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FOXBORO — Kony Ealy is happy with his first week and a half of Patriots training camp, though his role for the 2017 season remains an uncertainty. The defensive end made two key plays Friday during the intrasquad scrimmage, halting running back Dion Lewis on fourth-and-1 and pressuring quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo for a third-down stop two series later. But rookie left tackle Tony Garcia largely handled Ealy in the second half of the scrimmage, so the veteran’s consistency was a concern. “He is making me better at my job, things I can improve on, by going as hard as he’s going and winning some of his battles,” Ealy said of the matchup with the third-round draft pick. “By the end of the day, it’s about competition and learning things that you’re trying to get better. We’re trying to make each other better.” Ealy’s inconsistency issues were the reason why the Carolina Panthers decided to trade their 2014 second-round pick. He was dominant in Super Bowl 50 but never put it together in 2016. Panthers coach Ron Rivera butted heads with Ealy far too often as a result. It’s too early to draw any conclusions as to whether or not the past two weeks have been a microcosm of Ealy’s three-year Carolina tenure, but he is eager to rectify his reputation and insisted he is on good terms with Pats coach Bill Belichick. “It’s nothing negative, believe me,” Ealy said confidently. “I’m not trying to come into this situation, a great situation for me, with anything negative. I’m just trying to come in here and learn everything I can learn and win and let everything else lie where it may.” The root of Ealy’s rocky start remains a mystery. Belichick held him out of the camp-opening practice for undisclosed reasons, which obviously sounds like a disciplinary decision, but Ealy maintains that wasn’t the case. “It was not a negative situation, nothing like that,” Ealy said. “It was just something that he wanted me to do as far as not practicing that day. I didn’t practice, obviously, because I’m listening to what my coach says. I’m just trying to better my game off the field as far as visual learning. It’s nothing bad.” The regular-season opener is a month from tomorrow, so the start of Ealy’s camp will be irrelevant by then if he improves his consistency and continues to make timely plays. There’s nothing mysterious about Belichick’s bottom line, that’s for sure. “(Friday) was a very important scrimmage for me. I definitely wanted to come out and start fast,” Ealy said. “I think things are going well as far as me coming in, doing what I need to do, listening to my coaches and trying to get better every day.” Bolden in running Brandon Bolden has outlasted a number of other running backs because of his work on special teams, but he might be facing his greatest challenge yet in his sixth training camp with the Pats. In the offseason, the Patriots gave handsome contracts to James White (up to $15 million over three years), Mike Gillislee (two years, $6.4 million) and Rex Burkhead (one year, up to $3.1 million). Bolden waited until April 5 to return on a one-year, $855,000 deal that included a mere $50,000 guaranteed (he also earned $30,000 in offseason workout bonuses). The undrafted 2012 signee has survived longer than the likes of Shane Vereen, Stevan Ridley, LeGarrette Blount and Jonas Gray, and he hopes his value in the kicking game is enough for another season in Foxboro. “It’s worked for me in the past,” Bolden said. “It’s going to be the same for me whether it’s offense or special teams. If they want me to run out there and play the 3-technique on defense, I’ll go do that, too. I’ll do that to the best of my ability and see if we can get it done.” Time for a break The Patriots are off today for the second time since camp opened, and they like the timing after five consecutive days of padded practices. The Jacksonville Jaguars arrive tomorrow for two full-speed joint practices ahead of Thursday’s preseason opener at Gillette Stadium. “We have a lot of work to do,” slot receiver Danny Amendola said. “We’ve been putting in some good work in OTAs, good work in the start of this camp, and we’ve got a new team coming into town (tomorrow). We’re excited to ramp up and hit somebody else for a change, see where we kind of stack up.”
Skip to comments. New Sharia Police Patrol Forming In Hamburg Breitbart London ^ \| August 12, 2016 \| Chris Tomlinson Posted on by Tolerance Sucks Rocks Islamic State and Sharia Police stickers have been seen on vehicles in Hamburg, and some fear that extremists may try and harass residents. However, police and security services have denied these reports. At least one witness has came forward claiming that she has seen Islamic State logos and sharia police slogans on a car in Hamburg. According to the woman, she saw a car at a traffic light populated by three women wearing the Islamic full-face veil, the hood of the car was described as having a large logo on it with a blue border which read: Sharia Police. Now some fear that the so-called sharia patrols that harassed the residents of Wuppertal in 2014 could be returning to German streets, reports Die Welt. The woman, who preferred to remain anonymous, told the paper that she clearly saw the words Sharia Police on the vehicle. The original sharia police were formed in 2014 by radical preacher and Islamic convert Sven Lau. Lau formed the group in order to tackle what he deemed unIslamic or haram behaviour in Wuppertal. The group wore high-visibility jackets with the words Sharia Police on the back. The patrols harassed locals in the area who were drinking, gambling, or engaging in any other activity considered socially acceptable in the West which would otherwise be considered haram in Muslim countries. The group also put up stickers much like their British Sharia Patrol counterparts indicating areas that were sharia controlled zones and subject to the Islamic holy law, rather than German secular laws. Alcohol, gambling, music, pornography, prostitution, and drugs were all said to be banned in the area by the group. (Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ... TOPICS: Crime/Corruption Culture/Society Foreign Affairs Germany Government News/Current Events Philosophy Syria United Kingdom War on Terror KEYWORDS: forbidden germany hamburg haram hijrah isis islam islamicstate jihad migrants muslims nannystate refugees sharia shariapolice shariazones svenlau uk wuppertal To: 3D-JOY; abner; Abundy; AGreatPer; Albion Wilde; AliVeritas; alisasny; ALlRightAllTheTime; ... Germany is doomed. PING! To: SheLion; Eric Blair 2084; -YYZ-; 31R1O; 383rr; AFreeBird; AGreatPer; Alamo-Girl; Alia; altura; ... Islamist Nanny State PING! To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks They need an ass kicking. by 4 posted onby Kozak (ALLAH AKBAR = HEIL HITLER) To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks Imho, the sharia police should be turned into hamburger. 5.56mm To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks by 6 posted onby blam (Jeff Sessions For President) To: All Looks like Germany is to become Germistan... To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks Real Germans need to dog them and harass them at all times. by 8 posted onby Kozak (ALLAH AKBAR = HEIL HITLER) To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks Erdogan is the real leader of Germany, not Merkel. To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks In the history of humanity has there EVER been an instance with a state not only inviting their conquerors, but PAYING them as well? I can’t think of one. To: Organic Panic Liberals are dooming us all. But they’re too stupid to see it. To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks Hard to believe the Krauts are letting the ragheads take over. All that old German World War 2 guilt is LONG over. The Jews and the Germans both should be up in arms against the muzbag invaders trying to conquer Europe. God knows, both nations know how to make war, dammit! Where are the damn skinheads as well, they ought to be thumping all the ragheads they can find on the streets! by 12 posted onby W. (The right-wing Tony Soprano, Jr., in disguise. [Hell, I wish!]) To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks If you are not a female and you are not a Christian, then Islam may not be scary to you. Think about that! by 13 posted onby donna (No one should be allowed to become a citizen or even a resident if they support Sharia Law.) To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks Coming to America... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ra45nX9JmW4 To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks Come on Germans, stop being subjugated. WtH happened to you?! To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks Britain gone! France gone! Germany gone! History tells us Charles Martel (The Hammer) stopped the Moslem hordes at the Battle of Tours in 712 A.D. After they had swallowed Africa and Spain.I guess we must have dropped our guard while they waited and brooded. Who’s getting hammered 1300 years later. With a lot help from the surrender aficionados... by 16 posted onby Calusa (Sprinkles are for winners! -- Progressive Flo) To: Organic Panic Actually the Romans made the same mistake wrt the Visigoths. Didn’t end well for either of them. To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks Now children! Sharia and sharia alike! by 18 posted onby HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.) To: proust Coming to America... Only in cities that have adequate police to protect them. Everywhere else: not so much. To: Organic Panic In the history of humanity has there EVER been an instance with a state not only inviting their conquerors, but PAYING them as well? I cant think of one. The Foedus. In the late Roman empire the Romans paid barbarians to guard the borders they previously had breached. Some of them in what is now Germany. The word federal derives from foedus ( pronounced fey-doos) by 20 posted onby Calusa (Sprinkles are for winners! -- Progressive Flo) Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works. FreeRepublic , LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794 FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson
The power of big data and psychological profiling may be transforming the face of politics and the mainstream media, but it’s very difficult to say so with much certainty. Earlier this year, Motherboard republished a long piece, originally written in German for a Swiss publication called Das Magazin. It described in some detail how the big data company Cambridge Analytica had helped Donald Trump to victory during his election campaign. On its website, Cambridge Analytica claims to have gathered psychological profiles, based on 5,000 separate pieces of data, about 220 million American citizens. The theory: if you understand how a person thinks, you can send them a targeted ad that truly sways their opinion. Now, the Guardian has written a long report that details that the company’s psychological tentacles reach out much further. It claims that Robert Mercer, the computer scientist turned hedge fund manager, is “at the heart of a multi-million-dollar propaganda network” that is shaping the political and media landscape—of which Cambridge Analytica is just a single component. Mercer has invested in Cambridge Analytica. And he also kick-started Steve Bannon’s Breitbart news organization. In theory, a site creating right-wing news combined with a finely tuned system for delivering it with laser-guided precision could create a potent propaganda machine. But it’s not clear that Cambridge Analytica’s psychological profiling actually adds much value to the process. Last year, we argued that there wasn’t any published data to prove that what Cambridge Analytica is doing would add much weight to Trump’s ability to score votes. At the time, Daniel Kreiss, a professor of political communication at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, argued that “basic categories of data tend to be very predictive,” while “everything else gives you only marginal potential advantages." More recently, Buzzfeed interviewed a number of ex-Cambridge Analytica employees, as well as other consultants who had seen its work, and found that “the company has never provided evidence that [its psychological approach] even works.” In other words, Cambridge Analytica's targeting may not be doing a great deal more than other approaches that are widely used around the Internet. It is certainly an attractive proposition to blame big data and psychological profiling for shifts in the political and media landscapes that one finds troubling, rather than believe that there is a large and worrying socio-economic divide in the West. But it’s also unwise to do so without data to support the case. (Read more: Guardian, Buzzfeed, Motherboard, “How Political Candidates Know If You’re Neurotic,” “Is 2016 the Year of Psychological Profiling?”)
RIALTO (CBSLA.com) — A search warrant was served Friday evening at a Fontana auto body repair shop police say has been selling laughing gas to motorists. Officials say drivers under the influence of the laughing gas, better known as nitrous oxide or NOS, have crashed their vehicles. Selling the gas is a misdemeanor. But authorities believe some of these crashes have been fatal. KCAL9’s Crystal Cruz was along when the search warrant was served. And what did they find? “Plenty of tanks and equipment that show us that their distributing it for the purpose of inhaling it. There are two customers here right now who have admitted they’re here to fill their NOS tanks,” said Nic Parcher with the Rialto Police Department. Authorities suspect people are buying it to huff it, instead of it’s common use in vehicles, to make cars faster. Police say there’s been more than a dozen traffic accidents this year involving drivers suspected of being under the influence of NOS. “We’re talking 18 year old, 19 year old kids passing out while huffing this nitrous oxide and causing and being responsible for other people being injured,” said Rialto Police Captain Randy DeAnda. Myles “Eddie” Scott, 17, was killed in a car accident last year. Myles and the driver of the car were both suspected of being high on NOS. Myle’s’ father, Eddie Scott, is a Rialto city councilman. “The driver it appears passed out went off the freeway and hit a tree,” says Eddie, “For my family it’s living hell. He was the glue that kept us together.” Officers say they found marijuana and a firearm inside the shop. Cruz reports several people were detained for questioning and one shop employee was arrested.
The Supreme Court closed an extraordinary three-day review of President Obama’s health-care law Wednesday, with its conservative majority signaling that it may be on the brink of a redefinition of the federal government’s power. Justices on the right of the deeply divided court appear at least open to declaring the heart of the overhaul unconstitutional, voiding the rest of the 2,700-page law and questioning the underpinnings of Medicaid, a federal-state partnership that has existed for nearly 50 years. Much can happen between now and the expected ruling this summer, and a far more moderate tone may emerge. Broad statements come more easily in the court’s intense oral arguments than in majority opinions. Between now and the decision, supporters and foes of the law will be able to point to evidence that their side will prevail. But the rhetoric of the past three days led Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli Jr. to make an unusual and emotional plea to the justices for restraint. He asked them to respect Congress’s judgment rather than insert themselves into a partisan battle that has roiled the political landscape since the law was passed in 2010. “The Congress struggled with the issue of how to deal with this profound problem of 40 million people without health care for many years, and it made a judgment,” Verrilli told the justices. “Maybe they were right, maybe they weren’t, but this is something about which the people of the United States can deliberate and they can vote, and if they think it needs to be changed, they can change it.” Verrilli made a direct appeal to Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, considered pivotal in the case because he is the conservative most often willing to side with the court’s liberal bloc. On Tuesday, Kennedy said he worried that the law’s mandate that almost every American either secure health insurance or pay a penalty undermines personal liberty and carries a “heavy burden of justification” under the Constitution. Verrilli spoke about “millions of people with chronic conditions like diabetes and heart disease” who would be “unshackled” from their conditions and about families who would be freed from financial harm caused by high medical costs. The law will help ensure that they “have the opportunity to enjoy the blessings of liberty,” he said. Paul D. Clement, representing Florida and 25 other states objecting to the health-care law, responded that “it’s a very funny conception of liberty that forces somebody to purchase an insurance policy whether they want it or not.” The examination of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was unlike any the court has conducted in decades. It has been nearly 50 years since the justices have devoted so much time to a subject. Before this week’s arguments, many lawyers who practice before the court said privately that they thought the court’s precedents indicated that the Obama administration would emerge the victor. And the court’s four liberal justices showed themselves to be comfortable with the assertion of federal power in the law. But there was deep skepticism among the conservatives. At times, Verrilli seemed shaken by the intensity of the questions. When Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. decided Wednesday that more time was needed to consider the constitutionality of expanding Medicaid, he told Verrilli that he would receive an extra 15 minutes. “Lucky me,” Verrilli replied, evoking laughter in the crowded courtroom. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had wondered earlier in the day whether her colleagues were on a “wrecking operation” or a “salvage job” as they were deciding what to do about the rest of the law should the individual mandate be declared unconstitutional. The court’s divisions were on vivid display Wednesday during a discussion of the law’s Medicaid expansion, which gives states more federal money if they agree to enroll more of the poor. States can refuse, but only if they pull out of the program altogether. The states challenging the legislation say that is not an option. The Medicaid program has grown so large that it is impossible to forgo federal funding and still provide medical care to the poor, they say. The question before the Supreme Court is whether the law violates limits the court has set in the past: that the federal government cannot impose conditions “so coercive as to pass the point at which pressure turns into compulsion.” Liberal justices clearly thought the states’ argument lacked merit. “Why is a big gift by the federal government a matter of coercion?” asked Justice Elena Kagan, saying the government is giving the states a “boatload of money.” Justice Stephen G. Breyer said that under Clement’s theory, any expansion of Medicaid that comes with conditions would be unconstitutional. Ginsburg pointed out that “we have never had, in the history of this country or the court, any federal program struck down because it was so good that it becomes coercive to be in it.” But Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. said that in passing the health-care legislation, Congress operated on the assumption that the Medicaid program had become so large and essential that no state could turn down the government’s offer. “When that’s the case, how can that not be coercion?” he asked Verilli. Kennedy added that states had “no real choice.” Earlier, the court considered whether the entire law should be scrapped should the individual mandate be declared unconstitutional. Even though there are many elements in the legislation that have no connection to the mandate, including funding for ongoing federal programs, Clement said the entire law should fall. “Let’s just give Congress a clean slate,” he said. The government argued that only two provisions of the law — a prohibition against insurers discriminating against people with preexisting conditions and a limitation on how insurers set rates — depend on the mandate. The rest of the law should stand, it said. Again, the justices seemed to split along ideological lines. It was in a discussion about what Congress would prefer if the mandate fell — all of the law minus the mandate, most of the law or none of the law — that the court began to discuss the political dimensions of its decision and the partisan climate in which it operates. Clement was greeted with laughter when he said that if the entire law were struck down, it should take Congress only a few days to pass the parts on which members overwhelmingly agreed. Later in the day, as Clement presented the arguments of the states he represented against the Medicaid provision, Ginsburg reminded him that other states had filed a brief with the court saying they want the federal expansion. Scalia asked: “Mr. Clement, I didn’t take the time to figure this out, but maybe you did. Is there any chance at all that 26 states opposing it have Republican governors and all of the states supporting it have Democratic governors? Is that possible?” “There’s a correlation, Justice Scalia,” Clement replied.
The Energica EGO. Designed and built by the same people who have designed and engineered racing performance from Formula One Racing to Le Mans 24h for over 40 years. Massive Performance, no emissions. The green heart of the electric motorcycle is a synchronous oil-cooled motor with permanent magnets. It has 107kW (145 hp c.ca) of instantaneous power reaching from 4900 rpm to 10500 rpm and a torque of 200 Nm ranging from 0 rpm to 4700 rpm. Energica Ego accelerates from 0 to 60 mph (100 km/h) in 3 seconds to reach a top speed of 150 mph (240 km/h) with a vigorous thrust that does not make you miss the drops in the engine speed by the constant shifting of the classic internal combustion engines – making the electric superbike faster than a 600 supersport. The bona fide brain of the Energica Ego is the sophisticated Vehicle Control Unit. Unlike other vehicles where the control units work separately on all controllers, the Ego’s battery, inverter, charger and ABS are constantly monitored and managed by one technological jewel: the VCU, completely designed and developed by Energica. The state-of-the-art VCU implements a multi-map adaptive energy, and a power management algorithm manages the electric motorcycle. Carefully monitoring and adjusting the motor’s power according to the throttle thrust 100 times per second while riding. Energica Ego does not have a gearbox or a clutch. Everything is regulated by the ride-by-wire system, allowing you to control the acceleration torque of the motor and deceleration based on the regenerative torque or engine braking. A coasting feature is provided thanks to a “neutral” position between acceleration and regeneration.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers have announced a string of 2016 UK tour dates. The opening act for the newly announced shows will be Babymetal. How's that for a healthy double dose of alternative / punk / metal / pop / funk? At this time, eight concerts have been announced, beginning on December 5 and ending on December 20. The band will be visiting London, Glasgow, Birmingham, and Manchester, as well as Dublin, Ireland. When do Red Hot Chili Peppers 2016 UK tour tickets go on sale and what is the presale code? Tickets for their previously announced shows are currently on sale. Click the links below for the show you're interested in. The presale code for the Dublin concert is HS041362. The Live Nation presale offer code is ENCORE and the LN Mobile app presale code is COVERT. We recommend following Red Hot Chili Peppers on their social media accounts and signing up for their free email newsletter, in addition to signing up for your local venue's email newsletter, to get the most up-to-date information. Red Hot Chili Peppers Tour Dates and Tickets If you haven't done so already, pick up RHCP's 2016 album, The Getaway, on Amazon. You can also stream the full album for free and read our review here on Zumic. For more music, news, and tour information about Red Hot Chili Peppers, check out their Zumic artist page.
Please enable Javascript to watch this video Craft beer, some would say, is like your fingerprint: as different and unique as the individual that brews it. For the folks here at Gnarly Barley Brewing Company, this warehouse brewery actually all started at home according to Zachary Caramonta, founder and owner of Gnarly Barley: “That’s what we live for, because we’re home brewers at heart. We live for making beers, for coming up with new recipes, things like that and we just try to stay at the forefront of brewing technology.” And that drive and innovation has led to some pretty amazing beers, including Jucifer, the brewery’s newest selection. We were fortunate enough to see this particular beer brewing on our visit and while it wasn’t ready for us quite yet, Gnarly Barely has a beer for any palate… once you find your taste. But getting to that point can take a while. Brewing a new beer is like a chef in the kitchen with a new dish: sometimes something is a little bit off the first time around, so you tweak the recipe to get it just right and for a brewmaster, that might mean starting the weeks long brewing process over from scratch. And that innovation is part of their success. Gnarly Barley just celebrated their third birthday and they hope to keep building and brewing for many more to come. WGNO is proud to offer the NOLA Craft Beer Experience Card, a card that allows you to sample some of the region's best craft beers for an affordable price. For $60 you'll get the equivalent of 40 oz of beer from each of the 10 locations involved. Click below for more details. At Gnarly Barley, you'll receive two flights of beers. A flight is a paddle that holds 5 different 5 oz pours which allows you to sample their selection and find the perfect beer for you. Gnarly Barley is located at 1709 Corbin Road in Hammond. The brewery is open from Noon-5 p.m. on Saturdays and a free tour is offered at 1p.m. For more information on the brewery and events, call (985) 318-0723 or head on over to http://gnarlybeer.com/
Director Gary Shore’s Dracula Untold is set to be the first in Universal Pictures’ reboot of its famous monster franchises. In the film, Vlad the Impaler (Luke Evans) looks to save his family and his Transylvanian subjects from the threat of the Turkish Empire by seeking the power of a vampire. Once he wields such power, Vlad becomes almost unstoppable. Framestore, under the overall visual effects supervision of Christian Manz, was responsible for hundreds of shots in the film depicting Vlad in bat form battling the Turks, as well as several other vampire-y effects. We sat down in London with Framestore CG supervisor Ben Lambert to discuss the studio’s work. Bat transformations After seeking the help of Caligula (Charles Dance) - the master vampire - Vlad drinks some of that vampire’s blood. Afterwards, Vlad is able to transmutate into hordes of bats. Framestore produced concept art for both sides of the transformations, and then lookdev’d CG bats, bat sims, cloth and skin work and other effects. The desired ‘liquid look’ was something Framestore dialed in to the concepts and final shots. “We worked with our art department to imagine Vlad turning into bats and also the other way around,” says Lambert who worked with Framestore vfx supes Glen Pratt (London) and Ivan Moran (Montreal) on the show. “The approach was that Vlad could turn into bats but he would have to do that in an appropriate volume or in a physical fashion in the way he clothes or skin would tear.” The effect began with a body track of Luke Evans’ performance. “We’d build a tracking model that would match him on the plate,” explains Lambert, “and then have a rig set up which would effectively paste all these bat rigs underneath that tracking rig.” The bats themselves - designed as variations on black vampire bats - were produced in several resolutions for close and wide shots. “There’s several shots where there are hundreds of bats close-up on a ceiling,” says Lambert, “and one with a shallow depth of field staring at us full-screen. They were first groomed and lookdev’d and then we also created lower res variants which were used in the giant flocking shots during the battles.” Hero bats featured grooms that helped sell light wrap and fall-off. “With so many bats in some shots, though,” says Lambert, “we had to be mindful of the specular map and emulating a groom with a bump. We also really brought out the bone structure where the skin’s very taught, so even if you were only getting a quick flurry, you’d at least see contrast differences from where their fingers were and the key bat shape. Comp’ers also had access to a matte to dial up a sub-surface look.” From the tracking rig, animators could launch the bats off at certain intervals as the transformation occurs. “We’d be able to interpolate all those and put in however many bats we wanted,” describes Lambert. “It was very animation driven. But this was also combined with cloth sims. So whenever you see Vlad tearing or shredding bats, it’s a combination of a very precise tracking model, some renderable cloth from the cloth team that could be pulled and turned into bat like shapes and they would be under the hood piggybacking under animated bats. This meant we could block the animation of bats taking off from him from the tracking model or actually be quite precise about the models.” One particular shot features Vlad launching himself off the top of a tower, transforming into bats and diving down into the valley below. “The top of the tower was constructed and fully painted with a bluescreen backing,” says Lambert. “Luke was in his standard picture clothes - the costume - it was then typically shot at 96 fps or higher. There were no tracking markers on his face or clothing. He’d do the run up and leap off onto a crash mat below. We’d then make sure our tracking model and cloth model were very precise. At a certain point there’s a take-over to a digital jacket which is tearing and shredding, and that would serve as the wipe gag in the plate.” The cloth sims made use of earlier cloth research Framestore had done for Gravity and 47 Ronin. “Our cloth tools center around nCloth,” notes Lambert, “but we have proprietary tools that make wrapping on objects and indirect driving of objects by others very fast. We can drive one object based off UVs. We also have our own in-house bake format, which is very stable and very fast. It lets us take models between applications very quickly.” The bats and other cloth, skin and smoke simulations and effects were then combined to provide layers of volume and depth as the transformation occurs. “We could put in the tearing cloth sim and the bats themselves, and fluids and smoke could be triggered from that,” adds Lambert. Bat attacks Vlad is also able to summon hundreds of thousands of bats to help fight the Turkish army. The shots depict him orchestrating the massive bat movements with his hands. Framestore utilized animation and particle instancing for these epic bat flocking scenes. “Most of the flocking shots were mixtures of having tens, or hundreds or tens of thousands of bats instanced into the frames,” says Lambert. “All these flocking shots were directable and based on blocking with a larger scale hand model. But we’d also put hero bats fluttering past camera as well.” In one shot, around 250,000 bats circle a tower like a large tornado. Vlad then raises his raises his hand up, and the bats fly up and down to the valley in the crude shape of a hand, raking through the Turk soldiers. “On a rig we had 20 to 30 animatable tendrils with noise controls,” explains Lambert. “So this rig could be animated in a block fashion as a simple tornado, but then each of the tendrils in it could have life and have a rate and a spin and scale to them. We’d have that hero rig with complimenting tendrils behind it which gave us the overall volume and mass, and we’d block our whole sequence with that.” The tendrils of bats lift and form into a vortex above the valley before crashing down in a punishing shockwave. “The mass tendril was animation driven,” says Lambert. “We had a rig of a giant hand but we found that was a bit too simplistic. We didn’t want a hand shape necessarily - we wanted to imply it.” For each wave of bats, Framestore’s effects team would carry out particle instancing on top of the gross animation. “They would be looking at the tendrils as a general guide but spawning particles on it,” notes Lambert. “But it was very much a particle simulation after that point. We had to be careful we weren’t just putting our bats onto the exactly the original tendrils, otherwise they’d end up looking like dense ribbons. So there was a balancing act with the size and speed of them.” Vlad uses the bats directly in battle, too. In some scenes he launches into ground level fighting - jumping between human and bat form. For these shots Framestore used the transmutation techniques discussed above, but also had to contend with bluescreen fighting plates, environment extensions and a digital army. “For these ground level bat attacks,” outlines Lambert, “the effects team implemented a system where we could put in rough tracking models and have a bat attack cycle. We could have full control of how far away the bats were from a soldier, whether they were diving, their speed. We could present lots of wedges with bats with and without smoke layers and just hone in on the right size and pace. Meanwhile, in the foreground we also had lots of plate soldiers attacking as if there were being covered and attacked and bats which required tight body tracks.” Building battles Shots of the Turkish forces Vlad battles were realized with a combination of practical plate photography shot in Northern Ireland, bluescreen stage shoots and Framestore environments and crowd effects. “This show was an opportunity to build on our crowds system,” says Lambert. “We’ve got a tool which is a bridge between crowd software and Arnold called fMob. It allows us to do rendertime binding and deformation. This suits crowd systems really well since they can generally export out a skeleton, a binding file and an action file of the shot - fMob binds that together at render time and allows lighting TDs the flexibility to change parameters.” On Dracula, Framestore utilized Golaem Crowd for the first time. “All the crowd shots were done with a team of five artists,” says Lambert. “We found Golaem very easy to learn and get up to speed quickly on. It also allowed us to use Bullet physics in there. There’s two shots where the bats come in and collide and sweep through and take out all the soldiers which was fully digital.” Want to learn more about Golaem Crowd? Check out the Introduction to Golaem Crowd course over at fxphd.com. Digital Golaem characters began as scans of wardrobed soldiers captured on set, with Framestore building five different types of soldier and various crowd and weapon counterparts. Motion capture data of soldiers marching, fighting and re-treating was also inputted into Golaem. The valley and areas in which the battles take place made extensive use of Framestore’s DMP and environments teams. “The environment team would establish the size of the pass, and then we’d have cycs and vistas that the DMP team would use,” says Lambert. Pretty much a lot of what you’re seeing is full matte painting.” Environment, DMP and crowd work was featured in a one-off POV shot of cannonball launched by the Turks crashing through Dracula Castle. “That’s a huge fully digital shot skipping over the fields, through crowds, lots of atmospherics, and then crashing through the doors of a CG castle which we blew up with RBD software and ending up with a plate of Luke standing there.” On the ground, digital crowds and environment extensions made up backgrounds for the battles. In one signature shot - running 600 frames long - Vlad throws a sword, hits a soldier (who is fully CG), with the camera then becoming the POV of the soldier as he falls and action reflected in the sword itself. “What we’re looking at in that shot is two renders,” outlines Lambert. “One is the background action which is the soldier tumbling and turning. But also we’re seeing the reflection of what’s happening this way. We used Golaem to make the crowd characters run towards us slowly, and we also did a reflection pass of them running through the reflection camera. We had a fully CG sword with reflection passes we could mix in. And also within the reflection we are seeing Vlad taking out soldiers which are filmed plate elements. As the sword would pass over Vlad and circle him, as soon it left frame, we’d want him turning into bats off screen. So there were also beats of bats coming in. As the sword falls we’re still in this POV, Vlad walks forward, picks up the sword and goes on to attack the remaining soldiers. It was all blocked in Maya at first by the comp artists and then we broke it down into what parts of the crowd shots we could use or what had to be digital.” Echolocation effects To demonstrate some of the vampire powers in the film, director Gary Shore suggested a POV-effect that would showcase enhanced vision, for example when Vlad is searching amongst the battlefield for the Turkish commander Mehmed. Brought to life by Framestore as an echolation-type ability, the effect went through a number of look development approaches and research before a final solution was found. Watch this scene of Vlad attacking the Turks for a glimpse of the echolocation shots. “The director wanted us to develop a look that was a bit like the Radiohead 'House of Cards' music video, which is almost like animated LIDAR data, effectively a moving point cloud,” says Lambert. “Andy Walker, who was the CG supervisor on these shots, did some really interesting tests using live photocapture, which we fed into Photoscan, and we would get back per-frame animation.” “We usually use Photoscan as part of stills capture to yield 3D models and color,” adds Lambert. “But it also lets you film with those cameras, sync them up and it has a notion of frames in there now. So let’s say you capture a 400 frame sequence, it can generate an actual animated sequence with shifting topology. We didn’t care about that, we wanted a slightly messy almost primitive look to it to match the organic nature of echo location.” The Photoscan tests involved filming one of Framestore’s lookdev artists dressed in full soldier garb while he walked in the shot and then cowered away as if something was threatening him. “It worked really well,” says Lambert. “We had 3D color data we could feed into NUKE and that would then go into a point cloud field. Despite the successful results, it was determined that the approach could not yet be fully implemented on a working film set. “So in the end we went for more of a straightforward 3D scene,” says Lambert, “with a body tracked model, a color photo scan of the environment around it and then we’d give that to a comp artist to work with NUKE’s point cloud tools, which meant we didn’t have long simulation times.” The effect was used in the cave Vlad visits, when he first discovers his powers in the forest, and also in the battle scenes. Here on the battlefield, in particular, Framestore was able to draw on its CG crowd work for the echolocation section. “Because it was all render-based rather than sim-based,” relates Lambert, “we could just render out our crowds rushing towards us - all 10,000 of them - with utilities for comp to use and they were able to convert that into the point cloud and animate that. So we could take any 3D data and block our scenes as normal and the comp artists had an amazing set-up where they had layers of shifting point cloud data with the pulses.” The actual effect started with a render of a fully CG scene. “Most importantly,” says Lambert, “we put a normals and position pass in that allowed for the point cloud. It’s all a 3D reconstruction of any scene you like. The concept was to get the echo location have a sonar like behavior which was a noisy distorted view of the scene that was lit by a sonar pulse emitted from the camera, fading again into distorted darkness as the pulse passes. We start with a 2D sound wave image, that was later turned into a procedural tool - this would texture everything with a Ptex tool. That’s mixed with world point passes, object point passes and IDs to assign different textures to different objects. So, trees and humans and creatures would be highlighted in different colors.” “A lot of it was based on distance of the points to camera in a color look-up curve, which was shaped as a heartbeat graph as it pulses,” adds Lambert. “There were also several layers of RGB fractal noises that were applied to the texture - the noise layers were added to the position pass matted by pulse waves. And finally we added lens distortion and color grading for the final shot.” Vamp’ing Vlad’s metamorphosis into a vampire is depicted not only with bats but also changes to his skin and eyes, more pronounced veins and the presence of jagged teeth during key moments, such as when a bite is about to occur or just has. For shots of these ‘vamp’ reveals, Framestore enhanced plates with exaggerated vampire features, and later would produce shots of the effects of sunlight on Vlad and his vampire brood. See some of the vamp'ing effects in this featurette. “For the full vamp’ing shots,” says Lambert, “we invested in the full anatomical study of the skull under the skin. It’s a skull with beautiful engravings on the side of the head, a few layers of muscles and the fangs and the teeth positioned in the skull. We’d see a hint of this at times, showing off a white translucent revealing skull underneath. We have the skin a slightly wrinkled look - not age wrinkles but a slightly monstrous look - to suggest a creature under the skin.” The work involved a CG re-creation of Evans (and other vampires) built in Maya based on scans and photo textures, then rendered in Arnold, that could be blended with the actual plate photography. One vamp moment takes place when Caligula confronts Vlad in his cave. Here he cuts Vlad’s neck with a nail and licks off the resulting blood with a now elongated tongue extending from a dropped-down jaw. “The actor was shot in full prosthetic make-up with a shawl over him,” says Lambert. “The brief was to have something a bit abnormal happen to him, with the jaw dropping more open than it would normally, and then quite a grotesque tongue coming out and searching for the neck. For that, we built an accurate body track model and a renderable CG head so we could replace portions of the face as needed. We also rigged up a jaw that could drop unnaturally, with teeth and a controllable tongue. We looked at bat tongues early on, which are quite barbed and also served as inspiration for dripping saliva and goop. Then we added in quivering flesh simulation. The film has several scenes in which Vlad is confronted by sunlight - a killer for vampires. Vlad has also created his own army of vampires to help defeat the Turkish army, but he soon realizes his mistake and orchestrates their death, and his own seeming demise, by controlling the cloud cover to reveal the sun. Full body shots of the disintegrating brood of vampires also resulted in a core ‘mummy’ skeleton being left behind. In order to show the effects of the sunlight on vampire skin, especially on Vlad, Framestore would rely on its CG Evans head and produce both an under-skin volume and a cloth ripping sim - often played out in slow motion. “We would first create an accurate face track,” says Lambert. “Then the cloth team would pre-rip the face in certain areas and have the cloth dropping like delicate patches and that would get fed through to masks for lighting and holdouts. A cloth sim then goes into effects that triggers fluid simulations from the cloth itself,” explains Lambert. “The fluid was tuned to look like a clothy, gluey surface and the cloth was tuned to look a little bit like fluid. They really complemented each other.” For the hero shots of Vlad being hit by the sun, in particular, the action begins with his hair being burnt off. “We had a full CG groom of the hair that would shrink up with smoke coming off it,” describes Lambert. “At the same time his real skin is being peeled off revealing a fully CG bald Luke in his full vamp state. That cut into two very close-up shots. The look we were going for was actually like a lychee. It was almost sweaty, but in an appealing way - like the delicate gray translucent skin of a lychee where you can see the dark core underneath. So we used that as a thickness reference when we were doing the initial dev. There was also a vein pattern above and below Luke’s eyes. He would be turning in the sun with the last remnants of the skin peeling off.” Production had shot Evans dressed in his full ‘red dragon’ armor and he screams at the effects of the sunlight. “We ended up replacing the whole shot in CG,” says Lambert, “really because he’s already in his full vamp state and we knew we needed to dissolve that more and disintegrate the skin more. Also the armor was requested to crack and peel and have smoke emitting from it. For that we photoscanned the armor and projected all those textures back onto a hi-res CG model, and developed a way to crack and emit smoke and paint from it. The armor was then animated with a bit more of a shake to it. We’d take the head developed from the vamp’ing shots and then expose raw damaged skin on it with animated mattes underneath. We had a layered shader that would reveal raw areas of flesh and eat into the skin a bit, so you would realize then he was about to die.” For Framestore, the final shot count on Dracula Untold ran into about 700 shots. A peak crew of 300 worked on the film between London and Montreal. “I think we were really able to follow our main mandate," says Lambert, "even though it’s a film about Dracula, it’s really what was matching to the live photography they did in Northern Ireland. We wanted it to be quite believable and not too monstrous in terms of what he could do, say, as vampire. It had to be rooted in reality.” All images and clips copyright © 2014 Universal Pictures.
Benedict Ubamadu stops to look at a large sign while touring the Y-12 National Security Complex's New Hope Center early Wednesday afternoon. Y-12 is building a new Uranium Processing Facility whose timeline and cost continue to rise. Photo by Dan Henry /Times Free Press. Photo by Dan Henry /Times Free Press. VIDEO This story is featured in today's TimesFreePress newscast. Y-12 TIMELINE * 1943 - Construction started on Y-12 plant toward goal of making enough enriched uranium for an atomic bomb. * 1945 - More than 22,000 workers are employed at the site. * 1954 - First batch of thermonuclear parts assembled and shipped from Y-12. * 1967 - Y-12 produces NASA "moon boxes" to bring back lunar surface geological samples to Earth. * 1972 - Y-12 begins stockpile surveillance to study effects of aging on nuclear weapons. * 1989 - Cold War production led to 8,000 people working around the clock to make nuclear weapons. * 1992 - First nuclear weapon disassembled for storage at Y-12, beginning a new storage mission. * 2005 - Initial UPF design begins. * 2013 - Plans announced for an Oct. 31 meeting in Chattanooga related to UPF construction. Source: Y-12 ABOUT THE NAME "Y-12" apparently doesn't stand for anything particular but was just a code name during World War II. Historians told WBIR-TV that it was picked randomly as to not give anyone a clue to its purpose and that "X" and "Y" were chosen as a familiar symbol for unknowns. OAK RIDGE, Tenn. - Nestled in a lush green valley here is what's billed as the Volunteer State's biggest construction project since World War II. And that's even before the final cost of the Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex is known. Estimates put the UPF's price tag at $4.2 billion to $6.5 billion, with a more accurate figure slated to be finalized next year. The UPF, which will be the size of what one official called "a Home Depot and a half," will replace an aging facility that helped pioneer the atomic age in the 1940s and since then has played a key role in the country's national security. Officials said UPF will provide a more modern site for maintaining and dismantling nuclear weapons. It will help the nation sustain operable nuclear capabilities while blending highly enriched uranium for other uses, including nonmilitary, they said. Built during World War II to help create the atomic bomb, the sprawling Y-12 facility's role now is to process and recycle enriched materials and do nuclear component manufacturing and testing. It disassembles weapons, disposes of materials and does packaging and storage. Located near Oak Ridge National Laboratory, it sits on 811 acres, 150 of which are "high-security." More than 6,700 people work at Y-12. John Eschenberg, the UPF project director, said the planned new facility is "a game-changer for what we do here and in East Tennessee." It also will offer lots of opportunities for East Tennessee businesses to benefit from the huge capital investment as well as future ones as companies learn how to participate in federal projects. "We're building six and a half Volkswagen plants here," he said, citing the $1 billion cost of the Chattanooga auto assembly plant. Y-12 officials said the investment will rival the entire World War II-era Manhattan Project in Tennessee if that initiative were put in today's dollars. In raw dollars, UPF is billed by officials as the largest capital investment ever in the state. However, Eschenberg told a group of Chattanoogans recently that when he arrived at Y-12, he was surprised by its aging facilities. "When I came here, I was embarrassed," he said. "I thought I was in the Soviet Union." Richard Brown, who's handling procurement for UPF, said much has changed in 60 or 70 years, and UPF will be a chance to upgrade equipment and technology. Construction codes, for example, have become more stringent, he said, adding there will be more modern equipment and a more efficient and safe environment for workers. All that is helping drive the massive cost of the facility. The UPF construction project will run until 2025 when the facility is expected to become operational. Brown said there's a long construction time line because of UPF's complexity and technology. He compared it to the time it takes to build a nuclear power plant. "These are the 10-yearish scale of projects," he said. SLICE OF BUSINESS Officials said UPF will offer a chance for Chattanooga-area builders and suppliers to get a slice of business from the project. Brown estimated that between $1.7 billion and $2.7 billion worth of materials and equipment will be needed. "Half the value of the project is in the hands of our supply chain," he said. Plans are to meet Oct. 31 in Chattanooga with potential suppliers locally, Brown said. U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Tenn., said UPF is "going to be huge" and it's going to generate lot of business. "I want to make sure Chattanooga and Hamilton County businesses can share in it," he said. Ron Harr, the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce's chief executive, agreed that UPF is not just important to national security, it's an opportunity for local companies to get "a significant piece" of the work to build the facility. Eschenberg said UPF is seen as helping Y-12 be much more than "a bomb plant." "We're working to modernize," he said. "UPF is the cornerstone." In addition to Y-12's weapons mission, it blends highly enriched uranium into nonweapons-grade material for use as nuclear fuel for the U.S. Navy, Brown said. Also, fuel is blended for power generators such as TVA's nuclear reactors, and material can be used for research as in medical isotopes, he said. "We do beat swords into plowshares," Eschenberg said. UPF FUNDING While Y-12 gets its funding from Congress in an annual allocation, President Barack Obama and congressional leaders are seen as supporting the project, said Bridget Waller, community and government relations manager for Y-12. "We feel confident about the funding," she said. 'It's essential. This is a must-have, not a want-a-have." However, the project has its opponents. U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., has introduced legislation that would terminate UPF and other nuclear weapons facility projects. "With current budget constraints, we should not spend billions in taxpayer dollars to build new nuclear bomb facilities at the same time we are reducing our nuclear stockpile," Markey wrote in a letter last year. Meanwhile, preliminary work has begun at the UPF site, said Brown. A road is being rerouted and some abandoned power lines and poles are undergoing removal, he said. Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.
Drama, greed, controversy, conspiracy, crime, risk, theft, speculation, wealth — such was the world of Bitcoin in 2013. The crypto-currency captivated us with its soaring highs and plunging lows in 2013, rising from $10 to $1,200 in the course of a year. It surpassed the value of gold at its peak before crashing down to $500. Today it flutters between $380 and $682 on different exchanges. We watched breathlessly as early Bitcoin owners became millionaires and authorities seized millions of dollars worth of Bitcoins from the the Web’s notorious black market, the Silk Road. We witnessed efforts to uncover the identity of Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto, and we listened to luminaries in finance and economics heatedly debate Bitcoin’s future. Millions of people followed the saga, but far fewer chose to buy Bitcoin themselves amidst all the uncertainty and volatility. Now Bitcoin is emerging out of its angsty adolescence into a more mature, adult, stable form. The Bitcoin ecosystem is growing more robust and legitimate, and the movement’s evangelists are pushing hard for mainstream adoption — to turn Bitcoin into a currency rather than an asset or a financial lark and make the most of its unique capabilities. POLL: Would you buy Bitcoin? For those of you who spent last year curious but wary about Bitcoin, here is a guide to everything you need to know. We will take you through what Bitcoins are, how they are created, where to buy and sell them, how to store them safely, and where you can spend them. What is Bitcoin and how does it work? To put it very, very simply, Bitcoin is the Internet’s version of money. Bitcoin is at its core a cryptographic protocol, which is why it is also referred to as a “crypto-currency.” The protocol creates unique pieces of digital property that can be transferred from one person to another. The protocol also makes it impossible to double-spend a Bitcoin, meaning you can’t spend the same Bitcoin twice. Bitcoins are generated by using an open-source computer program to solve complex math problems in a process known as mining (more on that shortly). Each Bitcoin is defined by a public address and a private key, which are long strings of numbers and letters that give each a specific identity. This means that Bitcoin is not only a token of value but also a method for transferring that value. In addition to having a unique digital fingerprint, Bitcoins are also characterized by their position in a public ledger of all Bitcoin transactions known as the blockchain. Buying a Bitcoin can be thought of as buying a spot in the blockchain, which then records your purchase publicly and permanently. The blockchain is maintained by a distributed network of computers around the world. This decentralization means no one entity, such as a government, controls it. Transactions happen digitally from person to person, without middlemen such as banks or clearinghouses. The public Bitcoin network is the official record for all of these transactions. You can also transfer Bitcoin in person (more about this below). The direct approach significantly reduces the fees involved with transferring traditional money and makes it much easier and faster to send and receive money across the globe. Bitcoin gives an efficiency increase relative to banking transactions comparable to the efficiency of email versus physical email. People primarily buy and sell Bitcoins through online exchanges. The public address and private keys are both required to trade, sell, and spend Bitcoin. Since transactions are done using the public keys, the identities of the buyers and sellers are veiled to each other and to the public, even though the transaction is recorded publicly. People often say Bitcoin is anonymous, but pseudonymous is more accurate. Transactions are currently quite difficult to trace, however, which is why Bitcoin has been associated with illicit activity, such as buying and selling drugs on the now-defunct Silk Road market. As with paper money, you can save Bitcoins in a wallet, which stores the public and private keys needed to identify the Bitcoins and execute a transation. These can be digital wallets that exist in secure cloud environments or on a computer, or they can take physical form. If a wallet is hacked or you lose your private Bitcoin key, you no longer have access to that Bitcoin. Possession of the public address and private key amounts to possession of the Bitcoin. Bitcoin can either be used to buy things online from merchants and organizations that accept Bitcoin, or it can be cashed out through an exchange, broker, or direct buyer. This is a general explainer, but provides a good basis to dive further into the various elements of the ecosystem. Where do Bitcoins come from? With paper money, a government decides when and how much cash to print and distribute. Bitcoin, by contrast, doesn’t depend on a central bank or government — people create Bitcoins through mining. Mining is the process of solving complex math problems (also called “hashing”) using computers running Bitcoin software. This requires more computing power than regular PCs have, so people buy specialized Bitcoin machines or form groups that chain multiple computers together to mine. When the program solves one of these problems, it creates “blocks,” or encrypted Bitcoin transactions. When you (or your pool) solve a block, you are rewarded with Bitcoins. These cryptographic puzzles get increasingly harder as more Bitcoins enter circulation. Also, the rewards are cut in half at regular intervals. In other words, there’s a gradual slow-down in the rate at which new Bitcoins enter circulation. There is a built-in limit of 21 million Bitcoins, meaning when this many have been mined, production will stop completely. A single Bitcoin can be divided down to 8 decimals, and people can transact with fractions of Bitcoins, known as satoshis, so even if one Bitcoin is worth a lot, the system is still useful for very tiny transactions. The blocks created by mining make up the transaction record of the Bitcoin system. Every block contains a hash of the previous block, which creates a transaction database — the previously referenced blockchain. The blockchain is a public ledger and records all transactions in chronological order. A new block is added to the blockchain an average of once every ten minutes. Rather than being maintained by a central body, it is distributed across all the mining computers. How do you buy or sell Bitcoins? Now you have a general understanding of what a Bitcoin is. How do you buy one? Fortunately you don’t need to comprehend the nuances of hashes, nodes, and the blockchain to get involved in the ecosystem. People commonly buy and sell Bitcoins through exchanges, though this isn’t necessary. In order to make transactions on an exchange, you must have a Bitcoin wallet (more about this later) to keep your currency in. The most well known and one of the largest Bitcoin exchanges is Japan-based Mt. Gox, which is a market exchange — meaning buy orders are matched with sell orders. (Editor’s Note: Mt. Gox filed for bankruptcy and shut down in late February.) Other exchanges considered reputable are BTC China, Bitcoin.de (Germany), VirtEx (Canada), Bitstamp (Slovenia), BTC-e (Bulgaria), CampBX (U.S.), and Bitcurex (Poland). There are also fixed-rate exchanges and brokers, such as Coinbase, that will trade for you. Remember, you must be very careful about where you place your trust and your money: Bitcoin exchanges are not highly regulated. While this is part of the appeal for many, it does make it easier to get swindled. Once you have settled on a broker or exchange, you create an account with a user name and password and link your bank account. Mt. Gox (and others) ask for personal information and photographic scan of a drivers license, passport, or national ID card. Coinbase asks for your phone number, and some exchanges even require a recent utility bill to confirm your identity and location. Now you can begin buying. Coinbase and Bitstamp make it pretty easy to buy Bitcoins, exchanging real-world money from your bank for the virtual currency, or vice versa. For first time buyers, there is usually a delay of a couple days to a week for orders to go through. When you want to sell, you make sure your wallet is loaded with your Bitcoins, and pretty much all you have to do is click “sell.” Some people prefer to conduct Bitcoin transactions offline. As mentioned above, every Bitcoin has a private, unique, and long numerical ID. If you write this key down or store it on a local drive, you can trade a Bitcoin simply by passing that key off to someone else. LocalBitcoins.com is a platform that connects people looking to buy and sell locally with trading partners around the world in more than 4,500 locations. This approach can actually be faster than going through a centralized exchange, and it offers more flexible payment options, such as PayPal, cash, and Western Union. A relatively new method is a Bitcoin ATM made by Robocoin. The first machine opened at a coffee shop in Vancouver, Canada, in October. It lets you buy, sell, and trade Bitcoin in exchange for cash and checks in 60 different currencies. Next page: How to protect your Bitcoins
The defensive partners share a homeland and a philosophy of two-way play. And getting to speak in their native tongue on the ice only helps their chemistry Ladies and gentlemen, your Pacific Division-leading Edmonton Oilers. A lot has gone right this season for the former doormats, as the Oilers are getting epic performances from Connor McDavid (duh), Cam Talbot and many others – because you can’t succeed on one player’s back and Edmonton does have some nice variety in its lineup for once. Helping out in that regard is the top defensive pairing of Adam Larsson and Oscar Klefbom. The two Swedes have known each other for years – fun fact, we once did a photo shoot at the draft combine with them, Victor Rask and Florida pick Rasmus Bengtsson – but this is their first year as a duo. Larsson of course came over from New Jersey in the Taylor Hall trade, which, admittedly, has worked out pretty well for Edmonton. While the outside pressure may have seemed high on the defenseman, Larsson came to town with a level head. “I mean, they didn’t trade for scoring like Taylor does,” he said. “They traded for what I am and I’m not going to change that.” And what is Larsson? Just ask his new partner, who also gets the bonus of speaking Swedish to him on the ice. “First of all, he’s really good defensively,” Klefbom said. “He’s a big body, but still a really good skater. I see him as a strong two-way defender who can bring some offense and I’m really impressed with how he’s been playing.” Larsson believes Klefbom is pretty much a mirror image and he likes how much space the two can take up in their own end, without sacrificing mobility. It also helps to have an old buddy on the team (he also knew Anton Lander and Jonas Gustavsson before), since pulling up stakes in New Jersey was a bit of a band-aid ripping. “Leaving all the friends I made in five years was probably the toughest part,” Larsson said. “But I haven’t looked back since that day. Moving forward, it’s been a fun time and it’s going to get even more fun.” Yeah, winning will do that. It’s been a great year for Klefbom as well, since the 23-year-old is finally healthy. Last season was marred by a finger injury and then a staph infection, limiting Klefbom to just 30 games. Based on his skilled, two-way game, it’s hard not to speculate how much better Edmonton would have fared last year with him in the lineup throughout. That makes this season’s early success all the sweeter. “We have a long way to go,” Klefbom said. “But for me personally, it’s really fun to be out there again. Last season was tough, especially mentally, so it’s nice to be out with the guys.” And if the two Swedes continue to munch minutes while McDavid drives the offense and Talbot holds down the crease, then we’ll see playoffs in Edmonton for the first time in more than a decade. What’s the Swedish word for “finally”?
James Tissot kept a small wardrobe of prop costumes, which he periodically supplanted, that provided visual interest to his oil paintings. Tissot, whose father was a wholesale linen draper (a trader in fabrics and dress trimmings to retailers and exporters) and mother a hat company owner, was a virtuoso at painting every detail of women’s fashions. He brought each flounce, pleat and nuance in the fabrics and trims to life, and he showcased his extraordinary technical skills when portraying patterns such as stripes, checks and plaids. The gowns which adorned his models were elegant and stylish enough to make a fashion statement – though perhaps with new accessories – over a period of one to as many as five years. At the height of Tissot’s success in Paris, when in his early thirties, he re-used a white, bobble-trimmed morning gown with a cape collar in The Stairs (L’escalier, c. 1869, Private Collection), Mélancolie (1869, Private Collection) and two of the three versions of Young ladies admiring Japanese objects (Jeunes femmes regardant des objets japonais, 1869; one, Private Collection, the other, Cincinnati Art Museum, Ohio). Also in 1869, Tissot re-used a brown visiting ensemble – a skirt with a pleated hem and a fur-trimmed paletôt – in The Snack (Le Goûter, Private Collection), Rêverie (1869, Private Collection), and Le rendez-vous secret (c. 1869, Private Collection), which he also used c. 1865-69 for Dans l’église (In Church, Private Collection). In each painting, the ensemble is shown from a different angle. In 1871, Tissot painted more than one version of On the River (A la rivière), featuring a long-sleeved white muslin gown he had used in several versions of Young Woman in a Boat (Jeune femme en bateau, 1870). He had used the same dress, with its distinctive cuffs, in Unaccepted (1869, Private Collection). After Tissot moved to London in mid-1871, following the Franco-Prussian War and its bloody aftermath, the Paris Commune, he continued his practice of re-using eye-catching costumes for the female models in his paintings. The central figure in Autumn on the Thames, Nuneham Courtney (c. 1871-72) wears an ensemble that shows how women’s outerwear was redesigned to accommodate the new soft bustle style. Years later, in Quarreling (c. 1874-76), Tissot showed another view of the back of this still-chic ensemble. A more notable investment was the stunning, black-and-white striped gown that features in some of Tissot’s most well-known images from the 1870s. In The Return from the Boating Trip (1873), Tissot features a woman facing the viewer, wearing the striped gown under a black paletôt. He used the gown again in Boarding the Yacht (1873, Private Collection) and The Captain and the Mate (1873, Private Collection), and from the back in Still on Top (c. 1874, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, New Zealand) and Preparing for the Gala (c. 1874, Private Collection). He used the dress yet again in Portsmouth Dockyard (also known as Entre les deux mon coeur balance, or How Happy I Could Be with Either, c. 1877, Tate Britain, U.K.), which he exhibited at the Grosvenor Gallery from May to June 1877. The same cream overdress edged in fringe appears in The Captain and the Mate, Boarding the Yacht and A Visit to the Yacht (La Visite au Navire, c. 1873). Less recognizable is the low-cut, flounced pink ball gown with red trim which appears at the center of Too Early (1873) and at the center left in Hush! The Concert (c. 1875). Tissot re-used a striped overdress with a column of black buttons down the center of the apron on the female figures in two versions of London Visitors (c. 1874), Waiting for the Ferry at the Falcon Tavern (c. 1874, Speed Museum of Art, Kentucky, U.S.) as well as on the seated woman on the left in The Ball on Shipboard (c. 1874, Tate Britain, U.K.). The woman in Reading the News (c. 1874) wears a tailored yachting gown cut from a heavy white fabric, probably cotton, and trimmed in navy blue ribbon and soft white cotton fringe. Tissot painted this untrained gown from two other angles in The Ball on Shipboard (c. 1874). Notice how Tissot re-used the pink gown with the maroon trim – as well as a matching hat – on a minor figure climbing the stairs to the right in The Ball on Shipboard (c. 1874) and on a seated woman shown from the back in In the Conservatory (The Rivals, c. 1875, Private Collection). In the latter painting, he also captures the blue gown (and hat) from two different angles. A summery white gown trimmed with lemon-yellow satin ribbons was prominent in a half-dozen of Tissot’s oils in the mid-1870s, including A Portrait (1876, Tate Britain) [left], A Convalescent (c. 1876, Museums Sheffield), and A Passing Storm (c. 1876, Beaverbrook Art Gallery, New Brunswick). Tissot painted the same gown, with blue ribbons instead, in A Fête Day at Brighton (c. 1875-1878, Private Collection). In Spring (c. 1878, Private Collection) [right] and July (Speciman of a Portrait, c. 1878, Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio), the gown is modeled by Tissot’s new mistress and muse, the young divorced mother Kathleen Newton (1854 – 1882). [Note that her hair was overpainted red at some later date.] Once Mrs. Newton began modeling for Tissot, the gowns he repeatedly depicted clearly were hers, tailored to her slender figure. One of the loveliest garments that Tissot painted her in more than once is the exuberantly embroidered black coat she wore in October (1877, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal, Canada) and Mavourneen (Portrait of Kathleen Newton, 1877, Private Collection). Also striking is the simple brown floral dress worn by Mrs. Newton in By the Thames at Richmond, (c. 1878/79, Private Collection), three oil versions (and one watercolor version) of La sœur aînée (The Elder Sister, c. 1881) [below, an oil version], The Garden Bench (Le banc de jardin, c. 1882, Private Collection), and by the seated woman to the right in In Full Sunlight (En plein soleil, c. 1881, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York) as well as the woman in the background in A Children’s Party (c. 1881/82). Kathleen Newton modeled for Tissot in the same green tartan gown in Room Overlooking the Harbour, (c. 1876-78 , Private Collection), The Warrior’s Daughter (The Convalescent, c. 1878, Manchester Art Gallery, U.K.), and Richmond Bridge (c. 1878, Private Collection). And, hidden under a vibrant shawl, the dress reappears in A Type of Beauty (Portrait of Kathleen Newton, 1880). Kathleen Newton is immediately recognizable in the caped greatcoat that Tissot portrayed her wearing, in numerous paintings including two versions of Waiting for the Ferry (c. 1878), The Ferry (c. 1879, Private Collection), Foreign Visitors to the Louvre (c. 1880), Departure Platform, Victoria Station (c. 1880), “Goodbye” – On the Mersey (c. 1881), The Terrace of the Trafalgar Tavern, Greenwich, London (c. 1878) [left], and By Water (c. 1881-82), and even after her death in The Cab Road, Victoria Station (also known as Departure Platform, Victoria Station, 1895). Mrs. Newton also was immortalized in the elegant black gown, with its high neck and long sleeves and slim Princess line seaming, that Tissot featured in paintings including Hide and Seek (c. 1877, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.), L’Été (Summer, 1878), La dame à l’ombrelle, Mme Newton (Woman with a Parasol, Mrs. Newton, c. 1878), Musée Baron Martin, France), The Rivals (I rivali, c. 1878-79, Private Collection), Orphans (L’Orpheline, c. 1879, Private Collection), A Quiet Afternoon (1879), The Gardener (1879), Au bord de la mer (c. 1880), and The Hammock (Le hamac, 1879, Private Collection). This review of the costumes Tissot re-used is far from complete, since there are numerous other examples; see James Tissot, edited by Krystyna Matyjaszkiewicz (© 1985). Of course, Tissot painted many fashionable ensembles in unique images such as The Two Sisters (1863, Musée d’Orsay, France); At the Rifle Range (The Crack Shot, c. 1869, Wimpole Hall, U.K.); A Girl in an Armchair (The Convalescent, 1870, Art Gallery of Ontario, Canada); The Gallery of HMS Calcutta (Portsmouth) (c. 1876, Tate Britain, U.K.); and Le bal (Evening, c. 1878, Musée d’Orsay, France). But shrewd man of business that he was, he also was able to create unique images reusing fashions – the summery white gown with the yellow ribbons, Kathleen Newton’s caped greatcoat, and especially that show-stopping black-and-white striped gown – that will be associated forever with James Tissot’s work. Related post: James Tissot’s Fashion Plates (1864-1878): A Guest Post by Lucy Paquette © 2017 by Lucy Paquette. All rights reserved. The articles published on this blog are copyrighted by Lucy Paquette. An article or any portion of it may not be reproduced in any medium or transmitted in any form, electronic or mechanical, without the author’s permission. You are welcome to cite or quote from an article provided you give full acknowledgement to the author. If you do not have a Kindle e-reader, you may download free Kindle reading apps for PCs, Smartphones, tablets, and the Kindle Cloud Reader to read The Hammock: A novel based on the true story of French painter James Tissot. Read reviews. The Hammock: A novel based on the true story of French painter James Tissot, brings Tissot’s world from 1870 to 1879 alive in a story of war, art, Society glamour, love, scandal, and tragedy. Illustrated with 17 stunning, high-resolution fine art images in full color Courtesy of The Bridgeman Art Library (295 pages; ISBN (ePub): 978-0-615-68267-9). See http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009P5RYVE.
