit to place the cap on his head. "They gave me a cap and gave me a chair and here I am," he said with a smile. Recommended Stories For You When a visitor or patron approaches the center's doors, Mehaffy gets up, leans on his red walker with a bright yellow Iowa license plate affixed to the front, and presses the button to open the doors. He offers a smile, a warm greeting and a handshake — or maybe a hug, if you're an elderly woman — then turns around and sits back down. But Mehaffy doesn't consider his entertainment duties over at the door. Once you're inside, at least once a week, he sings from a corner of the dining area while his daughter, Shirley Olson of Greeley, plays a wooden grand piano beside him. A smile spreads across his cheeks when he finishes. It's the same smile that greets visitors at the front door. Mehaffy's first wife, who died in 1985, played the piano and organ for decades. She was a church organist for 25 years, and Mehaffy would sing from the church choir. Now it's Olson who plays piano while Mehaffy belts out a tune. She was given piano lessons as a child, and Mehaffy said she was good about practicing. Like her mother, she obviously enjoys playing, having majored in piano performance in college. The family's fondness of music extended to Christmas traditions. On Christmas mornings, before gifts could be opened, each member of the family had to name their favorite Christmas song, starting with the youngest. "We all, as a group, had to sing each song," Olson said. "He's just always loved to sing." Mehaffy said he does remember those Christmases with his wife and children — particularly the joy his wife got from decorating their home. But Olson said she remembers them for other reasons. "They still had orphanages in those days," Olson said. "Dad would take the kids' Christmas clothes from the year before to the orphans. He made sure they had socks and shoes, too." Focusing on memories isn't something Mehaffy concerns himself with often anymore. Instead, he tries to brighten the world one person at a time. "I just enjoy people. That's why I'm here," Mehaffy said. "I hope it brings them a little joy, too, to have me greet them." It's a simple routine, and Mehaffy's conversations are often short and fleeting. But like all of us, Mehaffy has a story, and if you sit with him for a few minutes, he might tell you about the small but important role he played in American history. 'Anything with music I enjoy' Mehaffy was born Jan. 12, 1919, on a small farm in Morning Sun, Iowa, a town of 800. His father, who emigrated from Ireland in 1872, died when Mehaffy was 6 months old from an unknown illness. "My mother never married again," Mehaffy said. "She raised six of us. We worked out butts off. I mean, we had to because that was a must in our day." Mehaffy doesn't remember many Christmases from his childhood. Those were hard times, he said. But around age 2, Mehaffy began a lifelong habit of singing. When he was old enough, he joined the church choir, a tradition he participated in for decades. "Anything with music I enjoy," he said. His love of music was shared by a classmate, Helen Browning, who played the piano. The two began dating in high school and were named the most devoted couple by their peers. At their high school graduation, Browning played the piano and Mehaffy sang in the choir. Two years later, on Oct. 2, 1937, they were married in Browning's parents' home, in front of a large fireplace. They were both 18 years old. Four years after John and Helen exchanged their vows, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Three years after the attack, on April 8, 1944, Mehaffy enlisted in the U.S. Army in Amarillo, Texas, at the age of 25. 'They didn't hurt me a bit' Standing in line at the enlistment office in Amarillo, the wind whipping around him, Mehaffy turned to the man behind him. "I asked, 'Does the wind blow like this all the time?' He said, 'Heck no, sometimes it turns around and blows the other way,' " Mehaffy said. The tired joke still brings him a belly laugh. Mehaffy was assigned to the U.S. Army Air Forces, the precursor to the U.S. Air Force. He completed basic training at Lowry Field in Denver, then was moved from city to city with the whims of the Texas wind. He was put to work performing maintenance repairs and upgrades to various planes and radio systems. At one point, he and his crewmates were tasked with making modifications to a Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber. The crew was told to alter the bomb bay to accommodate a single, large weapon, and to move the gun turrets to the rear of the plane. After the repairs had been completed, Mehaffy said he watched the plane take off Aug. 6, 1945, from the island of Tinian. The words "Enola Gay" had been painted on its side the night before. The plane was the first to drop an atomic bomb, and Mehaffy said he learned of the plane's mission after it left. "None of us knew before that," he said. Mehaffy choked up when he said he'll never forget how he felt when the plane returned to the airfield. It's easy to understand his emotion; it's likely Mehaffy's work directly contributed to ending the second World War. He, of course, would be the last to claim such credit. "We were all just doing our jobs," he said. "I had a lot of experiences, that's for sure, and they didn't hurt me a bit." Mehaffy was honorably discharged March 2, 1946. After two years teaching fellow veterans to be farmers, he and his wife moved to Northwood, Iowa, and raised three children. John and Helen retired in 1976, and moved to Sun City, Ariz., where Helen died July 10, 1985. She was 66. Overall, Mehaffy said he's lived a fulfilling life, and that makes it easy to share his happiness with others, either with a song or a handshake. "If you enjoy something, you try to do the best you can," he said. "That's why I'm here at the front door. I do the best I can, because I just like people."
Number awarded to be cut and recipients chosen on merit alone as part of Macron’s efforts to raise standards in public life France has announced an overhaul of the 200-year-old Légion d’Honneur, drastically cutting the number awarded each year, as part of Emmanuel Macron’s efforts to raise the standards of public life after a series of political scandals. The prizes have been in the spotlight since the French president announced last month that France would strip Harvey Weinstein of the award following multiple accusations of sexual assault and harassment against the Hollywood producer. French presidents have traditionally handed out about 3,000 awards a year to French citizens and foreigners but a government spokesman, Christophe Castaner, said the numbers would be significantly reduced from next year, to be awarded solely on merit. “We do not have the Légion d’Honneur to butter people up,” Castaner said, adding that the honour should not be part of an “old boys’ network”. There will be a 50% cut in civilian honours from 2018, a 10% drop in military awards and 25% fewer for foreigners, he said. Efforts will also be made to select winners who better reflect modern France, he said, noting that currently too many of the recipients are white men aged over 60. Set up by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802, the prize has previously been awarded to former ministers, academics, ambassadors and military officers. It is open to foreigners whose cultural or scientific talents are deemed to have contributed to France, but the awards have also been given on the basis of diplomatic objectives. Castaner said authorities could consider “legitimate” requests to strip the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, of the Légion d’Honneur. The late Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega lost his over a drug-trafficking conviction, while that of the fashion designer John Galliano was taken away in 2012 after an antisemitic rant in a Paris bar. Macron had already signalled he planned to limit the award, surprising many in July by awarding just 101 to mark Bastille Day instead of the customary 500-600. Macron has made improving the standards of public life a central theme of his presidency. The first law he signed after his election in May prevented politicians from hiring relatives, after the presidential campaign of rightwing rival François Fillon was torpedoed by revelations he paid his family hundreds of thousands of euros.
Woody Allen has filmed iconic images of his beloved New York City, then turned to London, Spain and Paris. And now, it�s Rhode Island�s turn. Woody Allen has filmed iconic images of his beloved New York City, then turned to London, Spain and Paris. And now, it�s Rhode Island�s turn. Steven Feinberg, executive director of the Rhode Island Film & Television Office, on Monday confirmed reports that Allen�s next movie will be filmed in the Ocean State sometime this summer, with stars Emma Stone and Joaquin Phoenix. �That is all I can share at this point per the request of the producer,� Feinberg said in an email to The Providence Journal. The Boston Globe reported that Boston-based C.P. Casting is holding auditions for actors interested in roles in Allen�s movie. The casting company told The Globe that auditions are by appointment. The movie is described as a contemporary film with academics, graduate students, middle-class and working-class characters. C.P. Casting could not be reached for comment Monday. Allen�s publicist in New York City and his manager in California did not return calls. The next Woody Allen movie to reach theaters will be �Magic in the Moonlight,� starring Stone and Colin Firth. A romantic comedy set in the south of France in the 1920s, it is scheduled for release in late July. Feinberg said Allen�s movie shot in Rhode Island will be eligible for the state�s film tax credit, which gives productions a tax discount up to 25 percent of money spent within the state. Tax credits are capped at $5 million per production.
Boston Bruins forward Milan Lucic appeared to make an obscene gesture at Montreal Canadiens fans on his way to the penalty box Thursday night. The incident is under review by NHL vice president of hockey operations Mike Murphy, according to ESPN's Pierre LeBrun. Lucic took a costly boarding penalty with 80 seconds remaining in the third period of a one-goal contest. He reacted to the jeers from Habs fans by appearing to make a lewd gesture - you can watch a video of the incident - after which he mimed a Stanley Cup raise: (Courtesy: NESN) Lucic was not particularly happy on his way out of the penalty box, following Montreal's empty-net goal in the 6-4 win. For that late-game tantrum Lucic was assessed a game misconduct. Lucic was not made available to the press following the game, and Bruins PR didn't offer reporters an explanation.
When we all finished filing our tax returns last week, there was a little something missing: two trillion dollars. That’s how much money Americans may have made in the past year that didn’t get reported to the I.R.S., according to a recent study by the economist Edgar Feige, who’s been investigating the so-called underground, or gray, economy for thirty-five years. It’s a huge number: if the government managed to collect taxes on all that income, the deficit would be trivial. This unreported income is being earned, for the most part, not by drug dealers or Mob bosses but by tens of millions of people with run-of-the-mill jobs—nannies, barbers, Web-site designers, and construction workers—who are getting paid off the books. Ordinary Americans have gone underground, and, as the recovery continues to limp along, they seem to be doing it more and more. Measuring an unreported economy is obviously tricky. But look closely and you can see the traces of a booming informal economy everywhere. As Feige said to me, “The best footprint left in the sand by this economy that doesn’t want to be observed is the use of cash.” His studies show that, while economists talk about the advent of a cashless society, Americans still hold an enormous amount of cold, hard cash—as much as seven hundred and fifty billion dollars. The percentage of Americans who don’t use banks is surprisingly high, and on the rise. Off-the-books activity also helps explain a mystery about the current economy: even though the percentage of Americans officially working has dropped dramatically, and even though household income is still well below what it was in 2007, personal consumption is higher than it was before the recession, and retail sales have been growing briskly (despite a dip in March). Bernard Baumohl, an economist at the Economic Outlook Group, estimates that, based on historical patterns, current retail sales are actually what you’d expect if the unemployment rate were around five or six per cent, rather than the 7.6 per cent we’re stuck with. The difference, he argues, probably reflects workers migrating into the shadow economy. “It’s typical that during recessions people work on the side while collecting unemployment,” Baumohl told me. “But the severity of the recession and the profound weakness of this recovery may mean that a lot more people have entered the underground economy, and have had to stay there longer.” The increasing importance of the gray economy isn’t only a reaction to the downturn: studies suggest that the sector has been growing steadily over the years. In 1992, the I.R.S. estimated that the government was losing $80 billion a year in income-tax revenue. Its estimate for 2006 was $385 billion—almost five times as much (and still an underestimate, according to Feige’s numbers). The U.S. is certainly a long way from, say, Greece, where tax evasion is a national sport and the shadow economy accounts for twenty-seven per cent of G.D.P. But the forces pushing people to work off the books are powerful. Feige points to the growing distrust of government as one important factor. The desire to avoid licensing regulations, which force people to jump through elaborate hoops just to get a job, is another. Most important, perhaps, are changes in the way we work. As Baumohl put it, “For businesses, the calculus of hiring has fundamentally changed.” Companies have got used to bringing people on as needed and then dropping them when the job is over, and they save on benefits and payroll taxes by treating even full-time employees as independent contractors. Casual employment often becomes under-the-table work; the arrangement has become a way of life in the construction industry. In a recent California survey of three hundred thousand contractors, two-thirds said they had no direct employees, meaning that they did not need to pay workers’-compensation insurance or payroll taxes. In other words, for lots of people off-the-books work is the only job available. Sudhir Venkatesh, a sociologist at Columbia and the author of a study of the underground economy, thinks that many workers, particularly younger ones, have become comfortable with casual work arrangements. “We have seen the rise of a new generation of people who are much more used to doing things in a freelance way,” he said. “That makes them more amenable to unregulated work. And they seem less concerned about security, which they equate with rigidity.” The growing importance of services in the economy is also crucial. Tutors, nannies, yoga teachers, housecleaners, and the like are often paid in cash, which is hard for the I.R.S. to track. In a 2006 study, the economist Catherine Haskins found that between eighty and ninety-seven per cent of nannies were paid under the table. It’s obviously a good thing that people are able to find work to keep themselves afloat when the legitimate economy has been terrible at creating new jobs and raising incomes. And the size of the shadow economy means that our economy as a whole is probably doing better than we think. But the damaging effects of this trend are clear. It’s hard for businesses to play by the rules if their competitors aren’t paying payroll taxes or workers’ comp. And off-the-books workers have no benefits or Social Security, and not much recourse if a boss decides to shortchange them. What’s more, when a sizable chunk of the population avoids taxes, confidence in the system diminishes. “Too much off-the-books work is not good for the social contract,” Venkatesh says. “Economies work best when people have some sense, however abstract, that they are all tied together.” ♦
Refereeing. A topic sure to raise the ire of even the most mild mannered fan around the world. The man in the middle (AKA the bastard in the black/blue/red/green, whatever colour really) is a thankless job. Just why anyone actually wants to be a referee continues to baffle me. It’s like parking meter attendants. You’ll never get any thanks, can seemingly do no right, and just leave yourself wide open to non-stop abuse. They’re not meant to be the centre of attention (someone really should tell Mark Clattenburg that), yet often are, especially it feels in Major League Soccer. Are MLS referees worse than any other referees you’ll find in the world? I’m sure we could all reel off numerous examples that make that case, but then so will fans in England, Italy, South Africa, Argentina, etc etc. Rightly or wrongly, refereeing and PRO (the Professional Referees Organisation) just feels like a whole different animal in MLS. One that is clearly struggling and would perhaps be served best by taking out the back and being put out of its, and our, misery. There’s the inconsistencies from referee to referee and match to match. The whole ‘what will DisCo do’ vibe hanging over every contentious decision. And worst of all to my eyes, it feels like there is a very concerted effort to remove tackling from the game. Football is a physical sport. Tackling is an important part of the game and there’s a danger that things are going to change beyond all recognition of the crunching challenges I watched and loved as a lad. Watching CONCACAF Champions League games has been a refreshing change. The game flows and referees let things go. The same was true of the matches on the ‘Caps preseason trip to Wales with the Welsh FA refs. So are MLS refs and PRO interpreting the laws of the game differently from elsewhere, or are these other refs the ones doing that? Is there in fact an edict from the MLS bigwigs to sanitise the league? Because it certainly feels like they’re trying to do that. “No, it’s not the league,” MLS commissioner Don Garber told AFTN when we put that question to him at a media roundtable chat on Monday. “PRO, which you’re probably familiar with, is an entity that is jointly managed by the CSA and the US Soccer Federation. “It’s based in the MLS league office and has the same kind of structure that the PGMOL has with the Premier League, but at no time has a MLS executive ever sat down with Peter Walton and said ‘this is how we want you to officiate a game’. They are an independent body. We provide the vast majority of the funding, so that we can have more full time professional referees and make sure that they’re getting properly trained, they’re getting properly assessed, that they have the right technology. “But there is no, and I don’t think there is in any league, some edict that comes down from the league to tell them how they should be refereeing the games, so the answer to that is no.” So PRO and their referees are responsible for their own awfulness then. Good to know? But with all the hue and cry from fans, pundits, and even players, around MLS refereeing these past couple of season, surely Garber and the league can’t be happy with the current state of officiating here? Nothing could be further from the truth. “I think it’s a lot better than most people give us credit for,” Garber said of refereeing in MLS. “When I look at Premier League games, and I watch them like you guys do, I see the same level of challenges with the game as exist in our league or exist in Liga MX. It’s the nature of the sport. I think we’re unfairly criticised for the standard of refereeing in our league and I’m not quite sure why that is. “When we look at how our referees are assessed and the level of what we call key match indicators, the decisions that they’ve been making over the last couple of years have been better and better and yet our fans think that refereeing has got worse and worse. But then I’ll travel over to England and I’ll travel over to Spain and I’ll hear the same thing.” Which is true. Fans in every country in the world think that the standard of refereeing in their league is dreadful and some of the worst around. They may not have watched some MLS matches however! “I think it’s the nature of the sport,” Garber continued. “Globally, it’s why FIFA and IFAB and many of the top leagues have gotten behind video assisting and the whole VAR program. We’re going to provide technology and hopefully give the referee the tools to hopefully take away some of the decisions that they do make that are incorrect, because that happens in all leagues. “I get frustrated with the level of criticism, but hopefully VAR will address some of that. I’m not sure that it will.” The big announcement this week was that former top flight English referee Howard Webb is going to be the man to oversee the implementation of VAR in MLS for PRO. It’s being tested out this week in the preseason tournament in Portland as many of you will know, and Thursday night saw the first use of it when referee Soren Stoica (pictured above) used it to send off Portland’s Diego Chara for an elbow on RSL’s Yura Movsisyan. But the whole decision took far too long from start to finish. It was two minutes and 49 seconds from the incident taking place to Stoica, known to Whitecaps fans as the man who sent off Carl Robinson last season, showing the red card to Chara. Hopefully teething problems that will be streamlined, but most importantly, it was the correct decision in the end and one that had been previously missed. As a purist, traditionalist, luddite (call it what you will), I was always against such tinkering in the game, but in recent years I’ve mellowed, a lot, after seeing the implementation of video refereeing in other sports and some dreadful real refereeing decisions. Delays of the game will hopefully be minimal, as with goalline technology and VAR is certainly there to assist the referee, not undermine him. The same can’t exactly be said of the infamous MLS Disciplinary Committee. Oh how all us punks hate DisCo. Referees have to feel undermined that a panel meets the following week to pick fault in how they’ve officiated a match, not to mention Simon Borg handing out postgame red cards like candy, as he finds missed calls left, right, and centre. Then there’s the consistency aspect of DisCo and the perception from some that certain teams, certain players, get hit more than others cough Whitecaps cough, while bigger name players often miss out on suspensions. “That could not be further from the truth,” Garber categorically stated. “As the man who ultimately has to weigh in on the appeals that take place, the number of appeals by players have gone down dramatically. I think that’s an example that the process is working. “In the early days of the disciplinary committee process, I had an appeal almost every week. I think I had three last year and one or two of them I think we overturned the decision of the discipline committee.” It should be noted that clubs are limited in how many appeals they can make in a year now and will be worried they waste an appeal on something that isn’t overturned and then run out of appeals when it comes to a glaringly obvious one that should be. So what about that consistency? “We would lose all credibility if the Disciplinary Committee was making decisions that were either protecting or unduly putting scrutiny on any particular player,” Garber continued. “It would be interesting to put them all up on a screen and take a look at them, because I think if they were you would see that they are very consistent in their view. “Remember, that’s got players on it, it’s got a union representative on it, it’s got a number of league technical people on it, and they have to rule unanimously in order to enact any discipline, so five guys have to all come together and see the play the same way, which might be different from what the official saw.” The committee works closely with the Players’ Union in setting guidelines as to what should and shouldn’t be deemed acceptable each season. Just how much of that trickles down to their membership is debatable after some of the outrage at the start of last season over certain decisions. So no matter our thoughts on DisCo and the overkill and undermining of it, it’s not going away any time soon. In fact, other leagues around the world are actually monitoring the success, or otherwise, of it. “Believe it or not, other leagues have actually looked at our discipline committee and have thought about putting that process in place,” Garber revealed. “It think it is a way to protect your players.” Of course, the fact that these leagues have looked and so far no implemented raises other questions. There’s also the whole mysteriousness of the committee. No-one actually knows who is on it, so it appears shady, but that’s not going to change any time soon. “The reason is to protect them,” Garber said. “For all the reasons that you can imagine. I think it is really positive that there is a lot of social energy around this stuff, far more so than ever before. There is more interest in transparency, there’s more hot stove stuff going on, both with the media and the fans. That moves the league in a certain direction. “But as it relates to ensuring that those five people can do their job and do it without having any undue pressure, I think that’s important. They are, and I don’t think again they get enough credit for it, they review every single game, they review every single play and they’ve got to go through that to ensure that they’re getting it right in an unanimous way. It’s a lot of work. Nobody’s paid for it.” With the new MLS season just weeks away, we can all hope that we’ll be talking about great goals, shock results, and standout performances, rather than the quality of refereeing ruining matches yet again. We won’t be holding our breath.
President Obama, speaking at a fundraiser event in upstate New York in Friday, sounded downright optimistic about this moment in American foreign policy. He declared that the US was safer than ever, dismissed the threat of Russian aggression, downplayed the chaos in the Middle East as not particularly new, and argued that US global leadership was still solidly secure. "Our values, our leadership, our military power but also our diplomatic power, the power of our culture is one that means we will get through these challenging times just like we have in the past," he said. "And I promise you things are much less dangerous now than they were 20 years ago, 25 years ago or 30 years ago." This may be the closest that Obama, in his second term, has come to a foreign policy doctrine: everything will work out in the end, and America needs to resist the impulse to overreact to today's crises abroad. This confidence is alarming to US foreign policy elites — in part because it is so different from the reactive, crisis-to-crisis leadership that Americans are used to. It flows out of Obama's commitment to restraint; to avoiding the disastrous overreach of not just George W. Bush, but of an entire string of Cold War presidents who mired the US in one conflict after another. But this long-term vision, for all its merits, leaves Obama indecisive or adrift on short-term problems, which are left to fester. Since the first major foreign policy decision of his presidency — whether to increase or decrease the military presence in Afghanistan — he has oscillated from one policy to another, pressured by advisors and cabinet secretaries who have wildly different goals and strategies. He has the academic's gift for seeing the big picture —but it comes at the cost of managing the day-to-day. What Obama's foreign policy optimism gets right In the broad view of history, Obama is more right than you may think. The world is, in fact, safer than ever for Americans. The United States's position as the world's sole superpower is secure. And the threats against the US and the US-led global order may be worsening, but they are still nowhere near as dangerous as the threats of the 20th century. Obama's optimism is not about the fate of American foreign policy this month or this year; it's about this century. And in that long-term view he is absolutely correct to be optimistic. America is and will continue to be both safe and dominant, as will the model of liberal democracy it represents. Its economy is the world's largest even at a time of recession and its military is the world's strongest even during a time of cuts. The rest of the world has grown so reliant on American dominance that even former enemies or states that would otherwise be hostile — Germany, Japan, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Iraq — habitually look to the US for guidance, and complain when they don't get enough American input. That is a stunning development after a 20th century in which American leadership was actively resisted around so much of the world. Obama is steering a race car as if it were a cruise ship The world, as scary and dangerous as it can be, is safer than ever for Americans and for the United States. As Micah Zenko and Michael Cohen argued in an excellent 2012 piece for Foreign Affairs, the threats of the 21st century simply come nowhere close to the threats of the 20th. After decades of legitimately existential threats — the rise of fascism and then communism, the nuclear dangers of the Cold War, the cancerous extremism that seized not just bands of armed madmen but entire governments and societies — there is simply nothing so dangerous left. Americans today are as likely to be killed by terrorism, perhaps the scariest threat of the 21st century, as they are by their own furniture. It's not just the US. Nearly every long-term metric of human welfare shows that things are getting better: war is rapidly declining, so are disease and starvation, standards of living are rising, and nearly everywhere people are living longer and healthier and wealthier lives. One major exception is democracy, which after centuries of growth around the world has stalled in its spread and even receded a bit in recent years, but otherwise the global trend is toward liberal democracy and free trade — an arc that bends toward American dominance. What Obama's worldview leaves out Still, this does not obviate the very valid criticisms of Obama's foreign policy drift. Long-term optimism is not going to save Iraqis and Syrians facing acts of genocide by ISIS, nor will it stabilize those countries, nor protect against the rising tide of anti-American jihadism in the region. Worse, that optimism may also lead Obama to understate the still-volatile nature of the world today and rationalize a disengagement that is exacerbating today's threats. The wisdom and correctness of his long-term optimism have not given him the answers for the problems of right now Take one of Obama's major foreign policy failures, not so much in terms of scale but in self-inflicted damage: Egypt. In 2013, as Egypt's first-ever democratically elected government turned increasingly authoritarian, the Obama administration could not decide whether it should continue to support that government or turn against the Islamist president. As the Egyptian military prepared to stage a coup, the US sent disastrously mixed messages; not only did the coup go forward, destroying one of the hardest-won gains of the Arab Spring, but the US alienated the military regime in the process, leaving it with little leverage. Worse, the US could not decide how severely to punish the coup regime, or whether to even denounce it at all; they condemned it one day and praised it the next. They spent months denying a coup had happened, then responded by withdrawing some military aid. Egypt now has a military dictator who openly reviles the US; Obama could not decide whether he wanted to support democracy there or maintain a useful if authoritarian ally, so now the US has neither. That failure, a direct result of disengagement and indecisiveness, will persist after he leaves office. Obama has been similarly wishy-washy on Syria. He did not support the rebels early in the conflict, when it might have made a difference, but now that it is too late to matter he has tilted toward arming the rebels more fully. In Iraq, he favored withdrawing from the country's political and security challenges when they were non-urgent but also less daunting to address, and now that they are harder and more pressing he is finally coming around. Obama's foreign policy optimism during a time of global disintegration captures every worry that foreign policy hands have had about his second term: That he is unconcerned, perhaps even blithe, about rising threats and deteriorating status quos. That he has, as he's himself admitted with regards to the rise of ISIS, no plan for addressing these challenges nor prospects of getting one. That even when he does as have a plan, such as for countering Russia's invasion of Ukraine, that plan is so cautious and risk-averse as to make little substantial difference. It's little wonder that the foreign policy elite in Washington — Republican and Democratic — is increasingly decrying Obama's "drift of disengagement in world affairs," as long-time Obama supporter and former US ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul put it. The professor as foreign policy president A better case study of Obama's doctrine of long-term optimism, though, might be Ukraine. Here's what he said about Russia's invasion of eastern Ukraine in his Friday comments: Russia looks pretty aggressive right now -- but Russia's economy is going nowhere. Here's a quick test for you: Are there long lines of people trying to emigrate into Russia? I don't think so. This would seem to be Obama at his most dangerously disengaged. Russia's economy is in fact going nowhere, thanks in large part to US-brokered economic sanctions, but that economic downslide is doing exactly zero to turn back the Russian tanks that are rolling into Ukraine. It is doing zero to stop Putin from his ongoing invasion of Europe. Yet every time Obama is questioned about his plan for Russia he replies with this shrug of an answer about Russia's long-term economic prospects. This is a strategy that essentially abandons eastern Ukraine — and any other non-NATO eastern European country that Putin might choose to invade — to Russian aggression. Still, in the very long view, it is essentially correct: Russia's foreign policy is dangerous today, but in the long-term it is self-defeating. On the scale of years or decades, Putin will leave Russia weaker, less powerful, and less of a threat; the US-led Western order will eventually prevail. "Eventually" does nothing to address Russian aggression now, but it will turn it back some day. But Obama's job is not to be an academic studying long-term trends in American foreign policy. His job is to make decisions — hard decisions — every single day for eight extremely difficult years. Parsing the arc of foreign-policy history has not given him the answers for the problems of this moment. He is steering a race car as if it were a cruise ship, and while history will likely thank him for keeping US foreign policy pointed in the right direction, it may not so easily forgive him for the damage taken along the way.