Show full PR text Samsung Announces Two-Terabyte EcoGreen Hard Drivewith the Highest Areal Density for High-performance Desktop Systems Seoul August 3, 2010 -- Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a world leader in digital consumer electronics and information technology, today announced the F4EG, theworld's highest-density, environmentally friendly hard disk drive (HDD) for the desktop market. The EcoGreen™ F4 features a 2-terabyte (TB) capacity – 667GB for each of its three disks – and is capable of storing up to 880 hours of DVD video or 500,000 songs in MP3 format.The internal F4EG utilizes Samsung's high-density design technology to provide better performance, low power and improved reliability to its 'EcoGreen' hard drives. "Storage-hungry multimedia professionals, gamers and home PC users continue to increase the amount of video, music, photo and other personal data they store and back-up," said I.C. Park, vice president, Storage Sales, Semiconductor Business, Samsung Electronics. "The F4EG delivers all the benefits of a low-power drive yet features top performance quality and is environmentally friendly." With its three disks and advanced technology, the F4EG drive is 19 percent better in standby time performance and has 23 percent lower power consumption in standby mode than the previous four-disk model, the F3EG. Eliminating halogen compound and brominated flameretardant from the PCBA, the new model is produced with eco-friendly materials and meets all the environmental regulations including RoHS (Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment) which is applied worldwide, including the European Union. Samsung's new hard drive utilizes its low noise operation technology SilentSeek™ and NoiseGuard™ to achieve quiet system operation. The F4EG incorporates a 3.0Gbps SATA interface, Native Command Queuing and a 32MB buffer memory. The 3.5" F4EG drive is available in 1.5TB and 2TB capacitiesin the United States and EU markets with a MSRP of $119.99. Initial shipment is scheduled for early September.
So, this piece is some kind of an addition to my , for it was actually drawn in the same period of time or, you may say, on the same momentum Actually I planned to post both of the pictures on the same day, as I was drawing them simultaneously, but, unfortunately, due to a sudden amount of work the break between these two pictures became as long as two weeks, and I planned it to be not longer than a day... (Well, at least I've beaten my "slowpoke" record again XD) Итак, рисунок сей по сути является чем то вроде небольшого дополнения к предыдущей картинке так как рисовались оба скетча одновременно или лучше сказать на одном порыве)А вообще изначально конечно обе картинки должны были запоститься в один день ибо рисовал я их параллельно, но к сожалению из за внезапно возникшей работыразрыв, который должен был быть не больше одного дня, продлился чутли не две недели (зато я побил свой рекорд по тормозному заканчиванию... еще разXD)_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Thank you to for translation)Thank you so much for your comments))And thanks to all who's supporting me at www.patreon.com/Yakovlev_Vad I really appreciate your support))
Longbox Graveyard #164 Super-Blog Team-Up returns with a Doctor Strange-driven look at magic in comics! Now, Halloween was last week, so I’m a couple days late for Dracula, but with his movie out this week, I’m right on time for Doctor Strange … and it’s always time for Bronze Age Marvel here at Longbox Graveyard. So let’s jump right in as Doctor Strange battles Dracula, Lord of Vampires! This two-part crossover began in Tomb of Dracula #44, smack-dab in the middle of the classic run by Marv Wolfman, Gene Colan, and Tom Palmer. I’ve sung the praises of Tomb of Dracula here at Longbox Graveyard before (twice!) — it really might have been the finest Marvel comic of its age. And one of the reasons the book worked so well was that writer and editor Marv Wolfman largely kept Dracula and his tales sequestered from the rest of the Marvel Universe. While Drac would encounter Spider-Man and Thor in other titles, Marv jealously guarded the door of Dracula’s own book, ceding to editorial pressure to more closely connect Tomb of Dracula with the Marvel Universe only through crossovers with otherworldly and supernatural characters like Silver Surfer, Brother Voodoo, and (in our case) Doctor Strange! The first part of the tale, written by Marv Wolfman, opened with Strange mourning the death of his faithful manservant, Wong, beneath the flashing fangs of a vampire! Just look at Gene Colan’s smokey pencils, beautifully illuminated by Tom Palmer’s perfect inks! There’s never been a better team for supernatural comics storytelling! But this wasn’t just any vampire — this was Dracula, the Lord of Vampires, as Strange discovered when his sorcery allowed him to experience Wong’s final moments. Harnessing the fathomless powers of the All-Seeing Eye of Agamotto (which then, as now, could do about anything the writer needed it to do), Doctor Strange tracked the “life-patterns” of Dracula from the scene of the crime to Dracula’s lair in Boston. I love how Colan’s “camera” pushes in on Dracula, starting with his open coffin, then Dracula in repose, and then Dracula alert to Strange’s intrusion. Looking at this sequence, did you “see” Dracula’s eyes snap open between the last two panels? That’s the magic of comics, boys and girls — like Scott McCloud noted, comics are as much about what you don’t see between the panels as what you see in the panels themselves. After that? Well, it’s on! But this battle between Dracula and Strange wasn’t the usual Marvel Comics Fist City beat-down, and it wasn’t even a garden-variety Doctor Strange ectoplasmic duel of ghosts. No, to battle Dracula, Strange invoked the “Images of Ikonn” to delve into Dracula’s “passions and fears,” taking Dracula back to the moment his mortal self fell on the battlefield in a cavalry duel with Turkish invaders. It’s kind of dirty pool, to be honest. For a couple panels, there, we could almost sympathize with Dracula, and this was intentional. Marv Wolfman considered Dracula the “protagonist” of Tomb of Dracula, rather than the hero, but as readers we still needed to get on board with Dracula, and moments like this served to humanize him. We see Dracula as a mortal terrified of his pending (un)death, we see his noble sacrifice in defense of his homeland, and can kind of feel bad for him … but it doesn’t take much for Dracula to revert to form, showing the dark side of his noble nature with his incredulity that this conflict originated with the death of “… a mere hireling … a cretinous menial … a whimpering domestic.” (Don’t take a job with Dracula, folks). Taken aback by Dracula’s sudden recovery — and reluctant to use his “more potent magics” for fear of rendering Dracula incapable of restoring Wong to life — Doctor Strange was quickly mesmerized by Dracula. Mesmerized … and slain! How’s that for a vintage Marvel shock ending? Doctor Strange is dead? Say it isn’t so! Fortunately, we needn’t wait even one week to see how this one turns out … the tale continued in Doctor Strange #14! While this issue was written by Steve Englehart (who firmly put his stamp on the story, as we shall see), the book was illustrated by the self-same team of Colan and Palmer, and also edited by Marv Wolfman, resulting in an unusually coherent crossover, at least by Marvel standards. The issue opened with Dracula gloating over his fallen foe, casting Strange’s body into a dungeon, where he might rot until rising, three days later, as Dracula’s undead slave. But in his arrogance, Dracula didn’t reckon that Doctor Strange might be “no stranger to death,” as we learn that Strange escaped death by leaving his body instants before Dracula killed him at the end of last issue. But now, Strange was trapped outside his body, in astral form, with only three days to concoct a solution to his dilemma. So what did Strange do? Why, he thought, of course! But all the thinking in the world didn’t solve Doc’s trouble. After trying to distract Dracula with visions and spells — and nearly catching Dracula out in the daylight — Strange was still a helpless, disembodied spectator when Dracula returned three days later. But Dracula was taking no chances, and in an odd reversal of roles, he sought to put a final end to the undead Doctor Strange with a stake through the heart! Right on cue, Strange rose as a vampire, and we finally got some fist-and-fang action, as Dracula battled with a thing that was not-quite-Strange: Doctor Strange’s body, given in to dark vampiric impulses, while Strange’s conscience was helpless to intervene. And it didn’t take long for Dracula to gain the upper hand against a Doctor Strange reduced to bestial impulses. I love it when Drac calls someone a “clod.” If your boss calls you a clod — or “cretin,” another favorite — then he’s probably a super-villian It’s when Dracula had Doctor Strange on the ropes that something intriguing and even a little profound occurred. When Dracula asserted himself as “Lord” while strangling the life from Strange, from the depths of his possessed soul, Doctor Strange called on the power of the Christian god to save his life! It’s a bold turn of events, and something Steve Englehart didn’t shy away from — he once featured God Himself in a Doctor Strange story, then authored a bogus fan letter to deflect scrutiny — but what’s most interesting to me about this moment is what it asks about Doctor Strange’s own spirituality. Does Doctor Strange believe in the Christian god, or is He just another deity in the Rolodex, to be invoked like Cyttorak or Vishanti? In his moment of greatest extremis, it is the Christian god that Strange turns to for salvation. Is Strange a man of faith, or is he just happy to use the best tool at hand? Either way, that cross-like burst of light sure did the job … Strange’s body and soul become one again even as Dracula is sent down to defeat, but Englehart implies that the will and even the cruelty required to overcome Dracula’s evil doesn’t come entirely from the divine force Strange invoked — that the “… true Dr. Strange would find no pleasure in his (Dracula’s) pain … that his tormentor (Strange) has been touched with Dracula’s own evil …” This conclusion points to an (ahem) strange duality, with the power of God getting Strange back on his feet, but Dracula’s own dark power of evil being the special sauce that let Strange finish the deed and kill Dracula for all time. (Or at least until the next issue of Tomb of Dracula!) And with Strange’s (and Wong’s) souls miraculously restored through Dracula’s death (could Drac have died for their sins? Nah …), that brings this tale to a close, and with it this installment of Longbox Graveyard! It’s been awhile since I posted here, and it feels good! I hope to make this a more regular occurrence — please let me know what you think of this story and Steve Englehart’s Strange cosmology in the comments section below! But, before you go — it took the awesome power of Super-Blog Team-Up to wake Longbox Graveyard from its Odinsleep … assuming you view this as a welcome development, please pay your thanks forward by visiting these other Super-Blog Team-Up articles, all looking at some form of “Strange” Magic! NEXT: #165 I Shopped At An Amazon Brick And Mortar Book Store
Expand Unmarked graves in a Tripoli cemetery on September 3, 2011. The bodies of unknown victims were apparently taken from different parts of Tripoli during the fighting in August. © 2011 Fred Abrahams/Human Rights Watch (Tripoli) – Libya’s ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) should place an immediate moratorium on the exhumation of mass graves until forensic experts are available to support the exhumations, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch said the NTC should also arrange security at known or suspected mass grave sites to prevent unauthorized exhumations. “We understand that Libyans want to find the missing and give victims a dignified burial, but digging up graves without forensic experts present can destroy evidence and make it more difficult to identify the bodies,” said Peter Bouckaert, emergencies director at Human Rights Watch. “The focus for now should be on locating and securing the burial sites, and making plans for their proper exhumation.” Since the collapse of the Gaddafi government in western Libya in late August 2011, mass graves containing the bodies of people killed during the conflict have been reported on a weekly basis in Tripoli and other areas, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Based on available evidence, some of these people apparently died in government custody, including by execution. Human Rights Watch has documented apparent executions by Gaddafi forces in Tripoli, al-Qawalishand Bani Walid, and the suffocation deaths of 19 detainees in al-Khoms, some of which involved mass graves. The grave sites documented to date vary in size, with some holding several dozen bodies. They also differ in the date of their creation, and some may contain remains from separate incidents. At one cemetery in Tripoli, a tractor driver told Human Rights Watch he had buried several hundred bodies gathered from various parts of the city during and after the fighting and brought to the site around August 20. Their identities and causes of death are unknown. In addition to grave sites holding people killed during the six-month conflict, other sites relating to pre-conflict incidents are also at risk. These may include the graves of an estimated 1,200 prisoners killed in the Abu Salim prison massacre in 1996, whose remains were never returned to their families. Exhumations began on many of the grave sites from the recent conflict as soon as they were located. Local authorities and groups typically conducted these exhumations without central coordination and at times without professional forensic assistance. The ICRC helped arrange the handling of 125 bodies from 12 different sites, but the organization is not involved in collecting evidence for possible use in legal proceedings. Where unplanned and unassisted exhumations have occurred, the opportunity to identify bodies and the circumstances of deaths may already be lost, Human Rights Watch said. The NTC authorities have discussed plans to establish a commission on the missing. Human Rights Watch supports this plan and urges them to ensure that the commission is inclusive, consisting of representatives from key ministries such as justice, internal security, and health, in addition to forensic experts and lawyers. This breadth of expertise will be necessary for coordinating exhumations and identification of the remains of those killed during the conflict. Human Rights Watch urged the authorities to set up such a commission swiftly and empower it to begin its work with the establishment of all necessary laws and policies. Human Rights Watch urged the United Nations and governments supporting the NTC to assist the commission by providing funds, technical equipment, and forensic experts where needed. The provision of foreign forensic experts should be done under the umbrella of the commission and should focus on both the collection of criminal evidence and the humanitarian identification of remains, so that the bodies can be returned to the families of the dead, Human Rights Watch said. “In past post-conflict situations such as in Kosovo and Iraq, there was insufficient coordination with local authorities, and too many protocols used by different forensic teams,” said Bouckaert. “International assistance will be most effective if it bolsters national capacity.”
The New Frontier of which I speak is not a set of promises — it is a set of challenges . It sums up not what I intend to offer the American people , but what I intend to ask of them. John Fitzgerald Kennedy (29 May 1917 – 22 November 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, a brother of Robert F. Kennedy and Ted Kennedy, and the first husband of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. The great revolution in the history of man, past, present and future, is the revolution of those determined to be free I can assure you that every degree of mind and spirit that I possess will be devoted to the long-range interests of the United States and to the cause of freedom around the world This flight was made out in the open with all the possibilities of failure , which would have been damaging to our country's prestige. Because great risks were taken in that regard, it seems to me that we have some right to claim that this open society of ours which risked much, gained much. We sometimes chafe at the burden of our obligations , the complexity of our decisions , the agony of our choices . But there is no comfort or security for us in evasion, no solution in abdication, no relief in irresponsibility. Although a country may stand still, history never stands still. Thus, if we do not soon begin to move forward again, we will inevitably be left behind. … But effort and courage are not enough without purpose and direction. For, as Socrates told us, "If a man does not know to what port he is sailing, no wind is favorable." Across the gulfs and barriers that now divide us, we must remember that there are no permanent enemies . Hostility today is a fact , but it is not a ruling law . The supreme reality of our time is our indivisibility as children of God and our common vulnerability on this planet. Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education . … The human mind is our fundamental resource. The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie — deliberate, contrived and dishonest — but the myth — persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic. A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on. Ideas have endurance without death In a democracy , every citizen, regardless of his interest in politics , 'hold office'; everyone of us is in a position of responsibility ; and, in the final analysis, the kind of government we get depends upon how we fulfill those responsibilities. We, the people , are the boss, and we will get the kind of political leadership , be it good or bad, that we demand and deserve. In a world of danger and trial, peace is our deepest aspiration … But it is an unfortunate fact that we can secure peace only by preparing for war The courage of life is often a less dramatic spectacle than the courage of a final moment ; but it is no less a magnificent mixture of triumph and tragedy. A man does what he must — in spite of personal consequences , in spite of obstacles and dangers , and pressures — and that is the basis of all human morality The world was not meant to be a prison in which man awaits his execution. The world is changing . The old era is ending. The old ways will not do. ... It is a time, in short, for a new generation of leadership We can have faith in the future only if we have faith in ourselves. Are we up to the task — are we equal to the challenge? Are we willing to match the Russian sacrifice of the present for the future — or must we sacrifice our future in order to enjoy the present? That is the question of the New Frontier. I believe in a President whose religious views are his own private affair, neither imposed by him upon the nation or imposed by the nation upon him as a condition to holding that office. I want a Chief Executive whose public acts are responsible to all groups and obligated to none — who can attend any ceremony, service or dinner his office may appropriately require of him — and whose fulfillment of his Presidential oath is not limited or conditioned by any religious oath, ritual or obligation. Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body; it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity. The stamina and strength which the defense of liberty requires are not the product of a few weeks' basic training or a month's conditioning. These only come from bodies which have been conditioned by a lifetime of participation in sports and interest in physical activity. When at some future date the high court of history sits in judgment on each of us — recording whether in our brief span of service we fulfilled our responsibilities to the state — our success or failure, in whatever office we hold, will be measured by the answers to four questions: ... Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans. Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty. In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than in mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it — and the glow from that fire can truly light the world. And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own. Address before the American Society of Newspaper Editors at the Statler Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C. (April 20, 1961) In his speech President Kennedy discusses the purpose of American intervention abroad and the spread of communist ideology to Latin America and Southeast Asia, with particular emphasis on the Bay of Pigs incident that occurred in Cuba four days prior. Following his address before the American Society of Newspapers President Kennedy assumed responsibily for the Bay of Pigs Invasion at the next day by saying: "There's an old saying that victory has a hundred fathers and defeat is an orphan.... I'm the responsible officer of the Government." (Source: State Department press conference 21 April 1961, following the Bay of Pigs Invasion. Schlesinger, Arthur M. Jr. 1965, 2002. A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House. Houghton Mifflin ISBN 1-57912-449-6 ISBN 978-1-57912-449-6, p. 262.)
Share this... Thanks to German site wobleibtdieerderwärmung for providing what follows. The slightly negative linear trend in global temperature measured by RSS satellite (TLT) continues despite the El-Nino-driven warm 2015. Source: www.woodfortrees.org trend This flat trend has held since the end of 1997 and is closing in on two decades – catching a number of scientists by surprise. The preliminary data from UAH and RSS shows that 2015 was the third warmest year since the measurements began in 1978, and thus did not set a new record. A reanalysis of the global 2m temperature from CFSv2 measured a positive deviation from the mean of 0.27 K, but put the year 2015 only in 6th place: Note that the poles in the chart have been stretched out and so appear much larger in size than what they actually are. Source: What Causes El Nino Warmth? This all means that more than half of the satellite measurement era has seen no warming whatsoever! In Germany according to a DWD press release dated 30 December 2015, the mean temperature for 2015 was 9,9°C and so was the second warmest on record, tied with 2000 and 2007, despite the unusually warm November and December months, which were dominated by mild southerly winds. Polar ice growth A big surprise for many has been the ice growth measured in Greenland since 2014. Moreover the Greenland ice sheet has gown some 300 km³ since September 1, 2015 alone: Top: The total daily contribution to the surface mass balance from the entire ice sheet (blue line, Gt/day). For comparison, the mean curve from the period 1990-2013 is shown (dark grey). The same calendar day in each of the 24 years (in the period 1990-2013) will have its own value. These differences from year to year are illustrated by the light grey band. For each calendar day, however, the lowest and highest values of the 24 years have been left out.” Source: www.dmi.dk/en/greenland-ice-mass-budget/. It’s also worth taking a look at the surprising NASA-Study here! The northern hemisphere in November 2015 saw a total of 36.25 million km² of snow cover. That’s about 2.3 million km² above the WMO 1981-2010 mean. It’s the 7th greatest extent since measurements began in 1966. Northern hemispheric snow cover in November for the 2011 to 2015 five-year period set a new record since measurements began in 1966. The 40-year trend is strongly upwards. Source: http://climate.rutgers.edu/month=11. In summary the global temperature, polar ice and snow cover trends show no warming taking place, but rather harbor strong signals of cooling.
"Fixing a Hole" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released on their 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. It was written by Paul McCartney, although credited to Lennon–McCartney. Writing [ edit ] In a 1968 interview, McCartney said that the song was "about the hole in the road where the rain gets in, a good old analogy—the hole in your make-up which lets the rain in and stops your mind from going where it will." He went on to say that the following lines were about fans who hung around outside his home day and night, and whose actions he found off-putting:[4] See the people standing there who disagree, and never win And wonder why they don't get in my door Years later, McCartney acknowledged that the song was an "ode to pot".[5] Recording [ edit ] The first of two recording sessions for "Fixing a Hole" was at Regent Sound Studios in London on 9 February 1967, in three takes. Regent Sound was used because all three studios at EMI's Abbey Road Studios were unavailable that night, so this was the first time that the Beatles used a British studio other than Abbey Road for an EMI recording.[7] Also present at the session was a man who had arrived at McCartney's house in St John's Wood, shortly before McCartney was due to depart for the studio, and introduced himself as Jesus Christ. McCartney later recalled: "I thought, Well, it probably isn't. But if he is, I'm not going to be the one to turn him away ... There were a lot of casualties about then. We used to get a lot of people who were maybe insecure or going through emotional breakdowns or whatever. So I said, 'I've got to go to a session but if you promise to be very quiet and just sit in a corner, you can come.' So he did, he came to the session and he did sit very quietly and I never saw him after that."[9] The lead vocal was recorded at the same time as the rhythm track, a change from the Beatles' post-1964 approach of overdubbing the vocal. Overdubs were added to this recording on 21 February 1967 at EMI Studios.[10] Musical structure [ edit ] The song alternates between the key of F minor (in verse) and F major (in bridge) in basically 4 4 time with a structure of Intro → Verse → Verse → Bridge → Verse → Verse (Guitar Solo) → Bridge → Verse → Outro (fadeout).[11] On track one George Martin opens on harpsichord, briefly playing a descending chromatic line (resembling "Michelle") in a staccato-like pattern 4 4 time, but Ringo Starr's hi-hat in the final measure of the introduction introduces a swing beat that stays for the remainder of the song. The first eight-measure verse begins with McCartney's vocals on track three ("I'm fixing a hole where the rain gets in"). The optimistic word "Fixing" here is sung to a piano F major chord (bass now also on track one playing an F note) but on "hole" a C augmented chord (which includes a G♯/A♭ note that is a III (3rd) note in the thus predicted F minor scale) (bass now playing a C or V (5th) note in both the F major and F minor scales) pivoting towards the Fm pentatonic minor scale on the more negative mood of "rain gets in".[12] The Fm key melody in the verse is tinged both by blues flat 7th, and dorian mode raised 6th notes. The harpsichord repeats the descending chromatic line in the F minor key in swing beat. In the second half of the verse, McCartney's bass begins a syncopated three-note pattern that leaves the downbeat empty, meanwhile his vocal is dropping to F an octave below (on "stops my mind"), climbing back to C ("from wandering") then sailing free of the song's established octave to a high falsetto A flat on "where it will go."[13] George Harrison then comes in on track two in the seventh and eighth measure with a syncopated distorted Stratocaster with gain, treble and bass all turned up high, providing his distinctive countermelody, double-tracked phrase descending from Paul's high A♭ vocal note through a "series of biting inversions on the tonic chord;"[13] Harrison later adds an eight bar solo that culminates in a two octave descent.[14] McCartney, Lennon and Harrison do backing vocals on track 4 for the bridge ("And it really doesn't matter if I'm wrong I'm right where I belong I'm right") in the parallel major key (F).[9][15] This shift between minor (verse) and major (bridge) is also seen in the songs "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" (verse E, chorus Em); "Michelle" (verse F, chorus Fm); "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" (bridge A, verse Am), "I Me Mine" (chorus A, verse Am), "The Fool on the Hill" (verse D, chorus Dm) and "Penny Lane" (verse [bars 1–3] B, verse [bars 4–8] Bm).[16] Personnel [ edit ] Personnel per Guitar World[7] Live performances [ edit ] Paul McCartney performed the song live for the first time by any Beatle on his 1993 New World Tour. He later reprised the song on his 2005 US Tour. Cover versions [ edit ] References [ edit ]
Screenshot by CNET Look out, Messi. After Google's AlphaGo artificial intelligence bested our best Go player, South Korea is now setting its sights on making AI that can play soccer. Hosted by the Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST), the AI World Cup will see university students across South Korea developing AI programs to compete in a series of online games, reported The Korea Times. The prelims will begin in November. "The football matches will be conducted in a five on five tournament," a KAIST spokesperson told the publication on Tuesday. "Each of the five AI-programmed players in such positions as striker, defender and goalkeeper will compete with their counterparts." That's not all though, as competing students will also build AI experts that can provide post-game analysis. It's not the first time researchers are putting their tech developments to the test using soccer. The first Robot World Cup soccer games (or RoboCup), an annual international robotics competition that aims to advance robotics and AI research, put competitive soccer-playing robots in the field a decade ago. But soccer isn't the only thing that tech can do -- in the same year, IBM's computer, Deep Blue, defeated Garry Kasparov in a game of chess. While the competition is only limited to university students in South Korea this time, it will be opened to international teams "in the first half of 2018," Kim Jong-hwan, president of the AI World Cup committee said in the statement. Tech Enabled: CNET chronicles tech's role in providing new kinds of accessibility. Batteries Not Included: The CNET team reminds us why tech is cool.
I'd like to offer an apology and a clarification to remarks I made recently. While on the David Letterman program, I joked that I might need a "mail-order bride" to achieve the goal of having more children in my life. I believe that most people understood that this was a joke and took it as such. (A dated reference, no doubt, and another sign of my advancing age.) However, I do apologize to anyone who took offense. The comments of some Philippine government officials come as no surprise to me, either. Even the one by a former action film star-turned-Senator who beckoned me to come to the Philippines so he could "beat" me over my comment. Such anger and frustration about the issue of sex trafficking is understandable. The Philippines has suffered significant problems with the issue of sex trafficking and I would like to turn your attention to the work of an organization called Love146 that my brother Stephen educated me about. Visit their website at www.love146.org and learn of the important work that is being done, in various regions of the world, by Rob Morris and his co-founders and staff. I had met with Rob in New York, some months before the Letterman appearance, in the hopes of helping him raise money for this group. Again, I apologize for the perceived insensitivity of that remark and ask you to visit the Love146 site. The clarification I offer involves my post related to the American auto industry. Nowhere in that post do I state I want U.S. autoworkers to lose jobs. Nowhere in that post do I state I want U.S. autoworkers to cut wages or benefits. Nowhere in that post do I state that I want U.S. autoworkers to lose their pensions. I state, by using the phrase "pull the plug," that taxpayer funds should no longer be made available to bail out U.S. automotive corporations. They should file for bankruptcy, reorganize and emerge as wholly reconfigured entities, perhaps with labor owning significant positions in those companies. The U.S. government should develop and implement a plan to help refit the U.S. auto industry with the capability of mass producing the new generations of fuel efficient vehicles (using the California standard) that Americans will require in the coming decades. But giving more money to Detroit means giving more money to GM, Chrysler and Ford, and that is a horrible idea. U.S. autoworkers are, at least today, casualties of very bad policy by the government and godforsaken management by the Big Three. Sacrifices will need to be made by these workers in order to emerge from this catastrophe. But the demand for well-made trucks of all kinds, military vehicles, emergency vehicles including ambulances and fire trucks, buses and any other product with wheels and an engine will carry on. Americans are good at making those things. Better than anyone. It is the car that you and I drive every day to work or for pleasure that must change. It is changing. Other companies, based in other cultures, faced that before we did. Now it is time to face that here, too. Two comments that stuck out to me. One is that I should look into a Ford Fusion, which I will do ASAP. If the best hybrid is American-made, I am elated. The other is that I am anti-labor. I find that ridiculous in the extreme. The rank and file of the UAW have three people to blame for this: Big Three brass, Washington chickenshits who let Detroit roll over them, and the UAW leadership itself, which let its members play in traffic, if you will, for decades, until a fleet of better made Japanese cars came down that road and you know the rest.
Now in its fifth year, and having had the backing of F1 drivers, chiefs and team principals, the ZOOM auction is helping raise money for the Starlight Children's Foundation. The auction offers fans the chance to buy signed photographs taken by F1's leading figures over 2016 – with a host of top names including world champion Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton, Bernie Ecclestone, Daniel Ricciardo, and Max Verstappen having contributed. McLaren racing director Eric Boullier has submitted a picture of him gathered with fellow team chiefs Christian Horner from Red Bull, Toto Wolff, from Maurizio Arrivabene and Gunther Steiner. He said of the image: "First ever Team Principals selfie!" Nico Rosberg, selected photograph Photo by: Nico Rosberg Rosberg has also submitted a selfie taken in the moments after he won the Italian Grand Prix at Monza in September. "The podium in Monza was a very emotional moment. My first victory there, everywhere the incredible tifosi," he said. "We sung together, which was pure goosebumps-feeling. Afterwards I asked Sebastian if we could do a selfie together with our physios. Spontaneously he said yes which lead to this great snapshot." Other images that have been submitted include Raikkonen's rain visor, a Verstappen scenic shot above Monaco and a picture from Hamilton of a sunset on the islands of Turks and Caicos. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari selected photograph Photo by: Kimi Raikkonen Since it was launched at the end of 2012, the ZOOM Auction has raised almost £100,000 for charity. As well as a gala auction taking place in London on Friday night, other images will be available as part of an online auction over the next few weeks. Bernie Ecclestone has long been a supporter of the ZOOM event. "ZOOM is a super project," he said. "We are proud to be supporting it again, helping to raise money for charity while showing what the stars of F1 get up to away from the TV cameras. We're also very pleased to welcome ZOOM's new charity partner, Starlight Children's Foundation. "They do a fantastic job making sick children's dreams come true and it's great to see the kids every year at the Monaco Grand Prix. It's good to have them on board." Further details of the auction and available photographs can be found at www.zoom-f1.com
The benign interpretation of the Clintons' evocation of the importance of an LBJ to complement an MLK is about the need for legislative activity to enshrine the vital work of civil rights activists. As such, it's a perfectly reasonable analogy to make, if a little condescending to King. But does it reflect who the Clintons actually are? Are they really today's version of LBJ? In fact, unlike most others in this race, we have some direct evidence of how the Clintons, given the power of the White House, responded to the civil rights movement of their own time. In the 1990s, we saw a burst of grass-roots activism, protest and rhetoric in defense of gay and lesbian equality. Out of the ashes of the AIDS epidemic, the gay rights movement rose like a phoenix. And the Clintons, seeing a fund-raising opportunity, reached out to some in the movement to finance their own campaign. Those donors trusted them. I wrote the TNR endorsement. But as soon as the gays had performed their role - financing the Clintons in power and supporting their campaign - the Clintons turned on us. They dropped their promise to end the military's ban instantaneously and then presided over a doubling of the discharges of gay servicemembers under the hideous "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. They then used the other emerging civil rights issue - marriage equality - to triangulate against gay couples. They ran ads on Christian radio stations bragging about the Defense of Marriage Act that president Clinton eagerly signed. And the only gay people they embraced were those willing to continue to trade money for access - and loyalty to the Clintons. Who helped them devise this anti-gay strategy? Dick Morris. Who recommended hiring him in the first place? Hillary Clinton. Johnson risked his entire coalition on the issue of civil rights - a heroic act that still reverberates today. The Clintons wouldn't risk a smidgen of a percentage point in a Mark Penn poll for the duration of a news cycle. That's the difference. We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com.
At the same time that the price of gasoline is rising, the US oil industry is increasing its exports of gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel. Yes, you read that correctly. Compared to a year ago, exports of gasoline have tripled – at a time when the price of gasoline is 42 cents a gallon more expensive at the pump. On Thursday, for example, the price of crude oil remained elevated at $107 a barrel because of fears over the Iranian nuclear situation, and the price of gasoline rose 3 cents a gallon compared to Wednesday, according to AAA. The oil industry maintains the exports are necessary because domestic demand is weak. The industry says if refiners could not send American-made gasoline to China, India, Europe, and South America, the refineries would have to close as several have already done on the East Coast. Yet, other energy observers say exporting gasoline at a time of rising prices is sort of like throwing flammable liquid on a fire. “I think it is simply disingenuous to think exports of gasoline are not a factor in the prices,” says Ben Brockwell, director of data marketing and information services at the Oil Price Information Service, which provides petroleum pricing and information to the oil industry. The issue of US gasoline exports could become controversial if they continue through the summer when average gasoline prices are expected to be even higher than the current price which is $3.61 a gallon according to AAA. By this summer there are some predictions gasoline prices could eclipse the old record of $4.11 a gallon set in July of 2008 and perhaps peak closer to $4.50 a gallon. President Obama plans to address the gasoline price issue Thursday in Miami. However, he is mainly expected to try to blunt oil industry complaints that his administration is anti-oil company. He will also tout his efforts to get the auto industry to increase fuel standards and the Department of Energy’s efforts to promote clean energy technology. But, when it comes to oil industry exports of gasoline, there may not be many policy options for Obama unless he wants to start to interfere with the marketplace. “I don’t think there are any powers the president has that allow him to do that by statute or otherwise,” says Charles Ebinger, director of the Energy Security Initiative at the Brookings Institution in Washington. “I guess behind the scenes he could jawbone the industry to ask them to stop exporting for the good of the nation.” Mr. Ebinger says the oil industry might want to scale back the exports since “it’s not the best public relations in the world to export when prices are rising at home.” Obama might be able to halt the exports using the war powers act, much like the US did during World War II. Mr. Brockwell of the Oil Price Information Service thinks it would probably take some kind of legislation from Congress to cut off the exports. “I guess Congress could institute some kind of tariff or fee,” says Brockwell “I’m not sure if you could do it by executive order.” The oil industry maintains there is no cause for alarm. “First of all it is a very small amount,” says John Felmy, chief economist for the American Petroleum Institute (API), which lobbies for the oil industry in Washington. Mr. Felmy estimates exports represent 4 percent of total US gasoline production. He says the exports are helping some in the refining industry stay in business since they have been buying expensive crude at the same time that domestic demand has been declining. “They are losing money on every gallon they sell and they can’t make it up on volume,” he says. “But people are willing to pay higher prices for gasoline on the international market.” That demand has resulted in record production from the Gulf Coast, says Mr. Felmy – most of it exports. Brockwell says gasoline exports, on a four week average, are now running 600,000 barrels a day compared to 200,000 barrels per day a year ago. He says this is the equivalent of three of the largest refineries in the US exporting most of their gasoline production. “Instinctively, I understand the API not wanting the American public to know so much is exported and tied to high prices,” he says. If the exports were not taking place, Ebinger at Brookings says it might be possible to argue the refiners would be flooding the market with gasoline which would reduce prices. “If people knew there was a surplus of gasoline, you might get some entrepreneurs in to sell it at lower prices to stimulate demand,” he says. But, Felmy says that’s not what would happen. He says if the refiners can’t make money, they will have to mothball their operations and layoff workers. The exports are producing jobs, he says. He points out the Gulf Coast refiners are now producing a record amount of gasoline, thanks to the exports. “Think about it, we’re importing less costly oil, refining and exporting it – that’s a good thing but we’re criticized for it.” Get the Monitor Stories you care about delivered to your inbox. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy Felmy disputes Brockwell’s math. He says the cost of producing a gallon of gasoline breaks down to $2.50 a gallon for crude oil and 49 cents in taxes. Throw in transportation and production costs and it’s not hard to get to the current price. He sees no sign that exports are causing prices to rise. But, Brockwell says it’s showing up on the so-called “spot market” – the daily buying and selling of actual petroleum products – which he says is soaring. “If demand is so low, how can that be?”
Pink Laser Burst Variants - Smuggler's Den Wave 3 Award Card - Princess Leia By The Senate on 2016-05-31 17:45:00 Wave 3 of Pink Laser Burst has ended. You will have 24 hours until Wednesday June 1st to meld all 22 Wave 2 Pink Laser Variants for the Pink Laser Burst Princess Leia. Pink Laser Burst Wave 3 Meld Checklist: 1. C-3PO 2. R2-D2 3. Tusken Raider 4. Jawa 5. Stormtrooper 6. Han Solo 7. Jon 'Dutch' Vander 8. Greedo 9. Ben Kenobi 10. Grand Moff Tarkin 11. TIE Fighter Pilot 12. Leesub Sirln 13. Luke Skywalker (ESB) 14. Wampa 15. Lando Calrissian 16. Major Bren Derlin 17. Bossk 18. Admiral Piett 19. Dengar 20. Mon Mothma 21. Emperor Palpatine 22. Admiral Ackbar You can use lb_pink_wave3 to search for this wave! Mega Award: For those that collect all 188 cards in this chase will receive an award of 1 million credits! Good luck! Go Crack Some Packs!
OK we’ve all been there, those avocados on your counter look completely green one day, then BAM! Too ripe! That’s what happened to me this week when I noticed my avocados screaming to be eaten. Although I’d love to chow down on them in a single sitting, I thought I’d whip up these cookies instead. These ooey gooey cookies are not only easy to make but healthy for you! They are full of healthy fats, high in fibre, and low in sugar and carbs. Yup, these cookies are da bomb. Before we get to the recipe, I thought I’d share my tips and tricks on how to buy and store your avocados. As a daily avocado eater I’ve had quite a bit of experience in this department… If you regularly eat avocados buy them at different levels of ripeness so they don’t all turn ripe at the same time. An unripe avocado will be very firm and bright green. As it begins to ripen they become slightly soft to the touch and the skin changes to a dark green/brown colour, the flesh inside should be a bright green with no brown spots. This is when they are at the perfect ripeness. When they are very soft, almost mushy and the skin is black, they have become over ripe; the flesh will no longer be nice and green inside but brown instead – no bueno! You can also try the stem trick: To ripen an avocado faster, place it in a brown paper bag with a banana or apple and store in a dark place or pantry. The plant hormone ethylene, found naturally in bananas and apples, triggers the ripening process. Combine that with a brown paper bag and the ethylene gases are trapped which cause the fruits to ripen faster. Store avocados on the counter until ripe. If you don’t plan to use them right away, transfer them to the fridge to slow the ripening process. If you only plan to use one half of an avocado keep the other half with the pit in it, wrap in cellophane tightly and store in the fridge. This will lessen the browning process. The pit trick also works for guacamole too. Place the pit in the bowl to keep it from browning. Now that you have those tips in your back pocket, let’s make cookies! Makes 12 Cookies 150g ripe avocado (about 1 large avocado) 1/4 cup ground flaxseed + 1/2 cup warm water 1/4 cup vegan protein powder (I used Chocolate Plant Fusion) 1/4 cup organic cacao powder (I used Navitas Naturals) 1/2 tsp baking soda 2 Tbsp almond milk 3 Tbsp or 45g of high quality vegan dark chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life)* 10-20 drops alcohol-free liquid stevia – depending on how sweet you like it (I used NOW Better Stevia) Pinch of salt Preheat oven to 350F. In a small bowl, mix together the flaxseed and water, set aside to thicken. Blend avocado, protein powder, cacao powder, almond milk, stevia and salt until smooth. Add thickened flaxseed mixture and blend again until combined. Transfer to a mixing bowl. Stir in baking soda and chocolate chips. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Drop 12 spoonfuls of batter onto the baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven, allow to cool and devour! Keep cookies refrigerated. *You can also use stevia chocolate chips to lower the sugar such as Lily’s, or chop up a high quality chocolate bar into chunks. Make sure it’s at least 70% cocoa. Nutritional Info per cookie 71 Calories, 6g Carbs, 2g Fibre, 4g Net Carbs, 4g Fat, 3g Protein, 2g Sugar Please Note: Nutritional info is gathered from MyFitnessPal and may vary depending on your ingredients. Therefore, it is not always 100% accurate and meant to be used as a reference only.
The 21-year-old Swede will be making his debut behind the wheel of an F1 car in the post-Hungarian GP test, as he will get to pilot the Sauber C36-Ferrari for one of the two scheduled test days. "It will be a great opportunity for Gustav to make another step in his racing career and to fulfill his childhood dream," said Sauber team principal Monisha Kaltenborn. "We have followed him in previous years, especially last year in the GP2 Series, where he consistently made progress." Malja, a race winner in ADAC Formel Masters and Formula Renault 2.0 NEC, joined GP2 full-time in 2016 with Italian team Rapax, finishing 13th in his rookie year. He switched to Spanish outfit Racing Engineering for 2017, when the series was rebranded as F2, and currently sits ninth in the standings after his campaign's first podium in Monaco. Malja said: "The prospect of driving a Formula 1 car is exceptionally thrilling, and a childhood dream come true. I can’t wait to experience that sensation; I’m sure it will be a very surreal moment." Sauber fielded its regular drivers Pascal Wehrlein and Marcus Ericsson during the first in-season test in Bahrain, meaning that, as per regulations, it will have to find another rookie to run on the other day of the Hungary test.
Labor says national disability insurance scheme being used as a cover for cuts while disability group says minister is deliberately conflating state and federal spending on welfare Scott Morrison has been criticised by disability advocates after indicating that welfare spending would have to be wound back to fund the national disability insurance scheme. Morrison, the new social services minister, said the government was fully committed to the NDIS, but people “taking a lend” of the welfare system would be targeted to make the disability initiative sustainable. “Everyone supports the NDIS, but making it work is the hard part. It will cost $10bn a year,” Morrison told the Australian. “The NDIS can’t just fall from the sky. You have to embed it at the heart of the system. To achieve sustainability of the safety net – of which the NDIS is the holy grail – you need sustainability in other parts of the system. “To relieve the burden on the system it is about getting people off welfare and into work, and to work as much as they are able. This is the goal we are working towards. I would hope it is a goal the opposition shares. They support the NDIS, but are they going to support what needs to be done to fund it?” Mary Mallett, the chief executive of the Disability Advocacy Network Australia, said Morrison was “deliberately confusing people” over how welfare spending related to the NDIS. “They are conflating two issues where there is no connection between them,” she told Guardian Australia. “The NDIS replaces the care and support provided by the states and territories, money that is already being spent. The majority of people who have a significant disability will be on the disability support pension [DSP], but that’s the only relationship to welfare. “I don’t understand why the government would deliberately blend the two. It feels like the NDIS is being used as an emotional blackmail tool so the government can say: ‘We will have to cut everything to make the NDIS happen’. “That puts us in a very difficult position because we want the NDIS to happen but we don’t want people kicked off the DSP and onto Newstart, when it offers so little money.” Mallett’s organisation has been stripped of $165,000 in federal funding in a government move to shrink the number of disability peak groups it supports from 13 to seven. Morrison compared the implementation of the NDIS to measures he brought in in his previous role as immigration minister to prevent asylum seekers coming to Australia by boat. He said: “The NDIS has bipartisan support. People wanted to see people stopped drowning at sea, it’s a goal everybody agrees with, but it’s of no value to anyone if it doesn’t turn up.” Morrison said he was concerned about effective outcomes for the welfare system, rather than getting praise from the “latte set” that would criticise any crackdown on payments. The NDIS, a national insurance safety net for disabled people, is at the trial stage in each state and territory apart from Queensland. It will not be fully implemented nationally until 2017-18 at the earliest. Mallett said: “There are a lot of games being played around the NDIS. I don’t think it is at risk, but I think the government wants to play this game so they can take a large number of people off the DSP. “The proportion of people in disability support is the same in Australia as other western countries. We don’t have a significantly worse situation of people abusing the system but the government is desperate to convince people that’s the case,” she said. Labor said the NDIS was “fully funded” by a 0.5% increase in the Medicare levy, which it said would raise about $20bn by 2019. “Any claim by Mr Morrison that the NDIS isn’t fully funded is just plain wrong,” said Jenny Macklin, Labor’s disability reform spokeswoman. “This is a disgusting and cynical attempt by Scott Morrison to use the NDIS as a cover for the Abbott government’s next round of savage cuts to vulnerable Australians. “Mr Morrison should think twice before trying to use the NDIS to advance his own political interest.”