Cesc Fabregas, football’s best 12th man, reinvented himself as an impact player off the bench, finding ways to contribute even as everyone expected him to fail to rise to Antonio Conte’s exacting demands. Through hard work and dedication, Cesc earned not only Conte’s praise but also a chance to win his second Premier League trophy in three years. Though Cesc has only played 1137 minutes across 11 starts and 15 substitute appearaances in the league this season, he’s still managed to record 4 goals and 11 assists, the latter of which is the fourth highest total in the Premier League. "It's been different year for me. I'm used to playing every single game, week-in, week-out for every club I've been at but I feel I've matured a lot this year. It's not easy what happened to me - many people told me I'm not the type of player for Antonio, told me I should leave but I like challenges and this was a big challenge." "Obviously I haven't played every single game but the last 20 or so games I have played, of course not from the start. But I feel the quality of my minutes whenever I've been on the pitch have been fantastic, so maybe my contribution has been even bigger than when I've played more in other seasons." "I've had to have patience and accept that sometimes these thing happen. Play for the team. It's a different season for me but I'm proud of what I've done." To clinch the Premier League title, Chelsea need only to beat West Bromwich Albion on Friday night at the Hawthorns. And while there are easier games left this season, with two home matches in the final two matchdays against Watford and Sunderland, for Cesc (and his teammates), there is no time to waste. "We want to get it done on Friday. I have experience in winning titles and the quicker you can get it done the better." "Trust me, you don't want to give opportunities to anyone. We will not wait so if it can happen on Friday let it be. Then we can focus on the FA Cup. But Friday is a final for us." -Cesc Fàbregas; source: ESPN FC In less than 24 hours, Chelsea could be Champions of England once again. We could not have done it without the former Barcelona and Arsenal star, who’s become one of Chelsea’s most important players over the past three seasons.
CAT 2015, scheduled for 29th November 2015, has left us with more than enough time to reanalyse our strategy and reorient ourselves to face the seemingly new and different exam pattern. The recently released CAT notification describing the ‘changes’ in the pattern may have muddled up the strategy of many aspirants, but you need to stay calm and study on. Changes in CAT Pattern for 2015Number of sections increased to 3Sectional time limit of 1 hour per sectionChange in duration from 170 to 180 minutesSwitching between sections not allowedIntroduction of non-multiple choice questions (non-MCQs)Introduction of on-screen calculator A closer look reveals that conforming to the trend of previous pattern changes in CAT, even this one is a mere alteration in structure. The basics stay the same; you still need to get your concepts in place, practise and revise regularly. Even if you are starting off your preparations now, 100 days are sufficient to secure a 99+percentile in CAT 2015, provided you implement a sound strategy. AugustBy the end of August, you should be done with learning the concepts by focusing on the most basic and moderate level questions from a set of reliable study material. Taking one mock test per week all through this month should suffice. Needless to say, a proper and detailed post-mock analysis is a must. Furthermore, to make the best use of your time, divide the remaining days of August into seven chunks of three days. One practice test each on Data Interpretation (DI), Logical Reasoning (LR), Reading Comprehension (RC) and one test from different topics of Verbal Logic (VL) and Quantitative Aptitude (QA) should be solved in each three-day bracket. By the end of August, you will be exposed to different types of questions from each of these topics. SeptemberCome September, you should step on the gas and move to two mock tests per week. Again, it goes without saying that proper analysis of both the mocks within the same week is mandatory. At this stage, solving the previous years’—CAT 1990-2008—papers will be really beneficial, as effectively tackling the most difficult looking CAT questions is always a confidence booster. The three-day strategy, mentioned above, should be continued to iron out any knowledge deficiencies that may exist with regard to specific topics. OctoberTwo extremely important, yet invariably neglected, parts of a solid preparation strategy for CAT are the NMAT (Narsee Monjee Management Aptitude Test) and IIFT (Indian Institute of Foreign Trade). These are the two extremely important exams that take place before CAT. Ideally, you should schedule one NMAT attempt before IIFT and CAT, preferably in the last week of October. With NMAT as a short-term goal, one out of the two mocks that you attempt every week in October should be an NMAT-based mock. NovemberMoving into November, you should attempt one IIFT mock test along with a CAT one every week. During this month, attempt all the mock tests in the same time slot as your CAT 2015 time slot. The idea is to attune the mind to work with full steam during these three hours of the day.During this CAT preparation journey, a really good habit to develop would be that of reading reputed magazines, newspapers and editorials. This will not only make you well informed and help you form an opinion, but will also expose you to different styles of writing. This in turn, will improve your ability to deal with RC.The most important thing that CAT 2015 aspirants must remember is that all three sections hold equal value and one must prove competency in each to succeed in the CAT this year. Gautam Puri, Vice Chairman and MD, CL Educate Ltd. joined Career Launcher (www.careerlauncher.com)—an edu-corporate, which focuses on diverse segments of education, and learners in multiple age-groups—in its formative stages in 1996. You can connect with him onwww.gpkafunda.com Important DatesOnline Application Date: 6 August 2015 – 20 September 2015Admit Card Download starts: 15 October 2015 (1 pm onwards)Exam Date: 29 November 2015 (Sunday)Result Date: Second week of January 2016
“Extremis” was the most unique episode of Doctor Who we’ve seen so far in season 10—but only because, unlike the rest of the season, it felt like an episode we’ve seen many times before from head writer Steven Moffat. For better or worse, it was a reminder of the style that will be forever linked with his time running the show. Advertisement “Extremis” itself didn’t actually do all that much on its own. It finally revealed that Missy is the person inside the vault, and it set up an impending alien invasion of Earth by some decaying, red-robed monks we’ll be seeing play out over the next few episodes. And yet, even by doing little on its own, the way it was all set up was so different to anything we’ve had on the show so far this season, but like so many episodes that preceded it. Doctor Who has gone decidedly back to basics in season 10: a companion without a series-long mystery to her, making her less of a character and more of a puzzle for the Doctor to solve. Stories that are simple, clear takes on tropes the show has loved to explore for years. An overarching, distracting subplot that doesn’t overwhelm every story that’s being told. Buit “Extremis” throws all of that out the window to cram in as much of the multi-timeline, twisty-turny style that has dominated much of Steven Moffat’s writing for the show over the past few seasons... and honestly, that’s kind of a shame, considering just how refreshing this season had been so far without it. Advertisement “Extremis” was bogged down by trying to do too much at once. The flashbacks to Missy’s faux-execution and imprisonment in the vault awkwardly sit in the story with little reason beyond the revelation in the finale that the Doctor is recalling all this back to her through the door of the vault. The set-up of the Vatican holding a killer sacred text in its deepest, darkest collections ultimately goes nowhere until it’s needed for the twist to tell you that everything that happened 45 minutes (and one bad attempted reference to Super Mario Bros) later didn’t actually matter, because it was all a simulated set up for the actual invasion you’ll get to see next time. It traded simplicity for a needless level of complexity, and failed to do anything interesting with it. The episode is far too bogged down with build-up and revelling in its own abundance of ideas, barrelling about from scene to scene, that by the time it’s over and you’ve thought about it, it all comes across as a bit hollow for the sake of a twist/reveal, which Moffat has used time and time again in the series, to ever-diminishing results. Frankly, it’s the sort of storytelling I won’t miss when Moffat has departed the show, and its return in the middle of a season that’s had been so good without it made it all the more frustrating. Advertisement And yet despite my grievances, “Extremis” is also filled with reminders of what Moffat has excelled at in his time as showrunner, individual moments that shine, even if the wider picture they’re placed into doesn’t. The flashbacks between Missy and the Doctor might not do much for the episode at large, but they’re sublimely written—it’s clear that one of Moffat’s favorite partnerships on Doctor Who is the Doctor and the Master, the ultimate will-they-won’t-they relationship, each trying to figure the other’s plans and motivations out. It’s why Missy has become one of the best recurring features of his past few seasons. It’s also, despite some pretty dark moments, extremely funny; only Moffat could get away with using the off-screen suicide of a character for a black comedy punchline in a family show. Bill’s disastrous first date with Penny is a classic intrusion by the Doctor on his companion’s personal life, and the best kind of absurdity. And, when separated from the Doctor, Bill and Nardole make for a wonderfully humorous duo that plays to the strengths of both Pearl Mackie and Matt Lucas, a combination of gung-ho adventurer and slightly cowardly tagalong that makes for some great laughs. “Extremis” feels out of place in Doctor Who’s tenth season: one last indulgent huzzah for tropes and ideas that have come to define Steven Moffat’s time on the show, both good and bad, resulting in an episode that turns out to be a mere prelude to something else. We’ll have to wait and see over the next few episodes if this set-up was worth, but for now, like the alien monk’s plan to invade Earth, it feels like a bit too much smoke and mirrors. Advertisement Assorted Musings (In Time and Space): I’m very much glad that the Doctor’s blindness-curing Gallifreyan doohickey was only a temporary reprieve to his ailment rather than something permanent (although I guess very little of this simulation-set episode is permanent anyway). This episode mostly danced around the Doctor’s blindness, but as this storyline with the Monks ramps up it’ll be interesting to see how it plays in. River’s diary returns as Nardole’s seal of approval in the Doctor/Missy flashbacks... but why did River care so much about Nardole? There’s clearly more to Nardole going on this season than we’ve seen so far, but hopefully we actually learn some of that soon. He’s been a great source of humor so far, at least. The Doctor’s clothes during the flashback with Missy match up to the clothes he’s wearing in scenes shown in an earlier trailer during his seeming regeneration... could we be seeing the end of the Twelfth Doctor coming about sooner than we think? They’ve been teasing a strange regeneration for Twelve for a while, and it cropping up this early in a season would definitely count as strange!
Ahmed Mohamed “Kathy” Kathrada spent most of his life involved in the struggle against apartheid and other injustices. He was only 10 when he distributed pamphlets and wrote political slogans on walls. Years later, in 1964, he would become the youngest of the Rivonia Trialists, alongside Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki, Raymond Mhlaba, Andrew Mlangeni, Denis Goldberg and Elias Motsoaledi. Born on August 21 1929 in Schweizer-Reneke in the Western Transvaal (now North West province), Kathrada joined the Young Communist League of South Africa in 1941 when he was 12. At the age of 17, in 1946, he decided to leave school and work full-time in the offices of the Transvaal Passive Resistance Council. As a pacifist he was a big opponent of World War II. Earlier that year, while he was still in high school, he had met Mandela, Sisulu and other prominent ANC leaders for the first time. “I met Mandela through his fellow students, Ismail Meer and JN Singh, who were studying law with him at Wits University. Ismail had a flat, number 13 Kholvad House, which I inherited after he left. They used to come to the flat after lectures. That was where I first saw Nelson Mandela. At the time non-whites, especially Africans, were very few at university or as professionals so one would be in awe of him and want to be like him. “He had this ability to relate to me, a high school kid, almost as an equal, wanting to know what my interests were, what I wanted to do and so on. I could go back and boast to my classmate that I was with this man who was a university student and he treated me like a friend. That was the first impact,” Kathrada recalled in a recent interview. Years later, after Oliver Tambo had left the country to build the ANC in exile and the law firm of Mandela and Tambo had collapsed, Mandela continued using the flat as an office. The ANC leaders were not the first people to influence Kathrada. Former South African Indian Congress leader Dr Yusuf Dadoo and the Cachalias , who were also prominent in congress activities, got there first. But Mandela’s influence over him became stronger as time went on. “We interacted a lot after that, politically through our organisations. He was in the ANC Youth League and I in the Transvaal Indian Congress. My impressions of him got stronger as I met him at various types of events and we grew quite close. He had an amazing quality and he could relate to a child, a peasant, an aristocrat, royalty and anyone. He related easily to people.” The South African Indian Congress launched the passive resistance movement against the Asiatic Land Tenure and Indian Representation Act of 1946. Kathrada was among 2 000 volunteers arrested in the passive resistance campaign against this Act, which limited the political representation of Indians and defined where they could live, trade and own land. This was his first time in jail. Kathrada had his first major fall-out with Mandela in 1950 when the Transvaal ANC, the Transvaal Indian Congress and the Communist Party organised a Freedom Day strike on May 1 as part of a programme of action against the government’s policies and specifically the impending Suppression of Communism Act (passed in 1950). The ANC Youth League opposed the strike. “Before the strike, I happened to meet Madiba on the street. After the initial pleasantries, I criticised him for opposing the strike and challenged him to a debate in any township, and ‘I will win’.” The strike took place despite the youth league’s opposition. About 18 people were killed and 38 wounded. Mandela and Kathrada had another fall-out at a meeting to discuss a day of mourning to mark the deaths of the strikers. “I was at the meeting as a volunteer. I was shocked when Madiba got up and complained about my disrespectful attitude towards him. I eagerly relied on my mentors Ismail Meer and JN Singh to defend me, only to listen to Ismail appealing to Madiba to dismiss the behaviour of the hot-headed youngster,” Kathrada recalled. In 1951, he visited the concentration camps of Auschwitz, which affected him deeply and confirmed his conviction of the need to eradicate racism in South Africa. As chairperson of the Transvaal Indian Youth Congress, he had attended the World Youth Festival in Berlin and a congress of the International Students Union in Poland. He ended up travelling to Budapest and working at the headquarters of the World Federation of Democratic Youth for nine months. In the 1950s, there was greater co-operation between the organisations in the Congress Alliance, which included the ANC, the South African Indian Congress, the Congress of Democrats and the Coloured People’s Congress. Kathrada became a leader of the Youth Action Committee, which co-ordinated the activities of the different congresses. In 1952, he helped organise the Defiance Campaign against Unjust Laws, and ended up being charged and sentenced to nine months in prison, suspended for two years. Kathrada was served with his first banning order in 1954, which prohibited him from attending any gathering or taking part in the activities of several anti-apartheid organisations. He was arrested several times for breaking his banning order. In 1955, Kathrada was one of the organisers of the Congress of the People in Kliptown, where the Freedom Charter was adopted. He was among 156 Congress activists and leaders charged with high treason in 1956. The trial continued for four years, from 1957 until March 1961, when all the accused were found not guilty. Kathrada, along with Mandela and others, were among the last 30 to be acquitted. Kathrada was restricted to the Johannesburg area in 1957 and, after the killing of anti-pass protesters in Sharpeville and Langa in 1960, he was detained for five months during the state of emergency, when the ANC and PAC were banned. In 1961, he was arrested for his role in a committee that opposed the declaration of South Africa as a Republic. He went underground in 1962 after he was subjected to house arrest for 13 hours a day, as well as over weekends and public holidays. He began attending secret meetings at Liliesleaf Farm in Rivonia, the underground headquarters of the ANC. When the police raided Liliesleaf in July 1963, they arrested Kathrada and several other ANC leaders. This led to the Rivonia Trial in which eight accused were sentenced to life in prison. Mandela, who had already been in prison, was flown to Pretoria to be the number one accused. They were all found guilty for their involvement in the activities of uMkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing of the ANC. Kathrada said in a recent interview: “The moment that stood out for at the Rivonia Trial would be the end of Mandela’s speech where he said: ‘I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and achieve. But if needs be , it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die’. That was an electric moment. Although we knew it, we reacted the way the people and the prosecution reacted to it. “The second moment that stood out for me was when we all expected death and the judge said life.” Kathrada, at the age of 34, was sent to the isolation section of Robben Island with seven of the other convicted men – the eighth, Denis Goldberg, was white so he was sent to Pretoria Central Prison – where he spent the next 18 years. His prison number was 468/64, meaning that he was the 468th prisoner to be sent to the Island in 1964. Kathrada was eventually released in on 15 October 1989, at the age of 60, from Pollsmoor Prison, to where he had been moved later in his prison term. Kathrada, who had prematurely left school and later the University of the Witwatersrand, pursued his academic studies in prison and obtained a BA (history and criminology), a B Bibliography (Library Science and African Politics) and two BA Honours degrees in African politics and history from Unisa. He has also received four honorary doctorates, from the University of Massachusetts in May 2000, the University of Durban-Westville in 2002, the University of Missouri in January 2004, and Michigan State University in December 2005. In a recent interview, Kathrada said: “I owe whatever I did personally on Robben Island to Neville Alexander. He was such a brilliant chap. I did library science, not because I was interested but we had ulterior motives for everything. Neville took my books and guided me so I could get through my degree.” (Alexander had been sentenced in 1964 to 10 years on Robben Island for conspiracy to commit sabotage.) Kathrada was initially sceptical when Mandela began talking to representatives of the Nationalist Party government when they were being held in Pollsmoor Prison, but said later that he understood Mandela’s motivation. “He was a prisoner who did not negotiate but just facilitated the process with pre-conditions.” After the unbanning of the ANC in 1990, Kathrada was elected to the national executive committee at its first legal conference in South Africa in July 1991. He also served on the interim leadership of the South African Communist Party. Kathrada became head of the ANC’s department of information and publicity and head of public relations until 1994. (He also went on the holy pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj) in 1992.) Kathrada became an MP after South Africa’s democratic elections in 1994 and serve as chairperson of the Robben Island Museum Council until 2006. He served as a Cabinet minister under Mandela for two days in 1994. “I must still ask for my pension,” he laughed when asked about this during a recent interview. “Mandela had appointed me as minister of correctional services, even though I told them that I was not interested. Fortunately, the Inkatha Freedom Party agreed to join the government and wanted one of the four security positions: either intelligence, defence, police or correctional services. Correctional services was the least difficult so it was easy for Madiba to take my position and give it to them. It made me very happy but I was never interested in the Cabinet. He then made me his counsellor.” Kathrada stepped down from this position and from Parliament in 1999. He then started the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation. “My colleagues insisted that I do something. Our focus is on deepening non-racialism,” he said recently. Kathrada met his wife Barbara Hogan shortly after she was released from prison in 1990. She had been serving a 10-year sentence for high treason, the first woman to be found guilty of this. In an interview, Kathrada said their common experience of prison helped them to understand each other better. Kathrada, who received the ANC’s highest award, the Isitwalandwe medal, while he was still in prison, was one of the ANC elders who recently spoke out against the organisation’s current leaders. In a letter to Jacob Zuma in April last year, he appealed to the president to “submit to the will of the people and resign”. He paraphrased Mandela’s famous speech from the dock of the Rivonia Trial when he said: “There comes a time in the life of every nation when it must choose to submit or fight.”
Both LG and Samsung are at IFA 2016 this week showing off new wares. Among the choice hardware on offer this year from the pair of Korean powerhouses will be PC gaming monitors. Proving great minds think alike, both LG and Samsung will debut large curved widescreen monitors with FreeSync on the IFA show floor. LG LG has published a press release concerning the launch of two monitors; a 38-inch UltraWide curved monitor (model 38UC99) and a 144Hz IPS 21:9 Curved UltraWide gaming monitor (34UC79G). The LG 38UC99 uses a 38-inch curved IPS UltraWide QHD+ (3840 x 1600) display. Colour reproduction is good, covering 99 per cent of the sRGB colour space. A USB Type-C port is present for content and data transmission, as well as charging smart devices. LG has built-in a pair of 10W speakers which output 'Rich Bass' in the 85Hz range and can stream Bluetooth audio The LG 34UC79G is a 34-inch curved gaming monitor. Its IPS display can refresh at up to 144Hz and features "advanced one millisecond Motion Blur Reduction".This 21:9 monitor supports AMD FreeSync for smooth gameplay and has other gaming considerations such as various profiles – an often-present gaming profile allows you to see things lurking in shadows. Furthermore, the screen offers crosshair options, and a mouse line hook to prevent your mouse tail dragging on the desk. Samsung At IFA Samsung will be showing off a trio of new curved quantum dot gaming monitors. There is the CF791 monitor, which uses a 34-inch, Ultrawide 21:9 aspect ratio, 3440 x 1440 screen. Its curve is rather pronounced at 1500R. This monitor offers a 100Hz refresh rate, with FreeSync, and a 4ms response time with ultra thin 'boundless' bezels to three sides. Samsung will also show off its 23.5-inch and 27-inch CFG70 gaming monitors. This pair of monitors, like the CF791, sport Quantum Dot technology screens which can output "a 125-percent sRGB spectrum". The wider colour gamut should provide your peepers with richer and more revealing imagery in games. Samsung's CFG70 monitors are less strongly curved than the above mentioned CF791, with their radius of 1800R. For gaming performance, again you have FreeSync support and the CFG70 models feature up to 144Hz refresh and "1 m/s moving picture response time". Samsung range of gaming monitors also offer various presents and profiles.
How bad does a school district have to be before an atheist group threatens to file a lawsuit over a violation of church/state separation? And how much worse must the district be when six different groups come together in telling them to stop? That’s the situation in Louisiana’s Bossier Parish Schools, where Superintendent Scott Smith released a statement last week mandating that athletes stand during the National Anthem, forbidding them from staging any sort of protest. … The least Bossier Schools can do is expect our student athletes to stand in solidarity when the National Anthem is played at sporting events in honor of those sacrifices. In Bossier Parish, we believe when a student chooses to join and participate on a team, the players and coaches should stand when our National Anthem is played in a show of respect. This extends to those that elect to join a club or student organization, which requires a faculty sponsor… Punishing students who protest by kneeling would be a violation of their own rights, but that wasn’t even the only concern. According to an attorney for American Atheists, last week’s football game between two schools in the district featured a pre-game Christian prayer over the loudspeaker, something that the Supreme Court has already said is illegal: As the announcer at Airline High School’s stadium, where Parkway High School’s football team played Friday, asked the crowd to rise for a prayer and the national anthem, some Parkway players silently linked arms in their white jerseys, forming a line down the sideline. A female student delivered the prayer, thanking Jesus. The attorney called them out on that, too: “If these reports about last week’s football game are correct, the Bossier Parish School District is trampling on the free-speech rights of students, and Airline High School is committing an additional violation of long-established law by broadcasting prayers before their football games,” said Geoffrey T. Blackwell, staff attorney for American Atheists. “School leaders have a moral obligation and a legal responsibility to protect the rights of students and parents. In Bossier Parish, they are failing miserably.” Punishing students for speaking their minds runs counter to one of the main objectives of our public schools: training our children to become active participants in a free society. Moreover, it forces students and parents to protect their rights through litigation, the financial burden of which will ultimately be shouldered by the school districts themselves, whose resources would be far better spent on instructing students, rather than defending short-sighted violations of their fundamental freedoms. … We therefore request that Bossier Parish Schools rescind its policy regarding the National Anthem and inform the district’s students and parents that students will be permitted to express their views in a non-disruptive manner without fear of retribution. We also request that the district instruct the principals, administrators, and faculty on right to free speech enjoyed by all public school students. … By permitting and endorsing such prayer, the schools involved are sending a message that students of no religious faith, or those of minority faiths, are lesser than their Christian co-students. Such a message goes completely against the purpose of the public school system, which is the education of all children to be good and productive members of society, and instead places the religious views of only some on a pedestal. This is why six groups — American Atheists, Center for Inquiry, Freedom From Religion Foundation, American Humanist Association, Secular Coalition for America, and the Secular Student Alliance — have sent a joint letter to the District , telling them to put a stop to these egregious violations: The groups are asking the District to clarify or fix its policies on free speech and put an end to any formal prayers before games. There’s no reason religious groups couldn’t have made the same request, but I’m glad these atheists are stepping up to protect people of all faiths, no faith, and those whose opinions may be in the minority. No school district has the right to force students to obey a “patriotic” ritual or sit through a loudspeaker prayer. And if it takes a lawsuit to make it happen, these groups aren’t afraid to fight. (Image via Shutterstock)
PlayStation 4 owners will be able to share and broadcast live gameplay footage from their console through Twitch from the DualShock 4's "Share" button, Twitch announced today. According to an announcement from Twitch, PS4 owners worldwide will be able to broadcast gameplay directly to their Twitch channels. Players will also have the option view content streamed through Twitch from other PS4 gamers. The service, Twitch said, will be free. "Through this partnership we are paving the way for every PS4 gamer to become both a broadcaster and an avid spectator of amazing content," said Twitch CEO Emmett Shear in a prepared statement. In February, Sony announced it would support real-time streaming of PlayStation 4 games through Ustream, and later said it could support other means of sharing content. Twitch will also provide live gameplay streaming on Xbox One.
NEW DELHI: Increase in data volume due to rising domestic demand and ongoing government initiatives such as Digital India is expected to fuel the telecom networking market, US research firm IDC said.Due to unprecedented data growth and a series of new initiatives announced by government as well as changing consumer demands, the onus will be on the network infrastructure to support data expansion, Gaurav Sharma, Research Manager- Enterprise, IDC India told ET.In the third quarter to December 31, Cisco has maintained its leadership position in India with deals in telecom and media sectors while the router market grew nearly 32% on year, to make it a $76.5 million business. In 2015, total hardware addressable market that includes wireless networking products, routers and switches is expected to reach close to $1 billion in India, Sharma said.He is confident that the industry-friendly policies and investments coming from verticals such as telecom, IT/ITes, banking, financial services & insurance (BFSI) and manufacturing will drive growth in the Indian network market in the coming quarters.Increase in data traffic will push new solutions in the market while demand from domestic small- and medium-businesses is expected to remain high. Manufacturing, hospitality and utility verticals are also expected to spend more on networking infrastructure, IDC said. It added that wireless networking demand will also be helped by requirements in the education sector.Sharma added that there are potential opportunities for locally-made routers makers owing to domestic demand, government projects and tax benefits.If selected for any large project, domestic manufacturers can use it as a case study to boost sales in other regions since any such program would be of huge importance, driving volume and value for indigenous manufacturers, he said.Buoyed with expected demand fuelled by the Centre’s ambitious Digital India programme, indigenous wireless products manufacturer Smartlink is also planning to launch its networking portfolio for companies, Arati Naik, chief operating officer at Smartlink, said.The company has recently introduced low-cost wireless broadband routers and plans to launch broadband asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) soon.