All images courtesy of Last Gasp A few weeks ago, I found a book at a thrift store called The Tallahassee Project. It's a collection of photos of nonviolent female federal inmates who were incarcerated as part of the war on drugs. Each photo is accompanied by a letter from the woman depicted, explaining her situation. The majority of the women shown in the book were charged with "conspiracy" based on the statements of informants who spoke to authorities in exchange for reduced sentences. Often, this conspiracy amounted to little more than being the girlfriend, wife, or mother of a drug dealer. The book was compiled in April 2001 by a guy named John Beresford from an organization called the Committee on Unjust Sentencing. I googled John to see if there was any update on how the women in the book were doing. I guess there's a part of me that likes to believe that once a horrible injustice has been brought to the attention of the public, somebody, somehow, will do something to fix it. That's not the case here. Unfortunately, John died in 2007, and took his Committee on Unjust Sentencing with him. I checked to see if the women from the book were still in prison, and many of them still are—rotting in prison since before 9/11 because they got messed up with drugs. Below are some of the women who haven't been released, along with the letter they wrote to John 12 years ago. :( Alice Jones (Inmate ID Number: 29560-004) Sentenced to 24 years for conspiracy, drug conviction Estimated release date: 04-24-2015 "I am a mother of two, a 19-year-old daughter and a 14-year-old son. For 25 years I owned and operated my own property rental business, which I began from the ground up. In 1992, I was arrested and subsequently convicted for a drug conspiracy of which I had no part. The government attempted to seize my home and business. A thorough investigation of my business and tax records proved my business to be legitimate. No drugs were even seized from me or my home. My criminal record was based entirely upon people with multiple arrests and lengthy police records, who were attempting to avoid further convictions. I did not ever imagine such an atrocious nightmare could ever occur in the United States. If this can happen to me, it can happen to anyone." Jo Ann Winter (Inmate ID Number 29397-077) Sentenced to 23 years for conspiracy Estimated release date: 05-19-2017 "There is a great deal of injustice in the judicial system in the US. It is a mistake to take a conspiracy case to trial. An individual becomes a number in the game of justice played by judges, prosecutors, defense lawyers, and co-conspirators. For four months, beginning in September 1992, I was temporarily employed by three men who formed a partnership and opened a new business that dealt with the manufacture and repair of car hauler trailers. I was the secretary, and my duties included obtaining licenses and permits necessary for doing business and handling receivables and payables that related to said business. Approximately six months after that brief employment, one of the partners was arrested for a state drug delivery charge. This person was a friend of, and was involved in a relationship with my daughter. That relationship had been on-going for several years... I contacted his friends and associates who raised enough money to post bond and obtain counsel. He was arrested again later that year for failure to comply with a judge's order and again I contacted his friends and associates to request additional funds. During this period of turmoil I gave a pager subscribed in my name to my daughter. I also had a telephone installed in my name for my daughter. The relationship ended, my daughter relocated, but the pager and telephone remained in the possession of the friend. There were numerous subsequent contacts with his friends and associates, then and through the date of his trial for the state charge, which concluded in October 1995. One cannot imagine my surprise when I was arrested on November 6, 1996, and charged with 'Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute' and 'Distribution of Methamphetamine and Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering.' I had neither drugs nor money in my possession. I was released immediately after my arrest on a personal recognizance bond. I was no threat to society. I did not obstruct justice. I believe in justice. I went to each court appearance. I proceeded to trial with a court appointed lawyer. At trial an indicted co-conspirator testified that I was present at a location when he was there to conduct a drug deal. This was where I worked. I saw no such transaction. He received money from the federal government and time off his sentence from a previous state case for his testimony. Another unindicted co-conspirator said that someone made a statement to her about me. It wasn't true. She is free. Another unindicted co-conspirator said that she had never seen me, but she saw my car once or twice. She is free. Two other unindicted co-conspirators gave testimony in the trial. They already had sentences of 85 and 79 months from a related case. One will be free in 14 months. The jury returned a guilty verdict and I was taken into custody and have remained in custody since May 7, 1997. I was sentenced on July 30, 1997, to 276 months (23 years). Eight of the alleged co-conspirators received sentences that were much less than mine. I don't even know five of these people. Since being transferred to prison, I have been separated from my family. I am 900 miles from home. At age 51, I am serving a Life sentence. I no longer believe in justice." Stephanie George (Inmate ID Number: 04023-017) Sentenced to life for conspiracy/crack cocaine (Stephanie agreed to hide her boyfriend's cocaine stash.) Estimated release date: Life "I am mother of three, ages 11, seven, and six. They are in counseling behind me not being there. I'm first time offender and innocent of crime. Just guilty of association with child's father. I've even had a write up in Rolling Stone Magazine about how wrong my sentencing was." Patricia Locklear (Inmate ID Number: 15627-056) Sentenced to 24 years four months for conspiracy drug offense (nonviolent, first-time offender) Estimated release date: 10-21-2016 "(My husband) and I have two sons, Marty and Mark ages 29 and 21. We lost everything we owned when we were convicted. We were the only two out of the whole conspiracy who received such lengthy sentences because we did not cooperate (turn someone else in) with the government. So they took everything. The bigger dealers snitched and got their sentences reduced, even though they were big time dealers. And they did not lose their possessions like we did. The system is set up so that people who turn in other people, even though they may be big dealers, receive less time than the smaller people. If you do not have someone to inform on, you are the one that will receive these lengthy prison sentences. And will receive more time than people with violent offenses. There was no violence in our case. These drug laws need to be reassessed. It does not make sense to sentence us drug dealers (where there is no violence involved) to more time than murderers, rapist, etc. Please re-evaluate these laws." Pamela O'Hara Cooper (Inmate ID Number: 08087-021) Sentenced to 40 years for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, possession with intent to distribute cocaine and cocaine base, and using a firearm during a trafficking offense. Estimated release date: 11-19-2013 "My name is Pamela O'Hara Cooper. I was born in Waycross, GA. I was sentenced June 16, 1993. My only son, Benjamin Lashon Cooper, age 27, was also a first-time offender. I have two daughters, Juanita Perkins, age 26, and Alexis Cooper, age 13. When I was arrested, Alexis was 7, and now she will be 14 years old on Jan. 9th. We really don't know each other anymore. I talk to my son every 90 days. Juanita takes care of Alexis because my mother is 73. She can't take care of Alexis any more due to her age. Juanita has two kids of her own and a husband. She got married right after high school when I came to prison. My mother took care of Alexis until 3 months ago. Juanita took her because she said Alexis is the only family she has left. When I saw Alexis after five years at visitation, I didn't know who she was. I walked right past her. She had to call out to me. I've met my grand children once. This prison time has jurt my kids more than me. I missed Juanita's high school graduation, her getting married, and the birth of her two kids. Alexis is 13, the age when she needs me most. My son is growing up in prison. I have never sold drugs in my life. I got caught with drugs in my care because my boyfriend asked me to do him a favor. He asked me to go to Florida and pick up a package from my cousin. The gun charge is there because when I stepped off the train, the guy who picked me up was driving my car and my gun was in my glove compartment. I have never been to jail in my life until this happened. I've always carried my gun in my glove compartment and the gun was bought legal. It has never been used in my life. My life has little meaning... because my kids were my life. I have lost so much. What life I have left, with the length of time I have left to serve, my kids and grandchildren will be adults by the time I get out. And I wonder what will be left of my family by then?" Evelyn Bozon Pappa (Inmate ID Number: 48576-004) Sentenced to life for conspiracy Estimated release date: Life "Mother of 4 children. In my case there was no violence and there was no money or drugs found in my possession. The main heavy duty dealers were never arrested, so I am here doing a Life sentence because the government couldn't arrest those people. My kids are having a hard time because I am not at home with them. How do you explain to a child that their mother is doing a Life sentence for drugs where there was no violence? I would like to be deported back to my country. Why should American taxpayers have to pay the cost of housing me for the rest of my life?" Elainaise Mervil (Inmate ID Number: 20982-018) Sentenced to 20 years for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine base and cocaine hydrochloride Estimated release date: 08-07-2014 "I am a Haitian lady who has left 4 minor children behind to do this mandatory sentence. I have no criminal history. I am a first-time non-violent offender. It seems the government is tearing families apart and the children are the ones that are really made to suffer for this "War on Drugs." P.O.W. I fell into the wrong crowd in Orlando, Florida. I have never had any problems with the law and only am now learning to read and write the English language. I am a native of the beautiful country of Haiti. I love America, but I believe that the judicial system needs some change and review. Conspiracy is such an all-encompassing category that if no other charge may be brought forth, one is charged with conspiracy and subjected to the 10-year mandatory minimums which increase rapidly in direct proportion to hearsay evidence whether true or not true. It appears that a person who is found in possession of narcotics will receive less time than a person who was not found in possession of anything, since conspiracy seems like the only viable charge. Conspiracy was originally designed to target "king pins" who are usually sheltered by runners, etc. But what has happened instead is that the king pins are the ones who receive the most favorable deals since they have the most to provide to the government for substantial assistance motions as they possess many many contacts. The "little man" who does not know as much suffers since his assistance is not as valuable; hence, falling victim to the harsh treatment under the law by being required to serve a decade-plus in prison. Many times the information which ends up causing a person to be charged, or having to enter a plea agreement as the consequences would be tremendously worse, is unreliable and "puffed up" in an effort for the informant to receive a better deal. Quite often, the government will tell an informant: "if you give us this, etc., we will give you five years in jail, but if we can say it was 5 kilos instead of 5 grams we'll give you probation." Now, I ask you, which would be the sweeter deal? Any help you could give me would be greatly appreciated. I went to trial and lost. I received a sentence of 240 months. I had no information to provide the government and was unable to secure a deal so I was subjected to harsh sentencing guidelines. Being away from my family has been punishment enough. If there was a lesson to be learned, I have learnt it. If one wants to know the true picture of my heart, just picture my baby being ripped from my arms as a two-month old infant. I have never seen her since. P.S. As I told you, I do not speak English and am just learning. When I was first interviewed, the officer testified I said certain incriminating evidence. At that time, I did not speak, read, or write English. Now you tell me how such an injustice occurred. Once the complaint states The United States of America vs. You, it is a downhill battle." Theresa Brown (Inmate ID Number: 47478-004) Sentence to life without parole for conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine Estimated release date: Life "Yes, I'm incarcerated, but I think that the public should know that I've been convicted of a crime that had no supported evidence (meaning they had no crack cocaine). I've been sentence to life without parole because of co-defendants testimonies to help the government convict me so that they themselves would not receive a harsh penalty as myself. (They are called informants for the Government.) If you would like any information pertaining to my case please let me know. I'm ready to speak out, but I don't know who to contact or how to contact anyone. Thank you for yall support." Irma Alred (Inmate ID Number: 03436-017) Sentenced to 30 years, ten months for conspiracy to distribute marijuana Estimated release date: 09-28-2020 "I was sentenced to 30 years and 10 months in prison to be followed by 10 years supervised release and a $25,000 fine. My charge was conspiracy to distribute marijuana along with my now ex-husband and his brother as well as some other people I didn't know who were with them when they had drug transactions. There was no evidence against me other than hearsay from people who were granted everything from immunity to 30 days home confinement for their testimony. We were all facing the same penalties under the federal sentencing guidelines. I proceeded to trial and was punished further by getting enhancements for a gun my codefendant had (which was also hearsay by the same man who admitted to being a cocaine abuser who would stand out in the pouring rain seeing things from too much drug use) and an enhancement to "king-pin" status. It's amazing how one can receive so much time behind bars for hearsay by people who stand to gain so much by lying. I just can't believe the government can tell somebody that you're going to jail for 30 years, but if you place blame on this other person, you'll only do 30 days on an electronic home monitoring system which you wear on your ankle. The probation officer advised against the fine because I don't have any money, but the judge assessed $25,000 anyway. Now I have to pay half of my prison wages (which began at 12 cents per hour) to the government. The government tapped my phones and heard the word "jackets" and told the jury that jackets meant pounds of drugs. I owned a sewing business and jackets meant jackets. To make matters worse, I also owned acres of land and farmed crops and raised cattle. Any time I mentioned a vegetable or a cow, again, they told the jury it was all about drugs... I've served six years and have to serve another 25 years. By then my children will be grandparents, if I live that long to see it happen." @JLCT
Overview (3) Mini Bio (1) Spouse (1) Trade Mark (9) Often portrays obsessive and detached or loner characters Often stars in period films or plays historical figures Chameleon-like changes of appearance for different roles Fluent American accent Intense physical and mental commitment to his roles Remains in character almost constantly during the filming process even going so far as to conduct interviews using whatever accent he is using for that particular film. Mole in the corner of his outer right eye. Trivia (108) Is an excellent horseman and an avid reader. He trained for 10 weeks in dancing and martial arts for the dance sequences in Newsies (1992) and Swing Kids (1993). He has an uncanny ear for accents. Bale was handpicked by Winona Ryder for the coveted role of Laurie (Theodore Laurence) in Little Women (1994). A devoted animal lover, Christian has two dogs [Mojo and Ramone] and three cats [Miriam, Molly and Lilly], which are all strays that he found. Christian is active in many organizations, including Ark Trust, Greenpeace, the World Wildlife Foundation, the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, the Redwings Sanctuary, and the Happy Child Mission, and a school for street kids in Rio De Janeiro. His grandfather doubled for John Wayne in two movies, in Africa. His first on-screen role was in 1983 at age 9 in a British commercial for Pac-Man cereal. His father, David Bale , died on December 30, 2003, from brain lymphoma at age 62. He was raised in England, Portugal and California. His great-uncle, Rex Bale, was an actor. His father was a former commercial pilot and his mother was a former circus dancer. Has three sisters: musician Erin Bale; computer professional Sharon Bale; and director/actress Louise Bale , who appeared in Newsies (1992). His grandfather was a stand-up comic and children's entertainer. Met his wife through Winona Ryder ; she was Ryder's personal assistant. Dropped an amazing 63 pounds for his role as the emaciated insomniac Trevor Reznik in the film The Machinist (2004) with only a single vitamin consultation with a nutritionist to guide him. For the most part, he only ate salads and apples, chewed gum, smoked cigarettes, and drank nonfat lattes. Considered getting formal acting training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) when he was twenty, but decided to focus on working instead. Has been in two versions of the John Smith/Pocahontas story. He provides the voice of Thomas in Pocahontas (1995) and plays John Rolfe in The New World (2005). In the "Fresh Air with Terry Gross" radio interview first aired June 13, 2005, he admitted to Gross that because Batman is "such an American icon", he had decided not to perform his promotional interviews for the movie Batman Begins (2005) in his natural English accent. Instead he spoke to Gross in an almost inflection-less mid-American accent, only revealing his dialectic roots with a few words. Two of his most famous characters' names have a difference of only one letter: Bateman and Batman. Since a young age, he was very ambitious about attending Drama School, and auditioned for the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA), and the Central School of Speech and Drama at age 20. He was accepted to all, but was convinced by his parents to continue working instead. To this day, he regrets not attending drama school for his personal passion of learning his craft. The nameplate on his trailer for Batman Begins (2005) read "Bruce Wayne" as opposed to Bale's name. Is the first non-American actor to portray Batman/Bruce Wayne. Is the youngest actor to portray Batman. Owned a home he shared with his sister, Louise Bale , in Manhattan Beach. Auditioned for the role of Jack Dawson in Titanic (1997) and almost got the role but people felt that it wouldn't be "fair" having two Brits playing two Americans (Rose was American as well; she says in the movie that the Titanic was a slave ship bringing her back to America). Is a distant relative of 19th-century thespian Lily Langtry If he plays an American character, he will use an American accent in all the interviews related to the film. He says he does this so the audience is not confused. Became a father for the 1st time at age 31 when his wife Sibi Blazic gave birth to their daughter Emmaline Bale on March 27, 2005. Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#13) (2007). Although born in Wales, his family is actually English. In 1976, when Bale was two years old, his family left Wales and returned to England. Was good friends with the late actor Heath Ledger His fans refer to themselves as "Baleheads". His father was an activist and adventurer and his mother a circus dancer so he never lived in one place for very long while growing up. A very private individual, he has never publicly confirmed the name of his daughter. Was introduced to acting by his sister, Louise Bale Alongside Michael Keaton , he is the only other actor to portray Bruce Wayne/Batman in more than one live action film. Was arrested over verbal assault allegations made by his mother and his sister just hours after he attended the European premiere of his movie The Dark Knight (2008) in London. Upon reviewing the case, the London police decided not to charge him with anything. [July 2008] He was considered for the role of James Bond in Casino Royale (2006), which went to Daniel Craig Has said that he considers it an honor to have been called a "mofo" by Samuel L. Jackson in a movie. He and his wife belong to the Board of Trustees in the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International. Dislikes doing interviews. Met Drew Barrymore on the set of Empire of the Sun (1987), who was visiting her godfather, Steven Spielberg . He was thirteen and she was twelve. They would both admit later to having a crush on each other at the time. He was involved in an infamous incident where he was recorded verbally assaulting cinematographer Shane Hurlbut on the set of Terminator Salvation (2009) for interrupting him during an intense scene. Bale has since apologized, but the incident was widely heard across the Internet. Is an avid fan of video games and cites Super Mario as one of his all-time favorites growing up. In 1984, he made his stage debut in the West End play "The Nerd", opposite Rowan Atkinson Has appeared twice on the cover of GQ magazine: March 2007 and June 2009. Holds the records for the most weight lost (63 pounds for The Machinist (2004)) and gained (80 pounds for Batman Begins (2005)) for film roles. He was a huge fan of the Terminator films long before being cast as John Connor. Is the fourth and oldest actor to play the role of John Connor in the Terminator series. He is also the first non-American. Has spoken frequently of his dislike for the Disney film Newsies (1992). Has played the character of Bruce Wayne/Batman in more live-action films than any other actor. Is one of four consecutive Oscar winners in the Best Supporting Actor category whose name begins with Chris, the other actors being Christoph Waltz (who won twice) and Christopher Plummer He and Jeremy Sisto have played the roles of both Batman and Jesus Christ in films. Bale is the only one to have played both in live-action productions. Has starred in two films about Native Americans and the founding of America: Pocahontas (1995) and The New World (2005). Has lived in Los Angeles, California since 1992. Visited victims of the 2012 Aurora shooting spree. Has a mole on his nose right before his right eye. Left school at the age of 16. (March 8, 2014) He and his wife Sibi Blazic are expecting their 2nd child together. Has played both Moses and Jesus, two of the most important figures in the Bible and Christianity in general. He and his wife Sibi Blazic welcomed their second child, a son, in August 2014. He is still an avid motorcyclist he but gave up track racing after getting into multiple accidents and receiving a steel plate for his broken wrist, a titanium clavicle and 25 screws for his hand. At one point he also lost the top of his finger but it was later reattached. One of his favorite movies of all time is Beverly Hills Ninja (1997). He gained 43 pounds for his role as Irving Rosenfeld in American Hustle (2013). He was considered for the role of Will Atenton / Peter Ward in Dream House (2011) that went to Daniel Craig He auditioned for the role of Detective Jake Hoyt in Training Day (2001) that went to Ethan Hawke He turned down the role of Leo Demidov in Child 44 (2015) that went to Tom Hardy Contrary to popular belief, he didn't audition for the role of Robin/Dick Grayson in Batman Forever (1995). He said, "I'd never have auditioned to be bloody Robin". He was considered for the lead role in Robin Hood (2010) that went to Russell Crowe He was considered to play Norman Bates in Psycho (1998) that went to Vince Vaughn He was considered for the role of Adrian Doyle Pryce/The Stranger in Oldboy (2013) that went to Sharlto Copley He was originally cast as Rob Hall in Everest (2015), but dropped out in favour of Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014). He was considered for the role of Pvt/LCpl Anthony Swofford in Jarhead (2005) that went to Jake Gyllenhaal He was originally cast as George W. Bush in W. (2008). He spent months researching for the role, but dropped out after he was not satisfied with the prosthetic makeup tests. Josh Brolin replaced him. He turned down the role of Bryan Woodman in Syriana (2005), as he was busy filming The New World (2005). Friends with Dark Knight Trilogy cast: Michael Caine, Katie Holmes, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Marion Cottilard and Aaron Eckhart. Applied for U.S. citizenship in 2010 and received it in 2014. He was considered for the role of Norman Bates in Psycho (1998) before Vince Vaughn was cast. Won the 2019 Golden Globe Award in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy category for his role as Dick Cheney in Vice (2018). Born on the same date as Olivia Colman. Shares the same month and day of birth--January 30--with Vice President Dick Cheney, who he portrays in Vice (2018). Nominated for a 2019 Academy Award in the Best Actor in a leading Role category for his role as Dick Cheney in Vice (2018) but lost to Rami Malek for Bohemian Rhapsody (2018). Personal Quotes (64) [interview in Spin magazine, March 1996] An actor should never be larger than the film he's in. [on dealing with the resulting media attention of Empire of the Sun (1987) at age 13] It was horrific. I was almost crying in interviews and running away during press conferences, pretending I was going to the bathroom and just disappearing. [on the sudden fame that resulted after Empire of the Sun (1987)] I enjoyed making the film, but I was shocked when I received all the attention when I got home to Bournemouth. Girls were all over me, boys wanted to fight me, and I was being asked to open local fêtes when all I wanted to do was ride my BMX bike in the woods. I told my parents I wasn't interested in doing anything again because the attention ruined it. I don't want to know about the lives of other actors and I don't want people to know too much about me. If we don't know about the private lives of other actors, that leaves us as clean slates when it comes to playing characters. That's the point, they can create these other characters and I can believe them. I think if you're a good enough actor, that's the way to longevity in the film business. Keep everybody guessing. I started my career without fans. [on his 63-pound weight loss for The Machinist (2004)] I had a stupid kind of feeling of invincibility, like, "I can do it, I can manage it." I really did feel like I hit this point of enlightenment. I always like that. Whenever there's a project where everyone's going, "Oooooh, it's a bit dodgy", I always like it. If you actually look at it, there tends not to be anything risky at all. Why did I start acting in the first place? I didn't do it to be mediocre or to please everybody all the time. I'd love to remain a secret and still work, but I also want people to see the movies I'm in and get a higher profile because of that. I like to think that as long as you continue choosing diverse roles, you can avoid becoming predictable. It's the actors who are prepared to make fools of themselves who are usually the ones who come to mean something to the audience. [on his transformation into Patrick Bateman for American Psycho (2000)] The character is so vain and obsessed with his looks. While the psychology of the character was something that I could perform, you can't fake the physicality. Being English, I tend to enjoy going down to the pub far more than going to the gym, so it was very unnatural for me. I just had to convince myself that I loved it, which was the most difficult thing about playing this part. Working out is incredibly boring. I swear it's true that the bigger your muscles get, the fewer brain cells you have. I found I had to stop thinking when I was in the gym because if I thought about it, I'd realize how ridiculous it was that I was pumping iron when I could've been out having a drink and a cigarette and enjoying some lunch. I did three hours a day for six weeks with a personal trainer and some time before that. I ate an awful lot during training and then almost nothing during filming. The only thing that I'm obsessed with is sleeping and, actually, it is more than an obsession, it is a pleasure. I love sleeping so much that I could do it 12 hours a day if I didn't have to turn on the alarm clock... and still, sometimes... Our Batman [ Batman Begins (2005)] is centered on the early days. It's an explanation. It's certainly not Batman No. 5. It's a reinvention. We want you to forget there has ever been a Batman before this one. [on Batman Begins (2005)] I've never felt like the Batman character in the films was given as much time as any of the villains. The villains were always the most interesting characters, too. Batman has always been this very bizarre, almost blind character running through the middle of the story. Our film is different. [on Batman Begins (2005)] I contacted them. I heard they were doing some low-budget Batman not aimed at kids and I was tantalized. I had appreciated the Batman movies, but I wasn't really a fan and I didn't know the TV series. But I read some of the graphic novels, and they were very dark and very interesting. I spent about three weeks in Chicago last July doing night shoots [for Batman Begins (2005)]. It's a great city, but the humidity was tough under the Batsuit. Uh, it got a little bad. It's hot enough in the Batsuit, let alone in the Chicago heat. I needed money because I had just bought a house, but I just kept saying, "I really can't do another movie that I know is not going to turn out the way I want it to, and that I have to make a lot of concessions in my head for.". For me, there's a bigger risk trying [ Batman Begins (2005)]. Ultimately, the big point was that [ Christopher Nolan ], who you would not expect to be doing that kind of movie, was going to direct it, which is exactly what I was looking for, because you want to do something totally different from the other Batman movies. I always thought there could be a really good movie made about Batman and when I heard that Chris was doing it I thought, "Well, he's not a director that you would expect, therefore you're going to get the unexpected from him." I think there's a great potential for going very dark with it, it's a fascinating character, very complex psychologically, which I've never seen done. You know, you have the two extremes, which are both very good. You can either go the very camp Adam West TV series thing [ Batman (1966)], which was great in its own way, or you can go more the way of the graphic Dark Knight novels which delve somewhat deeper. I had spent weeks staring at the wall in my house out of depression because of things that had gone wrong and the choices I had made. When I read The Machinist (2004), I just went, "Wow! This is perfect." I was having dreams about the character and I couldn't stop thinking about it. I felt like this one was going to save my arse, and pull me out of the depressed state I had got into. I did other things, but my heart was never in it. A lot of actors say that theater's the thing for them. And that's great, and I'm not one to speak with any authority about it because of not having done it properly. For me, movies are what I love. At first, I was somewhat hesitant to do the role [ Batman Begins (2005)]. I mean, after all, Batman is an icon. But I remember, as clear as day, being at the grocery store the day the movie opened, and this little boy saw me. He couldn't have been more than five years old. He just walked right up to me and hugged me. He hugged me, and I was so moved by it that I hugged him back. Then he looked up at me and said, "You're my hero." And in that moment, I knew that not only as an actor that I had done my job, but that I had made the right decision to play Batman. And I've never looked back on my the decision to play Batman since. [on playing Batman] You couldn't pull it off unless you became a beast inside that suit. I only sound intelligent when there's a good scriptwriter around. I'm English. Our dentistry is not world famous. But I made sure I got moldings of my old teeth beforehand because I miss them. I don't think I'm like any of the characters I've played. They're all really far from who I am. You can't help but find that violence is endlessly fascinating -- and I mean true violence, not action-movie violence, just because it is used as the answer to so many problems. We're all taught as kids not to be violent, but you can't help but also see that violence is what works very often. Bullies thrive. I think there's a kind of pretentiousness to the idea that serious work is only found in low-budget independent movies -- I can't stand that snobbery. I like being kept in the dark myself. You know, like mushrooms: Keep 'em in the dark and feed 'em shit. See, I think that's an enjoyable vegetable to be. At the time that [ Christopher Nolan ] asked me to do it [ Batman Begins (2005)], I actually couldn't do one push-up. They sent me to a trainer, who was having to hold my T-shirt at the back just to pull me up. I've come a long way from that. [on filming Batman films during the summer] I'm not really looking forward to wearing a black rubber suit in the summertime in humid Chicago. If you see a pool of sweat through the city, follow it and you will find me. [on director Christopher Nolan 's method for filming Batman Begins (2005)] We tend to shoot at night like some kind of covert operation. So, we have minimal people actually seeing me in that way. [on being asked if he knew how big a flop Newsies (1992) was] You say something bad about Newsies and you have an awful lot of people to answer to. [on the character of Batman] He's a messed-up individual, as well. He's got all sorts of issues. He's just as twisted and messed-up as the villains he's fighting, and that's part of the beauty of the whole story. [on his career] I've been able to work on movies that I like very much in the past few years, which I think have turned out how I had hoped that they would. And, I'm human, you know; that makes me feel good. I like it when people like what I do. I don't like it when people are laughing at me for what I do, you know? I mean, I'd love to say I was completely impervious to anybody's opinion, but that just ain't the truth. Of course, it matters. At the same time, there's also a danger when you start playing it too safe. After all, what am I paid to do? I'm paid to essentially make an ass out of myself, if needed. And occasionally, in doing that, you're going to fall flat on your face. But, I have learned, through doing that numerous times in my life, that there's also a ton of enjoyment to what other people see as humiliation. You can actually come to sort of thrive on that, because in a way, it kind of leads to a sort of fearlessness, if you genuinely don't mind. If the point is that you tried, I think that really is the most important thing. And, like you said, I feel like I've been very fortunate in the last couple of years that I've gotten to do what I loved, which is actually the making of movies, and on top of that, if I've liked how the movies have turned out themselves, then that's fantastic. But, to start getting too comfortable within that would be eventually to start churning out boring, boring chaff. (2007) I'm accustomed to not having any map for my life. I'd be reaching for an Uzi if I knew what was going to happen every day. If anybody tells me I shouldn't jump, of course all I want to do is jump and show it can be done. Life is not stable. There is a great strength that comes from not being shocked or scared by upheavals. I don't think I was particularly in need of superheroes. I never had any fascination with Superman or Spider-Man or a Batman kind of character. If it happened at all, it was imagined characters that I had invented. My dad was a role model for me. He was a fascinating man. There was intrigue and entertainment growing up with him. He gave me an edict that I still pursue: "Life should never be boring". [on meeting Arnold Schwarzenegger in a car park] He's got bodyguards and they were all shouting at me and I was going, 'Hold on, hold on, I've met him before!' but they were getting very worried as I walked toward him. But we chatted a bit. He had questions about Terminator Salvation (2009), he didn't know the script at all but I hear apparently he's now seen the movie... I'll wait to hear what his reaction is... Public Enemies (2009) is very timely. The Depression had people resenting the fat cats, the banks and so you've got someone like Dillinger being a hero because he was making a difference - he was getting it back for himself and so many people looked at him and romanticised that. You look back at the history of the Oscars - some of the best movies never got sh*t. [on Heath Ledger 's Oscar win for The Dark Knight (2008)] Heath winning Best Supporting Actor was fantastic. I had dinner with his family a couple of nights before the awards and liked very much they were the people who were picking it up for him. Of course I was really delighted that it did go that way. I'm actually someone that's very anti the whole B-Rolls, DVD extras and stuff like that. I understand people are interested, I get that they want to hear about it, but to me I look at it as old school movie magic and with magic you do not reveal your secrets. The Terminator (1984)] is the original nightmare of just being pursued that everyone has, by somebody who just will not stop, never stops, doesn't give up. And when you've got someone who looked like Arnold Schwarzenegger coming after you it made a big difference. [on avoiding media coverage of Heath Ledger 's death] I paid no attention to it. I knew him, I knew the family and why the hell would I sit there listening to idiots who don't know anything at all? I literally didn't read anything, didn't watch anything (after he died). If I happened to be watching anything that came on, I switched over straight away. It's incredible the way the voyeuristic outlook is accepted as news. [on The Dark Knight (2008)] Many times, I'll work with actors and I can tell they're thinking: "What are you doing? Why are you going that far with it?" or "You're nuts!". With [ Heath Ledger ], I could feel him going: "I love it!". [on his infamous onset rant on Terminator Salvation (2009)] I don't feel like I have to explain, "Well, I'm not really like this. I'm a wonderful guy and I have a lovely smile and how can you not like me?". [on his infamous onset rant on Terminator Salvation (2009)] It wouldn't have happened if we hadn't been playing that scene, for Christ's sake, between John Connor and his wife, which is probably the most intense one in the movie. I'd definitely say that that guy who was yelling was at least half John Connor, and the rest was Christian Bale Look, I hate to throw people under the bus for making movies I don't think are very good. But for Terminator Salvation (2009) to be considered with any legitimacy, you have to throw number three [ Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)] under the bus. It began to spoof the whole thing. To me, that was a sign that the franchise was dead, the mythology was finished. [on Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)] I really liked the second one. It had as much to do with the electric atmosphere in the theater when I saw it at 17, when I was first getting out to the States, and I'd never been in a movie theater that had that much noise and excitement throughout the entire movie. [on starting a new trilogy with Terminator Salvation (2009)] I hope that it will be a really fun, great movie trilogy if this one takes off and that we get to do a second or third, with me or not, whatever the scenario is. I think there is actually - in the hands of the right people - a real revival for this and an extension to an already good mythology. I was up in Toronto and went to see that movie Life Is Beautiful (1997). By myself. And when I came out, I had a craving for blood unlike anything I had ever experienced since I decided to go vegetarian at the age of 7. It was a compulsion. It was undeniable. I went to several restaurants, one right after the other, and got the biggest, bloodiest steaks I could get my hands on. It was the first time I had tasted flesh in almost twenty years. I've never felt Welsh. I was just born there and I don't remember it. In terms of growing up, it was completely English. I wouldn't want someone making a film of my life. I'd be on set every day saying they're telling it wrong. [on portraying Bruce Wayne as a jerk] That's always his cover. It's something that has to be there to make people never suspect that he's someone that would ever have the desire or belief, the passion or intelligence, the capability to be Batman. He has to be this kind of ridiculous cliché of a playboy. I have very strong opinions about why kids should not be working at such a young age. I think introducing children to a professional industry where they may not recognize the pressure is wrong. Very quickly they're going to be under pressure. This is an adult industry. I would be very skeptical putting anybody I cared about, who was close to me, in this profession at a young age. I absolutely support it as a hobby and as an amateur pursuit, but to enter into it in a professional way is a whole different ball game. To be honest, it was only a couple of years ago that I finally decided to stick at acting. Before that, I used to think, "I don't want to do this any more - I want to quit. I hate it." It's such a silly job. Some days I'd think I should be doing something much more important than this. I'd like to say acting is a meaningful and difficult job but it's actually damn easy and pretty pointless. Sometimes I love it but other days I think, "This sucks.". [on David O. Russell 's recent work] I think the thing that resonates so much for me with what David has been telling stories about recently is just the fact that the things that feel like disasters in your life, don't turn out to be disasters. That life throws you many curve balls. The things that seem like gifts, can turn out to be disastrous. And never to be surprised at how surprised you can be at life. [2014] [on his character's epic comb-over in American Hustle (2013)] For me it was so unexpected to see this con artist having such an unconvincing con on his head. And that he was so brilliant at what he did but so terrible at what he did on top of his head. There was a great juxtaposition in it. It became a very vital thing to add to it. And very charming as well. Generally, people think of con men being very slick and maybe vain and certainly very smooth operators. We didn't want to make Irv that. [on how David O. Russell likes to hide places on set] One of the funniest things for me on set [of American Hustle (2013)] was watching where David was going to hide. He always likes to be very close to the actors. He likes to be able to feel the atmosphere of the scene. So literally he'd be trying to hide under our chairs and the DP would be "No David, I see you there." And then he'd be jumping over a table somewhere and finding a spot where he could be very close and get a sense of being right there with us. I walk under ladders, I do all that stuff. I do it on purpose. I like provoking superstitions. [on Terrence Malick ] Terry has a thing where he loves it when you are not trying to please him, which is very different from most directors. Most directors want you to please them. And they've got a definite goal, which is not really always egotistical. The nature of having a script is that you have points and scenes where you have to take the audience to a certain place by the end of it. So there's always a goal there. With The New World (2005), there was a script. But, he abandoned it most of the time. He would never have the scenes be in the same place or a repetition of them. There would never be a request of, 'Can you change that a little bit and then we've got it.' It would be, 'OK, let's discover something new about it. But what (working with Malick) means as an actor is that you are not trying so hard. You just sort of see what happens. If it comes naturally, you do it. If it doesn't, you don't. That's what he loves. With this one you've got a character who is a man of words, who has lost all use for his own words, who is tired of talking. But there would be certain scenes where Terry might say to me, 'Alright, this is the topic. Talk a little bit about this.' And it just felt wrong. And sometimes I would be totally silent and it would go great. It's all I needed. As long as you are not attempting something, you are just discovering it as you go along. That's what delights him. He's very excited by what he does and by making films. [on being called a 'star'] I'm embarrassed when people say things such as 'star'. It's so vacuous. What if it was the apocalypse right now? What use would I be to anybody? Most people have definite skills but I'd be going 'Yeah, you know what? I'm going to pretend to be somebody else'. That's a great leveller. Ultimately, I'm useless. [on The Promise (2016) and the Armenian Genocide] To my shame, I knew nothing about the Armenian Genocide. When I first read the script, it was an uncanny moment. (...) I really only hope that the film can help and not actually exacerbate any problems. But to me, it doesn't take a genius to see that there's an embarrassment to having to acknowledge the atrocities that occurred in the birthing of a nation [Republic of Turkey]. It happens to many nations. [2017] [on The Promise (2016)] There's something important about a film that many people have tried to stop being made for decades. One and a half million people were killed in the most brutal fashion, and I knew nothing about it, and that's not uncommon. That's improbably bizarre. This is modern history...The fact that this Armenian Genocide happened and no one was ever held accountable may have provoked other genocides since. [2017] Salary (5)
Investors were willing to believe in Jeff Bezos, so Bezos could afford to stop proving that he knows how to turn a profit. Photo illustration by Lisa Larson-Walker. Photos by Getty Images. E-commerce was king this past holiday season, with Christmas surge orders overwhelming UPS’s systems and forcing $100 million in upgrades to prevent future fiascos. So it was no surprise on Jan. 30 when Amazon reported it had become even more enormous than ever before. According to its latest earnings report, the online shopping giant’s net sales increased 20 percent compared with the previous holiday season—a number that would seem staggeringly high if it weren’t so routine for a company that’s been growing rapidly for years. Yet the company’s net income of $274 million for all of last year was tiny relative to its sales of $74.45 billion. Amazon’s profit margin was virtually nonexistent. Meager as last year’s profits were, they represented a small improvement from 2012, when Amazon actually lost money. Even with the slight uptick in 2013, Amazon earned substantially less profit than it did back in 2008, when it posted a net income of $645 million on relatively modest sales of $19.17 billion. Over the past five years, in other words, the retailer of the future managed to more than triple its sales while slicing profits by more than half. It’s a business success story like no other in the world. To understand the significance of Amazon’s lack of profits, you need to distinguish it from another class of unprofitable company: the high-tech startup. Technology companies backed by venture capitalists often rise to prominence without showing profits. This often becomes a source of amusement or confusion when, for example, Instagram sells for $1 billion to Facebook with no revenue, or when Snapchat turns down a $3 billion buyout offer with, again, no revenue. The prevailing theory in Silicon Valley is that it’s a mistake for new companies to focus too much on developing revenue. People use a social service such as Pinterest in part because many other people are using it. Under the circumstances, it makes sense for a company to focus first and foremost on building a great product and getting people to use it. Once you’ve reached a critical mass of users, then comes the time to think about revenue strategies. This approach sometimes fails (and it’s entirely possible that Snapchat or Instagram will prove to be white whales), but it has a great deal of logic and precedent behind it. Once upon a time, Google and Facebook were just impressive products with little or no revenue. Today they’re financial juggernauts that have parlayed their user bases into an advertising bonanza. Twitter is partway down this path, and others will follow. In other words, “growth first, revenue later” is a risky business strategy, but a proven one. (The high level of risk is one reason the returns can be so great.) Amazon doesn’t fit this mold. For one thing, it’s hardly a young startup anymore. It was founded in 1995 and held its initial public offering way back in 1997. Most obviously, it’s not a firm with no revenue or with an unclear revenue strategy. You go to the website, you find items you might want to buy, and those items have prices next to them. If you decide you want to buy, you enter credit card information and get charged. It’s the most boring revenue strategy in the world, and one of the oldest. What’s more, it’s not as if Amazon has never been profitable. No large retailer has especially large profit margins, but for several years in the mid-aughts when the business was smaller, it obtained margins that were right in line with Walmart’s. Recent commentary has tended to draw a contrast between the company’s rising share price and waning profits. “The company barely ekes out a profit, spends a fortune on expansion and free shipping and is famously opaque about its business operations,” wrote Meaghan Clark and Angelo Young in the International Business Times in December, “yet investors continue to pour into the stock, pushing up the company’s share price to $388, a nearly 400 percent rise since the end of the company’s third quarter in September 2008.” This image of a firm that remains a darling of Wall Street despite a lack of profitability is tempting. But the truth is more likely the opposite. Amazon doesn’t turn a profit because it’s a darling of Wall Street. I once characterized Amazon as a “charitable institution being run by elements of the investment community for the benefit of consumers.” Bezos took issue with this in a letter to shareholders. His argument is that Amazon isn’t a charity; it’s a business—a business whose strategy is to make its customers as happy as possible. And that, fundamentally, is what makes Amazon great. Profits are in severe tension with the idea of pleasing customers—a profitable firm is, by definition, charging customers more than it needs to. But of course, there’s a reason that most companies try to make healthy profit margins: financial markets demand it. Only a Wall Street darling, a firm whose senior leadership has the confidence of markets, could get away with being as daring as Amazon is. * * * The timing of Amazon’s high-margin years is no coincidence. Amazon is, in a fundamental way, a child of the dot-com boom of the 1990s in a way that none of today’s other technology giants are. Apple and Microsoft long predate the bubble, and Facebook was founded long after it burst. Google existed in a modest way in the 1990s, but didn’t participate in go-go ’90s finance; its 2004 IPO was a key step on the march of technology stocks back to respectability and credibility after the bubble burst. But Amazon was right in the middle, born into the maelstrom of Clinton-era corporate finance. All stock prices soared in the late ’90s. The historical memory of a “tech bubble” ignores the fact that very prosaic industrial firms like Ford have lost more than 50 percent of the 1999 peak value. But while investors smiled on all stocks in the ’90s, they did take a special shine to technology stocks. An established company with a real business like AOL could obtain a valuation high enough to allow it to swallow all of Time Warner. And to attract investor enthusiasm, a startup didn’t really need anything at all—not a business model or even a good product—beyond a “.com” at the end of its name. Under the circumstances, Amazon was no more under pressure to demonstrate profitability than was Pets.com or Kozmo.com or any of the other in-retrospect-hilarious white elephants of the era. Amazon didn’t avoid the corporate graveyard by refusing to indulge in the mania of its founding era. Like many other dot-coms, it steadily lost money in pursuit of growth. It was a well-timed bond offering in February 2000—just before market sentiment turned—let Amazon ride out the cash crunch that brought down so many other firms. That money bought Amazon time, and they used that time to change course. They lost $567 million in 2001, but only $149 million in 2002—and the last quarter was profitable. By 2003 they eked out a modest $35 million profit, which rose to $588 million in 2004. Wall Street was suffering from a massive Internet hangover, and Bezos provided the cure. A native e-commerce player that sold things for more money than it cost to obtain and deliver them. A concrete demonstration that the Internet was a real business platform. The profits were not particularly large—J.C. Penney reported a $1.3 billion operating profit in 2004—but they were real at a time when Wall Street wanted to see real profits. As the years went by, Wall Street found itself enamored again with high tech. Google’s emergence as a advertising juggernaut, the explosive growth of Facebook, and the enormous popularity of the iPhone all laid the groundwork for today’s techno-enthusiasm. And Amazon quietly took advantage of that spirit of re-enchantment to stop worrying about profits. In the five years after 2004, Amazon’s profits nearly doubled to $902 million. But in the same period, total sales increased over 250 percent to $24.5 billion. These kinds of rapidly declining profit margins are the sort of thing a firm normally tries to avoid. But with a benign investor climate, Bezos could argue that growth is growth and margins are fundamentally irrelevant. In subsequent years, financial markets only smiled more fondly at the technology sector. Instagram sold to Facebook for $1 billion. Tumblr sold to Yahoo for about the same amount. Snapchat’s young founder turned down a reported $3 billion. People began to ask if Instagram had sold itself short. Twitter pulled off a successful IPO, and its shares have risen since. The dream of the ’90s, in other words, is alive in Silicon Valley. And that dream is the context for Amazon’s recent financial performance. Profits peaked in 2010 at $1.1 billion—impressive 28 percent growth from the previous year, but still a further diminution of profit margins in the context of 40 percent sales growth. Then profits fell 45 percent the next year even as sales grew 41 percent. Two years later, Amazon’s 2012 sales had nearly doubled to $61 billion from more than $30 billion, and yet the company posted its first loss since 2002. Investors were willing to believe in Jeff Bezos, so Bezos could afford to stop proving that he knows how to turn a profit. Amazon is essentially the beneficiary of large Wall Street trends in its ability to eschew profits, yet it’s also bucking the trend among its peer technology giants. Microsoft is generally seen as ailing these days, but still generates billions in profits every quarter despite falling PC sales and substantial losses on initiatives such as Bing and Windows Phone. Google’s 2012 net income of $10.7 billion exceeds all profits earned by Amazon ever. Apple earned $13.1 billion in net profit in its most recent quarter alone The executives running these firms celebrate their high profits, but they’ve become a subject of social concern. Enormous profits lead to enormous corporate income tax bills, bills that high tech companies seek to reduce through elaborate tax avoidance schemes. As exploiting these loopholes typically involves attributing income to foreign subsidiaries, firms end up with cash on their books that can’t be officially “brought back” to the United States without taking a hit. That leads to the creation of new avoidance schemes through which incredibly wealthy firms take on debt to pay dividends and avoid the IRS. Beyond tax avoidance, high profits at a time of mass unemployment and stagnant wages strikes many as unseemly. And even mild-mannered business columnists like the Financial Times’ John Plender are beginning to ask why tech companies are hoarding so much money rather than investing it. He observes that seven big tech firms—Apple, Microsoft, Google, Cisco, Oracle, Qualcomm and Facebook—have cash holdings that “now top $340 billion, a near-fivefold increase since the start of the millennium.” But it should be no mystery why tech companies in particular are slow to invest—they buy lots of computer equipment, and thus are operating in a strongly deflationary environment. On average, prices rise over time. But the price of a brand new iPhone 4S has fallen by about $200—over 30 percent—since its release two years ago. And the batteries whose functionality is so central to mobile devices are actually the element of the digital technology world where we’ve seen the least progress. Under the circumstances, it makes lots of sense to hang on to cash and invest next year rather than splurging today on equipment that will soon be obsolete. Pair that with high-margin underlying businesses, and you have a recipe for massive cash hoarding. * * * Yet the hoarding turns the firms into targets. No doubt Steve Jobs believed the cash pile he was bequeathing to Tim Cook when he died was an enormous asset, on par with Apple’s strong brand and engineering talent. But without the company’s charismatic founder on hand, it’s in some ways become a problem. Cook immediately set about trying to appease shareholders with a dividend and buyback program that soon grew more generous. This has only whetted the appetite of activist investors led by Carl Icahn to demand more money. Rather than saving for the future, Apple’s become a cash source for financial engineers. Google, for now, is still firmly in the hands of its founders, but nothing lasts forever. Microsoft has stumbled in recent years, and now activist investors are rumbling about trying to wrest control of the board of directors away from Bill Gates so the company can abandon the Steve Ballmer strategy of plowing Windows/Office profits into new ventures and instead become a piggybank. For founders, executives, and technologists who care on some level about the fate of their companies and the idea of innovation, this is a depressing outcome. The geeks and engineers create the companies, but in the end they become pawns in the struggles of Wall Street. One thing that makes Amazon different is that Bezos, a veteran of hedge fund D.E. Shaw, is himself a finance guy rather than an engineer. Understanding Wall Street as he does, he’s hit upon the ultimate way of avoiding the piggybank problem—just don’t earn the profits that create the cash hoard in the first place. Invest the revenue instead. To really understand this strategy as it applies to Amazon, you simply need to recognize that not every investment—in the sense of a future-oriented financial commitment—is an investment according to the rules of corporate accounting. If you take a bunch of money and use it to build a server farm or buy an office building, that’s an accounting investment. Amazon does plenty of this kind of investment But what doesn’t show up on the balance sheet in the same way is the company’s most important investment: the firm commitment to ultra-low prices. A simplistic pricing strategy looks like a parabola. The less you charge, the less money you make per unit sold, but the more units you sell. Plot all the different possible price points and you get a curve. The goal is to pick the price that puts you at the peak of the curve, maximizing your profits. Amazon’s prices almost certainly aren’t set at this peak. Take Amazon Prime, the $79-a-year membership program that entitles you to free two-day shipping on most items. Would membership really drop 10 percent if the fee were raised to $87? It seems unlikely. In fact, Amazon has allowed inflation to slowly eat away at the real price of Amazon Prime while simultaneously sweetening the pot by adding a large suite of free streaming video and the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library to the deal. The price strategy isn’t to maximize revenue or profit; it’s simply to maximize membership. The same strategy appears to underlie the pricing of Kindle and Kindle Fire hardware, which is sold at cost. The idea is to get Kindles into the hands of as many people as possible because Kindle owners will buy Amazon digital content. But this isn’t a digital version of Gillette’s strategy of offering customers cheap razors in order to sell high-margin blades—the Kindle content is also cheap.* (Indeed, it’s so cheap that book publishers and Apple teamed up to create an illegal cartel to make the content more expensive.) The goal, rather, is to enmesh larger and larger groups of people more and more deeply in the habit of purchasing digital content and doing it through Amazon’s platform. Prime members, by the same token, will rely on Amazon for more purchases. Indeed, Prime serves as a gateway into other Amazon discount programs. Subscribe & Save offers a 15 percent discount (20 percent with a real or fake baby) to people who order regular deliveries of household goods or nonperishable groceries. It’s extremely challenging to earn profits at these price points, but the goal is to get people to reorganize their lives around Amazon’s delivery infrastructure, not to make a quick buck. In June, Amazon announced plans to begin delivering groceries in select markets. Reuters’ coverage of the experiment ended on a note that’s hilarious to any observer of the company: Roger Davidson, a former grocery executive at Wal-Mart, Whole Foods and Supervalu, said Amazon will struggle to make money from AmazonFresh because fresh produce can easily go bad in storage warehouses and get damaged during delivery—something known as “shrink” in the business. “Will it work? I would bet against it,” Davidson said. “The reasons these businesses have failed in the past have not gone away.” These past failures are precisely what make grocery delivery such a great business opportunity for Amazon. In its current Seattle, Los Angeles, and San Francisco markets, Amazon Fresh offers delivery fast enough that you can order in the morning and have groceries by dinner, or order by 10 p.m. and have them by the next morning. It really is challenging to make money doing this. But if Amazon can just manage to cover its costs, then it will have gained invaluable infrastructure. Once you have the trucks and warehouses to deliver at this pace, you can deliver much more than groceries and kill the brick-and-mortar store’s final advantage. This past Dec. 23, I found myself in downtown Washington, D.C.’s Barnes & Noble in search of a last-minute Christmas gift. It was the first time I’d seen the store crowded in years—full of people looking to grab something before they headed out of town. Climbing this final hurdle through a viable same-day delivery system is a holy grail for Amazon, driving a range of its activities (including the much-hyped experimentation with drones). But fast drone delivery has a lot of technical and conceptual problems. The grocery model—lots of warehouses, lots of trucks—is in many ways more promising. AmazonFresh doesn’t need to make money. It just needs to bring in enough money to finance its own creation. * * * The most staggering thing about the no-profits business model is to contemplate the extent to which rivals are simply helpless in its face. “There is just no way to compete with them on price,” Sarah Rees of the English independent bookstore Cover-to-Cover told the Observer’s Carole Cadwalladr in her Nov. 30 inquiry into the store’s rise in the United Kingdom. The main focus of the Observer story is the working conditions at Amazon’s fulfillment centers (which are not very pleasant—read Mac McClelland in Mother Jones for a great look inside the bleak working conditions in the American warehouses), and it links indie bookstore owners’ inability to compete with Amazon to its brutal exploitation of workers. Higher pay would, of course, increase Amazon’s cost. But their competitors’ dilemma is more fundamental. A company that’s trying to turn a profit simply can’t compete on price with one that isn’t. What’s more, the mismatch between when your credit card company pays Amazon for the stuff you’ve bought (typically within a day) and when Amazon pays its suppliers (often as slowly as 90 days) gives them free money to play with. This kind of “float” is a tiny edge, but across an enormous volume of transactions, it amounts to an enormous amount of cash to fuel the enterprise. Small firms can’t match that, but may be able to cope by offering intangibles or sentimental value that a globe-striding behemoth by definition can’t match. And, indeed, there is evidence that independently owned bookstores are back on the rise in America, offering yin to Amazon’s yang. But for other large, impersonal retailers, a match-up with Amazon is a disaster. How do you turn a profit competing with a company that doesn’t? This is why efforts by Walmart and other incumbent retail chains to get serious about e-commerce are very likely to fail. A zero-margin, same-day nationwide grocery delivery service is a win for Amazon, which currently doesn’t sell groceries in most of the country. But Walmart does sell groceries. Lots of groceries. In a broad and growing set of locations. For Walmart to compete with Amazon via a zero-margin delivery arm wouldn’t just be competing with Amazon—it would be competing with Walmart’s core business. Rather than staving off Bezos’ juggernaut, the plummeting profit margins would be seen as evidence that the company is succumbing to the impact of facing its competition. * * * The natural question to ask about the zero-profit juggernaut is where it ends. A common assumption is that Amazon’s long game is to grow at near-zero margins for some period of time and then “flip a switch” to jack up prices and watch the money roll in. This is possible. But if it happens, it’s more likely to arise as a result of a loss of investor confidence than as a deliberate plan. At the moment, no other company can get away with an Amazon-like business strategy. Wall Street won’t let them get away with it—the princes of finance demand dividends and share repurchases and the profits that finance them. Amazon gets away with relentlessly investing in the future only because, for now, investors have faith in Bezos and his strategy. But that faith has been tested in the past, and it’s likely that some future convulsion in markets will cause it to wane again. If it does, the company will likely need to return to its mid-aughts strategy of increasing profits and even profit margins. That’ll likely mean slightly higher prices for almost everything, the elimination of some hard-to-ship items from Prime eligibility, and a reduced pace of entry into new markets. As a result, the pace of growth will almost certainly slow. The question will become whether or not faith can be restored. Perhaps if Amazon transforms itself—even temporarily—into a firm that’s both large and profitable, the piggybank effect will take hold. Once the company has steady profits, the demands to disgorge the cash may become impossible to resist. A retreat into permanent conventionality is especially likely if Bezos were to turn his interest to other things as he gets closer to 60. Bill Gates, after all, was in his early 50s when he decided to focus primarily on his philanthropic efforts rather than the business world. A company still run by its charismatic founder—especially a charismatic founder who also happens to be the major shareholder—has a much easier time following unorthodox business strategies and keeping an eye on the long term. In theory, executive compensation schemes linked to stock market performance are supposed to focus managers on the long view. But in practice, the opposite seems to be the case. In an impressive paper published in April 2013, Alexander Ljungqvist, Joan Farre-Mensa, and John Asker found that publicly traded firms systematically under-invest compared to privately held ones. The effect is larger in sectors where stock market swings are more closely tied to quarterly earnings reports, indicating that what they call “managerial myopia” is likely the culprit. In other words, when you pay executives to increase the share price, they focus on increasing the share price—even when that means focusing on headline numbers in the next quarterly financial report rather than on the long term. Obviously a series of reports featuring diminishing profit margins and fairly frequent years of financial losses won’t serve well in that kind of environment. Amazon has built itself over the years precisely by avoiding that kind of thinking, yet its ability to continue to do so may be very linked to the identity of its founder and CEO. If the company can stay the course, it has a long way to grow before changing plans and flipping the switch would make sense. In the U.S., e-commerce sales still account for just about 18 percent of retail sales (excluding food service). Another 21 percent or so is motor vehicle parts and dealers, a market that’s generally not accessible under the current legal regime in the U.S. but could certainly be addressed in the future. And at the moment, Amazon is considerably less global than other major American technology companies. They have a large presence in Germany, the U.K., and a few other countries, but they don’t exist in markets ranging from Korea and China to Poland and the Persian Gulf. In principle, all sorts of things we don’t normally consider “retail” could be sold through the world’s largest online retailer. Car insurance. Plumbing. In some ways, the sky’s the limit. Even in its wildest dreams, the everything store will never entirely monopolize the marketplace. The company that offers the best price and the greatest convenience will always be vulnerable in market segments where price and convenience aren’t the most important consideration. That especially means higher-end niches where people will gladly pay a penalty to stand out from the pack. But high-end niches are, by definition, niches. The mass market where value conquers all is bigger. And growth is growth. Amazon hasn’t earned much profit over the past three years, but is there any doubt that today’s much-larger version of the company is a more valuable enterprise than the smaller version of January 2011? Whether shareholders will continue to accept this logic is an open question, but there’s no particular reason they ought to abandon it. For the foreseeable future, the party can—and will—go on, crushing everything in its path and generating mighty gains for consumers. Correction, Jan. 31, 2014: This article originally misspelled the brand Gillette.
It was quite a sight. Women in white sarees with exquisite golden borders, shimmering in the sun, sitting on the ground making elaborate motifs with flowers. It is called a pookalam, one of them said, smiling as she looked up to me standing in my ragged trousers, and staring. It had been a few months that I moved to Hyderabad to pursue my Masters degree. The sudden alacrity and festivity on campus was all thanks to Onam. It is the annual ‘Mallu festival’, I was told. All Malayalis celebrate Onam, irrespective of what ‘walks of life they come from’. “Just like your Durga Puja,” they added when my Bengali identity was revealed. This allusion to the universalist nature of Durga Puja and Onam was startling. Let this be clear from the outset, both Durga Puja and Onam are caste Hindu festivals.
Scottish transport minister says key bridge link to Edinburgh that was closed due to defect will reopen on Wednesday to all traffic but HGVs The Forth Road Bridge is to reopen to cars and light vehicles on Wednesday morning, nearly two weeks earlier than forecast, after engineers made a quick, temporary repair to a split support truss. Heavy goods vehicles will still be banned from crossing the bridge for at least six weeks, because the repair is too weak to carry their weight – a decision which has angered hauliers and distribution firms. The bridge’s operating company, Amey, said the temporary repair – a steel splint fixed to the broken section – would allow the cars, vans and buses that make up 90% of the bridge’s traffic to return from Wednesday morning. ‘The silence on the Forth Road Bridge is the ghostly revenge of Scotland’s steel industry’ Read more Its emergency closure to all traffic on 3 December, after a 20mm crack was found in a support truss on its northern pier, caused chaos on roads in Fife and central Scotland. Tens of thousands of commuters and travellers were forced on to heavily crowded trains, relief buses and alternative roads. MSPs are to carry out an inquiry into the bridge’s closure early in the new year after opposition parties said there was clear documentary evidence that the crisis was due to cost-cutting by the bridge’s previous publicly owned operating company. Funding cuts led to the delay five years ago of upgrades that would have replaced the affected part, Scottish Labour has alleged. Derek Mackay, the Scottish transport minister, has furiously denied the claims, insisting the split was very recent and unforeseen. The original target date for reopening the bridge was 4 January – the date when most office workers return to work after the Christmas and new year holiday. But ministers said this timescale included a contingency period in case severe weather prevented repairs from taking place. Although HGVs and abnormal loads make up 9% of the traffic by volume, they account for 32% of the weight the 51-year-old bridge carries. In a statement on Tuesday, Transport Scotland said its monitoring of the temporary repair showed that “the bridge can now be safely reopened to all traffic, except HGVs and abnormal loads. This means that the bridge will be open to over 90% of the traffic that uses it. “Independent engineering experts have analysed the findings and agree with Amey’s assessment that loading the bridge with HGVs could result in stress to the truss end link. They agree the best way to mitigate against this risk is to exclude HGVs from using the bridge until the permanent repair is in place. “This will take around six weeks to complete and, subject to favourable weather conditions and no further defects being identified, the bridge should reopen to HGVs in mid-February. Ministers and officials will now discuss with hauliers the operational support that can be offered to them during the period when they cannot access the bridge.” Mackay said making the repairs in such a short timeframe had been an “unprecedented challenge. We can’t lose sight of the fact that many people have been inconvenienced by the closure. While that is deeply regrettable, I would like to thank the transport operators who pulled out all of the stops to put on extra services.” He said the final, permanent repairs and additional work to other similar sections would be done at night. “With the temporary solution now in place, the remaining work to install the long term repair can safely proceed without the need for a full closure. The repairs will be carried out with overnight lane restrictions on the bridge. “For the complex and detailed interim repair to have been completed in this timeframe is a tribute to the highly skilled and dedicated staff who have worked 24/7 since 3 December. Since the closure was put in place, weather conditions have been mainly favourable and the team have been able to complete the repair work in good time.” The Freight Transport Association was unhappy about the longer delay for HGVs. Karen Dee, the FTA’s director of policy, said Nicola Sturgeon, the first minister, had reassured hauliers specifically that their ban on using the bridge would end by 4 January. Sturgeon told Ruth Davidson, the Scottish Tory leader, on 10 December that reports that week that the bridge could remain closed to HGVs for much longer than other vehicles were unfounded. The first minister told Davidson: “The government’s absolute intention is to have the bridge open for people returning to work in the new year and for it to be open as normal to all vehicles that previously travelled over it. That is what we have said all along and it is what we continue to say.” But extending the ban for HGVs until mid-February would mean substantial additional mileage costs, driving times and delivery delays because the diversion around the bridge is about 50 miles long. The FTA would press the Department for Transport to continue the relaxation of restriction on drivers’ hours, Dee said. “The first minister offered reassurance that the bridge would reopen to all vehicles on 4 January so this is a devastating blow for our members,” Dee said. “The additional costs incurred by the 50-mile diversion are significant, especially when contracts have already been signed and there is no opportunity to recoup the money.”
First Look The Hei Hei has been kicking around Kona’s line-up for just shy of an eternity now. In 2016, however, the company give it a major overhaul—ditching the previous rear suspension design and borrowing a bit from their Process models’ low-slung and capable geometry. In April, Kona leaked this all-carbon, early-release 2017 version. We featured aat the time. In the months since, we’ve been rallying around on the thing. It’s time for the review. Kona Hei Hei DL 29 Details • Intended use: XC/Trail • Wheel size: 29 • Head angle: 68° • Carbon front and rear triangles • Sizes: S, M, L, XL • Weight (as shown, size L w/o pedals): 27.6 pounds (12.51 kg) • MSRP: $4.699 USD (€4,999) • www.konaworld.com.com / @konaworld • Intended use: XC/Trail• Wheel size: 29• Head angle: 68°• Carbon front and rear triangles• Sizes: S, M, L, XL• Weight (as shown, size L w/o pedals): 27.6 pounds (12.51 kg)• MSRP: $4.699 USD (€4,999) 2017 Kona preview As I noted in thata few weeks back, the Hei Hei line is growing leaps and bounds--from two Hei Hei models in early 2016 to a total of eight models for 2017. Prices run from $2,499 to $7,999. It’s a much more diverse range for 2017 that includes straight-forward XC race bikes, more aggressive 29ers (such as this one), and some 27.5-wheeled, trail-bike Hei Heis boasting an additional 40 millimeters (1.5 inches) of rear suspension travel. The chain and seatstay pivots are, er, not there. Kona's Fuse Independent Suspension design eschews them entirely. The chain and seatstay pivots are, er, not there. Kona's Fuse Independent Suspension design eschews them entirely. The Hei Hei frame has ports for internally routing both the rear derailleur and dropper post lines. The rear brake line is externally routed. The Hei Hei frame has ports for internally routing both the rear derailleur and dropper post lines. The rear brake line is externally routed. Frame Details If you love front derailleurs, you get no love here. The price you pay for those shorter (16.9-inch) chainstays. If you need to get a lower granny, it's easy to swap rings on the Race Face crank. If you love front derailleurs, you get no love here. The price you pay for those shorter (16.9-inch) chainstays. If you need to get a lower granny, it's easy to swap rings on the Race Face crank. Note the flattened seatstay sections. While the lack of seat or chainstay pivots may seem freaky, the concept goes back, at the very least, to the late 1990s Ibis Bow Ti models. Note the flattened seatstay sections. While the lack of seat or chainstay pivots may seem freaky, the concept goes back, at the very least, to the late 1990s Ibis Bow Ti models. Suspension Design Geometry When I said that the new Hei Hei is something of a simpler, lighter 2014-2016 Process 111, I wasn't exaggerating. Same head and seat tube angle and, same chainstay length. The Process had 13 more millimeters in the top tube (though only five millimeters more in actual reach since the Hei Hei sports a longer stem). The Process 111's longer top tube gave it a longer wheelbase, but otherwise, from a geometry perspective, the bikes are nearly identical. What does this mean in practical terms? For a bike that resides in XC and trail bike land, the Hei Hei DL 29 is a rowdy little thing, with geometry that's similar to what you'll find on an Evil Following (set in its Specifications Specifications Release Date July 2016 Price $4699 Travel 120 front, 100 rear Rear Shock Fox Float Performance Fork Fox Float 34 Performance Air 120mm Headset FSA No.57B Cassette Shimano XT 11-42t 11spd Crankarms RaceFace Aeffect cinch 1.x Bottom Bracket Shimano Deore PF92 Rear Derailleur Shimano XT M8000 Chain KMC X11 Front Derailleur None Shifter Pods Shimano XT M8000 Handlebar Kona XC/BC 35 Riser bar Stem Kona XC/Road 35 Grips ODI Ruffian MX Brakes Shimano XT Wheelset WTB KOM i29 TCS w/Joytech hubs Tires Maxxis Ardent 2.25 front/Ikon 2.2 rear Seat WTB Volt Seatpost KS Lev Integra w/Southpaw Lever 31.6mm Compare to other All Mountain/Enduro/XC Set-Up Can a slacked-out XC bike still keep up on the climbs. Yes, yes it can. The Hei Hei DL 29 is no slouch when it comes to gaining elevation, though there is a bit of pedal kickback in the mix. Can a slacked-out XC bike still keep up on the climbs. Yes, yes it can. The Hei Hei DL 29 is no slouch when it comes to gaining elevation, though there is a bit of pedal kickback in the mix. Climbing There's only 100 millimeters of rear suspension out back--you realize that every once in a while because the Hei Hei DL is the kind of bike that encourages you to ride at your limits. There's only 100 millimeters of rear suspension out back--you realize that every once in a while because the Hei Hei DL is the kind of bike that encourages you to ride at your limits. Descending The 120-travel Fox Float 34 Performance Air is more fork than you normally see on an XC bike. It's a good deviation from the norm. The 120-travel Fox Float 34 Performance Air is more fork than you normally see on an XC bike. It's a good deviation from the norm. The KS LEV Integra dropper post worked flawlessly and its Southpaw lever tidies up the handlebar nicely. The KS LEV Integra dropper post worked flawlessly and its Southpaw lever tidies up the handlebar nicely. Component Check Pinkbike's Take: The Hei Hei DL 29 is a testament to how much more versatile shorter-travel bikes can truly be. Sure, it's a lightweight and efficient pedaling machine, but it's also as competent a descender as some trail bikes boasting more suspension. That said, the Hei Hei doesn't afford you the same safety net for riding blunders that you'd get with a heavier, longer-travel bike. The Hei Hei DL 29 is a crazy-capable switchblade of a bike, but it is still a switchblade, not a bazooka. - Vernon Felton About the Reviewer Stats: Age: 44 • Height: 5'11” • Inseam: 32" • Weight: 175lb • Industry affiliations / sponsors: None In 1988 Vernon started riding mountain bikes—mainly to avoid the people throwing cans of Budweiser at him during his road rides. At some point, roughly when Ronald Reagan was president and Hüsker Dü was still a band, he began loving mountain bikes on their own terms. Vernon Felton spends most of his time riding bikes, thinking about bikes, thinking about riding bikes and then riding some more around Bellingham, Washington. If it has a greasy chain and two wheels on it, he’s cool with it. Except for recumbents. Well, okay, maybe those too. Nah, forget it. No recumbents. Age: 44 • Height: 5'11” • Inseam: 32" • Weight: 175lb • Industry affiliations / sponsors: None When Kona set out to re-design the Hei Hei, they wanted to create a race bike that could tackle more technical courses—a more versatile flavor of cross-country. They were also looking to drop some frame weight. Making a bike more capable in rowdy terrain while cleaving weight from the chassis aren’t always goals that party well together. Kona accomplished it this time around, however, by making, in essence, a lighter, simpler and slightly steeper version of the Process 111. To that end, the new Hei Hei features massive standover clearance, a longer front center, lower bottom bracket and a considerably shorter (15 millimeters) rear end than Hei Hei models of yore.The frame is a sleek, low-slung affair. Though the images here show both the dropper post and rear brake line running externally along the downtube, there is a port near the head tube that allows you to run the entire dropper-post line internally through the frame.There are no ISCG mounts on the Hei Hei, but given the bike's XC lineage, that's not a huge surprise. The bike comes equipped with a fairly pinned 2.2-inch Maxxis Ikon out back, but there's just enough breathing room in the rear end for some 2.3-inch tires, if you're so inclined. If you're in the market for a cross-country frame, it's worth noting that Kona also sells the carbon Hei Hei 29 frame (along with a Fox Float Performance rear shock) for $2,599.Though the new Hei Hei drinks heavily from the Process Kool-Aid, it is certainly not the same bike. The Hei Hei is configured around Kona's new Fuse Independent Suspension system, which has no pivots at the seatstay/chainstay junction. Instead, Fuse relies on a small amount (about 1.5 degrees) of vertical flex in the seat and chainstays. Light, simple, laterally stiff and efficient under pedaling—those were the goals with the new design.The Fuse design is, in fact, lighter than the 2014-2015 "Beamer" walking-beam design it replaced--240 grams (a half pound) lighter, to be exact. What kind of weight savings did Kona achieve by going to a complete carbon frame? Kona says the carbon Fuse frame is a full 1.5 pounds lighter than the aluminum version that debuted in early 2016. I was skeptical about that claim at first, but sure enough, even with the addition of a dropper post, this bike weighs a solid pound less than the aluminum version I tested in early 2016. Kona claims that going to carbon wasn't merely an exercise in shedding weight, but also a means of stiffening up the chassis. To that end they also moved to Boost 148 for the 2017 models.high mode with a 120 fork spearheading it), Pivot Mach 429 Trail or Ibis Ripley LS. The 68 and 74-degree head and seat tube angles (respectively), 1161-millimeter (45.7-inch) wheelbase (size Large), and 430-millimeter (16.9-inch) chainstays would have been at home on an all-mountain bike a few years ago, before everything got enduro-slack.The Hei Hei DL 29 comes out of the box wearing a Fox Float Performance rear shock and a 120-millimeter travel Float 34 Performance fork. There aren’t a ton of bells and whistles to twiddle with here on these mid-tier Fox products, so I promptly set the sag at 25 percent. Running any less in my neck of the woods is just a recipe for rattling the fillings from your teeth. Running more on a bike with 100-millimeters of travel usually feels like too much of a good thing—you’re already running out of travel faster than you’d like when that’s all the squish you have at your disposal.The bike weighs 27.6 pounds and sports a suspension design that’s supposed to lean towards the efficient pedaling side of the spectrum—the Hei Hei DL 29 should climb well. Not a huge surprise, it gains elevation easily. Suspension squat is minimal, even with the Float rear shock run wide open. In fact, traction on loose and rocky singletrack climbs suffers a bit in the firmer “Medium” mode, so I only opted for the extra compression damping when climbing fire roads.Is the Hei Hei DL 29 an absolute weapon on the climbs? If you are comparing it to the likes of the Process 111, it’s practically a rocket. It’s not simply lighter—it also accelerates like nobody’s business. But let’s get more apples-to-apples here. Compared to some bikes more apiece with the Hei Hei--say the Ibis Ripley LS or Specialized Camber--the Hei Hei DL 29 holds its own in the climbing department, but isn’t top of class. The Hei Hei displays a bit of pedal kickback when you're humping the bike up particularly chunky climbs in low gears. It's the flip side/necessary evil of all the chain growth (and resulting anti-squat) that also makes the bike such an efficient pedaler. I’ve certainly experienced more dramatic tugging on the pedals with other bikes, but the kickback on the Hei Hei DL 29 is noticeable all the same.Despite the relatively slack geometry, I had no difficulties winding the bike through tight uphill switchbacks. None whatsoever. If you’re coming off of a more traditional cross-country race bike—say, an older Epic or Scalpel—you might find your comfort zone more quickly on the more traditionally spec’d Hei Hei Race 29 model, which bears the same frame, but has a 100-millimeter travel fork up front. That bike might feel more “normal” and if you are that guy who rides around with his suspension always locked out, it might be the better choice. But I’ll be honest here: I think going shorter with the fork travel would be a loss. The longer, burlier Fox 34 fork and the slacker front end geo that comes along for the ride bring something special to this bike.My first thought when I hit the bottom of that first big downhill aboard the Hei Hei?Usually bikes that climb this well give up a lot on the downhills. Not this one. This is the kind of bike that has you pushing yourself and the limits of the components—like those skinny XC tires.I’m not suggesting that the Hei Hei's 100 millimeters of rear suspension somehow feels like 130 millimeters. It feels every bit the short-travel machine that it is—you realize that when you hit a jump or a drop…the kind you might normally not even try on a bike with this little travel.The Hei Hei DL 29 is a true trail-bike wolf in cross-country sheep clothing. Not terribly surprising, I suppose, when you consider that this Hei Hei is closer (genetically) to the Process line than to its own Hei Hei ancestors. That Fox 34 (and the slacker front geometry that it brings to the table) also deliver in spades. This, frankly, is why I wouldn’t opt for the Race version of the Hei Hei 29 with the skinnier, shorter-travel fork. The Fox 34 is a great match for the frame’s overall geometry.You, however, feel the frame reaching its limits—the Hei Hei doesn’t feel as calm in the truly hectic, high-speed stuff as, for comparison’s sake, its Process 111 sibling. You also realize that while the Hei Hei can do outrageous things that’d have dedicated cross-country rigs running away with their tails between their legs, it doesn’t afford you the same wide margin for error that you’ll get with a bike that possesses more rear suspension.In keeping with the Hei Hei's lineage, the bike's 2.25 and 2.2-inch Maxxis Ardent and Ikon tires are all about reducing rotational weight. That's great and all, but the Hei Hei encourages aggressive, risk taking and you soon outride the limits of those two tires. The 2.4-inch Ardent is a quick-rolling tire and a very different beast than the 2.25--I'd slap that on in a heartbeat. The good news is that Kona equipped the bike with light-yet-wide WTB KOM i29 rims, which will provide plenty of sidewall support for fatter treads.Quick, solid shifts....that's what you get here. According to the Kona website, this model comes equipped with a 34-tooth ring. Ours, mercifully, wore a 32. Regardless, if you need to drop down to a 30-tooth (or smaller) ring, Race Face's Cinch system makes chainring swaps as complicated as buttering a slice of bread.You don't get Kashima coating on the stanchions nor the 22 clicks of compression-damping adjustability in "Open" mode that you'd find on a Fox Factory Series fork, but the mid-rung Fox Performance Series forkfeature the excellent FIT4 damper and enough adjustability to keep most riders happy. Both the fork and rear shock are good kit.