Nintendo of Japan has revealed a slew of new Wii U hardware items, including a beefier battery for the console's touchscreen GamePad. Screwdriver at the ready. The new 2,550mAh battery model has double the power of the original. You'll get up to eight hours of play on just one charge, but will need to manually install the thing yourself. Next up on Nintendo's list of goodies is a White-coloured 32GB Wii U Premium. Nintendo had previously reserved the White colour simply for Basic models of the console - although these have sold poorly in comparison to the Black-coloured Premium. A Wii Remote battery pack and charging cradle was also announced. The unit replaces the controller's rear battery flap and will mean no more fiddling with AAs (you hear that, Microsoft?). Batteries not included. Finally, a new Nintendo Land and Wii Remote Plus bundle was also shown (the game is not included with Wii U Premium consoles in Japan, as it is in North America and Europe). We've asked Nintendo if any of these items will be released closer to home. The Wii U went on sale six months ago and enjoyed a promising Christmas, but sales have been in the doldrums ever since. Perhaps these items will re-ignite some interest - or, more likely, the forthcoming new 3D Mario and Mario Kart will. Both games are set to be shown in an E3-related Nintendo Direct next month.
Command line editors can be a scary thing to learn and use for beginners, and Vim is probably the scariest of them all - but it doesn't have to be. There's a lot to cover in Vim (more than one tutorial can possibly teach), but we'll cover most of the basics here so that you'll be at least comfortable editing files with it. We're going to break this tutorial into two sections. A super basic starter to get you up and running and then more detailed sections below with a better explanation Here's a blank canvas of what editing with Vim is like in our interactive tutorial. All examples will be JavaScript files. Try it out: function meow() { return 'meow'; } function bark() { return 'woof'; } function getRandomAnimal() { var animals = [ 'cat', 'dog', 'hippo', 'lion', 'bear', 'zebra' ]; return animals[Math.floor(Math.random()animals.length)]; } console.log(meow()); console.log(bark()); console.log(getRandomAnimal()); Introduction Command line editors are exactly what they sound like, they give you the ability to edit files from the command line. There's a whole bunch of them, too: Pico Nano Emacs Vi Vim Neovim Nano (which is basically a clone of Pico) is probably the most common one. It's just a dead simple editor and most people can usually figure out how to use it by just opening it up. Vim on the other hand requires training. Vim is a clone of Vi but improved (Vi IMproved). It has all the functionality of Vi and more - things like extra features, plugins, and more. Vim is also extremely extensible. You can use it as your primary editor or just as a simple editor for changing files when SSH'd into a server (usually what I just do). The goal of this tutorial is going to be to get you comfortable enough to make edits on a server with Vim. At the end of this tutorial you'll be able to make edits to config files, use Vim to manage your Git merges and conflicts, and more. How much you want to use it is up to you. If you're able to confidently use a vanilla install of Vim, you can effectively make edits on any server or OS worry free. Need to change an Nginx or Apache setting? No need to mount or do some FTP/SFTP stuff. Simply SSH into the box and make it happen from the command line in seconds. Learning Vim is an investment. As you learn it, you'll only get better with it and find more and more things to improve your productivity. Very good people with it will claim it's like an extension of your fingers allowing you to edit files faster and smarter than you can even with an editor as awesome as Sublime Text. Installing Vim Vim works in almost any OS environment - including Windows. You can expect to be able to use it on virtually any machine or system that you're working with. Macs If you're using a Mac, VIM is already installed. It's an older version (~1.7), but it really doesn't matter for this tutorial. If you want to upgrade VIM on mac first, follow these steps (requires homebrew) in your terminal: brew install mercurial sudo mkdir -p /opt/local/bin cd ~ hg clone https://code.google.com/p/vim/ cd vim ./configure --prefix=/opt/local make sudo make install echo 'PATH=/opt/local/bin:$PATH' >> ~/.bash_profile source ~/.bash_profile After you do this, you should have VIM version (7.x) on your machine. Windows For Windows users visit the Official Vim website to download. Linux Vim ships as a package for nix systems. For Ubuntu, just run this from your terminal: sudo apt-get install vim For CentOS, just run: sudo yum install vim Test Your Install Now that you have installed (or updated) Vim, it's time to test to see if it worked. From the command line in your terminal, type: vim -v That's it! Now to exit this screen, just type: :q! Super Basic Starter Before we go into detail, let's do a super basic starter example to get things rolling. From the terminal, navigate to a file and let's edit it with Vim: vim whatever.txt Alternatively, you can create a brand new file with the same command: vim mynewfile.txt . Now that you're using Vim, we need to explain the two modes that Vim has: Command Mode and Insert Mode. Command Mode, just like it sounds, is for executing commands. Things like custom Vim commands (we'll cover later), saving files, etc. Insert Mode, also just like it sounds, is for editing text freely. To enter Insert Mode simply type: i Now type any nonsense you'd like. Once you're done, let's save the file. You need to first exit Insert Mode and enter Command Mode by hitting ESC . Once you're back into command mode, you'll need to save the file (called a Write) and then quit Vim. To enter a command, you need to hit the semicolon key : . Here's the command to save the edits (write, quit). :wq That's it! Alternatively, if you want to quit Vim without saving changes, just type: :q! The exclamation mark means discard changes. So this literally will translate to "quit and discard changes" for Vim. That's all there is to the basic starter. If you want, you can either follow along in your own terminal or use our interactive editors below for the more detailed tutorial. Learn to Speak Vim's Language Vim is always just listening for instructions from you. It's up to you to give it commands. You need to tell the editor what to do. Vim follows a system for the syntax and pattern of these commands. Once you learn the "language" of Vim, all you need to do is keep learning more commands - Vim's "vocabulary". There's no way to cover all the commands, but we'll get you started with the most common ones and how to start using them. In time, you'll learn more and more of these. Eventually, just when you think you've become a Vim expert, BOOM, you'll learn a new command and trick to save you time. Vim also comes with its own tutorial. If you need to freshen up on your skills, you can simply type this from the command line to bring it up: vimtutor Moving the Cursor From the earlier example, you were probably using the arrow keys to navigate around. That's perfectly okay, but it's recommended that you navigate a different way and actually not with the arrow keys. This way may be unnatural or weird at first, but it's recommended to use these keys instead: h - Left - Left k - Up - Up l - Right - Right j - Down Here's a visual for reference: ^ k < h l > j v Simply try navigating around with these keys below to get the hang of it. It will get easier in time. You can hold any of these keys to quickly make the action repeat: function meow() { return 'meow'; } function bark() { return 'woof'; } function getRandomAnimal() { var animals = [ 'cat', 'dog', 'hippo', 'lion', 'bear', 'zebra' ]; return animals[Math.floor(Math.random()animals.length)]; } console.log(meow()); console.log(bark()); console.log(getRandomAnimal()); Exiting Vim The first time I encountered Vim I had no idea what it was. A server had it pop-open on me with a git pull and I couldn't even figure out how to exit until a friend helped me out. To quit, enter Command Mode with ESC , then just type: :q To quit and discard changes, type: :q! To quit and save changes, type: :wq Text Editing - Deletion It's one thing to delete text from Insert Mode, but you can also delete text from Command Mode. In the example below, click the editor and hit ESC to enter Command Mode. Next, navigate to any letter you want to delete and hit: x Try it below: function meow() { return 'meow'; } function bark() { return 'woof'; } function getRandomAnimal() { var animals = [ 'cat', 'dog', 'hippo', 'lion', 'bear', 'zebra' ]; return animals[Math.floor(Math.random()animals.length)]; } console.log(meow()); console.log(bark()); console.log(getRandomAnimal()); You're probably wondering why you just won't enter Insert Mode to delete characters. You can always do that, but you'll see from future examples that deleting text from Command Mode is more powerful and much quicker. It's better to start the habit now. Text Editing - Insertion Text editing simply requires you that you enter Insert Mode. We already covered how to do that, but there's some other methods to do this that can help speed things up and save you some keystrokes. Inserting This puts the cursor before the current position. i Appending This puts the cursor after the current position. a Open Commands This puts the cursor below the line: o And this puts the cursor above the line: O Try each these below to see the differences in action: function meow() { return 'meow'; } function bark() { return 'woof'; } function getRandomAnimal() { var animals = [ 'cat', 'dog', 'hippo', 'lion', 'bear', 'zebra' ]; return animals[Math.floor(Math.random()animals.length)]; } console.log(meow()); console.log(bark()); console.log(getRandomAnimal()); Operators and Motions, Counts, and Combining Them Commands are where the true power and efficiency come from Vim. It takes time to start using them, but they all follow a similar pattern. It's a good idea to learn how commands work, not memorize commands. Commands are broken down into these parts: Operator Numbers Motions When to put together, the Vim Command will look something like this: [OPERATOR][NUMBER][MOTION] Operators Operators are actions. These are like verbs of a sentence when "speaking Vim". Here's a list of common operators: d - Delete (acts like a "cut" command though) - Delete (acts like a "cut" command though) c - Change - Change y - Yank - Yank p - Insert last deleted text after cursor (put command) - Insert last deleted text after cursor (put command) r - Replace Motions Motions provide context to your Operators. These execute the action in a particular way. Here's a list of common motions: w - Until the start of the next word, EXCLUDING its first character. - Until the start of the next word, its first character. e - To the end of the current word, INCLUDING the last character. - To the end of the current word, the last character. $ - To the end of the line, INCLUDING the last character. And some additional others: w - Forward by word - Forward by word b - Backward by word - Backward by word ) - Beginning of next sentence - Beginning of next sentence ( - Beginning of current sentence - Beginning of current sentence } - Beginning of next paragraph - Beginning of next paragraph { - Beginning of current paragraph - Beginning of current paragraph ] - Beggining of next sect - Beggining of next sect [ - Begginning of current section - Begginning of current section H - Top line of screen - Top line of screen L - Last line of screen Counts Counts are optional and simply let you put a multiplier to your command and motion. You'll see how these work in the examples below. In time you'll learn more and more of these and get quicker and quicker. It's usually handy to have a solid Vim Cheat Sheet on hand when getting started. Let's go over some examples to demo how these work to together. Once you recognize that it's a pattern and language, you can start figuring out and testing these all on your own. Deleting a Word Navigate to beginning of the word in the editor below and enter this command. If you're in the middle it will stop at where the word ends: dw function meow() { return 'meow'; } function bark() { return 'woof'; } function getRandomAnimal() { var animals = [ 'cat', 'dog', 'hippo', 'lion', 'bear', 'zebra' ]; return animals[Math.floor(Math.random()animals.length)]; } console.log(meow()); console.log(bark()); console.log(getRandomAnimal()); Deleting to End of a Line This will delete everything until the end of the line. Move your cursor to the beginning of a line and enter this command: d$ Now, here's an example of a count. This will run the command twice and deleting two lines after the cursor position. d2$ function meow() { return 'meow'; } function bark() { return 'woof'; } function getRandomAnimal() { var animals = [ 'cat', 'dog', 'hippo', 'lion', 'bear', 'zebra' ]; return animals[Math.floor(Math.random()animals.length)]; } console.log(meow()); console.log(bark()); console.log(getRandomAnimal()); Deleting a line is a super common task. Vim has a shortcut built in for this. For example, to quickly delete a line you can always just do dd instead. Deleting Four Words Here's a command for deleting four words: d4w function meow() { return 'meow'; } function bark() { return 'woof'; } function getRandomAnimal() { var animals = [ 'cat', 'dog', 'hippo', 'lion', 'bear', 'zebra' ]; return animals[Math.floor(Math.random()animals.length)]; } console.log(meow()); console.log(bark()); console.log(getRandomAnimal()); The Undo Command With all these commands, there's a good chance you might mess up once or twice. This is totally normal and okay. You can quickly undo a command with: u Try undoing some commands in the editor below to see how easy it is: function meow() { return 'meow'; } function bark() { return 'woof'; } function getRandomAnimal() { var animals = [ 'cat', 'dog', 'hippo', 'lion', 'bear', 'zebra' ]; return animals[Math.floor(Math.random()animals.length)]; } console.log(meow()); console.log(bark()); console.log(getRandomAnimal()); Quick Page Navigation Scrolling doesn't really exist in a terminal. So if you have a long file that you're editing, it might get real boring navigating with the arrow keys or h, k, l, j . Here's some tips for this: Move to the bottom of a file :G Move to the start of a file :gg Navigate to a specific line You can view your current page line with: :ctrl+g You can jump to a specific line with: :123+G Searching You're probably used to doing ctrl-f to jump around a page. Vim is actually really similar to this - except it's a command. You're probably learning by now that everything is a command action. Search a page after the cursor position :/cats Search a page before the cursor position :?dogs Go to next or previous match To navigate to the next search match, enter: n To navigate to the previous search match, enter: N Try it out: function meow() { return 'meow'; } function bark() { return 'woof'; } function getRandomAnimal() { var animals = [ 'cat', 'dog', 'hippo', 'lion', 'bear', 'zebra' ]; return animals[Math.floor(Math.random()animals.length)]; } console.log(meow()); console.log(bark()); console.log(getRandomAnimal()); Matching Search By this point, you can jump around the page and search things, but it's still slow to locate various things in a file. In Vim, you can jump around based on opening and closing matching brackets. For example, say you have: function hippopotamus() { // insert 1 million lines of code here } If you go navigate to { and hit the following key, you'll jump to it's matching counter part. % This is insanely useful for quickly jumping around functions. This works on the following: ( and ) [ and ] { and } Try it in the example below, it's awesome: function meow() { return 'meow'; } function bark() { return 'woof'; } function getRandomAnimal() { var animals = [ 'cat', 'dog', 'hippo', 'lion', 'bear', 'zebra' ]; return animals[Math.floor(Math.random()*animals.length)]; } console.log(meow()); console.log(bark()); console.log(getRandomAnimal()); Search and Replace Searching and jumping around the page is one thing, but maybe you want to change all words of cat to the word dog . This is really easy with Vim. Find and Replace :s/cat/dog Find and Replace All To replace all instances, you need to make the find and replace global. Here's how: :s/cat/dog/g This can get infinitely more complex. You can do regular expression find and replaces, replace only on certain lines, sections, and more. Execute an External Command This creeps right out of the area of getting started with Vim to the intermediate parts of it. With Vim, the commands aren't just limited to the Vim syntax/language of operators and motions. You can execute external commands as you normally would from the command line inside of the editor. All you need to do is start the command with an exclamation mark. Here's an example to list all files: :!ls -al As you learn more about Vim, you'll see how insanely powerful this will be. You can do things like write to other files, grab code from other files, paste into other files, and more. In a sense, it like your own little Sublime Sidebar on steroids. We won't cover any of this in this tutorial, but here's a good resource for learning more about external commands with Vim. Configuring Vim Vim can also do things like syntax highlighting. By default, this usually isn't enabled. To enable it on a file, simply enter the following command: :syntax on This is quite annoying to have to reenter on each file. This is where configuring Vim comes in handy. All Vim installs come with a file in your home directory called .vimrc . If it's not there, create one. So, from the command line and with vim, let's force enable :syntax on to be a default setting. The first step is to open the file in Vim: vim ~/.vimrc Then simply add this line to the file: syntax on Finally, save the file to have syntax on by default in Vim: :wq There's a ton of these features. Things like showing a ruler, always showing the line number, themes and color schemes, and much more. You can even create short codes and functions to operate from. A good reference for this is The Ultimate Vim Configuration for .vimrc. You can either copy this or pick and choose all the goodies you want from it. Useful Tips and Tricks You should now be comfortable with Vim on the command line. Here's some miscellaneous useful tips and tricks. Set Vim as your default command line editor Nano is usually a default command line editor in a lot of systems. On Ubuntu or other Debian-based systems, run this command to make the switch: sudo update-alternatives --config editor Set Vim as your default editor for Git git config --global core.editor "vim" Plugins Vim also has the ability to allow third-parties to write plugins into the editor. This is awesome because you can use all this pre-built additional functionality by others. For example, NERD Tree will essentially simulate a sidebar for your editor. To learn more about plugins, check out these additional resources: Neovim Appararently building a plugins on Vim is pretty difficult to do though. Neovim is a rebuild of Vim to hopefully making adding plugins easier. You can check out their official website to learn more. On Ubuntu, you can install Neovim by doing: sudo add-apt-repository ppa:neovim-ppa/unstable sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install neovim Conclusion That's all there is to getting started with Vim. Just like anything else in the development world, you get better at it by just doing it. Hopefully by now, you're ready to start editing files with Vim. Finally, there's a ton of awesome content on the web for Vim resources and learning beyond this article. I definitely encourage you to check them out:
Technical advances in second-generation DNA sequencing technologies have reduced both the cost and the time required to generate whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data, thereby creating opportunities in healthcare and academic research to survey the human genome with unprecedented depth and scope. However, bottlenecks in computational processing and variant interpretation have hindered the adoption of these technologies for time-sensitive and large-scale projects. A standard pipeline using the Burrow-Wheeler Aligner (BWA)1, the Genome Analysis Toolkit (GATK)2, the Sequence Alignment-Map tools (SAMtools)3 and the Picard set of tools requires 60–70 h to process a 50× human genome from raw sequence data to variant calls on a 32-thread server (Supplementary Note 1). Furthermore, distinguishing pathogenic from benign mutations is a labor-intensive process that can take hours or days of manual curation per patient4. SpeedSeq is an open-source software suite designed for rapid whole-genome variant detection and interpretation (https://github.com/hall-lab/speedseq and Supplementary Software). Its modular architecture and universal formats confer adaptability to a variety of experimental designs and compatibility with standard industry software (Fig. 1a). It achieves superior processing efficiency through rapid duplicate marking with SAMBLASTER5, through balanced parallelization of external applications and by executing nondependent pipeline components simultaneously. SpeedSeq translates raw 50× WGS data into prioritized single-nucleotide variants (SNVs), short insertions and deletions (indels) and structural variants (SVs) in 13 h on a single 32-thread server with 128 GB of RAM and a current cost of <$10,000. Moreover, our accelerated implementations show little to no difference in results compared to the original software (Supplementary Note 1). This represents, at a minimum, a several-fold speed increase over current practices using typical computing resources. Figure 1: SpeedSeq workflow. (a) SpeedSeq converts raw reads into prioritized variants in 13 h for a 50× human data set. Var/somatic, SpeedSeq var and SpeedSeq somatic software modules for germline and somatic SNP-indel calling, respectively. (b,c) Germline SNV (N = 2,803,144) and indel (N = 364,031) receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves (c) over the GIAB truth set for SpeedSeq, GATK-UG and GATK-HC. (d) Somatic SNV detection ROC curves for a simulated 50× tumor-normal pair using SpeedSeq and three other tools (N = 875,206). Open circles in b–d denote the data points reported in the main text. (e) SpeedSeq's SV detection performance by quality score (QUAL) of all SVs (black), those with split-read and paired-end support (blue) and those with read-depth support from CNVnator (red), as validated by either PacBio or Moleculo long reads or 1KGP. (f) Schematic of haplotype-based SV validation showing undetected (open circles), consistently segregating (black circles) and inconsistently segregating (red circles) SVs through the CEPH 1463 pedigree. Full size image We assessed the accuracy of SpeedSeq's SNV and indel calls against the Genome in a Bottle Consortium (GIAB) truth set derived from the well-studied human sample NA12878 (2,803,144 SNVs and 364,031 indels)6. SpeedSeq achieved sensitivities of 99.9% and 89.9% for germline SNVs and indels, respectively, with acceptably low false discovery rates (FDRs) (0.4% and 1.1%, respectively) (Fig. 1b,c). These detection rates exceeded those of GATK's UnifiedGenotyper (GATK-UG) tool (SNVs: 99.7%, indels: 89.0%) with similar FDRs (SNVs: 0.5%, indels: 1.0%). The GATK HaplotypeCaller tool (GATK-HC) showed superior indel detection sensitivity (SNVs: 99.8%, indels: 95.7%) with lower FDRs for both variant types (SNVs: 0.2%, indels: 0.6%). SpeedSeq's implementation of FreeBayes therefore exhibits comparable, albeit slightly inferior, performance to GATK-HC when tested on the GIAB call set7. However, the GIAB truth set is biased toward GATK because it was primarily derived from GATK-based analyses. We therefore assessed SpeedSeq's performance against an unbiased truth set of 689,788 SNVs at 2,177,040 sites (Illumina Omni 2.5) in which SpeedSeq attained the highest sensitivity at the minor expense of specificity as compared to results obtained with GATK-UG or GATK-HC (Supplementary Fig. 1). Miscalled variants were enriched in repetitive regions of the genome and in regions adjacent to assembly gaps (Supplementary Note 2 and Supplementary Table 1). SpeedSeq also supports joint multisample variant calling and de novo germline mutation detection in families (Supplementary Note 3), which is crucial for clinical applications such as rapid diagnosis in newborns8. Cancer genome analysis is a common WGS application in research and clinical environments, and it can be a time-sensitive component of patient care. To emulate a WGS data set from a heterogeneous tumor-normal pair, we defined NA12877 as the 'normal' sample and pooled raw data from his 11 children in equal proportions to generate a single 50× 'tumor' sample. The 875,206 SNVs present in the mother (NA12878) but absent from the father (NA12877) were defined as somatic mutations, with variant-allele frequencies (VAFs) ranging from 0.05 to 0.5 (Supplementary Fig. 2a). Using this evaluation paradigm, we compared SpeedSeq's performance to three other leading somatic-variant calling tools: MuTect9, SomaticSniper10 and VarScan 2 (ref. 11). SpeedSeq recalled 96.6% of the somatic variants in the 'tumor' with an FDR of 3.3%, outperforming SomaticSniper in both sensitivity and specificity and delivering competitive performance against MuTect and VarScan 2 (Fig. 1d and Supplementary Fig. 2b,c). To test SpeedSeq's performance on real cancer data, we obtained WGS reads (50× tumor, 30× normal) from five tumor-normal pairs with validated somatic mutations, as ascertained by deep exome sequencing, from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). SpeedSeq recalled 96.4% of the 2,746 orthogonally validated mutations across all five data sets, including 98.8% of mutations in genes that have been causally implicated in cancer12 (Supplementary Table 2). Ascertainment of structural variants (copy number variants (CNVs), balanced rearrangements and mobile element insertions) is a critical component of comprehensive genome analysis. SV detection poses two key technical challenges. First, SVs are extremely difficult to detect reliably13. Second, functional interpretation of SVs requires specialized logic because of their variable size and diverse configurations and because SV breakpoints are often mapped imprecisely. As a result of these challenges, few established genome-analysis pipelines attempt to rigorously detect and interpret SVs. SpeedSeq achieves comprehensive SV analysis with a suite of three complementary tools that are sensitive to a range of SV signals. At its core is LUMPY, a state-of-the-art breakpoint-detection tool that integrates split-read and discordant paired-end data14. Next, a custom parallelized implementation of CNVnator uses read-depth analysis to detect CNVs that may be invisible to LUMPY due to unmappable or repetitive sequences at their breakpoints15. Finally, SpeedSeq genotypes SVs with SVTyper, a novel Bayesian likelihood algorithm that can operate on copy-neutral events (such as inversions and translocations) and CNVs (Online Methods). This step produces SV genotypes that are crucial for meaningful variant interpretation and provides quantitative estimates of breakpoint allele frequencies that allow inference of the fraction of tumor cells that carry a particular variant. Measuring SV detection performance on real data is difficult because of the lack of established truth sets. If we accept the 1000 Genomes Project (1KGP) deletion call set for NA12878 as ground truth16,17, then SpeedSeq achieves a sensitivity of 61.9% (2,089/3,376) and a positive predictive value of 60.8% (2,089/3,438) for detecting deletions, which is consistent with our recent comparative performance tests for LUMPY14 and by inference shows that SpeedSeq achieves state-of-the-art SV detection relative to other tools. However, this test probably underestimates absolute performance because the 1KGP call set has known false positives and negatives. We therefore developed a composite strategy in which SVs in NA12878 could be validated either by overlap with split-read mapping of deep (30×) long-read data from PacBio and Illumina Moleculo platforms or by overlap with 1KGP. On the basis of this hybrid approach, SVs with quality scores of 100 or greater showed a positive predictive value of 86.0% (2,823/3,282) (Fig. 1e and Supplementary Fig. 3). Virtually none of these SVs are likely to have been validated by random chance, as 100 permutations of the call set resulted in a validation rate of 0.073% (± 6.1 × 10−3, 95% confidence interval). Moreover, SVTyper's quality scores provide a tunable parameter for refining call sets to a desired confidence threshold. By requiring both paired-end and split-read support, users can generate an extremely high-confidence call set of 1,663 SVs with a 97.8% validation rate. As an independent measure of SV detection and genotyping performance, we developed a haplotype-based test that exploits the structure of the CEPH 1463 pedigree. First, we phased the pedigree by SNV transmission to produce haplotype lineage maps that allowed us to attribute an average of 63.0% of the mappable genome of each F 2 individual to a particular founding grandparent (Fig. 1f). Next, we performed joint SV detection on the pedigree to generate 1,722 high-confidence autosomal SVs that could be assigned to a founding grandparent by transmission; this resulted in a truth set of 8,397 predicted SV observations across the 11 grandchildren with known genotypes. SpeedSeq showed a detection sensitivity of 90.2% (7,578/8,397) for these predicted SVs, encompassing 1,660 of the 1,722 unique variants (Supplementary Table 3). Among the SVs that were detected, SVTyper reported the correct genotype at 96.6% (6,845/7,083) of the heterozygous variants and 72.3% (358/495) of the homozygous variants. Moreover, the high specificity of this call set is apparent from the infrequency of Mendelian violations (5.0%) and the consistent cosegregation of SVs with SNV-based haplotypes (93.8%) (Supplementary Table 4). Results from SpeedSeq seamlessly integrate into the GEMINI (GEnome MINIng) variant-interpretation framework, which annotates calls with information from external databases including dbSNP, ENCODE, ClinVar, CADD, ESP and ExAC for efficient filtering with command-line queries or a graphical browser interface18. In concert with SpeedSeq, we have made numerous enhancements to GEMINI, particularly in handling structural variants and interpreting somatic mutations. Users can rapidly prioritize somatic mutations through queries on two newly added databases: the COSMIC catalog of somatic mutations in cancer12 and DGIdb, the Drug-Gene Interaction database19. In addition, GEMINI can now identify both structural variants that alter gene dosage or interrupt transcripts and putative somatic gene fusions that affect COSMIC cancer genes. Finally, to provide an example of a typical cancer analysis interpretation, we performed somatic-variant calling on the tumor-normal pair of an invasive breast carcinoma from TCGA that carries a known gene fusion20. With four concise commands and less than an hour of computation, we loaded the variant call format (VCF) file into GEMINI, filtered variant calls for high confidence, clinically informative somatic mutations and predicted gene fusion events (Fig. 2). These analyses demonstrate the ease with which high-impact somatic point mutations and genomic rearrangements can be identified using the SpeedSeq framework.
A 1,500-year-old mosaic floor bearing Greek writing has been unearthed near Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's Old City. Archaeologists describe the new find as a truly unique discovery of an ancient artifact and an historic document in one. Ancient Mosaic with a Greek Inscription Uncovered Workers digging in order to install communications cables in Jerusalem's Old City, happened to uncover an intact mosaic with a Greek inscription, on what appears to have been the floor of an ancient version of a luxurious hostel 1,500 years ago. The Times of Israel reports that the inscription reads: "In the time of our most pious emperor Flavius Justinian, also this entire building Constantine the most God-loving priest and abbot, established and raised, in the 14th indiction," as Leah Di Segni of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem deciphered. Di Segni, an expert on ancient Greek inscriptions, explained that “indiction” was an ancient method of counting years, for taxation purposes. An ancient Greek inscription mentioning the Byzantine emperor Justinian was found at the Jerusalem Old City Damascus Gate, August 2017 (Assaf Peretz, Israel Antiquities Authority) Mosaic Found in Great Condition Israel Antiquities Authority director of excavation David Gellman was overseeing the earthworks ahead of the installment of Partner communications cable infrastructure outside American Consulate buildings in East Jerusalem. He described the new find as extremely exciting, and added that it is almost a “miracle” unearthing an ancient inscription in such a great condition, pointing out the importance of the discovery. “The fact that the inscription survived is an archaeological miracle,” an excited Gellman told The Times of Israel , as he went on explaining that the archaeological remains in that area had been seriously damaged by infrastructure groundwork over decades. “The excavation in a relatively small area exposed ancient remains that were severely damaged by infrastructure groundwork over the last few decades. We were about to close the excavation when all of a sudden, a corner of the mosaic inscription peeked out between the pipes and cables,” he told The Times of Israel . An ancient Greek inscription mentioning the Byzantine emperor Justinian was found at the Jerusalem Old City Damascus Gate, August 2017 (Credit: Assaf Peretz, Israel Antiquities Authority) Amazingly, as Gellman joyfully said, the inscription was intact, a fact that made him happier than he could ever imagine, “My heart leapt out of my chest…Amazingly, it had not been damaged. Every archaeologist dreams of finding an inscription in their excavations, especially one so well preserved and almost entirely intact,” he tells The Times of Israel . Mosaic Dates Back to the Byzantine Empire Archaeologists suggest that the building, of which the mosaic was once part, was probably used as a hostel for pilgrims. After studying and examining the inscription, the researchers concluded that the mosaic dates back to around 550 or 551 AD, thus during Justinian’s reign. The nearly forty-year reign of Emperor Justinian (527–565) heralded extensive territorial expansion and military success, along with a new synthesis of Greco-Roman and Christian culture seen at all levels of Byzantine culture. In 543 AD he established the “Nea” Church in Jerusalem, one of the biggest Christian churches in the Byzantine Empire and the largest in Jerusalem at the time. According to historical accounts the “Nea” included a hospital, monastery and accommodation. Its abbot was Constantine, which explains why he and Emperor Justinian were mentioned in the inscription, as Di Segni explained to The Times of Israel . Jerusalem’s Significance in the Byzantine Empire Gellman believes that the construction of the hostel by Emperor Justinian on the Damascus Road shows the geopolitical significance of Jerusalem for the Byzantines back then. “In the Byzantine period, with the emergence of Christianity, churches, monasteries and hostels for pilgrims were built in the area north of the gate, and the area became one of the most important and active areas of the city,” he tells The Times of Israel . On the other hand, Di Segni focuses more on the present and explains how the new inscription could help researchers and historians to better understand Byzantine architecture in ancient Jerusalem, “This new inscription helps us understand Justinian’s building projects in Jerusalem, especially the Nea Church. The rare combination of archaeological finds and historical sources, woven together, is incredible to witness, and they throw important light on Jerusalem’s past,” he told The Times of Israel . The mosaic, which was presented to the media yesterday, was discovered earlier during the summer. Conservation experts have currently removed the mosaic and are treating it in a specialist workshop. Top image: The ancient Greek inscription mentioning the Byzantine emperor Justinian, Jerusalem Old City Damascus Gate, August 2017 (Credit: Assaf Peretz, Israel Antiquities Authority) By Theodoros Karasavvas
Eight months after the shooting death of 13-year-old Tyre King by a Columbus police officer, a Franklin County grand jury decided on Friday that the officer involved shouldn't be criminally charged. The grand jury voted not to indict Officer Bryon Mason for his actions in the Sept. 14 shooting in Olde Towne East. King was among a group of young people suspected in a $10 robbery when he was fatally shot by Mason after King pulled what police later found out was a BB gun from his waistband as he ran from police. The gun, found at the scene, was designed to look like a real firearm and equipped with a laser sight. At least seven of the nine grand jurors must agree that the officer's actions are unlawful to return an indictment. Prosecutor Ron O'Brien said the grand jury heard from 15 to 17 witnesses — including the youth's mother, Nia Malika King — in a session that began Thursday, before returning what is known as a "no bill" in the case late Friday. All fatal officer-involved shootings in the county are taken to a grand jury "so citizens know it's not just the police who investigate, but it's the prosecutor's office ... and at least nine independent grand jurors," O'Brien said. In a statement from the King family issued by the Walton + Brown law firm, the family said it "is saddened and completely dissatisfied" but not surprised with the grand jury's decision. The family criticized police, Columbus Mayor Andrew J. Ginther and O'Brien in the statement over how the case was handled. In particular, the King family cited what it said was bias because evidence presented to the grand jury was from Columbus police and no independent agency was used to perform a separate investigation. The family said its request for an independent special prosecutor also was rejected by O'Brien. "The process is flawed and no officer will be held accountable until the people tasked with investigating and prosecuting criminals do so with the same approach to all individuals," the family's statement said. Mason had been involved in three earlier shootings, one of them fatal, and has since been placed on narcotics duty by Chief Kim Jacobs. Jason Pappas, president of Fraternal Order of Police Capital City Lodge No. 9, said that "based on the facts of the case, the grand jury got it right... You had a robbery that had just occurred, a fleeing, armed suspect and the officer was justified in protecting his life and the lives of the public." The Sept. 14 robbery was reported by a man who said he was approached on South 18th Street near Madison Street about 7:40 p.m. by a young man who asked him the time. Another man with the same group then approached with a handgun. He said the group fled after he handed over $10. Officers responding to 911 calls about the robbery confronted two young men who matched descriptions provided by the victim, prompting a foot chase that ended with King being shot. On Friday evening after the grand jury verdict, more than 100 community members sat in 13 seconds of silence — one for each year of King’s life — at the Central Seventh-day Adventist Church, 80 S. 18th St., about a block south of where King was fatally shot near Madison Avenue. “There is no doubt in my mind that the pain of this mother and sister and all those who loved Tyre, there is not a single one of us here that can fully understand it,” said the Rev. John Boston II. “It is unnatural for a parent to say goodbye to a child.” Adrienne Hood, the mother of Henry Green, spoke at the church gathering. In March, a Franklin County grand jury decided that the use of deadly force against Green, 23, by Columbus Police Officers Jason Bare and Zachary Rosen also was justified. “Continuously, we have to keep going through this," Hood said. "Our hearts hurt. But one thing I know about my people is we continue to bounce back. And we’re going to bounce back again. Again, and again.” In June 2016, Bare and Rosen were wearing civilian clothes and patrolling in an unmarked SUV when they said they saw Green, 23, and a friend walking in the area of Duxberry Avenue and Ontario Street in South Linden. The officers said they saw a gun in Green's hand and that he raised it toward their vehicle. According to police, the officers jumped from the SUV, identified themselves as police and ordered Green to drop his gun. Instead, police said, Green pointed his gun at the officers and fired. The officers returned fire. O'Brien said Green fired six shots, Bare fired seven and Rosen 15. Green was shot seven times. Last week, a deputy Columbus police chief recommended that Rosen be disciplined for an April 8 incident in which a bystander captured video of Rosen using his left foot to stomp once on the head of a black male suspect. The suspect was handcuffed behind his back, lying on his stomach on a concrete driveway and being restrained by another officer. That case still must go to a hearing before Chief Jacobs to act on the recommendation. If she upholds the decision, Rosen has the option of appealing to the public safety director. Following the church gathering for King, those in the group sang as they walked to the area where King was killed for a candlelight vigil. King family members did not speak at either location. City officials and police have held public forums in an effort to improve community interaction in the wake of the King and Green shootings and protests, and police are beginning to wear body cameras. Tammy Fournier-Alsaada, lead organizer with the People’s Justice Project, told those gathered for King on Friday to continue demanding more engagement from elected officials and accountability of a justice system that she said has again fallen short. “This is just one step in a long road. And it stings. We’re human beings and it hurts, and it stings, and it’s wrong. I’m tired. I’m tired. But we must fight on,” she said. jfutty@dispatch.com mhuson@dispatch.com @johnfutty @Mike_Huson
KABUL, Afghanistan — With the death of Osama bin Laden at the hands of U.S. Navy SEALs, the war in Afghanistan is coming under closer scrutiny both here and back in Washington. While Afghan President Hamid Karzai somewhat hastily called for an end to the conflict, many of his countrymen are worried that the United States will abruptly pack up and leave, with the promised reconstruction nowhere near finished. But over the next few months Washington is planning a major overhaul of its military and political team in Kabul. Many officials have predicted that the United States is now ready to put politics before force and seek a negotiated settlement to the 10-year war. The U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Marc Grossman, speaking in Islamabad Tuesday, sought to reassure Afghanistan that Washington was prepared to “put more diplomacy” into the core mission of “promoting long-term prosperity and political success” in the region. The normally phlegmatic Afghans have so far evinced little excitement, either at the death of bin Laden or at the announced shuffle of the U.S. lineup. “The problems of Afghanistan are not so small they can be solved with these changes,” said Ahmad Saeedi, former diplomat and now a political analyst. “We have a governance problem, a problem of national trust. We have a lack of capacity and lack of patriotism. And finally we have this problem of conflict and terrorism.” This is a grim list to present to Washington’s new team in Kabul. Last week administration officials announced that Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan, would be leaving this fall to take up a new challenge: head of the Central Intelligence Agency. Lt. Gen. John Allen, a veteran of the Iraq War, and the first Marine to take up the top job in Afghanistan, will replace him. Petraeus’ new post at the CIA may well be sending a few tremors through the political establishment in Islamabad, now under fire for what many see as Pakistan’s involvement in sheltering bin Laden over the past 10 years. While everyone from former President Pervez Musharraf to current intelligence chief Ahmad Shuja Pasha has denied any knowledge of bin Laden’s whereabouts, the discovery of the world’s most wanted man mere meters from one of Pakistan’s most prominent military centers has raised a lot of eyebrows and prompted a host of questions. Petraeus has been unstinting in his criticism of Pakistan for harboring terrorists and supporting the insurgents that are killing Afghan and international troops across the border. As CIA chief, Petraeus will have control over the agency’s nominally covert drone program, which sends unmanned aircraft into Pakistan to strike at insurgent leaders and hideouts. Pakistan has complained bitterly about the drones, saying they infringe on national sovereignty and harm civilians, and the thought of the tough new CIA head with his hand on the button cannot be overly pleasant to Pakistan’s leaders. In Afghanistan, Petraeus will leave formidable shoes to fill. He is credited as the architect the counterinsurgency strategy that is now guiding troops in Afghanistan, and is one of the highest-profile military figures in the United States. The international war effort in Afghanistan, now in its 10th year, was widely acknowledged to be on the brink of failure when Petraeus took over from Gen. Stanley McChrystal last June. Since then, the indefatigable Petraeus has worked hard to promote the impression that the war has turned around, that the Taliban are now on the back foot and the Afghan and international forces are making headway. Afghans, mired in their internal problems, see little change on the horizon. “Commanders come and commanders go, but everything stays the same,” said Noor-ul-Haq Ulumi, a retired general and former member of Parliament. “We have seen the same bombardments that kill innocent civilians, the same lack of coordination between the international troops and the Afghans. The tools that we need to reduce this crisis are simply not in place. Nothing will change when Petraeus leaves.” Ulumi, like many Afghans, is doubtful that Petraeus’ replacement, Allen, will be able to transfer his Iraq experience to what he sees as Afghanistan’s infinitely more complex environment. Allen was one of the principal designers of the “Anbar Awakening” that convinced tribal leaders to side with the central government and battle the insurgency. “There are some major differences between Iraq and Afghanistan,” Ulumi said. “First, Iraq did not have this legacy of 30 years of war. And Afghanistan does not have just Sunni, Shia and Kurds. Just look at our Sunnis — they are divided into different political groups, different languages, different religious views. They even have different views on the jihad (the war against the Soviet Union).” Ulumi, whose roots are in Kandahar, is also skeptical that the new American commander will be able to make headway in talks with the Taliban. Reconciliation with the insurgents is not universally welcomed in Afghanistan. “Maybe this John Allen thinks he can do what he did in Iraq — sit with the tribal leaders and reconcile them to the government and boom, the job is done,” he said. “But if he comes here and sits down with the Taliban he will take us back to the Middle Ages.” But for many Afghans, who deeply resent Pakistan’s meddling in their national affairs, anything that annoys their overbearing neighbor can’t be all bad. They feel a deep sense of justification that bin Laden was found in Pakistan, proving what they’ve been saying all along: the problem is not here, but on the other side of the border. “Yay!!!” said one young journalist, waving his fist triumphantly when he heard of Petraeus’ appointment. “That will show them.” A source in the Ministry of the Interior, speaking on condition of anonymity, was similarly pleased with the news. “This will clip Pakistan’s wings a bit,” he said. He also noted, approvingly, that Allen was “ a really tough guy, a dangerous person,” and opined that the changes at the top would ultimately prove beneficial for Afghanistan. At the same time, U.S. President Barack Obama is preparing a major shift on the diplomatic front. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry, who has served as Washington’s envoy to Kabul since April 2009, will cede his chair to another old Baghdad hand, Ryan Crocker. The appointment is not yet official, but has been confirmed by Washington insiders. Eikenberry, a retired general who once held Petraeus’ position in Afghanistan, is perhaps best known here for a cable he wrote in January 2010 that was subsequently leaked to the New York Times. In it he sharply criticized the troop surge that Obama and his military team were then proposing, and bluntly stated that Karzai was “not an adequate strategic partner,” a fact that was likely to torpedo any possible gains made by the international troops. Eikenberry’s relationship with the Afghan president has been strained ever since. Crocker is a diplomatic heavyweight who will fit in well with Washington’s new emphasis on diplomacy. He has impeccable credentials, and many are hoping his arrival will smooth the rather bumpy relationship between Washington and Kabul. “There is a lot of hope tied to Crocker,” Saeedi said. “This could be a way of trying to improve the sensitive relations between Karzai and Washington.” But he is not overly confident that things will work out, due to Afghanistan’s own chaotic system. “Afghanistan is a country with little strategic vision,” he explained. “Politics are fast-changing and unpredictable. Every moment we can expect another change, another shift.”
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For unlimited access to the best local, national, and international news and much more, try an All Access Digital subscription: We hope you have enjoyed your trial! To continue reading, we recommend our Read Now Pay Later membership. Simply add a form of payment and pay only 27¢ per article. The 24-year-old Vancouver native was traded to Buffalo by the Jets in February after playing three-plus seasons in the Manitoba capital. He's now out four to six weeks after injuring his left knee Saturday night against New Jersey. Kane did a recent interview with The Hockey News writer Ken Campbell for the magazine's Nov. 9 issue that was published Monday in which he aired numerous grievances with Winnipeg and its Jets. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 26/10/2015 (1219 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 26/10/2015 (1219 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Buffalo Sabres left-winger Evander Kane isn't finished with Winnipeg quite yet. Kane did a recent interview with The Hockey News writer Ken Campbell for the magazine's Nov. 9 issue that was published Monday in which he aired numerous grievances with Winnipeg and its Jets. GARY WIEPERT / THE CANADIAN PRESS / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES Buffalo Sabres left winger Evander Kane (9). The 24-year-old Vancouver native was traded to Buffalo by the Jets in February after playing three-plus seasons in the Manitoba capital. He's now out four to six weeks after injuring his left knee Saturday night against New Jersey. One of the other key elements to that trade, defenceman Zach Bogosian, is also on the Sabres' injured list and hasn't played this season. One of Kane's pointed complaints in the interview was the Jets — both his teammates and the organization — didn't have his back. "I was playing with a separated shoulder for a year and a half," Kane told THN. "I had a broken ankle and a broken hand all at the same time. It wasn't me telling myself I had a torn labrum. It was the team doctor on the Winnipeg Jets telling me, 'You need surgery, and that's the only way you're going to get fixed. You have a broken ankle. You have a broken hand.' "I'm sacrificing my body playing through pain, doing everything I can to help that team win with the feeling knowing guys don't have my back. I feel the organization doesn't have my back, and you feel unappreciated." The Free Press obtained a copy of the THN story just before Paul Maurice's Monday press conference. The Jets coach responded to Kane's accusations about "not having his back," and being unappreciated. "I'm sorry he felt that way," Maurice said. "I certainly appreciated him. He did play with a lot of injuries. But if you can find me a player I've ever coached where I came out and said, 'Boy this guy's playing with a broken ankle and I really appreciate it,' I've never said that. I'd never talk about a guy's injury. "We've got guys that played with that. Evander played hurt. He had a torn labrum and played a year on it. That was his choice to have surgery or not. But he played on it. "That's a lot of pain. He played through an awful lot of pain and we really appreciated it. But I'm not coming out here and giving you a list of injuries of guys that are playing with them, because they're playing with them. "There's no sense drawing targets on backs. I'm sorry he felt that way. I certainly appreciated him playing through those injuries." If Kane's current injury prognosis is accurate, he'll face his former teammates and Winnipeg fans Jan. 10, when the Sabres are scheduled to visit the MTS Centre. Kane confirmed in the THN story what eventually came to light, but not before he was traded, that each summer he spent as a member of the Jets, he asked for a trade. It's worth noting that when asked about it while he was in Winnipeg, he talked around it or implied he was denying it. "Something I asked for a long time finally came to fruition," Kane said in the THN interview. "Yeah, I asked for a trade every off-season in Winnipeg." To be fair, the Jets also obfuscated on the trade-request matter back then. In his story, Campbell also writes: "Truth is, though, Kane was never a good fit in Winnipeg, even in his first season there where he scored 30 goals... Every unpaid traffic ticket, every rumour about him skipping out on restaurant bills and having his girlfriend with him on the road, every time he posed for pictures with a wad of money attached to his ear, every time he shaved YMCMB into his scalp because a major cause célèbre in the league's smallest market." Why was that? Kane believes racism is relevant to his story, a charge he first levelled more than two years ago in an interview with THN. "There are lots of guys I could point to that everybody knows publicly who have done a lot worse or been accused of doing a lot worse things than I have," Kane said in the interview. "But they don't look like me. They don't look like me. "Jealousy is a disease. It really is." Want more on hockey? Get a weekly trip around the world of hockey right in your inbox. On the race question, Campbell made a broad, combined reference to both the hockey world and Winnipeg "where guys like Thomas Steen are heroes, and it's a cauldron of narrow attitudes that Kane found a little difficult to handle." "I just didn't feel as though (the Jets) had my back at all," Kane said. "It would have been so simple to just squash it and put it to bed. It just became kind of a big deal. "Common sense would dictate that I can afford a bill at a restaurant no matter what it is. There'd be no reason for me to do that. If you just default to your common sense, I think at the end of the day you'll realize how ridiculous, how silly and how moronic it really sounded." The Jets, through GM Kevin Cheveldayoff, declined to comment on the THN story. Monday, apart from Maurice's comment, the Jets said nobody had anything else to say in response to Kane's complaints. THN's story also includes much about Kane's new start in Buffalo and how his outgoing personality will fit there. tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca
Doctors worrying about the safety of cholesterol-reducing statins are creating a misleading level of uncertainty that could lead to the loss of lives, according to one of the UK’s leading medical academics. Professor Sir Rory Collins, from Oxford University, said he believes GPs and the public are being made unjustifiably suspicious of the drug, creating a situation that has echoes of the MMR vaccine controversy. The academic, one of the country’s leading experts on the drug, is particularly unhappy with the British Medical Journal (BMJ), which has run well-publicised articles by two critics of statins that he argues are flawed and misleading. “It is a serious disservice to British and international medicine," he said, claiming that it was probably killing more people than had been harmed as a result of the paper on the MMR vaccine by Andrew Wakefield. “I would think the papers on statins are far worse in terms of the harm they have done.” Interactive: how statins work Interactive: how statins work A quick guide to how statins reduce the production of 'bad' LDL cholesterol in the live Statins are currently being taken in the UK by 7 million people who have at least a 20% risk of a heart attack or stroke in the next 10 years. Following a major study overseen by Collins’ team at Oxford in 2012, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) recommended in February that they should be given to people at only 10% risk – potentially dramatically increasing the number of people taking them. A number of doctors are among those who have questioned the wisdom of dosing essentially healthy people to prevent – rather than treat – illness. Some of them doubt the data from the drug company trials, which has been made available to Collins and his team but to nobody else. Collins criticised two papers published by the BMJ – one by John Abramson, a clinician working at Harvard medical school, and the other by Aseem Malhotra, a cardiologist in the UK. Both doctors said statins did not reduce mortality and that side effects meant they did more harm than good. The Oxford academic said the side-effect claims were misleading and particularly damaging because they eroded public confidence. “We have really good data from over 100,000 people that show that the statins are very well tolerated. There are only one or two well-documented [problematic] side effects.” Myopathy, or muscle weakness, occurred in one in 10,000 people, he said, and there was a small increase in diabetes. But the two researchers criticised by Collins said the side effects were real, with one accusing the professor of “fear-mongering”. Abramson said the analysis by him and his team, published in the BMJ, showed statins did not significantly reduce mortality in the 20% or 10% risk groups. “This raises two issues,” Abramson said. “First, Dr Collins is fear-mongering when he says that ‘lives will be lost’ as a result of our calculations. Second, if Dr Collins believes our analysis is not correct, then he should release the patient-level data … so this discussion can be based on direct analysis of the data rather than relying upon their representation of the manufacturers’ data. At this point, I believe there is no excuse for not making this data public and the ongoing secrecy only raises the public’s level of suspicion.” Although Malhotra accepted the benefits of statins for people who already had heart disease and prescibed them for such patients, he said “prescribing them to a low-risk group, potentially putting millions more of the UK population [on statins] would in my view be a public health disaster, contributing to chronic suffering to patients and placing a great strain on the NHS”. The data did not show that statins prevented death or serious illness in people at low risk, he said. “Real world data also reveal that up to 20% of people suffer disabling side effects that result in discontinuation of the drug. The side effects include fatigue, muscle pain, stomach complaints, short-term memory loss, and erectile dysfunction.” Dr Fiona Godlee, editor of the BMJ, said major issues were raised in the papers that deserved public debate – particularly the potential medicalisation of a large proportion of the population and the lack of access to data held by drug companies. Although Collins had seen the full data, Ebrahim and the Cochrane collaboration had not. “To rely on one meta-analysis by one group is no longer acceptable,” she said. She dismissed Collins' suggestion that there was a similarity between the BMJ’s publication of the statin papers and the Lancet’s 1997 decision to publish the controversial paper by Andrew Wakefield that wrongly suggested a link between MMR and autism. “This is a debate that has been ongoing – the BMJ did not start it. Extending the statins to healthy people at low risk is an enormously important decision which should be subject to debate and question.” The BMJ had already invited Collins to write a critique of the papers for publication, she added. A study two weeks ago in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, which looked at drug company trial data, found that as many people experienced side effects on placebo dummy pills as on the statins. Dr Ben Goldacre, one of the authors of the study, said participants may have experienced the “nocebo” effect – where people believe they are experiencing the side effects they have heard the drugs may induce. But the flaw in the study, he said, was that the authors did not have access to the full data from the pharmaceutical companies behind the drugs. 'I suffered terrible aching limbs' Facebook Twitter Pinterest Claire Rumble suffered aching limbs when she began taking statins to control her cholesterol level. Photograph: Dimitris Legakis/Athena Pictures Claire Rumble has experienced both sides of the coin when it comes to the side effects of statins. The 47-year-old, from Llanelli, Wales, was put on a cholesterol-lowering drug after having three heart attacks within 36 hours in 2009. The diagnosis was a blocked artery and despite her cholesterol not being particularly high, the consultant said that she should start taking statins. Rumble was prescribed Simvastatin but, as with others who have reported side effects from using statins, she developed muscle pains. “I suffered terrible aching limbs,” she recalled. “I got it for six to eight months. I thought my body was adapting to the tablets. My arms and legs just felt very heavy, it could make you feel quite fluey.” After the aches failed to disappear, Rumble, a fundraiser for Hafan Dda NHS trust and supporter of the British Heart Foundation, went back to the doctor, who put her on a different statin, Rosuvastatin. “Within days of changing, I felt much much better and haven’t had a day’s problem since. I would recommend that if you are suffering aching muscles, go and see your GP and change [your medicine],” she said. Despite her problems with Simvastatin, Rumble is philosophical. “Maybe Simvastatin wasn’t suitable for myself but I’m sure many people could take it without experiencing side effects.” As if to prove her point, Susan Saul, an insulin-dependent diabetic from Stanmore, north-west London, had a completely different experience with the same two drugs. With a history of high cholesterol and heart problems in her family, Saul was prescribed Simvastatin more than 10 years ago as a precaution. But after about a year she was moved on to Rosuvastatin, in the belief that it might be more effective. “Within a few days I noticed I was getting very severe leg cramps,” said Saul, a supporter of Heart UK. “It was awful, mostly at night.” She read the accompanying leaflet which identified her symptoms as a possible, if rare, side effect. “I persevered for about two weeks but if anything they were getting more frequent and intense. I got changed back to the original [Simvastatin] and they went away almost immediately.” Saul said she has experienced no problems since. The research from Imperial College London’s National Heart and Lung Institute that prompted the side-effects row suggested that some of the ailments suffered by statins users were not as a consequence of the drugs, but Saul believes her cramps were. "My feeling on statins is that, as with any drug, different drugs suit different people,” she said. “You have side effects with any medication. Each time I go to my diabetes clinic and get my cholesterol checked, if it’s gone down further, I think the statins are doing the job, they are working. I think the benefits outweigh the risks.”