Reader Amitabh put together this good-looking Linux desktop with a few simple add-ons for his system, and the end result offers just a few useful widgets and plenty of room to work, not to mention a personalized experience. Here's how he set it up. To submit your desktop to our Desktop Showcase the way Amitabh did, just post it to your Kinja blog with the tag "desktop showcase" and we'll see it. Now, here's what you'll need to recreate this one for yourself: The wallpaper Conky, a lightweight system monitor for Linux systems The Harmattan Conky theme for the translucent system monitor on the right The HUD theme for Conky for the monitors on the left-side of the screen. The Numix GTK theme to tweak the look and feel of the interface The Numix Circle Icon set to replace the system icons The Plank application launcher at the bottom of the screen That's all there is to it. Amitabh put this together on his Ubuntu desktop, but there's nothing here that's specific to Ubuntu—you could recreate this on just about any Linux desktop, whatever your favorite distribution may be. If you have questions about how it's all set up or if you run into trouble with it, head over to his Kinja blog (linked below) to ask your questions. Advertisement Do you have a good-looking, functional desktop of your own to show off? Share it with us! Post it to your personal Kinja blog using the tag Desktop Showcase or add it to our Lifehacker Desktop Show and Tell Flickr pool. Screenshots must be at least at least 640x360 and please include information about what you used, links to your wallpaper, skins, and themes, and any other relevant details. If your awesome desktop catches our eye, you might get featured! Road to Redemption \| Amitabh Banerjii
At a 1958 tournament in Yugoslavia, Mikhail Tal, a legendary attacking grandmaster and one-time world champion, mocked chess prodigy Bobby Fischer for being "cuckoo." Tal's taunting may have been a deliberate attempt to rattle Fischer, then just 15 but already a major force in the highly competitive world of high-level chess. But others from that world — including a number of grandmasters who'd spent time with him — thought Fischer not just eccentric, but deeply troubled. At a tournament in Bulgaria four years later, U.S. grandmaster Robert Byrne suggested that Fischer see a psychiatrist, to which Fischer replied that "a psychiatrist ought to pay [me] for the privilege of working on [my] brain." According to journalist Dylan Loeb McClain, Hungarian-born grandmaster Pal Benko commented, "I am not a psychiatrist, but it was obvious he was not normal. ... I told him, 'You are paranoid,' and he said that 'paranoids can be right.'" ADVERTISEMENT Thanks for watching! Visit Website Robert James Fischer passed away of kidney failure at the age of 64 in January 2008 in his adopted home of Reykjavik, Iceland, where, 36 years earlier, he had captivated the world with his stunning defeat of Boris Spassky, the reigning world chess champion from Russia. As the first North American to win the world title after a half-century of Russian domination, Fischer gained enduring worldwide fame. ADVERTISEMENT Thanks for watching! Visit Website ADVERTISEMENT Thanks for watching! Visit Website By most all accounts a brilliant mind, Fischer was perhaps the most visionary chess player since José Raul Capablanca, a Cuban who held the world title for six years in the 1920s. Fischer's innovative, daring play — at age 13, he defeated senior master (and former U.S. Open champion) Donald Byrne in what is sometimes called "The Game of the Century" — made him a hero figure to millions in the United States and throughout the world. In 1957, Fischer became the youngest winner of the U.S. chess championship — he was just 14 — before going on to beat Spassky for the world title in 1972. But Fischer forfeited that title just three years later, refusing to defend his crown under rules proposed by the World Chess Federation, and he played virtually no competitive chess in ensuing decades, retreating, instead, into isolation and seeming paranoia. Because of a series of rankly anti-Semitic public utterances and his praise, on radio, for the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center, at his death, Fischer was seen by much of the world as spoiled, arrogant and mean-spirited. In recent years, however, researchers have come to understand that Bobby Fischer was psychologically troubled from early childhood. Careful examination of his life and family shows that he likely suffered with mental illness that may never have been properly diagnosed or treated. Any psychological evaluation of a person who is not alive must, of course, include a great deal of qualification. But the psychological history of America's greatest chess champion clearly raises two profound questions, one specific to Fischer and chess and the other more general: What would Bobby Fischer's life and career have looked like had he received appropriate mental health services throughout his life? And is there a way for society to help troubled, often defiant prodigies become less troubled, without diminishing their genius and eventual contribution to society? To understand Bobby Fischer's psychological makeup, it is important to understand his personal history, which began on March 9, 1943, when he was born in Chicago to Regina Wender, a Swiss native of Polish-Jewish heritage, and, most likely, Paul Felix Nemenyi, a Hungarian-born and -trained mechanical engineer who met Regina in 1942. He was also Jewish. (Hans Gerhardt Fischer, a German-born biophysicist whom Regina married in Moscow in 1933, is listed as Fischer's father on his birth certificate, but FBI records released after Regina's death and other documentation make it all but certain that Nemenyi was the biological father.) Bobby had an older sister, Joan, born to Regina and Hans Gerhardt Fischer in 1937 in Moscow, where the couple was living at the time. Soon after Joan's birth, the marriage between Hans Gerhardt and Regina began to fail, and in 1939, Regina and Joan came to the United States without him. He never entered the U.S. and by all accounts was totally absent in the lives of the Fischer children. In 1945, Regina legally divorced him. Soon after Bobby's birth, Regina Fischer moved the family from Chicago to Pullman, Wash., where Paul Nemenyi was then living, then to Moscow, Idaho, on to Portland, Ore., then south to Los Angeles, and on to the tiny town of Mobile, in the Arizona desert about 35 miles southwest of Phoenix. According to Frank Brady's classic biography of Fischer, Profile of a Prodigy, Regina took odd jobs to support her family until eventually gaining employment as a teacher in Los Angeles and Mobile. From Arizona, the Fischer family moved to Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1949, where Regina, already a registered nurse, pursued a master's degree in nursing education at New York University. When Bobby was 6, his sister bought him an inexpensive chess set from a candy store, and together they learned the moves. Bobby had always liked games and puzzles, and initially his interest in chess was unremarkable, as he reflected years later to Brady: "At first it was just a game like any other, only a little more complicated." It appears Fischer never adjusted well to the New York City school system. He was expelled from a public school in Manhattan when he kicked the principal, and he dropped out of high school. In contrast to this disinterest in school, Bobby developed an intense focus on chess. In fact, to say Bobby became obsessed with chess would be a wild understatement. During Bobby's childhood and early adolescence, Regina consulted with, or had Bobby meet directly, three different mental health professionals. According to Brady, Regina spoke with Ariel Mengarini, a New York City psychiatrist and chess master, about curbing her son's "chess obsession," and Mengarini responded: "I could think of a lot worse things than chess that a person could devote himself to and ... you should let him find his own way." Regina received a similar response from Harold Kline, who saw her son at the Children's Psychiatric Division of the Brooklyn Jewish Hospital. World-renowned chess grandmaster and psychoanalyst Dr. Reuben Fine noted in his book, Bobby Fischer's Conquest of the World's Chess Championship, that Regina consulted with him soon after her son won the 1956 U.S junior championship at the age of 13. "He came to see me about half a dozen times," Fine wrote. "Each time we played chess for an hour or two. In order to maintain a relationship with him, I had to win, which I did. ... My family remembers how furious he was after each encounter, muttering that I was 'lucky.' Hopeful that I might help him to develop in other directions, I started a conversation at one point about what he was doing in school. As soon as school was mentioned, he became furious, screamed, 'You have tricked me,' and promptly walked out. For years afterward, whenever I met him in clubs or tournaments he gave me angry looks, as though I had done him some immeasurable harm by trying to get a little closer to him." This exaggerated, perhaps paranoid reaction to Fine's overture reflects a pattern in Bobby Fischer's interpersonal style that would be a hallmark of both his adolescent and adult behavior. But according to the recollections of both Brady and Fischer's brother-in-law, Russell Targ, Bobby never engaged in long-term psychotherapy with any mental health professional. As Bobby grew into adolescence, he clashed with his mother frequently and directly. According to BBC journalists David Edmonds and John Eidinow, who wrote a book about Fischer, eventually Bobby and Regina could no longer live together, and in the fall of 1960, when Bobby was 17, she moved out of their Brooklyn apartment to live with a female friend in the Bronx. In an interview with journalist Ralph Ginzburg in August 1961, Bobby discussed the circumstances of his break from his mother. Fischer: "After that [becoming an international grandmaster in 1958], I quit school." Ginzburg: "How did your mother feel about that?" Fischer: "She and I just don't see eye to eye together. She's a square. She keeps telling me that I'm too interested in chess, that I should get friends outside of chess, you can't make a living from chess, that I should finish high school and all that nonsense. She keeps in my hair, and I don't like people in my hair, you know, so I had to get rid of her." This "break" was, in fact, anything but permanent or complete; Fischer and his mother would have an on-and-off relationship throughout his life. (Interestingly, as Bobby lay critically ill in a Reykjavik hospital, he was thinking of his mother, his brother-in-law wrote in his 2008 autobiography, Do You See What I See?) According to Brady, the Fischer biographer, his mother was a concerned and devoted parent but could be domineering. It was clear she was highly talented, well educated and multilingual; in fact, after her children were on their own, Regina returned to Germany to finish medical school, earning both a medical degree and an eventual doctorate in hematology. But raising Joan and Bobby as a single immigrant parent in the 1940s and 1950s was challenging, and Regina was constantly short of money. "Regina was financially desperate, so much so that, through a Jewish charity, she attempted to place her daughter, Joan, with another family," Edmonds and Eidinow wrote. But this arrangement fell through, the foster mother asking Regina to take Joan back. Interestingly, the foster mother became suspicious of Regina, having seen chemical formulas on documents that she had left among her daughter's belongings, and reported her to the FBI, which in 1942 began surveillance that would last three decades. It is not surprising that the FBI would investigate the foster mother's report about the chemical formulas. It was early in the Cold War, and Bobby's mother and presumed father at the time, Hans Gerhardt Fischer, had lived in Russia for an extended period of time; both had high-level scientific training. The resulting FBI reports on Regina Fischer and the two men in her life, Hans Gerhardt Fischer and Paul Felix Nemenyi, reveal no espionage. But they do shed light on the unusual psychology and behavior of the mother of America's greatest chess prodigy. According to various entries in the FBI reports, eventually made public by journalists and biographers, Regina was bright and articulate but difficult to deal with. Soon after Bobby's birth, Regina received a mandated mental health evaluation after being arrested for disturbing the peace in an incident that occurred when Regina and baby Bobby lived at a Chicago charity for indigent single mothers, the Hackett Memorial Home. After Joan's foster arrangement fell through, Regina tried to sneak her into the facility, even though she'd been told there was no room for another child. In its evaluation, the Chicago-based Municipal Psychiatric Institute diagnosed Regina as a "stilted (paranoid) personality, querulent [sic] but not psychotic." The FBI apparently also thought her troubled. According to FBI reports, the bureau, at one point, felt it had exhausted the usefulness of clandestine surveillance of Regina, noting, "It appears the only logical investigation remaining would be an interview of the subject, but due to her mental instability, this line of action is not recommended." Regina Fischer had ambivalent feelings toward her son's chess career. Early on, she encouraged Bobby to broaden his interest and friendship base beyond chess. As Bobby's genius for chess became more apparent, however, Regina did all she could to support his passion. She was often involved in protests and demonstrations relating to Bobby's chess career and U.S. chess in general. In 1960, for example, she picketed the White House because the State Department refused the national chess team's request to play in the 1960 Chess Olympiad in East Germany. Interestingly, the person now alive who knew Regina and Bobby best, her son-in-law Russell Targ, remarked to me that "Bobby would never have become world champion without Regina." Regina Fischer died of cancer in 1997 at the age of 84 in Palo Alto, Calif. Bobby's older sister Joan died of a cerebral hemorrhage a year later. These two losses, coming so close in time, would have a significant impact on Bobby's developing psychological state. With Regina's death, her 750-page FBI file became publicly available. The first to read it were former Philadelphia Inquirer reporters Peter Nicholas and Clea Benson, and their investigative research is groundbreaking. A critical finding gleaned from the FBI report concerns the identity of Bobby's biological father. Though we cannot be 100 percent certain without genetic testing, there is a plethora of convincing documentary evidence — from the FBI file and from elsewhere — that Paul Felix Nemenyi, rather than Hans Gerhardt Fischer, was Bobby's biological father. At what point Bobby came to know the truth about his father is unclear. Suffice it to say, whether or when Bobby learned of his biological father's identity would also have implications for his sense of identity and psychological development. From early childhood, Bobby Fischer was fiercely independent, eccentric and lacking in conventional social skills. Contemporaries often felt his conduct went beyond mere eccentricity. In his book on Fischer, psychoanalyst Reuben Fine reflected that for many years "chess players approached me with the request to try to help Bobby out of his personal problems. In spite of his genius, he was socially awkward, provocative, argumentative and unhappy." Bobby's inner turmoil and frustration would at times erupt into violence. Mike Franett, writing for BobbyFischer.net in 2000, interviewed former Fischer friend and chess master Ron Gross, who described a car trip in 1957 when Bobby, sitting in the back seat, seriously bit fellow chess player Gil Ramirez on the arm. Gross reported that the bite marks were visible years after the incident. Later in his life, Bobby would also act out violently when, according to journalist Ivan Solotaroff, he assaulted a former Worldwide Church of God member who he felt had betrayed his trust. Journalists Nicholas and Benson describe a meeting at the Marshall Chess Club in New York City in the late 1950s during which Bobby's emotional stability was discussed by the club's board of governors. "[N]o one doubted the teenager's talent. But his prickly behavior was alienating some of the wealthy sponsors whose support he would need to rise to the top," Nicholas and Benson wrote. "'Some of what he did was so outrageous it was decided maybe he had emotional problems,' says [Allen] Kaufman, [a chess master and Fischer friend] who attended the meeting. What to do? Board members talked about finding a psychiatrist. They considered Reuben Fine, himself one of the giants of the game. Then someone raised a question: What if therapy worked? What if treatment sapped Fischer's drive to win, depriving the United States of its first homegrown world champ? Meeting adjourned. No one, Kaufman recalls, wanted to tamper with that finely tuned brain." Grandmasters Robert Byrne and Pal Benko told Bobby directly that he should consider seeing a psychiatrist. Their comments are supported by observations of odd behavior made throughout Bobby's life. In his New York Times obituary of Fischer, Bruce Weber noted that the chess champion made "outlandish demands on tournament directors — for special lighting, special seating, special conditions to ensure quiet. He complained that opponents were trying to poison his food, that his hotel rooms were bugged, that Russians were colluding at tournaments and prearranging draws. He began to fear flying because he thought the Russians might hide booby traps on the plane." For his book, Searching for Bobby Fischer, which was made into a motion picture, Fred Waitzkin interviewed Gross, who shared the following memories of a fishing trip to Ensenada, Mexico: "He looked terrible ... clothes all baggy, wearing old beat-up shoes. ... Then I noticed that he was favoring his mouth, and he told me that he'd had some work done on his teeth; he'd had a dentist take all the fillings out of his mouth. ... I said 'Bobby, that's going to ruin your teeth. Did you have him put plastic in the holes?' And he said, 'I didn't have anything put in. I don't want anything artificial in my head.' He'd read about a guy wounded in World War II who had a metal plate in his head that was always picking up vibrations, maybe even radio transmissions. He said the same thing could happen from metal in your teeth." After winning the world chess championship in 1972, Bobby lapsed into a period of isolation and growing paranoia, manifested primarily in virulent and vitriolic anti-Semitism and anti-Americanism. These rants could be heard on radio broadcasts Bobby made in the Philippines and Hungary. Of course, Bobby's mother and his probable father, Nemenyi, were Jewish. Edmonds and Eidinow, the BBC journalists, wondered whether some of the roots in Bobby's hatred of Jews stemmed from rejection of his mother. In his 2003 mini-biography of Bobby, former 15-year world chess champion Garry Kasparov suggested Bobby's anti-Semitism might be related to his conflicts with Jewish-American grandmaster Samuel Reshevsky, as well as his dislike of other Jews involved in the chess community, including wealthy sponsors and journalists. Kasparov adds another interesting observation: "I think Fischer's anti-Semitism mania, which increased with the years, was largely associated with the domination of 'Soviet-Jewish' players. It seemed to him that they were all united against him with the aim of preventing him from becoming world champion. I remember Reshevsky telling me how, during the Interzonal tournament on Palma de Mallorca, with burning eyes Fischer informed him that he was reading a 'very interesting book.' 'What is it?' Sammy asked innocently. 'Mein Kampf!' Bobby replied." Regardless of the origins of Bobby's unspeakable anti-Semitism, his anti-Jewish rantings, in time, alienated the majority of former allies, friends and supporters. That's to say nothing of his comments following the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, made via a radio station in the Philippines. According to a 2002 Rene Chun article in The Atlantic Monthly, Fischer announced, "This is all wonderful news. I applaud the act. The U.S. and Israel have been slaughtering the Palestinians, just slaughtering them for years. Robbing them and slaughtering them. Nobody gave a shit. Now it's coming back to the U.S. Fuck the U.S. I want to see the U.S. wiped out." The goal of a psychological autopsy is to assess the feelings, thoughts, behaviors and relationships of an individual who is dead. Such an evaluation is usually conducted without the benefit of direct observation, but often with more access to historical records and archives than would be available in a standard psychological assessment. Check out the move-by-move re-enactment of "The Game of the Century" — Donald Byrne vs. Bobby Fischer, 1956 Bobby Fischer was not a patient of mine, and I have not had access to any mental health records on him or his mother, save for those uncovered by journalists who obtained FBI files under the Freedom of Information Act. It is inappropriate of me to proffer a formal psychological diagnosis of Fischer, and in writing this assessment, I am guided by the ethical code of the American Psychological Association, which says that practitioners in my position should "document the efforts they made and the result of those efforts, clarify the probable impact of their limited information on the reliability and validity of their opinions, and appropriately limit the nature and extent of their conclusions or recommendations." With those qualifications and limits well in mind, I have come to believe Bobby had a genetic vulnerability to develop a mental illness, and that this predisposition — in concert with early life trauma and the burden of relentless media pressure — eventually led to serious mental health problems. My mental-illness hypotheses should be considered speculative and in need of independent scrutiny from other mental health professionals, who, in time, will have access to expanded archival documentation on the life of Fischer and his family. Still, enough is known about Bobby Fischer's life and family history — including the mental health history of his relatives — for me to reach some general conclusions. Bobby's likely biological father, Paul Nemenyi, was highly intelligent, an established mechanical engineer and technical author who, at one point, collaborated with Albert Einstein's son, Hans Albert Einstein, on hydrology theory. But after emigrating from Hungary to the U.S. in 1939, Nemenyi had trouble adjusting, and at least a couple of his colleagues thought quite negatively of his character. Nicholas and Benson uncovered documents in which Nemenyi was described as "an unstable and undesirable person" by a committee member of the Emergency Committee in Aid of Displaced Foreign Scholars and as "a misfit" by fellow Hungarian immigrant Theodore von Karman, a respected aeronautical scientist. Nicholas and Benson wrote that Nemenyi's colleagues told them that he always walked around with soap in his pockets, frequently washed his hands and was very careful not to touch door handles. He also had an aversion to wool and would go to work in the winter with his pajamas sticking out from underneath his clothes because, he said, he was layering to keep warm. According to the FBI files, staffers at Jewish Family Services in Los Angeles, with whom Nemenyi was sharing his concerns about the mental health of Regina and Bobby in 1947, reported that the "agency did not completely trust Nemenyi, as they considered him somewhat of a 'paranoid type.'" The information on Nemenyi is limited, and the assertions in documents uncovered by Nicholas and Benson do not constitute definitive evidence of mental disorder. The available anecdotal psychiatric evidence on Regina Fischer is more detailed. As I noted earlier, Regina's FBI file documented a diagnosis of "stilted (paranoid) personality, querulent [sic] but not psychotic." This diagnosis reflected the parlance of the mid-1940s and would be considered outdated today. Using the terminology of the current revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Regina Fischer exhibited traits consistent with paranoid personality disorder, a non-psychotic mental illness. (Keep in mind, however, that Regina had good reason to be suspicious; she was, in fact, kept under surveillance by the FBI for roughly three decades. And, according to Regina's son-in-law, Russell Targ, the ongoing FBI surveillance hindered her ability to find steady employment.) Assuming Nemenyi to be Fischer's biological father, the chess champion had two half-siblings: a sister, Joan, born to Regina Fischer and Hans Gerhardt Fischer, and a brother, Peter, who was born to Bobby's likely biological father, Nemenyi, and his wife. Like his father Paul, Peter was a gifted intellectual; he earned his doctorate in mathematics from Princeton and authored a respected book on statistics. According to Nicholas and Benson, however, Peter's "end was unhappy. Sick with prostate cancer, he killed himself [in 2002]. He had been living alone in a Durham, N.C., apartment crammed with statistics papers. Friends say they often spotted him pushing a collection of shopping baskets around town, wearing oven mitts for gloves." Again, there is not enough evidence to be confident of Peter Nemenyi's mental state throughout his life, but in his final years it was certainly problematic. I have found no information suggesting that Joan, Bobby's half-sister, suffered from any mental disorder. In fact, it is clear that Joan was a reliable and consistent source of support for her brother, and it appears Bobby was as close to his big sister as he could be, given his interpersonal difficulties, general mistrust of others and paranoid tendencies. It is my clinical intuition that Joan's death, coming only a year after their mother's passing, was a devastating loss to Bobby. His own grief process was further complicated: He could attend neither his mother's nor his sister's funeral for a very realistic fear that he would be arrested on arrival in the U.S. because of his violation of U.S. sanctions against Yugoslavia when he played his rematch against Spassky there in 1992. A variety of authors have speculated about Bobby Fischer's mental state. For example, Valery Krylov, a specialist in the "psycho-physiological rehabilitation of sportsmen," who is cited in Garry Kasparov's mini-biography of Fischer, believed Bobby suffered from schizophrenia. Krylov had worked with former world chess champion Anatoly Karpov for two decades and arrived at his diagnostic conclusion based on an examination of correspondence to and from Fischer, and published articles related to Fischer. A more recent and popular diagnosis surfacing in the literature suggests that Bobby suffered from Asperger's Disorder. In attempting to enhance the reliability and validity of a psychological assessment, clinicians form "differential diagnoses" that help to screen in and screen out potential "best bets" through a systematic, decision-tree process. In hypothesizing about Bobby's mental status, a differential diagnosis could include the Asperger's Disorder and schizophrenia (paranoid type) just mentioned, as well as paranoid personality disorder and delusional disorder. Providing a detailed differential diagnosis of Bobby Fischer would require a much longer treatment of the topic than is possible here. I do provide such an expanded consideration in a book-length project in progress. For present purposes, suffice it to say that I believe Bobby did not meet all the necessary criteria to reach diagnoses of schizophrenia or Asperger's Disorder. The evidence is stronger for paranoid personality disorder, which the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) says "may be first apparent in childhood and adolescence with solitariness, poor peer relationships, social anxiety, underachievement in school, hypersensitivity, peculiar thoughts and language, and idiosyncratic fantasies. These children may appear to be 'odd' or 'eccentric' and attract teasing." In addition to paranoid behavior, in adulthood, Fischer clearly manifested the kind of non-bizzare delusions characteristic of the persecutory type of delusional disorder, which the DSM describes this way: "[T]he central theme of the delusion involves the person's belief that he or she is being conspired against, cheated, spied on, followed, poisoned or drugged, maliciously maligned, harassed, or obstructed in the pursuit of long-term goals. Small slights may be exaggerated and become the focus of a delusional system. The focus of the delusion is often on some injustice that must be remedied by legal action ('querulous paranoia'), and the affected person may engage in repeated attempts to obtain satisfaction by appeal to the courts and other government agencies. Individuals with persecutory delusions are often resentful and angry and may resort to violence against those they believe are hurting them." This DSM language appears to describe Bobby's later life with a high degree of accuracy. Bobby did experience delusions that the Jews were out to destroy him, he was often involved in filing lawsuits (none of which he won), and he did turn violent on at least three occasions. So my hypothesis about the course of Bobby Fischer's mental illness can be summarized in this way: Bobby's family history — particularly his mother's possible mental illness — modestly predisposed him to paranoid personality disorder. Bobby had no father figure and perhaps did not even know who his real father was until later in life; he was raised by a single mother experiencing financial hardships and daily stress from FBI surveillance. These circumstances added to Bobby's level of psychosocial stress and increased his vulnerability to mental illness. The stress and vulnerability were further magnified by his celebrity status and the unremitting media pressure that accompanied it. As Bobby moved out of regular tournament play in the 1970s, he isolated himself, and his paranoia intensified. In some ways, the structure, demands and focus of chess tournaments may have confined or contained his paranoid thoughts and behaviors. In 1973, in what now seems almost a prophetic statement, Reuben Fine wrote, "Chess seems to have been the best therapy in the world for him." The psychosocial stressors on Bobby intensified in the 1980s and 1990s. He was named in an arrest warrant the State Department issued in connection with his Yugoslavia "rematch" with Spassky; he suffered the untimely loss of his mother and sister; he was arrested in Japan in 2004 in connection with the 1992 warrant; and he struggled for years to find a safe haven from U.S. arrest, finding one only in 2005, when he was granted full Icelandic citizenship. These varied and intense psychosocial stressors contributed to the presence of non-bizzare, persecutory delusions that were superimposed on a pre-existing paranoid personality disorder. Over the half century since Regina Fischer first brought her son to the Children's Psychiatric Division of Brooklyn Jewish Hospital, the fields of psychology and psychiatry have advanced considerably. If Bobby Fischer had been born in this decade, he and his family would, at least in theory, have access to a variety of psychological assessments and interventions. First, the daily stress Regina Fischer suffered as a subject of FBI surveillance could have been reduced with appropriate treatment. She might have received supportive and cognitive-behavioral counseling to help her develop coping strategies for dealing with that stress, and she might also have gained access to legal or financial support from civil liberties groups. Given Bobby's temperament, Regina could have benefited from parent training and support programs. Bobby's sister Joan might have benefited from personal counseling, given the burdens of her responsibility for troubled relatives. And clearly, family counseling — something far more likely to occur today than in the 1940s, particularly with working-class families — could have helped the Fischers as a group. If the hypothesis posited in this article is correct — that Bobby suffered from a genetically predisposed paranoid personality disorder — he could today receive treatment that includes the long-term individual psychotherapy often required to make progress with patients exhibiting paranoid symptoms. Generally speaking, such patients are difficult to treat, given their mistrust of the therapist and therapy process. With regard to schooling, a 21st-century Bobby Fischer would likely receive special support services, including individual and group counseling, which he probably did not receive at Public School 3, from which he was expelled, or at Brooklyn's Erasmus Hall High School, from which he voluntarily dropped out at age 16. Too little is known about Bobby's day-to-day behavior and affective state in elementary or high school to confidently recommend a particular medication regimen. But depending on the presence and intensity of coexisting symptoms — anxiety, depression and attention deficits in some subject areas — Bobby might well be prescribed a psychotropic medication. And even though Bobby had an ambivalent relationship with his mother, he certainly could have used intensive grief and support counseling in 1997 and 1998, when his mother and sister passed away. Regina and Joan were Bobby's lifelong advocates, and despite his struggles and challenges, he felt emotionally close to them. Would Bobby Fischer have become a world chess champion if he had been involved in long-term individual psychotherapy, family therapy and special support services and, possibly, been prescribed a psychotropic medication? This question I cannot answer. Perhaps psychological intervention and the structure it provides would have stabilized Bobby's life and chess career. Psychological treatment could have equipped him with stress- and media-management coping skills; it could have provided techniques to bring his cognitive distortions and anti-Semitism under more control; it could have given him insight into his family history; and it could have supported him in developing and maintaining friendships and romantic partners. If this cadre of interventions were successful, even in part, Bobby Fischer might very well have been world chess champion for a decade, rather than just three years, and a much happier person throughout his life. But there is also the possibility that psychological intervention might have distracted Bobby from his chess focus and sapped the drive — the almost superhuman focus — that is a hallmark of genius. And this possibility is at the center of the larger question that Bobby Fischer's troubled life raises: What can be done to help our most brilliant and talented citizens get the mental health treatment they need and deserve while ensuring that genius is not suppressed in the process? Unfortunately, Bobby Fischer's dramatic rise to world pre-eminence and equally dramatic descent into isolation and mental instability is a life path not unique to him or to chess. To be sure, Paul Morphy, the New Orleans chess prodigy who played a century earlier than Bobby, also lapsed into a state of delusion, in his case centered on belief that he was being persecuted by his brother-in-law, the executor of his father's estate. But outside the field of chess, one can find countless examples of prodigies who succumbed to stress and intense career expectations. The musical genius of Michael Jackson, the acting and singing gift of Judy Garland, and the poetry and prose brilliance of Sylvia Plath represent but a few examples of promising talent undermined by mental health problems insufficiently dealt with, or left untended altogether. Part of the psychological challenge for American "genius," in particular, lies in this country's cultural value system. It's a system that places high emphasis on individualism and individual accomplishment, rather than group effort. The chess, math or piano prodigy senses early on the extreme pride that family members, coaches and teachers have in his or her "unique" ability. At the same time, the prodigy also may learn that he or she will be excused for untoward behavior because adults are reluctant to take any action that might slow or derail the development of a "star." But that prospective star will likely also understand, very early on, the downside of life as a prodigy: Acclaim and special privileges continue only as long as genius shines. Given stable childhoods and average genetic predispositions for dealing with stress, many prodigies manage such pressures well and become successful in their fields while achieving at least a semblance of life balance. Some prodigies, however — including Bobby Fischer, who had an unstable early family life, the pressure of early fame and, perhaps, a genetic tendency toward psychological difficulties — are not equipped to navigate life's challenges without counseling intervention. I won't try here to describe all the programs and interventions that might foster psychological health in young people with special talents. Instead, I offer a brief outline of two primary areas in which early intervention could create better chances for our gifted and talented to achieve balanced lives. Compared to young people who are identified, early on, as being at risk for learning disabilities or emotional-behavioral problems — to give just two of many possible challenges — children who have special intellectual or artistic talents are often assumed to be OK, psychologically, so long as their general academic performance is satisfactory. Because of their gifts, they are often left to their own devices and given few or no special support services. Because the pressures on the exceedingly gifted are obvious and too often debilitating or deadly, I suggest that schools take formal steps to identify talented students early on and then to provide them with support systems that promote their special talent while, simultaneously, helping them connect with other spheres of academic and social life. Such support services could include individual counseling, parent training, and support and group counseling with other gifted students. I also favor the creation of mentoring — or "big brother" and "big sister" — programs for extremely gifted children. At an awards show last fall, young musical sensation Justin Bieber thanked an older friend — Usher, who'd also been a musical phenomenon at an early age — for acting as his mentor on professional, personal and life-balance issues. Such one-on-one mentoring can be very beneficial to young talents as they learn to navigate the challenges a life of high expectations and achievement poses, and I see no reason schools can't be more active in encouraging such pairings. There is already a wide literature on programs for gifted and talented youth and adolescents, and this is a critical area for continued research. But in some cases, at least, it may well take a genius to help a genius in the making.
When it comes to Nightwish, I have been flying the Anette flag for a few years now. She is unquestionably best known for her years in that band. For reasons I’m not even sure I can explain, she’s always been my favorite Nightwish singer. More importantly though, she is a fiercely devoted wife and mother; a lovely human being whose passion lies in caring for others. Since her last days in Nightwish, she’s released solo material and has been involved with different projects including her new project, The Dark Element whose album is to be released via Frontiers Music in November. She seems as happy as ever and we are very grateful she has taken a few minutes out of her day to answer our email interview. Enjoy! PAST There has been some debate regarding the following; There is a clip online of you doing a show in Brazil and at the end of “The Pit and the Pendulum” you walk off stage. Some have said the reasons were; people shouting mean things, the smoke coming up and bothering you and also personal reasons. What is your response on this and again, I completely respect if you are uncomfortable about answering. Anette: it was many factors and one was that when I walked in on stage there was a smoking machine that blew smoke on me and since I have asthma and problems singing in a dry room and smokey areas I immediately started to have problems singing and it continued through the show so when poet and the pendulum came and singing under hard circumstances struggling I just broke down. I was tired from heavy touring, some problems in the band and a big home sickness missing my son. All things combined just made me break down and on top of it all I had gotten death threats before some shows in South America where they said they wanted to shoot me in the head in front of my son and I was really scared. We even had extra security so as you can see it wasn’t one thing that led to the break down but many in combination. A sad evening nevertheless and I felt very ashamed afterwards. After having suffered the flu in Denver and missing the show, you decided you were well enough to perform in Salt Lake City. How did you find the strength to make it through? Anette: I wanted to do the show for the fans of course and it was my job to sing so it wasn’t more than to do it. As an artist you know the fans have waited to hear and see you and it’s very hard to cancel a show so it’s not something I’d like to do and many shows during those years I was ill but still came on stage. What was it about the music that kept you going during the turbulent times toward the end or was it simply the devotion of the fans? Anette: I am very loyal and devoted to my job so even if we had bad times I still kept going those hours on stage and in those moments I never cared about anything since I loved to sing and be on stage. That feeling is what make me do it in every bad day cause I love to perform. PRESENT/FUTURE I read that you were studying nursing. If that’s the case, what made you decide to do that? Anette: I already studied at the uni when entering Nightwish and studied science behavior but when I came home from the last tour I decided to change and go into nursing school since I want a job that always will be needed for and I have always loved caring for others so it’s a very rewarding job to do. “Shine” and “Lies” were two of the singles and videos that you released in recent years. Do you think your solo work was more of a inward reflection and a therapy for yourself or were they more for the fans with a message of overcoming obstacles? Anette: yeah it was and I wrote the songs after that whole turmoil in South America in 2009 and the long exhausting tour we made. It was very therapeutic to write songs about my childhood, my mums illness that happened at that time but also love songs for my son and husband. So it was more for me than for those listening. I read on your blog that you still suffer from “night terrors.” Do you think that these have influenced your music at all? Anette: I don’t know but they are horrible and I have them very frequent. It’s also hard since I am an adult and I understand it’s not reality but in the night when they occur I can’t think rationally and I’m extremely scared and need to wake my husband to ease me down. The most recent solo release you’ve had was “Vintersjal/Cold Outside.” You’ve got the album with the Dark Element project coming up. What can you tell us about The Dark Element? Anette: It’s a great thing I’m very happy I am a part of. When I was asked to do this project I had no idea of how Janis songs would sound so it was a bit of a gamble until I heard the first demo and I could relax, cause I immediately heard it would be a great album. And it’s been a positive vibe from both magazines and fans so far so I hope it will be a big success of course. Do you have any plans to do some more solo material? Anette; Not at the moment but who knows in the future when I have time to sit down and make some songs again. Some time ago (2016) you appeared on a talk show hosted by David Hasselhoff who appeared to know nothing or have done any research prior to you coming on. He also seemed drunk. How in the world did you get through that without strangling the man? :o) Anette: haha well I was honored to meet with a childhood idol as he is, an icon I must say and yeah he was truly a character but I must say it was so much fun to be in the show. A great memory! GENERAL Ok let’s say that I stole your Ipod. What do you think would be the biggest surprise that I wouldn’t expect you to be listening to? Anette: haha, well I have lots of music I listen to and it’s very varied so hard to say but maybe some Swedish rap song? Many, many years from now in an old abandoned home, a very distant relative locates a box in the attic. In the box they find a CD with your name and something to play it on. What do you what them to know, just by listening to the music about the work you created throughout your career? Anette: oh wow what a nice question and a hard one too! I would love if they could hear that I loved what I sang, that they could feel what I sang and that I meant what I sang. That’s what I want the listener to hear when I sing. And that I did more than one thing in music. Thanks Anette for your time! You’re the best. http://anetteolzon2.blogspot.com/ https://www.facebook.com/anetteolzonofficial/ https://www.facebook.com/TheDarkElement/ The Dark Element debut album will be available in early November via Frontiers Music: https://www.frontiers.shop/new-releases/599/the-dark-element-the-dark-element-cd-jewel-case Follow The Noise Beneath The Snow on WordPress.com Follow (Twitter) https://www.facebook.com/The-Noise-Beneath-The-Snow-Blog-PR-160069624534353/
Wilkie praises Abbott's potential: reports Updated Tasmanian independent MP Andrew Wilkie has reportedly said Opposition Leader Tony Abbott would make a good prime minister. Mr Wilkie is quoted in News Limited papers as declaring support for Mr Abbott's potential. Mr Wilkie has repeatedly threatened to withdraw support for the Federal Government if there is not progress towards putting restrictions on poker machines. Asked about his comments, Prime Minister Julia Gillard said she would keep working with Mr Wilkie on problem gambling. "Andrew Wilkie has a particular passion in this area. This is an area we'll keep working on together," she said. "I've got very good working relationships with Mr Wilkie and I've got every expectation they'll continue." Federal Sports Minister Mark Arbib also weighed in on Mr Abbott's leadership potential, saying the Federal Opposition Leader has provided a model for other opposition leaders to follow. He told Sky News that NSW Labor needs to get back to basics after its massive state election defeat last month. He says its leader John Robertson needs to unify the party against Premier Barry O'Farrell. "Hold Barry O'Farrell to account - that's the key of good opposition," he said. "Tony Abbott has provided a decent model for John Robertson to follow. Keep it simple." Greens MP Adam Bandt, who along with Mr Wilkie makes up the Government's numbers in the Lower House, says he does not agree with Mr Wilkie's remarks. "I've got concerns about the way the way that Tony Abbott is leading the Coalition," he said. "I think it would be one where the conservatives very much have it over the liberals in the Liberal party." Editor's note: After this story was published, Andrew Wilkie said he did not say Mr Abbott would make a good prime minister. He provided a transcript of the interview with the News Limited journalist. "I think he'd (Tony Abbott) be an effective prime minister. I mean that's without talking about specific policy areas. There's obviously some policy areas where with him I'd have some concerns such as irregular immigration or border security. But I think that some people are too quick to knock him. The fact is he came within a whisker of pulling off one of the biggest upsets in Australian political history and he needs to be given credit for that." Topics: federal-government, government-and-politics, tas, australia First posted
Little Evidence Of 'Infringement Risk' For 'Copyright Intensive' Companies from the more-smoke-and-mirrors dept None of the 14 reports for Reed Elsevier and 18 reports for Pearson identified copyright infringement as a risk factor. Only 13% of the 15 reports for Sony and 22% of the 23 reports for Vivendi mentioned copyright infringement as a potential risk. Just 8% of the 26 reports for Viacom and 27% of the 26 reports for Disney referred to copyright infringement as a risk factor. 26% of the 19 reports concerning Adobe and 41% of the 27 reports concerning Microsoft identified copyright infringement as a risk factor. Cumulatively, only 19% (32) of the 168 reports referred to copyright infringement as a possible risk; 81% did not. For decades now, we keep hearing various "copyright intensive" companies whining to the press and politicians about how the "biggest threat" they face is continued copyright infringement. We hear about how it's undermining not just their business, but entire economic sectors, the basis of capitalism and the fundamental rule of law. Copyright infringement, we are told, is one of the largest risks to the economy and society that you could possibly imagine. We've long questioned the validity of those claims, especially since history has shown that the industry cries wolf fairly frequently and. Most famously, of course, the MPAA's Jack Valenti told Congress that "the VCR is to the American film producer and the American public as the Boston strangler is to the woman home alone." That was in 1982. In 1986, the home video market -- which the VCR created -- made more money for the MPAA's studios than the box office did. It's tough to believe the "threat" claims when they're always wrong.But, the "copyright intensive" industries just keep on making those claims, and there's always some in the press and among elected officials who either don't know or don't care about the past (or technology or reality) and automatically believe those claims. They just assume that of course copyright infringement must be a huge threat because these companies say so.A new study, however, found a pretty good way to evaluate the reality of that threat. Jonathan Band and Jonathan Gerafi realized that a good "independent" third party to evaluate the risk and threat of copyright infringement would be. Their only stake in the game is whether or not the company is going to do well or poorly. If the perceived risk and threat was real, they'd certainly be letting everyone know. So, Band and Gerafi have produced a new research report studying equity research reports issued over the last quarter for eight of the top companies in the so-called "copyright intensive industries."The choice of companies is interesting, because all eight are among those that regularly scream the loudest about the "threats" of infringement: Sony (owner of Sony Music and Sony Pictures), Vivendi (owner of Universal Music), Disney, Viacom (who also owns Paramount), Microsoft, Adobe, Pearson and Reed Elsevier. If you're keeping track, that's basically three of the largest movie studios, two of the largest music labels, two of the largest software companies and two of the largest publishers. If copyright infringement was really this existential threat they've all been screaming about, certainly it would show up in the equity analysts' reports, right?Well, let's take a look at the findings:And, in case you were wondering, the reports that didn't list copyright infringement as a risk (i.e., nearly all of them)list out a variety of other factors. It wasn't just a case where they weren't covering risks at all. They carefully looked at the market, and didn't seem to think infringement was a real risk at all.And, it's important to note that since these are all public companies, the execs at those companies often spend a lot of time "educating" the analysts about the state of their business. In fact, in the annual reports for six of the eight companies listed, the companies themselves do list infringement as a major risk. It just looks like the analysts looked at the detail and simply didn't see any legitimate threat in most of the cases. Filed Under: copyright, copyright intensive industries, equity analysts, infringement, jonathan band, jonathan gerafi, risk Companies: adobe, disney, elsevier, microsoft, paramount, pearson, reed elsevier, sony, sony music, sony pictures, universal music, viacom, vivendi
I have to say there have been moments when I’ve thought Megyn Kelly was a real blast of fresh air in the fetid, morning-breath swamps of cable news: whip-smart, mildly sassy, occasionally rebellious, she is a real star on the propaganda network of the GOP/Tea Party. So I wondered how she would respond to her rather unfortunate assertions this week that both Santa Claus and Jesus Christ were “white”. Here’s the original segment. Here is her response. I’d say two things. The original segment was clearly not as light-hearted and humorous as Kelly now insists it was. She did not originally refer to the Slate piece as “tongue-in-cheek” and responded to its provocation by being offended, not amused. Since both tapes are out there, make your own mind up. But rather than cop to an obvious error – made off the cuff – she made the decision to hunker down and accuse others of persecuting Fox News because it isn’t liberal. So the classic and silly notion that white Republicans are somehow an oppressed class – and minorities should just stop whining – became her “correction.” But that’s not a correction. It’s a distraction. More to the point, the much more disturbing assertion that “Jesus was white” – something Kelly injected into the conversation all by herself – is left hanging. She claims in one aside in her response that the question “is not settled.” But it is. Jesus was a first century Jew. He’s not a northern European. He was Semitic, not Caucasian. Now maybe Kelly will unpack why she may believe that Jews are somehow “white” in her racial categorization of humanity, while, say, Hispanics are not. But it seems likely she won’t. That would open a very large box of premises Roger Ailes prefers to keep vacuum-wrapped. So she screwed up – which we all do. But on the core measure of whether she could fairly cop to her screw-up, correct and apologize for it, she failed. I tend to think that how journalists respond to error is more instructive than how they report and analyze in factually impeccable fashion. On that count, Kelly emerged this week as a flak and a hack. I guess I was foolish for hoping for more. (Painting: Mother Mary with the Holy Child Jesus Christ, Oil/canvas, 1913. By Adolf Hitler.)
Istanbul public prosecutor Zekeriya Öz has investigated Turkey's elite, those who were seen as untouchable: politicians, journalists, attorneys and generals. Öz has been the most important criminal prosecutor under Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, helping him take legal measures against the network known as the "Ergenekon," whose members were allegedly planning a coup against the government. But only a few months after the end of the five-year trial, Öz has now turned against his former sponsor. Shortly before Christmas, police arrested more than 50 suspects, including politicians with the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), influential businesspeople, and the sons of three cabinet ministers. The investigations were initiated by Öz, who was subsequently taken off the case. The scandal has taken Erdogan into the most serious crisis of his nearly 11 years in office. The corruption scandal within his inner circle is jeopardizing the power of the AKP and threatens to tear it apart -- and that in an election year, in which Erdogan apparently wants to be elected president. The ministers of economics, the interior and urban development resigned on Dec. 25, after the arrest of their sons, who allegedly accepted bribes for providing building permits and public contracts. The next day, Erdogan fired seven other ministers, filling their posts with his confidants. Several senior lawmakers, as well as the head of the state-owned Halkbank, who allegedly orchestrated oil deals with Iran, were also arrested. They are accused of circumventing sanctions against Tehran that prohibit monetary transactions with Iranian banks by paying several billion euros worth of gold in return for oil. When the police raided the bank head's home, they found $4.5 million (3.3 million) in shoeboxes. But this is probably only the beginning of greater turmoil. Even Erdogan himself is becoming increasingly caught up in the corruption scandal. The urban development minister who had resigned, Erdogan Bayraktar, has called upon the prime minister to step down as well. Bayraktar claimed that he had approved the construction projects in question at Erdogan's instruction. Further Arrests in the Pipeline Investigators are apparently planning further arrests, with a list of suspects that includes Erdogan's son Bilal. The 32-year-old is the founder and a board member of the influential Türgev Foundation, which acquired a government property in Istanbul's Fatih district at a very favorable price, allegedly paying about 3 million in bribes in return. A summons for Bilal Erdogan, signed by Istanbul public prosecutor Muammer Akka, has since been published. But police officers refused to arrest either him or a number of AKP lawmakers, probably on instructions from the political arena. Akka was also removed from the case. In a statement last Thursday, he said: "My investigations were blocked. The judiciary was apparently put under pressure." Meanwhile, Erdogan is trying to paint the scandal as a conspiracy against his government. He blames it on a "gang" that aims to harm Turkey. In a televised address on Jan. 1, Erdogan called on his fellow Turks to help fight what he called a plot by foreign-backed elements. "I invite every one of our 76 million people to stand up for themselves, to defend democracy and to be as one against these ugly attacks on our country," he said. But even Erdogan's supporters are irritated by his tirades. And the louder he gets, the clearer it becomes that the once popular premier is fighting for his political future. Erdogan, a former mayor of Istanbul, came into office on the promise of putting an end to the cronyism of his predecessors. It helped get him elected in 2002 and has seen his government returned to office two times since then. But the AKP is not governing as cleanly as Erdogan claimed. It has long been plagued by allegations of corruption. In the embassy cables published by WikiLeaks in 2010, US diplomats reported "corruption at all levels" in Turkey. 'No One Wanted to Listen' "We have addressed the subject of corruption within the government for years, but no one wanted to listen," says Aye Danioglu, a member of parliament for the opposition party, the CHP. "It finally took a dispute within the Islamic camp to uncover the dirt of the past few years." The accusations have never been this detailed, nor have they been this dangerous for the prime minister. For the first time, it is not only members of the opposition who are attacking Erdogan, but also some of his previous supporters, especially those aligned with the Turkish preacher Fethullah Gülen. Gülen lives in exile in the United States. His supporters have established schools, media companies, hospitals and companies worldwide. The Gülen community seeks to portray itself as a civil society movement that primarily promotes education. But former members describe the community as hierarchical, political and Islamist. Gülen and Erdogan long enjoyed a successful cooperative relationship. Gülen secured votes for the premier, while Erdogan protected the community's business dealings. With Erdogan's patronage, Gülen supporters secured key positions with the police and in the judiciary. In the Ergenekon trial, Gülen and Erdogan collaborated to bring down their chief adversaries: the military and the secular opposition. A 'Declaration of War' Zekeriya Öz, considered a Gülen supporter, was the chief prosecutor in the trial, the largest in recent Turkish history. The accused allegedly planned terrorist attacks to overthrow the government. Observers criticized the trial, which ended in August 2013 after five years, calling it a farce. Details from the trial were regularly leaked to media organizations owned by the Gülen movement, and regime critics were publicly denounced. In recent months, however, the alliance has begun to crumble. Gülen's supporters had apparently become too powerful for Erdogan. At the same time, he obviously came to perceive them as disloyal, dismissing a number of officials aligned with the community. Gülen supporters in the judiciary subsequently attempted to prosecute the intelligence chief, an important confidant of the prime minister, but were unsuccessful. In November, Erdogan announced that Gülen tutoring centers were to be shut down. The educational facilities prepare pupils for university entrance examinations and are an important source of income for the movement. The newspaper Hürriyet called the move a "declaration of war." For this reason, the investigations can arguably also be seen as the Gülen movement's attempt to exact revenge on the prime minister. Erdogan calls it a "very dirty operation" and accuses Gülen supporters of trying to establish a "state within the state." Gülen replied with a video address, in which he said: "May God bring fire onto the houses of those who do not see the thief, but instead persecute those who are hunting the thief." This is the second time that Erdogan has come under fire recently. In the summer, more than three million people protested for months against the redevelopment of Gezi Park in Istanbul. But the movement soon expanded into a broader protest against Erdogan's increasingly despotic style of government. After almost 11 years in office, Erdogan seems increasingly autocratic and disconnected from reality. He has now replaced many capable advisers with loyal yes-men. Success makes some politicians more relaxed, but in recent years Erdogan has, in many respects, developed into precisely the type of autocratic ruler he once vowed to abolish. Critics have been locked away under Erdogan's rule. Turkey has more journalists and supposed terror suspects in prison than anywhere else. AKP at Risk Erdogan reacted obstinately to the protests in the summer, berating his critics as "bums" and having his security forces fire tear gas at them. He has also proved to be relentless in the current crisis. Some 500 police officers have been transferred, and Erdogan also attempted, albeit unsuccessfully, to gain control over investigations by decree. But in contrast to the Gezi protests, this time Erdogan will not be able to bring the crisis under control by taking a tough approach. It is already becoming clear that the scandal could break apart his party. Erdogan's goal of having himself elected president in the summer is becoming more and more tenuous. He would like to endow the position with significantly more power, but he is now unlikely to secure the necessary two-thirds majority in parliament. Under the rules of Erdogan's AK party, he is prohibited from seeking an additional term as prime minister. To run for a fourth term he would have to change the party's charter, but there is already growing resistance within the AKP to such a move. President Abdullah Gül, in particular, now opposes his longtime ally. Finally, the economy, the most important factor in persuading many citizens to vote for Erdogan, is growing weaker. The Turkish lira recently fell to a record low. Foreign investment, which brought in capital that fueled the boom of recent years, has been in decline for some time. If investors continue to withdraw money from Turkey, the result could be an economic slump, which could cost Erdogan votes. The opposition is sending a candidate with serious prospects of winning the race for mayor of Istanbul in next March's local elections. This makes AKP officials increasingly nervous, because they know that whoever loses Istanbul will lose Turkey.
On Saturday morning, over 400 rusty crap-cans assembled in Troy, Michigan to partake in the grueling Gambler 500, an on and off-road rally in northern Michigan specifically for $500-ish cars. It was an awesome shitshow filled with some of the most questionable repairs I’ve ever seen. Upon arriving at the start line for the Gambler 500 in my $600 1995 Jeep Cherokee (dubbed Project Swiss Cheese), I was greeted by hundreds of vehicles that made my old beater look like a Mercedes S-Class. These junkers had chopped tops, horrible artwork (there were, unsurprisingly, many penises), enormous tires that didn’t fit, and more zip ties and duct tape than I’d ever seen in my life. After witnessing the first of many burnouts on the well-maintained suburban street, I realized that this trip was going to be the Wild West of car rallies—lawless, crude and just downright hilarious. Advertisement The organizers gave each driver a list of waypoint coordinates, and after a short drivers’ meeting, the rally was on. Our first checkpoint was near Detroit, and the challenge was to see how large of a ledge people dared to take their vehicles over. The most impressive display of DGAF-ness came from a gentleman in a vehicle named “Burbanator,” which dropped off a three-foot ledge and banged the crap out of its rear quarter panel. The driver didn’t mind the least bit. From there, the 400-plus gamblers drove to the Packard plant to jump the train tracks. I didn’t get much air in my Cherokee thanks to all of that suspension flex, but some vehicles—including this GMC Jimmy—went balls-out. Advertisement This Ford Contour landed directly on its radiator, shooting coolant all over the road: Dozens of cars were pulled over on the landing side of the train tracks trying to fix what they had broken: Advertisement As a Jeep Cherokee connoisseur, I was moved to help a fellow XJ owner in need, and met a guy named Tim (that’s him under the Jeep). His fuel pump had all of a sudden quit, and he was worried he’d have to drop the tank to fix it. After I showed Tim that he could access the pump from the front of the tank, he removed the assembly and discovered a wiring fault. Our solution? We just hard-wired the pump directly to the battery. Advertisement Sadly, Tim had accidentally dropped the rubber seal into the tank, so the fuel sending unit no longer held all the gas in, as we found out during the next fuel stop. The solution was to just never fill the tank all the way to the top. Were we concerned about our electrical-taped wiring perhaps arcing in front of a leaky fuel tank? Sure. But safety third. Advertisement The theme of “Safety Third” continued once we got up to Northern Michigan, where—on the dirty off-road trails—a number of vehicles found themselves stranded. The Mercury Grand Marquis in the picture was one of these broken down cars. I stopped to tow them out of the dirt, at which point their exhaust pipe broke off and wrapped around the axle. Advertisement What’s happening in the image above is a Jeep (out of the picture to the left) is pulling a tow strap to try to bend the exhaust pipe so it can be removed from the Mercury’s axle. For whatever reason, the gentleman in the image thinks he can help the Jeep, and doesn’t think putting the tire on the car (rather than supporting the vehicle on sand precariously via a jack and a wobbly jack stand) would be a good call. It was a sketchy fix, as that exhaust could have just came flying out from under the vehicle and the car could have fallen off its jack and stand (which are both just sitting in loose sand). But it all worked out. The Jeep bent the exhaust pipe, and the driver’s extracted it so it would no longer rub against the ground as they drove. Safety third at its finest. Advertisement Eventually, we all got to the campsite, where over a thousand people were camping alongside their crap cans and engaging in all sorts of strangeness. For example, here’s a guy cooking pulled pork via this can-rotator mechanism built from a windshield wiper motor: Advertisement And here’s a guy showing me the outhouse fastened to his Jeep Grand Cherokee (it’s a bucket with a toilet seat on top): The next morning brought tons of off-roading, including time trials through a very loose dirt trail. Here’s the line of vehicles at the start of the time trials: Advertisement And here’s the inevitable crash that brought the event to a halt: After a Jeep yanked that chopped Camry from the creek, we all continued on through fairly difficult off-road terrain that challenged even my Cherokee (granted, I was on bald 215-section tires, but still). Advertisement At one point, the organizer of the event (named Tom) told me not to continue driving down one of the trails because it was too difficult; even he, in his HMMWV wouldn’t dare attempt it. In my idiocy (and because “Safety Third”) I figured I’d give it a go anyway. The obstacle involved getting to the other side of a very steep sandy hillside. I nearly made it there, too, but my bald tires just couldn’t grip, and I found myself sliding down the slope. The more I struggled, the more likely it was that I’d go careening down the hill into the abyss. As this was happening, it began pouring rain, and I feared I’d be washed off the face of the earth, so I got pulled out and pretended it never happened. Advertisement After all the trail riding was over, the remaining Gamblers whose vehicles had made it through the off-road trails returned to the campsite, where a crazy man was strapping a fuel tank to the top of his Buick Roadmaster. The previous day, he had jumped his Buick over the Packard Plant train tracks, and promptly cracked his frame. A few ratchet straps held up his car’s butt just enough to allow a Chevy S10 to tug him to the campsite. Advertisement But once there, he just hacked off the entire rear end, and rigged the fuel tank to the roof: Advertisement After hooking the taillights to the top, the owner of this green Roadmaster had himself a theoretically-driveable vehicle. While I never got to see it drive after this repair, this “Safety Third” fix—with a heavy gas tank zip tied to the roof—was the weekend’s most brilliant jerry-rig job. After lots of great off-roading, my buddy Tim’s hack-job fuel pump wiring finally gave up the ghost, and he was stranded in his Cherokee on the side of I-75. So I drove back and hooked up the nylon tow strap to his front bumper, and my Jeep towed him to the nearest gas station. Advertisement After failing to fix his vehicle, Tim and I decided to just tow his car back to Flint. 100 Miles. With a Nylon tow strap looped around his bumper. It was among the sketchiest things I’ve ever done, especially since my brake lights didn’t work, and Tim’s brakes were awful (his brake pedal went all the way to the floor—see brake warning light below). The whole damn event was sketchy and dirty and just downright lawless. It was filled with burnouts and fluid leaks and exhaust parts left strewn throughout the woods (though it’s worth noting that volunteers cleaned up afterwards). It was a very “back to basics” approach to cars. It wasn’t about luxury or fuel economy or ride quality or handling—it was about one thing: can we somehow rig these cars up so they will drive for just a couple of days? That’s it. And there’s something magical about that. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement
Wisconsin has few gun laws on the books but still ranks somewhere near the middle among states for strictness because so many other states do even less. The events of last Friday in Newtown, Conn., remain incomprehensible. I cannot even begin to understand what the parents and families of those children and adults are feeling. NEWTOWN, Conn. — The gunman behind the Connecticut elementary school massacre stormed into t… What Scott Walker won't do Gov. Scott Walker said Wednesday he wants fellow Republicans who run the Legislature to avoid hot-button issues that could detract from his core priorities, which include creating jobs and boosting worker skills. He even told the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism he would veto a bill to eliminate same-day voter registration if it cost several millions of dollars. Here's what Walker told the State Journal he does not want to see in the upcoming session: • Right-to-work legislation, which sparked demonstrations at the Michigan Capitol earlier this month • Same-day voter registration, which some Republican lawmakers have threatened to kill — and which Walker supports in concept — but which tens of thousands of voters use each election • Immigration reform • Reforming the Government Accountability Board, which oversees elections and enforces the ethics code for public officials. "These are things I will ask them (lawmakers) not to tackle," the governor said. "I'm just saying, 'No. Don't bring that up.' "
When Luis Tamarez stood in front of his pre-K classmates for the first time, there wasn’t a dry eye in the room. “His reaction was pure joy,” Luis’s teacher, Amy Cutler, told Fox 29.“You could see his smile from ear to ear. My reaction was tears.” Get push notifications with news, features and more. Because Luis was born with cerebral palsy, he spent the first four years of his life crawling or using a wheelchair to get around. Then the staff at his school, North Main Street elementary in Pleasantville, New Jersey, learned about a device called an Upsee that allows a child to experience the sensation of walking through being strapped to an adult who guides his or her movements. Luis takes his first steps Source: Fox 29 The staff was eager to get Luis into one of these devices, but the cost – $500 — proved prohibitive. The group planned to hold a fundraiser, but fate had other plans. Substitute teacher Yorel Browne was working as an Uber driver one night in December when he told a passenger about Luis and the device that would change his life. Before Browne could finish his story, the passenger, local businessman Jim Burke, chimed in with an offer to buy the device for Luis. “It was a no-brainer. It touched me. It didn’t even take a split second. It was a very easy decision,” Burke told ABC News of his offer. When the device finally arrived, Burke and Browne were invited to Luis’s classroom to see the young boy take his first steps with the help of his aide, Collins Days. “He was just overjoyed and smiling. … I remember him saying, ‘I’m walking,’” Burke said. Burke said seeing the boy’s elated reaction was life changing – and worth every penny. “I gave $500 and got a million dollar smile,” he said through tears.