Bluster from the Kremlin should not be interpreted to mean Putin wants a direct military confrontation with the United States. On June 19, the Russian Defense Ministry blasted the U.S. downing of the Syrian SU-22 as an "act of aggression" and a "violation of international law." Moscow cut the deconfliction channel with the U.S. and threatened to target U.S. and U.S. allies' aircraft flown west of the Euphrates, though the Pentagon soon said the deconfliction channel is still working. Meanwhile, the Russian press has been awash with reports about American "aggression" and support of "terrorists." Tellingly, one Russian Senator described U.S. actions in Syria as a provocation aimed at Russia. The U.S. downed a Syrian SU-22 on June 18 in self-defense after the jet repeatedly ignored warnings and dropped several bombs on the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the village of Ja'Din, southwest of Raqqa, according to the Pentagon. The SDF is the main and most effective U.S. partner fighting ISIS in Syria. To be sure, the downing of the Syrian aircraft was significant. It signaled an escalation in Syria --an escalation that has been building up for weeks. The last time a U.S. aircraft shot down another country's plane in air-to-air combat was eighteen years ago, during the Kosovo campaign. Yet when it comes to Russian President Vladimir Putin, we've seen this movie before. Moscow cut off the deconfliction line in April, following U.S. cruise missile strikes on the Syrian air base in response to one of the worst chemical attacks in Syria in years, which bore "all the hallmarks" of the Assad regime. But despite Kremlin bluster, the line soon officially reopened. Putin doesn't want a direct military confrontation with the U.S. in the Syrian skies. For one thing, he knows it's a fight he will lose. It might seem surprising that Putin is condemning the SDF. It's a force dominated by the Kurds -- more specifically the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) -- the armed wing of the Democratic Union Party and a Syrian offshoot of the Turkish Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Moscow's ties to the Kurds are deep. A Soviet proxy created the PKK during the Cold War. More recently, in March, YPG spokesman said the group had made an agreement to build a Russian base in Afrin. Yet the Kurds, for Moscow, were always a means to an end. As ISIS is waning, Putin wants to ensure the U.S. and its allies don't fill the space. From Moscow's perspective, recent U.S. moves, from April 7 air strikes to arming the Kurds, show Washington is returning to the Middle East, and pushing Moscow out. Putin wants to control the Syrian narrative, and bluster seems to be his best option. It comes as no surprise, then, that the Russian press has grown increasingly anti-Kurdish. As one author wrote in Nezavisimaya Gazeta on June 20, "By supporting the SDF and the Kurds, the Americans strengthen not only the separatist tendencies in the country, but also want to cut off the Assad regime from access to oil fields located in the combat zone and in the territory controlled by the IS." Another Russian expert said on June 18, "If earlier the Americans somehow tried to veil their aggressive intentions towards Syria under the guise of fighting terrorism, now they are starting to act openly. Americans are de facto beginning aggression against Syria, but using Kurdish hands." The Kurds, for their part, had put their eggs in both the Russian and American baskets, but invested more in the latter. Indeed, they always preferred to work with the U.S., and it is only poor U.S. diplomacy that pushed them away. Watching as the Trump administration doubles down on its commitment to the SDF, the Kurds in a way had already chosen the U.S. over Russia, which angers Putin. Another explanation for Moscow's behavior could be that a Kurdish force taking over the Arab town of Raqqa with U.S. help would make it harder for Assad to make good on his pledge to take back every inch of Syria. To be sure, Moscow's threats to the U.S. and its allies in Syria have already produced results. Australia has suspended air combat missions over Syria. Such steps only demonstrate to Putin that bullying pays off. If Moscow follows through with its threat to target U.S. or U.S. allies' aircraft, the U.S. should respond. One thing the U.S. could do is reiterate that targeting, or what's called illumination by a targeting RADAR, is a hostile act authorizing the U.S. and its coalition forces to act in self-defense. Putin is not ten feet tall. He preys on weakness, and can be deterred if he knows he will lose a fight. Backing down will only fuel his aggression. Anna Borshchevskaya is the Ira Weiner Fellow at The Washington Institute.
Wells Fargo sign (Photo: AFP/Getty Images) The city of Los Angeles filed a civil lawsuit Tuesday against Wells Fargo, alleging that the bank has been looking the other way as its sales people take advantage of customers, including Mexican immigrants, by opening accounts and issuing credit cards without their permission. Wells Fargo's push to get every customer to carry at least eight different Wells Fargo products has "predictably and naturally, driven its bankers to engage in fraudulent behavior," Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer said Tuesday. Alleged abuses include lying about fees, opening customer accounts and issuing credit cards without customers' authorization, the lawsuit says. Customers with Mexican ID cards are often targeted because their lack of a Social Security number "makes it easier to open numerous fraudulent accounts," according to the lawsuit. "Wells Fargo has known about and encouraged these practices for years," Feuer alleged in the complaint. Wells Fargo will "vigorously defend" against the allegations, the $287 billion company said in a statement. "Wells Fargo's culture is focused on the best interests of its customers and creating a supportive, caring and ethical environment for our team members. This includes training, audits and processes that work together to support our Vision & Values and our commitment to customers receiving only the products and services they need and will benefit from," the statement said. Wells Fargo has been pushing for the average customer to hold eight different accounts as part of its "going for gr-eight" initiative. This has resulted in pressure on bankers to victimize consumers or face repercussions, including termination, for failing to meet sales quotas, the Los Angeles city attorney said. The lawsuit says Wells Fargo management has also failed to protect customers from the financial harm when they discovered abuses by their sales force. "On the rare occasions when Wells Fargo did take action against its employees for unethical sales conduct, Wells Fargo further victimized its customers by failing to inform them of the breaches, refund fees they were owed, or otherwise remedy the injuries that Wells Fargo and its bankers have caused," the lawsuit says. The lawsuit claims customers were hurt by having money withdrawn from their authorized accounts in order to pay for fees tied to unauthorized accounts. Wells Fargo also placed customers into collection when unauthorized accounts went unpaid. Wells Fargo is the nation's third largest bank by assets and the largest bank in California, where the lawsuit was filed. Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1ACqQ17
Intel C++ Compiler, also known as icc or icl, is a group of C and C++ compilers from Intel available for Windows, Mac, Linux, FreeBSD[3] and Intel-based Android devices. Overview [ edit ] The compilers generate optimized code for IA-32 and Intel 64 architectures, and non-optimized code for non-Intel but compatible processors, such as certain AMD processors. A specific release of the compiler (11.1) is available for development of Linux-based applications for IA-64 (Itanium 2) processors. The 14.0 compiler added support for Intel-based Android devices and optimized vectorization and SSE Family instructions for performance. The 13.0 release added support for the Intel Xeon Phi coprocessor. It continues support for automatic vectorization, which can generate SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4, AVX and AVX2 SIMD instructions, and the embedded variant for Intel MMX and MMX 2.[4] Use of such instruction through the compiler can lead to improved application performance in some applications as run on IA-32 and Intel 64 architectures, compared to applications built with compilers that do not support these instructions. Intel compilers support Cilk Plus, which is a capability for writing vectorized and parallel code that can be used on IA-32 and Intel 64 processors or which can be offloaded to Xeon Phi coprocessors. They also continue support for OpenMP 4.0, symmetric multiprocessing, automatic parallelization, and Guided Auto-Parallization (GAP). With the add-on Cluster OpenMP capability, the compilers can also automatically generate Message Passing Interface calls for distributed memory multiprocessing from OpenMP directives. Intel C++ is compatible with Microsoft Visual C++ on Windows and integrates into Microsoft Visual Studio. On Linux and Mac, it is compatible with GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) and the GNU toolchain. Intel C++ Compiler for Android is hosted on Windows, OS X or Linux and is compatible with the Android NDK, including gcc and the Eclipse IDE. Intel compilers are known for the application performance they can enable as measured by benchmarks, such as the SPEC CPU benchmarks. Optimizations [ edit ] Intel compilers are optimized to computer systems using processors that support Intel architectures. They are designed to minimize stalls and to produce code that executes in the fewest possible number of cycles. The Intel C++ Compiler supports three separate high-level techniques for optimizing the compiled program: interprocedural optimization (IPO), profile-guided optimization (PGO), and high-level optimizations (HLO). The Intel C++ compiler in the Parallel Studio XE products also supports tools, techniques and language extensions for adding and maintaining application parallelism on IA-32 and Intel 64 processors and enables compiling for Intel Xeon Phi processors and coprocessors. Profile-guided optimization refers to a mode of optimization where the compiler is able to access data from a sample run of the program across a representative input set. The data would indicate which areas of the program are executed more frequently, and which areas are executed less frequently. All optimizations benefit from profile-guided feedback because they are less reliant on heuristics when making compilation decisions. High-level optimizations are optimizations performed on a version of the program that more closely represents the source code. This includes loop interchange, loop fusion, loop fission, loop unrolling, data prefetch, and more.[5] Interprocedural optimization applies typical compiler optimizations (such as constant propagation) but using a broader scope that may include multiple procedures, multiple files, or the entire program.[6] Intel's compiler has been criticized for applying, by default, floating-point optimizations not allowed by the C standard and that require special flags with other compilers such as gcc.[7] Architectures [ edit ] Description of packaging [ edit ] Except for the Intel Bi-Endian C++ Compiler, Intel C++ compilers are not available in standalone form. They are available in suites: Intel Parallel Studio XE for development of technical, enterprise, and high-performance computing applications on Windows, Linux and Mac Intel System Studio for development of system and app software for embedded systems or devices running Windows, Linux or Android The suites include other build tools, such as libraries, and tools for threading and performance analysis. History since 2003 [ edit ] Compiler version Release date Major new features Intel C++ Compiler 8.0 December 15, 2003 Precompiled headers, code-coverage tools. Intel C++ Compiler 8.1 September, 2004 AMD64 architecture (for Linux). Intel C++ Compiler 9.0 June 14, 2005 AMD64 architecture (for Windows), software-based speculative pre-computation (SSP) optimization, improved loop optimization reports. Intel C++ Compiler 10.0 June 5, 2007 Improved parallelizer and vectorizer, Streaming SIMD Extensions 4 (SSE4), new and enhanced optimization reports for advanced loop transformations, new optimized exception handling implementation. Intel C++ Compiler 10.1 November 7, 2007 New OpenMP* compatibility runtime library: if you use the new OpenMP RTL, you can mix and match with libraries and objects built by Visual C++. To use the new libraries, you need to use the new option "-Qopenmp /Qopenmp-lib:compat" on Windows, and "-openmp -openmp-lib:compat" on Linux. This version of the Intel compiler supports more intrinsics from Visual Studio 2005. VS2008 support - command line only in this release. The IDE integration was not supported yet. Intel C++ Compiler 11.0 November 2008 Initial C++11 support. VS2008 IDE integration on Windows. OpenMP 3.0. Source Checker for static memory/parallel diagnostics. Intel C++ Compiler 11.1 June 23, 2009 Support for latest Intel SSE SSE4.2, AVX and AES instructions. Parallel Debugger Extension. Improved integration into Microsoft Visual Studio, Eclipse CDT 5.0 and Mac Xcode IDE. Intel C++ Composer XE 2011 up to Update 5 (compiler 12.0) November 7, 2010 Cilk Plus language extensions, Guided Auto-Parallelism, Improved C++11 support.[8] Intel C++ Composer XE 2011 Update 6 and above (compiler 12.1) September 8, 2011 Cilk Plus language extensions updated to support specification version 1.1 and available on Mac OS X in addition to Windows and Linux, Threading Building Blocks updated to support version 4.0, Apple blocks supported on Mac OS X, improved C++11 support including support for Variadic templates, OpenMP 3.1 support. Intel C++ Composer XE 2013 (compiler 13.0) September 5, 2012 Linux-based support for Intel Xeon Phi coprocessors, support for Microsoft Visual Studio 12 (Desktop), support for gcc 4.7, support for Intel AVX 2 instructions, updates to existing functionality focused on improved application performance.[9] Intel C++ Composer XE 2013 SP1 (compiler 14.0) September 4, 2013 Online installer; support for Intel Xeon Phi coprocessors; preview Win32 only support for Intel graphics; improved C++11 support Intel C++ Composer XE 2013 SP1 Update 1 (compiler 14.0.1) October 18, 2013 Japanese localization of 14.0; Windows 8.1 and Xcode 5.0 support Intel C++ Compiler for Android (compiler 14.0.1) November 12, 2013 Hosted on Windows, Linux, or OS X, compatible with Android NDK tools including the gcc compiler and Eclipse Intel C++ Composer XE 2015 (compiler 15.0) July 25, 2014 Full C++11 language support; Additional OpenMP 4.0 and Cilk Plus enhancements Intel C++ Composer XE 2015 Update 1 (compiler 15.0.1) October 30, 2014 AVX-512 support; Japanese localization Intel C++ 16.0 August 25, 2015 Suite-based availability (Intel Parallel Studio XE, Intel System Studio) Intel C++ 17.0 September 15, 2016 Suite-based availability (Intel Parallel Studio XE, Intel System Studio) Intel C++ 18.0 January 26, 2017 Suite-based availability (Intel Parallel Studio XE, Intel System Studio) Flags and manuals [ edit ] Documentation can be found at the Intel Software Technical Documentation site. Windows Linux, macOS & FreeBSD Comment /Od -O0 No optimization /O1 -O1 Optimize for size /O2 -O2 Optimize for speed and enable some optimization /O3 -O3 Enable all optimizations as O2, and intensive loop optimizations /arch:SSE3 /-msse3 Enables SSE3, SSE2 and SSE instruction sets optimizations for non-Intel CPUs[10] /fast -fast Shorthand. On Windows this equates to " /O3 /Qipo /QxHost /Opred-div- " ; on Linux " -O3 -ipo -static -xHOST -no-prec-div ". Note that the processor specific optimization flag ( -xHOST ) will optimize for the processor compiled on—it is the only flag of -fast that may be overridden /Qprof-gen -prof_gen Compile the program and instrument it for a profile generating run /Qprof-use -prof_use May only be used after running a program that was previously compiled using prof_gen . Uses profile information during each step of the compilation process Debugging [ edit ] The Intel compiler provides debugging information that is standard for the common debuggers (DWARF 2 on Linux, similar to gdb, and COFF for Windows). The flags to compile with debugging information are /Zi on Windows and -g on Linux. Debugging is done on Windows using the Visual Studio debugger and, on Linux, using gdb. While the Intel compiler can generate a gprof compatible profiling output, Intel also provides a kernel level, system-wide statistical profiler called Intel VTune Amplifier. VTune can be used from a command line or thru an included GUI on Linux or Windows. It can also be integrated into Visual Studio on Windows, or Eclipse on Linux). In addition to the VTune profiler, there is Intel Advisor that specializes in vectorization optimization and tools for threading design and prototyping. Intel also offers a tool for memory and threading error detection called Intel Inspector XE. Regarding memory errors, it helps detect memory leaks, memory corruption, allocation/de-allocation of API mismatches and inconsistent memory API usage. Regarding threading errors, it helps detect data races (both heap and stack), deadlocks and thread and synch API errors. Reception [ edit ] Intel and third parties have published benchmark results to substantiate performance leadership claims over other commercial, open-source and AMD compilers and libraries on Intel and non-Intel processors. Intel and AMD have documented flags to use on the Intel compilers to get optimal performance on Intel and AMD processors.[11][12] Nevertheless, the Intel compilers have been known to produce sub-optimal code for processors from vendors other than Intel. For example, Steve Westfield wrote in a 2005 article at the AMD website:[13] “ Intel 8.1 C/C++ compiler uses the flag -xN (for Linux) or -QxN (for Windows) to take advantage of the SSE2 extensions. For SSE3, the compiler switch is -xP (for Linux) and -QxP (for Windows). ... With the -xN/-QxN and -xP/-QxP flags set, it checks the processor vendor string—and if it's not "GenuineIntel", it stops execution without even checking the feature flags. Ouch! ” The Danish developer and scholar Agner Fog wrote in 2009:[14] “ The Intel compiler and several different Intel function libraries have suboptimal performance on AMD and VIA processors. The reason is that the compiler or library can make multiple versions of a piece of code, each optimized for a certain processor and instruction set, for example SSE2, SSE3, etc. The system includes a function that detects which type of CPU it is running on and chooses the optimal code path for that CPU. This is called a CPU dispatcher. However, the Intel CPU dispatcher does not only check which instruction set is supported by the CPU, it also checks the vendor ID string. If the vendor string is "GenuineIntel" then it uses the optimal code path. If the CPU is not from Intel then, in most cases, it will run the slowest possible version of the code, even if the CPU is fully compatible with a better version. ” This vendor-specific CPU dispatching decreases the performance on non-Intel processors of software built with an Intel compiler or an Intel function library – possibly without the knowledge of the programmer. This has allegedly led to misleading benchmarks.[14] A legal battle between AMD and Intel over this and other issues has been settled in November 2009.[15] In late 2010, AMD settled a US Federal Trade Commission antitrust investigation against Intel.[16] The FTC settlement included a disclosure provision where Intel must:[17] “ publish clearly that its compiler discriminates against non-Intel processors (such as AMD's designs), not fully utilizing their features and producing inferior code. ” In compliance with this rule, Intel added an "optimization notice" to its compiler descriptions stating that they "may or may not optimize to the same degree for non-Intel microprocessors" and that "certain optimizations not specific to Intel microarchitecture are reserved for Intel microprocessors". It says that:[18] “ Intel's compilers may or may not optimize to the same degree for non-Intel microprocessors for optimizations that are not unique to Intel microprocessors. These optimizations include SSE2, SSE3, and SSSE3 instruction sets and other optimizations. Intel does not guarantee the availability, functionality, or effectiveness of any optimization on microprocessors not manufactured by Intel. Microprocessor-dependent optimizations in this product are intended for use with Intel microprocessors. Certain optimizations not specific to Intel microarchitecture are reserved for Intel microprocessors. Please refer to the applicable product User and Reference Guides for more information regarding the specific instruction sets covered by this notice. ” As reported by The Register[19] in July 2013, Intel was suspected of "benchmarksmanship", when it was shown that the object code produced by the Intel compiler for the AnTuTu Mobile Benchmark omitted portions of the benchmark which showed increased performance compared to ARM platforms. See also [ edit ]
President Obama and his people deserve at least one accolade: they have perfected lying into an art form. Is anyone in Obama's closest orbit a truth-teller? Jay Carney, press secretary, lied about the Benghazi talking points, the effects of the federal budget sequestration, and Eric Holder; Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State, a "congenital liar" according to the late William Safire in a 1996 NY Times column, lied to Congress about her role in the Benghazi security breach, and subsequent cover-up; Susan Rice, US Ambassador to the UN, lied to the American people on five successive TV news-interview shows about a video provoking the Benghazi attacks; Eric Holder, Attorney General, lied to Congress and to federal judges about his role and intentions in obtaining the surveillance and wiretapping authorization for journalist James Rosen; Douglas Schulman, IRS Commissioner, lied to Congress about the IRS not targeting opponents and political enemies of the Obama administration; James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence, lied to Congress about NSA not eavesdropping and collecting phone records and emails from millions of Americans; Lisa Jackson , EPA Administrator, used at least one alias to avoid scrutiny by Congress; Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Heath and Human Services lied about her secret government email accounts, and lied about her soliciting health insurance companies for illegal fund-raising, (and has lied about nearly every major provision in ObamaCare); Arnie Duncan Secretary of Education, lied about the federal budget sequestration causing mass layoffs of teachers; Janet Napolitano Director of Homeland Security and Ray LaHood, Secretary of Transportation both lied about sequestration causing massive air travel delays; Nancy Pelosi, previous Speaker of the House, lied about provisions in ObamaCare and about whether she was briefed about water boarding; Harry Reid, US Senate Majority Leader, lied about deficit reduction provisions embedded in non-existent budget resolutions and about Mitt Romney's tax returns. Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Interior and his Energy Czar Carol Browner lied about and used fraudulent claims to impose an offshore drilling ban in the wake of the BP oil spill, then were rebuked by a federal judge. If others in Obama's cabinet or inner circle haven't been caught lying, it may be only because they've kept their mouths shut. Yet none of Obama's apprentices can match the master. Obama is an incontinent bladder of lies, deceptions, and red herrings gushing virtually non-stop whether in press conferences, campaign speeches, the State of the Union addresses, or remarks to foreign dignitaries. Stig Severinsen, who holds the world record for holding his breath under water for 22 minutes, couldn't endure long enough for the time needed to recite all of Obama's lies. Obama's catalog of lies is truly astonishing: Obama's lying about the Supreme Court decision in Citizens United , about Al Qaeda "on the run," about "deficits shrinking," about Republicans initiating sequestration, about the Benghazi attacks incited by a video, about "you can keep your health plan and your doctor," about private sales of hand guns, and the latest about "we believe in the free market; we believe in a light touch when it comes to regulations," is more than political rhetoric or partisan posturing. Lying is a way of life; truth seems untouchable, toxic, red hot radioactive to Obama and his minions. Do you remember in 2009 when South Carolina Congressman Joe Wilson shouted "You lie!" as Obama declared in a major address to Congress that illegal aliens wouldn't get government paid health care? When in modern history has a president's lying provoked such a spontaneous outburst in real time? And barely months into his first term? Lying has many shades; Obama has perfected the bald-faced type, the most jarring, with a repetition that files down the senses, grinds away at outrage. Obama isn't the only occupant of the White House to have incorporated brazen lying into his daily habits. Bill Clinton was an accomplished liar, notably in denial of his own personal transgressions. For Clinton lying to a grand jury was just like any other conversation. LBJ lied about Vietnam; yet Johnson the ultimate political manipulator knew he had misled the American people thus stood down from re-election. Harry Truman wasn't shy about describing Richard Nixon's body of lies, of which Watergate was the watershed: "Richard Nixon is a no good, lying bastard. He can lie out of both sides of his mouth at the same time, and if he ever caught himself telling the truth, he'd lie just to keep his hand in." No one likes to be called a liar; it is such a crude Saxon label, and so dispositive; dissembler only a slightly more graceful epithet. Instead, being called an artful dodger would be far more becoming; even better to acquire a more sophisticated Latinate derivative, prevaricator. More elusive variations on the straight-up unadorned and unvarnished lie have now become the norm, from subtle inflections to translucent mutations. Untruths, partial truths, prevarications, sleights-of-hand, obfuscations, fabrications, distortions, misrepresentations, mistaken attributions, convenient amnesia, and contingent truths, all forms of dishonesty that seem to be accepted political discourse. They all define Obama's culture of deceit and betrayal of the American people. I suppose serial lying, the pathological sort, is a form of sustained self-deception and insecurity sometimes accompanied by identity theft and fabrication of one's resume. When lying becomes commonplace, truth telling is hard to recognize, and then so exceptional as impossible to be authentic. And when lying is the norm, greeted not only with impunity, but affection, why tell the truth? When Obama or any of his minions speak, do you expect impartial information, an honest appraisal, or objective analysis? No, when Obama speaks, fact-checkers are forced into overdrive. As lying becomes the default font, the most egregious practitioners collect the highest rewards. To wit: Susan Rice, a spectacular fivefold liar as US Ambassador to the UN, has now been rewarded by the president to be National Security Advisor, for her laying down the scent to divert the beagles and hounds in hot pursuit of the truth about Benghazi. One explanation for Obama's compulsive lying comes from the accounts of military deception in WWII written in 1975 by Anthony Cave Brown about Winston Churchill, who remarked to Stalin at Yalta: "In wartime, truth is so precious, she should be attended by a bodyguard of lies." Obama, the reparations crusader, sees himself at war. At war with a litany of oppressors in his own nation who have seized his imagination since he was a small boy. Yet what core of truth is he protecting? Well, it is the truth about himself and his agenda that dare not be exposed, much less admitted. Enablers and apologists have enthusiastically embraced Obama's culture of deceit. Yet when they realize that they too are the enemy, will they discover a bodyguard of lies protects no one?
HARRISON, N.J. (August 16, 2016) – The New York Red Bulls earned the highest ranking in the inaugural J.D. Power 2016 Fan Experience StudySM, released today. The Red Bulls were the top performing team in the 2016 Fan Experience Study that was based on more than 5,700 completed survey instruments from sports fans who attended a National Football League®, Major League Baseball®, National Hockey League®, Major League Soccer® or National Basketball Association® event in the past 12 months in the New York designated market area. The study was fielded in June 2016. The Fan Experience Study measures customer satisfaction of major pro sports teams in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston across seven factors. They are (in order of importance): seating area and game experience; security and ushers; leaving the game; arriving at the game; food and beverage; ticket purchase; and souvenirs and merchandise. “This is a significant achievement for our entire organization,” said Red Bulls General Manager Marc de Grandpre. “The experience of our fans is our number one priority and we look forward to continue to give our great, passionate fans the best experience in the New York metropolitan area." The Red Bulls score highest among New York teams for security and ushers (835); seating area and game experience (833); ticket purchase (819); food and beverage (795); and leaving the game (791). About the Study The 2016 Fan Experience Study is more comprehensive and representative of measuring the fan experience than internal team surveys since it is not limited to season ticket holders and single-game ticket buyers. Instead, the study significantly broadens the population to include not only the aforementioned fans, but also secondary-market ticket buyers and friends as well as relatives and colleagues who did not buy a ticket but attended with someone who did. The 2016 Fan Experience Study is based on more than 5,700 completed survey instruments from sports fans who attended a National Football League®, Major League Baseball®, National Hockey League®, Major League Soccer® or National Basketball Association® event in the past 12 months in the New York, Los Angeles, Houston or Chicago designated market areas. The study was fielded in June 2016. The Los Angeles market includes the San Diego Padres and San Diego Chargers, but those teams were not ranked in the study. The Rams also were included in this market, but will not be ranked until the 2017 study is released. The New York City Football Club was not evaluated given this was their inaugural season, but the team will be included in the 2017 study. The 2017 study will include these additional markets: San Francisco/Oakland, Denver, Detroit, Boston, Washington D.C./Baltimore, Dallas, Philadelphia and Miami.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A Florida State spokesman confirmed that football players Chris Casher and Ronald Darby were not expelled or removed from the football team after a disciplinary board ruled on charges they violated the school’s Code of Conduct. The two faced charges after they told police they witnessed sex between quarterback Jameis Winston and a woman who accused him of raping her in December 2012. Casher told police that he video recorded a portion of the encounter, but deleted the footage. The board issued its recommendation to the Dean of the Students on Wednesday, 10 business days after it held a hearing. The university did not provide details of the ruling, citing privacy laws. The accuser’s lawyer, John Clune, released a statement saying the women is "generally satisfied" with the result. "It was a little surprising that both were not held responsible, but that is the panel’s discretion and she did feel as though the panel took their job seriously," Clune wrote. "All that our client wanted was for the process to take place and these issues at Florida State not continue to be swept under the rug." Both players were accused of "conduct of a sexual nature that creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment." Casher faced the additional charge of "recording of images without consent." Darby’s lawyer Tico Gimbel said, "We’re happy with the decision and he’s happy to put this behind him." Casher’s lawyer Adam Ellis also declined to specify details due to privacy laws, but said, "We feel like the process was fair. … He’s in Tallahassee to study and play football, and we’re very pleased with the result."