Moon Jae-in, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, and his wife, Kim Jung-sook, vote at a polling site in Seoul. (Yonhap/European Pressphoto Agency) South Koreans have elected a new president who is wary of the United States and wants to foster warmer ties with North Korea, opening a new and potentially difficult chapter in relations with Washington. Moon Jae-in of the liberal Democratic Party claimed victory Tuesday night after securing an unassailable lead. With 65 percent of the votes counted, he had 39.6 percent. His closest rivals, conservative Hong Joon-pyo and centrist Ahn Cheol-soo, had 26 percent and 21 percent, respectively. Both conceded while the votes were still being counted. “From tomorrow onward, I will serve as your president,” Moon told cheering crowds of supporters in Gwanghwamun Plaza, the central Seoul square where hundreds of thousands of South Koreans held candlelight protests against President Park Geun-hye, leading up to her impeachment and triggering Tuesday’s election. “I will become the president for everyone, even those who didn’t support me,” said Moon, who lost to Park in the 2012 presidential election. (The Washington Post) Moon’s victory will end almost a decade of conservative rule in South Korea and the hard-line approach toward North Korea that had Seoul walking in lockstep with Washington. While the Trump administration is calling for “maximum pressure” on North Korea, South Korea will have a president who has pledged to resume engagement with the North — including reopening an industrial park that the previous administration said was funneling cash to the regime in Pyongyang. But analysts said Moon, 64, a former human rights lawyer, is likely to be constrained and more pragmatic in office, playing down the prospects of a serious rift with the United States even if the tone of the relationship changes. “We still have the alliance, and North Korea still has nuclear weapons. None of these things have changed,” said James Kim, an international relations expert at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul, referring to the six- decade-long security alliance between South Korea and the United States. “There is a reason we have this alliance, and these things are very difficult to change. It can’t be done by one individual just because he wants to,” Kim said. [ South Korea’s Moon reassures voters yearning for calm ] Tuesday’s snap election was called after months of protest that led to the impeachment of Park over a corruption scandal. Park is behind bars and standing trial on 18 charges, including bribery and coercion, after it emerged that a confidante was using their relationship to extract money from South Korean conglomerates, including Samsung. South Koreans were eager to end the turmoil. Since President Trump’s election, they have watched the leaders of China and Japan go to Trump’s resort in Florida for talks while their acting leader barely received a phone call from Washington. In a statement Tuesday, the White House said: “We look forward to working with President-elect Moon to continue to strengthen the alliance between the United States and the Republic of Korea and to deepen the enduring friendship and partnership between our two countries.” Moon said his victory underscored the South Korean people’s “desperate wish” for a change in government. “We did our utmost to help realize this aspiration of the people, and I believe that was the driving force that enabled our victory today,” he told supporters in Seoul. But many South Koreans were voting against conservatives rather than for Moon, said Kang Won-taek, a professor of political science at Seoul National University. “What people who were protesting wanted was political change, and a natural consequence of that is a change in government,” Kang said. [ South Korea’s likely next president asks the U.S. to respect its democracy ] But after the upheaval of the past six months, expectations for the next president are high. To an electorate sick of the corruption that the Park scandal exposed, Moon has promised to improve transparency in government appointments and strengthen regulations on the conglomerates that dominate corporate South Korea. Voters were also concerned about the anemic economy and the widening disparity between rich and poor. Moon promised to put together a huge stimulus package, to create 810,000 public- sector positions and to reduce long working hours. These will be difficult to achieve, especially because Moon’s party does not hold a majority in the National Assembly. Democrats have 119 seats in the 299-seat parliament, and general elections are not due until 2020. “The Park Geun-hye era witnessed further concentration of wealth and power and instances of government officials using public office for private gain,” said Kim Yun-cheol, a professor of political science at Kyung Hee University. “The task facing the incoming president will be to solve these problems.” Although domestic issues dominated the campaign, foreign affairs were much higher up the agenda than usual, in large part because of Trump’s election in the United States and the stance he has taken on North and South Korea. Trump has called for “maximum pressure” on North Korea to make Kim Jong Un’s regime give up its nuclear and missile programs, and he has threatened to use military force, an approach that could push North Korea to unleash artillery fire on Seoul. [Interview with Moon Jae-in, set to become South Korea’s next president ] Meanwhile, Moon has said that he is open to going to Pyongyang to meet Kim if it would help resolve the nuclear problem and that he wants to return to the “sunshine policy” of previous liberal presidents. This began in 1997 — well before North Korea had proved any nuclear capability — and involved economic engagement with the North to reduce the gaps between the two Koreas. Moon served as chief of staff to Roh Moon-hyun, a liberal president who governed between 2003 and 2008 and who inherited the sunshine policy of liberal predecessor Kim Dae-jung. During this period, South Korea began tours to the North Korean mountain resort of Kumgangsan and opened the industrial park at Kaesong, where North Koreans worked in factories owned by South Korean companies. In an interview with The Washington Post before his election, Moon played down his differences with Trump, saying he believed the American was “more reasonable than he is generally perceived.” But Trump has had some tough words for South Korea, too. The U.S. president has said he will make South Korea pay $1 billion to host a controversial American missile defense system — contrary to the countries’ agreement that South Korea provide the land and the United States the battery. Moon has vowed to review the Park government’s decision to host the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, or THAAD, as the battery is known, and Trump’s words have only bolstered his case. Trump is also threatening to tear up a free-trade deal that forms the basis of the countries’ economic alliance. Moon has said he wants to maintain it. Yoonjung Seo contributed to this report. Read more: Another American citizen is detained in North Korea, taking total to four In South Korea, mystification over Trump’s defense and trade comments Smog becomes a political issue in South Korean election Today’s coverage from Post correspondents around the world Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news
Talks aimed at kickstarting negotiations for a final peace settlement in Afghanistan have taken place in Pakistan, emphasising the need for a dialogue between the government and the Taliban. Monday's meeting - which also included the governments of the US and China - sought to revive the process that collapsed last summer after Afghanistan announced that Mullah Mohammad Omar, founder and leader of the Taliban, had died in a Pakistani hospital more than two years ago. The announcement led the Taliban to pull out of the talks after just one meeting hosted by Islamabad. The meeting in Islamabad emphasised the immediate need for direct talks between representatives of the Afghanistan government and representatives from Taliban groups in a peace process that aims to preserve Afghanistan’s unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity, said a joint statement released after the discussions. The Quadrilateral Coordination Group - comprising representatives from Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and the US - is scheduled to meet in Kabul on January 18 "to hold discussions on a roadmap", the statement added. Meanwhile, a former Taliban senior official said that "military confrontation is not the solution" and that a "political solution" was needed to end the war in Afghanistan. "The motivation for peace talks was very weak in the past," Mohammad Hassan Haqyar said. "But now the situation has changed and the Afghan government, America and Pakistan seem to have a readiness for dialogue. "America has realised that a military confrontation is not the solution." Earlier, speaking at the meeting, Sartaj Aziz, a foreign affairs adviser to Pakistan's prime minister, said that "the primary objective of the reconciliation process is to create conditions to bring the Taliban groups to the negotiation table and offer them incentives that can persuade them to move away from using violence as a tool for pursuing political goals". Factors influencing peace talks Infighting within the Taliban: Ever since the appointment of new leader Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour, there have been divisions, and it is unclear who would represent the group if talks went forward. The rise of ISIL in eastern Afghanistan: The armed group has been fighting the Taliban. Lack of trust and confidence between Pakistan and Afghanistan: There is hope that with the involvement of the US and China, this could be mended. Aziz added that neither preconditions nor threat of military action should be attached to the start of the negotiation process. Attempts at peace talks have occurred in the past, but Al Jazeera's Omar Al Saleh, reporting from Kabul, said: "What is different this time is that when the Pakistani army chief [General Raheel Sharif] came to Kabul last month, the two sides [Afghanistan and Pakistan] agreed that this time Pakistan would use force alongside the Afghan government against any Taliban members who oppose the peace talks." He identified several factors the parties must be taking into consideration, including what he called "the splinter within the Taliban". "The Taliban is not one united faction ever since the appointment of their new leader, Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour," he said. ISIL phenomenon This power struggle within the Taliban has raised questions about who would represent the group if and when the talks with the Afghan government restart. A splinter group headed by Mullah Mohammad Rasool Akhund, which rejects Mansour's authority, has dismissed any talks under the mediation of the US or China or of Pakistan. "We have a very clear-cut stance about peace talks: all the foreign occupying forces would need to be withdrawn," Mullah Abdul Manan Niazi, Rasool's deputy, told Reuters on Monday. "The issue is between the Afghans, and only the Afghans can resolve it. We would not allow any third force to mediate." Our correspondent also mentioned the emergence of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group in eastern Afghanistan, which is fighting the Taliban. "And, finally, the lack of confidence and trust between Pakistan and Afghanistan is a major issue, and they will try with the Americans and the Chinese to resolve these issues," he said. The Taliban has stepped up attacks since the United States and NATO formally ended their combat mission in Afghanistan a year ago, and the fighters are battling local Afghan security forces on several fronts. OPINION: Afghanistan and the Taliban need Pakistan for peace The group is expected to keep up the fight even if peace talks get off the ground in order to secure territory and improve their leverage in the negotiations. When the Taliban opened their office in Qatar in June 2013, they outlined their two-pronged strategy of fighting and negotiating simultaneously. It appears now that the group has made good its pledge, Al Jazeera's Hashmat Moslih said. "The Taliban have always made the [complete] withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan as one of their main demands for peace," he added. "The group also wants constitutional reform with the word 'sharia' mentioned in the constitution. "Since the Taliban is a predominantly Pashtun force, the main challenge is how to integrate the group into the national unity government without disturbing the delicate ethnic balance that has arguably been achieved."
Confirmed: FIFA is rotten to the core Posted Qatar had already demonstrated that suitability for hosting a World Cup counts for nothing. Now Sepp Blatter has admitted it. Should Australia ask FIFA for its bidding money back? Michael Visontay writes. It's hard to believe anything Sepp Blatter says any more, but let's accept, for once, that he was telling the truth in his astonishing admission about the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. "It was agreed inside the group that we go to Russia because it has never been to eastern Europe, and for 2022 we go back to America," he told the Russian news agency Tass. "And so we would have the World Cup in the two biggest political powers." He then added that four votes from Europe later switched from the USA to Qatar. There it is. As if he's reflecting on last week's weather, Blatter casually admits the bidding process was a sham, that FIFA had decided in advance of the vote which countries would host the tournaments, that the merits of each bid were discounted, that the time and money every national federation had poured into their bids were wasted. Setting aside his brazen disregard for how corrupt this makes him and every other member of the voting committee look, Blatter has now opened up FIFA to a whole new world of financial pain. It would be open to every national federation, and government, who funded and backed a bid for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to ask for their money back, and sue for misrepresentation by FIFA. The Americans have already got their revenge; they used the Federal Justice Department to track down some rotten apples, charge and extradite them, forcing the Swiss to get off their behinds and follow suit. As for the other sorry bidders, Simon Johnson, chief operating officer of England's failed 2018 World Cup bid, put it nicely following Blatter's admission. The English Football Association had "every right to bring legal action against FIFA", he told the BCC, adding: All the way through the process we were being told by high ranking FIFA officials that as long as we put together a strong bid and a good presentation we would have a lot to offer. What about Australia's much-maligned bids? Yes, bids. We started out bidding for both 2018 and 2022, then switched to just the latter tournament when it became clear we didn't have a chance for 2018. Surely now Football Federation Australia cannot stand back and just pretend it was all a bad dream. The government poured $40 million into our bid. That would help a lot of disabled people in the NDIS, or fund women's refuges and other resources to combat domestic violence. But here's the bigger question. Why would any country mount a bid for a World Cup (or Euro Championship or Asian Cup, for that matter) in the future with this governing organisation? When the head of FIFA admits the bid and vote was pre-determined, how could you have any confidence that the merits of your bid would count for anything? Qatar has already demonstrated that suitability for hosting a World Cup counts for nothing. Perhaps, ironically, Sepp Blatter has done the football community a favour. He has now proven, beyond a doubt, that FIFA is rotten to the core. It's time for football administrators and fans to draw a line in the sand, not in Qatar, and take concrete steps towards a new post-FIFA era of football governance. Journalist Michael Visontay founded and taught a course on sport, media and culture at UNSW, and is a regular commentator on sport for 2BL. Topics: soccer
Sometimes the class struggle heats up in unexpected places – in a Times Square Diner famous for their singing wait staff, for example. Ellen's Stardust Diner is a New York institution, a place where Broadway actors not only wait tables, but sing show tunes while they're at it. It's also the site of an ongoing labor dispute that has seen mass firings, strikes, protests, and picket lines that have turned away early morning food deliveries. The employees at Ellen's have been organizing with the IWW for much of the past year. Their union, Stardust Family United, has been out on the streets, raising their voices and raising their fists to defend and improve working conditions. Many Stardusters have worked at the restaurant on and off for years. To hear them tell it, Ellen's used to be a pretty nice place to work. Management were accommodating when it came to taking time off to be in a show. And despite the large numbers of wait staff and the time they take off for stage work, Ellen's was a tight-knit community. It was a place where workers developed their talents and built friendships that spanned decades. All that changed last year when new management was brought in. Managers ceased to be accommodating when it came to taking time off. Workers who raised safety issues or complained of sexual harassment were ignored or, worse yet, pushed out of the restaurant. Long-term workers, some whom had racked up years of service in the double digits, were unceremoniously let go. So the idea came about to form a union. Workers contacted a couple of local unions and the IWW proved the most responsive, quickly arranging an organizer training for the Stardust staff. The workers found the IWW's model of solidarity unionism, which stresses rank-and-file control and a direct action approach to organizing, to be an asset to the solidarity they'd already built up in the workplace. For a while, organizing occurred under the radar. Issues of health and safety were raised and workers used the internal communication system to pressure management. Workers also organized a successful march on the boss to get their tip bucket back and it was after this point the workers decided to go public as a union. The venue through which they chose to do this: The New York Times. Workers hadn't filed for a labor board election, instead demanding owner Ken Sturm deal with them directly. At first, management sounded like they'd be co-operative. But that didn't last. Not long after the union went public, Sturm hired a union-busting firm and fabricated reasons to fire over 15 perceived ringleaders of the union drive. Workers responded with a singing strike, refusing to perform during their shift. Then something quite remarkable happened: the restaurant closed its doors for the day. Not even September 11th or Hurricane Sandy had forced Ellen's bosses to close, but the workers demonstrated that just by staying silent they had the power to bring the restaurant to a standstill. Following the illegal firings, the campaign really heated up. Workers reached out to new hires and rebuilt the union’s numbers. They successfully fought back against the boss’s attempt to make them learn new material in their own unpaid time. They got management to return to proper staffing levels. An unstable piece of stage furniture, which had resulted in worker injuries, was finally replaced. A few months later, Ken Sturm engaged in another round of illegal mass firings. This latest round of firings means that, of the roughly 70 servers who were employed at the time the union was formed, approximately half have been fired. Again, these workers had worked there for between six and 20 years. The National Labor Relations Board has demurred on the union’s request for an injunction. The firings have not stopped the campaign, however. It was after all of these firings that Stardusters staged their most militant action: a twelve-hour strike during the busy Friday evening rush. In a separate job action, workers refused to be filmed by a Brazilian film crew who had struck some kind of deal with management. They spontaneously created a petition and presented it to management on the floor, who was forced to comply. Some of the participants in these actions have only worked at the diner for a matter of weeks. All of this is a testament to how successfully the workers have built a culture in the restaurant of standing up for themselves and each other. The workers have fought back hard with actions that have included fired staff: weekly musical protests, a sip-in (in which union supporters come to the restaurant, leave a nice tip and purchase nothing), phone and Facebook blasts, and targeting other businesses associated with owner Ken Sturm. At one point, management even brought in some outside musicians to try to drown out the sound of the Saturday evening pickets. However, it was discovered that these were union musicians who, after a quiet word, joined in on a few protest songs and shortly thereafter took their leave. Management hasn't tried that tactic since. Recent developments have seen Stardust staff turn away deliveries with their always musical picket lines. Beyond their regular job actions, Stardust Family United also holds regular “Stardust after Dark” fundraisers and has launched their own Facebook page and website. They've also linked up with other IWW restaurant workers, in particular building a relationship with the Burgerville Workers Union in Portland. The campaign even has its own theme song, written by a member of Stardust Family United and recently covered by Tom Morello as a tribute to the dedication and creativity of the Stardust workers. The Stardust workers understand they're in it for the long haul, despite the unlawful, draconian responses from management. They're determined to keep fighting and keep singing until they've won. For more information, check out the links above. If you're in New York City, check their Facebook page for protest or fundraising events. If you're outside of New York, please consider making a donation: https://www.youcaring.com/stardust-family-united-634720/donate?utm_source=widget#wp Dozens of workers have now been fired and New York is an expensive city, so anything you can spare would be a huge help. Alternatively, why not have your local union branch or political group organize a fundraiser to support these inspiring workers?
When Wind Turbine Blades and Solar Panels End Up in Landfills by Staff Writers New York NY (SPX) Feb 05, 2013 Richard Gross, a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at the Polytechnic Institute of New York University (NYU-Poly), is deeply troubled by the fact that clean-energy technologies, meant to help preserve the planet, generally employ non-sustainable petroleum-based materials. "The blades on a wind turbine, for example, are massive and need to be replaced about every 25 years," he explained. "They end up in landfills, like any other non-recyclable garbage. If they could be deconstructed by biological or chemical processes to recover chemicals that can be re-used, that would have an enormous positive impact on the environment. We could, in effect, 'green up' green energy." To that end, the National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded Gross and his collaborators from seven other universities a grant to explore ways in which biological-based materials can be used in the manufacture of turbine blades, solar panels and other components for the clean-energy industry. Materials development and deployment is expected to take a minimum of 5 years. In addition to the environmental benefits, as petroleum costs rise, there also may be economic advantages to using the biological-based polymers that Gross is developing. Because the new materials will be meticulously engineered, he expects their performance to be just as good-or even better-than those currently employed. "We believe that the precision by which nature designs molecules can be used to deliver better performance in both solar cells and wind turbine blades, where the organization of components is critical to device efficiency and material properties," he said. The NSF recently awarded Gross and his collaborators a Partnerships for International Research and Education (PIRE) grant for a program dubbed RENEW (Renewable Energy NaturE's Way). The PIRE awards focus on research projects that can be successful only with the collaboration of foreign partners and provide international research experiences for U.S. students and post-docs, as well as provide models to help universities become more international. In addition to NYU-Poly, researchers hail from Case Western Reserve University, University of Pennsylvania, Rochester Institute of Technology, University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom, University of MONS in Belgium, University of Bologna in Italy and Santa Catarina State University in Brazil. They include not just materials scientists but mechanical engineers, chemists and others. In addition to revolutionizing the clean-energy industry, their work may eventually have utility in additional fields like auto manufacturing. Gross founded and directs the NSF Industrial/University Cooperative Research Center for Biocatalysis and Bioprocessing of Macromolecules at NYU-Poly. In 2003 he received the Presidential Green Chemistry award for his work on biocatalytic routes to polymers. Gross is widely recognized for his efforts to create bio-diesel from fuel-latent plastic. A company he founded, SyntheZyme, recently graduated from the New York City Accelerator for a Clean Economy (NYC ACRE), the city's premier clean-tech business incubator, operated by NYU-Poly and seeded by a grant from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). SyntheZyme develops bio-based alternatives to petroleum-derived products for applications that include surfactants, antimicrobials, bio-pesticides, biobased plastics and more. SyntheZyme also is developing new enzyme catalysts to 'green up' chemical processes.
This is originally posted on the FairMormon blog and cross-posted from Ploni Almoni: Mr. So-and-So’s Mormon Blog. The Church has released a new edition of the Doctrine and Covenants and Church History manual for seminary students. One of the remarkable aspects of the new manual is that it includes a discussion of several sensitive topics in church history. These topics include the following. 1.The various accounts of the First Vision are highlighted in the new manual. “There are nine known accounts of the First Vision-four written or dictated by Joseph Smith and five written by others retelling his experience,” the manual states (p. 20). The multiple accounts of the First Vision were prepared at different times and for different audiences. In these accounts, Joseph Smith emphasized different aspects of his experience of the First Vision, but the accounts all agree in the essential truth that Joseph Smith did indeed have the heavens opened to him and see divine messengers, including God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Because the 1838 account was part of Joseph Smith’s official history and testimony to the world, it was included in the Pearl of Great Price as scripture. (p. 20) The manual then recommends students to read articles by Milton Backman and Richard Lloyd Anderson published in the Ensign discussing the various accounts of the First Vision (pp. 20, 22). 2.There is an entire chapter devoted to the Mountain Meadows Massacre and the Utah War (Lesson 151). The manual gives a brief historical overview of the events leading up to the massacre and acknowledges the participation of “Latter-day Saint leaders and settlers” in the crime (p. 523). Besides citingan articleon the Mountain Meadows Massacre published in the Ensign, the manual also reproduces this quote given by President Henry B. Eyring at the 150-year anniversary of the massacre. The gospel of Jesus Christ that we espouse, abhors the cold-blooded killing of men, women, and children. Indeed, it advocates peace and forgiveness. What was done [at the Mountain Meadows] long ago by members of our Church represents a terrible and inexcusable departure from Christian teaching and conduct. 3.In a chapter on the history of the Pearl of Great Price there is a brief overview of the history of the Book of Abraham, including the loss and recovery of several papyrus fragments once in the possession of Joseph Smith (pp. 524-526). Included in the discussion about the Book of Abraham is this (which is actually reprinted from the Church’Pearl of Great Price Student Manual). In 1966 eleven fragments of papyri once possessed by the Prophet Joseph Smith were discovered in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. They were given to the Church and have been analyzed by scholars who date them between about 100 B.C. and A.D. 100. A common objection to the authenticity of the book of Abraham is that the manuscripts are not old enough to have been written by Abraham, who lived almost two thousand years before Christ. Joseph Smith never claimed that the papyri were autographic (written by Abraham himself), nor that they dated from the time of Abraham. It is common to refer to an author’s works as his’ writings, whether he penned them himself, dictated them to others, or others copied his writings later. (p. 525) (Incidentally, yours truly has written a thing or two on this subject over at the Interpreter blog, which you can access here.) The manual also states, “Although we do not know the exact method Joseph Smith used to translate the writings, we do know that he translated the book of Abraham by the gift and power of God” (p. 525). 4.The new manual has material covering the practice of plural marriage, including an entire chapter on Joseph Smith’s plural marriage (Lesson 140) and a mentioning of Post-Manifesto plural marriage. Below are a few pertinent excerpts from the manual. In this dispensation the Lord commanded some of the early Saints to practice plural marriage. The Prophet Joseph Smith and many other Church leaders found this commandment difficult, but they obeyed it. After receiving revelation, President Wilford Woodruff issued the Manifesto, which was accepted by the Church as authoritative and binding on October 6, 1890. This led to the end of the practice of plural marriage in the Church (see Official Declaration 1). (p. 204) While Joseph Smith was working on the inspired translation of the Old Testament in 1831, he read about some of the ancient prophets practicing plural marriage (also called polygamy). Under this practice, one man is married to more than one living wife. The Prophet studied the scriptures, pondered what he learned, and eventually took his questions about plural marriage to Heavenly Father in prayer. . . . the Prophet Joseph Smith was reluctant to begin the practice of plural marriage. He stated that he did not begin the practice until he was warned that he would be destroyed if he did not obey. . . . Because of a lack of historical documentation, we do not know about Joseph Smith’s early attempts to comply with the commandment. However, by 1841 the Prophet had begun to obey the commandment and to teach it to some members of the Church, and over the next three years he married additional wives in accordance with the Lord’s commands. The Prophet Joseph Smith’s obedience to the Lord’s commandment to practice plural marriage was a trial of faith for him and his wife Emma, whom he loved dearly. (pp. 477-478) Practicing plural marriage brought additional challenges. Because the practice was initially kept very quiet, rumors began to spread about Church leaders marrying additional wives. These rumors greatly distorted the truth, slandered the names of the Prophet and other Church leaders, and contributed to increased persecution against the Saints. (p. 479) A small number of Latter-day Saints continued to enter into new plural marriages after the Manifesto was given. In 1904, President Joseph F. Smith announced “that all [plural] marriages are prohibited, and if any officer or member of the Church shall assume to solemnize or enter into any such marriage he will be . . . excommunicated”. . . . This policy continues today. (p. 530) Towards the end of the chapter on Joseph Smith’s plural marriage, the manual warns, “Much unreliable information pertaining to plural marriage exists on the Internet and in many print sources. Be cautious and wise with such information. Some authors who write about the Church and its history present information out of context or include partial truths that can be misleading. The intent of some of these writings is to destroy faith” (p. 479). I myself have raised a similar point in this post. The manual then concludes by recommending, “Reliable historical research concerning the practice of plural marriage can be found at josephsmithpapers.org and byustudies.byu.edu” (p. 480). 5.On describing the nature of the Joseph Smith Translation, the manual says the following: Around the fall of 1830, Joseph Smith was commanded by the Lord to translate the Bible. He did not translate the Bible from one language to another; nor did he have an original biblical manuscript to work from. Instead, Joseph would read and study passages from the King James Version of the Bible and then make corrections and additions as inspired by the Holy Ghost. Thus, the translation was more of an inspired revision than a traditional translation. The Joseph Smith Translation is estimated to have affected at least 3,400 verses in the King James Version of the Bible. These differences include additions (to clarify meaning or context), deletions, rearranged verses, and complete restructurings of certain chapters. The Joseph Smith Translation clarified doctrinal content, especially the mission of Jesus Christ, the nature of God, the nature of man, the Abrahamic covenant, the priesthood, and the Restoration of the gospel. (pp. 180-181) 6.The historical circumstances surrounding the priesthood ban and President Spencer W. Kimball’s 1978 revelation are discussed in a chapter onOfficial Declaration 2(Lesson 157). As part of this discussion, the manual reprints the introductory material to OD 2 printed in the 2013 edition of the scriptures. The Book of Mormon teaches that all are alike unto God,’ including black and white, bond and free, male and female’ (2 Nephi 26:33). Throughout the history of the Church, people of every race and ethnicity in many countries have been baptized and have lived as faithful members of the Church. During Joseph Smith’s lifetime, a few black male members of the Church were ordained to the priesthood. Early in its history, Church leaders stopped conferring the priesthood on black males of African descent. Church records offer no clear insights into the origins of this practice. There is also the recommendation at the end of the chapter for students to “go to Gospel Topics on LDS.org and search for race and the priesthood'” to learn more about the priesthood ban (p. 545). 7.Finally, in discussing section 77 of the Doctrine and Covenants, the manual straightforwardly says, “The 7,000 years [in vv. 6-7] refers to the time since the Fall of Adam and Eve. It is not referring to the actual age of the earth including the periods of creation” (p. 280). I am sure there is more that could be said about the new manual, but suffice it to say from the above examples that the Church is implementing productive measures towards introducing these sort of issues in a faith-promoting, safe, and positive environment (seminary). This will hopefully serve to “inoculate,” to use the popular metaphor, seminary students against the often highly debatable claims and negative information one can currently find on the Internet. While one might perhaps quibble over how certain issues are addressed in the new manual, that there is even a discussion at all in Church curriculum is, in my estimation, a step in the right direction.
But Andrew Rizzo, 44, a cleaner sweeping in a nearby train, looked around and smiled as if he were finally going to get to reveal his secret. The birds ride the trains all the time, he explained, motivated not by sloth but by simple hunger and ignorance: when the trains lay over at the terminal to be cleaned, for about 20 minutes, pigeons amble through the doors, looking for forgotten crumbs. But being pigeons, they do not listen for the announcement that the train is leaving, and the doors close on them. They ride generally for one stop, exiting as soon as the doors open again. ''If you don't know what's going on,'' said Mr. Rizzo, pushing his glasses up on his nose, ''you'd think they knew what they were doing. It's a little freaky.'' Mr. Rizzo has a soft spot in his heart for pigeons, who helped him make a living in Central Park in the late 1980's when he was less gainfully employed. He would wear straps with tiny cups of birdfeed on his arms and head and would soon be covered with pigeons, Hitchcock-style. He would put out a donation box, and pull in $200 a weekend. ''I still feed them sometimes,'' he said. ''I feel bad for the little guys.'' But he also admitted: ''I run them out of the train. I don't want them to make no mistakes, if you know what I mean.'' Despite his efforts, they make many little mistakes. Newsletter Sign Up Continue reading the main story Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up You will receive emails containing news content , updates and promotions from The New York Times. You may opt-out at any time. You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Thank you for subscribing. An error has occurred. Please try again later. View all New York Times newsletters. Mr. Rizzo and many of his fellow employees at the terminal have become amateur ornithologists. They said that pigeons -- known vulgarly as air rats, more elegantly as rock doves -- ride trains at several outdoor terminals and stations, like the Stillwell Avenue station in Coney Island. Francisco Peña, a conductor on the A, said he watched them step off his train and promptly fly back to the Far Rockaway terminal. Perhaps not quite as impressive as the blue homing pigeon reported to have flown 7,200 miles from France back to Vietnam in the 1930's, but still, Mr. Peña said, not bad. Frank Maynor, a car cleaner, noted how the sparrows and seagulls, also plentiful at the terminal, are never bold enough to venture into the cars. The sparrows can be seen hopping onto the threshold, looking longingly inside. The gulls loiter outside, like thugs, waiting to tear pizza crusts from the bills of unsuspecting pigeons as soon as they carry them out. ''They shove the pigeons around,'' said Mr. Maynor, disapprovingly. ''But they're going to evolve and start going into the trains, too. They're giving up a lot of food to the pigeons.'' Advertisement Continue reading the main story On the subject of evolution, Sarah Canty, another cleaner, said she had noticed that the pigeons might be evolving into more alert straphangers. ''When the bell goes off, you watch them,'' she said. ''They know the bell like we do.'' And indeed, when the next bell rang, signaling that a train was about to depart, several pigeons could be seen high-stepping it out of the trains. But there are those who have either not learned or are yearning to break free from the nest. And at 10:45 yesterday morning, it finally happened: a dark, plump bird with iridescent purple feathers around the neck took a ride. Alone with the bird in the car was Eduard Karlov, a retired procurement officer for the United Nations. Mr. Karlov, originally from Moscow, glanced over at his fellow passenger and smiled. ''He does not bother me, and, in fact, I find him rather amusing,'' he said, adding, ''I cannot give you any more details with respect to pigeons, however.''
Valerie Castile, mother of Philando Castile, in November when her son’s killer was charged with manslaughter. Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images Philando Castile’s killer, police officer Jeromino Yanez, was acquitted of manslaughter and two counts of dangerous discharge of a firearm on Friday. The case of Castile’s shooting last July in a suburb of St. Paul, Minnesota had sparked mass protests after his girlfriend Diamond Reynolds posted a dramatic and wrenching video of the shooting’s aftermath. The video, taken with Reynolds’ 4-year-old daughter in the car, included footage of Castile lying in a puddle of blood after he was struck five times from seven shots. Castile had informed the officer that he was carrying a firearm, for which he had a permit. Shortly thereafter, Yanez opened fire. In his opening statement, Yanez’s defense attorney claimed that Castile was holding his gun when he was shot. “He has his hand on the gun,” Engh reportedly said during opening arguments. “The next command is, ‘Don’t pull it out.’ … [Yanez] can’t retreat … But for Mr. Castile’s continuous grip on the handgun, we would not be here.” The prosecution argued that the 32-year-old school cafeteria supervisor with no violent criminal record was reaching for his driver’s license—as Yanez had instructed—and not his gun when he was shot. The forensic evidence and Reynold’s testimony would both seem to back up the prosecution’s account and rebut the defense’s version. Reynolds testified that he was trying to unbuckle his seatbelt so that he could get out his wallet and driver’s license when he was shot. As the Associated Press reported, this was supported by forensics: Prosecutor Jeff Paulsen highlighted autopsy evidence in his closing argument, reminding the jury of a bullet wound to what would have been Castile’s trigger finger — and that there was no corresponding bullet damage nor wounds in the area of Castile’s right shorts pocket, where he carried his gun. He also cited testimony from first responders who saw Castile’s gun in his pocket as he was loaded onto a backboard. The jury—which included ten white jurors and two black jurors—took 27 hours to deliberate and asked to review dashcam footage of the incident along with Reynolds’ harrowing cell phone video. The Minneapolis StarTribune reported that the jury wasn’t allowed to have additional information it requested, without the judge specifying why: Jurors asked the court Friday to reread the officer’s testimony in its entirety, their second request … for statements he made regarding the fatal shooting of Philando Castile. But Ramsey County District Court Judge William H. Leary III denied the request without elaborating, saying the reasons aren’t “important to share right now.” As my colleague Leon Neyfakh noted in November when the officer was charged: “Yanez is the first Minnesota officer to be criminally charged in a police-involved death since 2000. In that time, the paper has reported, there have been more than 150 such incidents.” The city of St. Anthony—for which Yanez worked as an officer—said it would end his employment because “the public will be best served if Officer Yanez is no longer a police officer in our city.” The city promised to offer him “a voluntary separation agreement to help him transition to another career.” “There has always been a systemic problem in the state of Minnesota, and me thinking, common sense that we would get justice. But nevertheless the system continues to fail black people,” Castile’s mother, Valerie Castile, reportedly told media after the verdict. “I am so disappointed in the state of Minnesota. My son loved Minnesota. He had one tattoo on his body and it was of the Twin Cities. My son loved this city, and the city killed my son and the murderer gets away.” *Correction, June 16, 2017, at 10:10 p.m: This post originally referred to the Minneapolis Star Tribune as the St. Paul Tribune. It also said Castile was shot in St. Paul rather than a suburb.
Intent Resolving in Android M Said Tahsin Dane Blocked Unblock Follow Following Oct 9, 2015 Warning! Resolving of “Implicit Intent”s in Android Marshmallow is not working as the same as before. This may break your app’s behavior. Let me explain the expected behavior and why is not working: I have recently been working on a small open source project called “Open Link With”. It will hopefully be in the Play Store soon. My app gives you the ability to switch between other apps. When you share a link with me, I basically grab the link and query all the Activity’s that can handle that link. And finally I mimic the system dialog and let you switch apps. Switching from already opened youtube web-page to Youtube app. I was using the below method as always: List<ResolveInfo> infos = packageManager .queryIntentActivities(intent, MATCH_DEFAULT_ONLY); It is a familiar method to almost all Android developers and I am sure that it is currently being used in lots of apps. I have 2 browsers in my phone. “An Intent with Google+ URL” is expected to give a list of 3 ResolveInfo objects (Google+ app and 2 browsers). Well, not anymore! Welcome to Android Marshmallow! Android Marshmallow introduced App Links. The system basically authenticates with your web-page and opens those URLs automatically using your application without asking anything to user. Or you can go to system Settings, Apps, click an app, click “Open by default” and then set “Open in this app” to use always that app. Application default setting page in Marshmallow In that case, queryIntentActivities method will give developers a list with only 1 Activity (which is Google+ in this case). Even if this is the desired behavior, this should be documented because it breaks the behavior of a public API. I researched a little bit and found MATCH_ALL flag. It’s documentation says that it will disable all system level filters. /** * Querying flag: if set and if the platform is doing any filtering of the results, then * the filtering will not happen. This is a synonym for saying that all results should * be returned. */ public static final int MATCH_ALL = 0x00020000; It didn’t do anything for me. I opened the source code (at least we have that!) and investigated the method. It looks like they prioritize the domain verified applications. They did not just prioritize in their internal system, they also did it in the public API. If there is a domain verified application, it does not return anything else. MATCH_ALL flag removes some system filters but only if there is no verified application.
NASA is about to launch a rocket that will puff out highly visible clouds of red and blue-green vapour into space. The rocket was supposed to launch on May 31, but bad weather and poor visibility pushed the mission back to Monday, 12 June, with a liftoff time between 9:04pm and 9:19pm EDT (11:04am and 11:19am AEST). The sounding rocket carrying the experiment will launch from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, so if skies are clear at that time, many people on the US East Coast may see the brightly coloured puffs of 'tracer vapours' more than 90 miles (145 kilometres) above Earth about 5 minutes after the rocket launch. People as far north as New York City may be able to see the psychedelic space clouds appear low on the South-Southwest horizon. "I've seen some of these tests where the clouds really filled the sky," Keith Koehler, a NASA Wallops spokesperson, told Business Insider. "My guess is if you held your fist up, that might be the size of the clouds [close to the launch site]." NASA Wallops If you won't be in this area at that time, don't fret: NASA Wallops will host live video on Ustream, with coverage kicking off around 8:30pm EDT. NASA's space clouds, however, aren't merely for show. Probing Earth's leaky atmosphere The experiment is one of many missions in an international 'Grand Challenge' initiative that aims to help scientists better probe two gaping holes in Earth's protective magnetic shield, called cusps. The huge magnetic bubble that surrounds our planet is vital to life, since it deflects the sun's constant wind of high-energy particles - and protects against the occasional solar storm. Without this invisible force field, Earth may have gone the way of Mars, a planet which lost its magnetic dynamo billions of years ago. That allowed the sun to blow most of the Martian atmosphere into deep space, turning a once wet and potentially habitable world into a dry and nearly airless global desert. The two holes in our invisible shield leak nearly 100 tons of air per day, according to Astronomy Now. While we won't run out of air anytime soon (thankfully, our planet has quadrillions of tons left), scientists are still struggling to understand how the cusps work. In particular, they want to make them visible - which is where the coloured clouds come into play. Launching tracer vapors such as barium (green), cupric-oxide (blue-green), and strontium (red) into the Earth's ionosphere - where charged air particles and the solar wind interact - will show how the clouds move through the region. This data could then help verify and update computer models of the fringes of Earth's atmosphere. Those models, in turn, may help researchers better understand all sorts of high-altitude phenomena, including auroras, geomagnetic storms - and why a planet like Mars lost all its air while ours has held onto its atmosphere. Launching space clouds Koehler says nearly all tracer-vapour missions, except for a few recent test launches, spew the vapors directly out of the rocket body. This limits the data that scientists can collect from the ground, however, because the coloured clouds are close together and often hard to distinguish. The upcoming launch will test a new method: Shooting lightweight canisters, called ampules, out of the sides of the rocket. The 10 canisters are expected to travel 6 to 12 miles (10 to 20 kilometres) before they start releasing vapour, which should make a constellation of coloured clouds that are easy to distinguish and follow from the ground. "They're made of aluminium and about the size of a Coke can," Koehler said of the ampules. The chemical tracer clouds aren't easily observable by themselves - they react to sunlight. So to maximise their visibility, the launch will happen when it's dark on the ground, yet the Sun is still visible from space (where the clouds will be created). "These launches have to occur just after sunset or right before sunrise. You need sunlight to hit the vapours and activate them as they're released," Koehler said. "Auroras dance across the sky, and this is not that." Watch the launch live NASA Wallops is hosting a live video stream that kicks off around 8:30pm EDT (12:30am GMT). You can watch the feed here. This article was originally published by Business Insider. More from Business Insider:
PASS CHRISTIAN -- An argument between family members in a convenience store parking lot Wednesday morning ended in a man's shooting death. Pass Christian Police Chief Tim Hendricks said the man was killed by his father. The sun had not yet risen when Pass police responded to a call of shots fired at C&J Quick Stop at Henderson Avenue and West North Street. Darrin Scarborough, 50, was shot on the east side of the building near the self-serve ice hut, police said, about 5:20 a.m. Sign Up and Save Get six months of free digital access to the Sun Herald Hendricks said Scarborough had been arguing with his father, Arnold Scarborough, 75, when the father pulled a gun and shot his son. Harrison County Coroner Gary Hargrove said Darrin Scarborough died at the scene from gunshot wounds. Hargrove had the body removed from the convenience store just before 7:30 a.m. "This is a real tragedy," Hendricks said. Arnold Scarborough was arrested on a charge of first-degree murder. He was taken to the Harrison County Adult Detention Center on $1 million set by Judge Diane Ladner. Darrin Scarborough was a deputy clerk at the Harrison County Tax Collector's Office, where Tax Collector David LaRosa said he had worked since 2014. "He got along well with everyone in the office," LasRosa said, "and he seemed to have been on the path to a very promising career here, but unfortunately, that's been cut short." A father of five, Darrin Scarborough was a 1984 graduate of St. Stanislaus College in Bay St. Louis. Joe Gex of Bay St. Louis, who said he attended SSC with him, remembered him as a "standout athlete." "He was a great track star," Gex said. "I looked up to him; he was always a very nice guy." This was the first fatal shooting in Pass Christian since Feb. 7, when two people were killed on Davis Avenue after the Pass Mardi Gras parade.
I’ve just read the BC government’s May 31 written submission to the Joint Review Panel (JRP) established by the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA) and the National Energy Board (NEB). Christy Clark no more rejects the Northern Gateway (NG) than a mother rejects her first-born child. In fact, that analogy is rather precise. Mothers admonish their children all the time for unacceptable our socially outrageous behaviour. But they don’t disown then, or send them off to live with another family, and it is rare, thankfully, that they “kill” them. So it’s fair to say that Christy Clark sees herself as the Northern Gateway’s mother. She’s acting, in political terms, like she’s angry and upset because her child has been behaving in a very disruptive and persistently foolish manner. But the pipeline is still her baby. So she’s presenting herself like a wealthy mother fiercely admonishing, say, her child’s nanny. She’s talking tough about the nanny, but she’s never going to abandon her child. Leaving the door open for Northern Gateway On the other hand, what her lawyers do in spades, in their 99-page written submission, is reject the brainless behaviour and pronouncements of the project’s proponent, Enbridge Inc. They dissect, in some detail, the fantastical pie-in-the-sky proposals Enbridge has been making for building this dangerous piece of infrastructure (without, by the way, mentioning that atrocious video cartoon that removed all the islands from Kitimat’s ocean access). But never forget who we’re dealing with. The precise wording in any public document from governments and from the corporate sector, and most particularly from the BC Liberal government (and from Stephen Harper’s government too) is critically important. Words are often used as stealth weapons by both governments. Nowhere – not once – does this document say: “we recommend against building this pipeline.” Nor does it say: “the environmental threats posed by this project are too significant for this pipeline to succeed, and so it should not, in our opinion, be built.” Instead, the legal minds in Christy Clark’s employ have crafted a document that indirectly and repeatedly leaves the door open for development. Here’s a typical example: “….in this particular case the Province submits that Northern Gateway should be able to show, in advance of certification, that it will be in a position, once operations commence, to live up to its spill response assertions. Northern Gateway has not done so. The Province submits that the JRP should, in making its recommendations, give this factor significant consideration.” (Section 114, Page 35) The words dance gingerly away from recommending against the controversial pipeline project. Instead they hint at a set of conditions entirely consistent with the project going forward (“….once operations commence…”). Then they give the Panel the most insipid of directives (“….the JRP should….give this factor significant consideration.”), allowing Premier Clark’s close political ally, Prime Minister Harper, all the wiggle room he needs to move ahead with construction. This same insipid, meaningless directive is repeated several times more in the BC government submission: “The Province submits that its concerns in the regard should be seriously considered by the JRP….” (Section 116, Page 35); “…the Province…submits that its concerns respecting NG's ability to respond to a spill should be given serious consideration by the JRP.” (Section 144, Page 46). Eventually, however, the BC Liberal government drops its objections to the project completely, and formally allows that the project can go ahead, provided certain conditions are met. “The Province is not in a position to support approval of the project as proposed for the reasons set out above. However, if the JRP decides to recommend that the project be approved, then it is of the utmost importance that the approval be accompanied by clear, measureable and enforceable conditions.” (Section 153, Page 49) [emphasis added]. In fact the BC government submission reproduces the 13 pages of recommendations from the JRP for how the project can be allowed to go ahead, with comments about the province’s particular concerns if and when this happens. Having said that, the report from the Province of BC does do one thing very well.
Abdi Nor Iftin fled Somalia only to land in one of Kenya's worst slums. When he won the US green card lottery his problems seemed to be solved - but it turned out to be the start of a whole new struggle. In Somali slang, there is a special word for the daydream of starting a new life in a far-off land: it's known as a bofis. And for millions of refugees across Africa, there is one bofis that obsesses people above all - the idea of moving to the West, and in particular to the US. For most, it remains an impossible dream. But there is one legal way in which even those without wealth or connections can do it - getting a lucky break in the US Diversity Visa Program, better known as the green card lottery. In 2013, nearly eight million people applied for just 50,000 winning tickets, which means that for every 1,000 applicants only six won the chance of a new life. For the past year, I've followed the story of one of the winners - a young Somali refugee called Abdi Nor Iftin, living in the Eastleigh district of the Kenyan capital Nairobi. Known as Little Mogadishu, it's one of the country's toughest slums. And one thing I discovered is that becoming an American is not easy, even for those who do have a winning ticket. There is no denying that there is something a little strange about the Diversity Visa Program. At a time when immigration to most Western countries is becoming ever more restricted, the US government still gives away 50,000 permanent resident visas each year to people chosen at random from across the world. Entries from most developing countries are permitted, and only a high school education, or a few years of work experience, are required. The stuff of a true bofis. Image copyright Getty Images When I first contacted Abdi he had been living in Little Mogadishu for some time. He and all his friends had applied for the lottery together as a group, at a local internet cafe, but Abdi was the only one to be picked by the lottery computer. "We all cheered! We picked him up!" remembers Yunus, one of Abdi's best friends. "Everybody was holding him, we were shouting, 'You won it, you won it! You are going to America!'" A remarkable stroke of good fortune? No, says Abdi, it was his fate. "This was not just luck. My whole life I have been in love with America - the best country in the world, the dreamland, the land of opportunity," he says. "Ask anyone what they called me when I was a kid in Mogadishu and they will tell you. My nickname then was 'Mr America', or 'Abdi America'. Everyone used to joke about it." Abdi spent most of his childhood in Mogadishu. He dodged the bullets of Somalia's civil war, and survived famines. He coped with the suffering around him by watching Hollywood films, and using them to teach himself fluent English. "I was crazy about movies - watching Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis," Abdi remembers. "I liked the way they sounded; the way they talked. I wasn't learning how to speak English like that, with that American accent, from my school." Find out more You can listen to Abdi and the Golden Ticket on BBC Radio 4's Crossing Continents on 29 December at 20:30 GMT or catch up afterwards on iPlayer. The programme ran on the BBC World Service's Assignment programme on Christmas Day, and can be heard on the Assignment website. At a local cinema which showed Hollywood movies without subtitles, Abdi became the unofficial translator, explaining the plot and the dialogue to the rest of the audience as each film was screened. "People would listen to me, and wait for me to tell them what was happening," he says. Some of the things he saw in those films fascinated him. Snow for example. And doughnuts. "In movies about the police they always talk about doughnuts!" I asked him what he thought a doughnut was. "I think it's something like a circle with a hole. With some juice in it maybe? It just looks tasty- it gets my saliva going! I want to try that thing!" he told me. But being well known for a love of America and American culture can also be dangerous. As the Islamist al-Shabab rebel group took control of much of Somalia, Abdi was forced to follow his brother Hassan into exile in Nairobi. There was one moment, when I thinking - 'OK, this is the end of it, man' Abdi Nor Iftin By the time he applied for the lottery, he was considering any way to try and reach the West. Several of Abdi's close friends had tried to make it to Europe by boat from North Africa. A few had made it. Others had drowned in the attempt. Even more were planning to try it in the future. Unfortunately for Abdi, being selected as a winner in the lottery is very far from being a guarantee of reaching the United States. Each person selected also needs to present lots of papers and pass a final interview at a US embassy. On that day, each applicant's entire future is decided. A majority of applicants never successfully complete this process. In fact, the system is deliberately designed this way. The Diversity Visa Program has to distribute 50,000 visas each year, but to take account of interview failures and substandard applications, the number of randomly chosen applicants like Abdi is more than double that. In 2013, when he applied, approximately 105,000 hopeful applicants were picked by the system. Once the full quota of visas has been assigned, all remaining applicants are automatically refused. The odds of success for Abdi were soon to get even worse. While he was waiting for his embassy interview, al-Shabab launched the horrific Westgate Shopping Mall attack in Nairobi, killing and injuring dozens of innocent people. Further terrorist attacks followed, and the Kenyan authorities responded with a huge police crackdown on Somalis in Eastleigh. Image copyright AFP Although al-Shabab supporters were the official target, it felt as though every Somali refugee was at risk of arrest, deportation or internment in camps. Hassan, Abdi's older brother, was particularly concerned for Abdi at that time. "Being a refugee became a crime," he told me. "We would hide in our houses. And you could hear screams, children crying, women being hauled away on trucks. Being in that room, listening, waiting for someone to take us both away - can you imagine how that feels?" These wildebeest are risk-takers - they have to cross to the other side or die trying... We are now the wildebeest Abdi Nor Iftin For Abdi, it felt as though his entire dream of a better life in the states was being snatched away just when it was within his grasp. Any arrest, however unjustified, could have led to deportation or internment, making it impossible for him to attend his US embassy interview. During this period, Abdi and Hassan went into hiding, but we continued speaking regularly on the phone and via Skype, recording our conversations. As a journalist working safely and comfortably in London this was often a strange and humbling experience. On one occasion I spoke to him while the police were still in his building, having extorted a bribe from the neighbours. I would finish my day at the office, and call up Abdi to ask him how his had been. Abdi described the situation, then politely asked me how my work was going and how my family were. Fortunately, the police left without further incident. Worse was to come. As the police operation went on, week after week, Abdi and Hassan began running short on food. So many Somalis in the area had either been arrested or fled that most shops in Little Mogadishu had been abandoned. Eventually, when the two brothers were down to just bread and tea, Abdi took a huge risk, and ventured out to central Nairobi, where life continued as normal. To his huge relief, he was able to make it back to their room safely carrying a few vegetables and tinned foods. Image copyright AFP Image caption Residents of Eastleigh watch as a suspected roadside bomb is defused nearby But another of our conversations took place a few hours after Abdi narrowly escaped a Kenyan vigilante mob armed with rocks and machetes. He had managed to dive through the gates of a local mosque, but another Somali man on the street had not been so lucky. Had Abdi expected to die at that time, I asked? "I did, yeah. There was one moment, when I was thinking, 'OK, this is the end of it, man. They were coming…"' The key documents required for a green card interview include a birth certificate, proof of education or work experience and a police clearance document (essentially a criminal records check). It was the last of these that was a particular challenge for Abdi. He had no criminal record with the authorities, but in order to prove this in writing he had to apply to the Kenyan police headquarters directly. Exactly the place in Nairobi where Somali refugees were least welcome. Image copyright AFP Image caption Police arrest a young man in Eastleigh for lacking ID documents, in April 2014 The strain began to tell. In one conversation around this time, Abdi told me he had been watching National Geographic documentaries on YouTube - it is a feature of urban refugee life that wi-fi connections can persist even when food and water runs low. "Have you ever seen wildebeest?" he asked me. "Every year these wildebeest have to cross this big river, and the river is infested with crocodiles. So I think that these wildebeest are risk-takers. They have to cross to the other side or die trying. What I am saying is: we are now the wildebeest." And then, unexpectedly, a further stroke of luck - or fate. After several terrifying visits to the police station, Abdi was told that yes, he would be issued with a formal police clearance letter, confirming his status as a valid applicant for a green card. That evening he told me he could not stop staring at his ink stained fingertips, still marked from the police fingerprint pad. He did not even want to wash them, he said, just to keep the ink there a little longer. Abdi was finally ready for his interview. Image copyright AFP Image caption A Somali man in Eastleigh is taken away for questioning in April 2014 The evening before the interview, I wished Abdi good luck and made arrangements for us to speak as soon as he left the US embassy. Everyone who knew Abdi was quietly confident. With his love for America, his fluent English and his dreams of becoming a journalist in the US, he seemed like the ideal candidate. Abdi said that he could not wait to tell his parents and his friends that he had a green card. Early on the the morning of the interview, I received a text message from Abdi while I was brushing my teeth. It was not what I was expecting. The interview had been a failure and his application had been rejected: "Today is my worst day on earth," he wrote. It emerged that Abdi's police clearance letter was in order, but one of his university transcripts was a copy rather than a signed original. Any paperwork errors can be the kiss of death when so many candidates are applying. Hassan and all of Abdi's friends were heartbroken. Many of them had seen him as a role model for how to escape the grind of refugee life. But Abdi had been overhasty in concluding that it was all over. In fact he had not been refused outright. Although it made his application less likely to succeed, there was scope for him to resubmit the papers he was missing, and ask for his application to be reviewed. He got the necessary document from the university in Nairobi and rushed round getting officials to sign it. A few days later, the result came in. Abdi had been finally, accepted on to the Diversity Visa Program. As a refugee from a failed state, he had no passport, so the visa was printed loose-leaf for Abdi to take to the airport. Abdi America is now living legally and with his green card in snowbound Maine in the US. So far life in the States has lived up to his bofis. He has found work with an insulation installation company, and has sent his first instalment of cash home to his mother in Mogadishu. The appeal of snow has worn off, but his favourite doughnut at Dunkin Donuts is the classic glazed kind (without "fruit juice"). His diet is changing in other ways. "You know what I just love more than anything?" he asked me recently. "Ice cream! People say it will make me fat, but I want to be fat. I've been skinny my whole life, and now I don't care, Leo, I don't care!" You can listen to Abdi and the Golden Ticket on BBC Radio 4's Crossing Continents on 29 December at 20:30 GMT or catch up afterwards on iPlayer. The programme ran on the BBC World Service's Assignment programme on Christmas Day, and can be heard on the Assignment website. Subscribe to the BBC News Magazine's email newsletter to get articles sent to your inbox
That method would allow the bill to be passed by just 51 votes, as opposed to the 60 votes that would normally be required, and which in any case would be impossible to achieve in the face of universal Democratic opposition to repeal. However, on Sept. 1, the Senate Parliamentarian ruled that the budget reconciliation resolution that Republicans were using to win passage of an Obamacare repeal will expire Sept. 30. Despite holding a 52-seat majority in the Senate — and a potentially tie-breaking vote from Vice President Mike Pence — the GOP caucus to date has failed to cobble together enough votes to pass a repeal bill. NBC News noted that the Graham-Cassidy package would seek to achieve parity in federal funding among states that expanded their Medicaid programs under Obamacare, and those that did not. While that may please several senators from expansion states who opposed earlier bills because they would cut funds granted such states, there is no guarantee they would then be enticed into voting for the Graham-Cassidy bill. And the bill, because of its component parts, is likely to receive the same kind of analysis from the Congressional Budget Office that prior repeal bills did. Those bills were projected to lead to 22 million more uninsured Americans by 2026. As a result, the bills were broadly unpopular with the public and many interest groups. Trump, who had loudly advocated for Obamacare repeal, several days ago appeared to suggest on Twitter that the repeal effort was dead, and that Republicans in Congress should not imperil his proposal for tax reform by spending any more time on repeal. The new bill would repeal, retroactively to 2016, the financial penalty on individuals for failing to have some kind of health insurance coverage, and also repeals retroactively to that same year the penalty on large employers for failing to offer affordable health coverage to workers. It also would allow states to repeal Obamacare rules that, among other things, currently bar insurers from charging people with pre-existing health conditions higher premiums than the rates charged healthy people.