Have you ever been in the situation where you know someone, but they don’t remember you? It used to happen to me often and every time it happened, it would hurt my feelings. So I went on a mission to discover what one needs to do to become “unforgettable”. This is what I learned. Lesson 1 – Entertain yourself, not others I learned this lesson from my brother. He always laughs about the stupidest shit. It could be a gif depicting a squirrel falling from a tree, or funny lyrics, or a fart – his sense of humor is what you could call simple. The point is, he is constantly entertaining himself. Himself is key because he doesn’t do it for others. Everyone is welcome to join him and see what’s so funny, but he doesn’t try to make others laugh. If they do, cool. If not, then he has fun on his own. By doing that others get drawn to him, and become curious why he has so much fun. Everyone wants to be around fun people. It adds value to their lives. Trust me, no one ever forgets the guy who made them laugh. But everyone forgets (or at least avoids) the clown who tried to be funny for two hours. Have you started to entertain yourself, or are you still trying to entertain others? Lesson 2 – Tag yourself, become memorable People need a tag word that reminds them of you. I am known for Lovelifesolved.com and photography. When people talk about me they often say, “Julian, you know him, the photographer.” What do people know you for? If you have no idea or would like to change your personal brand, I recommend you start getting serious about one thing in your life. It could be work, a hobby, a charitable activity, or whatever else you enjoy doing. Focus 100% on it and see how far you can take it. This will not only give you the best chance for a fulfilling career, but people will also affiliate you with your passion. Lesson 3 – Be blunt, be controversial, be real You can’t become memorable by always playing it safe. Everyone wants to be liked, and most people avoid conflict like the plague. But by doing that, you position yourself in the middle. Neither A, nor B. Neither black, nor white. People remember extremes, not mediocrity. Speak your mind. Have an opinion, even if it might piss some people off. And disagree if you disagree. By doing that, you will instantly become more interesting and as a consequence more memorable. Lesson 4 – Put on your talking hat People will never remember the guy who just stands there and says nothing. You have got to participate actively in the conversation! Ask questions, show interest, tell stories, share insights. Whatever you do, talk to people! In case you feel uncomfortable with that, make sure your social skills are up to date and start meeting and talking to new people as often as you can. Lesson 5 – Be unusual When someone breaks the cultural norms of daily life it draws a lot of attention. Just think of a naked guy in a restaurant to get the idea. But there are also many ways to be positively different. The easiest is to prepare funny and interesting answers to standard questions like, “How are you?”, “What do you do?”, “Where are you from?”. You will get asked these questions thousands of times throughout your life. So it makes sense to sit down for a few hours and prepare great responses. Final lesson – Trigger emotions “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” -Maya Angelou But how can you make others feel? Here are a few tips: Discuss heatedly. Show vulnerability. Fuck up and apologize. Make them laugh. Really listen to problems and dreams. Stroke egos with compliments and by asking for advice. In romantic situations: go for the kiss. Either it gets returned or you apologize and laugh about it. Tease, but always stay classy. Hug longer. Get drunk together. Use people’s first name more often. Tell stories, not just information. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Look at others from afar and smile once they spot you. Be brutally honest. Wink in case it doesn’t look stupid on you. Touch more. Use fewer words and easier sentences but express them with more emotion. Include those people that the “cool folks” exclude. Be unexpectedly helpful and courteous. What else could you do to become more memorable? Share your ideas in the comments. Take care, Julian
I’ve been just a live-and-let-live non-Christian for many years, but now I find myself moving toward being decidedly anti-Christian. While I find the extremist Christians repulsive and the social and political agenda of the religious right to be diametrically opposite the so-called Christian values they claim to follow, my more recent movement toward direct opposition to Christianity is based on the fact that so many of the more liberal Christians remain silent in the face of the extremists that seem to grab the headlines.Yes, there have been a few notable moments when even conservative Christians have called the whackos out, most recently in the case of Terry Jones and his Burn A Koran Day, and a few folks who have spoken out about the Westboro Baptist fanatics, but in the main, those Christians who might be liberal seem reluctant to stand up against the others who, for example, insist that we are a Christian nation and the Constitution contains no “wall of separation,” or those who terrify little children with fears of hell and damnation. While those are only two of many examples, my point is that the practice of Christianity today by adherents who make the most noise is, again, in opposition to the positive values supposedly contained therein and those persons and groups who could most effectively call them on it are complicit by their silence. And because of this silence I can no longer respect even those whose social and political attitudes are otherwise more aligned with common human decency.It would seem to me that, for liberal Christians, the right thing to do would be to take an overt stand for moderation and sanity, but for some reason I cannot find, they remain mute in the face of the growing demagoguery of the fascists of the faith, and are thereby equally guilty for the monstrosity called Christianity. Filed Under: Testimonials
Now that the dust has settled, it might be helpful to turn to the Hawaiian pidgin English dictionary to get a better grip on why Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie (D) was so handily blasted out of office by his underfunded and relatively unknown primary challenger, state Sen. David Ige. On Primary Election Day, Ige was still so unfamiliar to some voters, I heard a fellow refer to him as “the Japanese guy running against Abercrombie.” A key reason Abercrombie became Hawaii’s first incumbent governor to lose a primary election -- it was the largest primary loss of any sitting governor in U.S. history -- is what I call the “Wot, Boddah You?" factor. "Boddah You" (bah dah YOU) or "Why, Boddah You?" in pidgin or Hawaiian Creole English means, “Whaaat, you got a problem with what I am doing?” Or more bluntly, “You don’t like what I am doing? Well, F-bomb you.” In pidgin, this is known as “attitude” or “get attitude.” And it is not a nice way for a politician to “ack” or act. Almost from the beginning of his first year in office, Abercrombie began to belittle and blame his critics, sometimes shouting them down -- most famously on Maui. Abercrombie’s heated exchange with a group of Maui nurses in May 2011 was recorded on amateur video and went viral. The governor leaned forward to shout and point his finger at a nurse who questioned him about a proposed 5 percent pay cut for public sector nurses, which at the time was part of his administration’s proposed budget. It wasn’t so much what Abercrombie said as how he said it. It was like he was trying to pick a fight with the poor nurse. Wot, boddah you? Randy Perreira, the head of the Hawaii Government Employees Association, Hawaii’s largest public workers union, says what Abercrombie did in office “totally belied what he promised when he ran for office four years ago: an inclusive, collaborative government, a new day of cooperation and civility.” “We all thought here is this grandfatherly, college professor coming home from Washington to set Hawaii right,” Perreira says. Instead, he says, from the beginning it turned out to be the opposite with Abercrombie berating people and saying things he didn’t need to say. “Neil seemed to have the Midas touch in reverse. Everything he touched turned to stone,” Perreira says. With Abercrombie it was clear even before his first year in office was over that the public didn’t like him. During a February 2011 legislative hearing on his proposal to cut Medicare reimbursements for retired public workers, Abercrombie was booed and shouted at by public workers. The governor was asked later by a reporter if he was surprised by the negative reaction. Abercrombie answered, “I am the governor, I am not your pal, I am not your counselor. I am your governor. And I am determined to be truthful with everyone about what we will have to do together to survive.” This could be called the High Maka-Maka factor, which also led to Abercrombie’s downfall. Abercrombie was saying the right thing, which is that as a leader you have to take tough stands and you can’t expect everyone to like you. But after it was widely quoted, usually out of context, many saw it as “tantaran,” which means “I wear the crown and you don’t. What I do matters. I’m elected. You have to do it because I say so.” Abercrombie would have done well to listen to the wisdom of the late entertainer Don Ho who said, “The bigger you are, the smaller you must act.” Be humble not "tantaran." And, talk about things that didn’t need to be said: Abercrombie didn’t need to infuriate Hawaii’s hundreds of thousands of football fans when he questioned the $4 million the state pays to the National Football League to host the Pro Bowl. Abercrombie said the Pro Bowl “happens to be an easy target because it is so stupid. You can’t do things like give $4 million to a $9 billion football industry and not give money to children.” Abercrombie’s logic was flawless but the way he expressed himself was a disaster to his tailgating, football-loving, former supporters. In pidgin it was “irraz” -- irrational, annoying, irritating. To say something like that is to seem out of control, to “Make A", or make a fool of yourself, as in “Eh, no make A.” Abercrombie lost touch. It wasn’t just Abercrombie’s “irraz” way of talking. It was the unexpected things he did that left his supporters shaking their heads. As the months wore on, different constituencies who had rallied to support him started to feel marginalized and betrayed. In pidgin, these unexpected twists generated the “Haaah??” factor, meaning “Wot?” or “How could you?” “What were you thinking? Haaah?” Old folks were astounded when Abercrombie moved to tax the pensions of any retiree receiving more than $37,500 in benefits. Advocates of transparency in government were surprised when Abercrombie refused to release the names of court nominees from the state Judicial Selection Commission. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser sued for disclosure of the names and won in Circuit Court. This was the same governor who had promised to be open. Environmentalists were taken aback when Abercrombie failed to straighten out elements of the rail transit contract they thought were egregious. And to fight for farmland and open space. Instead, Abercrombie supported the Hoopili and Koa Ridge projects on Oahu. Also, environmentalists were angered by his backing of the Public Lands Development Corporation, an agency formed to fast-track development of state lands. “He managed to alienate every environmentalist who supported him,” said author and former political reporter Tom Coffman. Coffman had volunteered to help Abercrombie, but he said he drifted away from him when he saw the governor doing the opposite of what he had promised. Many other residents say they lost faith when they perceived Abercrombie was giving up necessary governmental oversight to allow Kakaako to turn into a free-for-all zone for any developer who poured money into Abercrombie’s campaign. It was a perception that stuck as more concrete towers began to rise up to block out views of the Koolau mountains. In pidgin, this is the “Fo Real?” factor. Meaning “what do you think you are doing? Are you Fo Real?” Abercrombie’s logic was flawless but the way he expressed himself was a disaster. Former Gov. Ben Cayetano, once a close ally of Abercrombie, says “Neil went off the deep end with developers. He supported plans that included new buildings higher than 600 feet tall. Never in my wildest dream did I believe he would support something like that.” Or in pidgin: Is he Fo Real? A pidgin amplification of what Cayetano is saying: “No, shame, Neil. No shame, you.” Meaning “Wow, Abercrombie, doesn’t anything embarrass you?” Political analyst Dylan Nonaka, a former executive director of the Hawaii Republican Party, told me five months ago that Abercrombie's political career was finished. He told me then that Abercrombie would lose to David Ige by double digits. Nonaka said, “Abercrombie has lost the trust of the people. Once you lose trust, you are a dead duck in politics.” How exactly did Abercrombie, who had been successfully elected to public office for 40 years, lose the trust of so many voters? Feisty Abercrombie voters loved when he was a Congressman far away in Washington, but in his four years as Governor, everything became “all hammajang,” or all messed up. And there was no going back. Once you “stay all hammajang, you stay pau.” It is over.
Theresa May has agreed child benefit arrangements for European Union nationals that are more generous than the terms David Cameron struck with Brussels two years ago in a last-ditch attempt to save the UK’s relationship with the EU. Under the terms agreed by May on Friday, EU nationals currently in the UK will be able to continue to send child benefits abroad indefinitely as they do now. The arrangement is less strict than the terms Cameron negotiated in February 2016, when he went to Brussels seeking a reformed settlement to silence Eurosceptics calling for Britain to pull out of the union. A UK government official said: "We will have an ever-decreasing stock of people with such benefits, whereas Cameron’s plans would have continued with an unlimited flow.” In a concession to Cameron, the EU agreed to curb the rights of EU nationals living in Britain to send child benefits to their home countries by indexing the payments to the cost of living of children outside the UK. But the deal Cameron returned with was criticised as too modest, and four months later Britain voted to leave the union. European Commission sources confirmed to BuzzFeed News that May's deal will result in the current arrangements, under which EU nationals are entitled to "export" all their benefits, continuing. The issue of child benefits sent abroad became one of the most contentious issues in the run-up to Cameron's renegotiation, often making headlines in the right-wing press. It was one of Cameron's central demands as he sought to renegotiate Britain's status. The former prime minister spent months negotiating an agreement to index the payments after facing stiff resistance from the four Visegrad countries– Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia. The final agreement was one of the last issues to be solved during the talks two years ago. The reforms agreed by Cameron would have kicked in for new arrivals once legislation had passed, and to all EU nationals from 2020. However, the former prime minister's deal was never implemented because it was entirely conditional on the UK voting to remain in the EU. At the time of Cameron's renegotiation there were 20,400 claims of child benefits used for children living in another EU country, accounting for around 0.3% of the total caseload, according to HMRC data.
Shred ANYWHERE with PHNX Boards! Snowboarding is AWESOME, so why do it on only 1% of the available terrain? Why confine your boarding to resorts? How about a snowboard designed specifically for the 99% of snowy terrain behind your home, in the backyards, back hills, and back woods all over America? The 99% of unclaimed fresh and free snow just waiting for you! Tommy G...aka AirPHorce 1 Sure, you can use your resort gear out back, but that stuff is too big, too heavy, and too cumbersome for easy, spontaneous boarding. Plus it costs a lot so you wouldn't want to ruin it in the woods. Wouldn't it be cool if there was a tough but inexpensive board you could buy that doesn't require any other equipment, no special boots, special bindings, strapping in and strapping out? A narrower and shorter board that you could shred smaller hills and woods with? A board you could just grab, hop on with any winter boots, hike up a hill with your friends, and start boarding with? With a binding that kept you attached but not bound, so you could stay in control and take jumps but walk off at the end of a run? Introducing PHNX Boards, a snowboard designed specifically for the 99% of terrain beyond resorts and 100% of people who love to ride...as much as they can! PHNX Boards are named after the ancient Phoenix, the mythical bird rising from the ashes of its predecessor. In this case the "ashes" are from the Snurfer, the original snowboard invented in Michigan in the 1960's that developed into the modern sport of resort snowboarding. PHNX Boards combines the RETRO simplicity of Snurfing with a REVOLUTIONARY binding/brake system, creating a RETRO-VOLUTIONARY snowboard. Look how easy it is to ride a PHNX Board: The super portable, patented Board-2-Ski Base (tm) and the patent-pending Rip-Cord Binding/Brake System (tm) hold you onto the board without special boots, but releases when you step off the board or if you fall, and stops the board from travelling on its own. Whether going straight, turning, or jumping, the PHNX Boards system keeps you on the board and in control. Step on, start riding, and step off; what could be easier or more fun? No other binding in the world lets you do this! The secret to the binding/brake system is the rip-cord. By using a rider-activated cord, and channeling the energy from the front to the back of the board, we unleashed the power and control of the rider to activate the binding/brake. In addition, the system only needs to bind your rear foot; your front foot simply steps on the cord to lock your rear foot in. The force of your front foot pushing down is countered by the force of the rider pulling the cord, with the rear foot providing a stabilizing force. That's how you stay on the board over jumps! Also, since the system is spring-hinged, it snaps back when the cord is released. You are released from the binding, the brake is activated, and the board comes to a stop. How cool is that? We believe PHNX Boards has the potential to spark a renaissance in backyard, backwoods boarding...and maybe some day within resorts. Our board is not designed to replace standard snowboards: it simply gives ALL riders a new, inexpensive, and fun way to take advantage of boarding wherever and whenever there is snow. Why Kickstarter? We are really excited to introduce our boards to the marketplace for the first time, and have chosen the Kickstarter community to do it. Kickstarters are creative, adventuresome people excited to discover new concepts and support entrepreneurs. With product development right up to December, and our second patent patent filed in January, we have been scrambling to launch our campaign. In order to reward early adopters in time to get our boards on the snow, we've made our campaign only 10 days long and are offering the boards at a tremendous discount --with FREE Continental U.S. shipping--. Don't miss the opportunity to be one of the first to try our cool boards! Kickstarter backers will help us recoup some of the many thousands of dollars spent so far in board prototyping, testing, engineering, web design, legal costs, and production of the first edition boards. Backers will also be funding the second edition boards and motivating us to further develop the concept, as our goal is to prepare for much wider distribution next winter. For this campaign, we have 12 original first edition boards ready to ship immediately after funding, 35 second edition boards that will ship soon after funding, and as many third edition boards as may be needed to ship after those. REWARDS (7 Rewards) NOTE: All Rewards include Free Continental US shipping, ground service via USPS or UPS. Upgrades may be available on request, extra cost. $245 REWARD: For $245 backers, we are offering a FIRST, LIMITED EDITION GENUINE PHNX Board, laminated and hand-crafted in the USA. These are the first boards created from our prototype board to be market-ready. There were only 15 boards created in this edition, and these boards will have serial numbers 1 to 12, assigned randomly following funding to the 12 backers who support this reward (we will video this selection and post as an update to assure fairness). Hey, if our business fails you will still have an awesome board, but if PHNX Boards succeeds the way we think it can, you could have a board worth thousands just because you were nice enough to back our project! These 12 boards will ship immediately upon funding. (clarification: the rewards list on the right cannot be edited after going live, but says the 1st edition is 12 boards. It is 15 boards, with the first 12 offered here, #13 offered on ebay, and #14 and #15 held by PHNX Boards) $145 REWARD: For $145 backers, we are offering a SECOND EDITION genuine PHNX Board, also with randomly assigned serial numbers. These boards are in the laminating stage and will be completed soon after funding, hopefully in time for some late winter / early spring boarding (end of March, early April). These boards have all the same features, materials and finish as the first edition, just some slight design modifications (mostly some rounding of corners). We may get these done sooner, but we would rather be cautiously optimistic. $125 REWARD: For $125 backers, we are offering a THIRD EDITION genuine PHNX Board; same specs as the second edition boards, but produced afterwards, shipping in April or May, latest. Also with serial numbers, sequentially assigned as backed. With free shipping costing us up to $25 for these over-sized packages, you are getting a PHNX Board for about $100. For the cost of a single nice dinner out, you could have years of snowboarding fun. $75 REWARD: For $75 backers, we are offering a super versatile, super tough adventure backpack / laptop bag with embroidered logos and tons of features. $45 REWARD: For $45 backers, we are offering a durable, zippered and padded PHNX Boards carry bag. NOTE: If you are backing a board, just add this amount and we'll include the bag. $22 REWARD: For $22 backers, we are offering our bold-print 100% cotton short sleeve T-shirt. (note, back of shirt has a smaller, one color version of the logo up by the neck): $6 REWARD: For $6 backers, we are offering a 3-pack of cool PHNX Boards stickers: There you have it! Lots of cool PHNX Boards stuff and a really cool PHNX Board that will last for years without added costs to enjoy! Even if you miss the winter snow, you will have cool stuff and an awesome board ready to rip next winter, ...or you will have done your holiday shopping early! Finally, all backers can also feel good about the eco-spirit of PHNX Boards, using less energy to manufacture, renewable wood as a base, less energy travelling, less energy on lifts...and MORE of your energy enjoying the outdoors and getting healthy. With PHNX Boards you truly "Earn Your Turns!" Our biggest hope is for adventuresome Kickstarter backers who just love to sled, ski and snowboard to Hop on Board and "Join the RETROVOLUTION", and help us develop this new way to ride! We have priced these first boards to sell out fast, and we are creating a special Kickstarter section on our phnxboards.com website to feature the photos and videos of our supporters.
We got our first real look at BioWare’s new game , Anthem, at the Microsoft E3 press conference earlier this week. There’s reason to be excited: here’s a new shared world shooter just around the corner, and it’s one of the best-looking games from the show, with ferns, and mud, and murky rivers crowding a dense jungle world, while mountains tease us in the distance. We all know not to trust E3 trailers, but even so, just five years ago Anthem would’ve been the uncontested highlight of the show—recall the excitement for The Division back in 2013, in pre-Destiny days, when Warframe was just a baby. But the always-online, cooperative multiplayer shooter is a genre we know well today. To reuse a headline: We have mixed feelings about Anthem. What does our love for Mass Effect 1, Dargon Age, Baldur’s Gate, or Jade Empire have to do with this game? How is BioWare going to compete with the loot shooting of games like Destiny 2, or even Borderlands for that matter, when its history is in singleplayer, party-based RPG storytelling? We’ve assembled the team to sort out our hopes and worries about BioWare’s course shift into the ‘live service’ waters. Tyler Wilde: We haven’t pinned down exactly what Anthem is yet. We see a team of jetpacking exoskeleton mercenary-types exploring a jungle, shooting up monsters, and weathering a storm. But there’s also a bit of NPC chatter, and we know the lead writer from Mass Effect 1 and 2 has been working on Anthem for a while. How’s that gonna mesh? Is this Destiny 2 but with a BioWare story? James Davenport: Honestly, I don’t think Destiny 2 with a BioWare story is what we’re going to get, unless we can make love to our friends or murder them suddenly because of the choice we make in a dialogue tree. I’m sure we’ll be able to talk to characters in hub areas and they’ll give us the old expository introduction, but I’m worried the storytelling isn’t going to be a big priority. If it’s all about how it plays, I’m especially concerned. I’m not sure Bioware has put out a game where the most basic interactions are something I’d want to repeat for 500-plus hours. Queue a Tim Clark Destiny lesson. Tim Clark: Without wanting to sound like the total Destiny apologist (that I probably am), I think people vastly underestimate how hard it is to fill a world of this apparent size and scope with stuff to do that’s fun in the first place, and harder still to keep that stuff fresh months later. Just creating game assets in 4K is a giant ballache (I’m paraphrasing one dev I spoke with here at E3), and as we’ve also seen with The Division, trying to keep pumping out enough content to satisfy a sizeable playerbase is a sisyphean task. And like James, I worry a lot about the combat. Has Bioware ever made a game with truly brilliant, kinetic, dramatic combat? Please, please don’t say Andromeda. My tl;dr is that I loved the look of it, but would need to see a lot more about what we’re actually doing from moment to moment in Anthem not to feel quite skeptical. Chris Livingston: I think it looks cool. Tyler: It does look cool. I wanted to spend more time in that apparent hub city—it looked lively and I really hope we get to explore it, rather than just stop in to be given a quest. James: With a decent amount of Guild Wars and Destiny experience to draw on, I’m really curious what kind of activities and functions BioWare will cram into the hub. Destiny’s hubs were pretty awful in terms of narrative, full of characters that worked mostly as merchants for one form of arcane currency or another. For Anthem to feel alive, and the trailer certainly indicates it will, characters can’t just double as people-shaped machines for progression purposes. Hello again Jane Tired-Offworld-Mechanic, mind recycling this gun for a new one? Cool. There should be a lot of hubs (see Guild Wars), some big, some small, all with unique and some recurring characters. It might force more fragmented out of the thing, but if done right, we could still get a strong current of character-driven storytelling through a co-op progression party. Tyler: That’s my hope. I’m not enthused by the details of the setting as of yet, though, a looker as it is. ‘There’s a big wall and there are monsters outside of it’ is as much a sci-fi premise as it is a bland description of how one might design a co-op shooter. Nothing looked weird. I was reminded of Evolve, of Titanfall 2, of Destiny, of Mass Effect: Andromeda—which pretty clearly borrowed from this game along the way, what with the jetpacks and prehistoric-looking monsters. But then I think about PlaneScape, and Zeno Clash, and all the bizarre Warhammer lore—it doesn’t need to be this way! Why oh why do we have to have exosuits suits called ‘Javelins.’ You can’t walk five feet into sci-fi land without tripping over 30 future-tech things called Javelins. Tim: The jetpacks were maybe the most interesting thing about it. Destiny has ‘Sparrow’ speeder bikes, and all the characters can do double jumps (or more, with the right perks), but actually being able to fly is a powerful fantasy. Though I imagine it also creates a lot of headaches when it comes to encounter design. The kingfisher-style dive into the water looked cool, but I’m less convinced about swimming as a mechanic. Swimming is literally always bad in games. Tyler: Someone hasn’t played Abzû, and it was hardly swimming! It was underwater Iron Man flying. Shooting out of the water into a jetpack hover rules, doesn't it? James: It does! Destiny’s levels weren’t big enough to stay interesting to explore and Guild Wars’ locomotion makes exploration a drag at times. But the small slice of the overworld from Anthem’s trailer indicates we’ll have a lot to see, high and low, and if the jetpacks are fun to fly then exploration should be a hoot. Tyler: Back to the combat, though. It didn’t look bad and we certainly can’t judge it conclusively before we play it, but I wasn’t riveted by the trailer. The missile barrage looked spectacular, for instance, but I’m not sure it looked fun. All combat and no Garruses might make Anthem a dull boy. Tom Senior: Bioware has never made an action game satisfying enough to sustain this sort of game. Whatever the trailer and EA’s blurb says about forging your own story and living with your choices, the Destiny-style shooter is about repetitive action sequences tethered to an engaging loot system. I have enjoyed Mass Effect’s third-person multiplayer combat in the past, but it’s going to be a lot better than that to keep the game engaging in the long-term. Can a third-person system even compete with the expertly tuned shooting in Destiny? The Division fell well short in this regard, and even decent third-person shooters like Gears of War and Vanquish don’t give you the presence and one-to-one connection to your character that the first person can. Tim: This is going to sound harsh as the trailer was obviously super-early proof of concept stuff, but I cringed hard at the loot drop part. The player had to be faux enthused about the legendary rarity rifle she’d found, but the stats listed were super bland stuff like ‘recoil’ and ‘accuracy’. It was an obvious lift from the original Destiny reveal, in which one of the equivalent players had a ‘Thunderlord’ exotic HMG drop. But that gun came wreathed in actual lightning. I’m sure BioWare is well aware, but if you’re making a looter shooter that you want players to grind for 100s of hours, the loot better be amazing. (The Division completely dropped the ball on this front.) Also, her partner’s “Yay, great” reaction was a nonsense. We all know the correct response to a teammate getting a killer drop is: “Fuck the fucking RNG in this game.” Tom: On top of that, “dynamic world” is the most useless phrase in game marketing. It is completely meaningless. It’s there to get you to imagine something cool that they hope you’ll come to associate with the game, but there was little evidence of such dynamism in this heavily scripted passage of play. At one point a bit robot giraffe explodes and falls into some trees, causing them to collapse. I am instantly suspicious. Syncing object movements across multiple perspectives in multiplayer games is very difficult, which is why you don’t tend to have huge amounts of moving scenery in action-heavy multiplayer games. These moments promise a lot—robot monsters wandering through combat zones, dynamic terrain destruction—but I would be sceptical about all of it until the game’s structure is laid out explicitly, in terms of how missions are given, how monster encounters work, how group events happen. We may not know these important details until next year, when I assume we’ll see some betas to test the servers. Tim: Another moment I wasn’t entirely sold on was when our intrepid duo encountered that giant alien gorilla thing that was smushing other aliens. They said something like “hmm, probably shouldn’t waste resources on something like this right now.” Cowards! I’m not sure I want to have to conserve ammo to such a degree that I’m actively avoiding exciting-looking fights. But on the other hand I guess it’s cool that there are fights which are potentially so tricky you might want to dodge them. Hmmm. It’s almost like we don’t really know enough about Anthem. Tyler: Yeah. It looks like a game I’ll play for 100 hours, even if just to jet around beneath lakes, but that trailer was so pretty, and so perfectly choreographed, that it undermines my ability to get excited about it. I felt that a little about the Metro Exodus trailer, too, but in that case there’s history to consult—I know what a Metro game typically looks and plays like and I can map that over the trailer. I don’t know what’s special about Anthem, even after seeing it ‘played.’ I do look forward to finding out, though! Chris: I still think it looks cool. Tyler: That's because you just spent four hours trying to make a toilet in Ark.