The massive growth in sports betting is outstripping other forms of gambling. Credit:Tamara Voninski An anti-pokies lobby group, the Alliance for Gambling Reform, said the damning figures should prompt urgent political action to start bringing yearly gambling expenditure at least below $20 billion. "Whilst sports betting is top of mind with the advertising deluge ... the latest national figures once again confirm that the pokies are easily the biggest contributor to Australia's tragic status as the world's biggest gamblers," alliance spokesman Tim Costello said. "Politicians and regulators across Australia should be actively managing down annual losses to below $20 billion, not standing around doing little as they continue to grow faster than the broader economy." The Australian Gambling Statistics released last week is the most comprehensive set of all state and territory gambling data and is compiled by the Queensland government. Australians lost $11 billion on the pokies last year. Credit:John Woudstra The release of the new data comes as the pokies industry has been embroiled in renewed controversy and the issue of problem gambling faces national attention. An unprecedented lawsuit launched in September by a former gambling addict, which remains before the Federal Court, has aired allegations that the features of a popular model of poker machine, Dolphin Treasure, are unlawfully deceptive and designed to addict users. Former pokies addict Shonica Guy (left) and lawyer Jennifer Kanis have launched a landmark Federal Court case. Credit:Joe Armao, Fairfax Media. Weeks later, billionaire James Packer's flagship casino, Crown Melbourne, was hit with damaging accusations in federal Parliament from unidentified gaming-floor technicians that they had been ordered to tamper with poker machines to ensure punters lost more money, claims that Crown denies. And, last month, supermarket giant Woolworths' annual general meeting was dominated by shareholder scrutiny of its majority-owned Australian Leisure and Hospitality Group, which runs hundreds of pokies-owning pubs. In response to sustained questioning from the Alliance for Gambling Reform at the meeting, Woolworths said it treated calls for reform seriously and would compile data on proposals including $1 bet limits, $200 EFTPOS daily withdrawals limits over the bar at venues, and cutting opening times from up to 20 hours a day. "The first thing is to get the data, and the next logical step would be to say, if we trial this, does it actually reduce the incidence of problem gambling?" Woolworths chairman Gordon Cairns said. "And if there's a compelling analysis coming out of that, then we've committed to coming back and reporting them." With more than 12,000 poker machines across its venues, the Woolworths-controlled ALH Group is the largest pokies operator in the country. A spokesman for ALH Group said the company was an industry leader in tackling problem gambling, and the only pokies operator to provide systems for punters to pre-set time or spend limits on every gaming machine it owns on mainland Australia. ALH also heavily promoted employee and customer awareness about gambling risks through a "responsible gambling ambassador", the former AFL footballer and reformed problem gambler David Schwarz. And it offered a self-exclusion program under which punters could limit thier access to slot machines by banning themselves from one or more gaming venues, the spokesman said. According to the fresh gambling statistics, New South Wales has the most poker machines of any state, and also had the biggest increase in pokies losses in 2015-16, a rise of 6.2 per cent. Pokies losses in NSW topped $6 billion, accounting for nearly half of the Australia-wide total. And it was the first time in 10 years that the state's pokies losses exceeded $1000 per capita. Mr Costello said Australia lost more money gambling per capita than any other country. Data from global consultancy H2 Gambling Capital puts Australia's total gambling losses per resident adult at about $1000 a year, the highest amount in the world. "The best that can be said about the latest national gambling statistics is that at least the 2014-15 growth rate of 7.7 per cent to $22.7 billion has slowed to an increase of 3.9 per cent," Mr Costello said.
Mana Communications Manager Official Staff [TI0] Posts: 222 Staff Mini-Profile Theme: Castle Official Staff Mana inherit Communications Manager Official Staff 1058 0 1 1,055 Mana [TI0] 222 Loyal Familiar January 2016 vusc Staff Mini-Profile Theme: Castle Update #48: The Village By The Castle cecil-kain ReySol , and 18 more like this Tag Quote Select Post Select Post Deselect Post Deselect Post Link to Post Link to Post Back to Top Post by Mana on Although the environments we shared are work-in-progress, they are roughly 80% complete. This is the kind of look and feel the final product will have. We would not share a half-baked progress for backers to give feedback, so to brush off the concerns with, “It’s still an unfinished piece” is unnecessary. If you have a concern and have an idea that may rectify the problem, we are open to suggestions. However, IGA and the team are fully aware of their preferences and when it comes to balancing the visual graphics and the overall gameplay, they will decide where to push and pull on the quality. I’m going to share what we’ve been discussing and the changes that are planned. Missing Features Before I get into the changes, there are certain features that are missing in the village screenshot and video we shared. One is the breakable candles . As you can see in the beginning of the area, there’s a space on the top left corner where the candle should be. I believe it wasn’t included due to some adjustments that didn’t make it in time. The candles act as a partial light sources if you take that into consideration. Another is the reflection capture. The reflection capture , as it may be obvious from the name, reflects light sources on a given surface. This gives the nice reflective light on the ground and adds metallic or wet look to certain areas. This enhances the overall look, but for some reason, the roofs blinded us with glittery gold effect and we had to put it off until it was tweaked. Other missing features include enemies and NPCs, but our purpose is to only share the new environment on its own. Visual vs. Gameplay There’s been a long debate on which to prioritize – the visual graphics or the gameplay. As much as we would like to balance both equally, sometimes improving one aspect could hinder the other. For example, almost all Castlevania games have bright foregrounds which are shades lighter than the backgrounds – Platforms are easily visible and has a classic Castlevania look. On the other hand, this could look very artificial and ruin the atmospheric vibe of the game – “stage/indoor” look, light source is unnatural, and unrealistic. We’ll need to choose and decide what we all agree on in terms of both visibility and aesthetics. Changes Roof platforms will be emphasized differently. They will look more horizontal and flatter where Miriam will land. Thickness will be added to the edge so that it will not look like she is landing on a piece of paper. Doors, carts, bricks on the houses will change colors – We all agreed that they were too blended in. Textures may be overly used. The moon sun will look more like a sun. Unfortunately, the house structures are too expensive to change at this process (Thanks Tom Happ for chiming in on the KS comment section!). I suggested making the tree leaves greener and it actually helped lessen the attention to the boxy feel. Another suggestion was to remove the red reflection on the ground. I may be forgetting something but I'll pop up again if I have anything to add. Cheers Hi everyone! It's been a while since we shared the new environment and I've been going back and forth with the team on the topic matter. Thank you for the all feedback as always.Although the environments we shared are work-in-progress, they are roughly 80% complete. This is the kind of look and feel the final product will have. We would not share a half-baked progress for backers to give feedback, so to brush off the concerns with, “It’s still an unfinished piece” is unnecessary. If you have a concern and have an idea that may rectify the problem, we are open to suggestions. However, IGA and the team are fully aware of their preferences and when it comes to balancing the visual graphics and the overall gameplay, they will decide where to push and pull on the quality. I’m going to share what we’ve been discussing and the changes that are planned.Before I get into the changes, there are certain features that are missing in the village screenshot and video we shared. One is the. As you can see in the beginning of the area, there’s a space on the top left corner where the candle should be. I believe it wasn’t included due to some adjustments that didn’t make it in time. The candles act as a partial light sources if you take that into consideration. Another is the reflection capture. The, as it may be obvious from the name, reflects light sources on a given surface. This gives the nice reflective light on the ground and adds metallic or wet look to certain areas. This enhances the overall look, but for some reason, the roofs blinded us with glittery gold effect and we had to put it off until it was tweaked. Other missing features include enemies and NPCs, but our purpose is to only share the new environment on its own.There’s been a long debate on which to prioritize – the visual graphics or the gameplay. As much as we would like to balance both equally, sometimes improving one aspect could hinder the other. For example, almost all Castlevania games have bright foregrounds which are shades lighter than the backgrounds – Platforms are easily visible and has a classic Castlevania look. On the other hand, this could look very artificial and ruin the atmospheric vibe of the game – “stage/indoor” look, light source is unnatural, and unrealistic. We’ll need to choose and decide what we all agree on in terms of both visibility and aesthetics.Unfortunately, the house structures are too expensive to change at this process (Thanks Tom Happ for chiming in on the KS comment section!). I suggested making the tree leaves greener and it actually helped lessen the attention to the boxy feel.Another suggestion was to remove the red reflection on the ground.I may be forgetting something but I'll pop up again if I have anything to add. Cheers LeoLeWolferoux Wielder of Emptiness Fifty Storms [TI0]...an intellectual with no room for feelings... Posts: 657 Fifty Storms LeoLeWolferoux inherit Wielder of Emptiness Male Fifty Storms 1573 0 428 LeoLeWolferoux [TI0]...an intellectual with no room for feelings... 657 Master Alchemist June 2016 leolewolferoux Update #48: The Village By The Castle Mana likes this Tag Quote Select Post Select Post Deselect Post Deselect Post Link to Post Link to Post Back to Top Post by LeoLeWolferoux on XombieMike said: I knew that was supposed to be the sun! The update specifically mentioned the afternoon, and IGA had previously talked about the sun in an early interview when he mentioned the volcano. I only went with it being the moon because it's so big and seems to have a texture to it. That makes the odd colors work so much better. That lighting would be sureal in real life, and people are trying to see normal where it's not intended. But I would prolly remove the textured effect to the sun; it does sorta make it look like the moon. :0 Hmmm. This.But I would prolly remove the textured effect to the sun; it does sorta make it look like the moon. :0 Pure Miriam Legendary Comrade Master Alchemist [TI1] "A new, vital heart, pulsing with the old blood." -IGA Posts: 928 Master Alchemist Pure Miriam inherit Legendary Comrade Male 445 0 1,355 Pure Miriam [TI1] "A new, vital heart, pulsing with the old blood." -IGA 928 Master Alchemist July 2015 puremiriam Update #48: The Village By The Castle Cale Elfina Ashfield , and 2 more like this Tag Quote Select Post Select Post Deselect Post Deselect Post Link to Post Link to Post Back to Top Post by Pure Miriam on Mana ABOUT "WORK-IN-PROGRESS" Although the environments we shared are work-in-progress, they are roughly 80% complete. This is the kind of look and feel the final product will have. I'm honestly perfectly fine with it. Considering the videos we had so far, the demo and specially, the screenshots from IGN, the game looks gorgeous for a 2.5D game. Of course, not everything will look perfect and somethings needs to be fixed (that was a sun!? i really couldn't guess it was), but in my humble opinion, if the game look like this for the final product, personally, i have no complains. ABOUT MISSING FEATURES The lack of light from candles and the lack of reflection capture can sure make a huge difference on the final look. We can see that on the screenshots provided by the IGN. Most of them have light sources and look really nice. VISUAL VS GAMEPLAY I said that before, countless times. Sometimes, producers need to choose between improving visuals or gameplay due to technical or financial reasons. I'm ALWAYS for gameplay, no matter what. CLOSING COMMENTS I wanna close this comment with the already overused screenshots from the IGN interview last year, to prove my point. Those screenshots already have candles and light sources, and it looks like a 100% finished product. If the game will look like THIS, i'm honestly satisfied. Thanks a lotfor all the feedback you proved us. I have something to comment about it, not much, but i will add it here:I'm honestly perfectly fine with it. Considering the videos we had so far, the demo and specially, the screenshots from IGN, the game looks gorgeous for a 2.5D game. Of course, not everything will look perfect and somethings needs to be fixed (that was a sun!? i really couldn't guess it was), but in my humble opinion, if the game look like this for the final product, personally, i have no complains.The lack of light from candles and the lack of reflection capture can sure make a huge difference on the final look. We can see that on the screenshots provided by the IGN. Most of them have light sources and look really nice.I said that before, countless times. Sometimes, producers need to choose between improving visuals or gameplay due to technical or financial reasons. I'm ALWAYS for gameplay, no matter what.I wanna close this comment with the already overused screenshots from the IGN interview last year, to prove my point. Those screenshots already have candles and light sources, and it looks like a 100% finished product. If the game will look like THIS, i'm honestly satisfied. Moo Guest Guest Moo inherit -40687 0 0 January 1970 GUEST Update #48: The Village By The Castle Tag Quote Select Post Select Post Deselect Post Deselect Post Link to Post Link to Post Back to Top Post by on I appreciate taking the time to respond to the comments/feedback provided by backers. Unfortunately, it appears any concerns we may have had in regard to the visual style are too late. The environmental textures look grainy and less painterly than I was led to believe through the provided concept art at the time of the kickstarter, which is all we had to go on. To put it bluntly, if I had known it would look like this, I would not have backed the project. Enkeria Silver in the Dark Fifty Storms ALPHA Posts: 1,736 Fifty Storms Enkeria inherit Silver in the Dark Male Fifty Storms 1757 0 1,200 Enkeria ALPHA 1,736 Castle Architect November 2016 enkeria Update #48: The Village By The Castle Goobsausage Ryngar Acia , and 2 more like this Tag Quote Select Post Select Post Deselect Post Deselect Post Link to Post Link to Post Back to Top Post by Enkeria on Moo said: I appreciate taking the time to respond to the comments/feedback provided by backers. Unfortunately, it appears any concerns we may have had in regard to the visual style are too late. The environmental textures look grainy and less painterly than I was led to believe through the provided concept art at the time of the kickstarter, which is all we had to go on. To put it bluntly, if I had known it would look like this, I would not have backed the project. I appreciate taking the time to respond to the comments/feedback provided by backers. Unfortunately, it appears any concerns we may have had in regard to the visual style are too late. The environmental textures look grainy and less painterly than I was led to believe through the provided concept art at the time of the kickstarter, which is all we had to go on. To put it bluntly, if I had known it would look like this, I would not have backed the project. Things like these can't be awesome to everyone. Thats the sad truth, but I thank you for the backing, and for the time you spent on letting us know how you feel. I am not a developer, but very in love with the project as is. Its a matter of personal taste and we should respect that. If you indeed give this another chance, let us know. We like everyone. Even << goofball! Hopefully you give it another chance when you see updates of it in the future. If anything else, you have helped the developers doing a vision of their own, something many of us are grateful for.Things like these can't be awesome to everyone. Thats the sad truth, but I thank you for the backing, and for the time you spent on letting us know how you feel. I am not a developer, but very in love with the project as is. Its a matter of personal taste and we should respect that.If you indeed give this another chance, let us know. We like everyone. Even<< goofball! LeoLeWolferoux Wielder of Emptiness Fifty Storms [TI0]...an intellectual with no room for feelings... Posts: 657 Fifty Storms LeoLeWolferoux inherit Wielder of Emptiness Male Fifty Storms 1573 0 428 LeoLeWolferoux [TI0]...an intellectual with no room for feelings... 657 Master Alchemist June 2016 leolewolferoux Update #48: The Village By The Castle Galamoth Ryngar Acia andlike this Tag Quote Select Post Select Post Deselect Post Deselect Post Link to Post Link to Post Back to Top Post by LeoLeWolferoux on Moo said: I appreciate taking the time to respond to the comments/feedback provided by backers. Unfortunately, it appears any concerns we may have had in regard to the visual style are too late. The environmental textures look grainy and less painterly than I was led to believe through the provided concept art at the time of the kickstarter, which is all we had to go on. To put it bluntly, if I had known it would look like this, I would not have backed the project. I appreciate taking the time to respond to the comments/feedback provided by backers. Unfortunately, it appears any concerns we may have had in regard to the visual style are too late. The environmental textures look grainy and less painterly than I was led to believe through the provided concept art at the time of the kickstarter, which is all we had to go on. To put it bluntly, if I had known it would look like this, I would not have backed the project. Snide comments aside, I honestly think this game looks great. For the first 2.5D game in IGA's career, (I believe, the rest have only been 2D or 3D) I think it looks pretty damn rad. And they put a lot of work into it; even going as far as to push the release date to 2018. (So they can perfect it) So I think it's foolish to make judgements quite yet. Especially since concept art is 2 dimension, and that the finished product transitions to 2.5D. EDIT: Some remakes have been 2.5 D, so it isn't the first game in his career. Yup. Cause they're not doing aaaaanymore polishing. None. Finished product, right here.Snide comments aside, I honestly think this game looks great. For the first 2.5D game in IGA's career, (I believe, the rest have only been 2D or 3D) I think it looks pretty damn rad. And they put a lot of work into it; even going as far as to push the release date to 2018. (So they can perfect it) So I think it's foolish to make judgements quite yet. Especially since concept art is 2 dimension, and that the finished product transitions to 2.5D.EDIT: Some remakes have been 2.5 D, so it isn't the first game in his career. LeoLeWolferoux Wielder of Emptiness Fifty Storms [TI0]...an intellectual with no room for feelings... Posts: 657 Fifty Storms LeoLeWolferoux inherit Wielder of Emptiness Male Fifty Storms 1573 0 428 LeoLeWolferoux [TI0]...an intellectual with no room for feelings... 657 Master Alchemist June 2016 leolewolferoux Update #48: The Village By The Castle Tag Quote Select Post Select Post Deselect Post Deselect Post Link to Post Link to Post Back to Top Post by LeoLeWolferoux on XombieMike said: Backers remorse is common with Kickstarter. Not everyone is going to be happy with the finished product. That doesn't make them bad people. It's just a difference in opinion. I trust IGA will deliver a great experience. The graphics are not all that important to me. Certainly not a factor I if I would back or not. Hell, I still love old school stuff. Too bad people can't see a great game through graphics they don't agree with. It's their money though, so the only wrong done was putting your money into something you shouldn't have, and that mistake lies on the backer. Leo, calling someone honey like that is a bit too passive aggressive. Let's remain respectful of others.Backers remorse is common with Kickstarter. Not everyone is going to be happy with the finished product. That doesn't make them bad people. It's just a difference in opinion.I trust IGA will deliver a great experience. The graphics are not all that important to me. Certainly not a factor I if I would back or not. Hell, I still love old school stuff. Too bad people can't see a great game through graphics they don't agree with. It's their money though, so the only wrong done was putting your money into something you shouldn't have, and that mistake lies on the backer. Besides, doing it in 2.5D may help aid in getting the game out sooner, even if it's only a couple of days or weeks. We saw the video on procedural generation, which was lovely~ Give it time, Moo. I hope you're impressed...! Heh, I do too! It's just obviously concept is 2D. I miss the pixel style, as well. But I'm gunna remain hopeful for the 2.5D style. As long as it's still a side scroller, I don't think there should really be too many issues. Mana already took in the constructive critiquing, and gave us feedback, which is GREAT.Besides, doing it in 2.5D may help aid in getting the game out sooner, even if it's only a couple of days or weeks. We saw the video on procedural generation, which was lovely~Give it time, Moo. I hope you're impressed...! Jango New Blood Posts: 72 New Blood Jango inherit 509 0 104 Jango 72 New Blood August 2015 jango Update #48: The Village By The Castle Tag Quote Select Post Select Post Deselect Post Deselect Post Link to Post Link to Post Back to Top Post by Jango on Moo said: I appreciate taking the time to respond to the comments/feedback provided by backers. Unfortunately, it appears any concerns we may have had in regard to the visual style are too late. The environmental textures look grainy and less painterly than I was led to believe through the provided concept art at the time of the kickstarter, which is all we had to go on. To put it bluntly, if I had known it would look like this, I would not have backed the project. I appreciate taking the time to respond to the comments/feedback provided by backers. Unfortunately, it appears any concerns we may have had in regard to the visual style are too late. The environmental textures look grainy and less painterly than I was led to believe through the provided concept art at the time of the kickstarter, which is all we had to go on. To put it bluntly, if I had known it would look like this, I would not have backed the project. When did anything look "painterly?" I remember most of the concept images looking illustrative or even cartoony, but certainly nothing "painterly." In my case, I saw those images and backed the game in spite of the concept art looking a little too similar to the Portrait of Ruin publicity art for my tastes. I'm very happy to see the game evolving towards something a little more sophisticated and detailed, graphically. XombieMike Administrator Fifty Storms [TI0] Posts: 3,239 Fifty Storms XombieMike inherit Administrator Male Fifty Storms 236 0 1 3,884 XombieMike [TI0] 3,239 Eternal Guardian July 2015 xombiemike Update #48: The Village By The Castle via mobile gunlord500 Goobsausage , and 2 more like this Tag Quote Select Post Select Post Deselect Post Deselect Post Link to Post Link to Post Back to Top Post by XombieMike on Moo said: I appreciate taking the time to respond to the comments/feedback provided by backers. Unfortunately, it appears any concerns we may have had in regard to the visual style are too late. The environmental textures look grainy and less painterly than I was led to believe through the provided concept art at the time of the kickstarter, which is all we had to go on. To put it bluntly, if I had known it would look like this, I would not have backed the project. Moo, criticisms such as yours are important for us to hear. It sucks when someone "calls your baby ugly", so I understand some of the reactions from being so blunt can stir up. You felt it was important enough to share your opinion with us though, and I can appreciate that. Please tell me this, though: What were the reasons you backed Bloodstained? Also, would you mind telling us how much money you pledged? Moo, criticisms such as yours are important for us to hear. It sucks when someone "calls your baby ugly", so I understand some of the reactions from being so blunt can stir up. You felt it was important enough to share your opinion with us though, and I can appreciate that. Please tell me this, though: What were the reasons you backed Bloodstained? Also, would you mind telling us how much money you pledged?
This past week, we've rekindled our sense of wonder, watching Curiosity land and explore a world millions of miles away. But the best science fiction and fantasy movies have a way of rekindling that same feeling of wonder, with amazing spectacle and powerful visions. We've rounded up our favorite goose bump-inducing moments from science fiction. The scenes that gave us all chills, opened our eyes, and made us all believe in wonder! Wizard Of Oz Moment of Wonder: "We're not in Kansas anymore." After a harrowing tornado made out of nylon and dust, the sudden burst of color from Munchkinland is enough to knock any moviegoer backwards. The Abyss Moment of Wonder: Hero Bud is all but done for in the bottom of the ocean, despite his suit of liquid oxygen. But then he was saved by beautiful bioluminescent aliens. And even though we try to blow them up, they still help out. Sunshine Moment of Wonder: Robert Capa meets the Sun. Wall-E Moment of Wonder: A broken Earth. The juxtaposition of the jaunty "Put On Your Sunday Clothes," song with the utter devastation of our planet is horrifying. And it's doubled when you realize Wall-E has been building little piles of cubes for years and years. It's enough to make a person want to recycle. Superman Moment of Wonder: Lois and Superman's first flight. Just an alien boy in love, flying through the atmosphere. Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy Moment of Wonder: Arthur Dent's Journey Through Creation — while the movie was so-so, this amazing universe making factory scene still makes us catch our breath. ET Moment of Wonder: A kind alien sails the neighborhood boys into safety. Star Wars Moment of Wonder: There are so many moments we could have added, but the very first viewing of our very first spaceship in a universe unfamiliar to our own is just priceless. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Moment of Wonder: The desperate chase to keep one last memory is stomped out, in a beautiful, frightening manner. The visual representation of the idea that our minds could be vast caverns of memories and emotions, and yet easily erased like the collapsing of a Montauk home, will always stick with us. 2001: A Space Odyssey Moment of Wonder: The full circle ending. Contact Moment of Wonder: The long and beautiful journey to meet a life form on the other edge of the universe — who looks just like Jodie Foster's Dad. Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Moment of Wonder: The great, big, terrible backyard. Close Encounters Moment of Wonder: The music, the lights, the journey... Steven Spielberg's entire movie culminate in this one spectacular moment, and not a single red shirt has to die to deliver this sort of mouth gaping wonder. Spielberg heralded the kind-alien movement, which makes him almost the father of wonder. Now if only he had stopped the wonder abuse in Super 8. Planet of the Apes Moment of Wonder: At first you think this is all just a space mission gone terrible wrong. But the whole movie gets flipped on its head the second you realize that the planet now populated by super smart apes and mute humans is future Earth. YOU MANIACS! Blade Runner Moment of Wonder: Future LA! The future is neon, shiny and damp and as dirty as hell. It was the first time we ever saw the future of our cities through such grime colored lenses. And it certainly wasn't the last — countless movies have just straight up copied the world that Ridley Scott created. But we will always remember our first time. Jurassic Park Moment of Wonder: "Welcome to Jurassic Park!"
The word socialism is in the air these days. It gets the most hits on the Merriam Webster Dictionary website. Even though he is running in the Democratic Party, Bernie Sanders calls himself a socialist. Over in England left socialist Jeremy Corbyn was recently elected the head of the British Labor Party as a consequence of a social movement that saw thousands of young people joining his organization. Likewise in America an estimated 200,000 people have volunteered to work for Sanders. The success of Sanders and Corbyn is reflective of the beginnings of broad anti-capitalist social movements here and abroad, especially in Greece and Spain. Why? Millions listened with sympathy to what Pope Francis said in his speech to the Congress had to say on inequality, poverty, nuclear disarmament, and the sale of arms for war. His encyclical on climate change clearly takes on the capitalist economic system. People understand that it works for the 1% but has been a disaster for the rest of us. In a Pew poll three years ago 49% of young people under the age of 30 responded that they had a favorable reaction to the word socialism. Now it is likely high among adults as well. Six people in the Walton family (Walmart) are worth as much as the bottom 40% of the population of the USA. Some 400 families give most of the money to election campaigns leading Jimmy Carter to reflect, at age 90, that "We've become an oligarchy instead of a democracy. " Since the Citizens United decision of the Supreme Court corporations are considered people with respect to the unlimited amount of money they can donate in an election. I will consider a corporation a person the day it gets a colonoscopy. I recently co-edited a book of 31 original essays called "Imagine: Living In a Socialist USA". Before he agreed to publish it, the executive at HarperCollins asked me what my definition of socialism was. I responded, "It is economic as well as political democracy." He smiled and offered a contract. Our book shows how almost everything would be different in socialist America: housing, medicine, food, education, sexuality, welfare, art, women's rights, law, media, immigration, racism, and ecological preservation. This is so, as our most well-known and respected intellectual Albert Einstein, who was a socialist, wrote, because socialism is humanity's attempt "to overcome and advance beyond the predatory phase of human development." Our most renowned moral figure the great democratic socialist Martin Luther King Jr. noted in a posthumously published essay titled "A testament of hope, "the real issue to be faced is "the radical reconstruction of society itself. ". Racism is impossible to eliminate under capitalism because it is used by the system to divide and conquer. Race gives class its intensity. Young activists for Black Lives Matter, immigrants rights, prison abolition, living wage, and climate justice are opening eyes to state violence and the profound impact of racism in our country. For far too long, socialism has been branded a system of state control and as such it has not been able to gain a foothold. In our book historian Paul LeBlanc argues persuasively for a third American Revolution mounted by "a broad left-wing coalition" that could spark a mass socialist movement. Socialism, he writes, "involves people taking control of their own lives, shaping their own futures, together controlling resources that make such freedom possible….Socialism will come to nothing if it is not a movement of the great majority in the interests of the great majority….People become truly free through their own efforts. " Socialists have quite a record as participants and leaders in the great reforms of our society. This includes defending civil liberties and starting the American Civil Liberties Union, struggling to end racism, now through support for Black Lives Matter and helping to start the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the anti-slavery movement before and during the Civil War, the fight for women's right to vote, birth control, the end of child labor and for public education including kindergartens. Socialists helped form the Congress of Industrial Organizations and win the eight hour day, the weekend, Social Security, Worker's Compensation, and Unemployment Insurance . They were in the leadership of opposition to the war in Vietnam, the war in Iraq and the support of nuclear disarmament. They are for gay rights, immigrant rights, universal healthcare, prisoner's rights and oppose the death penalty. And on the question of all questions, they side with Pope Francis in understanding that without the abolition of the capitalist economic system of production for profit not for human needs the destruction of the planet is insured. As socialist John Lennon sang: "You may say I'm a dreamer/But I'm not the only one/ I hope someday you'll join us/And the world will live as one." Michael Steven Smith is a New York city attorney, author and editor. He is the cohost of the radio show Law and Disorder.
Michael Casey, the co-author of The Age Of Cryptocurrency is leaving a senior columnist position at the Wall Street Journal to work at MIT Media Lab as Senior Advisor at the Digital Currency Initiative. Why? “This was just too exciting an opportunity to pass up,” he said. “I sincerely believe that this is one of those moments in which a new technological platform has the potential to facilitate explosive change. I saw a role for me in helping explain it and tell the story around it.” Casey will lead the illustrious Media Lab in facilitating the growth of the Lab’s cryptocurrency research and bringing new clients and students to help study the burgeoning technology. We sat down with him to talk about his move. TC: How is the book doing? Tell us a little about what happened after publication? Michael Casey: The book has done well. It’s not a bestseller but it has sold admirably. There’s a paperback edition in the works — with the requisite afterword to catch up with the countless things that have happened in cryptocurrency-land since publication — so that’s a good sign. But I would say the most important impact the book has had has been to start a conversation around bitcoin and digital currencies in the general public. Lots of people in the know told us they were giving our book to people who knew nothing of the topic as a way to help them not only understand the concept but to come to terms with why it matters. I was also struck by the breadth of interest from different sectors of society. That showed up in the interviews — from Leonard Lopate to the (UFO-obsessed) Coast-to-Coast radio show, from CNBC to the hip-hop All Out Show on SiriusXM — and in the many, many speaking requests we received from a wide range of institutions. TC: You moved from the WSJ to academia. Why? How will your role change? MC: This was just too exciting an opportunity to pass up. I sincerely believe that this is one of those moments in which a new technological platform has the potential to facilitate explosive change. I saw a role for me in helping explain it and tell the story around it. It was very hard to depart a profession that I’ve poured 23 years of my life into and wonderful news organization to which i’ve dedicated 18 of those. But this was a unique chance. It was, as one friend said to me when I asked his advice on whether I should jump, a YOLO moment. This isn’t exactly an academic job. It’s more of a facilitating role. Much of what I will do will involve communicating, both to get the broader message out and to act as a liaison between the future consumers of this technology and those who are developing it, such as the grad students at MIT. As a journalist, I’m trained in communicating. So in that sense it’s a continuation. But clearly, this is a big change: I’ve moved into more of an advocacy position. TC: Why is MIT interested in cryptocurrency? MC: The MIT Media Lab is interested in cryptocurrency for the reasons many people and institutions with a technology-bent are interested in cryptocurrency. The blockchain technology that underlies cryptocurrency offers an open, extensible platform on which to build all sorts of potentially powerful applications that could disrupt the economy in profound ways. In my mind, cryptocurrency technology is a new form of governance; that opens up a wealth of possibilities — from making money and payments more efficient to creating powerful new forms of record-keeping, from enabling service-sharing services such as car rides to facilitating smart contracts between online appliances in the forthcoming Internet of Things. For MIT, those possibilities mean there are vast opportunities for grad students and staff to develop new ideas and come up viable products. TC: What will you do at MIT? What are your plans? MC: My role is twofold. I’ll be closely involved in helping the Digital Currency Initiative achieve its social impact mandate. The idea is to incubate projects and products that could have a positive impact on the world. Because of my background living in and covering emerging markets, I’m especially interested in applications for the developing world. In particular, I’m keen to develop blockchain-based property title solutions. This is the idea that people in such countries who until now have been held back by shoddy record-keeping and a lack of executable title to their property could, with a system like this, create legal collateral against which they could borrow, take out insurance and generally access the financial system that we all take for granted. I’m also interested in ways to use the blockchain to create irrefutable, self-sovereign markers of identity, which will also help give these “unbanked” people access to the financial system. I’m not a coder; that work will be done by others. But I’ll be helping coordinate the projects, bringing the relevant people and institutions together, and managing the communication around them. I’m also there to help build public awareness around the technology generally and the Digital Currency Initiative specifically. I expect to be writing blogs, helping produce videos, speaking publicly, etc., all with an eye to spreading the word. TC: What’s the future of cryptocurrency, based on your research? Will bitcoin survive? MC: I think its future is bright. We don’t know what shape it will take — just as no one could predict in the early 90s that TCP/IP would lead to the myriad, ubiquitous applications that dominate our lives. Although the general public is still ill-informed (and often misinformed) about cryptocurrency technology, there’s rapidly growing interest at the enterprise level in its disruptive potential. Every major bank has a blockchain task force, the big consulting firms are all diving in to develop applications for their clients, and there’s increasing interest from governments and regulators in how these technology could actually help them achieve key social goals rather than threaten them. I do think bitcoin will survive. It has made it this far, after all. And it clearly has a big first-mover advantage. But I’m agnostic as to whether it needs to be the dominant platform on which these applications are built. I think we will see all sorts of blockchain models arise, some decentralized, others less so. I do think the sidechains initiative and others aimed at expanding bitcoin’s potential will be important in giving it a place in this future. TC: How many bitcoin do you own? MC: A tiny amount, used only for transactions in an experimental way when I was a reporter. Dogecoin? None. MITcoin? One day…
Despite his nearly three month hiatus from the Chicago Bulls this summer, Nikola Mirotic knew he wasn’t going anywhere. Mirotic said he always knew he would re-sign with Bulls. Rejected 1st offer but always knew he'd either play on QO or new deal. — K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) September 26, 2017 In fact, he was so loyal to the Bulls that he didn’t even bother talking to any other teams about possibly signing for more than the $7.2 million qualifying offer the Bulls extended to him this summer. Mirotic said all this when he met with reporters this afternoon for the first time since inking a brand new two-year, $27 million contract (second year is a team option) with the Chicago Bulls on Sunday. Mirotic can also veto any trade in the first year of his contract. Unlike in previous seasons, he came into training camp referring to himself in the third person, rekindling memories of when Jimmy Butler used to pull the same stunt. Are forceful grasps at the team leadership role next for the bearded Montenegrin? Mirotic: "I’m still the same Niko. I’m just expecting better Niko, more consistent." — K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) September 26, 2017 Except, he isn’t the same Nikola Mirotic. This summer he hit the weight room, and said that he moved up from 237 pounds last season to 260 pounds this season as a result. A post shared by Nikola Mirotic (@threekola) on Sep 13, 2017 at 5:19pm PDT It’s put up or shut up time for Mirotic who essentially begins a one-season tryout for the Bulls as the franchise decides whether they will pick up the team option on the second year of his new contract.
Last year, Buckeye fans got to know a kid named Dan “Boom” Herron. Usually, Herron would get into a game to give Beanie Wells a breather. This year, the starting tailback job is his to lose as Beanie went pro on us. Herron should be the primary back although Brandon Saine should see some carries and true freshman Jaamal Berry can light it up, no pun intended. Being a hard working kid from the Youngstown area, Coach Tressel will be sure to give Boom his fair share of carries. Herron is excited about his opportunity as I recently got to interview him. Paneech: No pressure on you this year huh? How is it feeling to be a Buckeye? Herron: It’s been amazing, it’s an honor and I’m having alot of fun. It’s been a dream come true for me. Paneech: How much pressure is there on you to step up and make a big play against Michigan? Herron: Definitely there is pressure, everyone knows what a big game that is and everyone on the team knows they have to step it up during Michigan week. Paneech: Are you and Terrelle Pryor getting some timing together at workouts? Herron: Yeah, we had alot of reps, especially in the Spring practices. Now we can do more with the ball (because of NCAA limitations), we are working hard with the 7-on-7 drills. We took time to sit in the film room and see where we can make improvements. We are doing all of the little things right now. Paneech: How have you liked working with Coach Tressel? Herron: He’s one of the best in the game right now. It’s part of that dream coming true by being around the best. Paneech: Have you learned anything from the older guys on the team? Herron: I definitely learned alot last year playing behind Beanie. He was a great back as well as a great person on and off the field. I learned so much from him, and even from some of the other guys. Pryor, Robiskie, all of the older guys, I learned alot from them. Paneech: How important is this years game with USC to you and the team? Herron: Everyone knows that game [USC] is a big goal for us to succeed. USC is a great team and they are going to come in ready. Coach Tressel is preparing us to play one game at a time, so USC is further down the road, but when it gets here, that game is going to be a fight.
Developer Summary: Demolition, Inc. is a new action strategy game: Assume the role of the daring demolition worker Mike and start a devastating chain reaction on earth. Use cool tools and weapons and expand your destructive powers! What We Think: In this physics-based puzzle game, you play the role of an alien bent on demolishing the earth. No, you aren’t a Vogon constructor fleet levelling the entire planet in order to make way for a hyperspatial express route. You’re just one greasy backwater alien who managed to undercut his competition and get the contract to smash all of Earth’s cities and return it to the green place it used to be so it can be used as an intergalactic recreation area. German-based Zero Scale Game Development has built one solid title in Demolition Inc. From top to bottom it shows a level of polish that, while becoming more common, is still a pleasant surprise in independent games. Graphically we aren’t talking cutting edge here. The intro and levels have a low polygon 2005 vibe to them, but the cartoony style of the game lends itself nicely to that level of detail, so it isn’t detrimental. It made me think of GTA 1 + 2, converted to 3D, which is a good thing. Each level consists of one or more roads winding their way through buildings that must fall before your mighty…intergalactic tow-truck? The army has detected your presence and are on the way, so you must quickly smash those buildings with your deadly…oil slicks, glue bombs and exploding cows?? OK, so the premise, while funny, is also pretty stupid, but I think the moment we accepted birds going kamikaze just to get back at some pigs who were being jerks we collectively gave up our right to complain about such things. Other than a couple of super attacks, your saddled with demolition by proxy. Oil clouds slide vehicles out of control. Wheel glue jerks vehicles into skids. Explosive cows…explode. When you get the game (and you should) I don’t think there’s an item that isn’t self-explanatory; once you’ve gotten your vehicles to smash into a building or something suitably explosive and things start falling down, swoop down and suck up all that debris for cold hard cash. Finish off a block for a bonus and the sight of grass and trees magically replacing all that nasty steel and concrete. Clean up every block to clear a level. The physics model used in Demolition Inc. isn’t the most realistic, but I’ll be damned if it isn’t entertaining. Buildings teeter precariously after having an 18 wheeler full of gasoline smash through their front lobby, only to fall over into the street when the fuel tanks inevitably explode. Canisters, concrete and bits of burning cow fly into the air causing unexpected secondary explosions elsewhere on the map. It’s mayhem on a grand scale and you are its master. Music in the game is upbeat and fun, though there are so few that it can get a bit repetitive. Sound effects are well done. I’d say the difficulty level of Demolition Inc. is easy to moderate. Most levels you’ll finish on the first try, but there are a few tricky ones that will take the right set of lucky circumstances to pull off. If there’s a single glaring problem it’s that there aren’t enough of them. You’ll probably finish the game in a couple of hours and, while a quick game in rampage mode once in a blue moon might be fun, you aren’t likely to play again once you’re done. Fun as this game is, I hope the good folks at Zero Scale are already hard at work on additional DLC or, better yet, a construction kit so the community can build and share their own smash-tastic cityscapes. Rating:
MANILA - A senior citizen allegedly victimized by the "tanim-bala" or bullet planting modus is a former airport employee, the Public Attorney's Office said Tuesday. A witness also supported the claim of the elderly couple who fell prey to the ''tanim-bala'' scam. Speaking to radio DZMM, PAO chief Persida Rueda-Acosta said Salvacion Cortabista, 75, could not believe that she was arrested in the airport where she had worked for many years. Salvacion and her husband, Esteban, 78, were barred from boarding their California-bound flight on April 19 after NAIA screeners found a live bullet inside the couple's hand-held luggage. Elderly couple Esteban and Salvacion Cortabista were offloaded from their flight to Los Angeles, California after a live ammunition was found in the hand-carried bag of Salvacion. Raoul Esperas It turns out Salvacion is a former employee of the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA). "Dati pala siyang empleyado ng MIAA. Umiiyak siya, 'Ako retired diyan sa MIAA, telephone operator [dati]. Bakit ako pa biniktima?' Masakit sa loob niya," Acosta said. "Iyak siya nang iyak. Sabi niya, sariling dating niyang pinaglingkuran, doon pa ang naging dahilan [na siya'y] nakulong." Salvacion, who can barely walk because of her aching muscles, also endured humiliation as airport officers took her mug shots and fingerprints, Acosta said. Loida Cortabista-Magbag, the couple's daughter, told dzMM that her mother's blood pressure rose during the incident. "Na-high blood pressure siya noong nangyari iyung sabing may bala sa bag niya. Sabi ng nanay ko from batok daw, parang na-kuryente, papunta sa puso hanggang sa kirot ng tuhod niya," Magbag said. Magbag also observed that her father has been quiet and absent-minded since returning home to Boso-Boso, Antipolo, Rizal. The PAO is preparing the couple's counter affidavit for the DOJ investigation. Acosta is confident that the case will be dismissed for lack of "animus possidendi" or intent to possess. READ: Lack of punishment breeds 'tanim-bala' - lawyer WITNESS The PAO chief said also revealed a witness has surfaced to support the Cortabistas' claim. The witness was standing in line with the Cortabista when a live bullet was found inside the latter's hand-carried luggage on April 19, Public Attorney's Office (PAO) chief . The Cortabistas denied owning the bullet, saying they were aware of the ban on bullet possession at NAIA. They added that it was their second time to travel abroad for the osteoarthritis treatment of Salvacion. The couple accused wheelchair attendant Niño Namba of demanding P50,000 in exchange for releasing them from detention and allowing them to board their California-bound flight. They also stressed that their luggage had passed two x-ray inspections before security officers Ferdinand Morales and Fatti Dame Go discovered the bullet inside the unzipped shoulder bag. The couple had been ordered released pending further investigation, but a preliminary hearing on their case was set by the Department of Justice (DOJ) on May 3. Acosta told radio dzMM that they will file complaints against the three airport employees as soon as they receive their witness' sworn statement.
By Derrick Broze As the United States and Western allies march closer to full-scale conflict with Syria, many of their claims are now being scrutinized and dissected by a skeptical public. On April 4, residents of the town of Khan Shaykhun suffered a chemical gas attack that reportedly killed 74 and injured 557. Despite a lack of evidence or investigation, the United States government, allied governments, and compliant media were quick to point the finger at Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad. The dead stream media ignored the fact that Khan Shaykhun was under the control of Al-Nusra Front, an al-Qaeda linked group which the United States has been funding throughout the Syrian civil war. Instead, the West claimed that Assad launched an air strike which released sarin gas, leading to the deaths and injuries. Those claims are now being disputed by Theodore Postol, a professor emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and former scientist with the U.S Department of Defense. In a 14-page report, Postol debunks the White House’s report that concluded Assad was behind the attacks. Postol’s report found that the U.S. and supporting governments have not provided any “concrete” evidence to black up their claims. Postol also says that it increasingly likely that the attack was carried out by rebel forces. “The implication of Postol’s analysis is that it was carried out by anti-government insurgents as Khan Sheikhoun is in militant-controlled territory of Syria,” reports the International Business Times. Postol writes that he has reviewed the White House document and came to the conclusion “that the document does not provide any evidence whatsoever that the US government has concrete knowledge that the government of Syria was the source of the chemical attack in Khan Sheikhoun, Syria at roughly 6am to 7am on 4 April, 2017.” Postol’s claims are based on several arguments. For one, he says the repeated use of chemical attacks by rebel forces over the last few years makes it likely they are the culprits. Also, he examines the main piece of evidence put forth by the White House, namely, photographs which purport to show a crater with an artillery shell that the U.S. says contained the sarin gas. This conclusion is based on an assumption made by the White House when it cited the source of the sarin release and the photographs of that source. My own assessment is that the source was very likely tampered with or staged, so no serious conclusion could be made from the photographs cited by the White House. Postol notes that the damage to the shell is not consistent with being dropped from an airplane. However, he believes the damage indicates that an explosive charge was placed on the shell containing the sarin gas and then detonated. “Since the pipe was filled with sarin, which is an incompressible fluid, as the pipe was flattened, the sarin acted on the walls and ends of the pipe causing a crack along the length of the pipe and also the failure of the cap on the back end,” Postol wrote. This is not the first time Postol has spoken against claims of the U.S. government. After the 2013 chemical weapons attack in eastern Ghouta, Postol also stated that the evidence did not point to Syrian President Assad. Postol worked with former UN weapons inspector Richard Lloyd on a report that called into question claims made by the U.S. As Global Research notes, Download Your First Issue Free! Do You Want to Learn How to Become Financially Independent, Make a Living Without a Traditional Job & Finally Live Free? Download Your Free Copy of Counter Markets Just like Ghouta, Idlib (Khan Shaykhun) is dominated by al-Nusra. Earlier this year, even the Washington Post admitted that Idlib’s “moderate” rebels had all but been replaced by al-Nusra and other terrorist factions in Syria. If Western governments and media outlets repeat the mistakes of 2013 by not verifying the claims made by the White Helmets… they may very well end up offering these extremist groups support if they prematurely choose to retaliate against Assad before the dust can settle. Postol and Lloyd are right to be skeptical of the claims made by the U.S. government. As Brandon Turbeville has noted, a declassified CIA document from 1983 shows that the U.S. has long held removal of Assad as their goal. The U.S. and Turkey would love to overthrow Assad and build an oil pipeline straight through the nation of Syria. To do this they will use every trick up their sleeve to deceive the public and push for more wars in the name of “liberty” and “democracy.” In fact, the U.S. is already trying to blame a recent bus attack on President Assad – once again without much credible evidence. It’s up to the free hearts and minds to push past the propaganda and do everything in our power to push back against World War 3. Please join us in our efforts to spread this message far and wide. It’s time for the world to unite and send a message to the White House: #StandDownMrTrump
Sporting a California plate and looking production-ready, this new Suzuki looks set to expand our favorite class of motorcycles – sporting nakeds – bikes that include the KTM Super Duke R, BMW S1000R, Kawasaki Z1000 and Ducati’s Monsters. Discuss this at our Suzuki GSX-S1000 Forum. Sporting a tubular handlebar instead of clip-ons and therefore the more humane ergonomics that define the class, it would appear that the new S is powered by the previous, slightly less oversquare version of the mighty 999cc GSX-R four-cylinder that ran from 2005 to 2008 – a good choice if the goal is beefier midrange torque at the expense of a little top-end horsepower. All the basic building blocks are there, including triple-disc brakes with Brembo calipers on the inverted fork, along with wheel-speed sensors which reveal ABS is at least an option. The current V-Strom 1000 includes a traction-control system, so Suzuki has the technology to include TC on this model. Speaking of the V-Strom, Suzuki traditionally undercuts the competition price-wise, so we expect this one to be the Naked Bike for the Masses!, and to sell for at least a couple g’s less than the current model, $13,899 GSX-R1000. We’ll guess an $11,999 MSRP to match the Kawi Z1000. Look for more to come from Suzuki: At the same time it applied for the GSX-S name, it also registered the GSX-F nomenclature. Maybe some kind of new Katana in the works?
BlueBoxSC Profile Blog Joined October 2011 United States 582 Posts Last Edited: 2012-06-18 23:18:57 #1 Header provided by NemesysTV, fan of Root Gaming! Hey TL, I recently got the chance to sit down and interview Blade - a name you're probably familiar with if you frequent the strategy forums on TL. This interview was a lot more freely thrown together than my other ones, but the end result was just as good! :D Excerpt: Blue: Playing farther into this, how do you feel early game Zerg compares to early game Protoss or Terran? We see less variance in play, but is this an inherent weakness? How did things work in Brood War? Blade: I don't think Zerg has very many options for early game harassment and tends to play a lot more passive as it is just a lot stronger. It's not very hard for Protoss or Terran to defend an early attack by Zerg, doesn't mean it should never be done, but it's definitely not something you can do a lot. I think it's somewhat of a weakness because Zerg has to play predictable for the most part, if Protoss fast expands and doesn't see a third he's going to prepare for some sort of all in because that's what is going to be coming. In general I just feel Zerg has to play a more passive style which is what I like so it doesn't bother me, but does make the race very predictable in early game. Full Interview: + Show Spoiler + Blue: Hey TL, this is BlueBoxSC, bringing you SC2 strategy author Blade55555! Blade, before we begin, is there anything you'd like to say to introduce yourself? Blade: Hey, thanks for having me. Not really much to say, except I play Zerg at a high level on the NA/Korean servers and I like to write guides on certain styles especially when I am bored and don't see any. Blue: We'll jump straight into it then. What kinds of things do you consider when writing guides? What pushes you to contribute like you have? Blade: When writing guides, I like macro focused play styles. I am not much into all inning and don't really feel that writing one is a good way to improve as a player in general. While I think all ins are great to know for best of X situations or to throw your opponent off guard, I feel a player should focus on a more macro focused style to start off before dwelling into the cheese department. So solid, safe, and macro is a short description of what I look into when writing guides. When I started in Brood War, the community really helped me out. When I would read Liquipedia for BW strats, ask for help in the strategy section, and I would get it and it just helped a ton. When StarCraft 2 came out, I wanted to be one of those contributors to lower levels and to help the best I can. I did not do this at the beginning of SC2, due to wanting to wait until more macro style plays became normal and I felt I could play at a high level. Blue: Between the two of us, we have two Zerg players. While most players champion a 14/14 opening, you choose to orient yourself around 15 hatch. Can you explain why? Blade: I feel 15 hatch is a much better opener then the 14/14 opening vs. obviously a non-early pool. In general lings early game suck and drones can fend off early ling pressure with minimal losses as long as they don't mess up to much. That is why I open 15 hatch most of the time, but I do 14/14 as well depending on map, player and on what I scout. I obviously don't want to be too predictable to players I have played many times and only hatch first. Blue: Playing farther into this, how do you feel early game Zerg compares to early game Protoss or Terran? We see less variance in play, but in this an inherent weakness? How did things work in Brood War? Blade: I don't think Zerg has very many options for early game harassment and tends to play a lot more passive as it is just a lot stronger. It's not very hard for Protoss or Terran to defend an early attack by Zerg, doesn't mean it should never be done, but it's definitely not something you can do a lot. I think it's somewhat of a weakness because Zerg has to play predictable for the most part, if Protoss fast expands and doesn't see a third he's going to prepare for some sort of all in because that's what is going to be coming. In general I just feel Zerg has to play a more passive style which is what I like so it doesn't bother me, but does make the race very predictable in early game. In brood war there were many options each race could do in terms of pressure. Zerg could take a fast third base and do a 3 base hydra bust vs. Protoss. The whole goal for this to work would be to deny scouting on the Protoss side with lings to kill the scouting probe. If Protoss didn't scout this, they die most of the time. There are many sorts of early aggressions that every race in BW could do from anything to 3 hatch hydra bust, 2 hatch speedlings, 2 hatch hydra, 2 hatch lurker. I am more familiar with Zerg ones then Terran/toss ones from BW, but on the Zerg side I remember a lot of them in terms of early game. Blue: Currently, where does the game lie in terms of game plans? ZvX leads to what? Blade: Well Zerg vs. Zerg can be anything and I don't think there's ever really a point that most Zergs want to be in. Some only want to end it early/mid, some want to make it to the late game. ZvT and ZvP normally the Zerg wants to get the deathball. Especially ZvT as Terrans don't have a very solid counter to bl/corruptor/infestor like Protoss does. Zerg vs. Protoss normally is the same way; the Zerg wants to get the bl/corruptor/infestor. I would rather it work differently, but that is the main focus for the Zerg in both those match ups is defend, defend, get to that army. Protoss can actually fight it though while Terran can't so much, so in ZvP this can lead to more boring games if both players decide not to do aggression which Terran can't do unless they are planning a mech attack or something. Blue: Do you think ZvT is unfairly slanted in Zerg's favor? We've seen a lot of community discussion on it. Blade: This is a somewhat hard question to answer. Short answer yes; but not as badly as the community says. The reason I say this is foreign Terrans have struggled with Zerg pretty much since macro TvZ became the normal thing to do. I have seen many Terrans complain about TvZ balance from the foreign side so this patch makes it even harder for them. On the Korean side their Terrans are much stronger then foreign Terrans and pre queen buff there weren't many Terrans in Korea who said they struggled in TvZ. With the queen buff now they are complaining, and I do agree that right now ZvT is definitely Zerg favored. Is it so bad it needs to be reverted? Maybe, this is another hard question to answer because if you look in the past when Zerg got a buff or Terran nerfed, Zerg did extremely well for up to a month before the game evened out again. Remember the rax before depo being removed? Terrans complained that they would never beat Zerg again if the Zerg was "good". A month later (if even that) the game was back to Terran favored or balanced (can't remember which). So right now it points to being too strong, but who knows maybe in 2 weeks Terrans figure something out? I don't know how long blizzard or anyone should wait before doing a patch, but I imagine in the next 2 or so weeks I will have a more of an opinion on if it needs to be nerfed/reverted or if Terrans figure something out. Blue: How does ZvP stack up? Some of the Dreamhack games so far have been depressing, as a Zerg myself. Blade: I think Zerg vs. Protoss is ok balance wise; I do vent my frustrations when streaming on the race, but this is more frustration then what I actually think. I feel the matchup is incredibly boring. I have yet to really talk to a Zerg who says he really has fun playing ZvP. The matchup is just incredibly boring in either toss 2 base all ins and if he loses army, he loses most of the time, if Zerg loses his army he loses most of the time. In a macro game it is no more exciting. Zerg gets late game bl/corruptor/infestor; Protoss gets mothership/archon/templar/colossi, pretty much every toss unit. It then turns into whether one of them mess up and lose their army. If toss is sloppy and lets neural get his mothership, he loses unless the Zerg really messes up. Then the same goes for Zerg, if he gets sloppy and gets vortex’d he loses the game unless toss decides not to put archons in. In general, it leads to a very boring game and I rarely see people legitimately think ZvP is exciting to watch or play. For Dreamhack it's been okay, but Zergs have been playing kind of dumb sometimes doing some silly moves, but I have seen Protoss doing the same exact thing so it's meh. Blue: Enough about balance, I think. You are a "Blue poster" on TL. What does that entail? Blade: From what I know, it just shows I know what I am talking about, but I really don't know. I can't remember how I got it, as I just posted one day and saw I had it and thought it was pretty cool to see. It isn't really anything other than showing that I believe, I don't have to post there or anything and I don't really know how they pick or if they still add new posters to it. Just a way for my posts to stand out more than the average user! Blue: Going to admit, that's news to me. Surprised that TL has a bit of haphazardness to it, actually. Well, we're about ready to wrap this up. Do you have anything to say, before we close? Blade: Oh I wouldn't say that, from what I know they picked respectable posters and pros. I don't think it was random or anything, I just know I found I had it which I would hope was because I made good posts and what not. Only things I can say are - anyone who wants to follow me on twitter is twitter.com/Blade555 or my stream which I do commentary while streaming most of the time twitch.tv/55555 and would like to thank you for the interview! Thanks for reading! =) And please upvote on Reddit? c: http://www.reddit.com/r/starcraft/comments/v8ufz/interview_blade_sc2_strategy_author_generally/ Any and all feedback is appreciated, and if you're interesting in hearing more from me or Blade, follow us on your favorite sites. Blade: Twitch - twitch.tv/Blade55555 Twitter - twitter.com/Blade555 Blue: Twitter - twitter.com/BlueBoxSC Hey TL,I recently got the chance to sit down and interview Blade - a name you're probably familiar with if you frequent the strategy forums on TL. This interview was a lot more freely thrown together than my other ones, but the end result was just as good! :DExcerpt:: Playing farther into this, how do you feel early game Zerg compares to early game Protoss or Terran? We see less variance in play, but is this an inherent weakness? How did things work in Brood War?: I don't think Zerg has very many options for early game harassment and tends to play a lot more passive as it is just a lot stronger. It's not very hard for Protoss or Terran to defend an early attack by Zerg, doesn't mean it should never be done, but it's definitely not something you can do a lot. I think it's somewhat of a weakness because Zerg has to play predictable for the most part, if Protoss fast expands and doesn't see a third he's going to prepare for some sort of all in because that's what is going to be coming. In general I just feel Zerg has to play a more passive style which is what I like so it doesn't bother me, but does make the race very predictable in early game.Thanks for reading! =)And please upvote on Reddit? c:Any and all feedback is appreciated, and if you're interesting in hearing more from me or Blade, follow us on your favorite sites.Blade:Twitch - twitch.tv/Blade55555Twitter - twitter.com/Blade555Blue:Twitter - twitter.com/BlueBoxSC BwCBlueBox.837
The Alberta Analytics Conference was organized by Rob Vollman. If you haven't heard his name before you've definitely seen his work on my site, or his site, or extraskater. Yes, Rob Vollman invented Player Usage Charts, among many other new stats such as passes, quality starts, and more. He's also published a book. But enough about Rob, let's talk about me. When Rob emailed me to ask if I would like to attend an analytics community get together in Calgary or Edmonton, I said sure. When he asked if I'd like to present something, I was honored at first, and then worried because I'd have to think of something to present. He shot down my first suggestion: watching Gardening With Greg videos and sharing gardening tips and tricks. The Conference Held on May 24, 2014, in Edmonton. First there were Introductory remarks and introductory introductions of the attendees by Rob Vollman. The Presentations Note: these recaps are going off memory so any errors in what transpired are due to my faulty recollections Using Analytics in Hockey Pools by Sean Solbak I missed most of this presentation but Sean developed some models to determine how much "luck" is contributing to a player's points total. If the player has been really lucky, use them as trade-bait in a deal with a less knowledgeable owner. Likewise, if the player has been unlucky, buy low on them and reap the benefits later on. Consider Kessel's slow start or Mark Fraser's crazy high on-ice shooting percentage last year - it's probably not going to last long term so you could make moves to acquire or get rid of these players. (Nonis did trade Fraser for a bag of pucks, not bad right?) I would have liked to see more aboot how Sean calculated luck, as there are other sites that do this. (According to that site Leafs were the third luckiest team last year and Colorado was the most luckiest this year) Another point Sean brought up was to include other stats like giveaways and hits and quality starts in pools. We didn't think much of using real-time stats in pools because they're basically worthless but we did like the idea of using more interesting and predictive stats for goalies like Quality Starts. (My tip for picking a goalie is pick a bad goalie on a good team like Fleury or Niemi (or Quick lol) and they'll get you wins but you won't have to use a high pick on 'em) Aside: Would you be interested in all-corsi hockey pool? I think this is a dumb idea. How would you do it? 0.1 points for Shot Attempt For, -0.2 points for Shot Attempt Against? Highest PDO wins? Making Players Better With Micro Stats by Justin Azevedo (click the image above for an animated gif demonstration of a "snow angel") Justin spoke about how a player can know what their CORSI is but just knowing the number is not necessarily going to help them be a better player. So with an eye towards determining which plays result in which outcomes, Justin watched dozens of games, counting things like icings, snow angels, zone entries, etc. I would have liked to know what his results were for specific players but there were no cumulative stats presented - maybe there will be a Flames Nation post on this later. One other interesting thing he spoke about was how a defenseman can get stuck on the ice because there isn't an opportunity to switch the player. This results in tired defense, more shots against, and more goals against. Instead, teams should use the roller hockey line change, summarized in this post. Rob Kerr Rob Kerr is a broadcaster with Sportsnet 960, and has worked at with all levels of hockey and forms of media. He is very interested by hockey analytics, and wanted to share his perspective on how new technology and ideas get adopted by hockey clubs. While living in Estevan, Saskatchewan, he was calling play by play for the Estevan Bruins of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. He recounts how he wanted his family members to listen to his play by play online, and worked out a deal between the local internet company to get a local computer store to sponsor the broadcast. With this deal the Estevan Bruins were one of the first Junior Teams to have their games broadcast live online. One of the points that Kerr stressed was that there is always a cost associated with new technology, and the usual way to recover that cost is through sponsorship. Those computer generated floating ads that appear on the glass in Sportsnet broadcast? They cost $250000 and Subway pays a lot to get their name there. If Sportsnet has that technology, then they at least have the technology to track zone time (just time how long the subway ad appears on each end of the ice) and could probably expand it to track players - but who will pay for that? Do you know any teams with a lot of money and an unused analytics budget? I asked Kerr if he thought SportVU-style analysis would be coming to hockey. He agrees it will be, but is doubtful if it would be available to the average fan. Teams don't want to share their data with other teams, let alone the average joe hockey fan. Kerr mentioned that the Flames use the PUCKS! system to break down game video into individual plays. If you wanted to say, watch Lundqvist's tendencies while stopping shots, you can query that and see a dozen videos of him facing similar shots. According to the PUCKS website 17 teams use their software. The Flames also have an analyst who uses his own proprietary formulas for proprietary reasons, but Kerr could not elaborate further because the Flames have become more tight-lipped about their analytics in recent years. Also depending on how much stock you put into Flames President of Hockey Operations Brian Burke's comments about hockey being an eyeball business, they may not even be using this analysis. Kerr mentions that in the next couple years the format of the NHL's play by play report will be updated, to include things like offsides and icing information. This is because the teams themselves are parsing data out of this, and the data they get is only as accurate as what is on the sheet - and everyone and every team wants more and better data. I also learned how the NHL tracks the shot and goal locations that Super Shot Search uses for data: 5 guys on laptops at pressbox level, at least in Calgary, work every game and diligently track every event. I would love to see how this data gets recorded live. Greg Sinclair - NHL Shot Locations and Scoring Chances I will have a separate post on what I researched and presented. You'll never believe what I found out! Sunil Agnihotri - Hockey Analytics in Universites and Colleges Sunil spoke about how to improve understanding and make progress in the field of hockey analytics by introducing it at the post-secondary level. It could make an ideal project for a Stats 101 course, to run linear regressions and find statistical significance in the data. I could also imagine some of the teachers at PPP teaching their students about Corsi or Fenwick. The other thing Sunil stressed was that we need to have a sense of community and have open and shared data with everyone. He suggested that developers like me should open source our code and databases. There are at least two open source projects that can parse play by play and/or shot locations, and I'm pretty sure Tyler Dellow is using Muneeb Alam's open source code to do further analysis. I am hesitant to open source my code and data entirely though, for the following reasons: My code is buggy. Me and other developers I know have been hired by third parties to write code for them. Open sourcing could take away a revenue stream. If, say, http://www.extraskater.com open sourced itself, what would stop a dozen other imitators from creating their own versions? I know that http://www.hockeydb.com/ had the entirety of its data scraped and copied to a duplicate site, which is still online getting ad revenue off of someone else's hard work. On the other hand, if I were to share my database or code maybe other people could come up with new and improved versions of Super Shot Search, say, a Super Duper Shot Search (and at least this way the site might have a new feature more than once every 2 years). So, hockey stats developers, what's your take on this? Dan Haight - Adoption of Analytics (by the Edmonton Oilers) (click the above image to play the gif) Dan is analyst from Darkhorse Analytics who works for the Edmonto Oilers. He spoke about how to have successful adoption of analytics, you need several components on your analytics team: the data butler - someone who can get the data the data explorer - someone who can dive into the data and find patterns and new discoveries the automaton - someone who can automate this process so new analyses can be produced in a timely fashion the champion - the person who bridges the gap between management and analytics guys, and promotes the cause (I think there was another component but I can't remember it) Dan mentions how a lot of management focuses only on the data butler or the automaton but not enough on the data explorer - you need to have the freedom to discover new things and take risks to create something of value. One of the things Dan's group is working on is a model to predict who the Oilers should draft. His team worked through previous drafts and using his model showed that the Oilers should have drafted Logan Couture rather than Sam Gagner at 6th overall. His model would have picked better NHL players than the Oilers actually did - sadly I don't have his specific examples with me. His model is also completely proprietary, I wonder if it's better than "pick the player with the most points" model that Rhys J wrote about here ? Another thing Dan mention was the vast majority of players drafted are very tall, however the average NHL player's height is only 6'1" . In other words, height does not guarantee NHL success. Dan spoke about some of the hits, misses, and failures his analytics team had this season. Hit: Trading Magnus Paajarvi and a 2014 second-round draft pick for David Perron was a great move. Miss: Some player they drafted had a bad year because he was injured. I'm not sure you can call this a miss because no analytics or scout or any method can predict how someone will get injured in a hockey game. Failure: Devan Dubnyk. All the stats showed he should be at least average if not above average at stopping the puck. What happened? It seemed like some of the Oilers fans in the audience were skeptical of Dan's claims - after all, they did pick up Gadzic on waivers. Rob Vollman - Concluding Remarks Rob concluded the conference by asking us questions about how we'd like to proceed with these kinds of conferences. We decided: We will have more conferences, hopefully one in September before the season starts They will be open to the public We need to have some sort of indexing of hockey analytics articles. This is a hard job but I notice that Josh Weissbock is doing it here and Arctic Ice Hockey has some references here Garret Hohl mentioned he'd like to get an online database of these articles, but like everything, it's very time consuming. This conference was a great way to meet people I had only spoken to online and build a sense of community. Why not come to the next conference in Alberta, or start your own?
Money is going digital. Despite the many fits and stops, competing technologies and platforms, and omnipresent wrestling match for control over the future of payments, it seems to be inevitable that physical money (coins and cash), and likely plastic payment cards will eventually go the way of the dodo. How soon and under whose influence this transition will happen, however, remains to be seen. But whether it’s Bitcoin, Apple Pay, Google Wallet, PayPal, CurrentC, or another yet unknown platform that ushers us into the future of payments, it looks like competition from industry peers is no longer the only obstacle impacting digital payment adoption. A new report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFSB) yesterday sets the groundwork for new regulations that could impact the adoption of digital wallets. The 870-page report deals mostly with prepaid debit cards and suggests that these accounts be limited in their ability to borrow money but receive protections against lost or stolen cards. But buried therein are regulations that mention “virtual wallets and virtual currency products.” The CFPB says that it is in the process of reviewing whether these digital financial products would fall under prepaid debit card regulations. The answer to this question likely relies on the variations in ways that these service providers hold funds and process payments, such as whether, like Apple Pay and Google Wallet, these wallets provide a passthrough to traditional bank or credit card accounts, or whether, like PayPal or Coinbase, they allow consumers to fund a proprietary account. The CFPB writes: In particular and as noted above, the Bureau is aware of an increasing number of mobile financial products, each with different features, capabilities, and consumer protections. Determining how this proposed rule might apply to those products may be difficult in light of the quick evolution of these products and their features. ... With respect to mobile financial products and services, the Bureau anticipates that this proposed rule would apply to certain mobile wallets. The Bureau also recognizes that the proposed rule may have potential application to virtual currency and related products and services. As a general matter, however, the Bureau’s analysis of mobile financial products and services, as well as and virtual currencies and related products and services, including the applicability of existing regulations and this proposed regulation to such products and services, is ongoing. The CFSB previously issued an advisory warning against the risks of digital currencies in August and around the same time began soliciting consumer complaints pertaining to virtual currencies and digital wallets. It appears, based on this latest report, that the bureau’s inquiry into the risks presented by the digital payments ecosystem remains ongoing. For consumers, this preemptive evaluation is a good thing, but for entrepreneurs and investors the lingering uncertainty is a challenge. Hopefully for all involved, the regulator environment will crystalize sooner rather than later. Then, the inevitable move to a fully-digital payments ecosystem can run its course. Until then, I, along with many others, will be waiting with bated breath.
You’ve probably heard about Ruby on Rails by now. Your developer friends are raving about it, talking about how they wrote an application in less than half the time it would have taken using some other technology, how they really enjoyed themselves instead of stressing out, and then spent their extra time on the beach. Rails sure does sound like a pretty compelling technology. But what is it, and how does it fit into the big picture of web development? Article Continues Below Share this on If you’re a designer, user interface architect, writer, or a software developer not yet acquainted with Rails, you might be wondering what this technology is all about. Can it really cut through the headaches so often associated with web application development? Can it turn you, the mild-mannered non-developer, into a web application programmer overnight? Is Rails really the be-all and end-all development platform? What the heck are Subversion and Git? Do I need to learn all of this just to do design for Rails? In this article, I’ll help prepare you for your first foray into Rails by explaining what it is, how it works, and where it fits into the spectrum of web development and design. I’ll address the issues above and more, with answers geared toward non-Rails developers, designers, and other creative professionals. This article isn’t a Rails programming tutorial. We won’t be writing code here, but I will introduce you to some of the important concepts critical to understanding how the Rails framework functions. I’ll also explain what you’ll need to know to work with Rails developers and integrate your XHTML and CSS into Rails projects. I’ll focus on the topics and issues that I’ve learned are most important for creative people instead of boring you with gruesome technical details. Yes, you’ll have to learn what terms like “MVC” mean, for example, but only in the context of getting stuff done. What is Rails, and why use it? David Heinemeier Hansson, a partner at 37signals, created Ruby on Rails. As he built Basecamp, their flagship application, David extracted the application’s underpinnings and created code that he could use and re-use for software he wanted to build down the road. The framework he created proved to be extensible, expandable, and multi-purpose. He decided to share it as open source software. A small group of developers, now known as the Rails Core Team, formed and improved and expanded the framework. After a good deal of effort, Ruby on Rails matured into a robust, solid software development platform. Today, Rails has a strong community and great documentation, and is used by thousands of developers to power hundreds of websites, such as Twitter, Blinksale, and the very site you’re reading now. There’s an even bigger list of sites over at Working with Rails. Rails is designed to make building web applications simpler and easier. Rails provides developers with a large, easily expandable set of building blocks they can use (and re-use) to create web applications. Developers can use, integrate, and customize these components of code in any manner they choose to, to create the unique functionality they need for their application. Building software this way really helps reduce the time it takes for developers to create and later maintain their applications. It also helps to standardize the way applications get built, making it easier for many developers to collaborate and write more uniform code. Web designers have time-tested CSS tricks to use as a starting point, web standards to adhere to, and Photoshop workflows they can rely on. Like these tools, Rails provides standards, conventions, tools, and a foundation upon which developers can construct applications by writing customized code using pre-built Rails libraries. Rails vs. PHP One of the questions people often ask about Rails is how it differs from PHP. PHP is a general-purpose scripting language that can be embedded right into HTML pages, making it easy for developers to create dynamically generated web pages quickly and easily. Many web designers and most web developers have used PHP in some capacity. Because of its proliferation (it’s usually installed by default on most webhosts), PHP is often the go-to language for handling simple tasks like keeping your website’s navigation current, randomizing images on a website, and even creating a simple content management system. PHP is also useful for creating full-blown open source and commercial web applications such as WordPress, and HelpSpot, both PHP applications. Technically speaking, we shouldn’t compare PHP, a programming language, to Rails, a web application framework. Instead, we should compare PHP to the Ruby programming language upon which Rails was built. Ruby was created in 1995 by Yukihiro “Matz” Matsumoto, and has slowly built a following, exploding in popularity and getting more mainstream attention in 2006, in no small part because of the popularity of Rails. At the time of this writing, Ruby ranks as the 9th most popular programming language in the world. To quote the Ruby website, “Ruby is a dynamic, open source programming language with a focus on simplicity and productivity. It has an elegant syntax that is natural to read and easy to write.” This elegance and focus on simplicity makes Ruby a very approachable language for people new to programming, and offers a refreshing change of pace for seasoned developers. Let’s run through a quick example, just to get a “feel” for what we’re talking about. Let’s say we want to count from 1 to 10. In PHP, the code might look like this: for ($i = 1; $i <= 10; $i++) { echo $i; } 10.times do \|i\| puts i end puts *(1..10) Mythbusting Rails Myth #1: Rails is a content management system Myth #2: Rails lets you build applications a billion times faster Myth #3: You don’t need to be a programmer to build Rails applications Getting started rails demo script/generate scaffold article body:string MVC How to edit Rails files Example of Ruby on Rails Syntax Everything in the right place Example of default Ruby on Rails folder structure. app/views app/layouts public/images public/stylesheets Example of folder structure. Embedding Rails code in HTML articles app/views .html .html.erb .erb apps/views/articles/edit.html.erb Example of Ruby code embedded into an HTML template. <%= <% %> Ruby is versatile: it can be moved in and out of existing HTML with little effort. app/views/layouts/application.html.erb application.html.erb <%= yield %> app/views/articles The public folder images stylesheets Source control Next steps Conclusion Get our latest articles in your inbox. Sign up for email alerts. If you’re familiar with C, Java, or other C-like control structures, this is straightforward for you. But if you’re new to this, that might seem pretty intimidating. Here’s the same code in Ruby:Ruby also has its own tricks and shortcuts that would make even a serious Perl hacker happy. The following line does the very same thing as the examples above:This kind of flexibility and simplicity makes Ruby an approachable language for software developers and web designers of all levels. While PHP is a web-friendly programming language, Rails is a web application framework written in Ruby (and with access to all of Ruby’s functionality to boot). And because of the way Rails works, each application you build lives in the form of a project, with specific files and folders. Unlike many PHP apps which often “just work” when uploaded to a webserver, Rails apps rely on their framework and a customized hosting infrastructure (often called a “stack”). As a result, Rails applications can be a bit more challenging to deploy. Fortunately, a number of web hosting companies specialize in deploying, hosting, and managing Rails applications. So how would you know when to use Rails and when to use PHP? There isn’t anything that one could do in Rails that they couldn’t do in PHP (or vice versa), so in the end it boils down to a matter of choice. For me personally, I have a simple rule: if I’m adding simple functionality (such as rotating header images) to an otherwise straightforward website, I’ll often use PHP. If I’m building a web application, especially one with a database, I’ll use Rails. Again, both could do either, but I find the Rails framework is wonderful for the kind of web application development I like to do. It should be noted that there are frameworks with goals similar to those of Ruby on Rails that are written in PHP, such as CakePHP and CodeIgniter Before we delve a bit deeper into what Rails actually is, what it does, and how you’ll probably use it, I want to dispel a few myths that non-developers often have about the framework. This list actually comes from real questions that real, live people have asked me about Rails over the last few years.I’ve mentioned that Rails makes it super easy to build web applications quickly, that it has a ton of built-in functionality and pre-built components. But what Rails actually gives you, the framework we’re talking about, is code. Rails isn’t a plug-and-play piece of software that you custom-tailor for specific applications, while just integrating some design along the way. You can think of Rails as being an elaborate menu of code that developers can select from, modify, and extend to create a completely customized application.In a way, the excellent “Rails makes it easy” marketing campaign has actually hurt some independent Rails development shops. Customers expect Rails applications to be rolled out in days regardless of their feature set. In reality, Rails applications aren’t written for you automatically. Rails saves developers time by letting them focus on specific application functionality instead of things like database interconnectivity. It handles the heavy lifting required to build user interaction. Developers can use this pre-built code, and spend more time making applications that are more reliable and easier to use. Rails projects can still get quite complicated. Rails developers must still write real (and often complex) code, interactions, and tests. Rails makes development more fun and it eliminates much of the tedium involved in building web applications, but it doesn’t build them for you.I hear that a lot, and of course it’s false. In reality, Rails developers do much more than assemble components. Sure, they use Rails conventions and build atop a comprehensive platform, but they still write brand new, unique code. It is true, however, that you might not need to be as experienced a developer to create a Rails application as you might need to be to build, for example, a PHP, Java, or Objective-C application. This is due both to the simplicity of the Rails framework as well as the elegance and readability of the Ruby programming language, upon which Rails sits. You still need to learn to write code.Getting Rails up and running on your computer falls outside of the scope of this article. Fortunately, the latest version of Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) comes with Rails pre-installed (or you can build your own ). I’ve written a tutorial for installing Rails on older versions of Mac OS X . There’s a One-Click Installer for Windows . You can also download the source code or find additional resources on the Ruby on Rails website to help you get things going. Rather than expect you to go through the paces of getting Rails installed for the first time, for now, I’ve created a default Rails project that you can download and look at on any computer, regardless of whether you have Rails installed or not. Grab the file and unzip it somewhere you can find it.The folders and files you’ll find in the archive are identical to those that Rails would have created for you if you’d have runon the command line, followed by. Again, these are commands you may never have to run, but Rails developers use them to help create the code they use in their projects.Speaking of creating code, there are a few software development concepts you should know about, even as a designer, before you dive into Rails. Understanding these concepts will help you understand the Rails layout, and make it easier for you to work within the framework itself. Rails implements a software engineering technique called model-view-controller, commonly abbreviated as MVC. This technique (or pattern) separates business logic (things like database interaction) from the user interface, which we call the presentation logic. This separation actually makes the life of the designer much easier, because unlike other web frameworks, the amount of Rails code a designer actually has to see and shuffle around is significantly reduced. In Rails, each of these different pieces of the application are kept in different folders. The business logic (the models and the controllers) are stored separately from the views. What’s important to understand here is that MVC means the XHTML and CSS you create is kept as separate as possible from the deeper levels of code. Pure developers see less design, while designers wade through less code.Rails stores its files as plain text, so you can choose any text editor to edit files in a Rails project. I prefer a Mac OS X application called TextMate, which is ideally suited for working with Rails. BBEdit, another Mac OS X application, also works well, as do most text editors on Windows. Linux, too, has its share of capable text editors. Some editors do a better job of displaying Rails code using syntax editing and color-coded highlighting, making the code pretty to look at. Other editors don’t recognize Ruby on Rails code at all. Below is an example of code being edited in TextMate:Pretty, eh? Textmate (and BBEdit) have the added advantage of being able to open and display entire project folders in their drawer, allowing you to quickly locate and edit a file.Rails projects are made up of lots and lots of folders and files, most of which Rails generates during the initial creation of the application. If you’re used to dealing with smaller projects, this may at first seem like a somewhat daunting amount of content. Using folders in this fashion makes it easier to separate the models, controllers, and views. And just about all of the files that non-developers will need to be concerned with will live in the same place in every Rails project, far from the deeper code that belongs to the business logic layer. Let’s take a look at the files and folders Rails created.These files and folders will be pretty much the same no matter which Rails application you’re working with. Even very large, feature-rich, complicated Rails applications will have this identical layout. And even better, your files and presentation logic will always go in the very same place. It’s actually safe for you to ignore most of what you see here for now. The folders that are important for you to pay attention to are the, andfolders, highlighted below.Typically, when you work with Rails developers, you’ll comp a design and they’ll insert the Rails code into it. But on occasion, it’ll work the other way around, the Rails developers will already have a basic set of files and you’ll need to “design around” their code. If you’re familiar with the way that templates work in blogging software such as Movable Type or WordPress, you’re already somewhat familiar with the way that layouts and views work within Rails. Rails allows developers to separate an application’s functionality into groups of related view pages. If we’re developing different ways to create, edit, and display an article for a web magazine, Rails will want us to put those views into a folder namedin thefolder. The template files that contain the HTML that users will actually see don’t end inlike regular HTML files. Instead, they have special file extensions:. The addition of thetells Rails that these files contain embedded Ruby code, and will use Ruby’s template technology. This technology allows Rails developers to embed Ruby on Rails code right into any template file very easily. Take a look at thefile:You may notice a few tags that you wouldn’t normally see in an HTML file. These special tags tell Rails where to look for embedded code. When Rails sees them, it executes the code inside of those tags and outputs the result right into the user’s web browser as it renders the page. Theandtags indicate the beginning of the Rails or Ruby code, while thetag indicates the closure of both tags. As a non-programmer, it’s safe for you to put your HTML around and inside of these tags, but be careful to keep what’s inside of the tags intact. You can, however, move this block of code wherever you might like within your HTML, or edit the HTML inside and around this block as needed. For example, you could change the snippet above to look like the example below without affecting any of the Rails code:While you may have completely changed how the page displays, the functionality remains intact. In Rails, there is a primary template, a file usually found in. This file contains the “wrapper” of XHTML that surrounds the content the application displays to users. If you open that file now, you’ll see exactly what I’m talking about. In many blogging systems, designers are used to “cutting up” their designs, separating things like the header, footer, and sidebar into different files. While Rails supports this, the usual pattern is to put those elements right into thefile and use Rails to stream the content into place. If you wanted to customize the design of a Rails website, this is the place you’d start. And you’re free to customize as much as you like, just keep your eye on the special line that looks like this:That’s the special bit of Rails code that says “put the content for this page here.” The location of this single line determines where the main content for each page appears. Rails developers have techniques to vary the content that appears in different areas of the main template, such as a page’s title, different stylesheets to include, or variable sidebar content. If you recall the discussion on Model/View/Controller above, you’ll remember that our primary focus will be on working with views. Each general area of functionality within a Rails application will have its own folder within the views folder. For example, if we were working on the designs for a web magazine like the one you’re reading now, there would be special views dedicated to displaying articles, and those views would always live in thefolder. While it’s true that not every Rails application will have articles, Rails specifies that each area of the website, articles, comments, issues, invoices, etc., will each get its own folder within the views folder. It’s part of the Rails pattern.Unlike the rest of the files in a Rails application, everything within the public folder is visible to the outside world. Within the public folder are two folders you’ll want to pay special attention to:and. While there’s no hard rule that says your images and stylesheets must live in these locations, putting them there is a boon to Rails developers, who can then easily call them from within their code as needed.Anybody who creates files that change over time will, at some point, probably need help to keep track of how the files change, and will naturally want to keep a backup of those changes. This is even more important when you’re sharing project and code files with other people who will also make changes to them. Fortunately there’s special software, usually referred to as source control or revision management software, to help us manage this process. The system used most commonly with Rails projects is called Subversion (also known as SVN). Subversion is a free, open-source solution available for most platforms. It remembers every change ever made to the files and directories in your projects. This allows you to recover older versions of your data, or examine the history of how your data changed. Source control systems replace the “change a file and FTP it to the server” method of updating files, creating instead a consistent way to make your changes available to everybody on your team simultaneously, and keep everything up to date and integrated in one step. Git , an alternative source control system, has gained in popularity recently, so much so that the Rails Core Team is actually using it to manage the code for Rails itself. Although the process and commands you’ll use to manage the changes you make vary somewhat between different source control systems, the concept is similar regardless of the technology being used. And although it may seem somewhat cryptic once you actually start using it, the benefits of using a source control system to manage a Rails project easily outweigh the learning curve. Instructions for managing projects using Subversion and Git fall outside the scope of this article and often vary based on the system used as well as by the team using it. But it’s important to know that you will probably be expected to use this kind of system, and that it will likely involve either typing commands at the command line or using a new source control management application to do the kinds of things you used to do without any additional complications.If you’re interested in learning more about Ruby on Rails, there are lots of places to start. An excellent way to learn Rails is to watch some of the excellent Rails screencasts . There’s lots of great Rails documentation available as well, with some good starting points on the Ruby on Rails documentation page . You can learn everything you ever wanted to know about Subversion and source control management by reading the (free) online version of Version Control with Subversion . There are also many, many wonderful blogs, podcasts, articles, tutorials, and screencasts with a focus on learning Rails available online. Just check out this list on Google if you want a good place to start.I hope that this gentle introduction to Rails answers a few questions and perhaps dispels a few of the myths surrounding Rails. And while Rails is a great platform, it still needs more people like you, designers, interface architects, and writers, to help guide and direct its future. It’s a young enough platform that people with your experience can really help determine what it evolves into both now and in years to come.
Solar PV can expect to see another record-breaking year in 2018. IHS Markit is predicting another recording breaking year for solar in 2018, forecasting installations to hit 108 GW by the end of the year. The analysts state that continued demand from China will be the key driver behind this growth, as the country has successfully diversified its market and achieved strong momentum in the distributed generation segment. The latest edition of IHS Markit’s PV Demand Market Tracker highlights how China has now become the priority market for domestic manufacturers, something likely to shape the market in 2018. “Short supply and higher than anticipated module prices in the first half of 2018 will impede many market outside China, due to worsening project economics,” says Edurne Zoco, Research and Analysis Director at IHS Markit. “Projects in some regions might be delayed or even cancelled, because market prices are higher than were estimated during the planning phase.” While demand from China is expected to remain strong, question marks remain over other leading PV markets, as the U.S. industry awaits the President’s final decision in the section 201 case, and India mulls the introduction of anti-dumping duties. While it still expects these two to remain the second and third largest PV markets, respectively, IHS Markit warns that in the U.S., the section 201 case has already begun to distort the supply/demand relationship, as developers have been stockpiling modules ahead of the decision, and that planned tax reforms could also weaken investor interest in the sector. Meanwhile in India, IHS warns that that raising anti-dumping duties could limit the number of modules on the market, unless domestic manufacturers are able to ramp up very quickly. This forecast will leave little room for unexpected demand increases – as occurred in 2017, unless polysilicon is also able to quickly grow. “Exceeding 108 gigawatts of PV installations is close to the top-end of what can be achieved, based on the global polysilicon manufacturing capacity,” said Zoco. “Supply will therefore be tight throughout the first half of the year at least, resulting in stable to higher prices across the supply chain.” Recently, in its 4Q Global PV Market Outlook, Bloomberg New Energy Finance predicted similar installation numbers. With stabilization of the polysilicon market expected, improved cost-efficiencies on the upstream side and increased efforts to meet 2020 energy targets in Europe, demand in 2018 should be between 94 and 111 GW; and 107 and 121 GW in 2019, it said.
A 1955 Ford, left, and a 1955 Oldsmobile are parked in the lot of the McDonald's museum in Des Plaines, IL. - Tim Boyle/Newsmakers Listen To The Story Marketplace Embed Code <iframe src="https://www.marketplace.org/2017/07/27/business/mcdonalds-hold-communities-together/popout" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="240px"></iframe> You might not think of a global multi-billion dollar conglomerate as the tie that binds local communities. But it can be, and it sells Chicken McNuggets at the same time. Guardian reporter Chris Arnade has criss-crossed America to cover poverty, addiction, and the factors that bring us together (or divide us). And one of the things he's found that does bring us together is McDonald's, where people can go to get a cheap meal, play board games, or clear their heads. Arnade stopped by to talk about the fast food giant's appeal and his experiences speaking to people at its franchises. Below is an edited transcript. Chris Arnade: I call them ad-hoc community centers. I kind of say if you give people a landscape, a world of fast food franchises, they'll form communities within a world of fast-food franchises. There's often four or five different morning groups. Some of them give themselves names — ROMEO club, the Retired Old Men Eating Out. There are church groups that meet in McDonald's, bible studies in McDonald's. There are regulars who play chess games in McDonald's. David Brancaccio: But I hear the irony that you're embracing here. I mean, McDonald's Corporation has these pre-fab chain outlets, but you have these authentic experiences inside. Arnade: Yeah. And, you know, I was spending a lot of time working with those people who are on the cusp of society. People who have a heroin addiction. People who are homeless. And I found myself, like them, spending a lot of time in McDonald's, because they spend a lot of time in McDonald's. And they spend a lot of time in McDonald's because it offers a place of refuge. They they can sit at their table. They can get a cheap meal. They can use Wi-Fi. They can often charge their phones because there are outlets and then they can use a bathroom to clean up. And I started using them in the same way when I'm on the road. I just sit for an hour and a half to write, collect my thoughts, and that's when I noticed the other people using McDonald's. When I'm in a town, I'm in a new place, that's how I end up making relationships with people. Brancaccio: So, Chris, give me an example. You're sitting in a McDonald's where, and what did you learn one day? Arnade: I was in Battle Creek, Michigan, and one of the elderly women there, I asked her age. She was 86, I believe, and she says, "I'm glad I'm old." And I looked at her and say, "What do you mean? What do you mean you're glad you're old? She goes, "I wouldn't want to be young. I met my husband on the factory floor and we walked out of high school together. We got jobs. We built a wonderful life. She says, "I don't see that for my children or my grandchildren." That codified so much of what I saw across the country of people who just felt the world wasn't working for them. “I think the best compliment I can give is not to say how much your programs have taught me (a ton), but how much Marketplace has motivated me to go out and teach myself.” – Michael in Arlington, VA As a nonprofit news organization, what matters to us is the same thing that matters to you: being a source for trustworthy, independent news that makes people smarter about business and the economy. So if Marketplace has helped you understand the economy better, make more informed financial decisions or just encouraged you to think differently, we’re asking you to give a little something back. Become a Marketplace Investor today – in whatever amount is right for you – and keep public service journalism strong. We’re grateful for your support. BEFORE YOU GO
Sen. Bernie Sanders Bernard (Bernie) SandersPush to end U.S. support for Saudi war hits Senate setback Sanders: 'I fully expect' fair treatment by DNC in 2020 after 'not quite even handed' 2016 primary Sanders: 'Damn right' I'll make the large corporations pay 'fair share of taxes' MORE (I-Vt.) slammed the Senate's decision on Thursday to levy new sanctions on Iran, saying that the penalties could put the 2015 nuclear deal at risk. Sanders joined Sen. Rand Paul Randal (Rand) Howard PaulThe Hill's Morning Report — Emergency declaration to test GOP loyalty to Trump The Hill's 12:30 Report: Trump escalates fight with NY Times The 10 GOP senators who may break with Trump on emergency MORE (R-Ky.) as the only senators to oppose the sanctions, which target both Iran and Russia. He said in a statement after the vote that, while he fully supported penalties against the Kremlin for its efforts to meddle in the 2016 election, the Iran sanctions could have dangerous consequences. "That is not a risk worth taking, particularly at a time of heightened tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia and its allies," Sanders said in a statement. "I think the United States should play a more even-handed role in the Middle East and find ways not only to address Iran's activities, but also Saudi Arabia's decades-long support for radical extremism." ADVERTISEMENT The bill, which passed the Senate 98-2, imposes sanctions on Tehran for its ballistic missile development, human rights violations, weapons transfers and support for designated terrorist groups. It also gives Congress the power to block attempts by the White House to roll back sanctions on Russia. The new round of sanctions comes as at least four congressional committees are investigating Russia's role in the 2016 election and possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow. The Trump administration has urged lawmakers not to strengthen penalties on Russia, arguing that doing so could jeopardize the administration's ability to work and improve relations with the Kremlin.
Under the auspices of "protecting clients from criminal activity," JPMorgan Chase has decided to impose withdrawal limits on certain ATM transactions. As WSJ reports, following the bank's ATM modification to enable $100-bills to be dispensed with no limit, some customers started pulling out tens of thousands of dollars at a time . This apparent bank run has prompted Jamie Dimon to cap ATM withdrawals at $1,000 per card daily for non-customers. Most large U.S. banks, including Chase, Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co. have been rolling out new ATMs, sometimes known as eATMs, which perform more services akin to tellers. That includes allowing customers to withdraw different dollar denominations than the usual $20, typically ranging from $1 to $100. The efforts run counter to recent calls to phase out large bills such as the $100 bill or the €500 note ($569) to discourage corruption while putting up hurdles for tax evaders, terrorists, drug dealers and human traffickers. The Wall Street Journal reported in February that the European Central Bank was considering eliminating its highest paper currency denomination, the €500 note. Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence H. Summers also has called for an agreement by monetary authorities to stop issuing notes worth more than $50 or $100. This move appears to have backfired and created a 'run' of sorts on Chase... A funny thing happened as J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. modified its ATMs to dispense hundred-dollar bills with no limit: Some customers started pulling out tens of thousands of dollars at a time. While it was changing to newer ATM technology, J.P. Morgan found that some customers of banks in countries such as Russia and Ukraine had used Chase ATMs to withdraw tens of thousands of dollars in a single day, people familiar with the situation said. Chase had instances of people withdrawing $20,000 in one transaction, they added. Remember Greece? And, in what appears to the start of a war on cash in America, The Wall Street Journal reports, the bank is cracking down, capping ATM withdrawals at $1,000 per card daily for noncustomers. The bank run by Chairman and Chief Executive Jamie Dimon said there doesn’t appear to be fraud involved. But in part due to heightened regulatory scrutiny, banks are paying more attention to large cash transfers that could be a sign of money laundering or other types of shady activity. The move by the largest bank in the country doesn’t affect J.P. Morgan Chase’s own customers, whose maximum daily withdrawals are set depending on the client’s account type. J.P. Morgan Chase’s change last month affects roughly 18,000 automated teller machines nationwide and followed an interim step earlier this year limiting noncustomer cash removals at $1,000 per transaction. The earlier move was made as a temporary fix while the bank could make software changes to roll out the more stringent daily limit, said bank spokeswoman Patricia Wexler. However, as we noted last night, What the story is about is the nebulous world of offshore tax evasion and tax havens, which based on data from the World Bank, IMF, UN, and central banks, hide between $21 and $32 trillion , where registered incorporation agents and law firms in small Caribbean countries (and not so small US states) make the laundering of money and the "disappearance" of the super wealthy, into untracable numbers hidden behind shell companies, possible. So, there is more than the total US GDP being laundered in offshore tax havens, but yes, let's eliminate the $100 bill to cut down on corruption and money laundering. Of course, we are sure this is just another 'storm in a teacup' as why should anyone question a fine upstanding and trustworthy bank withholding people's money when they are assuredly tax evaders, terrorists, drug dealers and human traffickers.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.—"There are certain politicians in this country who could probably take notes from this man. … I've never seen anything quite like this." With those words, North Carolina Superior Court Judge John O. Craig sentenced former senior strategist and agency partner William John "Bill" Grizack to serve 57 to 81 months in state prison for defrauding ad agencies McKinney and The Variable (formerly known as Pave Advertising) with fake contracts from Coca-Cola and Brown-Forman. According to documents filed by state prosecutor W. Scott Harkey, these fictional accounts would have been worth a combined $269.9 million. "This is a case about lies and deception that fueled an upper-class lifestyle," said Harkey today in arguing for a harsh sentence, stating that Grizack "perpetuated his scheme for eight months" and that the fraud persisted long after Pave partnered with Cheil Worldwide's McKinney. The agencies hired 40 advertising professionals from around the country to work on the fake business. All of these employees lost their jobs when executives discovered the deceptions pulled off by Grizack, who was employed by both agencies at the time. UPDATE: After the sentencing hearing, The Variable released an official statement to Adweek which appears at the bottom of this story. The case, which has been covered extensively by Adweek's AgencySpy blog, officially began in November 2015 when the state of North Carolina charged Grizack with three felonies related to obtaining or attempting to obtain money or property via false pretenses. But the story of Grizack's deception is more than five years in the making, and it involves at least six different agencies that employed Grizack before his crimes caught up with him. "Right after his scheme was discovered by executives at Pave and McKinney," Harkey said, "he went to [Colorado's Egg Strategy] and did the exact same thing" by falsifying a $14 million contract with McDonald's. Timeline of Deceit Pave Advertising of Winston-Salem hired Grizack in the summer of 2010, and he moved up within the organization largely on the strength of a proprietary data-based software program that he called Brand Forensics. The agency later renamed itself The Variable and promoted this product as a key differentiator, describing it in a 2011 press release as "a derivative of the search engine results page algorithm that allows The Variable to determine with statistical significance where a query starts, where it ends, and where it stops along the way." Grizack and his fellow executives used the software to pitch new business and sought other agencies to form a partnership based on the advantages that it could supposedly grant to clients. His attorney says the software was real and effective, but Grizack began to falsify contracts when he couldn't land the clients he wanted. "[Grizack] created a software program that, from the victim's own mouth, was 'revolutionary,'" said defense attorney Bernard Desrosiers, adding, "He started getting legitimate contracts from clients, but the two he wanted most he couldn't get." Grizack then developed a plan to fake the wins using what The Variable president and partner Keith Vest described as "fake contracts, fake email addresses, fake phone numbers and fake documents" that allowed him to "[impersonate] officers at these companies." The False Promise of New Business Grizack badly wanted to become a partner at Pave. In order to do so without paying a $150,000 partnership fee, he was required to bring in at least $500,000 in new business revenue—a requirement he satisfied via what Judge Craig called "a very ingenious scheme." Desrosiers conceded that Grizack was motivated by greed and pride, stating: "He thought he could get away with it. He didn't." Multiple current and former employees of The Variable attended the court hearing, and as Desrosiers described Grizack's "crime-free life," a female attendee began shaking her head emphatically, earning a rebuke from the judge who threatened to remove her from the courtroom. "Grizack was not out to please anyone. He is a con man who is addicted to lying," said Vest in his subsequent statement to the court. "We don't want to see Grizack do this to other companies," Vest said. "He conned the company he worked for before us. He conned us and McKinney. The company he moved to after ours was able to uncover his deceit before it went too far." His newer deception was only revealed, Vest said, because an unidentified person contacted Egg Strategy to alert the agency that the McDonald's account was fake. $4 Million Lost, Along With Jobs Harkey claimed that Grizack's deceptions led to $4 million in combined losses for The Variable and McKinney. These losses also took a human toll, as Harkey illustrated by reading from emails written by former employees at the two agencies, one of whom had worked at Pave/The Variable for more than a decade before losing the job. In the years after Grizack was fired, the two agencies worked with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation to build a case against him. Those efforts were led by special agent Kevin Snead, who received thanks from both Harkey and Vest in the courtroom. Grizack pleaded guilty to all charges on March 3 of this year, but he continued to gain employment as a highly paid senior strategist for nearly five months after the charges were first filed. After leaving Egg Strategy in late 2014, he moved to California and worked at Los Angeles' Dailey Advertising as chief strategy officer for nearly a year. He listed his address as West Hollywood when entering his plea, but up to that very day, he was simultaneously employed or contracted by three agencies in the San Francisco area: Goodby Silverstein & Partners, Venables Bell & Partners and Omnicom consultancy Interbrand. In a statement, Grizack apologized to his former employers while shaking his head profusely, thanking the court, his wife and his two daughters. "From my heart, I am truly, truly sorry," he said. The judge said that the most important factor in his sentencing decision was the fact that dozens of people lost their jobs because of Grizack's actions. He then cited an unnamed "rare genetic disorder that could be fatal and most likely will greatly shorten his lifespan" in explaining why he did not choose a longer sentence. But the judge also pointed out that the agencies deserve some blame for letting their judgment be clouded by wishful thinking and the potential for financial gain. "There is just a small amount of gullibility and greed on the part of the victims," he said, comparing the case to the tale of the goose that laid the golden eggs. "I hope you will take this as a hard-earned lesson." After the sentencing, Keith Vest released an official statement on behalf of his agency. It reads: "Bill Grizack caused employees to lose their jobs; he caused unimaginable emotional turmoil and he almost destroyed a company whose only fault was an instinct to trust." "For the past three years, we have worked closely with the authorities so that no other company falls victim to Grizack's duplicity," Vest writes. "Since 2013, The Variable has thrived – more than quadrupling agency revenues, tripling the size of our staff and we are currently a reigning AdAge Southeast Small Agency of the Year. These accomplishments are a testament to the talent and tenacity of our team. We are happy to officially put this matter to rest and to continue the jobs we love with our focus on the future." Spokespeople for McKinney and Egg Strategy declined to comment on the case. If you have worked with Bill Grizack, were involved in any of his agency activities or have more information regarding his case, please contact the author at patrick.coffee@adweek.com.
This weekend was DEFCON 20, the largest and most famous hacker[1] conference in the world. I didn’t go to DEFCON because I’m a woman, and I don’t like it when strangers grab my crotch. Let’s back up a little bit. DEFCON is a stellar computer security conference, attended by famous computer security experts, shadowy government “spooks,” creative hackers of all sorts, and the journalists who write about them. I first attended DEFCON in 1995 as a gawky 17-year-old. DEFCON 3 was just a few hundred computer security experts wearing black leather jackets and milling around in a ballroomat the Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas. That weekend I learned about Kevin Mitnick getting hunted down by the FBI, war-dialing for modems, and the existence of the Internet. I met a guy with long red hair named Dan Farmer who had written a program called something like EVIL, or SATAN, I wasn’t sure which. I was so inspired by the fascinating, brilliant, frequently leather-clad people I met at DEFCON 3 that I became a computer programmer. I still have my first DEFCON badge, a cheesy purple and white laminated number with only my first name – at age 17, I wasn’t about to to give my full name to a conference full of hackers! DEFCON today Fast forward 17 years to DEFCON 20. Every time I read about something cool happening at DEFCON, I wanted to jump on the next flight to Las Vegas. But I didn’t, because of my own bad experiences at DEFCON, and those of people like KC, a journalist and student in San Francisco who wrote about attending DEFCON 19: Nothing could have prepared me for the onslaught of bad behavior I experienced. Like the man who drunkenly tried to lick my shoulder tattoo. Like the man who grabbed my hips while I was waiting for a drink at the EFF party. Like the man who tried to get me to show him my tits so he could punch a hole in a card that, when filled, would net him a favor from one of the official security staff. Or the experience of one of my friends, who prefers to remain anonymous. At a recent DEFCON, while leaning over to get her drink at the bar, someone slid his hand up all the way between her legs and grabbed her crotch. When she turned around, the perpetrator had already disappeared into the crowd. My own stories from DEFCON seem tame compared to what these women went through, but I couldn’t take the constant barrage of sexual insults and walked out halfway through DEFCON 16, swearing not to return if I was going to be harassed like that again. Unfortunately, DEFCON isn’t unusual among hacker conferences. Similar stories about Black Hat, HOPE, CCC, and others are also common. Sexual harassment at other computer conferences often appears unintentional, but at hacker conferences it’s often clear that the perp is doing it on purpose, and enjoying the hell out of it. As a woman, it’s hard to justify attending a hacker conference when I can go to an academic computer conference and get treated like a human being most of the time. Why harassment matters At this point, some of you are thinking, “Well, if DEFCON is so bad for women, women just shouldn’t go. Who cares?” As KC puts it, “Defcon is also many wonderful things. It is a fantastic environment to learn, network, and connect with friends old and new.” There’s a reason that I attended DEFCON five times before I quit. DEFCON and other hacker conferences are popular for all the reasons that conferences exist at all: learning new things, meeting people in your field, improving your reputation, finding jobs, and making new friends. I’ll start with the most obvious benefit of attending DEFCON: jobs. Did you know that Twitter is recruiting computer security experts at DEFCON? So are Zynga and the NSA: Twitter, Zynga, and the NSA are only a few of the companies and government agencies that consider DEFCON prime recruiting ground for experts in all sorts of areas: network security, operating systems, robotics, surveillance, electrical engineering, intrusion detection, and anything that communicates via electromagnetic waves. When companies recruit at DEFCON, and women aren’t at DEFCON, both the companies and the women miss out. But how do you become qualified for a computer security job in the first place? Computer security isn’t very well documented, or taught in any depth in most universities. After my first DEFCON, I knew to sign up for the DEFCON mailing list, read the 2600 magazine, and check out a copy of the UNIX Systems Administration Handbook from the computer center library. When I got a computer account at my university, I logged into the UNIX workstations instead of the Windows machines because I knew UNIX was what hackers used. I poked around UNIX until I found files I couldn’t read and commands I couldn’t run, and then I started reading manuals to understand why. I eventually became a worldwide UNIX file systems expert – all because I went to this obscure little conference in Las Vegas in 1995. For those women who work or want to work in a computer security related field, conferences like DEFCON are the best chance to meet influential people in the field. Take Bruce Schneier, a professional speaker and the author of “Applied Cryptography” (known outside computer security for coining the term “security theater” to describe TSA security measures). I met Schneier at DEFCON 6, when I made a joke that he reused in his talk a few minutes later. The DEFCON speaker list is a who’s who of modern digital glitterati – and in a strange twist of fate, now includes the Director of the NSA. Giving the right talk at DEFCON can make your entire career and net you dozens of offers for jobs, contracts, and book deals. DEFCON is good for hands-on learning too: For example, every year teams of security experts compete in contests like “Capture the Flag” to show off their skills and learn from each other. Finally, everyone at DEFCON benefits from more women attending. Women “hackers” – in the creative technologist sense – are everywhere, and many of them are brilliant, interesting, and just plain good company (think Limor Fried, Jeri Ellsworth, and Angela Byron). Companies recruiting for talent get access to the full range of qualified applicants, not just the ones who can put up with a brogrammer atmosphere. We get more and better talks on a wider range of subjects. Conversations are more fun. Conferences and everyone at them loses when amazing women don’t attend. When you say, “Women shouldn’t go to DEFCON if they don’t like it,” you are saying that women shouldn’t have all of the opportunities that come with attending DEFCON: jobs, education, networking, book contracts, speaking opportunities – or else should be willing to undergo sexual harassment and assault to get access to them. Is that really what you believe? Is change coming to hacker conferences? Back to KC: I know Im not alone in being frustrated with the climate at Defcon. Last year at Deepsec in Vienna, I met a fantastically intelligent woman developer who flat out refused to attend Defcon because of interactions like those listed above. I can think of countless other women I know in the tech industry who are regular Defcon participants and speakers who are just as fed up with this crap as me. I wonder why weve all been so polite about such an unhealthy atmosphere. KC stopped being polite, and started doing something about the sexist atmosphere at DEFCON: she created the Red/Yellow Card Project. She got the idea from a joke a rugby-obsessed friend made after she complained about sexism at DEFCON, suggesting that she hand out red and yellow penalty cards to people making sexist comments. She designed and printed the cards and distributed them at this year’s DEFCON, with mixed reception. Some people vehemently objected, but others loved it. DEFCON founder Jeff Moss offered to pay for the printing costs of the cards. How the Ada Initiative is changing conferences The cards are a hilarious way to raise awareness of the problem of brutal sexual harassment at DEFCON and similar conferences. Unfortunately, it will take more than raising awareness to make hacker conferences safe for women. That’s one reason why I quit my cushy computer programmer job and co-founded the Ada Initiative, a non-profit supporting women in open technology and culture. Our scope includes open source software, open hardware, and open data – all of which are major parts of hacker conferences like DEFCON. The Ada Initiative’s first project: an example written policy that bans harassment at conferences, sexual or otherwise, of people of all genders. Organizers for literally hundreds of conferences have adopted some form of this policy, including open source software conferences from Linux to Python to Git, the world’s largest Wikipedia conference, Wikimania, and a plethora of others including gaming cons, open video conferences, science fiction conventions, and even skeptic/atheist meetups. The policies aren’t just empty words; several conferences have enforced their policies successfully. Many conference organizers have told us that they had record women’s attendance after they adopted a policy aimed at reducing harassment (and often higher overall attendance as well). One conference organizer said that the first year they worked hard to invite 30% women, everyone enjoyed the conference so much more that they’ve done it every year since. When women feel welcome at a conference, everyone enjoys the conference more. A call to action and a challenge We’re waiting to hear about the first[2] hacker conference to adopt a specific, enforceable, well-planned policy protecting women from harassment – and then we’re going to promote the hell out of it. Will it be HOPE? CCC? DEFCON? Whichever hacker conference is first will get dozens or hundreds of new attendees, women and everyone else, too. If you want this to be your conference, and you want help designing and implementing a policy, email us at contact@adainitiative.org. If you’re not a conference organizer, you can help too! We’ve created a list of actions to take to support policies preventing harassment at conferences, all field-tested for effectiveness. To name just a few, you can publicly request a policy by blogging or tweeting, organize a community petition asking for a policy, and when speaking, make your appearance contingent on a policy. Finally, if you like the work that the Ada Initiative is doing, you can support us by joining our announcement mailing list or donating to support our work for women in open technology and culture (we’re a tax-exempt non-profit charitable organization supported by donations). [1] The precise meaning of the word “hacker” has been the subject of furious debate for at least 30 years. Suffice to say that in this post it does not mean exclusively “person who breaks into computers” and it includes people who experiment with computers and hardware for curiosity’s sake. [2] Kiwicon is a hacker conference that has a (hilarious) Code of Conduct: Kiwicon attempts to be a relatively informal conference where all members of the hacking community can come together over one weekend. Individuals intent on sprinkling fetid douchenuggets over the ice-cream sundae of anyone else’s enjoyment may incur penalties, reprisals or sanctions at the discretion of the Crue. In other words, the Crue reserve the right to kick you out, own your boxen and publicly shame you if you’re being an idiot. However, our (rather extensive) experience with harassment at conferences is that policies don’t work unless they are specific about what isn’t allowed, for many reasons. Often the people doing the harassing believe that their behavior is acceptable at that conference, so unacceptable behavior has to be spelled out or people will keep doing it. Plus, specifically listing unacceptable behavior is often enough to stop it from occurring at all. People who are nervous about attending the conference can’t tell what the organizers consider harassing behavior and don’t know whether the organizers will back them up. Finally, it’s simply inconsiderate to tell your attendees that they can get kicked out of a conference if they behave badly – and then not give them some idea of what you consider bad behavior. See the example policy guide for more details. The Ada Initiative is raising funds to support our anti-harassment work and our other programs supporting women in open tech and culture. Become an Ada’s Angel donor today and help us make conferences safer for women!
Getty Images Share Pinterest Email (JTA) — Thousands of American Jews have signed a petition challenging the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s invitation to President Donald Trump to deliver the keynote remarks at the National Day of Remembrance. Launched Monday by Bend the Arc, a Jewish group that advocates for social justice causes, the petition by the following morning had more than 7,400 signatures. “President Trump’s administration has repeatedly insulted the memory of the Holocaust, and embraced the agenda and rhetoric of white nationalism and anti-Semitism. So how can the U.S. Holocaust Museum invite him to deliver the keynote remarks at the National Day of Remembrance?” the petition asks. “Jews across the country are outraged by this bizarre and unacceptable choice. “While we recognize the longstanding tradition of American presidents giving remarks at this ceremony, this is not a normal president and this is not a normal moment. It is an insult to the memories of survivors, descendants, and allies that he would speak on this sacred day.” The remarks to be delivered Tuesday in the U.S. Capitol rotunda are among the events for the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s annual Days of Remembrance. Every president since the museum opened in 1993 has participated.
Get the Think newsletter. Nov. 7, 2017, 9:37 AM GMT / Updated Nov. 8, 2017, 3:41 PM GMT By Adam Skaggs, Chief counsel, Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence After a gunman used an assault weapon to kill more than two dozen parishioners in a Texas church, just weeks after the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history, President Donald Trump declared it was too soon to talk about guns. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said it was time for prayers, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., offered condolences. Advocates for stronger gun laws, in turn, urged Congress to find the courage to stand up to the gun lobby. This Congress likely won’t heed that call because the National Rifle Association opposes new gun laws — despite bluffing an initial willingness to compromise after the Las Vegas massacre. But even more alarming than the gun lobby’s chokehold on Congress — and covered far less frequently — is the NRA’s growing clout in shaping the federal judiciary under Trump. The gun lobby said it spent $1 million to confirm Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch. Now the NRA has its sights set on the lower federal courts. McConnell is leading a huge push to fill the record-breaking number of federal court vacancies created by his obstruction of President Barack Obama’s nominees — and the gun lobby is reaping a windfall. Because these judges will have life tenure and decide cases for decades to come, the NRA’s influence over the courts could last far beyond this Congress or Trump’s presidency. McConnell is leading a huge push to fill federal court vacancies — and the gun-lobby is reaping a windfall. Last month, the NRA’s flagship publication endorsed four nominees who “stand for gun rights.” Since then, the Senate confirmed one for a seat on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals; the Senate Judiciary Committee approved two on strict party-line votes; and the fourth had a confirmation hearing last week. More NRA-approved judges are in the pipeline. Take Brett Talley, a candidate for the federal trial court in Alabama, whose nomination is expected to reach the Senate floor this week. Talley graduated law school only in 2007, so he lacks the American Bar Association-recommended minimum of 12 years of legal experience. His Senate paperwork shows political experience writing speeches and op-eds for Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Mitt Romney, the 2012 GOP presidential nominee. It also shows Talley has never held judicial office or tried a case. But he does enjoy writing horror fiction and participating in the Tuscaloosa Paranormal Research Group — both highlighted on Talley’s resume. If Talley’s CV lacks the breadth of legal experience typical of many past nominees, it passes the gun lobby test with flying colors. A month after 20 first-graders were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut in 2012, Talley wrote that we were learning “the wrong lesson from Newtown.” Retailing the good-guy-with-a-gun rhetoric, he called for public school teachers to carry guns. Later, in a post on his personal blog, Talley issued a “call to arms.” Democrats, he wrote, planned “the greatest attack on our constitutional freedoms in our lifetime.” In response, Talley pledged his “support to the NRA; financially, politically and intellectually.”
The names of Moldavia and Moldova originate from the historical state of Moldavia, which at its greatest extent included eastern Romania (Western Moldavia), Moldova, and parts of south-western Ukraine. Etymology [ edit ] Moldavia/Moldova was named after the Moldova River, which is a Slavic name,[1] derived from Slavic mold-, "spruce, fir".[2][3] A. I. Sobolevskij derived it from *moldu, "tender, soft, young".[4] The ending -ov(a)/-av(a) is a common Slavic suffix used in appelatives and proper names.[5] -ova denotes ownership, chiefly of feminine nouns. There is significant Slavic influence on Romanian. The myth, included in works of Grigore Ureche (1590–1647), Miron Costin (1633–1691) and Dimitrie Cantemir (1673–1723), but given varying levels of credibility by these, was that the hunter Dragoș from Maramureș (the founder of Moldavia) in 1359 hunted for wild oxes, accompanied by female dog Molda who chased an ox into the river where the animal was killed and the dog itself drowned in the water; the river and region was named after the dog.[6] Other theories is that it is derived from old German Molde, meaning "open-pit mine",[citation needed] or the Gothic Mulda meaning "dust", "dirt" (cognate with the English mould), referring to the river.[citation needed] The short-lived capital of Moldavia, Baia in the Suceava County, was called Stadt Molde in a 1421 German document. Bogdania [ edit ] The original and short-lived reference to the region was Bogdania, after Bogdan I, the founding figure of the principality.[citation needed] Wallachia [ edit ] The term "Black Wallachia" (Romanian: Valahia Neagră), in Turkish Kara-Eflak, was another name found used for Moldova in the Ottoman period.[7] It derived from Bogdan I of Moldavia; in Ottoman Turkish usage his state was known as Kara-Bogdan (Romanian: Cara-bogdan)[8] and Bogdan-Eflak, "Bogdan's Wallachia". References [ edit ] Sources [ edit ]
Tasmania is relatively known as the new wine-harvesting state when compared to rest of Australia. While the first Australian vines were grown in later part of 1700s, Tasmania could not really start producing wine till the 1970s. Tasmania’s chief wine-growing area is Tamar Valley, home to over 20 vineyards which specialise in production of wines meant for cooler climate. It is located thirty minutes away from Launceston, the northern part of Tasmania. Tamar Valley Wines The nautical climate prevailing in the Tamar Valley makes it perfect for production of pinot variants which majorly include pinot noir and pinot grigio. This region is known for manufacturing chardonnays, cabernet francs, cabernet sauvignons and rieslings. Tasmania Wineries Since the place is endowed with lesser number of vineyards than majority of wine regions across Australia, exploring the entire area would be quite achievable for the tourists. They can visit the place anytime as it barely takes a while to reach out to the corners of Tamar Valley. If a tight schedule is bothering you just remember to strike out the unimportant and instead get these vineries quickly explored. You can taste the Tasmanian wines anywhere, at the bars or even at the eateries. You can collect them from the Grocer’s shop. You can sip the finest wine from anywhere across the island. If you are up for greater adventure you can leave the highway and instead take smaller roads to travel the region. For guided travel look up for Tamar Valley Tours. Advertisements
THERE was something inadvertently appropriate about the Scottish Daily Mail being leaked plans for a Scottish Six news programme from a source in London last week. Even if you don’t like its political slant, the Scottish edition of the Daily Mail is a perfect example of how a Scottish news agenda, driven by an expert team in Scotland, can dovetail with its London and overseas offices to produce a successful Scottish news product. Executives and reporters have a chance to see what stories London is planning to cover and have full authority to throw out or retain those that aren’t suitable for its Scottish audience. Thus, stories about health and education in England and Wales will be jettisoned and replaced with Scottish stories in those areas written by highly trained and qualified Scottish specialists. London stories about defence or Europe will largely be retained and be included alongside a wide-ranging mix of Scottish stories from a well-resourced operation based in the centre of Glasgow. The Scottish Daily Mail operates like a newspaper version of Scottish independence. It’s a perfect template for a BBC daily broadcast news hour produced in Scotland that would deploy some of the corporation’s London output when it is deemed to be of interest in Scotland. The problem, though, is that few among the BBC’s management in Scotland or in England believe the Scottish corporation’s highly trained and award-winning journalists are up to the job. The reaction to the latest plans for a daily broadcast news hour on BBC Scotland has been depressing in the extreme. The usual right-wing commentators have lined up to excoriate it. Few of these regard Scotland as sufficiently able or mature to achieve anything of note unless it is produced under London supervision. Anyway, it’s all a vile Scottish Nationalist plot to get its sticky Stalinist fingers all over the BBC in Scotland. Even from those you would normally expect to know better, the news was greeted with inexplicable caution and suspicion. On Saturday morning, in what passed for an adult discussion of the issue on radio, I heard one respected critic saying one way of saving money in Scotland was to do away with camera crews, of which she thought there were too many. I consider myself fortunate and privileged to have been invited to contribute to various political and news programmes made by BBC Scotland over the past few years. As such, I have got to know many of the journalists who work at its Pacific Quay headquarters. At this moment, their morale would best be described as rock-bottom. They are doing a job they love and for which they have trained hard and served testing apprenticeships. But one senior staffer I spoke to last week, whose enthusiasm for broadcast journalism and Scottish culture and current affairs is normally boundless, seemed visibly sickened by the callousness of last week’s events and the absence of leadership at Pacific Quay. “What you have to understand,” he said, “is that the BBC in London is regarded as having magical powers. I’ve now come to accept that nothing of what is deemed to be important can ever happen outside London unless it goes through the Ministry of Truth at Broadcasting House. It’s all about control. I sat in a staff meeting last week with our new news editor to discuss what was going on with the Scottish Six, as no one had previously thought to tell us. He must have mentioned ‘London’ about ten times in his address to us.” There is a widespread belief among Pacific Quay staffers that the concept of an hour-long Scottish news bulletin is being set up to fail by London management. On one hand, it looks like the UK management is unwinding to accommodate Scottish aspirations to have its own news hour, but the way it was leaked to a newspaper known to be hostile to the idea aroused suspicions. That the BBC’s Scottish senior management hadn’t thought to inform its own staff about what would be the biggest development in the history of news broadcasting in Scotland defies belief. This failure to consult was principally what prompted talk of industrial action. Thankfully, this has been averted for the time being. There is, though, a feeling among members of the National Union of Journalists that the two-week timeframe is a far too narrow one for Scottish staff to devise, develop and produce three potential pilots for the Scottish Six. Even one more week would make a difference. The proposals that were leaked to the Daily Mail and which staff in Scotland were not meant to see stated that the ideal editor for the Scottish Six would have high-level production experience in Network TV news. In other words, any BBC Scotland journalist with no experience of working at London Control need not apply. The detailed plans for each of the three options are heavily influenced by London and it becomes clear, even to the casual reader, that this organisation simply doesn’t think there is enough news happening in Scotland to justify a whole hour. If it did, then it clearly doesn’t trust its Scottish staff to make the right decisions about where English and international stories would fit in the mix each night. It’s an extremely patronising, pompous and badly devised document. If you’ve never visited Pacific Quay, I suggest you go and have a look; after all, your money paid for it. It’s a quite stunning, terraced, concrete behemoth that dwarfs the headquarters of STV which sit next door. Yet after 6pm, you half-expect to observe tumbleweed blowing through the vast and cavernous spaces that surround you. It could be a thriving hub for arts and culture throughout Scotland. The rooms and spaces which lie empty could be venues and workshops for dozens of cultural projects. We are talking here though, about a senior management that doesn’t possess the wit or the inclination to support a properly autonomous one-hour news programme in a country of more than five million people. It can hardly be expected to make full use of the wonderful building it has been bequeathed and which is being run down before us.