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ADVERTISEMENT After months of getting themselves worked up about hearings featuring a hero once accused of rigging the election for Donald Trump and Don Jr.'s inability to sniff out Nigerian prince emails, spectators of the Russia game have finally gotten what they wanted: indictments. Unfortunately, the indictments of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his business partner Richard Gates have nothing whatever to do with "collusion," however broadly defined. Politically speaking, we have learned nothing except what we already knew: namely, that a shady businessman who briefly worked for the Trump campaign is, in fact, a very shady businessman indeed, one who has just pled not guilty to failing to register as a foreign agent on behalf of the Ukrainian puppet government and not declaring all of his income derived from his essentially pro-Kremlin lobbying. Dot connectors will, of course, continue to connect dots. It could be that Special Counsel Robert Mueller is hoping to secure testimony from Manafort or Gates that will give him the dirt he needs to bring more appropriate charges. It could be that he already has that information and is just waiting for goodness knows what occasion. At the very least, obsessives will say, the hiring of Manafort indicates — these comments almost write themselves — a very serious lack of judgment on Trump's part. You don't say? The man whose idea of a feel-good national unity speech following an act of domestic terrorism was to suggest a degree of moral equivalence between the KKK and its opponents has horrible instincts, often fails to think things through, is a bad judge of character, etc.? Gosh. Even George Papadopoulos' guilty plea is no smoking gun. The former foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign admits that he lied about email exchanges with a shadowy figure known as "the professor" who had promised Russian "dirt" on Clinton. But as far as we can tell, his communications with Dr. Dirt went nowhere. Papadopoulos also made vague references in his emails to "meetings" with Russian officials that probably did not end up taking place, which seems important only if you ignore the fact that presidential candidates, especially after securing their parties' nominations, routinely meet with foreign leaders, even heads of state. The most significant thing about Monday's Mueller bonanza is that it reminds us what is wrong with these hysterical wide-ranging special prosecutor investigations that take place in public. Whitewater went on for nearly a decade before it concluded in 2003. Does the fact that Bill Clinton lied about sleeping with Monica Lewinsky prove that he and Hillary and the McDougals broke the law in the course of their real-estate dealings in the late '70s? If you ask enough people enough questions about enough topics, sooner or later you're going to catch somebody in a lie. Monday's revelations don't in themselves mean anything other than that Jeff Sessions' Justice Department is keeping Mueller on a very long leash. It needs to be shortened. The purpose of the investigation is to determine whether the presidential campaign of Donald Trump knowingly colluded with the Russian government in the hope of altering the outcome of the 2016 election, not to see whether any person even loosely connected with the former could be found guilty of any crime, including perjury. The resignation of Tony Podesta from the prominent lobbying group he founded in the wake of Manafort's indictment suggests that we are getting very far afield indeed. There are many problems with the Mueller probe, not least its show-boating obsession with keeping its business in the newspapers, but the biggest one is that its parameters were never well defined. What would count as actual collusion? Idle language is thrown around about people having "ties" to Russia or being "Kremlin-connected." How do you define "Kremlin-connected"? What would be the broad equivalent in the United States from Russia's perspective? A former congressman? Anyone who does business on K Street having a meeting? Defense contractors? Given the country's autocratic structure, there are very few living Russian nationals of any wealth or distinction who are not "Kremlin-connected." If it's not going away, the least we could do is broaden the investigation's scope. Why not appoint another special prosecutor to investigate British meddling in our sacrosanct democratic process? The facts are there in plain sight. A former member of Her Majesty's Secret Intelligence Service collaborated with a presidential campaign in an attempt to alter the outcome of the 2016 election. So did a former member of the British Parliament, who peddled disgusting conspiracy theories on Twitter and even attempted to collude with the Clinton campaign on advertising strategy. The speaker of the British House of Commons attempted to discredit Clinton's opponent. Should we see whether the Right Hon. John Bercow has ever emailed anyone who has ever in any capacity ever been in contact with anyone in the Obama White House? Hillary Clinton thinks we are in the midst of a "new Cold War." Are we also in the throes of a rebooted War of 1812? The real lesson of the Russia non-story is that globalization, the great theme of the 2016 election, is more pervasive than any of us wants to acknowledge. No one who works in consulting or lobbying or finance is lacking in ties with Russia. Our press corps is largely made up of enthusiastic children. These 20- and 30-somethings who have never read a book were raised to excel in "critical thinking," but they are amusingly bad at it. Anyone can write a decontextualized story about a person or a group having "ties" to any malicious foreign power because having "ties" is what it means to exist somewhere in the sinuous continuum of depersonalized financial accretion that is late capitalism. In 2017, everybody is working for somebody, somewhere.
According to The New York Times, the civil rights division of the Trump administration’s Justice Department is going to ramp up investigating and sue universities over affirmative-action admissions policies deemed discriminatory against “white applicants.” Incidentally, nothing in the story backs up the Times’ assertion that “white applicants” will be afforded a special place in these suits. Now, I get the perfunctory need to render everything a clear-cut racial crisis. But not only are Asian students disproportionately hurt by these policies — white women also happen to benefit from affirmative-action programs. The reaction was predictable. When your ideology demands you bean-count human beings by their color, it’s probably difficult to understand that individuals, whatever their race, can be hurt by discriminatory policies — even a white male. Many people who demand “fairness” for one minority student aren’t able to contemplate the unfairness being visited upon the other potential students. It seems to me that efforts meant to undo wrongs should not punish those completely disconnected from the historic offense. The idea that Asian-American students (whose parents or grandparents might have been immigrants) or white students should be pushed out of their preferred schools because their racial heirs were supporters of injustice is an ugly argument. And if the generational undermining of minorities is reason enough to punish a student, there is a far better case to bar all children of public-school administrators from colleges. After all, few are more liable for the inequities faced by today’s black and Hispanic kids. None of this is to dismiss the obstacles that many African-American and Hispanic kids have to overcome like being forced to attend failing schools and dealing with poverty. This puts them at an immediate and sometimes crippling disadvantage. This destructive problem can only be fixed in the public-school system, not in the admissions process. The fact is the offspring of wealthy Asian and white folks — anyone with a lot of money — will get preferential treatment. Even if they’re not donors, they will come from private schools or top school districts that have been segregated by liberals. They will get into good colleges. If you’re Al Gore or Jared Kushner, you’re going to get into a top school no matter what your academic credentials look like. It is more probable that those who bear the brunt of state-sanctioned discrimination are middle- and working-class Asian and white kids. see also White House downplays reports affirmative action being targeted WASHINGTON — Both the White House and the Department of... We already know the population of college-aged Asian-Americans has grown in the past decades, and yet their representation in Ivy League schools has declined. Critics of college admission programs argue that this is due to “holistic” evaluations of applicants that purposefully and disproportionately devalue the academic achievement of Asian-Americans by giving them low marks in nonacademic areas. In many ways, this policy is reminiscent of the Ivy League quotas of the 1920s that discriminated against Jews by evaluating students on various bogus measures of “character” rather than their academic achievements. As the Times also points out, like many other departments, President Barack Obama’s administration stacked the civil rights division with “career officials who brought in many new lawyers with experience working for traditional, liberal-leaning civil rights organizations.” Under Obama, the government was no longer an arbiter of law but an activist group engaged in all types of social engineering. So, here’s a thought: If you don’t like President Trump’s federal push to undo Obama’s federal push, maybe there should be no federal push at all. Maybe Washington should allow schools to practice admissions policies that best suit their needs. Most schools, undoubtedly, would go out of their way to institute policies that help diversify their population, regardless of federal policy. In some schools with race-blind admissions, minority populations have grown at a faster pace. So if, say, Stanford University uses more holistic standards, so be it. If Harvard University wants to stress academic achievement, that is its business. But if the government is dictating who does and does not get into top schools, it’s perfectly reasonable to ask it to undo institutional discrimination against white and Asian kids. Twitter: @davidharsanyi
Pubs of Ulster Awards 2014: Shortlist for awards announced including bar of the year BelfastTelegraph.co.uk The shortlist for Pubs of Ulster's Pub of the Year Awards 2014 has been released - with a total of 38 bars vying for a trophy this year. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertainment/news/pubs-of-ulster-awards-2014-shortlist-for-awards-announced-including-bar-of-the-year-30695795.html https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/incoming/article30695800.ece/20583/AUTOCROP/h342/ed%20a%20head%20shot.jpg Email The shortlist for Pubs of Ulster's Pub of the Year Awards 2014 has been released - with a total of 38 bars vying for a trophy this year. Best Barperson (in partnership with the Sunday Life) Clare Johnston, the Railway Arms, Coleraine, Christian Grey, Gilles Bar in the Galgorm, Ballymena Jordyn Busby, JD Tiplers, Portadown, Kevin O’Brien, the Maypole, Holywood, Margaret Ferguson, the Lakeside Inn, Downpatrick Willie Gregg, Harbour Bar, Portrush. Best Marketing Idea Shiro, Belfast The Albany, Belfast The Elk, Toomebridge The Filthy Quarter, Belfast The Wild Duck Inn, Portglenone Best Charity Event Sally's, Omagh The Bridge House, Belfast The Cellar Bar @ Port Hotel, Portrush The Garrick, Belfast The Stables & Groomsport Inn, Groomsport Best Entertainment Betty Black's, Bangor Corner Bar at The Market Yard, Limavady O'Hare's, Newcastle The Ryandale, Moy The Wild Duck Inn, Portglenone Best Food Mary’s Bar, Magherafelt Salty Dog, Bangor The Harbour Bistro, Portrush The Maghera Inn, Castlewellan The Ponderosa, Derry/Londonderry Best Hotel Bar Adair Arms, Ballymena Benedict’s, Belfast Cocktail Bar at The Merchant Hotel, Belfast Gillie's Pub, Ballymena Salty Dog, Bangor Best New or Improved Kiwi's Brew Bar, Portrush Sunflower Public House, Belfast The Albany, Belfast The Dirty Onion, Belfast The National Grande Café, Belfast Best Ulster Pub Week event Mary’s Bar, Magherafelt McBride's On The Square, Comber The Anchor Bar, Newcastle The Lakeside Inn, Downpatrick The National Grande Café, Belfast Best Big Idea Devenish Bar, Enniskillen El Divino, Belfast Ryan's Bar & Restaurant, Belfast The National Grande Café, Belfast The Wild Duck Inn, Portglenone Pub of the Year Railway Arms, Coleraine The Dirty Onion, Belfast The Filthy Quarter, Belfast The Goat's Toe, Bangor The Maghera Inn, Castlewellan Belfast Telegraph Digital
Well, Here’s something that we didn’t expect to be saying two years ago: we’re on the verge of a new album from a Danny Worsnop-fronted Asking Alexandria. The returning enigmatic frontman and his bandmates are currently putting the finishing touches to their fifth studio album to cap off one of the most surprising reunions of recent time. Following the decent reception to first single Into The Fire, which was unleashed last month, we spoke to guitarist Ben Bruce about what to expect, and to see if time truly is a healer. So, how have your relationships held up during this recording session? Ben Bruce: “Well, I always have a really good time in the studio because I love creating new music and seeing things grow, but this has probably been my favourite experience in a studio ever. I hadn’t been in the studio with Danny since From Death To Destiny five years ago and back then our relationship was incredibly strained. We were in a bad place, it wasn’t a lot of fun, but this felt like when we went in to record Stand Up And Scream, when we were young and we were hungry and we were excited. And it felt just like we were kids again; we couldn’t wait to wake up and work on these songs again. It was a magical experience.” Has Danny brought any of those outside influences that were such a sticking point last time around on this record? “I think what’s different this time is that he does have those other outlets, and before he didn’t. He’s got so much inside that he wants to get out, that we all had to sit down and agree that we wanted to do something fresh and original. We had to say, ‘Let’s restart Asking Alexandria’ and we have created something totally different, unlike anything I’ve heard before. And we’re lucky that we have a vocalist who stands out – there aren’t many in metal where you know who they are the second they open their mouth. There’s M Shadows, Corey Taylor, James Hetfield, and I think Danny is one of those, too.” Has he addressed the issue of his departure on the record, do you think? “I’ve noticed a massive change in him. Danny used to just sing about sex and drugs and rock’n’roll, but this time he’s more honest and raw, it’s not about just being fucked up. The first lyrics you hear on the album are ‘I’ve been away a while’ and he does address him going away and not being in the right headspace. It’s him opening up about that experience and having a clearer frame of mind. I was sat in the studio and it almost brought a tear to my eye; it was almost like he was apologising to me and telling me that he was here for us now. It was really nice. I think these lyrics will speak to people.” How has the reaction from people outside the band been to the new stuff? “It’s funny: normally when we hand in our albums they just go, ‘OK cool. Well done’ but this time we handed it in and my phone just blew up! People have said that it’s the most insane thing they’ve ever heard and it’s the moment they’ve been waiting for from us. Which is exciting; we’ve still got that hunger, we stumbled along the way, but it’s still there.” And the songs from The Black? How do you feel about them in retrospect? “I’m proud of them in retrospect. It was just a very dark time in our career and my life and I hear that in the songs, so I’m not that keen to revisit them at the moment. I’m too happy with my life at the moment to want to play them, although Danny has said ‘If you want to play those songs, I’ll sing them’, which is really cool of him.” How about Matt Good, what did he bring as a producer? “Well, we’ve known Matt for a long time – he used to be in From First ToLast and D.R.U.G.S. and we toured with them a lot over the years. He just brought a great character and clarity to the songs. It was our first time working with him, but I think we’ve found the dream team!” The new Asking Alexandria album lands on December 15 via Sumerian, and is available to pre-order now. What we learned from five minutes alone with Asking Alexandria's Ben Bruce
The setback came as thousands of demonstrators took to the streets to commemorate the notorious 1982 Hama massacre, and as the death toll from violence on the ground rose. Russia's foreign ministry said the latest draft of the resolution was unacceptable but held out hope that a tolerable version could be agreed over the next few days. "We still have a whole number of concerns over the content of this text and we will be ready to continue consultations on the draft resolution," said Gennady Gatilov, deputy foreign minister. Sources close to the negotiations said that a main stumbling block for the Russians was a paragraph that called for the UN to reconvene on Syria 21 days after the resolution was passed to discuss "further measures" if President Bashar al-Assad failed to comply with demands to end violence. The word "measures" is taken to mean sanctions, and the Russians want it either replaced with something like "steps" or removed altogether. Western powers, backed by the Arab League, are keen to gain Russia's support for even for a diluted resolution because Moscow's support remains key to the survival of the government. "It would scare the Assad regime a lot more than a more robust text vetoed by Russians," said a Western official. "It would mean the Russians are slowly accepting the idea that Assad will depart and would also send a powerful message to people around Assad that it might be time to leave the sinking ship." At the start of the week, hopes had been raised that a vote on the resolution could take place as early as Thursday. But with Moscow threatening to veto the resolution, the timing was pushed back and may not now take place until Monday. Mark Toner, spokesman for the US State Department spokesman, said that Hillary Clinton, the Secretary of State, had spoken with her Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, and that they had agreed to discuss the draft further. Moscow clings to Damascus because of a lucrative arms sales contract and a naval support base at Tartus on the Mediterranean. Vladimir Putin, who is likely to be returned to the presidency by elections in March, after eight years as prime minister, is also concerned about bowing to Western demands. The text under consideration by the UN Security Council, where Russia holds the power of veto, condemned the bloodshed in Syria and "fully supports" an Arab League plan to facilitate a democratic transition. A section calling on him to transfer power to his deputy has been removed and it makes no mention of Mr Assad departing. Syrian security forces yesterday continued their bloody repression of the 11-month uprising, which has claimed at least 6,000 lives. Deadly clashes erupted between troops and armed rebels in suburbs of the Syrian capital and villages in the south, killing at least 20 people, including nine soldiers, activists said. The Syrian Human Rights Observatory said protests were held across the country to commemorate the Hama massacre 30 years ago. The assault was ordered by Mr Assad's father and predecessor Hafez Assad, following an armed rebellion by the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group in the city. Thousands were killed though a precise figure has never been established.
The Turkish Army has reportedly sent military vehicles, including tanks, into civilian areas in its predominantly-Kurdish southeast. Local activists have posted frightening photos on social media. The People’s Democracy Party (HDP) published a series of photos of what is said to be a fresh raid by the Turkish Army. According to HDP, soldiers in the Yenisehir district of Silopi “broke into a building and pointed guns at people.” Tanklar Yenişehir mahallesine tekrardan giriş yaptı . Çatışmalar siddetlendi. #CizreyeSilopiyeSesVerpic.twitter.com/myjkqkiZmW — Faruk Encu (@FaruqEncu) 16 декабря 2015 Turkish tanks on the streets of Silopi, Kurdistan. They are attacking Kurdish civilians, not ISIS. pic.twitter.com/xGO1L7m9DW — Dr Partizan (@DrPartizan_) December 17, 2015 Ferhat Encu, an MP for the People's Democratic Party, was taken into custody in Silopi. #Turkey:Kurdish MP Ferhat Encu was taken in2 custody in house raids in #Silopi by Turkish state gangs #TwitterKurds pic.twitter.com/SobRvy9m5h — curdistani (@curdistani) December 16, 2015 “The world and those justifying this cruelty know well, this isn't an 'anti-terror' act. This is an ethnic cleansing and genocide operation,” the party tweeted. HDP MP @FerhatEncu reports: Turkish Army started breaking doors & raiding civilian houses in Silopi the Kurdish city pic.twitter.com/noQ9RgElLM — Hârun Ercan (@haarunercan) 16 декабря 2015 Ankara has been busy conducting military operations in the southeast since summer. Tensions have been mounting for months as security forces have been battling Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants after a ceasefire collapsed in July. The PKK has been fighting for an autonomous Kurdish region inside Turkey for over three decades. “We can say something has changed in the last couple of days,” Harun Ercan, a resident of the Kurdish city of Diyarbakir told RT. “Before this, Turkish special forces were conducting these operations, right now the Turkish army is using heavy artillery and tanks in order to destroy the barricades built by the Kurds,” he added. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to continue the operation until the area is cleansed of Kurdish militants. “You will be annihilated in those houses, those buildings, those ditches which you have dug,” he told a crowd in Konya, as cited by Reuters. “Our security forces will continue this fight until [the area] has been completely cleansed and a peaceful atmosphere established,” he added. Local sources say #Silopi started day with bombs and shelling. Homes in Basak neighborhood burning (Yesterday photo) pic.twitter.com/EfL4wSpTcR — Mutlu Civiroglu (@mutludc) 17 декабря 2015 Nurcan Baysal, founder of the Diyarbakir Political and Social Research Institute, has described Davutoglu's language as "very dangerous.” “If the Turkish state wants peace with its Kurdish citizens, it should change its dangerous language into the language of peace,” Baysal told the Middle East Eye news outlet. “Unfortunately, the Turkish state has decided to wage war against the Kurdish people again.” “People are without water, electricity, food, medical care, and many civilians have died – and state officials say that they will continue this.” Figen Yuksekdag, the co-chair of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), has publicly accused Davutoglu of "ordering a massacre" in Cizre and Silopi. "Who are these operations against, Mr. Prime Minister?" Yuksekdag wondered at a press conference in Diyarbakir. "There are people living in these houses, Davutoglu," she said. The 'other' residents in #Silopi: "We will resist against Turkish state terrorism until death." #TwitterKurdspic.twitter.com/4vi2HTYrY0 — Cahida Dêrsim (@dilkocer) 16 декабря 2015 Thousands took to the streets of Diyarbakir in late November after Tahir Elci, a lawyer and campaigner for Kurdish rights, was shot dead in while giving a speech on November 28. This became the last straw. READ MORE: Seven Kurds killed in clashes with Turkish troops as Ankara’s crackdown continues Twenty-five Kurds have been killed in clashes with Turkish forces during last two days, according to Reuters. Twenty-four of them were killed in the city of Cizre, and one in Silopi, the Turkish military said in a statement, adding that eight Turkish servicemen were wounded in the clashes. Around 5,000 people gathered for a march in Diyarbakir on Monday, according to AP, which was called by the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP). Local residents gathered to voice their concerns about round-the-clock curfews being implemented in the region. According to the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey, there have been a total of 52 curfews imposed since mid-August across seven provinces in the region, affecting areas where some 1.3 million people live. Residents from the pro-Kurdish town of Silvan (some 80km north east of Diyarbakir) said they had been shelled by Turkish forces in mid-November, while the never-ending curfew had driven them to the brink of starvation.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius admitted Wednesday that it was possible convicted felons could be hired as ObamaCare ‘navigators,’ giving them access to personal information like Social Security numbers and addresses of anyone signing up for the program. Sebelius made the admission in an exchange with Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas., during a Senate Finance Committee hearing. It was the second time in a week Sebelius was on Capitol Hill, forced to defend the problem-plagued ObamaCare website. “Isn’t it true that there is no federal requirement for navigators to undergo a criminal background check,” Cornyn asked her. “That is true,” Sebelius answered. “States could add in additional background checks and other features, but it is not part of the federal requirement.” Cornyn pressed, “So a convicted felon could be a navigator and could acquire sensitive personal information from an individual unbeknownst to them?” More On This... Sebelius answered, “This is possible.” The nearly three-hour hearing had Sebelius once again shouldering much of the blame for the rocky rollout of the ACA, commonly referred to as ObamaCare. Last week she testified before a House panel on the growing concerns about President Obama’s landmark legislation. On Wednesday, Sebelius also acknowledged that the early enrollment figures for ObamaCare scheduled to be released next week will be “very low.” Sen. Orrin Hatch, a Republican from Utah, demanded monthly progress reports from her. “No more excuses,” Hatch told her. “No more spin, just give us the truth.” During her opening statement Sebelius said, “a number of fixes have already been completed” to the glitch-ridden website HealthCare.gov. “Two weeks ago, the tech team put into place enhanced monitoring tools for HealthCare.gov, enabling us to get a high-level picture of the marketplace application responding, and to measure how changes improve user experience on the site.” On the panel is Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., who was one of the architects of the 2010 law. Until now, Baucus has been a very vocal supporter of the Affordable Care Act, but even he has had his share of doubt in recent days over the HealthCare.gov site. Specifically, Baucus has a problem with security testing of the site that could potentially expose millions of Americans to cyberfraud or identity theft. Documents have surfaced that seem to indicate Obama administration officials cut corners on security testing while rushing to meet a self-imposed Oct. 1 deadline to launch online health insurance markets. The administration has been struggling in recent days to knock back a wave of criticism that has been mounting since the rollout. While the White House has promised the site would be up and glitch-free by Nov. 30, Baucus challenged Sebelius to beat the deadline. “You said recently that you expect the website to be running smoothly for a majority of users by late November,” he said. “There is no room for error. You must meet -- and I prefer you beat -- that deadline.” The last time Sebelius testified before a House committee, she fell on the sword, personally apologizing for the failures. “Hold me accountable for the debacle,” she said. “I’m responsible.”