This article targets Rails 3 The article was written as of Rails 3.0. The information contained in this page might not apply to different versions. One of the biggest changes on the frontend side of the upcoming Rails 3 version is the replacement of the Prototype JavaScript helpers in favor of Unobtrusive JavaScript (UJS). The implementation of Unobtrusive JavaScript, and the consequent removal of the old inline AJAX commands, offers at least three advantages: Less verbose, inline, behavior code in the HTML document , with the result of much more lightweight, cleaner and readable source code , with the result of much more lightweight, cleaner and readable source code Rails 3 is no longer Prototype-oriented . With Rails 3 you can easily switch from a JavaScript framework to an other. . With Rails 3 you can easily switch from a JavaScript framework to an other. Rails 3 code is now JavaScript framework agnostic. It no longer contains framework-specific commands or scripts. Let's jump right into an example. Do you remember the link to destroy an object, generated by the link_to helper? <%= link_to "delete" , domain_path ( @domain ), :method => :delete , :confirm => "Are you sure?" %> outputs <a href= "/domains/1" class= "destroy" onclick= "if (confirm('Are you sure?')) { var f = document.createElement('form'); f.style.display = 'none'; this.parentNode.appendChild(f); f.method = 'POST'; f.action = this.href;var m = document.createElement('input'); m.setAttribute('type', 'hidden'); m.setAttribute('name', '_method'); m.setAttribute('value', 'delete'); f.appendChild(m);var s = document.createElement('input'); s.setAttribute('type', 'hidden'); s.setAttribute('name', 'authenticity_token'); s.setAttribute('value', 'pKvg9hsnQ33uk='); f.appendChild(s);f.submit(); };return false;" > delete </a> The same Ruby helper call, in Rails 3, generates <a href= "/domains/1" data-confirm= "Are you sure?" data-method= "delete" rel= "nofollow" > delete </a> This is made possible by the use of Unobtrusive JavaScript. The entire logic to handle the emulation of the HTTP DELETE method has been extracted into a separate JavaScript file and is executed when the page is loaded. The scripts containing the behavior are then attached to their corresponding JavaScript events. We'll take a closer look at that file in a few minutes. This feature required a major rewrite of the ActionView helpers which resulted in the following changes: New helpers and files are available to add unobtrusive JavaScript support to your Rails application The ActionView::Helpers::PrototypeHelper has been heavily modified. Many legacy helpers are now available as a separate plugin All the remote_<method< helpers has been removed. To make them working with AJAX, simply pass the :remote => true option to the original non-remote method All the AJAX-specific options representing callbacks are gone. For instance, there's no :loaded , :loading or :complete option for remote link_to helper anymore. So what? At this point, you might be wondering what this means in practice and what you need to change in order to make your Rails 2 application working with Rails 3. So let's go back to the list of changes and discuss each point in the list. I'm assuming you will use the jQuery framework, but the same principles can apply to all the other supported JavaScript frameworks. 1. New helpers and files The heart of the Unobtrusive JavaScript feature in Rails 3 is the new rails.js file. When you generate a new Rails 3 application, a file called rails.js is created in the public/javascripts folder along with all the other .js files you are used to see in a Rails 2 project. rails.js contains all the unobtrusive handlers. By default, Rails assumes you are using Prototype, but there's also an official fork for jQuery. You need to include this file in your application to have all the unobtrusive features working correctly. Because rails.js is part of the :defaults bundle, if you are using the following statement you don't need to change anything. < %= javascript_include_tag :defaults %> Otherwise, you can include the files separately. This is the case, when you want a more fine-grained control over the scripts included in your application or you want to use other alternatives, such as a CDN . < %= javascript_include_tag "http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.4.2/jquery.min.js", "jquery.rails.js", "application.js" %> Now we know about the files, but what about the helpers? If you ever worked with remote helpers in Rails 2, you are probably aware of the Rails authentication token. In Rails 3, the authentication token still exists, but it needs an unobtrusive touch. Here comes the new csrf_meta_tag helper. It returns two HTML meta tags which include all the information necessary to support the XSS protection in Rails 3. <meta name= "csrf-param" content= "authenticity_token" /> <meta name= "csrf-token" content= "9SdBB/Uftw7IDQH4aKblEUcLXwvgw9vkju9N1ObyCCM=" /> Because the output is meta tags, this helper is expected to be called in the head section of your HTML page. In all likelihood, this will happen in your Rails layout files. Here's the simplest Rails 3 layout <!DOCTYPE html> <html> <head> <title> Foo </title> <%= stylesheet_link_tag :all %> <%= javascript_include_tag :defaults %> <%= csrf_meta_tag %> </head> <body> <%= yield %> </body> </html> As you can guess from the DOCTYPE declaration, the new default Rails layout is a HTML 5 document. Get yourself accustomed to it, unobtrusive JavaScript and HTML 5 are very good friends. 2. ActionView::Helpers::PrototypeHelper ActionView::Helpers::PrototypeHelper has been heavily modified. The following helpers have been removed and made available as a plugin. button_to_remote submit_to_remote observe_field observe_form periodically_call_remote link_to_remote () form_remote_tag () form_remote_for () remote_form_for () partially supported using the `:remote => true` option. See section 3. If you are using one of these tags, you might need to rewrite the logic using Unobtrusive JavaScript. Here's an example for the observe_field helper, using jQuery. When the content of the field is changed, the browser triggers a call to the :live_search action and replaces the content of the #results element. <%= text_field_tag :search %> <%= observe_field :search , :url => live_search_path , :update => :results %> In Rails 3 becomes // Append the function to the "document ready" chain jQuery ( function ( $ ) { // when the #search field changes $ ( "#search" ). change ( function () { // make a POST call and replace the content $ . post ( <%= live_search_path %> , function ( data ) { $ ( "#results" ). html ( data ); }); }); }) The example above uses at least 3 different jQuery methods: $(document).ready(), .change(), and jQuery.post. One additional note about the example. Placing a javascript_tag in the middle of a page is probably not so unobtrusive. I suggest you to take advantage of the content_for helper to dynamically inject the content in the head section of your page, or place all the login in a separate JavaScript file, such as application.js . As you probably noticed, Rails 3 forces developers to have a deeper understanding of JavaScript. You gain flexibility for the price of additional development effort. From one side, this requirement makes Rails development less automatic, unlike it has been until today. From an other point of view, this requirement makes developers more aware of what they are doing. If you are using Prototype, you might be tempted to install the legacy plugin. Don't do it. Even if it makes Rails 3 upgrade easier, you would probably continue to use legacy helpers and your application will become harder to upgrade day after day. Taking the faster and easier way is not a good idea in the long terms. Schedule a reasonable amount of time and plan the full upgrade instead. I believe this change would encounter many disappointed developers as soon as Rails 3 will be largely available, but I'm sure it will eventually become one of the most appreciate design decision in the long term. I strongly agree with the Rails 3 development team for this choice. It also comes at the right time. If Rails 1 or Rails 2 wouldn't have included such easy way to write JavaScript from the beginning, many existing Rails developers would probably never been captured by the framework in the past. 3. remote_<method> helpers As mentioned in the previous section, all remote_something and something_to_remote methods have been removed from Rails 3. Nonetheless, remote helpers are still available thanks to the :remote => true option. Here's a few examples. # Rails 2 link_to_remote "Name" , url_path # Rals 3 link_to "Name" , url_path , :remote => true # Rails 2 form_tag "/path" do end # Rails 3 form_tag "/path" , :remote => true do end # Rails 2 remote_form_for @article do end # Rails 3 form_for @article , :remote => true do end Rails 3 helpers never write inline JavaScript. Instead, they use HTML 5 data attributes to store remote metadata information within the HTML element. The rails.js file contains all the behavior required to handle these attributes. Let's use the link_to helper as example. <%= link_to "destroy" , article_path ( @article ), :method => :delete , :remote => true %> The output is <a href= "/articles/1" data-method= "delete" data-remote= "true" rel= "nofollow" > destroy </a> Notice the data-method and data-remote attributes. The first indicates you want to perform a DELETE HTTP request. The second identifies a remote request and is added whenever you use the :remote option. <%= link_to "destroy" , article_path ( @article ) %> <a href= "/articles/1" rel= "nofollow" > destroy </a> <%= link_to "destroy" , article_path ( @article ), :method => :delete %> <a href= "/articles/1" data-remote= "true" rel= "nofollow" > destroy </a> <%= link_to "destroy" , article_path ( @article ), :remote => true %> <a href= "/articles/1" data-remote= "true" rel= "nofollow" > destroy </a> If you open the rails.js file, you will notice several remote handler definitions. The first one handles the case of remote form submission, the second one handles remote links and input fields, the third handles not-remote links that should behave likes form. /** * remote handlers / $ ( 'form[data-remote]' ). live ( 'submit' , function ( e ) { $ ( this ). callRemote (); e . preventDefault (); }); $ ( 'a[data-remote],input[data-remote]' ). live ( 'click' , function ( e ) { $ ( this ). callRemote (); e . preventDefault (); }); $ ( 'a[data-method]:not([data-remote])' ). live ( 'click' , function ( e ) { // ... }); I strongly encourage you to carefully examine the content of the * rails.js file before actually starting with the upgrade. As I said before, this is the center of the Rails 3 unobtrusive feature and you **MUST have a good understanding of it. Ryan Bates also created a very good screencast about upgrading remote helpers to Rails 3. Reserved data attributes From the rails.js file we can also extract the list of data- attributes which have a special meaning in Rails 3 and should therefore be considered reserved keys. data-method data-confirm data-remote data-disable-with As a bonus feature, you don't a Rails helper to take advantage of them. For instance, the following example will cause a confirmation dialog to appear when the button is clicked. <button data-confirm= "Do you really want to continue?" > Click me </button> 4. Remote JavaScript callbacks One topic I have never found covered so far in all the existing Unobtrusive JavaScript Rails 3 posts is remote JavaScript callbacks. This is odd because they are largely used. More precisely, I'm talking about the :loading , :loaded , :success , etc callbacks. Quoting the link_to_remote Rails 2 documentation The callbacks that may be specified are (in order): :loading : Called when the remote document is being loaded with data by the browser. :loaded : Called when the browser has finished loading the remote document. :interactive : Called when the user can interact with the remote document, even though it has not finished loading. :success : Called when the XMLHttpRequest is completed, and the HTTP status code is in the 2XX range. :failure : Called when the XMLHttpRequest is completed, and the HTTP status code is not in the 2XX range. :complete : Called when the XMLHttpRequest is complete (fires after success/failure if they are present). You can further refine :success and :failure by adding additional callbacks for specific status codes. Example: # Generates: <a href="#" onclick="new Ajax.Request('/testing/action', {asynchronous:true, evalScripts:true, # on404:function(request){alert('Not found...? Wrong URL...?')}, # onFailure:function(request){alert('HTTP Error ' + request.status + '!')}}); return false;">hello</a> link_to_remote word, :url => { :action => "action" }, 404 => "alert('Not found...? Wrong URL...?')", :failure => "alert('HTTP Error ' + request.status + '!')" A status code callback overrides the success/failure handlers if present. These callbacks have not disappeared in Rails 3. It turns out they are now available as framework-native JavaScript events. To better understand this point, we need to open the rails.js file again. Remember, for the purpose of this article I'm still referring to the official jQuery version. Locate the callRemote function and search for the following lines: beforeSend : function ( xhr ) { el . trigger ( 'ajax:loading' , xhr ); }, success : function ( data , status , xhr ) { el . trigger ( 'ajax:success' , [ data , status , xhr ]); }, complete : function ( xhr ) { el . trigger ( 'ajax:complete' , xhr ); }, error : function ( xhr , status , error ) { el . trigger ( 'ajax:failure' , [ xhr , status , error ]); } Here they are, our lovely callbacks. They are now implemented as jQuery events: ajax:loading - triggered before executing the AJAX request ajax:success - triggered after a successful AJAX request ajax:complete - triggered after the AJAX request is complete, regardless the status of the response ajax:failure - triggered after a failed AJAX request, as opposite to ajax:success If you are barely familiar with the jQuery.ajax() method, you already noticed that these custom Rails callbacks are very close to the original jQuery AJAX callback functions. At this point, you are probably expecting a real example. I don't want to disappoint you, so here it is, directly from this site. We have the following Rails 2 form, which needs to show/hide a loading spinner to indicate the execution of the AJAX request. <% form_remote_tag :url => { :action => 'run' }, :id => "tool-form" , :update => { :success => "response" , :failure => "error" }, :loading => "$('#loading').toggle()" , :complete => "$('#loading').toggle()" %> Of course, there are several different ways to accomplish this task and if I would go back, I would probably use a different jQuery-oriented alternative, but in the past it was dead simple to add such callbacks using Rails so let's just upgrade the existing implementation to work with Rails 3. First, remove all Rails 2 stuff and add the Rails 3 :remote option. <% form_tag url_for ( :action => "run" ), :id => "tool-form" , :remote => true do %> Then, bind the function to toggle the spinner visibility to the appropriate AJAX events. Also, on success replace the content of #response with the response data. jQuery ( function ( $ ) { // create a convenient toggleLoading function var toggleLoading = function () { $ ( "#loading" ). toggle () }; $ ( "#tool-form" ) . bind ( "ajax:loading" , toggleLoading ) . bind ( "ajax:complete" , toggleLoading ) . bind ( "ajax:success" , function ( event , data , status , xhr ) { $ ( "#response" ). html ( data ); }); }); Remember The upgrade to Rails 3 can be a bit more complicated if you heavily relied on Rails JavaScript generators in the past, but the benefits of switching to the Unobtrusive JavaScript patterns is definitely worth the effort. Rails 3 forces developers to have a deeper JavaScript knowledge than in the past. Don't underestimate the importance of this task, it's an excellent chance to learn something more about the most important programming language today. I hope this article will help you migrating upgrading your application to Rails 3.
Dauman and Shari Redstone are two of the seven members of a trust that will eventually decide the fate of the Redstone family's empire, which includes the CBS broadcast network, Paramount Pictures movie studio and the cable channels MTV, Showtime, VH1, Comedy Central, BET and Nickelodeon. Sumner Redstone and his family control 80% of the voting shares in the two media companies. A Viacom spokesman declined to comment. An activist shareholder firm, which last month began agitating for changes at Viacom, also called on Viacom's board to elect someone other than Dauman, 61. "We strongly urge management and the board to appoint an independent director as executive chairman and that it not be Philippe Dauman," SpringOwl Asset Management said in a statement. Sumner Redstone has been one of the most influential architects of the media landscape over the last three decades, overseeing the construction of a entertainment colossus. But his precarious health during the last year has become a distraction for the two companies he controls. CBS board members concluded that Redstone was too frail to serve as executive chairman, according to two people close to the company who declined to be identified discussing internal matters. Shari Redstone, who has been staying in Los Angeles with her father, helped coordinate the transition with her father and members of CBS' governance committee. "My singular focus is to act in the companies' best interests by ensuring that each company has a strong chair, a board of directors which diligently oversees management, and an outstanding leadership team," she said. On Tuesday, Sumner Redstone authorized a letter that was sent to Moonves, saying he would resign as executive chairman. The letter was also sent to CBS board members, who met in a special meeting Wednesday. CBS said Redstone's resignation was effective Tuesday. Sumner Redstone now holds the title of chairman emeritus. People close to the two companies said Redstone's deteriorating health necessitated the change. Redstone has not participated in public corporate events since early 2014 and has difficulty speaking intelligibly. "It's a wise move. The big issue is that the controversy surrounding his leadership affects the investors' view of the company," said Charles Elson, director of the John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware. "It's appropriate for the executive to remove themselves from the controversy and let the focus be on the company, rather than on the controversy involving them," Elson added. The situation became untenable after a former girlfriend of Redstone's filed a lawsuit in November that seeks to have the mogul declared mentally incompetent. The court filing was filled with salacious details about the mogul and described him as "a living ghost." Last Friday, a doctor hired by the former girlfriend's legal team examined Redstone, though the doctor's findings are confidential. The probate case, playing out in Los Angeles County Superior Court, rattled investors who demanded that executives of CBS and Viacom come up with more complete succession plans. Moonves, 66, joined CBS in 1995 after making a mark in Hollywood as the head of Warner Bros. Television and Lorimar Television. He became president and chief executive of CBS Television in 1998 and chairman in 2003. When Redstone divided his empire into two publicly traded companies in 2006, Moonves became chief executive of CBS Corp. Moonves is credited with taking a struggling TV network and turning it into the nation's most-watched. "I was honored to nominate Les as the CBS chair and am delighted to congratulate him on his new position," Shari Redstone said in a statement. "He follows in the visionary tradition of my father, and I know that Les will successfully lead CBS into the digital future." Shari Redstone also serves as co-founder and managing partner of Advancit Capital, a venture capital firm that invests in early stage companies focusing on media, entertainment and technology. meg.james@latimes.com Times staff writer Ryan Faughnder contributed to this report
The Baltimore Ravens announced the release of linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo on Thursday. The three-time Pro Bowl selection known best for his special teams exploits believes the organization had ulterior motives. Ayanbadejo has been one of the most outspoken players in the NFL in support of same-sex marriage. "My bark is louder than my bite," Ayanbadejo told Newsday reporter Tom Rock. "I make a lot of noise and garner a lot of attention for various things off the football field. When that starts happening, why do you have that player around? "I don't necessarily think that teams want this type of attention." Ayanbadejo admitted the entire decision wasn't made because of his activism. He was highly paid for a special teamer and the Ravens have been in cost-cutting mode since they won the Super Bowl. The organization never publicly took issue with Ayanbadejo, who has received more national attention for his stances than his play on the field. That was on full display at the Super Bowl. "I was a vocal guy and garnered a lot of attention," Ayanbadejo said. "I brought a lot of issues with me to the Super Bowl and the issues came up at the Super Bowl." The Ravens denied that Ayanbadejo's release was connected to his activism, The Baltimore Sun reported. "We're surprised that he would indicate this. We have always been respectful of Brendon's opinions and his right to express those," said Kevin Byrne, the Ravens' senior vice president for public and community relations. "Our decision regarding his departure from the team has everything to do with football. Nothing else." We might never know if this actually played a part in the decision, and Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome did seem to extend an olive branch on Thursday. "(Ayanbadejo was one of the best special teamers in the league, but he was also a valued member of our defense, especially in our sub (substitute) packages," Newsome said. "He became a leader for us, and the door may not be closed to bring him back to help us again." Free-agent tracker NFL free agency is underway. Follow all of the latest player rumors and signings in our free-agent tracker. NFL free agency is underway. Follow all of the latest player rumors and signings in our free-agent tracker. More... Free-agent tracker NFL free agency is underway. Follow all of the latest player rumors and signings in our free-agent tracker. NFL free agency is underway. Follow all of the latest player rumors and signings in our free-agent tracker. More... The Ravens did have a legitimate reason for releasing Ayanbadejo, but teams have made decisions to part ways with players who drew too much attention to themselves. Hopefully this isn't one of those cases. Ayanbadejo's suspicions, real or not, are one of the reasons players hesitate to speak out on non-football issues. And it's one of many reasons a gay player would hesitate to announce his sexuality while still in the league. UPDATE: Ayanbadejo completely backed away from his comments Thursday during an interview Friday with "NFL AM," saying his release by the Ravens didn't have anything to do with his views on gay rights. "The Ravens have facilited the relationships I have with the community. ... If the Ravens wanted to cut me for my stance on marriage equality, they would have done it in 2009," Ayanbadejo said. Follow Kareem Copeland on Twitter @kareemcopeland.
BENGALURU: With the packaged food industry taking a hit because of the GST burden businesses from across India applied for deregistration in a bid to escape the tax. Popular trademarks went off the shelf overnight and manufacturers began selling products under new, unregistered trademarks.The GST Council in September issued a clarification saying registered brands as on May 15, 2017 would attract tax even if they are deregistered later and be spared the levy only if manufacturers forgo actionable claims on their brand names.The council’s move has disarrayed the packaged food industry. Brand owners withdrew applications for deregistration and gave up claim over brand names. The brand logos on the packages gave way to the announcement: “We have voluntarily forgone actionable claim or enforceable right on this brand.”A 1kg pack of original Shivaling tur dal costs Rs 70, while its duplicate is being sold at Rs 60. “We have lost over 50% of our business to this fake brand. We were sending 60 truckloads (each with 16 metric tonnes) of tur dal a month to Karnataka. Now, it has come down to 25,” said Jayesh Mehta, director of Gujarat-based Shivaling Marketing, which sells tur dal, urad and gram dal under Shivaling brand name.“There is now an indirect licence to culprits to duplicate reputed brands. Gullible consumers may be happy their favourite brands are available at cheaper prices, but they don’t know they are fake ones. Consumers can’t seek relief in case of any issues with their purchases,” said Rameshchandra Lahoti, chairman of Wholesale Food Grains and Pulses Traders Association. According to him, very few players and big corporates who are sure of their brand equity, have retained their trademarks and stayed in the GST net.Vishaldas Tapadiaya, managing director of Kalaburagi-based Mysore Industries selling pulses and dal under Nandi trademark, said his company has forgone the rights over the brand it had nurtured since 1974 and the disclaimer is being printed on the package. “It was painful to forgo the brand we had built over decades. But we could not afford losses for the sake of the brand. Our product had become expensive after the Centre classified the branded packaged food under 5% GST slab,” Tapadiya said.“Duplication of brands was a menace earlier too; it has become more rampant under GST. The law now is so designed that perpetrators can easily escape punishment,” Mehta added.“The rationale of taxing branded food was that manufacturers were selling them at higher cost when compared to unbranded commodities. Unfortunately, duplicate brands are now thriving; the GST Council is expected to discuss this issue at its meeting later this month,” said D P Nagendra Kumar, chief commissioner of GST, customs and central excise.“The best thing would be to exempt all kinds of food commodities from the tax, as it was in VAT regime. If the government wants differential tax rates for branded and unbranded food, then it can put branded food under the special 1% slab. We have sent a representation to this effect to the Council,” said B T Manohar, chairman of state taxation committee of FKCCI and member of the GST advisory committee to the government of Karnataka.
Cases of disavowal by parents once their son or daughter comes out as gay occur much too often, leaving the child, no matter how old they are, feeling lost, abandoned, and hurt by the people their own family. For “Chad,” the son of “Christine” in the letter below, his experience with this issue could have ended in the same way if it weren’t for his understanding grandfather. The details of this incident are few and far between, but the picture painted by the grandfather shows that Chad, likely a teenager, came out to his mother, Christine, and she proceeded to throw the typical anti-gay responses at her own son and disown him. Though a typical disavowal involves an entire family throwing out the relative that is gay and all turning their backs on them, Chad’s grandpa does the exact opposite. Read below to see the grandfather’s touching and impassioned response to his daughter’s reaction. The full message reads: “Dear Christine: I’m disappointed in you as a daughter. You’re correct that we have a “shame in the family”, but mistaken about what it is. Kicking Chad out of your home simply because he told you he was gay is the real “abomination” here. A parent [disowning] her child is what goes “against nature”. The only intelligent thing I heard you saying in all this was that “you didn’t raise your son to be gay”.Of course you didn’t. He was born this way and didn’t choose it any more than he being left-handed. You however, have made a choice of being hurtful, narrow-minded and backward. So, while we are in the business of disowning our children, I think I’ll take this moment to say goodbye to you. I now have a fabulous (as the gay put it) grandson to raise, and I don’t have time for [a] heartless B-word of a daughter. [If] you find your heart, give us a call. -Dad” What are your thoughts on this grandfather’s letter? Please comment on, like, and share this article! This article (A Mother Disowned Her Son For Being Gay, So His Grandfather Responded With This…) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to the author and TrueActivist.com
He hasn't regretted his decision. By then, Bowes had joined the Suns Academy, knowing nothing about what it might lead to, how good he could be, whether the club would want him or how it would be able to get him. Last year he moved to the Gold Coast, to be closer to training and to spend more time at the club he is bound for at the end of this year, as an academy player, and the club's first highly-rated one. To leave home was a big decision: Bowes had to start year 12 at a new school and get used to living a two-hour plane ride from his parents and younger brother. The Suns had to talk him into it. But he was lucky: his grandparents had moved from Cairns to the Gold Coast a few months earlier and he went straight in with them, a 10-minute drive from the Suns and not far from the university campus where he has since started a double degree in exercise science and business. "It was a challenging year at first, having to make new friends and adapt to a new environment at school and the way they do things, but I came out of it with the score I wanted and I didn't lose any of my friends back at home so it worked out how it was meant to," he said. "The way I look at it, I would have moved away from home after year 12 anyway. So all I really did was force myself to do it a little bit earlier." It has helped him learn more about himself as a footballer, and have time to work on all those things. Training each week with the Queensland state team last year, Bowes got to watch what Ben Keays and Eric Hipwood did, before both became first-round draftees for the Lions. He's been able to see the Gold Coast physios, to use the club's gym and to spend some time in their ice baths. He trained through summer with the Suns, alongside Gary Ablett, Dion Prestia, David Swallow. Nick Malceski has helped him along, as have most of the other players. "It's hard to pinpoint anyone, because they've all been so good. It's the same with all the coaches there," he said. "They've all given me feedback and given me a lot of insights. But just being out there with the other players is the best thing. That's the best guide to whether you fit in, and how you fit in. It makes you realise what you have to do."
At the Battle of Tewkesbury on May 4, 1471, the Yorkists won a huge victory against the Lancastrians. Edward, Prince of Wales, son of Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou was killed during the battle and Queen Margaret was captured. Edward IV was king again and on May 21, Henry VI died in the Tower of London, probably on the orders of King Edward. Jasper Tudor had been making his way to meet up with the Lancastrian forces but for whatever reasons, didn’t make it and missed the battle. He knew he would be a target of King Edward and his life was in danger. So he prepared to flee the country. Another consequence of the battle was the desertion of the Lancastrian cause by Margaret Beaufort and her husband Thomas Lord Stanley. Margaret’s fourteen year old son Henry Tudor was with his uncle Jasper. Because his mother and her husband had chosen sides, he decided to join his uncle in exile. Henry would not see his mother for the next fourteen years. Henry and Jasper landed in Brittany and were the guests/prisoners of Duke Francis II. Francis used the two men as a diplomatic pawn in negotiating with King Edward in an effort to maintain his independence from France. The two men spent time in various castles in Brittany, sometimes together and sometimes apart. At several junctures, Henry was in jeopardy of being sent back to England but he managed to avoid capture. During the reign of Edward IV, Margaret Beaufort lobbied the king to allow her son to return and re-claim his earldom of Richmond. In April of 1483, she actually had King Edward’s approval for Henry’s return to England but then Edward died unexpectedly. Edward’s brother Richard Duke of Gloucester usurped the throne from Edward’s son King Edward V. From that point on there were plots and rebellions against his rule. At this point, Henry Tudor was not considered a serious contender for the throne. But when King Edward V and his brother Richard Duke of York disappeared from the Tower of London sometime in the fall of 1483 the situation in England dramatically changed. The Duke of Buckingham, Richard III’s one-time closest ally, defected from his cause and planned a rebellion with others, including Henry Tudor. But the rebellion was unsuccessful and Henry never made it to England due to bad weather at sea. At Christmas, in the cathedral at Rennes in Brittany, Henry Tudor swore an oath to marry Edward IV’s eldest daughter, Elizabeth of York, to ultimately unite the houses of Lancaster and York. This oath made clear his intention to take the throne from Richard III and many men began to join in Henry’s cause. Richard negotiated an agreement with the duchy of Brittany whereby Henry would be sent back to England and most certain execution in the winter of 1484. Henry was able to make a daring escape to the court of the French King Charles VIII. Charles and his acting regent, his sister Anne de Beaujeu, were pro-active in supporting Henry’s bid to take the throne of England. Preparation, recruiting and fundraising began. During these tense months, Henry penned numerous letters in an effort to draw men to his cause. Many of these letters were destroyed but there is a copy of one of them which has survived. It is undated and has no specific addressee. Here is how it reads: “Right trusty, worshipful and honourable good friends, I greet you well. Being given to understand your good devoir and entreaty to advance me to the furtherance of my rightful claim, due and lineal inheritance of that crown and for the just depriving of that homicide and unnatural tyrant which now unjustly bears dominion over you, I give you to understand that no Christian heart can be more full of joy and gladness than the heart of me, your poor exiled friend, who will, upon the instant of your sure advertising what power you will make ready and what captains and leaders you get to conduct, be prepared to pass over the sea with such force as my friends here are preparing for me. And if I have such good speed and success as I wish, according to your desire, I shall ever be most forward to remember and wholly to requite this your great and moving loving kindness in my just quarrel. Given under our signet H I pray you to give credence to the messenger of that he shall impart to you.” In early December, Richard responded to Henry’s pleas with a proclamation against Henry, Jasper and many of the most important rebels. He also began recruiting men and putting the entire country on alert for the coming invasion. Henry had everything in place and his ships sailed from Honfleur on August 1, 1485, arriving in Milford Haven in Wales on August 8. He then began moving north-east to engage Richard in battle, recruiting and welcoming men to his cause as he marched. Henry went about asking the men of Wales to come to his aid affirming his intention was not only to restore England to its ancient state but also the principality of Wales. His goal was to reestablish the ancient rights of Wales as they were before the rebellion of Owen Glendower in 1400. A copy of Henry’s letter to John ap Maredudd survives and reads: “Right trusty and well beloved, we greet you well. And where it is so that through the help of Almighty God, the assistance of our loving friends and true subjects, and the great confidence that we have to the nobles and commons of this our principality of Wales, we be entered into the same, purposing by the help above rehearsed in all haste possible to descend into our realm of England not only for the adeption [recovery] of the crown unto us of right appertaining, but also for the oppression of that odious tyrant Richard late duke of Gloucester, usurper of our said right, and moreover to reduce as well our said realm of England into his ancient estate, honour and prosperity, as this our said principality of Wales, and the people of the same to their erst [original] liberties, delivering the of such miserable servitudes as they have piteously long stand in. We desire and pray you and upon your allegiance straitly charge and command you that immediately upon the sight hereof, with all such power as ye may make defensibly arrayed for the war, ye address you towards us without any tarrying upon the way, unto such time as ye be with us wheresoever we shall be to our aid for the effect above rehearsed, wherein ye shall cause us in time to come to be your singular good lord and that ye fail not hereof as ye will avoid our grievous displeasure and answer unto at your peril. Given under our signet……” It is unknown if John ap Maredudd answered Henry’s call but many other Welshman did. Henry’s largely unimpeded march lasted until August 20 when his army was in the vicinity of Richard’s troops near Bosworth Field. Battle commenced sometime on August 22. Even though Henry’s army was outnumbered by Richard’s, the battle was a victory for him when Richard was slain while bravely trying to reach Henry and kill him. Henry Tudor was now King Henry VII. He married King Edward IV’s eldest daughter Elizabeth uniting the houses of Lancaster and York and a new dynasty of English kings began that would last until the death of Queen Elizabeth I in 1603. Many of the men who answered Henry’s call were richly rewarded by the new king. Further reading: “The Making of the Tudor Dynasty” by Ralph A. Griffiths and Roger S. Thomas, “Henry VII” by S.B. Chrimes
Share. All according to plan. All according to plan. As you may know, for our Halo 5 review, we decided to hold off on a final score until we'd had enough time to play multiplayer in a true post-launch environment. A bunch of IGN editors jumped into MP right as the servers went live, and have kept playing throughout the morning and afternoon. Exit Theatre Mode We're happy to report that the Master Chief Collection's myriad launch issues are virtually non-existent for Halo 5. Our matches are connecting quickly, whether we queue alone or with a party Both Warzone and Arena modes feel smooth and lag free With the exception of one or two matches (out of dozens), our connections stayed strong for the whole match We haven't felt cheated out of kills because of rubberbanding We are getting ready to post our final, scored review very soon, so stay tuned to IGN. Until then, let us know how your experience has been with Halo 5 so far in the comments below. Exit Theatre Mode Brian is an Editor at IGN. You can follow him @albinoalbert on Twitter.
The true story of Earnest Pletch is hard to believe, even almost a hundred years later. Commonly referred to as America’s first hijack, I’m not sure where else there might have been an earlier one. Also, I think it should technically be referred to as in-flight theft of an aircraft, I guess, not to mention the whole murder thing. Considering how often I’ve complained about the mis-use of the term hijack (a pilot cannot hijack his own aircraft; I’m looking at you, MH370 conspiracy theorists), I really am not sure what the best description is. Take a look at the story and see what you think. Born in 1910, Earnest P. “Larry” Pletch came from Frankfort, Indiana. His father was a prosperous farmer and a county legislator. He was known locally as “a genius with machinery” and is said to have tinkered with the tractors and cars rather than pulling his weight on the family farm. He was obsessed with the idea of flying and begged his father to buy him an aircraft. “I’ve always been crazy about flying. I would rather fly than eat,” he said later. His father said he would have to finish high school first. In response, Larry Pletch dropped out of high school. It was 1926. He got married and, although he was only 16, he seemed to make a decent living as a mechanic. He started studying flying in 1935, when he was 25, although he didn’t get the chance to actually fly a real aircraft until three years later. At that point, he decided he had learned all he could from books and watching airshows. He returned to Frankfort and stole an aircraft in the middle of the night. Amazingly, he was able to take off safely and flew 250 miles. “It was the first time I had ever been at the controls. The boys said it couldn’t be done. I took off in that plane at three o’clock in the morning and flew it to Danville, Illinois, and landed it in a seven-acre field.” He figured the aircraft would be reported missing so he kept going and took the aircraft to Vernon, Illinois. Although he had no experience before the joyride, he set himself up as a freelance pilot and was able to get a job with Royal American Shows, one of the largest travelling carnivals in North America. “The second week that I’d been flying I gave exhibitions, did stunt flying, and put on a one-man show. A few days later I gave lessons to passengers.” One of his customers was a seventeen-year-old girl named Goldie Gherkin. She asked for a ride in his plane and he was happy to oblige. He was 29 by then, although he claimed to be 24 and was working under an assumed name. Larry Pletch fell for the girl and they spent five days together flying all over Illinois. He asked her to marry him but Goldie said no. Larry Pletch didn’t do well at taking no for an answer. He abandoned her in a field and flew away. It didn’t take long for her to be found. Her parents had been searching for her since her initial disappearance and were much relieved to find her safe in the field. They didn’t want to press charges: “The young man took such good care of our daughter.” The local police, on the other hand, were unwilling to let the escapade go and tracked him down. Pletch was charged with the theft of the aircraft and freed on bond. The press called him “the Flying Romeo.” His trial was due to begin the last week of October. He rejoined the Royal American Shows and went with the carnival to Missouri, where he married what was apparently his third wife, Francis Bales of Palmyra, Missouri. I have no idea who the second one was: his flying escapades were better documented than his marital status. However, it is clear that wife number three left him after only a few days, according to some sources because he robbed her. He didn’t seem to be in a rush to find out where she’d gone. It was over a month later, late October, when Pletch finally decided it was time to head out to find his missing wife. He either borrowed a car or stole his sister’s car, depending on which version you believe. The important point for our story is that Pletch ended up in Brookfield Missouri, where Carl Bivens worked as a flight instructor. Carl Bivens was 39 years old and offered flight instruction in a friend’s two-seater Taylor Cub monoplane. The Taylor Cub, the forefather of the Piper J-3 Cub, had been fitted with dual controls and painted a fetching yellow. It was the 27th of October of 1939 when Pletch asked Bivens for some advanced flying lessons. It probably was not coincidence that this was also the week his trial was to begin for the theft of the plane with which he’d taken Goldie Gherkin away. They completed two flight lessons which seem to have gone extremely well. According to Pletch, Bivens told him that he had a natural ability and that he should follow a career in aviation. They started a third lesson at 4pm that afternoon. Forty minutes into the flight, they were cruising at 5,000 feet with Bivens instructing from the front seat and Pletch in the back. Something seems to have snapped. With no warning and apparently for no good reason, Pletch shot his instructor in the head. “I had a revolver in my pocket and without saying a word to him, I took it out of my overalls and I fired a bullet into the back of his head. He never knew what struck him. The aircraft went into a dive. Pletch shot him again, even though he was already slumped over the controls. “The ship began to pitch and then to dive. It went crazy and I remembered reading about a dying man ‘stiffening’ at the controls and then I fired another shot into the back of his head.” “I reached forward and pulled his body away from the controls, and after a few seconds I got the plane straightened out.” Pletch managed to get control of the Taylor Cub and pulled the aircraft out of the dive at 1,500 feet. He landed in a field near Cherry Box, Missouri and pulled Bivens out of the plane, pocking his wrist watch and cash. Then he disposed of the body, hiding it in a thicket of trees. When he took off again, he was heading towards Frankfort, Indiana. He landed in another field and spent the night in a farmer’s barn. He circled over his parents’ home. Initially he claimed he flew there to wave at them but later he told a much more gruesome version. “I flew to Frankfort with the intention of smashing the plane into the side of my father’s barn but lost my nerve.” He continued flying across Indiana. As dusk arrived he began looking for a new place to land. Two young boys were doing chores when they heard the aircraft and ran out to see the the yellow monoplane circling low over the treetops. One of them, Bobby Joe Longsdon, was six years old that day and seventy years later still remembered it clearly. “My brother and I were crazy about aviation. I never saw or heard an airplane fly that low before and it was real exciting.” But something even more exciting was about to happen. “I heard the pilot cut his engine and then he landed in the field right behind our house! Jimmy and I wanted to go over there and just touch the pilot, but our father wouldn’t let us go.” Pletch landed in a cow pasture on Meredith Dillman’s land, just outside of Bloomington in central Indiana. Dillman and her family had also seen the aircraft circling and went out to speak to him. Pletch was described as “a young man in his 20s, good-looking, with wavy hair swept back in a pompadour.” He told the Dillmans that he was flying to Bedford but had to land as it was getting dark. His blue overalls had blood on the front of them, which Dillmann claimed was from a nosebleed caused by high altitude. He asked if there was anywhere to get something to eat. He was sent to Williams & Wampler General Store, which served hamburgers and coffee. Bertha Manner, Clear Creek’s telephone switchboard operator, heard about the low-flying aircraft from multiple residents. “People commenced calling in when the plane kept flying so low.” By now Biven’s body had been discovered and the hunt was on for the missing Taylor Cub. The telephone operator was listening to a football game on the radio when she heard a news bulletin that a man suspected of murder in Missouri was flying a stolen yellow plane which had been last seen circling over Frankfort. She called the Bloomington police to tell them about the forced landing. The police had been looking for a fugitive pilot since the morning and asked her to contact the farm to check the registration. It matched that of the stolen aircraft they were searching for. Meanwhile at Williams & Wampler General Store, Pletch ordered two hamburgers and a cup of coffee. While Bill Wampler was frying up the hamburgers, the phone rang. It was the police, who told Wampler to say only ‘yes’ or ‘no’ in response to their questions. Wampler confirmed that the pilot was there and that he would try to stall him. Bobby Joe Longon talked about it in his interview. “Bill was frying the hamburgers for the pilot. He was a nervous, jittery kind of a guy, but he just scooted the burgers over to the cool part of the grill so they wouldn’t cook so fast.” State and local police surrounded the general store. Pletch had just started eating when they confronted him. He surrendered without a fight, handing over the .32 caliber revolver, and they put him into handcuffs and took him away. Pletch initially denied the shooting until he was confronted with the fact that the murder weapon was a .32 calibre revolver, the same type as he was carrying. It was quite clear he’d killed Bivens and taken his aircraft. What no one understood was why. He came up with various answers. Initially, Pletch claimed that Bivens was in financial difficulty and wanted to get away from Brookfield, so they had conspired to steal the aircraft. He said they were heading for Frankfort when Bivens learned he had a pistol, whereupon Bivens threatened to land the plane and turn Pletch over to the police. He later explained that he had invented “extremely high-efficiency aviation fuel”. that he and Bivens had agreed to steal the plane and fly to Mexico to test it. They argued, with Bivens wanting to back out of the plan, and Pletch shot Bivens. “I told him that he was not going to double-cross me.” In one version, he claimed that Bivens had reached back and attempted to grapple with him, losing control of the aircraft. Pletch said he shot the man because he feared they were about to crash. Later he admitted that the aircraft only entered the dive after the instructor was dead. Pletch also said had lost touch with his family and that he’d stolen Biven’s plane so that he could fly it into the side of his father’s barn. In court, he finally simply admitted, “I just don’t know why I killed him but I did.” Even though it was quite clear that he had killed Bivens, the legal case had problems. It was the first hijacking case in the US, although the word wasn’t in use yet. The Chicago Tribune called it the first airplane kidnap murder on record and the Associated Press called it the fantastic airplane slaying. But no one knew exactly where it had happened – or if Pletch knew, he wsn’t saying. They’d flown over three Missouri counties and the aircraft crossed the state line, which meant it was unclear who had jurisdiction and who, if anyone, had the authority to prosecute. As one law professor quoted in the Bloomington Evening World put it, none of the existing statutes took mid-air killings into account. If it was impossible to prove the county over which the offence occurred, could the murder be prosecuted? The prosecutor for Shelby County, where the body had been found, believed that it could and filed murder charges. But the aircraft had been flying over Macon County for most of the flight before the landing and the prosecutor there argued that Pletch’s confession had to be accepted, which put the murder in his jurisdiction. Pletch was brough to court in Macon County immediately – there was some concern that he might be lynched if they didn’t act quickly – where Pletch waived his right to a preliminary hearing. On the 1st of November, just five days after the murder, Pletch plead guilty to first-degree murder. In Missouri, the penalty for murder was death in a lethal chamber; however Carl Bivens’ wife Etta told the judge that she didn’t wish to seek the death penalty. Apparently this carried some weight, because the judge sentenced Pletch to life after a promise that he would never apply for pardon or parole. Pletch died in 2001 and was buried in Camdenton, Missouri. The adjoining grave is marked as Avis Pletch, Wife of Earnest Pletch, 1904-1973. Some articles state that he died in prison at the age of 91, after serving 61 years in Missouri State Prison. However, more recently it’s become clear that this wasn’t the case. Mike Dash’s article on the subject is excellent and in the conclusion, he points out that Pletch’s place of death is cited as Eldridge, Missouri, and there are no prisons there. Further, he found two references to a man named Pletch in the Kansas Star: in 1964 he’s said to be selling a new ranch type house and in 1965 he was auctioning a service station along with several items of personal property. He dug deeper and discovered that a man named Earnest Pletch got married the day after Christmas in 1973 and was described as having worked as a pilot for Cox Aviation, almost certainly the same man. It seems likely that, despite the widow’s wishes, he was released early, probably as a part of a scheme to reduce the overcrowding of prisons. For more on this, I recommend: America’s First Highjacking The killer who fell from the sky: a true-life B-town crime story Confessed Air Killer Started Back to the Scene
Republican members of a House committee investigating the Benghazi attacks finally released their conclusions on Tuesday. And at first glance, the 800-plus page report, two years in the making, looked like a big political misfire. For starters, the report revealed few new significant details about the 2012 attacks on the U.S. diplomatic mission that claimed four American lives. And it offered no clear and direct evidence that laid the blame for the attacks at the feet of Hillary Clinton, then the Secretary of State and now the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. Trey Gowdy, the South Carolina lawmaker who had led the committee, had long insisted his was a fact-finding mission not an act of partisan combat. But that assertion was perhaps irreparably undermined when a senior Republican congressman, Kevin McCarthy, characterized the investigation as an effort to bring down Clinton’s poll numbers. The report was contested before it was even published. Democrat and Republican members of the committee were hopelessly divided, issuing separate, contradicting findings within a day of each other. The Democrats didn’t even see the Republican report until it was being released and played no role in writing it. “Decades in the future, historians will look back on this investigation as a case study in how not to conduct a credible investigation,” the Democratic members wrote in their report, preemptively released on Monday. “They will showcase the proliferation of Republican abuses as a chief example of what happens when politicians are allowed to use unlimited taxpayer dollars—and the formidable power of Congress—to attack their political foes.” Gowdy will now be under pressure to explain why his committee spent $7 million investigating an issue that, as Democrats are always first to note, had been reviewed by about nine previous committees. His answer seemed to be to avoid politics entirely and cast the Republican report as the definitive account of how the Benghazi attacks played out and what was the U.S. responseor lack thereof. At a press conference in Washington Tuesday, unveiling the report, Gowdy focused on bureaucratic bungling, a slow response to the violence on the ground, and a failure to comprehend intelligence about that nature of the attacks. “No U.S. military asset was ever deployed to Benghazi” during the attack, Gowdy said the committee had found. “Washington had access to real time information but yet somehow they thought the fighting had subsided.” Gowdy also argued that the committee, which interviewed more than 100 people, had produced a report that, if it didn’t exactly change the entire storyline, would add new and important nuance, which he invited people to examine for themselves in the massive tome. “There is new information on what happened in Benghazi, and that information should fundamentally change the way you view what happened in Benghazi,” he said. Much of that information focused on the slowness of the response, as well as new details about meetings at the White House and how the administration was crafting a response; but again, nothing earth-shaking. Two Republican congressman thought that the majority reportwhich they endorsed—didn’t go far enough on the political front. Reps. Mike Pompeo and Jim Jordan wrote 42 pages of “additional views” aimed at laying the blame for the attacks at Clinton’s feet. In their view, Clinton and her senior colleagues in the Obama administration did everything they could to downplay the attacks and portray them as anything but terrorism, in order to fit the broader political narrative that “the tide of the war [on terrorism] was receding,” Pompeo told The Daily Beast. “Their mindset was to underplay, to react with caution,” rather than call the attack an act of terrorism, Pompeo argued. Pompeo and Jordan practically accused Clinton of lying to save herself. But Pompeo acknowledged to The Daily Beast that there’s no smoking gun to prove his case. Much of what the Republican members have concluded comes from the mountains of documents they reviewed and hours of interviews that seem, to them, to point in the direction of Clinton’s culpability. “Officials at the State Department, including Secretary Clinton, learned almost in real time the true nature of the Benghazi attack and that it must have been a planned terrorist attack,” they wrote. “With the presidential election just 56 days away, rather than tell the American people the truth and increase the risk of losing an election, the administration told one story privately and a different story publicly.” The public version of events, they said, was that the attacks were inspired by an offensive video circulating online that had inspired protests at the U.S. embassy in Cairo and that eventually spread to Libya, a claim for which Pompeo and Jordan found no evidence. Democrats and Republicans will agree a few points. First, Libya was a foreign policy priority for Clinton, who had argued that President Obama should take military action against dictator Muammar Gaddafi. “The evidence we turned up during the review makes very clear that Libya was Clinton’s baby,” Pompeo said. And both the Republican and Democratic reports find that Clinton was aware of intelligence that underscored the dangerous security situation in Libya. But that’s where the two sides diverge, irreconcilably. In the Democrats’ view, the responders to the attacks did all they could to save the Americans’ in harm’s way. To the Republicans’, hours of bureaucratic wrangling over how to respond to the attacks and an earlier failure to appreciate the severity of the security situation sealed the Americans’ fate. The saga of Benghazi will not come to an end today. The distance between the two sides guarantees that.
In May this year the Daily Mail loudly claimed that thousands of Britons were “driving off” in new cars by pretending to be disabled. Now, a month later, it has finally admitted what many disabled activists have been saying – it was completely wrong. The Mail claimed that by “pretending” to be disabled, thousands of Britons had claimed taxpayer-funded cars under the Motability Scheme. The scheme was set up to help disabled people get around by helping them exchange their mobility allowance to lease a car, scooter or powered wheelchair. But today the Mail quietly added a retraction to the end of its article, admitting it had got the figures wrong The headline of an earlier version of this article stated that thousands of people are driving off in new cars under the Motability scheme by pretending they are disabled. In fact, although 2100 people had their leases terminated for abuse of the scheme, it is not known how many of those abuses were for feigning disability. It was also incorrect to say that the enhanced benefit of £57.45 is received in addition to the car. Those receiving the benefit receive either the car or the money, not both. Just shows how much attention to facts Daily Mail journalists pay. The story predictably attracted lots of hateful comments online. Will the Mail apologise for those too? The car scam that will drive you crackers! Again, us hard working mugs have to pick up the tab for malingerers…https://t.co/8dGLRd32km — Lady Durrant (@LadyDurrant) May 12, 2016 Thousands are in cars paid for by US – by pretending they're disabled https://t.co/42idHdnyym >>> SHOP 'EM. Cut! HARDER, FASTER, DEEPER. — Mike 间合 (@inhoclocus) May 12, 2016 The Daily Mail should be ashamed of itself for promoting hatred of disabled people
Somewhere along the line, while working on The Malcontents, my syndicate submission, I realized I like telling stories, a luxury the typical one-liner, gag-a-week Malcontent doesn't generally afford. I also realized at some point that it might be nice to make a book. So I've started a series of Malcontent strips called Apartness. I have a theme and a story with an ending and everything! And drawings! It's gonna be sweet. The goal is to collect them into a book, but as I work on them I'll be publishing them here on Malcontent Comics Inc. for all seventeen (yes, seventeen! the site is really growing!) of my loyal fans. I hope you like them, but if you don't it's probably just because you're a bad person. So don't sweat it!
Prime Minister Stephen Harper ramped up his criticism of Justin Trudeau, delivering a stinging attack on the Liberal leader during a pep talk to Ontario Conservatives. In a speech at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum in Hamilton on Thursday night, Harper took aim at several of Trudeau's past statements, from terrorism to China. He noted neither the Liberals nor the New Democrats have supported his government's law and order reforms. Harper accused the opposition parties of believing criminals are victims of society. He referred to Trudeau's reaction to the 2013 terrorism attack at the Boston Marathon when the Liberal leader said governments must look at the root causes of homegrown terrorism. Harper also alluded to opposition criticism of his government's handling of foreign policy, referring to a comment Trudeau once made about admiring China and asked how many Canadians want to live there. "My point is that Justin Trudeau didn't really want to answer that question because the answer is too obvious," Harper said. "The best country and the best government in the world is Canada's!" Gun owners now safe from 'bureaucrats' Trudeau was criticized last year when he was asked which country he admires the most and replied China because having a dictatorship can allow it to turn the Chinese economy around "on a dime." Harper also reached out to gun owners, apparently alluding to a recent decision by the RCMP to ban a previously legal rifle, the Swiss Arms Classic Green carbine. Harper said it's completely unacceptable that owners of the weapons should be subject to an "arbitrary stroke of a bureaucrat's pen." "We have ensured owners of those guns will not face prosecution," Harper said. "We will take all actions necessary to ensure bureaucrats cannot bring back the long-gun registry through the back door!" The government said in July it would review the RCMP's decision and was exploring a number of options. The National Firearms Association estimated there are 1,000 to 1,800 of the rifles in Canadian hands.
Amidst Banning Concerns against Video Games, A Filipino Team Prepares to Do Battle in a $2.1 Million Tournament This Weekend ohestiada Despite local governments’ banning popular video game and premier eSports title Defense of the Ancients (DotA) and Dota 2, the Philippines will still be represented in the upcoming Dota 2 Asia Championships (DAC) that will be held on Jan. 28 to February 9 in Shanghai, China. Rave-Dota, an all-Filipino Dota 2 team based in South Korea, will be competing against some of the best Dota 2 teams around the globe for a shot at the total prize pool worth $2.1 Million. The team consists of Filipino professional Dota 2 players Jio “Jeyo” Madayag, Ryo “Ryoyr” Hasegawa, Djardel “Chrissy” Mampusti, Mark “Cast” Pillar and Michael “ninjaboogie” Ross. The team migrated to Korea to train professionally under the watchful eyes of their manager and team owner, Pyung Kwon, earning them the moniker of “Overseas Filipino Gamers”. According to sources close to the team, Rave has been consistently training for at least 10 hours a day, scrimmaging and practicing against some of the best teams in South Korea and China to prepare for the main event. The team is currently en route to China as of this writing. Last November 2014, Rave won the Mineski Pro Gaming League (MPGL) Southeast Asian (SEA) Grand Finals at the Skydome in SM City North Edsa. The event pitted teams from around the SEA region and is the largest tournament in the Philippines to date with a total prize pool of over P1 million. Rave won the lion’s share after winning an all-Filipino finals, with a total of P789,687. Against the odds The DAC tournament will be feature some of the best and most well-known teams in the Dota 2 community. Out of the 14 invited teams, five have already competed in The International (TI) — Dota 2’s largest tournament. In 2014, TI 4 entered record books as the largest tournament in the world in terms of prize pool for a video game with $10.9 million in total purse. Out of the five teams that have been to TI, two of them have already won. Some of the western powerhouses will be also present such as the recent champions of Dota Pit League Season 2, Team Secret and the defending champions of Star Ladder Star Series Season 10, Evil Geniuses. Wildcard matches will be on Jan. 28 wherein two teams will join the 14 qualified teams. The 16 teams will then battle for the 12 slots in the LAN finals over five days. The main event will be on Feb. 5 to 9 wherein the 12 teams will be fighting for their share in DAC’s $2.1m prize pool. In boiling water With DotA and other similar games now banned in Barangay Salawag, Dasmarinas, Cavite, the role of video games among the youth has become a hot-button topic on social media. According to the Barangay ordinance, the local government of Salawag decided to ban video games such as DotA and CrossFire because it “had already become a tool for gambling”. Salawag village chief Enrico Paredes said that the ordinance was passed after two teenagers were reportedly involved in a stabbing that supposedly stemmed from a game of DotA. On the Inquirer.net Facebook page, Netizens broke into debate on the role of video games on hooliganism, gambling and truancy among the youth. Still other “Internet cafes should not allow students to enter the establishment during school hours. For minors, they should not be allowed to game past 10PM or midnight. I understand and empathize with the parents who had kids act violently because of DoTA, but we cannot blame anyone else but ourselves,” he added. Facebook user Adam Philip Knight said, “ Though the gaming community is in turmoil back home, sources close to Rave-dota have said that the team is prepared and ready to represent the Philippines to the best of their abilities in China. Khatie Santos, Rave’s social media manager, told eSports Inquirer that the team is determined to win and bring pride to the country despite the negative outlook on their profession and game of choice. “The team is not affected but they are slightly disappointed. Siyempre po they are trying to uplift the eSports industry for the Philippines. It saddens them that our own country cannot support gamers.”– with a report from John Paolo “Brightroar” Bago
I am a lover of children. It is no secret that I maintain a special kinship with the youth of America, and I will even go as far as to announce it up and down the streets of my neighborhood when I feel particularly impassioned. Especially now, as we approach every kid's favorite time of year, I feel a deep connection with the children of the world, and I want to make it memorable for them. I aim to roll up my sleeves and get to work this holiday season showering the children with magic and penetrating their hearts with wonder. Then, after it is all said and done and I am covered in elbow grease, I will smile through my exhaustion and know that it was all worth it. I care that much. Continue Reading Below Advertisement "No, they are not sad tears, mom. I weep for bestowed joy." Naturally, I have started with toys. I wrote letters to various toy companies offering my services and pitching, in my opinion, some pretty high level concepts for presents come December. All of the manufacturers were decidedly unresponsive, save one. MGA Entertainment, the company responsible for the Bratz doll wrote me back and together we unearthed some outstanding enhancements to their products that could both entertain and educate kids. Sadly, our communication crumbled and I have no way of knowing if my suggestions will ever take shape. Below is the very real email exchange I shared with the good folks at MGAE. I can only hope that the seeds of ideas will blossom into beautiful products, and that my words will be remembered as the compost that helped them grow. Sent: Mon, Nov 15, 2010 -----Original Message----- From: Soren Bowie To: [ADDRESS REMOVED] Subject: Bratz Christmas Ideas Continue Reading Below Advertisement Dear Sir/Madam First off, I want to quickly say that you are beacon of light in a storm of pre-teen darkness. The characters you have created with the Bratz brand are beautiful, sassy, and ethnically inclusive. Thank you for providing young women everywhere with a foundation of open-mindedness, ambition and, if I may say so, some really top-notch fashion. You've done a tremendous job of capturing the essence of real girlfriends as they exist in playgrounds and tree houses across America: Cloe is playful, aloof and flirty, Jade is hard working and passionate, Yasmin is shy but earnest, and Sasha is black. Cloe in particular, is my favorite of all because I identify with her the most. She loves her friends, but she certainly won't put up with their drama most of the time, will she? No. No she won't. That's why she's the best. There is only one part of the social dynamic you replicated that confuses me. As far as I understand it, every group of attractive girls includes one fat friend. Am I wrong? Where is that girl? I'd hate for an entire demographic to feel disenfranchised or forgotten because there is no corresponding Brat(z). She is, after all, the glue to the group, or at the very least the anchor. I am giving this idea to you with plenty of time before the holidays to institute it. If you don't mind breaking up the symmetry of the team, then I want to suggest adding a fifth character, Deb. Only moderately obese, she would still seem pretty attractive without the context of the other girls (if you squint and if she's wearing her apron). Oh, by the way, she is an aspiring chef! Great, right? That's yours to use, no charge. Deb would be the affectionate and understanding friend that the other girls could go to with problems because she knows how to listen. Also, she bakes pies a lot which seems great but something always goes wrong. She's just a kid and she's learning! That reminds me, you can give her down syndrome instead if you're looking for ways to justify the enormous head. Please write me back and let me know what the next steps are for introducing Deb. Sincerely, Soren

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