A major recall out of Minnesota is affecting foods sold at Costco, Wal-Mart, Target, Whole Foods and more stores nationwide. Parkers Farm Acquisition has issued a voluntary recall of certain peanut butter, cheese, salsa and spreads due to a possible Listeria contamination. A Minnesota Department of Agriculture test first detected the bacteria. No illnesses have been reported from the tainted food, but people who have bought the following products are encouraged to return them or throw them out: Craziest Food Heists: Nabisco Cookies, Crackers 16-ounce Parkers peanut butter in square plastic containers (tub with snap-on lid), including creamy, crunchy, honey creamy and honey crunchy varieties with a sell by date before 3/20/2015 34-ounce Parkers peanut butter in round plastic containers (tub with snap-on lid), including creamy and crunchy varieties with a sell by date before 3/20/2015 12-ounce Parkers spreads in round or square plastic containers (tub with snap-on lid), including jalapeño and pimento varieties with a sell by date before 9/20/2014 8-ounce and 16-ounce Parkers cold pack cheese in round plastic containers (tub with snap-on lid), including sharp cheddar, bacon, onion, smoked cheddar, Swiss almond, horseradish, garlic, port wine, and “Swiss & cheddar” varieties with a sell by date before 3/20/2015 16-ounce Parkers salsa in round plastic containers (tub with snap-on lid), including hot, mild, garlic, and fire-roasted varieties with a sell by date before 7/20/2014 10-ounce Parkers cheese balls or logs (plastic overwrap), including sharp cheddar, port wine, ranch, and “smokey bacon” varieties with a sell by date before 3/20/2015 10-ounce Happy Farms cheese balls (plastic overwrap), including sharp cheddar and port wine varieties with a sell by date before 3/20/2015 16-ounce Happy Farms cold pack cheese in round plastic containers (tub with snap-on lid), including sharp cheddar and port wine varieties with a sell by date before 3/20/2015 8-ounce Central Markets cold pack cheese in round plastic containers (tub with snap-on lid), including sharp cheddar, port wine, horseradish, and Swiss almond varieties with a sell by date before 3/20/2015 12-ounce and 20-ounce Hy-Top cheese spread in round plastic containers (tub with snap-on lid), including pimento and jalapeño varieties with a sell by date before 9/20/2014; 8-ounce Amish Classic cold pack cheese in round plastic containers (tub with snap-on lid), including sharp cheddar, port wine, and Swiss almond varieties with a sell by date before 3/20/2015 8-ounce Amish Classic cold pack cheese in round plastic containers (tub with snap-on lid), including sharp cheddar, port wine, and Swiss almond varieties with a sell by date before 3/20/2015 14-ounce Say Cheez beer cheese in round plastic container (tub with snap on lid), including regular and hot varieties with a sell by date before 3/20/2015; 10-ounce Win Schuler original variety cheese balls or logs (plastic overwrap) with a sell by date before 3/20/2015 10-ounce Win Schuler original variety cheese balls or logs (plastic overwrap) with a sell by date before 3/20/2015 8-ounce,12-ounce, and 14-ounce Bucky Badger cheese spreads (tub with snap-on lid) including cheddar, port wine, bacon, garlic, horseradish, jalapeño, and Swiss almond varieties with a sell by date before 3/20/2015 5-pound foodservice products including cold pack cheese foods, cheese spreads and peanut butter with a sell by date before 3/20/2015. Listeria can cause listeriosis, a disease with symptoms including fever, severe headache, neck stiffness and nausea. The USDA says healthy people rarely contract listeriosis, but it can prove fatal to infants, elderly people and those with weak immune systems. It can also lead to miscarriages and stillbirths in pregnant women. If you have any questions about the recall, you can call Parkers Farm at 800-869-6685 or visit its website.
I recently gave a TEDx talk on meditation, and with all the interest growing around meditation in general, we've been getting lots of questions from people who want suggestions for how to get started. I thought I'd collect some ideas here. This list is woefully incomplete, and the field is expanding daily, but hopefully this will give some threads to follow. Here's how Michelle and I got started: Mindfulness in Plain English (Bhante Henepola Gunaratana) - this is probably the most popular primer on the subject. It's very accessible even if you are not interested in Buddhism (as we weren't when we started). The Attention Revolution (Wallace) - Alan's exceptional in the way he combines depth of experience, scholarship and ability to communicate with a Western audience. This was the 'instruction manual' in our longer retreat, but the practices work well in an engaged life, too. As with Gunaratana, Alan's a Buddhist, but his writing is accessible no matter your spiritual bent. I've listed a number of other books below, including from other traditions (secular, Christian, Taoist, etc.). There are a lot more links to recent articles on meditation on the FB page here of the Community Mindfulness Project (a non-profit four of us in Connecticut founded). For anyone in the Southern CT/Westchester area, we list local sits and events. Also, here are some tips that have really helped us and others: Consistency . These practices rarely have a big impact at first, they're like a drug that builds up its dosage in the bloodstream over time. Studies show that just 10 minutes a day can have a big impact on the body, the brain, and our experience of the world, but the key is to stick with that 10 minutes, day in, day out. Don't be hard on yourself. Try to let go of being goal-oriented. Just about everyone feels like they're really "bad" at this when they start. Expectations can be your worst enemy here, try to let go of them when you're on the cushion. You're like a sailor who can't control the winds - sometimes there's smooth sailing, but plenty of times you'll be in the doldrums, or crazy-seeming 100-knot gusts, or a downright storm. It's easy to get waterlogged and decide you're just not cut out for these practices. The key is to show up on deck every day, for at least 10 minutes, and give it your best, whatever the conditions. Relaxation is a critical foundation . This is unlike most things we're taught in our culture, where trying harder is key. Improvements in the stability and vividness of attention emerge from a deep, underlying sense of relaxation (Alan Wallace does a great job of expanding on this). Letting go of any perfectionist, high achiever, goal-oriented instincts is, oddly enough, a key to "success." Finding times of day when you can be relaxed is helpful for the practice. Lying down is perfectly valid for this - e.g. lying on top of your bed, in a formal position (i.e. Yoga's Savasana position) and emphasizing a deep sense of relaxation, of melting into the bed. Don't Expect Just Relaxation . Having said the above, these practices are not just about relaxing. Part of what you're doing is opening up the door to your unconscious, and all kinds of "stuff" can come up: anxiety, frustration, jealousy, greed, lust, feelings of inadequacy, etc. Don't feel like you are "bad" at the practice if the mind is full of agitation during some of your sits. That's part of the process, those agitated sits are where you are doing the real work, airing out some of these pent-up emotions, and learning how to handle them and stay balanced while they blow through. Careful - there are risks . If you feel like the practices are sending you in a dangerous direction, and negative mental states are extending well beyond the actual meditation time, please be careful (see the "Dark Night Project" research, below). Be particularly mindful if you feel you are in a vulnerable mental state and/or are extending your practice time beyond 10-20 minutes a day. These practices are powerful medicine, and it's important to seek out professional guidance with as much discernment as picking out your family doctor. Connecting with one of the teachers listed below, or a trained therapist (especially one with some familiarity with meditation, increasingly common) can make all the difference between moving in a positive direction and descending into a dangerous place. As you choose your teacher, please recognize that very very few teachers in our culture combine a high level of direct experience and scholarship, an ability to connect with a Western audience, authentic motivation, and high ethics. It's important to be as discerning in choosing a teacher as you would be the right family doctor (except there's no licensing here, so you have to be a lot more discerning). 10 Minutes a Day is a Good Baseline; Retreats Can be Helpful to Get Going . Ten minutes a day is a good minimum - and there's plenty of research showing a big impact on brain, body, how we experience the world. But, again, the key is to do it every day. Not everyone can do a retreat, but if you have the ability to do one, even a weekend retreat, it can be helpful (recs below on retreat centers). Balance Attention-Training and Heart-Opening Practices. Practices designed to cultivate a clear, balanced, focused mind (e.g. mindfulness of breathing) can become 'dry,' and result in a personality that is focused, but lacking in empathy, basic decency. Heart-opening practices (e.g. lovingkindness) train these qualities, and are grounded in ethics and an emphasis on a healthy, altruistic motivation. It's helpful to balance these two types of practices. They end up reinforcing each other in remarkable ways. Over time, people sometimes find that they begin to converge in ways that are quite profound. Other Practical Tips: Different seats work for different folks, but overall, we find that gomden cushions tend to be the most popular (e.g. you can find on Samadhi Cushions website) - very useful for the Westerner not used to sitting cross-legged! Other options include Zafus, Crescent Cushions, kneeling benches. Also, you'll want an 'under cushion' - e.g. a Zabuton. Insight Timer app (iPhone, Android) - useful. See meditation apps, below. Can be helpful to sit with back to wall, with a cushion behind the lower back. Earplugs can be useful if silence is hard to come by! What Practice Is Right for Me? The best advice we've come across on this question: Maintain a balance of attention-oriented practices (e.g. mindfulness of breathing) and heart-opening practices (e.g. lovingkindness). These two families of practices develop distinct qualities and actually reinforce each other in interesting and surprising ways. Try out practices from different traditions to get a feel for what clicks for you, then stick with one for a longer period of time to give yourself to move along that particular path. With respect to the attention practices, try out a variety of practices (e.g. mindfulness of breathing, mantra-based, settling the mind in its natural state, shamatha without a sign) to get a feel for what works best for you. Then select one or two attention-oriented practices. Try to find a practice with the right degree of subtlety or 'coarseness' (not a derogatory word) for where you are at this point in your life. The more active, or agitated the mind, the more likely that a coarser practice is going to be helpful. The calmer, more relaxed and more settled the mind is, the more likely a subtle practice will be helpful. Objects of attention from the external sensory domains (e.g. hearing, touch, sight, touch - sensations related to breathing) tend to be "courser" than mental objects (e.g. thoughts, emotions, or awareness itself). Within the domain of mental objects, different practices have different degrees of subtlety (e.g. 'settling the mind' may be less subtle than 'shamatha without a sign'). Within the several different styles of mindfulness of breathing, there are different levels of subtlety (e.g. the belly is relatively course, the area under the nose more subtle, and the subtle increases over time as your breath grows more subtle). This all may sound a bit confusing, I realize. The key is to try out practices with different subtlety levels to get a feel for what works best for you. Your lifestyle and temperament will click best with a practice that is neither too subtle nor too course for where you are in this moment of time. Modern life is defined by a fast pace and wide range of stimuli competing for your attention (smart phones, Facebook, and endless other forms of quick-hit entertainment), in a way that is unprecedented. As a result, most people have highly agitated minds, at least relative to people from prior eras. My unscientific observation is that mindfulness of breathing or a mantra-based practice are good starting places for most people who lead active, engaged modern lives. Here are more resources: More Books to Get Started It's ideal to start with a good teacher, but that's very hard to find in this country. Assuming that you can't, here are some book ideas to take the first steps, from different perspectives: secular, Buddhist, Christian, science-oriented, etc. In addition to the various books by the two authors listed at the top, here are a handful of books/resources we know well, or which friends strongly recommend: Articles to Get Started Recorded/online teachings: Secular MBSR - pioneering, secular program founded over forty years ago. 60 Minutes segment on MBSR here Tibetan Buddhist (accessible to non-Buddhists) Zen Buddhist Christian Father David Steindl-Rast (see book Into the Silent Land, above) Apps Recent NYT article on apps here Insight Timer app - great meditation timer Various meditation apps . The only one we're familiar with is Headspace, which seems very good. We've heard people like Calm and 10% Happier, too. Retreat Centers Here are some of the better known centers, where we or people we know have gone. They are all affiliated with spiritual traditions, many Buddhist: Spirit Rock (CA) Insight Meditation Center (MA) Upaya Zen Center (NM) Tara Mandala (CO) Omega Institute (NY) Barre Center for Buddhist Studies Goenka Centers ' (lots of places, in the 'modern Vipassana' tradition - how we got started. They can be powerful if you connect with the teachings, although it is worth knowing that they are quite intense - all silent, with the ability to practice 10+ hours per day.) Garrison Institute (NY) The town of Crestone, CO (where we spent most of our retreat) is full of retreat centers from a variety of traditions: Zen, Hindu, Catholic, Tibetan Buddhist and more. We are not familiar with any of them (we were in a house, in self-retreat), but it's an interesting and unique cluster for sure! Plum Village (France) Heartwell Institute (Worcester MA) Science of Meditation: In Schools/For Children (can start as early as pre-school): In Sports: In Prisons: In Healthcare: Universities Leading the Way: In Corporate Training: Potential Project Google's Search Inside Yourself Imagine Clarity (my wife has done some volunteer work for them) Institute for Mindful Leadership (New Jersey) Mindful Work (book by David Gelles) In Government: Hospice Care: Research Related to the Pitfalls and Dangers of Meditation: Other:
Festival season is coming … Festival Essentials Essentials Tents Fashion Get you’re Festival Essentials … Festival Camping Kits @ Packs Essentials Tents Fashion Festival Tents & All you’re festival gear Festival Tents & Camping gear Essentials Tents Fashion Hot Festival fashion items … Festival Fashion & Welly Boots Essentials Tents Fashion weekly featured products Browse our categories I purchased 10 Essential Festival Survival Kits. They arrived perfectly and exactly as described the very next day! Staff were extremely helpful and answered all questions with a very accurate and speedy response both via email and on the phone! I am one very happy customer. I would definitely use again and recommended to friends and family. Great product. Stu has already personalised it with the plate he has in his wrist. Wearing it mountain biking in the Alps. Great speedy service too. Most impressed Latest from our blog Festival tents & all the camping gear and essentials you could possibly need for you festival experience. If your a festival virgin or a hardened festival goer we should have something for you all . Cheap & cheerful single skinned pop up tents through to the luxury modular POD tents , sleeping bags , folding chairs & relax mats , Funky hats , Airbeds , lamps , lights & torches, Universal phone chargers , phones hugger. The smuggle your booze range of products to conceal drinks , fold our beer carriers , heavy duty festival trolleys to get all your gear from the car park to the campsite. Loads of festival hygiene products that includes body washes , wipes , dry shampoo , travel john urinals , Shewee’s , Rucksacks & Cargo bags , Fancy dress gear you name it we do it !
You may have never heard of Alfred "Freddy" Heineken, but he should be a hero to drinkers and kids'-toy enthusiasts everywhere. Laughing Squid has the story of how Freddy—the third-generation patriarch of the Dutch brewing family—invented the WOBO, a beer bottle that essentially doubled as a giant interlocking Lego brick, and was made for building eco-homes back in the early 1960s. His original intent was to help the lower classes in Curaçao, where he happened to vacation in 1963, build houses for themselves with the very materials that were already littering their beaches—discarded beer bottles. Thousands of WOBO bottles were made, but as of 2012, almost all of them have been lost or destroyed—and only two WOBO structures still exist. Unfortunately, the Heineken brewery wasn't as into the idea as Freddy was, and realistically, there aren't very many people who would live in a house made of beer bottles (insert obligatory Mel Gibson/Charlie Sheen/Alex Trebek joke here). But still, it's cool to see evidence of upcycling decades before that became a thing. More images after the jump.
LISA DESJARDINS: That's right. Senators were just finding out about this report as they were voting for a nomination. And I talked to Senate Intelligence Chairman Richard Burr. He said he had been told about this by Senator John McCain. And when we went through The New York Times report with him, he told us: I believe that Director Comey might have told us if a request like that from the president had been made. And Burr said, it was never mentioned. John, essentially, the intelligence chairman is questioning The New York Times report, saying he thinks Comey would have brought that up. He also said that he believes the onus is on The New York Times to present this memo, not just have someone read from it. He went even further, John, further, and said that he thinks there is a very legitimate question, in his mind, as to whether someone out there in the intelligence community or elsewhere is trying to undermine the president. That's one of the strongest reactions we have had in the president's favor on Capitol Hill today.
The UK construction sector must reduce its energy consumption by 50% and its carbon emissions by 80% by 2050. So radical changes are needed to the way we approach building houses. Straw could be a critical part of the transition towards a low-carbon future. The thermal insulation value of a typical straw bale wall meets the requirements of even the most demanding performance specifications. Recent research led by the BRE Centre for Innovative Construction Materials at the University of Bath has shown that straw bale buildings reduce energy bills by 90% compared to conventional housing stock. The manufacture of cement, used in concrete, is responsible alone for up to 8% of all industrially produced greenhouse gas emissions. Using natural materials such as straw, often directly from the field and with little further processing, significantly reduces this impact. Traditionally, the environmental impact of construction materials has been significantly less than the impact of occupation (heating, cooling and so on) over the lifespan of the building. However, in modern energy efficient buildings the proportion attributable to that 'embodied' in the fabric of the building is expected to increase to at least 90%. Measures to reduce the impact of the embodied energy and carbon will deliver even more environmentally friendly buildings. A natural building material Straw is just the dried stalks of plants stripped of their grain. You don't really 'make straw' - it's a co-product of grain production, an established and essential agricultural process. So using straw doesn't displace land required for essential food production. In the UK more than 7m tonnes of straw remains after the production of wheat, and up to half this amount is effectively discarded due to its low value - simply chopped up and returned to the soil. As an average three-bedroom house needs 7.2 tonnes of straw, the 'leftover' could be used to build more than 500,000 new homes - a city the size of Birmingham could be built each year using discarded straw. Straw is also a low-cost material. But more importantly, as a plant it captures and stores atmospheric carbon dioxide during photosynthesis. By using more and more straw in buildings we are creating a natural carbon storage bank. Though the bible references using straw for bricks - and thatched roofs - have been common for centuries, modern straw construction was developed when mechanical baling machines were first used in late 19th-century Nebraska. Stacked like large bricks, straw bales can be used for modest loadbearing as well as non-loadbearing walls. The oldest surviving straw bale building is around 100 years old. But straw has never caught on as an alternative to bricks, concrete or timber. There are concerns about its poor durability, fire resistance, the way it attracts mice and rats and, as one of the three little pigs found out the hard way, its lack of structural integrity. The answer - high precision pre-fabricated 'bales' Straw bales aren't currently made to the same levels of tolerance and specification as bricks or cement. The fact they're generally slightly different sizes combined with the need to keep bales dry during construction has meant most builders would not, until recently, consider straw bales a viable solution for anything. Other than perhaps for enthusiastic self-builders. However, the development of prefabricated wall panels using straw bale for insulation has now provided the opportunity to market straw to the mainstream construction industry. Prefabrication, or off-site manufacture, means that wall panels can be made to a very high specification in a factory, protected from variable weather conditions that would otherwise inhibit on-site building with straw. A prefabricated product can be certified as fit for use by industry bodies, making it much more acceptable to builders, financiers and insurers. It also radically reduces site construction times, with houses able to be erected in ten weeks instead of around 16 weeks for more conventional buildings. It seems the time has arrived for straw bale construction. For the past ten years the University of Bath has been working with a local company, ModCell, to develop prefabricated straw bales. We started out looking at straw as a low-carbon cladding solution and soon moved on to developing panels that could bear heavy loads. Now, we are able to make low-energy prefabricated straw bale houses. Bath's own straw house. The panels from 00:09 onwards are all prefab straw and lime plaster. Officially approved for the formal construction sector The panels have been subjected to fire tests, thermal transmittance tests, accelerated weathering tests, acoustic tests, simulated flooding and impact testing. We've even tested the structures in a simulated hurricane force wind, in what has been termed the 'big bad wolf' test: the panels and prototype BaleHaus passed with flying colours. These panels have now been granted certification. This in turn means insurers will cover straw houses and home-buyers will be able to obtain mortgages. Hayesfield School in Bath, EcoDepot in York and the School of Architecture at the University of the West of England have all made use of these panels. Certification means the housing market can now use straw too, with LILAC in Leeds completed in 2013 and now a new development in Bristol due for completion later this year, with proposals for larger schemes already in planning. Modern prefabricated straw bale houses are affordable, deliver excellent levels of energy efficiency in use for the home-owner or occupier and provide a genuine sustainable solution by using a cheap and widely available agricultural co-product. Other similar prefabricated systems using straw bale construction have been developed in Australia, Belgium and Canada. Entire communities, towns or even cities built from straw bales. And why not? Pete Walker is Director, BRE Centre for Innovative Construction Materials at the University of Bath. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
This could be the muddiest 4WD in the Territory. Alex Dunn’s ‘Lux was covered in a thick layer of mud after getting bogged in a field off Gunn Point Rd on Sunday afternoon. Mr Dunn said the mud was propelled onto his car after Bryce Schmidt came to pull him out. “As he was trying to pull be out, it flicked mud and grass all over the front of the car,” he said. “Then because mud covered the windscreen, I couldn’t see out of it so I had to open the window so I got covered as well and mud went through my car.” READ: CASANOVA SINKS BORROWED 4WD READ: TEEN BOGS DAD’S SUZUKI He said the bog turned a three-hour afternoon trip into a six-hour nightmare. “We didn’t get back onto the main road until about 7pm.” media_camera Alex Dunn’s afternoon turned from a short trip into a ‘three hour nightmare’. Picture: Tony Fewster Mr Dunn, of Rosebery, said it then took him two hours and $50 at a car wash to clean the outside of the car. “Then when I got home I had to pull all the seats out and clean inside too. I had to pull the snorkel off, clean the air filters, there was mud on everything.” The 21-year-old said he was making a new track when he got bogged because he didn’t think his car would get through the old tracks. “It was deep — the wheels were just spinning. All the weight was on the chassis.” “I was the dickhead for driving through there,” he said.
BUSINESS Online payment processor Paypal may be ready to make a triumphant return to the US iGaming marketplace according to reports emanating from the Online Poker Report. When playing online poker, what do you take for granted? For me, it’s the ease of moving money on and off the sites. I only need to press a few buttons and hey presto. My money pings from one place to another and not a single bead of sweat leaves my body. I will not be alone in my praise of swift payment processing options, and this is why Marvin Gaye’s grapevine is jingling with anticipation, after Chris Grove of the Online Poker Report revealed news that Paypal are preparing for a US comeback tour. “Paypal plans to announce a foray into processing regulated online gambling payments in the coming months, according to a source with knowledge of the company’s plans,” said Grove. With Visa and MasterCard payments still carrying a decline rate of 25 percent, and journeys to/from cash cages eating away at online poker player’s life, the return of Paypal will be a breath of new air. Paypal has over 150 million worldwide users, and it’s an extremely popular method of ePayment in the US with almost every household brand offering Paypal as a payment processing option. They are trustworthy; they are quick and they are easy. “While we’re note yet in the business of solving gridlock, we know that wherever we can shave time from the payments process for our 148 million active account holders, we’re giving them back one of life’s precious resources,” Paypal stated in a recent study of Global Attitudes towards time, money and tech. That particular study revealed that 70 percent of the world believes that technology should make payments simpler, connected, faster, and with more choices available. They have asked the question, and now they intend to deliver the answer. Paypal are exactly what the US iGaming network needs and they have form. Not only were they one of the biggest US payment processors prior to the 2002 acquisition by eBay (when they withdrew from the US online gambling payments market) but also process millions of dollars for online poker rooms, sports books and casinos all over Europe. Earlier this year Paypal dropped Iovation as a third party that they would share customer information with. The fraud prevention platform that was set up by Greg Pierson, whom you may recall created the infamous ‘God Mode’ that Russ Hamilton used to extract a princely sum from unsuspected online poker players plying their trade on Ultimate Bet (UB). In June, Paypal were honored at the eGaming Review (EGR) B2B awards at The Pavilion in the Tower of London where they picked up the award for innovation in payment solutions. Comments
The little girls in the photograph are wearing matching military-style overcoats and Cossack hats. Their faces are half hidden, but the smaller one is clearly giggling under her gas mask. They are students at the Moscow Girls Cadet Boarding School No. 9, an elite military academy opened in 2004, the first in Russia for girls. It is a free, state school with 300 pupils, age 11 to 16, most of whom are from military or police families. Along with the usual math, science and history, students spend six days a week learning military strategy, marching, self-defence and marksmanship. And they can strip down an AK-47 “in the time it takes most kids to send an SMS,” says photographer Sergey Kozmin. It’s a strange cross between a military academy and a charm school: the girls are also required to spend their evenings taking courses in cooking, sewing, singing and dancing. Not every student pursues a life in the military. By graduation a girl has not merely been trained to serve her country as a soldier, but, says headmistress Viktoriya Silenskaya, as “a loving mother . . . and skilled hostess. The girls practice shooting with special electronic guns (there are no bullets in the classroom). Sometimes training gas alerts are announced to train the students to respond confidently in an emergency. At 7 a.m. the girls make their beds and prepare for classes. They start the day with physical exercise and end it in the evening ironing their uniforms. A traditional Russian winter ball at Christmas provides a rare opportunity to meet boys from a nearby school and try out dance moves learned in class. The Russian winter ball takes place every year after Christmas. At the end of each school year each class must organize a performance to show what their pupils have learned. If the performance is not impressive the teacher can lose her job at school. Thirteen-year-old Vasilisa, a student of the Cadet Boarding School.
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is commonly regarded as the most fun and exciting installment of the film franchise. This may well be true, especially given that the average Star Trek film is about as fun and exciting as a half-cup of plain yogurt. If you polled fans about what makes this particular film so thrilling, odds are they’d respond, “All the allusions to Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick!” (results may vary). Indeed, the original script contained even more quotes from that classic novel. Most notably, the moment when Kirk, in a fit of vengeful rage, leans back and roars to the heavens, “Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people’s hats off—then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can.” VERY popular on t-shirts. Join Mike, Kevin, and Bill as they dive into the great valley between Ricardo Montalban’s bulbous pectoral muscles for complete immersion in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan!
Climate change sees tropical fish arrive in Tasmania Updated The CSIRO is warning climate change is having a big impact on the country's oceans, with tropical fish turning up as far south as Tasmania. A major report on oceans and climate change, released today, says the damage under the sea is much clearer than when it released its last report on the subject three years ago. As well as causing a southern migration, climate change is causing a decline in some temperate fish stocks and ocean acidification is beginning to affect shellfish. The water at Hobart's Taroona Beach is chillier than what most Australians are used to, but increasingly it is home to northern visitors of the finned variety. Gretta Pecl runs a website called Redmap, and says that divers and fishers are increasingly documenting a range of sea creatures not normally seen in Tasmanian waters. "The southerly shift in distribution that we've seen in species has been from a range of species, across the board," she said. "So some are bony fish, sharks and rays, octopus, lobsters, a whole range of species that are either showing signs of starting to move into Tasmanian waters, or showing up more frequently, and we're yet to establish exactly what that might mean." Dr Pecl works for the Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies and the amateur photos are checked out by scientists. Professor David Booth, a marine ecologist at Sydney's University of Technology who contributed to the report, said the institute's findings are supported by the CSIRO report. "Tropical reef fish are actually making an appearance," he said. "Our long-term studies, over at least a decade, have showed the number of tropical species very much year-to-year, but in those strong east Australian current years they're more prevalent. "Over the last 30 or 40 years we're seeing many more tropical species down toward Sydney and down in Tasmania than we did before." 'Unprecedented' change The report found the range of temperature rise varied dramatically, with the east coast of Tasmania and parts of Western Australia hardest hit. Overall the rise in sea surface temperature is about one degree centigrade over the last century. However, Professor Booth says snorkelers should not be too excited about the changing underwater world. "In this case the rapidity of the change is probably fairly unprecedented," he said. "Now everyone is probably thinking what's wrong with having some lovely tropical species down here, but the flip side, of course, is firstly any interaction with normal species and then independent of the colder water species not being able to live as far north and in my home state of New South Wales could really have a risk of a loss of fisheries." The CSIRO believes climate change will continue to alter the seas. Dr Pecl said there are plans for a national launch of the Redmap website. "From the end of November, we will be launching across Australia," she said. "Fishers and divers from all over the country will be able to submit sightings of species that we think are unusual and we get those checked out by a scientist." Topics: environment, climate-change, environmental-impact, science-and-technology, animal-science, biology, marine-biology, conservation, marine-parks, fish, taroona-7053, australia, university-of-technology-sydney-2007, nsw First posted

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